The General Motorbikers Discussion Thread

[Spectre]

Yeah, imo they just look like a misshapen lump of iron. Definitely not pretty.

Yes, the old BMW airhead boxers look like a beer keg that has a couple of finned cylinders sticking out.

At least they mostly fixed the 'looks goofy' problem with the oilhead boxers.

Unfortunately, they then let Chris Bangle at their bikes so instead of just the engine looking goofy, the whole bike does now.

Look, it's a Cylon's head mounted on a motorcycle!

 

[BlaRo]

And Moto Guzzi's cylinders are just tits that haven't sagged as low as BMW's yet.

 

[avanti]

And Moto Guzzi's cylinders are just tits that haven't sagged as low as BMW's yet.

:lol:

 

[shad_68]

At least they mostly fixed the 'looks goofy' problem with the oilhead boxers.
[...]instead of just the engine looking goofy, the whole bike does now.

When I read that first sentence I immediately thought "... but then they've made the whole bike look goofy." :lol:

 

[Blind_Io]

https://pic.armedcats.net/b/bl/blind_io/2011/01/23/cylon.png

https://pic.armedcats.net/b/bl/blind_io/2011/01/23/2010-Honda-Interceptor-VFR1200F-Front.jpg

 

[tigger]

https://pic.armedcats.net/b/bl/blind_io/2011/01/23/cylon.png

Must spread more indiscriminate point defense turret fire around before giving it to either of you

 

[Spectre]

https://pic.armedcats.net/b/bl/blind_io/2011/01/23/cylon.png

https://pic.armedcats.net/b/bl/blind_io/2011/01/23/2010-Honda-Interceptor-VFR1200F-Front.jpg

Yes, but 1: That's the modernized Cylon head that actually looks pretty cool, and 2: It doesn't look like they just slapped it on the front of a bike that doesn't have any other styling elements in common with it. It's integrated into the styling and the rest of the bike carries out the general theme.

That said, I don't like the styling much and I wouldn't buy it.... but it doesn't look like someone just slapped a giant old Cylon head on the front of a motorcycle as with the BMW. I mean, seriously, the Cylon head on the BMW is all out of proportion and doesn't even try to match the rest of the bike. It's awful.

It's so bad that this bike is only slightly worse in terms of styling integrity.

 

[Redliner]

It just HAD to be a Hayabusa, the #1 choice for motorcycle ricing...

 

[Spectre]

Well, they need the power to haul around all of the heavy chrome and other garbage they tack onto them.

Unrelated: Someone with more skills and balls than most riders going through the infamous squid filter and successfully dragging elbow on the street.

Still image this link if the above does not work: http://www.flickr.com/photos/capfacsurf/5358712401/

I wouldn't do it and I think it's dangerous to pull that on the street, but I gotta give him credit for skill and courage. Plus he ended up with a lot of reserve traction by doing so - and didn't get nailed by the squid filter.

Also, this.

The pilot's got some pretty serious skill to be running that way with a passenger. And we seriously need to clone the girl, because she's doing everything right for a passenger AND geared up - need more girls like her; I suspect she rides her own bike, too.
Passenger pics at the YouTube page.

 

[Redliner]

Also, nice to see a girl looking sexy in motorcycle-related pictures without wearing a bikini or looking silly.

 

[47]

That reminds me, I should get a leather suit for my GF!

 

[Blind_Io]

We are hoping to get Kiki a track suit next month at the Cycle Gear "After Hours" sale.

Also, I went in to buy some crush washers and nearly got talked into a VFR1200. It's a good thing I'm poor!
Kiki, on the other hand, had to resist the urge to put down a deposit on a CBR250.

 

[Rossco]

Something to help with winter withdrawal (for the snowed in ones)

 

[hansvonaxion]

Sold the bike, now the cash is burning a hole in my pocket. Hope I can keep enough of it to get a car and pay for the trip back to Oz in a few months.

 

[Remizov]

Something to help with winter withdrawal (for the snowed in ones)
...

Visually stunning vid...awesome stuff. I'm lucky enough to be in the UK so I can get back to riding...cold but no ice!

 

[Spectre]

Moved this over from Random Thoughts (Auto):

I already replaced the tail/brake light on the VT with an LED bulb I got at the auto-parts store. It was a tight fit, looked a bit brighter, but the light was more concentrated in one area of the lense then dispersed.

I'm guessing it looked like this?

Those only 'fire' in one direction, away from the socket. The light hitting the reflector is 'spillage' from the lateral sides of the LEDs. Mostly it just creates a 'hot spot' of light on the lens while not significantly illuminating the rest of the housing.

What you need are bulb replacements that 'fire' radially as well, such as these. The upper type is the one I bought for the 700 a while back. The lower is the newer 'SMD' type (named after the surface mount device LEDs that it uses) which are even more powerful, bright and power efficient; I would have used those if they were widely available and proven at the time I was shopping for one.

