The General Motorbikers Discussion Thread

[Spectre]

Originally Posted by avanti

Get something Italian, for example;

The original poster said that he wanted something easy to work on, and one assumes from that that he would also prefer something reliable. Italian bikes are neither.

Mandatory valve adjustments every 9000 miles and Magnetti Marelli electrics isn't my idea of reliable.

[Jon]

When you do your CBT they tell you to stay just left of the centre of the lane you're in. They did explain why quite well and it did make sense, but i forget..

[efoolution]

Originally Posted by Spectre

The original poster said that he wanted something easy to work on, and one assumes from that that he would also prefer something reliable. Italian bikes are neither.

So, I guess that hasn´t changed in recent years

The bikes he posted look nice though, but most look a bit to "sporty" for my taste ... and though I´ve never actually ridden any Italian Motorbikes (Vespa doesn´t count, I think), I always think they are too low (same goes for a lot of Honda) for me. I´m not a giant at 6.0 ... but I´d hardly fit a bike that´s been built for a 5.2 Italian Bloke (yes, we all do love our prejudices here in Europe ), that would not only look stupid, I imagine it would be quite uncomfortable.

Originally Posted by Jon

When you do your CBT they tell you to stay just left of the centre of the lane you're in. They did explain why quite well and it did make sense, but i forget..

So you don´t completly block the view of the Supercar-driver tailgating you? Or maybe so you won´t get impaled on Jaguar, Rolls-Royce or Mercedes hood ornament when you colide? Dunno ...

[British_Rover]

Originally Posted by Blind_Io

^ Try Red Wing shoes, the do lots of different work boots for everyone from oil workers to linemen and they have a line of motorcycle boots. When I buy Red Wings locally I get free laces and polishing for life, and I think I also get re-soling too. Also, you could try the various riding gear manufacturers. Red Wing was backordered on the boots I wanted until August, so I got some from Tourmaster.



Did you try the Ladies section?

Once I pay off all the gear I put on my Visa I will probably get this shield:

I have the same Shoei that is above, but in white.

Man I have used red wing work boots for years and I didn't even know they made motorcycle boots. I am going to look right now and see where the nearest dealer is as I haven't bought a new pair since we moved up here. You are right they do replace the soles too basically anything can be replaced on the boot except for the leather of course.

Originally Posted by Spectre

The original poster said that he wanted something easy to work on, and one assumes from that that he would also prefer something reliable. Italian bikes are neither.

Mandatory valve adjustments every 9000 miles and Magnetti Marelli electrics isn't my idea of reliable.

A good friend of mine who I have known for almost ten years now rides Ducatis almost exclusively except for the odd BMW or Triumph says that the Italian bikes really have gotten much better over the years. They aren't Honda reliable yet of course or BMW durable but they are much, much better then before.

[Redliner]

A Desmosedici? I'll be in my bunk...

[avanti]

Originally Posted by British_Rover

A good friend of mine who I have known for almost ten years now rides Ducatis almost exclusively except for the odd BMW or Triumph says that the Italian bikes really have gotten much better over the years. They aren't Honda reliable yet of course or BMW durable but they are much, much better then before.

It is true, they have gotten a lot better, same as italian cars, its not the same as 10-15 years ago. As you say, maybe they are not yet like the germans or japanese, regardless of that, if they cost roughly the same, would you buy a toyota or a maserati ...

[Spectre]

Italian bikes still aren't up to par. See the Iron Butt Rallies - the Italian bikes either die close to the start or DNF out as a matter of course.

[bone]

the bikes have gotten better, the mechanics are still crap

a friend drives one, and has a leaking front forc, been repaired 3 times, still leaking
had blown base gasket on one of his cylinders, those fuckers just lifter the cylinder 3 cm, and put compound in between, they didn't feel like completely removing it

[avanti]

Originally Posted by Spectre

Italian bikes still aren't up to par.

I didn't say that, I said they have gotten a lot better.

Originally Posted by bone

the bikes have gotten better, the mechanics are still crap

a friend drives one, and has a leaking front forc, been repaired 3 times, still leaking had blown base gasket on one of his cylinders, those fuckers just lifter the cylinder 3 cm, and put compound in between, they didn't feel like completely removing it

I don't know what type of bike he has and how old it is but that seems like bad/lazy mechanics, can't be the manufacturers fault that they didn't change the gasket...

