I'm excited for you to get your first go on a real bike after a YBR!
I'm excited for you to get your first go on a real bike after a YBR!
I got my licence when I was 17, was one of those strange kids who wasnt at all interested in cars..Originally Posted by learningtofly
I got an SV650S (pictured below) for about £1200 I think,
I bought it with my saturday job money about 6 months before I passed.. I managed to resist giving it a go out in the neighborhood every time except for once! I rode it round the local housing development and it literally blew my mind haha!
And here's 3 of my favourite i've had..
2014 CVO Softail Deluxe
https://www.warrs.com/harley_davidso...525d22e317.htm
Much as it pains me to say so, the price isn't that bad for a CVO.
They also had a Cowglide in stock
https://www.warrs.com/harley_davidso...7e67d534bf.htm
Yes, but have you factored in the cost of the autosolvol?
Budget 120 - 300 tubes per season.....
When that flashed up on my screen briefly I thought it said Anusol.Yes, but have you factored in the cost of the autosolvol?
Budget 120 - 300 tubes per season.....
Yes, the time spent cleaning would put me off
Absolutely superb. I’m starting to look as my wife had always promised she’d buy me a HD, and we’ll do that for my 60th in July.
I need to clear up the garage from a Spitfire though, because at the moment you can’t fit much in it and certainly not a Harley
'Against stupidity, the gods themselves struggle in vain' - Schiller.
You need a Harley.....Absolutely superb. I’m starting to look as my wife had always promised she’d buy me a HD, and we’ll do that for my 60th in July.
I need to clear up the garage from a Spitfire though, because at the moment you can’t fit much in it and certainly not a Harley
Seriously though the new models are pretty good, saw a Sport Glide with the new Milwaukee 8 engine yesterday and it looked really nice. Guy riding it said he loved it.
Ian
What did you think of the build quality, Tony?
Superb, not unexpectedly. I have to say that the Triumphs are lovely too. In fact, it could boil down to a choice between the R NineT and the T120 Bonneville at this rate (ironic, given that i stated categorically that I don't want a 1200).
Thought you’d like it. I thought it was way ahead of the Ducati when I went to look at them both together.
Nice dilemma to have!
R9T's? ....Pffttttt......
Last edited by Tifa; 11th September 2018 at 18:25.
Loving that. Properly well put together and finished.R9T's? ....Pffttttt......
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There’s quite a difference between the T100 and the T120 as you’ll find if you test both back-to-back, I’d say the latter is an ‘easier’ bike to ride as the extra power gives a wider window of gear to speed/conditions.
Also much better two-up, if that’s a factor.
R
Ignorance breeds Fear. Fear breeds Hatred. Hatred breeds Ignorance. Break the chain.
Not a big factor, but it could come into play occasionally as Bea has said she may be prepared to get on the back. I think it really boils down to which feels better in town/commuter situations, as I want to ensure that the bike feels under my control for filtering, stop/starting, riding slowly in traffic and parking up. I'm not so bothered about long/weekend rides, as i'm sure all would be fine riding on more open roads.
Height (of the bike or the person) may not be the key factor on dropping the bike, as anyone who’s seen 5’4” Patsy Quick doing donuts on an HP2 enduro will attest, whilst my 6’4”mate who can flat foot his GSA has toppled over a few times at low speed.
Mrs Berin is also 5’4”, her second bike was BMW800GS which was regularly off road together with my 1200 GSA, until we came to our senses and got smaller bikes for trail riding and events. She also rides a KTM 350 EXC and a KTM 690, neither known for low seat heights.
confidence is important, and since Mrs Berin does about 15000 miles a year she’s now very used to managing the bikes.
Sorry, but I think you're wrong.
You just don't notice it when the bike is in motion.
That force, although much reduced is still there.
Because physics.
I’ve got a shed full of torques in my M6 but when I boot it coming out of a corner, I don’t crush the suspension mounts unilaterally, nor does one side of the car attempt to bury itself in the tarmac.
No you don't John, but in a high performance car you have serious, serious engine mounts to absorb and help control motor torque reaction. That engine twisting on it's mounts force is still there though. Without the mounts, the force would be transmitted in greater amounts through the chassis.
Motorcycles rarely use engine mount dampening, the motor is usually bolted directly to the chassis...and that torque reaction will try to influence the chassis.
It's not just BMW's, any motorctcle with a longitudinal crankshaft will do the same. i.e. Guzzi's, CX500's, Sunbeams, Goldwings, Pan Euro's etc..
There is something about BMW bikes that don’t do it for me even if they are great machines. Ducati and Triumph are purely bikers and have that nostalgia about them. I love the brand of Ducati and the italian design. Someone said in this thread that you’ve got to look over your shoulder at the bike and it make you smile or you will quickly fall out of love and I think that’s true.
