Motorcycle Enthusiasts

And now I need to lie down all over again!

Better be careful those flares don't get caught in the chain/sprocket

Mitch
 
here's a pic of me and my newly-working bike. I had to machine a new main jet for it.
 
OK, so I'm getting old and thinking about getting something like this:


An making it a faired version like the ones on the right here:


Alternatively, this is gorgeous too though I might add a flyscreen:


I wont be parting with my KTM SuperDuke, but for relaxed sunny evenings what could be better? What do you think folks? Where do we stand on cafe racers?

Mitch
 
I ride a Triumph Sprint RS & a Honda CBR600F in the mecca of motorcycling, the Isle of Man.

Most of you US guys seem to have cruisers, but they've not really taken off here, mainly because Harleys are so expensive here in comparison, they mainly get bought by accountants as a lifestyle accessory for their mid-life crisis Sportsbikes are definitely king here - Gixxers, Fireblades and R1's, though I'd love to give a Buell a go around the TT course.
 
I'd love to give anything a go round the TT course, and may get my wish later this year

It's more than just cost behind the low popularity of Harley's here in the UK; a sportster is actually very cheap for example.

Many Gixxers, Blades, R1's etc are also bought by middle aged UK buyers. The UK is just as obsessed with image as the US, just with a different image; here it's sportsbikes.

In some ways this is empirical. Sportsbikes just plain go, stop and do all the bits in between "better" than a Harley, if by better you mean "faster".

Tha fact that their capabilities outstripped the ability of almost any rider years ago makes them almost as much a lifestyle accessory as a Harley can seem.

Doesn't stop me buying into that sportsbike lifestyle rather than the Harley one, but I'm under no illusions about the why's and wherefores

How do you like your Trumpet? Which version is that?

Mitch
 
Knight Errant...nice pic!

You remind me of me when i first got my CBR125

god i cant wait to get on two wheels again.
 
I found this on a biker forum and it made my Monday a little better.


Crazed Squirrel Assaults Man on Motorcycle



I never dreamed that slowly cruising on my motorcycle through a residential neighborhood could be so incredibly dangerous! Little did I suspect. I was on Brice Street - a very nice neighborhood with perfect lawns and slow traffic. As I passed an oncoming car, a brown furry missile shot out from under it and tumbled to a stop immediately in front of me.

It was a squirrel and must have been trying to run across the road when it encountered the car. I really was not going very fast, but there was no time to brake or avoid it -- it was that close! . I hate to run over animals, and I really hate it on a motorcycle; but a squirrel should pose no danger to me.

I barely had time to brace for the impact. Animal lovers, never fear. Squirrels, I discovered, can take care of themselves!

Inches before impact, the squirrel flipped to his feet. He was standing on his hind legs and facing my oncoming Valkyrie with steadfast resolve in his beady little eyes. His mouth opened; and at the last possible second, he screamed and leapt! I am pretty sure the scream was squirrel for, "Bonzai!" or maybe, "Die you gravy-sucking, heathen scum!" The leap was nothing short of spectacular. He shot straight up, flew over my windshield, and impacted me squarely in the chest. Instantly, he set upon me. If I did not know better, I would have sworn he brought 20 of his little buddies along for the attack. Snarling, hissing, and tearing at my clothes, he was a frenzy of activity. As I was dressed only in a light T-shirt, summer riding gloves, and jeans, this was a bit of a cause for concern. This furry little tornado was doing some damage!

Picture a large man on a huge black and chrome cruiser, dressed in jeans, a T-shirt, and leather gloves, puttering at maybe 25 mph down a quiet residential street, and in the fight of his life with a squirrel.

And losing...

I grabbed for him with my left hand. After a few misses, I finally managed to snag his tail. With all my strength, I flung the evil rodent off to the left of the bike, almost running into the right curb as I recoiled from the throw. That should have done it. The matter should have ended right there.

It really should have. The squirrel could have sailed into one of the pristinely kept yards and gone on about his business, and I could have headed home. No one would have been the wiser. But this was no ordinary squirrel. This was not even an ordinary angry squirrel. This was an EVIL MUTANT ATTACK SQUIRREL OF DEATH!

