Motorcycle and Scooter appreciation

Currently half way through reading Mundo Enduro and it's quite the advert for the DR350, although would love to ride a WR450F.

That WR450F is incredibly cool.

All the dealers near and including HGB Motorcycles, Ruislip let me take what I wanted. As did the Suzuki place near Wembley. I think I'd have been about 6m post full license.

Gonna go out on a limb and say that when dammit rocks up to dealer they'll let him ride what he wants. Even if he arrives in the Andy-Lee.

The only exception is when the weather has been shit I've had one basically say they cba to clean it again.

Unlike the Royal Enfield dealer who pointed at the filthy Himalayan and said, “We haven’t cleaned it yet, they always look like that after driving over the Ridgeway.”

It was the most perfect advertising. Fortunately I did some research and got the DR.

If you do, please video! I want to see it done in real life 😁

I've just returned to m'bikes after a 16 year break and bought myself a '17 plate Ducati Supersport S. Last bike was a YZF750 which was brilliant, but the SS beats it in every way, even being about 15 brake down on power (maybe a little less with the Akro pipes). You also get (most) of the latest fancy electronics - ABS / Traction Control / Rider modes / Up and Down quick shift.

I did consider getting the current model which has the latest electronics package which essentially means you still get ABS when cornering but I guess I'll just have to be a little bit careful... The quick shifter is a revelation - full power clutchless up/down shifts and pops and bangs too on the way down (sorry world!). Jumping on a 100+bhp bike as the first ride after a 16 year break was a little intimidating for the first couple of miles, but I had a very experienced rider with me and as people have said elsewhere it's all about how you treat the throttle!

Cost of a new Supersport S spec'ed like I wanted came to almost £20K and mine was £7.5K, so basically if later this year I want something with a bit more go and all the latest electronics (i.e. the six axis IMU), I'll be getting a late low miles V2 Panigale to go alongside the SS for a total spend of £20K.

Also - what's not to like about that view from the turbo?

Get your training done and get going with some test rides

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Austin is a really nice guy. Have a read of lois on the loose too. See how you feel then ;)

I want one of these but don't have sufficient need for it. If I was looking for a fun 'off road' bike it might appeal though.

https://motorcyclegiant.net/product/yamaha-tdr-250/

I echo Jambon and Skinny. Buy what you want and be careful. Something new enough to have ABS wouldn’t be a bad idea. A monster is a good shout, just be aware twins are lumpy and you’ll need to modulate the clutch more at low speeds.

Interesting but the tdr is not really an off road bike, its more like the first supermoto.

Haven't a few motorcycle companies traded from those arches on Mcfarland road..well different companies but the same people.

Hence the quotes on 'off road' :)

Motorcycle Giant have been there for a long while now, think it's 10 years at least. They have the advantage of the worst sales display I've ever seen and zero sales pressure. I've been there to look at bikes and they've actually managed to put me off buying by being so completely not bothered. Bikes just sat outside gathering dust etc.

Ha, thanks for the tip, will add that to my reading list.

small, light dirt bike of some kind

Off-roading, as well as being fantastic fun, will increase your life expectancy because it's such a good way to learn machine control and dealing with loss of traction. The electronics are nice to have but it's better to have the skill to do what they do. The more skill you get, the less likely you are to freeze when a car tries to t-bone you. If your reactions are slow, the electronics won't save you.

As for a Monster as a first bike, it's easier to ride and it's comfy and cheaper to fix when it falls over, but if it's getting on a bit it will still be a money pit.

How much experience of motorized two wheelers do you have?

P.S. There are airbag jackets now. Budget for one of those too. They're another way of improving your life expectancy.

Agreed. Road bike sliding sideways on slimy slippery roads doesn’t cause me to tense up as much as it might another rider. Thanks mud.

Also, leaving this here:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=bhes1y9nU2g

I love throwing it sideways on dirt but still fully shit my pants if the rear lets go under power on dry tarmac. Nature's way of telling me I'm having a bit too much fun.

I would posit that braking hard on tarmac is a skill that can only be learnt by braking very hard on tarmac. A lot. Until you can confidently lift the back end, without locking the front. That's what I did anyways and I fell off quite a lot in the process.

