Thought I should just create a thread instead of posting in others. This thread is for 2 wheels only! I had the front fairing off after work as I'd blown my head light (2nd time in 4 months)...and blown my sidelights today all by going too fast over speed bumps, they can be fun! :lol: I had been thinking of going the street fighter look, I think it looks better on this bike, so I just kept the fairing off.
I actually think the faring looks decent on that bike. It's not much of a faring to begin with so it still had a street fighter-ish look to it. That and I can't stand the look of a naked square headlight It would look much better with a round one!
It looks good without a fairing, but looks awkward with the square headlamp lol. I wouldn't mind getting a bike, except here and over 50cc you need a license (1st level is up to 500, 2nd is 501cc and up). I could start on a scooter (Yamaha BW50) for beating around with so I can get familiar with riding, then go up to probably a Yamaha WR250F which would let me ride on the road, and also let me go trail riding with it.
Wow, New Brunswick license regs suck Over here the level 1 (M1) is valid for a maximum of 90 days, and is restricted to solo, daytime (30mins before sun up, 30mins after sun down), and no 400 series highways or roads where posted speed limit is over 80km/h. The level 2 (M2) can only be acquired 60 days after getting your M1, and is pretty well the same as a full license just with 0.0% blood alcohol. I need to get some gear soon, what do you guys think of this jacket? I tried one on at the motorcycle show and it fit very well. It's not very bright, but I will add some reflective strips (and maybe some neon lights inside the fairings) for night riding and in daytime my bike is bright/loud enough. Teknic 2012 - Rage Jacket
Yep, our laws definitely suck lol. I could get a BW50 and get insurance and be on my way since I already have my class 5 vehicle license (which is a regular full license). It doesn't really matter, I'd be taking a course anyways. I like that jacket, the design is pretty sweet. If I was in the market for one I have a feeling I'd be leaning towards a Joe Rocket. Blaster 11.0 Textile - Joe Rocket Canada
Completely different over here... I think this is how it works. First test is CBT...if your 16 you can only have a 50cc, if your 17+ you can ride a 125cc but must of passed your CBT on a geared bike otherwise your still restricted to twist and go. Then you have to do a theory test before you can progress further, after that it's time for module 1 test which is off road manoeuvres and then if you pass that you have to do module 2 which is on road riding...if you pass that and your under 21 you can only ride bikes with upto 33bhp (Any bike restricted) and over 21 you can ride anything. It changes so often here but I'm pretty sure that's how it is at the moment. Bet it's not as expensive over there either? £100 for a CBT, £31 for Theory, then £600+ to take your test. I have thought about changing my headlight for a round one or twin headlights. I've still got the brackets on for the fairing actually, need to remember to take those off. :lol: I like that jacket too! Motorcycle clothing is so expensive these days, but for obvious reasons it's so worth it. Anyone who rides in a t-shirt or any non protective clothing are crazy and clearly have a death wish. Had huge gusts of wind today, had a little moment at a roundabout where the wind blew hard and I felt the front end moving, I straightened it up and all was fine.
It's $475 for the course here, which is about a week and 8 hours a day. With that you can ride one of their bikes (depends on which level your going for, they have bikes for either one) and that also includes the licensing and road test with the DMV. I wouldn't mind riding a street bike (CBR600, GSXR600-750, ZX6R) but the way people drive around here doesn't make it worth it, I'd be happier and safer if I was riding a dual purpose instead of being forced to stay on pavement.
Wow, those are even worse regs over there!!! Mind you the roads are very different. I'd probably be just fine with a 250cc over there, especially if it were strictly city riding. Over here the city roads are almost more open then your country roads, and our country roads are wide open. Although it's tough to find a good curvy road here, I don't envy your regs for a minute. The fees for licensing are dirt cheap too. Its $17 for the written M1 test, or you can pre-register for your M2 road test at the same time for a discount. The rider training course is optional, but it gets you your M2 immediately after the 60 days, and it's $450. They teach you everything from basic riding techniques and formations to managing speed wobble and how to drop the bike as safely as you can. If you do the course the M2 road test is included, but if you don't I think it's somewhere around $90.
