Have you seen the new motorcycles???

[SpicyMchaggis]

and the 929R doesn't have the in-frame fuel system, and falling apart? are you serious? i had the bike for 3 years...no problems..and it was 1302CC of pure nonesnse

 

[loj68]

falling apart? are you serious? i had the bike for 3 years...no problems..and it was 1302CC of pure nonesnse

ha ha....you need to call Guiness.......you've got the first one in history! Hope you kept good records

I can't tell you how many times at bike meets we've seen people either pulling up or leaving on Buells that started puking fluid or oil or something.....never seen anything quite like it.

The best is after the "Buell Lightning Cup" races I've seen at VIR....they literally delay everything for an hour while the marshalls pour oil soak on the track and drive around to pick up the pieces and bolts on the track.......and I'm in no way exaggerating about that.....I've got witnesses

 

[SpicyMchaggis]

wow that really sucks for them..i know the lightning bolt i have and a couple other guys i've ridden with have never had problems..2 other lightning bolts and a 1300thunderbolt..i know the blasts are crap..and i know the FIRST gen lightning bolts are shithouse..

 

[Leadfoot]

.....I mean the gas is in the frame and the oil is in the swingarm......wha ??????

Actually, this design is a pretty good one. It cut's down on weight & lowers the center of gravity on the bike, therefore no need for extra tank & oil pan. And the swing arm gets enough airflow to keep oil temps low.

As for the harley engines, I personally won't buy 'em. I have yet to see how a $25,000 harley w/ short engine life is better than a $7,000 Ninja/CBR/Aprillia/etc with an engine that will outlast most cars.

Just my $.02

 

[4001]

Let me introduce you guys to a little something called perfection
/members/FBI14/f4_ago_01_1024.jpg/members/FBI14/f4_ago_10_1024.jpg

jk but this bike is pretty sweet The MV Agust AGO, as far as affordable a bikes go ( I say that casue the AGO is 30 grand) The entire Gixer line up is friggin sick

 

[loj68]

The MV sure is nice......there's a guy near me with one and it's pretty sweet but he hardly ever rides it. I'm partial to the Benelli Tornado below too......IMHO probably the up there with the MV for sweet looks:

 

[4001]

Very Nice

 

[Leadfoot]

FBI...that is tight, no doubt, as is the Benelli...

I'm also partial to the Aprilla...they've been kicking ass on the race circuits ever since they've been introduced. The T-rex's I posted on pg 1 are a pretty cool concept too.

 

[gjmoreo]

OK thanks .. will check on that, here is another, what do you think low J?

1998 yzf r6
only 900mi, blue & wht, just serviced, almost perfect cond, Ser Inq Only, $3900 Firm Middletown, ny (845) 742-9189

SO? what do ya guys think for a newb like me?

 

[4001]

Dont get one enjoy being able to walk

 

[gjmoreo]

LOL, why is tht the response that most people give me when I say I'm getting a bike, I have wanted a nice car and a bike for as long as I can remember. I am getting a used bike so I can gain some experience, I do not plan to drive crazy like some 18 yr. old kid who has a new bike, paying for it with his pizza joint paycheck. How I it possible that I know riders that have never been in an accident or even came close for over 15-20 years and people still say, "you WILL die if you ride, no doubt about it"

 

[johnsharpe]

SO? what do ya guys think for a newb like me?

Being a rider for the past 11 years, definately start small and work up. You're in the right ballpark looking for a used 600...it's hard to tell from text alone, anyone can write a favourable description. I wouldn't bother getting a bike laid out in plastic...you will drop it at one point in the near future and you don't want to be replacing $1500 in plastic on a $3000 bike.

Make sure you get the bike checked out before you buy. If the seller is honest, then he/she shouldn't mind riding the bike out to a shop of YOUR choosing for a pre-purchase inspection.

I started out on an 87 Kawi EX500, then a few years later moved to a 91 Honda VFR750F and just this summer, went completely the other extreme and bought a 89 Goldwing GL1500. I got each of them inspected and it was worth the $100cdn to do it.

Now, I can't stress this enough: save yourself about $2000 for safety gear. No, I'm not talking an orange reflective vest...at the very least, I'm talking a good quality jacket, gloves, boots and helmet. The helmet may be the most expensive to find one that fits properly...my wife and I just spent $1800cdn on 2 Shoei helmets...top of the line and waaaayyy out of our budget, but they were the absolute most comfortable and best fit. Make sure you talk with the "expert" at the shop when you're buying gear...they know what's best and how it should fit.

Take lessons! I didn't and I'm still unlearning all the bad habits I picked up early on. Any small habits turn really big on a 850lb bike and I'm now almost relearning how to ride.