I did a course at the Nordschleife. They made us lock up the front on a damp surface, at low speeds. V. useful. But I'd rather have done it in the mud on a scruffy dirt bike.

Dammit, you live in London? I understand your lust for a 916. I borrowed one for a lap of the Nordschleife and it was 1000% bliss, exceeding all my expectations. But apparently they're horrible in traffic, like many of the more extreme sports bikes. You bash your shins on the fairing, you can't weave properly because of the steering lock, you get so hot from underseat exhausts that it's effing torture, the clutch is a fuckpig, etc etc. To enjoy a 916 in London you have to do track days, or go to France, or get up at 6 am to get out of London before rush hour and do a lap of Hants and Wilts. Some people do this every Sunday in the summer. Lots of Ducati owners live in London, because of high salaries here, but the sad fact is they do fuck all miles, as you can see from the second hand ads. If they'd bought something practical like an SV650 or CBR600, maybe they'd have actually done some riding. Or maybe they wouldn't, because of partners and children.

Another way to enjoy a bike in London is to make London traffic into a sort of sporting challenge. There are some great roads for this. But maybe you need to be an ex-courier for this to float your boat. And if you admit to riding like this everyone will hate you and categorise you with the feral kids who do crimes on scooters. A 916 wouldn't be the best choice for this sort of thing. A super moto would be much better. Maybe a Ducati one? They are very pretty. Just as lustworthy as a 916 in some people's eyes. Other brands are available, just as droolworthy as the Ducatis. You can enjoy your lap of Hants and Wilts just as much as you would on a sports bike, but also enjoy the slog between your home and Robin Hood Roundabout.

Dammit, a suggestion. Go to Wales, get a scratched 125 dirt bike and join this club. http://hafrendbc.co.uk/ Covid permitting the Hafren rally might be on this year. If not, you can still do lots of riding with these folks. I promise you it's so much fun that if I had a choice between space tourism and the Hafren rally, it would be the Hafren. The only problem is that your life will be changed and you'll want to move to Wales. And you may form the opinion that sports bikes on the road are not worth the trouble.

Re. The previous posts

See the bloody car thread for some answers😂😂😂😂

Haha. Loooooooong old answers over there.

In fairness Dammit, motorbikes are so cheap you should buy a 916 (because you want one, you're sensible enough to take it easy and you'll look after it properly) AND a 250 enduro bike like a KX250X (or 125 two stroke if you're feeling brave.) That way you can shove it in the Vito and take it to the MX track or off road area and have a proper bike when you get there. Sorted.

A lot of truth in this. Two or three bikes are what you want. Different bikes for different purposes. But if you get the aged 916 for £6k, which seems to be the lowest price these days, budget £4k for servicing and spares in yr 1. So the same money as a new Aprilia 660 https://www.motorcyclenews.com/bike-reviews/aprilia/rs660/2020/ which you would probably be faster and safer on, with infinitely less aggro.

Really???? I ‘learned’ on an RGV and bought a GSXR when I had a full licence. That’s a while ago. Things have changed - I understand that car drivers still try to kill you but nowadays there are more killers behind the wheel.
I say that knowing, but not accepting, I’m an old C! (Rhymes with runt😁😁)
Biking is the only way to travel - it really is, excepting the death sentence.
Total honestly now - I have the funds to buy another bike (within reason), my wife does not object to a purchase at all. Nothing - no objection at all. She has no idea about riding - she was good friends with a local road racer who was killed in a race but she doesn’t equate this with road riding. I look at gumtree and dream. We have a daughter, she is 15, I work mad hours not by choice, normal week is 60 hours at the mo, that can rise to 84 very quickly. So I don’t see much of my wife or family at the best of times. I’m still a fucking mad teenager at heart BUT I do understand that I have responsibilities - my family. Me dead isn’t a great option, me in a wheelchair is actually worse so I dream. I still dream , but the balance of family and my own dreams is swayed by the death aspect.
It’s shit, I get that but it’s not growing up - it’s my responsibility to look after my wife and daughter so two wheels isn’t a safe idea. I can’t imagine me in a wheelchair because of some notion that I need to be back on two wheels.

