Any motorcyclists on this forum?

[Laserjock]

I have my license but haven’t used it since my Interceptor days.

Other than the Ninja 250 the kids used at college.

 

[Rottmannash]

@Laserjock what year interceptor did you have?

 

[adc]

Just found this thread; missed it before. Rider here too, in any weather (you may have heard that it rains a lot in the US NW), though these days I refuse to go without ABS, traction control, and an airbag vest along with all the other usual gear.

To bring this sort of back to on-topic: there's no such thing as hi-fi in a helmet at speed, but I do the best I can with Cardo's decent helmet speakers, and I wear earplugs nearly all the time on the bike.

 

[TimF]

1969 Yamaha DT1-B 250
1971 Suzuki Titan 500
1972 Suzuki Savage 250
19?? Yamaha RD350 (used)
1979 Suzuki GS750 (red)
2002 Suzuki Bandit1200 in the garage ready to go right now

Total miles, around 150,000

Fuel Tip:

For any engine that doesn't get used often, fill with the no-ethanol choice at your local station that carries it.

https://www.pure-gas.org/

The Yamaha RD350. I rode one once. Lightweight. The throttle response seemed non-linear. At a certain speed and rev level it took off. In a way, the BMW four cylinder bikes like the K1 and other K bikes had a related but not the same quality in that they were clumsy and lunky up to a certain speed but once you hit about 50 mph they completely changed character and became wondrous. The Australian riders, like riders in the western USA, have the opportunity to experience what it is like to drive in one direction at very high speed for long periods of time without running out of road or into the ocean, or being run down by cops. If you like to GO just for the sake of going then Nevada is your place, and parts of Montana. After a long ride at speed you can get a little sea-sick when you stop and get off your bike. Once I stopped at a whore house in Nevada to look at the place and get a Coke. I needed a break. I went to the bar and got a coke and they gave me a tour of the place with their various exotic rooms (i.e., the African room). While they showed me around someone stole my medications that I carried in my motorcycle jacket. What a naive putz I was. If you go to a pirates den don't expect anything other than pirates.

 

[steve59]

2 weeks ago i rode from chicago(burbs) to phoenix and back.900 each day heading west and due to weather 1000 each day coming home. I can't say enough about the k1600 gtl for putting down hwy miles.

 

[TimW]

I have the 45mm JBL 'speakers' in my Shoei RF-SR. They sound like unmitigated garbage. That helmet is quiet enough that I rode without hearing protection for a while but I knew it wasn't great for my hearing. Unfortunately the Shoei is so tight that I can't get any IEMs to stay in while pulling it on.

Recently I got an Arai XD-4 that fits slightly looser and I have been able to get it on without tearing my Etymotic ER4SR's out of my ears, most of the time. Half the time the cable gets yanked and the rubber part of the cable puts pressure on my tragus causing irritation after a while. I would like to try custom molded IEMs but I have heard mixed things about their performance and longevity. Also the Cardo Packtalk Black distorts heavily. I thought it was just the JBL speakers but when using the Ety's I can hear major distortion in bass heavy tracks. I really wish there was a reasonable audiophile solution here that included comms and hearing protection.

 

[Rottmannash]

Just found this thread; missed it before. Rider here too, in any weather (you may have heard that it rains a lot in the US NW), though these days I refuse to go without ABS, traction control, and an airbag vest along with all the other usual gear.

To bring this sort of back to on-topic: there's no such thing as hi-fi in a helmet at speed, but I do the best I can with Cardo's decent helmet speakers, and I wear earplugs nearly all the time on the bike.

I didn't think this topic was about audio-only riding motorcycles...

 

[Certainkindoffool]

My 2016 sdr is getting up there in miles

That is a nice machine. If it had a larger tank, I would have preferred it.

May I ask what, "up there in miles" is? There are wildly varying reports on reliability/durability of the 1290s.

I've accepted that this bike is just going to cost me more than I am accustomed to.

 

[Certainkindoffool]

I own KTM Super Duke 1290 (2018), rode it daily to work, however, haven't been riding much due to WFH and 2yr old kid.

My injury history makes owning a Super Duke untenable.

But, I REALLY want to take one out for a spin.

I was fortunate that my wife has been riding since before we met. She's encouraged it, even with little ones at home.