These radial types more closely mimic the light output pattern of a standard bulb and therefore can be used where focused spots are unwanted, or you need to light up an entire parabolic reflector (see my recent posts on my XJR thread for an example of the results). Even the older radial array type that I currently have in the taillight of the 700 is both brighter and more power efficient than the stock bulb (while not getting hot enough to heat and damage the aged lens).

I used 194-equivalent SMD radial types to replace the instrument lighting on the 700, something that's notoriously difficult to get LEDs to do because of their directionality (and the fact that the 700's pod requires laterally projected and reflected light in relationship to the socket - the "front" of the bulb is blocked and doesn't actually illuminate anything!) Behold the results.

Another thing was that the "tail-light out" light on the dash came on. Pardon the James Mayish question here, but how do you handle that? Do you remove the waring bulb? add a resistor? ignore it?

Easiest way to deal with it is, yes, just removing the bulb. There's another way to bypass it, but it's not necessarily worth bothering with.

 

[Rossco]

Moved this over from Random Thoughts (Auto):



I'm guessing it looked like this?

Yes.

What you need are bulb replacements that 'fire' radially as well, such as these. The upper type is the one I bought for the 700 a while back. The lower is the newer 'SMD' type (named after the surface mount device LEDs that it uses) which are even more powerful, bright and power efficient; I would have used those if they were widely available and proven at the time I was shopping for one.

Ah thanks that looks like it'll be much better in terms of directed light output. Was it a challenge to get them to fit into the housing? I mean the "socket" part I'm sure wasn't a problem, but the little hole for where the "globe" part of the light seemed a bit small for when I installed those cheapos. Did the SMD go in without a hassle or did you have to do a bit of cutting/filing?
Thanks again!

 

[TBoneUs]

So I dont know if this is the right thread, but I figured two wheels is two wheels.

So last night I got an idea. I do a ton of short trips, ie under three miles, through this little town by campus that has a blanket 25/30 mph speed limit. I am sure I am killing my car doing this, I take at least two of them a day, often more. However it isnt exactly bike friendly for a variety of reasons. My question is how cheap can one get a little runabout moped? It can be fairly crappy as long as it is reliable and can go between 20 and 30. Also in Texas would you need a motorcycle license for that? Because if so that is kindof a deal breaker as I dont want to spend the time/money to get one. Also what kind of insurance would they require if any?

 

[Spectre]

Ah thanks that looks like it'll be much better in terms of directed light output. Was it a challenge to get them to fit into the housing? I mean the "socket" part I'm sure wasn't a problem, but the little hole for where the "globe" part of the light seemed a bit small for when I installed those cheapos.

As with most Hondas, you replace the stop/taillight on my 700 by removing the lens and then removing the bulb from the fixed socket. Fits just fine. The only fitment issue is the height, and the older radial I used is shorter than a 1157/1034. You can choose an SMD that matches the 1157 height, that's shorter, or that's taller. Most of them will be thinner so that won't be an issue.

Did the SMD go in without a hassle or did you have to do a bit of cutting/filing?
Thanks again!

No hassle at all - the 5 SMD units like this one are about the same or smaller in all dimensions than the 194 bulbs they replaced, so they went into the sockets easily and didn't have any clearance problems going into the holes in the instrument panel or into the aftermarket turn signals. Be advised that larger SMD "panels" are better, the smaller panels emit a lot less light. Note that these 194s use the 'large' panels.

So I dont know if this is the right thread, but I figured two wheels is two wheels.

So last night I got an idea. I do a ton of short trips, ie under three miles, through this little town by campus that has a blanket 25/30 mph speed limit. I am sure I am killing my car doing this, I take at least two of them a day, often more. However it isnt exactly bike friendly for a variety of reasons. My question is how cheap can one get a little runabout moped? It can be fairly crappy as long as it is reliable and can go between 20 and 30. Also in Texas would you need a motorcycle license for that? Because if so that is kindof a deal breaker as I dont want to spend the time/money to get one. Also what kind of insurance would they require if any?

For anyone over 16, Texas requires full M licensing for mopeds, which means the RiderCourse. You also have to insure them as with any other road vehicle. Insurance is cheap, though. So are scooters, which can be had for less than $500 sometimes; you can get your RiderCourse out of the way in a weekend.

 

[TBoneUs]

For anyone over 16, Texas requires full M licensing for mopeds, which means the RiderCourse. You also have to insure them as with any other road vehicle. Insurance is cheap, though. So are scooters, which can be had for less than $500 sometimes; you can get your RiderCourse out of the way in a weekend.

Well with the cost of the class ect it pushes it outside my budget. Oh well, was worth a thought.