The General Motorbikers Discussion Thread

[bone]

I'm afraid I agree with LeVeL on this one. Those motorcyclists were being total douche bags. Riding the center line, passing on double yellow, likely doubling or tripling the speed limit. I'm not saying the truck driver was in the right, but neither party is innocent. It is assholes who ride like that which give the rest of us responsible riders a bad name.

so you always ride whitin the speedlimit, never a cross a line you're not supposed to?
i don't drive a bike, but if i'm on my quad, i drive it to have fun! and when there is no one besides myself to hurt, i couldn't care less for traffic laws

i didn't see anything wrong tbh. especially the speeding. it's their plate, it's their money, it's their life, who cares they are speeding?

 

[LeVeL]

so you always ride whitin the speedlimit, never a cross a line you're not supposed to?
i don't drive a bike, but if i'm on my quad, i drive it to have fun! and when there is no one besides myself to hurt, i couldn't care less for traffic laws

i didn't see anything wrong tbh. especially the speeding. it's their plate, it's their money, it's their life, who cares they are speeding?

Would you say the same if they were in cars?

 

[bone]

Would you say the same if they were in cars?

no. but cars kill other people, bikes just kill their driver...

 

[LeVeL]

no. but cars kill other people, bikes just kill their driver...

So if a 500lb motorcycle hits my Miata head-on at a combined speed of well north of 100mph, I'll be fine? Really now... Also, how do you feel about a situation in which I'm driving along and suddenly see a motorcycle that has crossed the double yellow, leaving me the choice of either killing him or swerving into the mountainside and killing myself?

 

[bone]

that's not even a question, if you can save your own life by killing someone else, why doubt?

i love how all of you are angels, don't ever do anything wrong, and are the first ones to point at the flaws of someone else

you youself have been posting since you have a miata you take local roads to go to work instead of the highway. i assume that's a normal commute, you never go over the speedlimit a bit, you never take a corner in a spirited manner?
because that's all they did. not like they were racing eachother or speeding in a densely populated area. they're doing a canyon run on a sportsbike! how do you expect those to happen? in the same manner as they were driving a harley?

i actually can't beleive i'm defending bike right now

 

[Blind_Io]

I'm afraid I agree with LeVeL on this one. Those motorcyclists were being total douche bags. Riding the center line, passing on double yellow, likely doubling or tripling the speed limit. I'm not saying the truck driver was in the right, but neither party is innocent. It is assholes who ride like that which give the rest of us responsible riders a bad name.

That may be. They certainly made some dangerous passes and the long parade of fast bikes certainly seemed to intimidate some of the drivers. I don't agree with the way they were riding. That being said, it does not justify using a truck as a weapon for the driver's idea of vigilante justice.

What if a car had done the same move and the truck driver pulled out a gun and opened fire? Because to me it's the same thing.

 

[LeVeL]

I'm not an angel. I do break the speed limit and I do take corners in a spirited manner.

However, those bikers were doing 100+ in what looks to be a ~45mph zone, which I never do. I never cross the double yellow. I never pass leaving as little room as those bikers did, forcing an oncoming car to slam the brakes and/or swerve. I always slow down when I see an oncoming car.

Those bikers were riding like complete assholes. Fact.

That being said, it does not justify using a truck as a weapon for the driver's idea of vigilante justice.

Of course not. No one here is defending the truck driver.

 

[BlaRo]

picture?!?

Of course not. I don't want to be a stereotypical cager.

 

[avanti]

So, I decided to get a new "daily driver". It is an Italian made Honda, but not a 919/Hornet, sorry Spectre...

I present to you the Honda Foresight 250, probably the best all-round scooter in the world; Very comfortable for 2, tons of luggage space under the seat, agile as a 50cc but strong enough to transport 2 people at 130km/h!

Modifications: Vigano windshield and Givi backrest/givi top-box rack!

 

[Crazyjeeper]

so you always ride whitin the speedlimit, never a cross a line you're not supposed to?
i don't drive a bike, but if i'm on my quad, i drive it to have fun! and when there is no one besides myself to hurt, i couldn't care less for traffic laws

i didn't see anything wrong tbh. especially the speeding. it's their plate, it's their money, it's their life, who cares they are speeding?

Do I always go exactly the speedlimit? No. Have I ever passed on double yellow? Yes. However, I have never doubled the limit, passed on double yellow when traffic is not something like a farm implement or other extremely slow moving vehicle. Going 75 on a 65mph back road is not the same as doing 120 down a 35mph canyon road, riding the center line between oncoming traffic and traffic in your lane and in some cases forcing people onto the shoulder so you don't get squished. There is a proper time and place for banzai runs down twisty roads, and that time is certainly not when you have to pass a car every 50 yards or on a road that is that busy.