i concur with 'bacon, gotta do something about that massive ****in square light. a round one would look way better, find you a harley light and throw on there LOL. yea, the laws are way better/way less retarded here in the states! pass a written for your temp permit and you can ride what ever you want with a helmet during the day and no passengers. pass the written and the maneuverability test and you can ride whatever you want, whenever you want, with whoever you want(helmet varies by state). i'm def gonna need to take a course though, i haven't done a lot of motorized 2 wheel riding in my life but i know i need a bike! apparently the honda and harley programs offered at their dealerships are pretty good. i'm hoping to get this done by this fall and maybe have a bike by then. we'll see though. as far as the bike, i believe i've posted it up a few hundred times here but... ...buell XB12scg lightning, oh yes, you will be mine!!! hopefully i can find one in that translucent red too, love it! although i really like the buell ulysses too... ...basically a dual sport version of the XB series. would be awesome to bomb down a random dirt road i might encounter on a ride.
The prices I mentioned are literally for like a 2 hour test, if you want to do any training before hand your looking at £750+ (Includes both tests though), that's like over $1k right? Stupid expensive here.
As it was my first Saturday off in a long time and the weather was pretty good I went for a ride with the father, hitting all those twisties! Stopped off at Dunstable Downs and sat down for a bit. Grabbed a few pics off my phone from there.
My first test with the GO PRO HD Hero, this road is about 1 mile from me. One of my favorite stretches of local road, you can see the whole stretch start to finish, so you see any traffic long before it gets to you. I hardly get any daylight hours as you can see after work, so can't go for a long ride till Sunday (If the weather is good). Can't wait to try this out on a bigger bike in the summer. Weather permitting, I'm going to try a few other angles on Sunday. Available in 1080p [video=youtube;q8tqkGd9HLQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8tqkGd9HLQ[/video]
Looks fun man, good thing there's nobody really living around there, they'd probably get pretty annoyed at the one guy going back and forth on that stretch lol. Does your helmet have a spot where the camera can fit without getting in the way? I always like those views.
I gotta get me one of those! Must be fun to wring out a small bike right to the limit though. We don't really have any roads like that around here, the one somewhat winding road near me is very populated by some of the most wealthy in the area, although it is a common route for bikes in the summer I don't think they'd appreciate me buzzing back and forth a couple of times It's almost time to go pick up the SV, just a couple more weeks until it should be consistently warm. I don't want to put insurance on it until I can ride it regularly so that's why I'm waiting, otherwise I'd be getting on it on the odd warm day we're having now.
Good thing you don't live here, we still have snow on the ground, and today it was nice and sunny, only about -1 or 2. Then all of a sudden around 4pm it started snowing like a SOB, near whiteout conditions. Gotta love the Maritimes...
True that! It usually rains like crazy there in spring too right? Plus you always get remainders of the hurricanes and stuff coming up the coast too We've had a fairly mild winter, a lot of precipitation but mostly rain. Whenever it did snow it would always melt after a couple of days, then it would just rain some more. This morning it was -8*c, by mid day it hit around -2*c, but by Wednesday it's supposed to be +13*c! Here's hoping for a dry spring!
Yeah, it's mostly farms around there so no one to really complain. There's always a bike or car hitting that section everyday. That's the first time I've ever gone back and forth on it though. Just a little test really, the good thing about this country is that there are roads like that everywhere just alot of them are covered with bushes etc so the corners are blind so you can't use all the road and push the limits of the bike. Hopefully the weather is nice on Sunday and I can get some more videos up of some other country lanes etc around here. All good fun! You don't need all the power in the world for the twisties, a 125 is enough to have a alot of fun on the corners...so light, you can just hang off the bike and throw it into corners. Only thing is, it's so light and nimble, you can litterally feel the rear end sliding around constantly...which does feel good but it's always on the back of your mind when you push.
Slim, have you ever been to the Yorkshire Dales? Some great roads up there. I remember being driven down some of those roads in Wharfedale in a Boxster S. Its a bit of a trek from you, but if you ever find yourself in that area I imagine you'll have some good fun.
