The General Motorbikers Discussion Thread

GRtak said:
You're an evil man. Way to make me look slighty insane. :p
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I was going to ask how your comment related to me wanting an RC8 :p

So much want:

90ac869c2cRC8R-4.jpg.jpg
 
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Happy 126th birthday, motorcycle!

http://www.wired.com/thisdayintech/...+wired/index+(Wired:+Index+3+(Top+Stories+2))

https://pic.armedcats.net/b/bl/blind_io/2011/08/30/Gottlieb_Daimler_motorcycle_580x.jpeg

1885: Gottlieb Daimler patents what is generally considered to be the first true motorcycle.
Daimler, the automotive pioneer usually associated with building the world?s first successful internal combustion engine (and, subsequently, the first automobile), staked his claim of priority in the two-wheeler world a year before developing his famous auto.
However, the idea of a motor-driven, two-wheeled vehicle did not originate with Daimler, nor was his the first such contraption to see the road. Sylvester Roper, who spent the U.S. Civil War working in a Union armory, built a primitive ?motorcycle? as early as 1867. Roper?s supporters ? and he has more than a few ? argue that he should be credited with building the world?s first motorcycle.


What gives credibility to Daimler?s claim of developing the first ?true? motorcycle is the fact that it was gasoline-driven. Roper?s post?Civil War hog, with a tiny two-cylinder engine, was powered by steam.


Daimler?s motorcycle was essentially a wooden bicycle frame (with foot pedals removed) powered by a one-cylinder Otto-cycle engine. It may have also included a spray-type carburetor, then under development for use in the Daimler automobile that appeared in 1886.
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I didn?t know it was made before the automobile.
And it is amazing to think 126 years turned it into this:
bmw-s1000rr-carbon-edition-1.jpg
 
I got a chance to ride that. Cramped as hell for someone my size, but a fantastic bike.
 
Blind_Io said:
I got a chance to ride that. Cramped as hell for someone my size, but a fantastic bike.
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Am I turning into a Euro fanboy or does the BMW looks a lot better made than the regular japanese sportbike?
I had this impression during the latest moto saloon.
 
Redliner said:
I am not talking about aesthetics, but build quality.
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Uh, that would be a no.


Magnetic%20Plug.jpg


P1010088.jpg


BMW S1000RR drain plugs, check out the ridiculous amount of metal shavings adhered to them. Last time I saw a bike that did that, it was a pre-upgrades URAL direct out of the crate from Mother Russia; per S1000RR forums, it gets worse with every oil change.

If the high numbers of DNFs for the S1000RR last year in WSB wasn't indicator enough, look at these threads below. (Also, reading BMW's typically arrogant customer service replies is instructive.) Metal shavings on the plug, gearbox failures, even engine failures.

http://londonbikers.com/forums/Topic704572-35-1.aspx

http://www.s1000rrforum.com/forum/maintenance/3109-metal-magnetic-drain-plug.html

http://www.s1000rrforum.com/forum/b...1000rr-900mi-complete-mechanical-failure.html


Also, wildly varying dyno numbers, etc., etc. So, yeah, NO, they're not better built than the Big Four Japanese bikes. They do look impressive on paper, though.
 
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Wow...:jawdrop:

Seems I was fooled by the shiny metal and nice welding.
 
Redliner said:
Wow...:jawdrop:

Seems I was fooled by the shiny metal and nice welding.
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Well, now we know what they sacrificed to get a supposed about 200 horsepower (and that claimed up to 20hp boost over everyone else in the field) out of a literbike mill - reliability, longevity, and safety (apparently more than one has failed by pitching a rod through the crankcase and dumping oil right in the path of the rear tire, others have seized up at speed) despite their claims to the contrary.

Yamaha's R-series is known to sacrifice longevity to get higher power returns at times, but they're pretty upfront about the tradeoff. A couple of Yamaha engineers said that if they tuned their engines to get Honda levels of longevity, they'd be at or below Honda's power levels. However, not even Yamaha adds that much more horsepower over the field at one fell swoop, usually it's an incremental increase, and many have been wondering how BMW did it while keeping all the other considerations balanced out. Now we have the answer - they didn't.

Yamaha's usual engine failure mode is worn-out piston rings with the occasional holed or cracked piston, too. Not having the inside of the engine come out and say hello, either all at once or one metal fragment at a time.
 
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Redliner said:
Wow...:jawdrop:

Seems I was fooled by the shiny metal and nice welding.
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Looks like alot of that shiny metal found it's way onto the drain plug. :lol:
 
Rossco said:
Looks like alot of that shiny metal found it's way onto the drain plug. :lol:
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I'd also point out that despite all the gimcrackery gadgets and tech on the bike and it's much vaunted about-200-hp rating... it's still slower than a box-stock CBR1000RR C-ABS, which is slightly cheaper. ($14800 for the 2011 S1000RR, $14399 for the 2011 CBR1000RR C-ABS. If you want it without ABS, the CBR drops to $13399.)

Maybe BMW should have spent less time and money on the gadgets and 'streamlined iDrive' and more time on the 'motor' part of the motorcycle. It's pretty obvious that the motor isn't where all the money is going to. :p
 
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Spectre said:
I'd also point out that despite all the gimcrackery gadgets and tech on the bike and it's much vaunted about-200-hp rating... it's still slower than a box-stock CBR1000RR C-ABS, which is slightly cheaper. ($14800 for the 2011 S1000RR, $14399 for the 2011 CBR1000RR C-ABS. If you want it without ABS, the CBR drops to $13399.)

Maybe BMW should have spent less time and money on the gadgets and 'streamlined iDrive' and more time on the 'motor' part of the motorcycle. It's pretty obvious that the motor isn't where all the money is going to. :p
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I wondered too how did they managed to achieve so much more hp than the Japanese companies that are playing that game for much longer. There we have it.
Also, funny that you mention prices, because here it?s even worse.
BMW S1000RR= R$75,185
Honda CBR1000RR= R$59,408
 
Dammit, local riding school is booked out for a month :(
 
Since phyrefile works for me again, I'd like to graphically demonstrate my mishap last week:





One of the two bolts that were holding the mudgard in place, got lost.
Maybe that is why they originally were four.
 
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I think in a few months, somebody's going to have to write me a Ducati Monster Buyer's Guide. :think:
 
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