Motorcycle and Scooter appreciation

Yeah I'm really feeling something along this vibe once I get my license and a year or two riding under my belt. Full analogue and fast without being silly new superbike fast!

Also.

Loving the state of that rear tyre. ..Any good? :)

Just resting on the wall by the exhaust ha
Looks mean

I believe @BRM might have one of these secretly stored somewhere

YZF750 is a superior machine in all aspects, except the looks IMO. I absolutely LOVE the first GSXR750 SRADS too - much lighter, 500GP bike geometry, genuine 120-something HP with exciting delivery to match. I think they were a real sweet spot for road going superbikes.

@Markyboy - BRM needs the 1100!

Is anyone familiar with racing motor cycling regulations from ye olden days?

I've just been reading about trailblazing Beryl Swain, a Walthamstow resident who was the first woman to race solo at the Isle of Man TT in 1962. She suffered mechanical problems during the race, finishing 22nd out of 25 but was still within 3 secs of the lap record in the 50 cc class she was racing, and vowed to come back the following year to do better.

However her entry seems to have ruffled a few feathers and dented a few fragile male egos, as the governing body brought in a rule the following year which introduced a minimum rider weight, and as Beryl was a slight 7 stone it effectively meant she had no chance of making the start line, and despite trying to appeal and change the rule, she failed and it tragically effectively ended her racing career.

There was also some bullshit excuse that they were concerned that following the races' history with many injuries and fatalities to the male racers, they considered it too dangerous for women.

The last line of this Pathe news clip on Beryl sums up the attitude of the time, "slowly but surely women, the weaker sex, are muscling in on mans domain, practically no sport is sacred, thank goodness for dear old rugby league"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ocIH8rBdJ8

It seems weird today that a minimum rider weight would be a barrier to entry, with ever more of us being Fatty Mcfatfat. And I can't for the life of me try to decipher how on the one hand they think racing is too dangerous for women, but only for women below a certain weight, are fat women considered not womanly enough, or does nobody care about the fat lasses?

I've just been googling to try and find the exact wording of the rule, I'm curious to know what the actual weight limit was, but can't find it anywhere, does anyone know it or where to find it? Thanks.
EDIT: in your face Pathe News guy, women's rugby league is a thing now too.

Surely just like in horse sports and other motorsports if the driver + gear weight is too low for the minimum for the class then they just add ballast? But yeah tone of that is from another era, jeez. My gran used to live next to a motorcycle racer through the 60s and 70s, a few miles from Silverstone, she used to race side-car with others, got the bug for it then started riding solo. Think my gran went a few times to help out with moving equipment (had a van, everyone needs a pal with a van) and 'team' support during the weekends that she was racing, unfortunately no photos or anything. By the time I learned this/was interested enough to go and knock next door to speak to the lady she was hit really bad with dementia and getting into any of her history was too upsetting for her. Never did get to look in her very large and very long shed in the garden, can imagine it was packed with interesting stuff.

Business question.
How much would you folks pay for mc storage over winter, warm, dry, secure (not inc insurance) and with access so you can go and tinker (big workbench, lift, smattering of tools, compressed air line, and the ability to get it out in winter*

*typical storage places you can't get it back till the date you requested as it'll have a hundred other bikes infront of it!

Just put massively wide bars on my bike. I thought I’d be able to cut a bit off the ends, but no.
Haven tried it yet due to fixing starter button, but I hope it will be fun!

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I'm going in the other direction, will be clip ons next! I find wide bars make me want to put my foot out in the corners, motocross style :)

Before I explore the usual channels - anyone have a spare punchy-ish commuter for sale on the cheaper side ? Can be old, dusty or ugly or even need a little work. PM's please.

Got to find me some steel soles then.
I’m not the type that scrapes foot pegs, but I’m certain the crips would touch the ground before the pegs if I tried.

Finally added an S fairing and lowered narrow bars to my boxer this summer. I'm enjoying the wind protection and the whole riding experience improved by a distance. That's just based on the kind of riding I do though.

Gets my mind going seeing the Guzzi, it's so close to the BMW in principal. Not sure if I could face getting into another vintage bike style though.

Please share a photo though.

Similar to Brickman’s question, and asking out of curiosity and on behalf of a mate - would anyone on here be likely to use a hire-a-lift type scenario? Ride in, bike on the lift, get your servicing done. Hourly and day rate. Basic tools supplied, oil etc available to buy. Not in London, before anyone gets too excited.

This miserable weather was the motivation I needed to upgrade my rear brake slave cylinder. Looking much better.

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There's been several attempt it, two very good attempts in Glasgow, all gone that I know of (there's bike shed in London but think it's more of a £20 cocktail place rather than a spend 2 days rattling a seized swing arm bolt out of some junker type of place).

My two cents on the attempts I've seen so far, people who are cheap enough to do it themselves (or because they prefer to or can't trust garages) don't want to pay rental time, even though its obviously less than the cost of the lift /heated workshop space/tools/helpful knowledge. Even getting £5 an hour out of folk is hard wokr sometimes.

We are gonna have a bash at storage, and as a sweetener, there's a bench /lift table/wheel machine maybe /air line and a smattering of decent ish tools included in the price. If I can't get people for that at £60 a month (one third the price of an unsecured, unheated, no electrical supply garage anywhere near here) then I'll find something else to do with the space.

Oh go on then :) It's in pretty rough external condition because it lives on the street, it's running really well though.

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Ok that's interesting. Means I might be able to get a Daytona after all! Keep us updated please.

That’s interesting, a lot of what you’ve said there is my take on it too. The old adage of “it only takes one seized bolt...” would definitely be a concern for me if I were trying to rent out a lift by the hour/day too.

I think my mates plan will happen in some sense because he’s got the space anyway, and it’s more about having multiple revenue streams so I guess we’ll see what happens

Where would this be? I'd be super interested in this type of arrangement.

Oh, it's nice! Mine's a street dweller too. It bothers me at times, especially when it tips over in the wind and I have to carry out repairs outside too.

The stands on the BMW's must be very secure because I've never had it blow over. It's been knocked over a couple of times, both times by range rovers of a certain age. I've always had lots of bikes around on the street and these days there are 5 bikes of neighbours all corralled in a space so we get some safety in numbers.

In 20 years I've spent so much time on the street fixing it. I know all my neighbours so it takes me hours chatting and fixing the bike!

Glasgow ;)
In London I guess you can multiple those costs by about 4x? Edinburgh is also surprisingly expensive for workshop space, houses popping up everywhere and nowhere to work, bit weird lol.

There was a motorbike workshop place in London, but was expensive and closed.

It is nice to work on a bike at the proper level.