Riding is a great mode of transportation, so long as you respect what you're doing. Save the stupid tricks and traffic darting for the empty parking lots and the track and you'll have a much more enjoyable ride.

(stepping off soapbox)

With all that said, good luck with your purchase and happy riding!

John

 

[johnsharpe]

(stepping off soapbox)

With all that said, good luck with your purchase and happy riding!

John

Just to add in, I did drop my first bike a couple times, low speed maneouvering (sp??) and broke a few turn signals in the process.

I've seen many a m/c accident; I've never been in one (thanks god), but I've come really close more times that I have fingers to count on.

A friend of mine got t-boned on his bike last summer, spent 1 month in a coma and 5 months learning how to walk again...I've seen car accidents just as bad.

I still wouldn't trade riding for anything!

 

[4001]

Everyone I know or talked to has been in a serious accident on a Bike

 

[johnsharpe]

Everyone I know or talked to has been in a serious accident on a Bike

Fair enough, that's how we as individuals are able to form an opinion about something.

I have absolutely no doubt that there are tons of horrible m/c related accidents (and therefore injuries) every day that happen to everyday normal people. I'm just lucky enough not to have to witness them.

In fact, like everything, just knowing that I can get seriously hurt riding makes me respect it that much more...

Cheers!
John

 

[loj68]

whew....I've been lucky.....I've been riding for years and doing track days and still have never crashed.......everyone I know has but not me......I would say I'm blessed but....y'know, I don't believe in that s***

I'm just careful !

 

[loj68]

oh snap, check out some of this stuff from the Tokyo Motor Show this week:

KTM RC8 Concept

Ducati GT1000 (I love old school looking bikes)

Suzuki G-Strider (916cc twin with automatic tranny...that's one helluva scooter!)

 

[proteJAY]

Hmmmmm a naked Ducati *drools*

 

[Darin]

Being a rider for the past 11 years, definately start small and work up. You're in the right ballpark looking for a used 600...it's hard to tell from text alone, anyone can write a favourable description. I wouldn't bother getting a bike laid out in plastic...you will drop it at one point in the near future and you don't want to be replacing $1500 in plastic on a $3000 bike.

Make sure you get the bike checked out before you buy. If the seller is honest, then he/she shouldn't mind riding the bike out to a shop of YOUR choosing for a pre-purchase inspection.

I started out on an 87 Kawi EX500, then a few years later moved to a 91 Honda VFR750F and just this summer, went completely the other extreme and bought a 89 Goldwing GL1500. I got each of them inspected and it was worth the $100cdn to do it.

Now, I can't stress this enough: save yourself about $2000 for safety gear. No, I'm not talking an orange reflective vest...at the very least, I'm talking a good quality jacket, gloves, boots and helmet. The helmet may be the most expensive to find one that fits properly...my wife and I just spent $1800cdn on 2 Shoei helmets...top of the line and waaaayyy out of our budget, but they were the absolute most comfortable and best fit. Make sure you talk with the "expert" at the shop when you're buying gear...they know what's best and how it should fit.

Take lessons! I didn't and I'm still unlearning all the bad habits I picked up early on. Any small habits turn really big on a 850lb bike and I'm now almost relearning how to ride.

Riding is a great mode of transportation, so long as you respect what you're doing. Save the stupid tricks and traffic darting for the empty parking lots and the track and you'll have a much more enjoyable ride.

(stepping off soapbox)

With all that said, good luck with your purchase and happy riding!

John

Very Nicely said, John...

Anyone considering a bike, with limited riding experience (Dirt-bike riding does NOT count) should enroll in an MSF course. Don't need to 'have' a bike- the MSF will lay a good foundation of basic skills.

And gear - utmost important.

Riding without boots and cashing might cost you some road rash or foot mash or even in an extreme case might lead to amputation. You might never walk without a limp. You might never walk without pain. But it probably wouldn't kill you.

Riding without gloves and crashing might cost you some road rash or munched hand or the severe, excruciating pain of mangling a body part rich with nerve endings. Or you could lose a finger or two. It could cost you the ability to play ball with your son, to properly feel the gentle curve of a woman's breast, or to hold a beer. But it probably wouldn't kill you.

Riding without at least an armored jacket and leather trousers or full leathers or an Aerostich or even just a leather jacket and jeans and crashing might cost you serious road rash. You might grind off a nipple. You might embed gravel in your elbow. You might get beef jerky all over your back. You might grind off your kneecap or have a scar resembling Australia on you calf like a friend of mine does. You would be scarred for life and not be able to walk on a beach shirtless without feeling self conscious. You might end up like Kevin Spacey's character in "Pay It Forward" and have to deal with the same awkward moment every time you remove your clothes with a new lover. But it probably won't kill you.

