Motorcycle and Scooter appreciation

A pillion ride on a mates...

For me this always felt the fastest and most terrifying, and not in a good way.

I’ll stick to thumpers and fours, thanks

That's my garage too. I meant the pillion aspect, something about not being in control or having a good enough grip that's just terrifying.

Ah yea. I am an awful pillion. Sum total of…. 3(?) easy short pillion rides and I’m not a fan. Wouldn’t want to go on the back of anything that will light up a tyre in every gear.

I found the more riding I did with pillions the better I got about being a pillion. Most of the time it's been on big bikes designed for carrying 2 people. Carrying a pillion still sucks a lot of the joy out of a motorbike though.

Might end up in Vietnam for a bit, 3-12 months. Standard thing to do there is buy something cheap and crap, but done it so many times before, properly over it. Also now that area of SE Asia is infected with garbage chinese bikes, or the Vietnam/Japan/Malaysian produced scooters + small bikes that were decent enough have been maintained and fixed with garbage fake metal chinese parts for the last 5 - 10 years.

Should I just go to a Honda dealer and buy a 1 - 2 year old PCX. Need to be able to do some motorway work, most semi auto 110cc bikes at 45-50 mph is all they've got. At least a PCX or whatever the Yamaha equivalent is (Aerox?) with the 150 cc engine can sit at 60 mph without blowing up or being very unhappy. Nothing in that part of the world really goes any faster than that, so no need for an actual bike.
Honda Forza is nicer for main roads but bit daft in town, makes you stand out a lot which brings its issues. PCX + yamaha equivalent seen common enough that with some long sleeves shirt/pants you don't get noticed as a foreigner anywhere near as much.
Sensible or do 'higher tier' scooters in that part of the world cost more than they do here?

I remember in Australia + NZ that common basic bikes from Japan/Malaysia/Singapore cost significantly more new than they do in the UK despite much less shipping costs due to the import duties etc?

The SH from Honda is a good bike. Especially the 300 version. Bigger wheels make a big difference.

I don’t mind taking a pillion at all. As long as they trust you, you can still hare along at a fair old clip. Stopping is not a bundle of laughs, admittedly.

Talk to my brother @lazysuperhero he was there’s a while and did same thing. Hell guide you well. The bike he had was fucking rad.

IF you're gona ride actual motorways, double check if they allow motorbikes. Because some of them don't. regardless of how big the bike is.

I spent quite a bit of time in Vietnam ( most recently in late 2018) and i mostly rode a Honda XR 250 (great bike) and in some newer motorways with tolls (e.g the motorway that goes north from Hanoi towards near Sapa) they literally don't allow any two wheels, regardless of how big it is, i tried and i got chased by cops and kicked off despite trying to explain that the bike is big enough to go on a motorway and overtake easily.

maybe things have changed since then, but yeah double check that.

Not sure about buying new or used from dealership. Not sure about the ownership/ registration rules of dealership-new bikes for tourists.

People definitely do ride big higher tier scooters in town, seen it in Hanoi and Ho chi minh, seen it more in Thailand when i lived there. People who can afford it will ride a PCX & similar everywhere, no issues. Not sure about how expensive they are in Vietnam though cos i never looked into them.

Riding an XR 250 was a joy and it handled everything i threw at it. Ended up being more comfortable than i thought it would be.

Price wise, from subjective observation from time in Thailand and Vietnam, brand new dealer bikes aren't cheaper (sometimes are more expensive) than UK prices.

Loving the learner bikes thread; good memories.

I was always broke but in 1984 I started with:

1969 Suzuki AS50
then
Suzuki A100

Then I got my test and woooo, "power"

Honda CD175
Honda CB200
Honda CB175
Honda CB500T (worst of the lot!)
Suzuki GT500
Honda CB550/4

etc etc etc

Good times to remember

What are your top five (or more) bikes you've had / ridden?

Mine:

1. 1979 BMW R80/7 (now 100/7 with "extensive" modifications)
   
2. Moto Guzzi LeMans MKII
   
3. Moto Guzzi 850 T3
   
4. Kawasaki Z750L2
   
5. Honda CB175
   
6. Moto Guzzi V50 MKII
   

RGV250M
GSXR750WN
crash and financially embarrassed 😀

What are your top five (or more) bikes you've had / ridden?

Not very cutting edge but bikes I’ve had;

Kmx200 - first bike
Honda c90 (got two of them)
BMW r100gs (shouldn’t have sold it)
Triumph t100 (shouldn’t have sold it)
Honda firestorm

My first bike was an RG250 (in Australia) first time I gave it beans I almost went straight on at a 60 degree right hander. I remember shouting at myself to lean, the thing gripped and took off round the corner like a scalded cat.
Replaced the day after I got my licence with an RG500. Terrifying in such a good way. But I wasn’t long for this world on that lunatic fringe !! So….

Then came the Italians into my life. 500 Pantah first. The bike I wish I still had, followed by (sigh) a Mike Hailwood Rep, 900. Don’t miss it as much as the Pantah but by God that was some bike. Not one for the round town though !!!