 

[Blumlein 88]

The Yamaha RD350. I rode one once. Lightweight. The throttle response seemed non-linear. At a certain speed and rev level it took off. In a way, the BMW four cylinder bikes like the K1 and other K bikes had a related but not the same quality in that they were clumsy and lunky up to a certain speed but once you hit about 50 mph they completely changed character and became wondrous. The Australian riders, like riders in the western USA, have the opportunity to experience what it is like to drive in one direction at very high speed for long periods of time without running out of road or into the ocean, or being run down by cops. If you like to GO just for the sake of going then Nevada is your place, and parts of Montana. After a long ride at speed you can get a little sea-sick when you stop and get off your bike. Once I stopped at a whore house in Nevada to look at the place and get a Coke. I needed a break. I went to the bar and got a coke and they gave me a tour of the place with their various exotic rooms (i.e., the African room). While they showed me around someone stole my medications that I carried in my motorcycle jacket. What a naive putz I was. If you go to a pirates den don't expect anything other than pirates.

I had an RD350. Yes the throttle response was uneven being a two stroke. But it was a fun bike with more performance than people expected from a 350. Did a few things to the motor which upped its top speed to 111 mph. The speedo was off though and it showed 120 mph. Took the center stand off because it drug too often in corners. For a year or so was my only transportation. I hate cold weather, but you just bundled up and made do.

 

[Destination: Moon]

@Laserjock what year interceptor did you have?

Jumping in - I had a 2002 6th gen in silver. Loved that bike. w ABS - so incredibly smooth..... And more than fast enough for me

 

[MRC01]

I've lost 2 friends hit by cars, one while walking down the street, the other while riding a bicycle.
Why always the stories?
That's the danger we accept for riding.
Or just walking out the front door.

I get it. I've ridden a couple hundred thousand miles on motorbikes over the years, from vintage 1970s UJMs to Harleys to sport/race bikes.
One reason I survived is because every time I walked up to my bike, I told myself this is the ride that will kill you, unless you have your head 100% in the game. And a healthy dose of luck.

The kicker is not just the risk but the risk profile. For example, general aviation is roughly similar risk to riding motorcycles. But in GA, you don't depend on someone else paying attention. There are almost no situations where the "other guy" can hurt you. If something bad happens, it's virtually always your own fault or something you could have prevented. OTOH, the friends & family I've seen seriously injured or killed on motorcycles were all the other guy's fault. Car suddenly turning left into your path, rear-ending you, or whatever.

Two reasons for my post:
1. Reminder to be careful, from one old experienced motorcyclist to the others. "There are old riders, and bold riders, but no old & bold riders."
2. See how riders react to such a message, to give me ideas for further conversations with my recently crippled friend.

 

[LTig]

I had an RD350. Yes the throttle response was uneven being a two stroke.

Probably similar to the RD250 of a friend of my brother I once rode. Up to 6000 RPM nothing happened, and then you got the kick in the ass up to 9000 rpm. Not my preferred style, I had the SR500 which you could drive from 1500 to 6500 RPM.

 

[Blumlein 88]

I get it. I've ridden a couple hundred thousand miles on motorbikes over the years, from vintage 1970s UJMs to Harleys to sport/race bikes.
One reason I survived is because every time I walked up to my bike, I told myself this is the ride that will kill you, unless you have your head 100% in the game. And a healthy dose of luck.

The kicker is not just the risk but the risk profile. For example, general aviation is roughly similar risk to riding motorcycles. But in GA, you don't depend on someone else paying attention. There are almost no situations where the "other guy" can hurt you. If something bad happens, it's virtually always your own fault or something you could have prevented. OTOH, the friends & family I've seen seriously injured or killed on motorcycles were all the other guy's fault. Car suddenly turning left into your path, rear-ending you, or whatever.

Two reasons for my post:
1. Reminder to be careful, from one old experienced motorcyclist to the others. "There are old riders, and bold riders, but no old & bold riders."
2. See how riders react to such a message, to give me ideas for further conversations with my recently crippled friend.

It is the rise of cell phones and the large number of people driving cars almost oblivious to their surroundings that made me give up bike riding. Nothing I can do about such people causing a considerable danger to me. If self driving is really worked out and becomes common, I'll go back to riding if I live so long. The risk profile became too much in other people's incapable hands for me to be comfortable with it.