[Peter3hg]

Sorted out my insurance today so my provisional date of collection is the 23rd. I can't wait. I just need to ring the bike shop tomorrow to finalise details.

[KaJuN]

The return of Top Gear followed by getting your bike. Awesome!

[Peter3hg]

Originally Posted by KaJuN

The return of Top Gear followed by getting your bike. Awesome!

Didn't think of it like that. Best 2 days EVER!

[KaJuN]

I've just realized that the closest non-dealer motorcycle repair shop is 10 miles away and the next closest one to that is almost 30 away. I might be sitting on a goldmine here...

AFK to get a loan to open my own shop.

[British_Rover]

Originally Posted by KaJuN

I've just realized that the closest non-dealer motorcycle repair shop is 10 miles away and the next closest one to that is almost 30 away. I might be sitting on a goldmine here...

AFK to get a loan to open my own shop.

Oh man running a shop is so much more trouble then it is worth believe me and I was never even an owner just a manager.

[BlaRo]

That sounds about right, the closest one to my place is 9.8 miles away. Of course, there's the Yamaha dealer down the street, but the crotchety old guy doesn't take too kindly to Honda riders, apparently.

Too bad, because he's got TWO Citroen SMs peeking out from underneath tarps, along with dusty old 60s Porsches and Fiats.

Fortunately, back home in MA my favorite (only ) shop is a 5-minute drive, and is literally a nice old guy's garage surrounded with vintage Suzukis and snowblowers. The one in Syracuse is massive in comparison.

[Spectre]

Fortunately, I live in Texas. I can't throw a rock without hitting some sort of motorcycle shop, or so it seems. True, most of them are Harley/cruiser clone places, but there's two Honda bike dealers inside of six miles, one within 9 blocks, and God's own number of other marques and independent shops.

Honda RiderTip® of the day: Need a part for your bike, but there's no Honda motorcycle dealer handy? Go look up the part number online or in a parts manual and take it to any Honda dealer with a parts department. Yes, that includes lawnmower dealers and car dealers. Any Honda dealer can order any part, even if it's for something they don't normally carry - if they have the part number. (Take *that*, Yammie and Harley owners.)

Yes, it's large. Don't like it? Too bad.

[BlaRo]

Originally Posted by Spectre

Honda RiderTip® of the day: Need a part for your bike, but there's no Honda motorcycle dealer handy? Go look up the part number online or in a parts manual and take it to any Honda dealer with a parts department. Yes, that includes lawnmower dealers and car dealers. Any Honda dealer can order any part, even if it's for something they don't normally carry - if they have the part number. (Take *that*, Yammie and Harley owners.)

Like you need to tell me that again.

A new Honda OEM brake piston and seal just came in the mail today. I have 80 spokes from them too, I've been ordering from them ever since I got my bike.

And hey, guess where they're based out of? Houston.

[Spectre]

Hm, don't remember mentioning that here before, though. I do mean *any* dealer. I once got some exhaust gaskets from a Honda auto dealer and intake boots from the lawnmower dealer, because they were close to the places I was living.

Try Service Honda, too: http://www.servicehonda.com/

[Bugatti's Aftershave]

Some sad news. I have just come to the realisation that I can't keep my bike. One of the main reasons is that my summer has recently become completely chaotic and I literally have no time to fix up the bike nor get my license. Another reason is that there is no garage space plus it's raining almost every day here, and it seems as though I'll be letting a perfectly good bike go to waste (and rust). Finally, the seat height is obscenely tall and that fucker is about 350 pounds. Today I laid it on its side to have a look and found out that I couldn't really pick the damn thing up. That was embarrassing.

So, unfortunately I think I'm going to have to sell it and buy a lighter and more modern dual-sport within the next year or so. Will one of you motorbike gods suggest what I should put as the asking price on Craigslist? It has insurance, was running until recently because it needs a carb flush or so, has working lights/brakes, and the tires have good tread. Very sad.

[Spectre]

There's a trick to picking up a fallen bike, especially the larger/taller ones.

The traditional price for a bike that you don't know the value of (especially a non-runner) is "buck-a-cc" - or $500 in your case. Check the local CL to see what similar bikes go for.

FYI, you could take the carb off and take it to a shop; they could get it cleaned up and back to you in a couple of hours. A running bike is worth more (often a lot more) than a non-runner.