Let me make this clear. I am in no way defending the actions of the truck driver. He was completely and totally in the wrong in this case. He should have just let those idiots fly past him and not given it a second thought. However, I can understand why he did act in that manner. It was a stupid thing to do, but not totally illogical. I know that I wanted to squish that guy with the 120db pipes on his cruiser who gave it a blast right next to my open window so loud my ears rang. I didn't do it, but I certainly gave it some thought.

 

[Mr. Nice]

I'm not an angel. I do break the speed limit and I do take corners in a spirited manner.

However, those bikers were doing 100+ in what looks to be a ~45mph zone, which I never do. I never cross the double yellow. I never pass leaving as little room as those bikers did, forcing an oncoming car to slam the brakes and/or swerve. I always slow down when I see an oncoming car.

I'm not going to defend people riding like they have a death wish but, on a competent sportbike it's easy to top 100mph in a very short distance. My NC Miata moves like a turtle in comparison to the 2000 Bandit 600s I used to own. The Bandit used to be a carbureted, air/oil cooled, partially faired standard motorcycle. In the world of 600cc four cylinder motorcycles, it's slow.

I won't condone breaking the law, but it's exceedingly easy to go well over 100mph in places that it simply wouldn't be possible in a car. Crossing on a double yellow line may be illegal, but when you have the power and maneuverability of a sportbike (or even a partially faired standard) a double yellow line can become more of an annoyance used to generate revenues than something used to increase the safety of the driving public.

 

[GRtak]

I think in this case it is easy to agree both sides were a bit assholish. But clearly, the guy in the truck was a piece of shit, he is really lucky he did not wreck the guy on the bike. That would of meant jail time instead of a rock being thrown at the truck.

 

[BlaRo]

So, CB550F update!

I got the bike back from my mechanic. He had dragged ass on it for three weeks (busy guy), but since May he's synced the carbs, adjusted the cables, reset the timing, tightened down the spark plugs and gapped the points. It runs like a champ now, and I rode it back home today where it proceeded to evacuate its entire gas tank through the carburetor overflow lines. (Which I recovered.)

Other notes: the front end is extremely bouncy over anything. The fork tubes are leaking and I'll have to plonk down $300 on new ones, now sooner than later. I'll also need to fix the dent in the tank and install some badges, weld up the exhaust permanently, and eventually spring for a Dyna S system (hopefully I can use that with the coils I already have, which are out of a Gold Wing). The tach doesn't work, and the thing shook so bad the speedometer needle spun to 140mph, then flew off.

Oh, and it's officially christened the Thrustmaster??. Deal with it, bitches.

 

[Rossco]

The tach doesn't work, and the thing shook so bad the speedometer needle spun to 140mph, then flew off.

Time to give Larry another call? :lol:

 

[LeVeL]

The tach doesn't work, and the thing shook so bad the speedometer needle spun to 140mph, then flew off.

 

[hansvonaxion]

Cool beans.

 

[nsx_23]

 

[Redliner]

Noooooo...the poor Ducati.

 

[Shawnw]

Heres my recent two wheel addition as it currently sits.

And how it looks together;

I know its a not a real bike but its something to wrench on and once its running it will make a good around town runabout for my girlfriend.

Its a 1989 LML Vespa (made in India under Piaggio), 150cc, Four-speed.

The guy I bought it from had it sitting in his garage for the last year. He was too busy with his 1940s Plymouth and 1960s Mercury to pay any attention to the scooter.

So far I've pulled the head and split the case and everything looked good. The carb has been cleaned and is ready to go back on. I've got a new clutch waiting to be put in and then adjust the brakes, clean the tank, and hopefully fire it up.

I could have bought a running driving 50cc scooter, but that would have cost over double, I would have looked like a bear on a tricycle, and I want to be able to do at least 90kph.

I'll probably end up taking it completly apart and painting it at school next fall. Once its all prettied up I'll park it in a hipster heavy location and sell it (possibly at a decent profit given the market here) and start looking for a proper bike. I'd love a triumph but I'll probably end up with a old Honda

 

[nist7]

So I finally took and passed a MSF Basic Rider Course! Now onto the DMV tomorrow morning to pass the written test and get the "M" endorsement on my driver's license. The most difficult skills to learn were slow tight turns, especially the U-turns which I got points docked off for going outside the painted lines but it wasn't so much so.

And obviously now I am in the market for a bike. Right I'm looking at the Suzuki SV650. Definitely no 'crotch rocket' unless it is the 250cc (Ninja, new CBR250). Before I was set on just starting off with a 250cc but right now I am tempted to go for a little bigger. I will not do any long road trips but mostly commute from home to school and to nearby locales (within 20miles) and also just some riding for practice of course.

Here's a 2006 Suzuki SV650S on my local craigslist: http://kansascity.craigslist.org/mcy/2435519154.html

Asking price is $3800, good/bad price?

2006 Suzuki Sv650S in excellent condition with 10,200 miles with several aftermarket parts like m4 slip on exhast, sv seat, tinted wind screen, front blinkers, led brake light/turn signals, seat cowl.