I guess I’ve been hood winked by the marketing
I’m curious as to how many miles a year we all do on motorcycles. I appreciate that commuting adds it up but arguably that’s a repetitive route so doesn’t add a lot to experience.
Without commuting at all I tend to do 8000-12000 miles a year and have racked up 4000 in the last 2-3 months. Each and every opportunity I’ll ride whereas I meet a lot of ‘experts’ who have bikes 5+ years that haven’t reached 4000 yet!
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RIAC
I’m not exactly sure without checking MOTs but I ride enough to need unrestricted mileage on my bike insurance - certainly more than I use the car.
The whole debate to my mind is not about the bhp but the reactions of the bike. Yes the throttle works both ways and I believe the OP is not going to go crazy on his new bike.
My concern is always the “forgiveness” of the bike and the rider’s confidence that quickly builds and the sudden way things can change on the road. Not just other drivers, diesel spills, cold tyres, colder weather I think all experienced riders will have had a few spills or near misses I certainly have. I remember when the Hypermotards came out people were falling off them as the front brakes (taken from a 1098s) were considered too fierce by some and brilliant by others.
This too is what DAS can’t possibly teach in a short period of time.
No one really cares that much what the OP chooses, but I see it as the more experienced riders trying to ensure the OP enjoys his riding for the next years rather than has one bad experience and is put off - like so many are. This includes the DAS casualty in my office who dropped a perfectly good sports bike as just didn’t realise that autumn tarmac has less grip than summer tarmac.
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Last edited by MB2; 12th September 2018 at 19:24.
Damn those pesky anti-lock brakes.....needed more bhp's obviously.
I know if only he had bought a GXR750 instead of a 600 he would have simply powered through the problem.
My favourite answer to the "need more bhp" crew is that one of my friend's set a 100mph lap of the IOM TT on a production tuned TZR250 in the late 1980s so whilst a bigger bike may be faster the "problem" can also be solved by a faster rider.
About 20 years ago my dad bought an ex-works TZR250 that had been raced in the TT. It was bloody lethal.
(after all, it's only 1850cc)
Wow! I wouldn't want to pick that one up if I dropped it
anyone can make a mistake at any time no matter the BHP of the bike , a lifetime friend of mine died a few months ago in a crash right in front of me - he had 30 yrs riding experience on multiple bikes that were quicker than the one he was riding at the time (speed triple) - the roads are crazy these days and you need to be aware of everything around you so much more as well as add in the idiot factor.
harleys look nice but they are more of a lifestyle bike (or a prerequsite in most 1% clubs )-they are not particulary quick and dont go round corners -unless you want to spend your life with a tube of autosol in your pocket and a roll of spanners theres much better out there imo - that said , as a second bike if i had the room i'd buy one to do up and customise /spray myself - it would be for posing on , not 'spirited' riding which is mostly what i do on my speed triple.
I don't think angle of my photo helps as it makes it look huge.Wow! I wouldn't want to pick that one up if I dropped it
It's actually a similar size and probably more manageable than your R1200R.
I found it not dissimilar
I've picked up my R1200R when I got my jeans caught in the footpeg when dismounting, I felt it going and couldn't stop it but I managed to sort of lay it on the floor rather than it falling. As this happened in a pedestrian precinct in the centre of Henley with coffee shop outdoor tables all around on a bright day in the middle of summer I had a huge audience!
I was so embarrassed the adrenaline kicked in and I picked it up again in one go but boy it was heavy. I'd just fitted the head protectors the week before which saved the cam cover and luckily there wasn't a mark on the bike anywhere.
I doubt I'd be able to get that Harley stood back up as it's another 75kg heavier than mine!
There’s a simple technique, demonstrated by girls on Youtube. The key is not too rush hoping that fewer people will see you, and do it methodicallyWow! I wouldn't want to pick that one up if I dropped it
'Against stupidity, the gods themselves struggle in vain' - Schiller.
The only bit of advice I would give to a new rider with a large(ish) capacity twin cyl bike - is that downshifting in wet conditions- needs to be smooth to prevent momentary rear lock-up. Multi’s are a lot more forgiving in that scenario.
That'll be the back towards the bike method, all well and good when your not floundering around like a headless chicken hoping nobody noticed!There’s a simple technique, demonstrated by girls on Youtube. The key is not too rush hoping that fewer people will see you, and do it methodically
Currently shopping for my first big bike after passing the multiple tests and car park gymkhana they have you do these days. I found the mod 1 stuff especially tedious to the point I considered chucking it. Now glad I was persuaded to keep it up.
Before passing I had been wanting a triumph but feel I may want something a bit different now. The r9t is too expensive for me, never been a huge fan of the Ducati scrambler variants. I'm finding myself drawn to things I never imagined. At the moment I'm looking at the Yamaha xsr900 but may be better suited to a 700 given some of the reviews. Also the Kawasaki z900rs cafe (currently on decent finance offers).