Riding without a back protector and crashing in all but rare crashes would be inconsequential. However, there are so many variables out there- curbs, fenders, poles, guardrails, debris in the road- any one of these could be the golden BB that nicks your spinal cord in just the wrong way and leaves you in a wheelchair for life. Or, maybe you just have constant sciatic pain in one leg. Or you can't move your legs. Or you have to wear diapers for when you s*** yourself, and/or a colostomy bag you have to pull out of your pants leg and squeeze your waste out into the toilet at a bar like a guy I know. Or you can't move from the chest down. Or from the neck down. Are you good at working joysticks with your mouth? Or maybe you might need a respirator? Or 24 hour care? Certainly, there are impacts that are completely foreseeable that would permanently injure you even with the best back protector in the world. But there are crashes and subsequent impacts that even mediocre back protectors can make that little bit of difference in- the ones you get up and walk away from, sore all over, but *walking*. Do you want the last time you walked to be when you walked out of 7-11 with a pack of smokes and then got on your bike? Those precious few steps out the door and over to the bike to be the five steps you remember the rest of your life because the next time you were off the bike you were lying strapped to a backboard staring at the headliner of an ambulance, tears running down your face because you couldn't feel the little piggies and you were almost ready to vomit at the stench of your s*** because you lost control of your bowels? Riding without a back protector and crashing might not make a difference, or it might make all the difference in the world. It might not kill you, but it might make you wish it had.

And, finally, helmets. Riding without a helmet and crashing might be of no consequence. You might never even touch terra firma with your head. Or you might give yourself an asphalt facelift. You might get a concussion that results in only a bad headache the next day. You might get a serious concussion that lands you in the hospital for endless CAT scans and MRIs, and for the rest of your days be plagued by migraines. You might fracture your orbital and lose your vision. You might fracture your skull and end up fully functional but with a horrible Frankenstein like scar and a metal plate that bothers you on cold days and sets of metal detectors in airports. You might have a closed head injury from which you don't awaken from for hours or days or weeks or months- all the while your mother, father, sister, brother, children, workmates, and/or riding buddies come and visit you, filling an utterly depressing hospital room into a gauche jungle of flowers and bright card saying "get well soon!" that you never see or smell. Sure, you might awaken completely normal besides the hole drilled in your head to reduce pressure. Or you might awaken a little fuzzy, unsure who these people are. Or you might awaken and have to re-learn everything it took you all your life to learn, eventually returning to normal or even better like Harrison Ford in "Regarding Henry". Or you might awaken a man-child, drooling and laughing as you try to stack blocks, wearing sweatpants and a t-shirt signed by your mother, father, sister, brother, children, workmates, and/or riding buddies- which you will never read. Or you might have an open head injury, from which the "you" you know will most likely never return. The rest of your life -be it a day, a week, a month, a year- will consist of feeding tubes, the endless beep and whoosh of the heart monitor and respirator, and the drip-drip or IV fluids, catheters in your rod, and feeding tubes. Of course, you won't mind all of this; you'll be in a dream land no one knows about. Your body will waste away and atrophy. Eventually, the shell that used to be you would give out, and your loved ones would have to make the most grueling decision of their life. Or, you might die on the road, fluffy gray brain matter mixing with blood and cerebro-spinal fluid. Perhaps you last ride would be twenty miles an hour down the street by your house combined with an impatient young driver and an ignored stop sign. Or perhaps it would be a ride on the freeway and a pothole denting your rim and popping the front tire off the bead sending you into the guardrail. Or you might go out in a blaze of glory with a 100 mph wheelie ending the wrong way. Whichever way, would make maybe a 10 second news story depending on where you live, maybe a paragraph buried on page 32B of the paper. Riding without a helmet could be of no matter- or it could mean the difference between going on as you are now, or having life taken away from you as if God flipped a switch.


I can live without toes or a mangled foot- but I choose to try and prevent that. I can live with a hand that looks like a burn victim's and maybe relearn to write with my left hand- but I choose to try and prevent that. I can live with a scar in the shape of Australia on my calf- but I try and prevent that. I can live with road rash on my torso and arms- but I try to prevent that. I could live in a wheelchair, agonizing through every day, but I chose to try and prevent that.

I can't live as a man-child. I've already played with blocks. I only drool when I sleep.

We all make choices. Gear can't always save you. All the best leather, denim, Cordura, Kevlar, fiberglass, and plastic are useless when fate throws the Immovable Object or the Irresistible Force in your path. But I choose to stack the deck in my favor. If it all ends up for naught and the stacked deck and the cards up my sleeve end up losing to Fate's royal flush, so be it. But I'll try.

-- Unknown Author from a CBR Email List

 

[Darin]