But if I could have any back it would be the RG250 or the Pantah. They were special bikes.

And now, it’s the R65 and I won’t get rid of that lightly. It is something lovely.

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The RG500 is a monster. Dream bike!!!

As with everything, I bet you wish you still had it.

916 (borrowed for 1 lap of the Ring)
R1100GS (more adventures on this than all the rest put together)
MV Agusta F4S 750
Hayabusa
ZZR11 (I still miss the fuel warning lights. Memories of touring in France)
KTM 950 Adventure S

I hope the Dorsoduro 1200 will get well up the list if I can get it sorted.

Honourable mentions to CD200, R1, RSV Mille, K1100LT, K1100RS, R1100S, early ZX10R, SV650. And my brother's H100.

Most bikes are fantastic really. The only ones I disliked were GT550, GSX250, early VFR750, Pan European, TDM850, Honda 500 twin despatch thing, K100LT

Great advise, cheers! Found in some of the 'stans that there isn't a toll price for motorbikes, so in each country was stopping at the toll and asking, everyone super confused, police, bribes asked for etc. Turns out you just ride around the toll, there isn't a price, because its free for MC.
However in other countries or areas, (depending on exactly what toll road it is I guess), MC below a certain size or just all are banned, then as soon as they realise its a westerner questions start getting asked and it gets frustrating. Always been on my own car/MC before registered to country of origin.
Non nationals buying/riding bikes in China is basically a no, you can sort of rent a car in some places but you need someone of provenance to sign for you/ confirm that your not going to get up to no good. Imagine SE Asian countries are a little more lax. If I'm there more than a month will go through to get a driving license as its makes life much easier if stopped by the police or others.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CifvzLBJRS1/

I've had some shit bikes!

Daelim VT125 - Absolute shed. Bought new as my first bike but it fell apart so quickly I had to hire a bike for final few lessons and test.
Yamaha XT660X - Destroyer of rear tyres. Bit heavy for a 'supermoto'. Stripped the engine myself to cure a rattle.
Enfield 500 - Great bike, should have learned to fix it instead of selling it.
BMW K1200RS - Belonged to my old man but he let me ride it a fair bit which was probably a bit stupid as I was used to the Enfield. Could watch the petrol needle drop when giving it the beans up the m.way.
Harley Sportster - Fun way to blow a student loan. Corrosion set in pretty quickly.
Kawasaki KLR250 - Lots of fun till I seized the cams and stuff in the head.
Honda Superdream 400 - cost me something like £300 and ran like it.
KTM Duke 390 - Ridiculous fun, could put much larger bikes to shame on a b road. Pity it sounded like a hairdryer.
Yamaha Virago 250 - I probably looked ridiculous on it. Made a 4ft high sissybar for it!
Matchless G3 - Happy with it so far, despite breaking down on way home from buying it!

It's a shame that Pantahs are so rare. They had great magazine reviews back in the day but I've never seen one. Where've they all gone?

Too many bikes, I’m pretty sure I’ve forgotten some.

Honda C50 x 2
HondaC90
Kawa AR50/80
Suzuki GT125
Suzuki GT380
Suzuki RG250
Yama-gamma.
Yamaha RD350LC
Yamaha RD125LC
Yamaha RD350ypvs
Yamaha TZR250
Honda VFR400
Aprilia AF1
Honda RS125 x 4! 3 NF4s and a NX4
Kawa Z200
Mz 251
Honda CB500
Honda CD125
Honda CR500R supermoto
Suzuki TL1000s
GSXR1000k3
GSXR1000k5 x 3 (one got tramp fightered)
Kawa ZX10r (shite)
Husqvarna CR390
Husqvarna TE510
Honda CR250
Suzuki RM250 (x2 04 / 76)
Honda 650 Hawk
Honda XR650R
Ducati 900SS
Honda VFR750

honda cb125 day 1 direct access course ( took it home over night round the north circular it rained, had to save the front end with my feet when i braked a bit too hard and the front end lost grip ) my first brown trouser moment less than 8 hrs after starting
honda cb500 day 2-5 direct access course such a step up from the 125 just enjoyed every roundabout we came to as we'd have to accelerate away up to 60 such a rush

2000 honda cbr600 fx my first bike ran it in for 600 miles then got the full rev range..... life changer did a bit of touring, a track day and commuted daily on it in to central london
2004 honda cbr600 fi / f1 first fuel injected cbr600 very similar to the fx maybe a tad quicker but barely noticable
honda bros 650 mates bike i had a quick blat on
honda sp-1 while my cbr was in for a service the bike shop gave me a few hours on the v-twin 1000cc monster. accelerated so quickly, you were doing illegal speeds before you even knew it

ever ridden a non-Honda?

probably more by luck than judgement

should have had a go on a mates bmw s1000 rr when he offered but stupidly turned it down, hadn't been on a bike in a while and felt a bit cautious about ruining his pride and joy and my license
could would have been fun