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Mrs Berin must be very flexible to even get her leg over an EXC. You're a lucky man (fnar fnar)
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One mistake or lesson is cornering and having that confidence to push and pull to achieve the lean and get your body into the right position. If you commit to a corner you have to commit as braking will sit you up and have you eating trees before you know it.
Like everything slow and steady wins the race.
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RIAC
Well, yes and no. People do tend to straighten up when braking in a corner mostly because it's hard wired into us to do that. The natural reaction to danger is to stiffen up your shoulders which tends to stand the bike up. But there is nothing about the design of a motorcycle that makes it stand up any more under braking than it would at any other time. In fact, braking tends to squash the font end down which shortens the rake making the bike easier to turn.
I'm actually a fan of trail braking (braking into corners) for many reasons. One, the bike turns slightly quicker. Two, committing to a corner you know is one thing but steadily rolling on the throttle (like you're told to) on a road you've never been down before and don't know how tight or long the corner is requires a level of commitment I'm not happy with. Three, if I do need to tweak my line mid corner the front brake is the only one I would use and if I'm already trailing it I can easily squeeze a little more if I have to (so long as I do it smoothly and I'm not too greedy, bikes have a lot more grip if you lean into it steadily and don't try to grab it all at once, smooth is the key) and four, if you have gone in way too fast trail braking and chucking it in will often scrub off enough speed to get you round whereas standing it up and braking hard will more than likely end with a trip to the kitty litter.
Cornering is all about the vanishing point.
When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks long into you.........
Actually, that isn't true. There is a large effect on the stability of the bike when decelerating (braking) whilst leaning in a corner (which itself is another form of acceleration), due to the fact that you are messing up the gyroscopic balance of the large heavy spinning wheels. Slowing them down does sit them up.
We feel this on bike, it feeld less stable trying to brake whilst cornering, but more so if you are acceleratiing out of the turn.
This article skims the surface of the complexity of everything, and provides a bit of an intro to the immensely complex field of bike dynamics, like the lovely wierdness of counter-steering. Turn out to lean in. This is why riding a bike takes a while to master, you have to learn to do things that you don't think you are doing.
Dave
10 pages, and nobody has mentioned countersteering before?
I'm shocked.
...or tyres...or oil....hahahahaaaaaa........
Nah, slowing a gyroscope won't stand it up, it'll just precess faster.
Anyway, now the trolls have turned up I'm off.
I'm finding the whole counter steering thing quite fascinating actually, and realised fairly quickly that I was often doing it without realising. Being aware, though, makes it much easier to hold a line through corners, and prevents what was happening occasionally - drifting out and seemingly having to fight the bike a bit.
Riding is such a learning process.
No, not if you have a simple spinning gyro. But if your gyroscope is already being forced to accelerate round a corner and you slow it, it does. That's my point.
Edit - not sure if you are telling me I am a troll......
What’s that phrase ‘Run out of talent’
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RIAC
Good discussion, sweets and groundrush. I’ve learnt a lot.
There's a documentary often shown on one of the BBC channels that covers the 500 gp era. Everyone in the documentary said they were evil.
I had a shot of that Yamaha my dad owned. Thought I'd be fine due to riding a 2 stroke CR250 at the time. I shot out the drive right across the street straight up the neighbours drive way that my legs dangling out all over the place before I had the sense to pull the clutch. It was like accidentally bursting a high pressure pipe full of fast.
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The R500 Gamma was wild enough, as was the 500 RDLC.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=jsgWlP_3WHk
'Against stupidity, the gods themselves struggle in vain' - Schiller.
Okay, for anyone still with me I've been playing on bikes again today, and I've refined my thinking a little bit more. All of this, though, needs to be seen within the context of my gravitation towards Triumph; there are a lot of reasons for that, but assume it's a given.
Firstly, I've pretty much decided that I'm not interested in a scrambler-style bike. I certainly wouldn't want the Triumph scrambler over the Bonnie(s), but I've pretty much decided that I prefer a more classic look/style. I'm really not going to be riding off-road, so there's also little point in compromising in terms of tyres and set-up, arguably ending up with something that's neither one thing nor another.
Secondly, I'm obviously very fond indeed of the Bonnevilles; however, the thing that worries me a little is the weight, particularly the weight of the T120. Some of the reviews I've seen - particularly those from people who aren't particularly large in stature - indicate that over time this can become an issue as the weight is relatively high, and what I don't want to do is find that 6 months down the line I've made a mistake. As a consequence of that I've decided that I should seriously consider (and test) the Street Triple R. I know it's not retro in style but it's naked at least and the weight advantage (some 100lbs!) would be a really big plus for me. I know there's a low ride height model, too, should the standard R seem to high.
Then there's the 9RT, the only real competition for the Triumphs at the moment.
So, that's the four to be tested now. All lovely, but hopefully one of them will stand out as being the better bike for me.
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