Somehow he caught my gloved finger with one of his little hands; and, with the force of the throw, swung around and with a resounding thump and an amazing impact, he landed squarely on my BACK and resumed his rather antisocial and extremely distracting activities. He also managed to take my left glove with him! The situation was not improved. Not improved at all. His attacks were continuing, and now I could not reach him. I was startled, to say the least. The combination of the force of the throw, only having one hand (the throttle hand) on the handlebars, and my jerking back unfortunately put a healthy twist through my right hand and into the throttle. A healthy twist on the throttle of! a Valkyrie can only have one result.

Torque.

This is what the Valkyrie is made for; and she is very, very good at it. The engine roared, and the front wheel left the pavement. The squirrel screamed in anger. The Valkyrie screamed in ecstasy. I screamed in - well, I just plain screamed.

Now picture a large man on a huge black and chrome cruiser, dressed in jeans, a slightly squirrel-torn t-shirt, wearing only one leather glove, and roaring at maybe 50 mph and rapidly accelerating down a quiet residential street on one wheel, with a demonic squirrel of death on his back.

The man and the squirrel are both screaming bloody murder.

With the sudden acceleration, I was forced to put my other hand back on the handlebars and try to get control of the bike.

This was leaving the mutant squirrel to his own devices; but I really did not want to crash into somebody's tree, house, or parked car. Also, I had not yet figured out how to release the throttle. My brain was just simply overloaded. I did manage to mash the back brake, but it had little effect against the massive power of the big cruiser.

About this time, the squirrel decided that I was not paying sufficient attention to this very serious battle (maybe he was an evil mutant NAZI attack squirrel of death); and he came around my neck and got INSIDE my full-face helmet with me. As the faceplate closed part way, he began hissing in my face. I am quite sure my screaming changed intensity. It had little effect on the squirrel, however. The RPMs on the Dragon maxed out (since I was not bothering with shifting at the moment); so her front end started to drop.

Now, picture a large man on a huge black and chrome cruiser, dressed in jeans, a very raggedly torn T-shirt, wearing only one leather glove, roaring at probably 80 mph, still on one wheel, with a large puffy squirrel's tail sticking out of the mostly closed full-face helmet. By now, the screams are probably getting a little hoarse.

Finally, I got the upper hand. I managed to grab his tail again, pulled him out of my helmet, and slung him to the left as hard as I could. This time it worked - sort of.

Spectacularly sort of ...so to speak.

Picture a new scene. You are a cop. You and your partner have pulled off on a quiet residential street and parked with your windows down to do some paperwork. Suddenly, a large man on a huge black and chrome cruiser, dressed in jeans, a torn T-shirt flapping in the breeze, and wearing only one leather glove, moving at probably 80 mph on one wheel, and screaming bloody murder roars by, and with all his strength throw! was a live squirrel grenade directly into your police car.

I heard screams.

They weren't mine.

I managed to get the big motorcycle under control and dropped the front wheel to the ground. I then used maximum braking and skidded to a stop in a cloud of tire smoke at the stop sign of a busy cross street. I would have returned to 'fess up (and to get my glove back). I really would have. Really. Except for two things.

First, the cops did not seem interested or the slightest bit concerned about me at the moment. When I looked back, the doors on both sides of the patrol car were flung wide open. The cop from the passenger side was on his back, doing a crab walk into somebody's front yard, quickly moving away from the car. The cop who had been in the driver's seat was standing in the street, aiming a riot shotgun at his own police car.

So, the cops were not interested in me. They often insist to "let the professionals handle it" anyway.

That was one thing. The other?

Well, I could clearly see shredded and flying pieces of foam and upholstery from the back seat. But I could also swear I saw the squirrel in the back window, shaking his little fist at me. That is one dangerous squirrel. And now he has a patrol car. A somewhat shredded patrol car, but it was all his.

I took a deep breath, turned on my turn-signal, made a gentle right turn off of Brice Street, and sedately left the neighborhood. I decided it was best to just buy myself a new pair of gloves. And awhole lot of Band-Aids.
 
A fantastic story, well worth posting. But if that guy wheelied a Valkyrie he should be on the stunt circuit

I'm planning the Nurburgring later this year, with not a little fear and trepidation; anyone here done it?

Mitch
 
Seems like the best thread to ask. What models shousld I be looking at for my first bike? The models i Have been looking at are the Yamaha DT-R, Yamaha TW (so fare the best priced bikes), Aprillia RS125 and the Honda CG. Any other models that you would recommend and what are your opinions on the models I have listed?

