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^^^I still like the ugly fairing that came on our bikes. It reminds me of an Alien head. If I ever have to fight a Predator (or another GSX) I will put it on my hand as a shield.
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Mar 27, 2009 15:23
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Simkin posted:
A friend of mine on one of the Valkyrie boards did pretty much just hat. He said he's never been to Norway and some other guy on the board said, "I live in Norway and have a spare Goldwing. If you show up, you can take it." Eight days later he was in Norway based on nothing more than two posts and a few PMs. Showed at the guys house, picked up the keys, and spent about three weeks biking around Norway and neighboring countries. Sadly, he does stuff like this often. It leaves me jealous.
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Mar 27, 2009 16:25
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OLA!
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Simkin posted:So what's stopping ya? I still don't have a garage, so it's hard to even get the basics done. When I crashed the trackbike (the 2nd time,  ), I bent some of the bolts that secure the side covers. I cannibalized straight ones to get the trackbike back on the road, but while I've got most of the parts now, but I'm still new brake lines (because I need ones that are long as hell), I need a new front rotor after the incident at the track, plus some other assorted odds and ends...all of that requires money, which is beyond short at the moment due to me crashing at the first race round. I really do enjoy racing, but at the same time, I look at the near 2k that I dump into it every month, and wonder if it's really worth it. It'd be a hell of a lot cheaper if I could stop having issues of all sorts at the track. 
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Mar 27, 2009 17:40
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Cost is why I went to riding an MX bike instead of getting more into track days. You can of course make MX riding very expensive, but generally it's nothing compared to track riding or racing. Even if you want to race MX bikes it's nowhere near as expensive. I found riding an MX bike much more challenging than the stuff I did at track days as well. First day out most people can manage to get a knee down and "feel" fast and think they are doing a decent job of things. Of course to be actually fast at a track takes a huge amount of skill and a decent set of clankers. Being fast at an MX track and mastering jumping is totally daunting to me. That's why I mostly stick to the DOONZ because you can do lots of similar stuff to what you'd do at a track without nearly the skill level required. A track day is easily the most fun I've ever had on a bike, but I can go out and ride my dirtbike every weekend if I want and maintenance/tire costs are nowhere near the level of a track day.
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Mar 27, 2009 18:00
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n8r posted:Cost is why I went to riding an MX bike instead of getting more into track days. You can of course make MX riding very expensive, but generally it's nothing compared to track riding or racing. Even if you want to race MX bikes it's nowhere near as expensive. MX riding and track riding definitely both have their own worlds of skills needed to really haul rear end. Personally, I think the people that fly 10-20 feet above the ground every lap are beyond nuts. Yet MX riders will say that rolling into a corner at 105mph with your knee on the ground is insane...  I think what may end up happening for me is at the end of this season, I'll find a supermoto and race casual kart track races on a SM, rather than going back to road racing, unless things start happening for me. This last race weekend has definitely been a wake up call for me...racing doesn't care how fast you've gone in the past, it's sink or swim in one session. I'm also not the best at just getting out there and going fast straight off the bat, I'm a rider who likes to work on steadily reducing my lap times, one marker/etc at a time. I'm not really interested in going balls to the wall much, and I've lost a lot of the aggression that originally put me on the path to racing. Then again, when racing is bad, it's really bad, and when it's good, it's apparently really good. We'll see how the next race goes. It's a little frustrating to know how much faster I could go, and yet not even be close to it in a race situation.
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Mar 27, 2009 18:10
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To not get all discussy in the crash forum, I got in touch with the insurance co. of the lady that hit me today. They straight up said that they found her at fault and that an adjuster will be contacting me and then coming out to check the bike out. I'm fairly sure its going to get totaled. The thing is, I'm not sure if I want to get another one as long as I live in the heart of LA. This is the second time in two years I've been introduced to a car and both times I've been lucky, not sure if I will be the third time. Also, there's a good chance that my office will be moving to somewhere in the South Bay later this year, which will be a fairly suicidal commute. Any advice?
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Mar 27, 2009 19:27
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The only person who can decide if they're going to be comfortable going out riding is you. It won't be a big deal if you stop riding on the street. "People are insane" is a perfectly good reason. There are alternatives available like dirt and track if you still have an itch. Give yourself time to think about it. Really worst case scenario if you don't have a bike for a few months - years is you buy one if you end up wanting it. The hopeful worst case scenario of having one then deciding you're not comfortable is you sell it.