Got to take my buddy's GS400 for a spin last night. I did pretty well considering it was the first time I'd been on a motorcycle in 5 years (and that was just a dinky little 125cc dirt bike). The most difficult part for me was having to do u-turns because he lives in an area that's between 2 busy streets and there is no way to go around the block without having to turn onto one of them and it was already beyond half an hour after dark (restrictions for beginner license here) so I didn't want to risk getting in trouble. It was a blast, though I'm still having to think about stuff too much because I ride bicycle to work everyday and I'm used to a) light steering (which a GS certainly doesn't have), b) both hand levers being brakes, and c) not having to shift while I ride. I'll probably be out again on Sunday as it's supposed to be great weather. Then I can also get out in the daytime and practice dealing with traffic. I'm really glad he's letting me learn all this on his bike before I pick up the SV, he's picking up a GSF400 Bandit in a few weeks so he's not worried about me damaging this one.
So yesterday I gave the bike a full service and then cleaned it all. It was then around 1.30pm and Me and the old man randomly decided we would ride to Yarmouth....ended up getting a little lost on the way and ended up in Ipswich, so we followed the coast north to Yarmouth. With many stops (*** breaks, drinks and a rest etc etc) and the huge detour, it took us about 4 hours to get there...but just over 2 hours back in the dark (With 3 stops. That's actually quicker than what most would do it in a car). Even though I've had my problems with Suzy, she never missed a beat yesterday and that really did make me proud of her...considering we were flat out the whole way. Because most of the journey is dual carriage ways, I expected to be eaten alive by everything on the road on huge open roads like that. Suzy did very well though, me and the old man were drafting each other the whole way and we were doing just over 80 at times (Needle stopped) which was plenty enough to be overtaking. Kills your shoulders/back being tucked in most of the time and may look stupid on a 125...but I couldn't care less, it worked well. I didn't get the good fuel consumption you might expect though...I had to fill the thirsty cow up twice and gave her a few quid top up twice as well when we stopped for a drink/eat/smoke. Got home with about half a tank. Who says you can't take long journeys on a 125? Originally I thought we did about 270 but it's more close to 290 miles I think. Obviously it would of been better on a bigger bike, but you'll be amazed at how much fun you can have at 80...especially in corners. Also noticed my rear tyre now needs replacing, That can wait till end of the month/start of next...I need some better pattern tyres anyway, hate the little things on mine at the moment. Possible Twin headlight conversion next month too, currently thinking about getting a HID conversion kit first. Even though I want a big bike soon and I should be saving really, I can't help but buy stuff for this stupid old girl. I never really liked the look of her before I got her, but then I didn't want to spend huge money on something I needed to ride through the winter and the fact she had been stored for 9 years so she had stupidly low mileage for her age just drew me towards her. She has grown on me though, and I want to keep her forever, she's my little baby! JESUS CHRIST I GOT HUGE AIR TODAY! Overtaking someone on a speed bump, I must of been around 30cm off the ground, it felt bigger though so I don't know. Either way I did not mean to do it that much. I sometimes get a little air for fun but very little as I don't want to hurt the old girl but I was so pi$$ed at 1 guy holding the traffic up by driving at 20mph and slowing to crawling pace for speed bumps I saw red. He was on the speed bump as I launched over it. I just want to see the look on his face as I flew (Literally) past him. A few pics from the coast yesterday... I got about 2 hours of onboard footage as well, although I've only watched the first 20 mins so far...I have no idea where it stopped recording. All the footage is with the usual tank cam but I have recently set up a mount on my front fender, Iv'e yet to try it but I think it would be way to bumpy? So the footage wouldn't be that good...I can do Helmet cam, but I think it looks ridiculous sticking out of a helmet. For some reason the suction cup don't like me side panels, but I have some other mounts that I think could do the job. Got the next 2 weekends off so a bit of time to try out a few things. Edit: And She's FILTHY again!
I bet that was fun launching it off the speed bump lol. Is there room to have the camera clamped to one of your forks?
