Any motorcyclists on this forum?

[TimF]

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.

You did it at the right time of year I think. Before the summer vacation travel and before the hot weather.

 

[Sal1950]

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.

Hell of a ride, I know you had a great time.
At my age, those long fast tours are sadly behind me now.

I'm not scared of dying and I don't really care.
If it's peace you find in dying, well, then let the time be near.
Give me my freedom for as long as I be.
All I ask of living is to have no chains on me.
All I ask of living is to have no chains on me,

 

[Rottmannash]

Hell of a ride, I know you had a great time.
At my age, those long fast tours are sadly behind me now.

My butt hurts just thinking about 900-1000 miles/day. It was so hot today around 10:00 AM I had to stop riding.

 

[Sal1950]

My butt hurts just thinking about 900-1000 miles/day. It was so hot today around 10:00 AM I had to stop riding.

Same here in FL. I'm not a morning person so in the summer I wait till early evening to go for a cruse and try to be back by dark. Eyesight ain't so great in the dark any more.
Man is sucks to get old.

 

[steve59]

I am really attracted to the ducati v4s. The maintenance schedule looks affordable for a ducati so I started reading reviews and guys are claiming 60 miles to low fuel warning! I think about replacing my gen 1 sdr but most owners say the new one has a tighter rider triangle and the way the new motor puts power to the ground feels tame compared to the original. Then there's the supercharged kawasaki. All these nakeds are just geriatric sport bikes geared for the street and I want one of each.

I sold my dads property in St pete because while I loved the beach it really isn't a rider friendly area and now am working my wife on a few acres in NC. I think if I can afford to buy her a couple horses i'll be able to pull it off.

 

[Doodski]

Then there's the supercharged kawasaki.

I sold my dads property in St pete because while I loved the beach it really isn't a rider friendly area and now am working my wife on a few acres in NC. I think if I can afford to buy her a couple horses i'll be able to pull it off.

Just don't tell her that you get 300 horsepower compared to her 2 or 3 horsepower.

 

[LTig]

I look out like a hawk for left turners... and for blind last second lane changers. Being constantly paranoid is a mandate as a motorcycle rider - you have to basically assume every car around you is out to bump into you, and have to triangulate etc to get out of exposed zones.

Yeah, somehow the 2 years I rode a motor bike in the 80's were enough to give me kind of a 6th sense - when I drive my car on a multi lane road I somehow "know" which car will change into my lane without using the indicator lights.

Indeed. IMO another fallacy is that... the more safety gear protection people have around them, the more reckless they get as a rule. Soccer moms in vans are among the most ruthless drivers I see at times. Oh yeah safety seats and a top ranking in safety. You're still a crazy b*tch in my book "mom". Same goes to motorcycle riders that buy all the safety gear they can and then ride like suicidal maniacs on the road because they outsource survival to their Alipinestars leathers and inflatable vest and top notch Arai helmet.

The same is true for alpinism. With the ability to call a helicopter by mobile phone almost anywhere in the Alps the number of blockages (a climber is stuck and can go neither further nor back) has risen substantially in the last 10 years, especially for via ferratas.

 

[Blumlein 88]

I am really attracted to the ducati v4s. The maintenance schedule looks affordable for a ducati so I started reading reviews and guys are claiming 60 miles to low fuel warning! I think about replacing my gen 1 sdr but most owners say the new one has a tighter rider triangle and the way the new motor puts power to the ground feels tame compared to the original. Then there's the supercharged kawasaki. All these nakeds are just geriatric sport bikes geared for the street and I want one of each.

I sold my dads property in St pete because while I loved the beach it really isn't a rider friendly area and now am working my wife on a few acres in NC. I think if I can afford to buy her a couple horses i'll be able to pull it off.

A friend let me ride his then new Ducati (this being 5 years ago). I must say it was possibly the best riding bike I've ridden. All the controls had such great feel as did the whole bike. Great sound, feel and good performance. I did have an unfortunate bird cross my path at around 110 mph. Poor bird.

I stopped at a large mall parking lot. A fellow wandered up and asked if I just got it or was Ducati a curse word already. He said he had owned a couple and they were maintenance nightmares. The old 2nd best day of my life was getting a Ducati. Best day of my life was selling a Ducati. My friend never had any trouble with his however for the 3 years he owned it.

I must say his Aprilia was almost as good though it was a more upright Supermoto type bike. So really a different though still high quality riding experience.

 

[Rottmannash]

My next bike may be an Aprilia Tuono. Love a V4.

 

[Blumlein 88]

My next bike may be an Aprilia Tuono. Love a V4.

Probably a good choice.

 

[Sal1950]

I am really attracted to the ducati v4s. The maintenance schedule looks affordable for a ducati so I started reading reviews and guys are claiming 60 miles to low fuel warning! I think about replacing my gen 1 sdr but most owners say the new one has a tighter rider triangle and the way the new motor puts power to the ground feels tame compared to the original. Then there's the supercharged kawasaki. All these nakeds are just geriatric sport bikes geared for the street and I want one of each.

