The General Motorbikers Discussion Thread

Did some test rides with a few bikes last Sunday, the first of which was the BMW R1200GSA LC. I've been wanting to ride one of these for a while and it didn't disappoint.

 
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Remember the old joke about the guy on a bicycle being able to keep pace with and pass a Harley?

F6peUco.jpg
 
Remember the old joke about the guy on a bicycle being able to keep pace with and pass a Harley?

F6peUco.jpg

And that's in the rain, so the bikers are probably holding back a bit :D

DaHitch, what's your recording setup like, what do you use? I went through some of your videos, they're good :)

I've got a GoPro mount on top of my helmet, I am thinking of placing one on the side, like you have, but not really sure what a good position would be.
 
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That's going to be the case on most high strung water cooled models. Almost all of them have very little oil capacity and lots of high revs equate to frequent valve adjustments. You will want to be changing the oil every 1000-2000 miles on pretty much any thumper though. Even the anvil like XR650L likes to have it's oil done every 2-3k. The only one I know of that you can really ignore like a street bike is the WR250R/x. That is basically 1/4 of the R1 engine and it has the best maintenance schedule that I know in that class.

Another vote for the WR250X. It's on my short list for dual sports. Like CJ mentioned, these higher powered supermotos are running more race oriented engines, i.e. The types that require top end rebuilds every couple oil changes. Something to keep in mind when looking at the more exotic stuff.


I've had my WR for 2 years now, and it's a great little supermoto.

Perfect for riding around town, or on very tight twisty roads. But it is the worst bike in the world if you plan on doing any highway riding lasting more than 15 minutes. Also forget about riding with an adult passenger, the brakes are not meant to deal with the additional weight.

Maintenance is basically a non-issue. Change the oil and filter and the beginning of the season and every few thousand miles, like any sport bike.

Mine is slightly modified (Athena 290cc big bore kit and PC3), and geared shorter than stock, so it has a lot of punch bellow 50mph, but above that, you might as well be riding a moped. My top speed is 90 mph.
 
DaHitch, what's your recording setup like, what do you use? I went through some of your videos, they're good :)

I bought a Drift Ghost-S, because it kind of sits flush with the helmet. I also have a microphone (a simple clip-on style one) which I've hiding in the cheekpads of the helmet. I need to find a better solution though. My voice sounds a bit too muffled and at higher speeds wind noise kind of takes over.
Also, thanks. Please like, comment, subscribe and all that! ;)

I've got a GoPro mount on top of my helmet, I am thinking of placing one on the side, like you have, but not really sure what a good position would be.

GoPro on top of the helmet is not a bad POV (I did that when I went karting), but it can look a bit unstable because it sits so high up. Up/down movements are very exaggerated because the lens sits so far from the point around which your head moves. (Your neck. :p)
That's why I prefer the camera on the side, which I also did when I went karting, but a GoPro in that position really sticks out like a soar thumb. At high speeds you can actually feel it pulling your helmet to the side. That's why for a GoPro I'd recommend sticking it on your chin. It's something I see more and more and the POV is really nice because it sits level with your head, isn't off-centre, movements don't get exaggerated, it doesn't sit in the wind like on top or off the side and in general it just feels natural to watch the footage.
It works really well with a full-face helmet, it can be done on a flip-up style helmet, but obviously if you say stop at a junction or red light and you flip up the lid to let in some fresh air, you won't be filming anything interesting. :p
Most videos by Schaaf are shot in this way.
 
I bought a Drift Ghost-S, because it kind of sits flush with the helmet. I also have a microphone (a simple clip-on style one) which I've hiding in the cheekpads of the helmet. I need to find a better solution though. My voice sounds a bit too muffled and at higher speeds wind noise kind of takes over.
Also, thanks. Please like, comment, subscribe and all that! ;)



GoPro on top of the helmet is not a bad POV (I did that when I went karting), but it can look a bit unstable because it sits so high up. Up/down movements are very exaggerated because the lens sits so far from the point around which your head moves. (Your neck. :p)
That's why I prefer the camera on the side, which I also did when I went karting, but a GoPro in that position really sticks out like a soar thumb. At high speeds you can actually feel it pulling your helmet to the side. That's why for a GoPro I'd recommend sticking it on your chin. It's something I see more and more and the POV is really nice because it sits level with your head, isn't off-centre, movements don't get exaggerated, it doesn't sit in the wind like on top or off the side and in general it just feels natural to watch the footage.
It works really well with a full-face helmet, it can be done on a flip-up style helmet, but obviously if you say stop at a junction or red light and you flip up the lid to let in some fresh air, you won't be filming anything interesting. :p
Most videos by Schaaf are shot in this way.

That looks like a cool little camera.
Yeah, the on-top mount sticks out and it does pull my head at higher speed, which is not that pleasant on longer drives.
It always seemed a bit silly, putting the GP on the chin, but I'm now actually considering it. I think there is space on my helmet, I'll try it out and if it fits I'll stick one mount there. Might take the top one completely off.
The Schaaf videos look good, thx for the tip, I've got a weekend ride coming up, hopefully I'll get some good shots.
 
So I found a beautiful '98 VFR that I might buy in a week or so.... :)
 
I know, the guy took the ad down for me but he's had it up for a while. said he's only had trade offers and the usual Craigslist mouth breathers, I think he was surprised to find a human being on the other end of the phone line when I called.
 
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I'll admit that if I had proper pants I wouldn't have hurt my knee when I had my crash and I will never ride again without FULL proper gear.
With that said, what happened? He panicked? Target fixation?
 
I'll admit that if I had proper pants I wouldn't have hurt my knee when I had my crash and I will never ride again without FULL proper gear.
With that said, what happened? He panicked? Target fixation?

Rode into a blind corner too fast with bad body position, ran wide while simultaneously discovering fire truck, target fixated while panic braking, locked up the brakes and that was all she wrote. Plus treating a two way road as a one way.
 
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That dude is lucky for sure, I will never understand why someone would ride like that on public roads...
 
That dude is lucky for sure, I will never understand why someone would ride like that on public roads...

Lopez had only owned his motorcycle for seven months at the time of the crash. Watching the video was like watching a movie about someone else, he says.
 
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