It was! I don't have the right clamp to put it on the forks, I did think about sticking the suction cup on my headlight (Daytime riding of course), and having the camera hanging down so it's in-between the 2 forks. I'm just going to have a play around on the weekend and see what angle comes out best. Might try mounting the camera facing the rear just behind my seat too.
Had a go with my go pro earlier [video=youtube;M8G3sqrBwh0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8G3sqrBwh0[/video]
I can't wait to get back out on the SV! I made the final payment and picked it up two weeks ago, but the regulator/rectifier went for a poop either just after I picked it up or shortly before. I rode it around for a bit in the rain (this is my first bike mind you, lol), got soaked and went to my buddies house for a bit, and it started no problem after that. I took it home and parked it for the night, brought it out of the garage the next morning, gave it a good wipe down to get all the rain guck off it, and gave it a coat of wax. I geared up and hit the ignition and it barely gave one crank and stopped. I boosted it with my car and it was happy after that. I rode around town a bit and then brought it up to my brother in-law's house for a few hours, he managed to bump start it while it was still warm so that he could go around the block a few times, but by the time it was dusk and I had to go (light limitations for beginner license) it wouldn't even do that. After we finally got it running it was pretty well dark, but I had to get home anyway, unfortunately the battery was so dead the lights were getting fairly dim by the end of the 15 minute ride. I rode past the school that's on the main road of the village I live in and put my left signal on and went into the left turn lane to get into the subdivision that I live in. As I'm slowing down in the left turn lane a Ford Taurus in the oncoming lane decides not to follow his lane around the left turn lane, but instead figures he'd just play chicken with me. I just about crapped myself but got on the horn as I swerved around him, gave him an angry fist over my shoulder and made my turn. Now with that disaster diverted I brought the battery to work last week and charged it for a good while, that was more than enough to get it back to the shop because they sold it with a 30day warranty. The part was in this afternoon, but they had another bike they had to finish before mine and they couldn't get to it yet. Luckily the owner of this shop is a really nice guy and was going to be tinkering on his stuff tomorrow (Good Friday Holiday) and said he'd take a look at mine and give me a call when it's done. So hopefully I can take advantage of this beautiful spring weather this weekend and get out on the road again
well, i'm finally on my way to owning a bike, got my learners permit about 2 weeks ago! i've ridden my friends suzuki katana 600 a few times since then(the same bike that we were jetting the carbs and doing some wiring on at 6AM a few weeks ago, lol), gettin used to riding out on the roads. next thursday i'm gonna try to get into a 'beginners class' that the ohio DMV does(the one good thing they actually do, LOL). if i pass that, i'll get to skips the license exam at the DMV and get like a 15% insurance discount too. it'll be a few months before i get a bike though, right now i'm at the point where i literally can't spend a single bit of money unless it's on bills or gas *c'mon pipefitters union!* they should have me working by june or july at the latest, so i'm looking to pick up a good used bike in july or august. hopefully sometime before riding season is up around here.
I'm having too much fun on this thing! I went for a 2.5hr ride out in the countryside on the other side of the city. Some really nice roads out there as there is an area of small canyons and lots of rolling hills. The road surface still sucks, but at least there is some nice twisties. I'm still gaining my confidence in the corners, so I'm keeping my cornering speeds down a bit compared to what the bike feels like it can handle. I'm certainly not pushing it. I was having so much fun just aimlessly riding around that I can't even figure out where I went using Google Maps. I think it's time to get a GPS so I can at least find some of these spots again. It's kind of hard to get lost around here though. The Niagara "peninsula" goes right between Lake Ontario and Lake Erie, so you can't go too terribly far North/South before you get to water, and I'm right near the boarder so I pretty well can only go West. I probably need to get the front wheel balanced though. With a light fuel load I can feel a moderate vibration around 80km/h but it dissipates around 90km/h. That and I need to get my left boot repaired, as one of the grommets came out the first time I tried to lace them up
I got extremely sideways today....nearly like a motard. And to be quite honest I loved it! I had just popped out of work to get something to eat. I was just coming up to the right hand turn when I realized I had overshot...so instead of going by and turning round, I hit the rear brake...locked the rear, rear came right out...Steering was nearly full lock to the left and slide across the road and I'm not joking....only just managed to make the turn...HAHA! At the time I seriously considered putting my leg out but then I remembered I'm not riding a motard here! :lol: One of our van drivers was behind me at the time, when he got back to the office, he was shocked at how I held onto that. I do enjoy backing it into corners but I really shouldn't make it a habit. I did it again on the way home, coming up to a junction and someone pulled out on me, I locked the rear and slid to a stop.