 

[NiagaraPete]

Former HD rider. Accident, blown out left shoulder, years of pain and now arthritis.

Funny thing I’m saving for a new bike.

 

[thewas]

Probably similar to the RD250 of a friend of my brother I once rode. Up to 6000 RPM nothing happened, and then you got the kick in the ass up to 9000 rpm. Not my preferred style, I had the SR500 which you could drive from 1500 to 6500 RPM.

This "binary" response behaviour of 2 stroke bikes like that RD250 and RD350 was responsible for many accidents of young owners back in those days.

 

[Blumlein 88]

Probably similar to the RD250 of a friend of my brother I once rode. Up to 6000 RPM nothing happened, and then you got the kick in the ass up to 9000 rpm. Not my preferred style, I had the SR500 which you could drive from 1500 to 6500 RPM.

Yeah, my next bike was a Honda 750 Four which was altogether different in character.

Now if you want peaky throttle response try one of those 1970's Kawaski H2 3 cylinder two stroke 750's. Just be careful till you understand it a bit. Suzuki made a water cooled 750 2 stroke 3 cylinder and managed to actually make it relatively calm by comparison.

 

[LTig]

The kicker is not just the risk but the risk profile. For example, general aviation is roughly similar risk to riding motorcycles.

In what respect? Hours or miles? I've always heard from statistics that aviation (big passenger airplanes) is less risky than car driving based on miles, and I'm sure motor cylce riding is more risky than car driving based on miles.

But in GA, you don't depend on someone else paying attention. There are almost no situations where the "other guy" can hurt you. If something bad happens, it's virtually always your own fault or something you could have prevented. OTOH, the friends & family I've seen seriously injured or killed on motorcycles were all the other guy's fault. Car suddenly turning left into your path, rear-ending you, or whatever.

Two reasons for my post:
1. Reminder to be careful, from one old experienced motorcyclist to the others. "There are old riders, and bold riders, but no old & bold riders."
2. See how riders react to such a message, to give me ideas for further conversations with my recently crippled friend.

True words. You could say the same about mountaineers. In alpinism one speaks of objective dangers (stone fall, avalanches, bad weather, ...) and subjective dangers (overassessment of ones personal ability, decisions based on current mood, ...) and often the subjective ones are those that lead to accidents.

Indeed any hobby has inherent risks, and it's a personal decision to balance risk against pleasure. Lucky are those who base this decision on valid statistics so they really know what kind of risk they accept.

 

[LTig]

Yeah, my next bike was a Honda 750 Four which was altogether different in character.

Now if you want peaky throttle response try one of those 1970's Kawaski H2 3 cylinder two stroke 750's. Just be careful till you understand it a bit. Suzuki made a water cooled 750 2 stroke 3 cylinder and managed to actually make it relatively calm by comparison.

Oh yes. I knew a guy who had the Kawa. Even in 3rd gear it was easy to lift the front wheel when accelarating too much.

One year later he was killed in an accident (riding a Honda 900) but he was one of those crazy drivers who overturned in curves on narrow mountain roads on the wrong side of the road and drove 130 km/h within city boundaries (50 km/h speed limit). Recipe for desaster.

 

[MRC01]

In what respect? Hours or miles? I've always heard from statistics that aviation (big passenger airplanes) is less risky than car driving based on miles, and I'm sure motor cylce riding is more risky than car driving based on miles.

General aviation = private non-commercial aviation. Much riskier / less safe than big commercial passenger airlines. The risk is different if you compute it by miles or by hours, and it varies a lot by type of flying, by airplane, etc. but in any case the total incident & fatality rates are in the same ballpark as motorcycling which is why I said it's roughly similar.

Big commercial passenger airlines are a whole 'nuther thing. Much safer than cars, if not the very safest way to travel, it's up there on the short list.

... Indeed any hobby has inherent risks, and it's a personal decision to balance risk against pleasure. Lucky are those who base this decision on valid statistics so they really know what kind of risk they accept.

True. It's not only assessing the risks, but also ways to mitigate them. Some risks can be eliminated, some can be mitigated, and others you just have to understand and accept.