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Mar 27, 2009 19:49
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Ola posted:No, no other reason than crazy socialist taxes. You only pay road tax on an old bike, but the prices of new bikes obviously set the floor on used ones. Brand new Gladius? $19K thank you very much. Hrm, I feel obliged to trump your lamenting of Norwegian taxes with our Danish taxes: * Car/motorcycle registration tax of 180% of the car (the first 45.000 kr. (6,000 €) are taxed "only" at 90%, and there are deductions for some safety equipment). Note that this includes a "tax tax" because the registration tax is also calculated on the VAT. * Annual road tax. * Tax on car insurance. * Fuel tax. * Energy taxes. * Green taxes. * Driving license tax. So you see, my pain must be stronger, here in 'socialist' Denmark  Then again, you guys tax alcohol thru the roof, which has to hurt a great deal more...On a lighter note, I just sat down and watched some world super sport, where we have a single Dane in the field, Robbin Harms, and remembered that I actually bought my first helmet from Robbin 6 years ago when he worked in his father's motorcycle shop The MC corner. I remember Robbin doing wheelies like mad on his moped around the parking lot next to the shop. And now he's racing in WSS... time flies He's a nice guy by the way, though his dad is kind of an rear end in a top hat. I'm liking WSS a lot this season, intense stuff. Robbin is showing promise this year as well (not crashing as much... oh god please don't crash more).
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Mar 27, 2009 19:50
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redscare posted:To not get all discussy in the crash forum, I got in touch with the insurance co. of the lady that hit me today. They straight up said that they found her at fault and that an adjuster will be contacting me and then coming out to check the bike out. I'm fairly sure its going to get totaled. KDC gives good advice. I've ridden in the South Bay and it's really not that bad. I don't ride a lot of street anymore. I'm almost entirely a track rider. One of the things that I was most thankful about moving closer to work was that I could do away with my 50 miles of lane splitting every day. I want a streetbike, but I'd hesitate to commute on it. I'm addicted to the ease of lanesplitting though. It's really a decision for you. If you don't feel comfortable with it, if it's not fun, then you really shouldn't be riding. If you still have a bike, still want to ride on weekends, the say screw it and gently caress commuting on the bike. I started to hate riding after commuting for 8 months or so...every day turned into "am i going to crash going to work today?".
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Mar 27, 2009 19:58
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redscare posted:The thing is, I'm not sure if I want to get another one as long as I live in the heart of LA. This is the second time in two years I've been introduced to a car and both times I've been lucky, not sure if I will be the third time. Also, there's a good chance that my office will be moving to somewhere in the South Bay later this year, which will be a fairly suicidal commute. Any advice? Z3n posted:KDC gives good advice. I've ridden in the South Bay and it's really not that bad. Redscare - I'm exactly where you are. I crashed in December on the South Bay curve and even though the bike is back I have no desire to ride it. I don't think it's fear, per se, because I don't feel scared when I do ride it. It just no longer occurs to me to use it to get places. I have no interest in track or dirt, and if I'm not commuting I can't think of a reason to keep it other than sentimentality. I can think of plenty of reasons - all financial - to ditch it. I also crashed right after my son was born, which may be a factor. KDC and Zen do give good advice though. As far as the South Bay goes, I wouldn't worry too much. I live in Long Beach and work in either El Segundo or Santa Monica, and as mentioned until December the bike was primarily a commuter with some side trips through the canyons. The 405/105/110 are really no worse than any other part of Los Angeles, OC or San Diego I've ridden in. I'm not saying you should or should not commute on a motorcycle, I am saying the South Bay is proll'y not a worthwhile factor in that decision.
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Mar 27, 2009 20:29
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OrangeFurious posted:A friend of mine on one of the Valkyrie boards did pretty much just hat. He said he's never been to Norway and some other guy on the board said, "I live in Norway and have a spare Goldwing. If you show up, you can take it." Tell me more about these "valkyrie boards".
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Mar 27, 2009 20:55
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Z3n posted:KDC gives good advice. I've ridden in the South Bay and it's really not that bad. Well the catch here is that while I often get cars from work, there are times when I need a personal vehicle in case there aren't enough available. Currently, my options include the bus, bicycle, and even walking in addition to a car/bike. Should the South Bay move come through, those will be out. I think what I'm going to do is wait until this work situation is sorted and then decide, but I'll spend the summer sans bike or car. Its also not about the South Bay itself, but rather the distance. Currently my commute is only five miles and I have enough close calls as it is. K-Town to South Bay is a lot further than K-Town to the west end of Miracle Mile. redscare fucked around with this message at 21:05 on Mar 27, 2009 |
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Mar 27, 2009 21:03
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I think your problem may be that you're riding with a car mentality. I do a huge amount of riding in chicago proper. The streets here are a war zone. Traffic laws are enforced essentially by camera, and accident only. I have more close calls on the highway when dealing with asian women in minivans than I do in chicago. It's all about looking far enough ahead to get a picture of what's about to happen. Some people can do it. Others can't. That's ok though. I can't sing. I'm not sure how to "teach" that to someone. Other than making them aware that they can look ahead. It's something to think about. Test yourself on it. I remember teaching the skills to myself. I'm all for the bicycle option, but if you can't do traffic prediction, a bicycle leaves you with one less powerful tool to avoid traffic with. When you only have 3-500w on tap, you're not getting out of the way very fast. 5 miles though? I'd be biking even if I had a motorcycle. I think your best option is a car.