Oh and the reason I'm sliding around a lot more in the wet is because of the new rear I have, a soft compound with not much tread for the wet :lol:. I had a blowout last Friday, luckily I wasn't in a corner really. Just felt the rear get a huge wobble and I pulled over right away. Pushed the bike with a flat for 2.8miles, anyone who has a bike will know how ****ing hard that is...every one said I looked dead at work. I had no energy left and because I obviously had to wear my gear, I was sweating badly. When I got to work, I pushed her inside the warehouse and started work...on the bike. :lol: Took the rear off and sent it to a garage for a nice shiny new tyre. I forgot to take a pic of the tyre!
I've been busy as frack the past few weeks, but now I have some down time, and unfortunately that's also down time from riding my bike. Two weekends ago I rode behind my friends in my buddy's car up to a small town called Sauble Beach which is at the "South Bruce Peninsula" on Lake Huron. It's a little more than 4 hours, but we do this every year and have our usual spots for breaks. It was great riding and the weather was perfect, I got lots of highway experience and had fun in the rolling hills out in the country there. The reason for the trip is every year since 2001 my friends and I have helped with a "clean up" weekend at a small kids camp there, to help groom trails, clean up the waterfront, and do general building maintenance to get it ready for summer. This year we got to tear down an old cabin by hand, which although was fun, I managed to get a pretty decent hernia doing it. So... that's why I've got a week off Last week I was still working and in my free time was helping my brother in law finish his project bike, an '86 Kawasaki ZX-600 R. It's a bit of a bastard child with a streetfighter style, and a fighter jet theme. It has an '88 ZX-6R motor in it with stage 2 jetted carbs, high flow OE fit filter in a chopped and drilled out air box, Vance and Hines full exhaust, upgraded chain and sprockets, upper faring delete, and centre stand "delete" (I say "delete", but we actually just chopped it off with a plasma cutter after a bolt snapped on the left side and the exhaust was in the way to undo the right side). It's a bit of a hack job, but we got it to pass the safety inspection, and it rides pretty well, loud as all hell and is very twitchy over 80km/h. I also got my Scotts steering damper in the post as well
Some pics from the BMF Show last Saturday... These are the 'Best in the show 2012'. I really wish I grabbed a pic of the car park, 2 separate car parks, one for bikes, one for cars. The bike one has about 6 or more rows...this pic is from their site but this is only 1 half. This pic is taken from the road that runs directly down the middle. So there's at least double the amount of bike you see in this pic...And that's just the non members. Once you go inside the show ground then you see even more from all the clubs and manufacturers...let alone all the fields around filled with tents and bikes. Seriously the bikers heaven, Came home with new summer gloves and new boots. Had I been able to carry more then I would of definitely spent a lot more. Anyway those 'Best in Show' pics: I had a boring ride there, I didn't see a single bike till I was about 15mins away. Ride back was good fun though, We had a little convoy going for a while. I hate myself for not being able to take more pics, I forgot to charge my phone so I sensibly saved the battery for emergencies.