No experience with the new V4's. My last Duck was a 1994 900 Monster I bought early new, and kept till late 1998. I didn't have any mechanical issue with it and it gave me trouble free service for the approx 25k miles I had it. My sole negative on the bike was the front end could get a bit twitchy at speed. It did try to kill me one day on a ride up to Road America in Wi, went into a full tank slapping speed wobble at well over 100 mph, scared the shit out of me. Slapped so hard it bent the fork stop tabs on both sides, and set back the pucks in the front brake calipers to the point I had no brakes at the first chance to use them. They did pump right up with a couple squeezes of the handle. Next day I ordered a new steering damper for it!!! No idea how I recovered it before getting high-sided, I guess the lord was just on my shoulder that day.
One thing about riding a Ducati is you get all those looks of admiration and lots of conversation every where you go, just like riding a really nice Harley.. No offence meant but anyone can ride a UJM (universal japanese motorcycle) but Ducatis are like having any other relative exotica, the pride of ownership and others riders envy is strong.
YMMV

 

[Blumlein 88]

A couple bikes I mentioned have come up for sale on Bring A Trailer.
One of the rotary Suzukis.

1975 Suzuki RE5

Bid for the chance to own a 1975 Suzuki RE5 at auction with Bring a Trailer, the home of the best vintage and classic cars online. Lot #75,305.

bringatrailer.com

And one of the three cylinder two stroke Kawasakis.

No Reserve: 1975 Kawasaki H2 Mach IV

Bid for the chance to own a No Reserve: 1975 Kawasaki H2 Mach IV at auction with Bring a Trailer, the home of the best vintage and classic cars online. Lot #75,295.

bringatrailer.com

 

[Sal1950]

And one of the three cylinder two stroke Kawasakis.

Humm,
No title, no serial numbers on engine, just a bit wonky I think. LOL
H2's were scary fast for the day, unfortunately also scary handling with a spaghetti like frame..

 

[Blumlein 88]

Humm,
No title, no serial numbers on engine, just a bit wonky I think. LOL
H2's were scary fast for the day, unfortunately also scary handling with a spaghetti like frame..

I noticed it had a damper added to fork and frame on that H2. I've ridden one so know what you mean about the floppy frame.

I've ridden an RE5 briefly too. A bit low powered for its size, but smooth. Poor gas mileage. Performance of a 600 cc with gas mileage like a 1200 cc bike.

 

[steve59]

nostalgia remembers many things better than they are. that first vmax had such an insane reputation yet 120 hp on a +500 lb bike hardly seems threatening by todays standards.

 

[Sal1950]

nostalgia remembers many things better than they are. that first vmax had such an insane reputation yet 120 hp on a +500 lb bike hardly seems threatening by todays standards.

True, But it scares the hell out of me thinking of young, inexperienced riders getting on todays superbikes.

 

[Doodski]

True, But it scares the hell out of me thinking of young, inexperienced riders getting on todays superbikes.

Yes, some of the superbikes are insane-O. A girlfriend in Germany bought a pretty mild SV650 3 weeks ago. She made it out of the underground parking garage and lost control crossing the first sidewalk outside the parking garage. Ended up dumping the bike and needed the help of 3 other women to get it upright. She has not ridden since and refuses to get on it because she says she does not want to die. She finally went to a proper lesson with a proper instructor and 10 minutes in she said she wants it now.

 

[pablolie]

Yes, some of the superbikes are insane-O. A girlfriend in Germany bought a pretty mild SV650 3 weeks ago. She made it out of the underground parking garage and lost control crossing the first sidewalk outside the parking garage. Ended up dumping the bike and needed the help of 3 other women to get it upright. She has not ridden since and refuses to get on it because she says she does not want to die. She finally went to a proper lesson with a proper instructor and 10 minutes in she said she wants it now.

The European process (at least Spain and Germany) for getting motorcycle licenses greatly limits the power on bikes based on riding experience (after age 18) and the tests aren't very easy. That said heavier bikes are a handful unless people are comfortable with that. When I retook my car and motorcycle tests as I moved to California (your Euro licenses don't transfer as you become a resident), the tests were super easy. Taking my 125cc test on a Scooter at age 16 in Spain was *much* more difficult and plenty failed the first time, because it was some tricky little circuit.

 

[Bob from Florida]

Here is an interesting bike.

No Reserve: 1983 Suzuki XN85 Turbo

Bid for the chance to own a No Reserve: 1983 Suzuki XN85 Turbo at auction with Bring a Trailer, the home of the best vintage and classic cars online. Lot #36,788.

bringatrailer.com

I actually saw one of these back in 1983 - Schmidt Cycles in Orlando sold it to a Navy recruit as his first motorcycle. Sadly, he crashed it within 6 weeks - fatally. The bikes back then did not have linear power curves and I can only imagine how abrupt the power delivery was when the turbo spun up.

 

[Doodski]

The European process (at least Spain and Germany) for getting motorcycle licenses greatly limits the power on bikes based on riding experience (after age 18) and the tests aren't very easy. That said heavier bikes are a handful unless people are comfortable with that. When I retook my car and motorcycle tests as I moved to California (your Euro licenses don't transfer as you become a resident), the tests were super easy. Taking my 125cc test on a Scooter at age 16 in Spain was *much* more difficult and plenty failed the first time, because it was some tricky little circuit.

I think we (N America) should have more stringent tests for operating motor vehicles. In her case she had a Honda 650 ~25 years ago and never rode since except her Vespa. So she has a motorcycle license. Something happened and I guessed she was confused by the clutch and braking being different than the Vespa or maybe just the weight. Don't know but at least she's in one piece and it was a walking speed crash.