Motorcycle and Scooter appreciation

I'm getting handier with the torch too. You invariably end up with a couple of small gaps as the sections go together and the metal pulls this way and that. 20ga is only 0.9mm thick, so gaps are an anathema - it's easy to burn the edges away and blow a nasty hole. If you're deft, you can add a little filler, I use 30thou mig wire but that is bloody tricky as it burns like a fuse popping at the slightest whiff of heat. You can also wave the torch around laterally in front of the weld to squeeze the gap shut, if you do this and quickly give the weld pool a little flick, you see molten metal shooting up to fill the gap just in front of the main puddle. Very satisfying.

OK, weld nerd off.

Great skill to have. You are learning quickly. Jealous here!!

At least you are getting to learn standing up in a workshop. I learnt on my back under a Renault 4 :)

No sweat. Just lazy and trying to shift.

Líquid moly turned up today, so I'll have a look at that next month.

Armchair critique. That's some solid beading right there. Looks like proper penetration. Proper home madness that. Again, you still haven't told me what the fuck that car that's dying in the corner is?

@DethBeard Glad to hear you rolled through it enough to function and get the insurance bullshit sorted. Salute.

Ta! Something to piss around with while the weather is too hot to ride....

@airhead - oof! Have you the scars to prove it? I was doing a notched joint on some 18ga tube the other day. I had to use a no.5 tip to get into the corners - the sheer level of heat is crazy compared to the no.1 I use for the thin stuff....nearly set my hair on fire once or twice. I think a full face shield might be in the offing if I do much more of that.

@chak - cheers mate, it's not bad. The car is a 1963 Plymouth Fury, that is, to put it kindly, a LONG term project.

Shut up and take my money. 74hp single 😍

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I've had metal blims pulled off my eyeballs twice. Some 'funny' stories. One time I was wearing goggles but still managed to get one in there. Finger tips used to be smooth and lacking any feeling!

Getting into hooligan territory here

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New-ish 165bhp bike with only a few years NCB… The first year was killer - sold my CBR600 for £2k and spent the best part of it on insurance for this bike 😭

Cheers dude. Yeah we had seen so we went out on the Saturday instead.
The 4 of us were on a right mix of bikes. The Busa is an import with a few power mods. It was clocked at 208mph in the states.
Imagine that riding around with the TS185. We were worried the Busa wouldn't be able to keep up 😂.

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Funny story and something I didn't know, I have always loved the Hayabusa but I never knew it meant Peregrine falcon in Japanese.
The Japanese always had the best bike model names I thought, such as Fireblade etc. The Japanese are also known for not always having the best sense of humour. On this occasion though people have said that Hayabusa was chosen as its name, as one of the Peregrine falcons favourite food items was blackbirds. The Irony was that the Hayabusa was about to knock the Honda Blackbird off its spot as the fastest production bike.

Talking of such things, I might be tempted to sell the CBR600F3. I have spent all the money that needs spending, short of brake rebuilds (they work fine but last rebuild unknown) - fresh tyres, headstock bearings, front bearings etc. Just thinking I should get shot before I get shopped.

Imagine that riding around with the TS185. We were worried the Busa wouldn't be able to keep up 😂.

Stick it on the roads around the Wye, and I bet you’d be waiting for it.

That’s why it was named Hayabusa - the Blackbird eater.

Trust me there were a few moments around Mortimer and Leintwardine where this was a reality. Did a new route and a few lanes were single track with grass center.
I mean sanders went round the world on an R1.

was clocked at 208mph

208 takes some doing. I'd love to know all the details

I don't know all the details. It came from Freddie the fat frog in Worcester.
I think there is a build sheet but from what I know it has at least, Wiseco Pistons, Power commander, 4 to 1 titanium exhaust.
Penske rear shock, forks have been done as well.

Selling your sports bike before the winter is what you're doing. You've changed :)

It’ll sit languishing while the DR gets dirty, that’s for sure

I'm going to have to try very hard to ignore you selling it. I've not even ridden mine this summer.

Well. It’s just an idea. Weather has already turned, so maybe it has to wait until next year now.

I absolutely love the bike, but I am not sure I love what kind of rider I am when I’m on it. I am exactly who I expected to be.

You had been aiming towards that kind of riding! It is difficult to justify for long periods. Hopefully you'll feel like it again by next spring. Maybe a different bike by then, maybe not. Why not, I'm sure someone will be interested in buying it.

Yea I only have myself to blame. Getting stronger on the green lanes, and pushing the limits of grip on the road too.

i have a stupid question about lean angle. I am not trying to break any records... i'm just curious about technique because i'd like to increase my margin for error.

I find then when i lean off the bike into a corner and reduce lean angle by a bit, the bikes natural tendency is to go straighter by a bit. Not surprising. Less lean means less tendency for the fork to turn in. i suppose if i had less rake in the fork, the bike would turn in more aggressively for a given lean. To be completely clear, i'm hardly leaning much at all, but it still feels really crappy.

When i'm not trying very hard, I shift outside foot forward a bit, turn with my chest and look down the turn. all of that feels great. But the second but in some effort and i get my chest over the inside of the turn the bike stands up and tries to go straight.

does everyone feel this way? or am i doing something really stupid?