Ooo I love the paint on that Bandit I've been riding around again now, did an oil change and installed the Scotts steering damper that I bought. It makes a world of a difference at any speed above 60km/h, everything feels that much tighter and more secure. I'd highly recommend one to anybody with a sport bike that doesn't come with one. They make kits with all the bracketry/fastners you need for almost any bike and they are a cinch to install. After another 100 miles or so I noticed that my rear tire had significantly worn down with only about 2mm before the wear bars, I decided I'd get them replaced. They were cheap a$$ Shinko tires that were actually oversize, so I was happy to get them replaced. I picked up a set of Michelin Sport Pilots in the proper size for the bike, and as the shop was installing them they noticed the rear pads were about done as well. Luckily they had them in stock so they did them right away. I'm just nearing the end of the break in period for them and they already have exceeded the grip of the Shinkos two fold. I'm looking forward to really getting some heat in them and see how the bike really handles
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Well this is what happened to me after work...went for a short ride in the good weather and BOOM! Was doing about 50mph, I was trapped under the bike along with a fucking deer. Managed to get free, then many people pulled over to help etc. They got me into the recovery position and they moved the bike, and I laid next to a deer (Less than a meter from its head) with its head swinging about as it had a broken neck, blood everywhere and I could hear it struggling. Ambulance arrived, was in there for 30-45mins or something and NO broken bones!! Just cuts bruises and a fair bit of swelling. Local farmer came while I was in the ambulance and shot the deer, I'm amazed it lasted so long. Not 100% on what the damage to the bike is till I get a closer look. But protective clothing does save lives...Trust me! I had a look at all my gear and fucking hell am I lucky! My jacket is torn to shreads, trousers, gloves too. Boots have scratches all over them, Helmet has a tiny little crack on the back. I left the bike at a house near by, father collected it an hour after I got home...I went with him and just had to have a look at the road, markings up the road where I slide then a pool of blood where the deer once laid. I don't believe in god but I do think god has other plans for me...
Holy crap man! I'm glad you're doing ok! Amazing just how fast it happens and there was no possible way to see it in the tall grass either. Good to hear people actually stopped, when my bro-in-law dumped his GS on the highway the most attention he got was a dude taking a picture with his phone. Watching that video really makes me glad I just got some good leather riding pants to go with my jacket
That gear will serve you well, morning after the accident now and I'm aching all over, swollen knees bruised ribs, and just feel bruised from top to bottom. The Kevlar on my jacket has completely worn down on one side, same with the trousers. When I look at what it done to Kevlar, i'm so glad I had good gear on otherwise maybe I wouldn't be here right now.
Right had a look at the bike, Can't quite tell if forks are bent. From certain angles they look it, but then at other angles they look fine....obviously head light assembly is fucked, I'll tape that up for now. Ignition barrel has had it too, just managed to hotwire it and the bike started first time. Front fender is bent, right side peg is bit bent, but covered in blood and hair as is the engine (Not my blood). Indicators all still work, brake lights work. I'm actually going to try and get back on it today, will be very painful seeing as I can't move my body much right now but I'm getting it back on the road so I can at least do the short journey to work. Itching to get back out there already, weather is looking nice again!
This is the exact reason why I hate deer. They're such a nuisance. Slim, you should have a nice venison steak tonight just for revenge!
A few days later and I'm still very much hurting all over, a few guys have said I have cracked ribs but not much a doc can do about that apart from giving or telling me to get some paracetamol I would think. Everyone at work has seen the video now, we had guys in from head office today and even they got shown my video by the branch manager. All I get is "Oh Dear" or "Oh Deary me"...or anything else that has the word DEER/DEAR in! I must of watched the video 25+ times now and I still think I was lucky to survive and even come away with no serious injuries. It could of ended so much more worse than it did, the road has 2 deep ditches on each side, not to mention the sign posts just after impact with the Deer or even oncoming traffic. Everyone keeps telling me to stop biking already and every time I reply "Not happening". The chance of me hitting a Deer again is very slim. I've only ever seen a few wild here in my lifetime and that was always very early in the morning. It was just unlucky to run into one on a bike. I have been thinking of taking up a new hobby though...Deer Hunting! Haha
I'll look for you on the cover of the next Cabella's Big Game Hunter We've got quite a few deer around here, a friend of mine creamed one with her car last year. Fortunately in that regard we don't have too many high speed blind corners like that in our area. I'll have to get some video editing software so I can show you guys some GoPro footage from the one really good spot to ride in the Niagara region lol Sort of a valley area with tight winding roads that can be a bit dangerous but fun as hell!
I need some good software. At the moment I use a free one, which converts the file and with that I lose quality. Get some videos up! I would love to see the roads out that way, Niagara Falls is one of my dream places to live but mainly for the views, I don't really know much else about the place.