Long post, I know, but I know and I was at an accident where a rider ended up in a wheelchair with damage to his brain. His Blade had moss on it when recovered, I don’t really know what his family thought about the day or the accident but it had to have been horrific for them and they had the aftermath to suffer.
It isn’t a safe mode of transport - but it’s the best by a very long way.

In closing, I still smoke - no doubt someone will say that I’m on a road to disaster with a cancerous family history but it’s a slow death - that’s my only way to balance two wheels with life. If a doc told me I had a month to live, I’d be at the bike shop rather quickly. That may sound very harsh but that’s how dangerous biking is.

To all who read all of this, please stay safe and be careful!!! Bikers know that being careful means not going out 😁

RIP Joey Dunlop - King of the Road

Dammit, regarding your super moto aspirations https://www.lfgss.com/comments/16351886/

Super moto is a French invention. It's rally cross for bikes. Obviously they have to compromise their tyre and suspension choices to cater for the dirt sections and the tarmac sections. This is a ridiculous ambition. Nobody does this with road bikes. The only time it makes sense is when you are actually in a race. As you can see, the winning formula is to stick your inside leg out for cornering even on the tarmac sections. Same technique as speedway, or flat track racing in the US, which are on cinders, not tarmac. What you can't see in the photo is that the back wheel is being deliberately drifted, on tarmac. Only a few Godlike people can do this. It destroys tyres fast. It's not safe to do on a shared, public road. It even wrecks your boots - you can buy special boots with a disposable slidey bit which you scrape through the corner. So your pic does not show a cornering technique which many people can do. I don't think there are many super moto races in the UK - move to France if you want to get into this.

But super moto bikes are very fashionable because they're good for stunts and wheelies and they look groovy. People who have one on the road don't do the race-style cornering with their inside leg on the floor. They just don't. If they did they would crash and need new tyres every weekend. Lots of youngsters go through a super moto phase. They want to be the terror of their council estate. Sorry if that sounds snobbish or discriminatory etc, but it's the troof. If you want to corner like that, do it, it's BRILLIANT, but do it on a dirt bike, on dirt. A super moto bike on the road can be fun and practical as a commuter or a sunny Sunday bike, but some are quite uncomfortable and they all have a small range.

Oddly some v long posts here. Please read them - stay safe all.

I second all of that. If I had any kids maybe I'd have given up. I still worry about the cat if I had a disaster. I've had 3 scary crashes which could have been fatal or crippling, but I didn't hit anything hard, so I got away with it. I've had to have words with myself many times. I decided not to give up, but to improve my odds with training and practice. This has been very expensive and a big time commitment. But also enormous fun. I took up endurance racing and did OK in my first season in the British championship. Then I had to have another word with myself because I thought I could see a way to improve such that I could enter the world championship. If you qualify fast enough they give you a chunk of the TV money, which can be enough to pay all the costs if you're in a team of dedicated, clever people whose life centres on the Bol d'Or and Spa and all that. I chickened out because I didn't think I'd get to Spa qualifying pace without dying. And I ran out of money. So that was that.

I have always studied other people's crashes and injuries. If there's a fatal crash video on youtube I'll watch it 20 times. I can always see what I would have done differently. Since my first scary crash at 18 I've never thought 'it won't happen to me'. I ride fast, but I take defensive riding as far as I can. After years of practice, including invaluable experience as a courier, I instinctively use a bit of road which the car ahead won't. So I don't compete with anyone for road space. There's no conflict. So if they don't see me, it doesn't matter. I always ride like this, and it's immensely satisfying. There's a serenity to it.

I also believe in safety gear. Before the helmet law, head injury was the principal cause of death for bikers. Since then it's been chest injury. You can see it on 24 Hrs in A and E. Hit a car or a kerb or something and you break ribs and make holes in your lungs and other organs. If you decelerate instantly from 40 to zero, your organs burst. If you have an airbag jacket with inertia sensors and your front wheel hits a car which has pulled out in front of you, the airbag will probably inflate fully before your chest hits the car. Body armour can also make a huge difference. I broke a Ford Escort radiator with my knee but got away with a bruise. Modern gear is so good that some of it doesn't even look like bike gear. You can wear it anywhere.

Just going off topic slightly, are motocross boots supposed to be impossible to walk in? Got my first set and the soles are crazy stiff.