Curious
 
I've been riding for quite some time.. Off and on probably a decade or more.. My first bike was actually a kawasaki Ninja 250R. Not a bad bike to start out on at all either.. my current bike is an '06 Gixxxer 750.
 
Did you post on the other thread Curious? Depends on whether you're doing direct access or not.

Direct access means you could go for a bandit, SV, hornet or similar. Probably the latter. All would need restrictor plates.

If you don't have a car licence, I think it'd be CG125 or similar as suggested elsewhere. RS125's etc are fantastic but are highly strung and require regular maintenance and mechanical sympathy, neither of which are qualities which learner teens tend to be overly endowed with

Feel free to PM me if you want any further info.

Cheers,
Mitch
 
If you're restricted to the 125 the Aprillia would certainly be good fun, do the research though because they can be fiddly and tempromental, according to hearsay, at least.

If you've gone direct access, I don't know that I'd go to a 600 immediately, despite the temptation to get a balistic missile immediately. I'd choose a Honda VFR 400 first off, because it's still wickedly fast, but it handles like a beauty, the best handling bike I ever rode, and you can put it on it side and accelerate flat out at the same time. Then, I'd jump the 600 'cos while they are still incredibly quick, they can feel Japanese car like, very revvy, there still awesome though... I'd go straight for a 750, 800 or maybe even a 1000cc.
 
Good pointers but the Japanese 400's like the VFR (which were only imported for a few years in the 90's) are rare so expensive to buy, unusual so expensive to service, older models so expensive to get up to date.

Lovely bikes, but they need money spending on them and looking after. Great if they're a keeper, not so much if it's a "pass your test" bike.

Mitch
 
That's true... don't buy one if you can only just afford the petrol afterwards! Mine was a nightmare but it was worth it.
 
Yeah I did post on the other thread.

Cheers for the advice. My plan is to get my restricted license by the end of the year but there is no way my parents will let me get anything bigger than a 125 at first plus my limited funds. I really can't afford to spend more than £1300 on a bike. Best priced I have seen was a Yamaha TW 13,000 miles Y reg which was priced at £1000.
 
Looks like Buell have finally got an engine that will work in a sports bike application, built by Rotax so should be reliable too.

They're quoting decent horsepower and torque figures for it and if the handling is like their other bikes it shoould be a good un.

Two problems;

1. They've stuck with their rim mounted brakes which tend to fade with hard use on a single disc set up at least.

2. She's not a looker, is she





Mitch

PS Go check out the buell website if it interests you, thee's lots of video, pics etc etc.
 
LOL, I still have one of those in my dad's garage First was a Yamaha 50cc FS1E which I bored out and skimmed the head to get that 62mph top end! Then moved on to a CB400 At one point I even had one of those ridiculous Viragos

My biggest 'bike adventure was in '92 when I rode a Royal Enfield 350cc the whole length of India and back again......I tried doing India to Indonesia too but Myanmar got in the way so I ended up on a Honda Tiger 200 in Thailand. I also have a Chinese moped-y thing in Indonesia which doesn't even seem to have a name

Enfield
 
So I'm really thinking about getting a KTM 990 when I return home from Iraq. The web site is not too useful. Anyone got anything on what looks and is pimped to be a good bike?
 
Looks like a good bike. You going to try a little adventure riding?
Here’s a site that might be of help to you on the bike and the sport.

http://motorcycles.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ&sdn=motorcycles&zu=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.advrider.com%2Fforums%2Fshowthread.php%3Fs%3D%26threadid%3D29723
 
You rang?


It's a cracking machine. Lightweight and feels lighter. Handles impeccably and is rock solid even knee down at anything up to 130ish.

Comfortable for my 6'2" and looks like nothing else on the road.

High quality components, high build quality, good residuals.

Downsides? The fuel injection on the early models can be a bit snatchy off a closed throttle. Some people find this a pain, I barely notice. I ride with a light grip on the bars anyway so maybe that's why? This is supposedly better on the later models or with loud pipes.

The tank is small on the first model, but you'll still get 100+ miles plus out of it. It's a bit bigger on the later model so they addressed that.

Check out www.superduke.net for lots more info, or feel free do ask any specific questions you like

Stay safe out there.
Mitch
 
Back
Top