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Mar 27, 2009 21:24
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A mental trick that works for me is putting myself in the position of the cars that are around me and then use the things they can see in order to predict what they will do. This is one of those things that takes three long-rear end paragraphs to fully explain but an instant to process in your mind. Examples: I'm in the left lane, car in the right lane, another car coming on the on ramp. He's going to worry more about letting the car in than checking his left side, either pass right now or stay behind. Two cars ahead going below the speed limit, I want to pass them. But the rearmost car is tailgating the one in front and I can see his brake lights flicker. He wants to pass too and he will be more concerned about a clear gap ahead than another passer behind. Wait till he's passed. Or gun it 2nd where the car can't make it.  Car pulls up to the intersection, sees me and has to yield. I'm still quite a bit away. His wheels start rolling, then stops, then starts rolling again. This guy is regretting his decision to stop, cause he realizes he could've made it and chances are is going to go for it. This can be really dangerous, I always slow down and get ready to brake hard. By slowing down I might increase the risk of inviting him on to the road, but I'm in a much better situation to avoid a crash going slower than I am having the car mentality of "oh you just try it son, it'll be my name in the "winner" box on the insurance form". Cause I will lose anyway.
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Mar 27, 2009 21:37
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Given that I really want a DRZ, but don't think my economic situation is in good enough shape to buy another toy, I got the thought of selling my Buell to buy one. Thing is I've painted the whole bike and even the wheels with black spraypaint. It's not a crap job, I spent the better part of day taping off everything, but it's still spraypaint. I hacked off the tailpiece, but I figure I can just buy another and include it with the bike. I also JB-welded magnets to the underside of the airbox cover so I could use a magnetic tank bag and installed heated grips with a switch above the instrument cluster. I put new tires on, but did work myself (except for mounting of course). Is all this stuff going to screw the resale value if I try to sell it?
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Mar 27, 2009 22:35
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Nerobro posted:It's all about looking far enough ahead to get a picture of what's about to happen. You can certainly force yourself to do it over time. When I first started riding on the street, I was coming off of 11 years of dirt riding, where you spend a lot more time looking at the ground in front of you. I had to consciously tell myself to look up, look forwards all the time. I still have to do it sometimes.
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Mar 27, 2009 22:38
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There's a large part of me that's screaming "get back on the horse". I know when I crashed I avoided the bike completely for a month or so. It was partly because I'd bolluxed up the shifter, the clutch lever and the forks in the crash, so it wasn't too easy to ride, but part of it was a general uneasiness about getting back on. On the other hand, if you're hesistant to ride and you are riding, every single close call is going to reinforce your perception that you shouldn't be riding, and it might force you off the bike forever. I hesistate to use the term scared, as I don't really feel it per se and most bikers or men don't like admitting to fear. I do get worried and/or really apprehensive about getting back on when I've not ridden for a while. That and I get out of the habit of relying on the bike, I start walking or cadging lifts instead. 5 miles? Probably a push bike, I used to do 6 each way a couple of years ago. Now I do 8 or 9, but I use my motorbike. Partially because I'm lazy, partially because it's a manual job and after 10 hrs of moving other's people furniture, I sometimes really don't want to cycle 8 miles of unlit country lanes in the dark.
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Mar 27, 2009 23:03
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Nerobro posted:It's all about looking far enough ahead to get a picture of what's about to happen. I started doing this after a close call my first few weeks of riding. You get to the point where you just assume no one is paying attention, and they will just fall into the action you were expecting. Thus I'm ready to brake hard going through intersections, and waiting for the car in front of me to snap over when there is enough room. The one thing I feel like I can't help is people behind me. They'll come up so drat fast and I'm not always in a solid position to move (which is why I think lanesplitting to the front of red lights is good). If I was any more cautious I would be jumping out of the way at every light when someone is coming up behind me. Sometimes I really feel like getting off my bike and flipping at out the people behind me at a light, which of course would leave them clueless as to why I did it.
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Mar 27, 2009 23:06
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Doctor Zero posted:Tell me more about these "valkyrie boards". The board in question: http://www.valkyrieriders.com/. I don't know any other Valk boards as I am not a Valkyrie rider. They would shun me.
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Mar 27, 2009 23:37
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I don't like riding a bicycle to work because its probably even more suicidal than riding a motorcycle. LA is not a bicycle friendly city at all. It's not that I'm scared per se, its that I simply don't want to deal with worrying about inattentive shitheads taking me out anymore. The five minutes or so I save getting to work isn't worth the stress. And yes, I do all the traffic scanning and all that stuff. People in this city just love making sudden movements because of all the unprotected left turns. I'll probably get another bike again before too long, but I'm never commuting on one again. gently caress that.
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Mar 28, 2009 00:00
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Orange Someone posted:I hesistate to use the term scared, as I don't really feel it per se and most bikers or men don't like admitting to fear. I do get worried and/or really apprehensive about getting back on when I've not ridden for a while. That and I get out of the habit of relying on the bike, I start walking or cadging lifts instead. I was terrified of going racing or back to the track after crashing. The difference between most riders and normal people is that when someone who's normal is terrified of something, they won't touch it, face it, or deal with it, they'll just avoid it. Motorcyclists tend more to identify the problem (commuting, too much speed, too many crashes) and then try and cut that part out of their experience. I don't get the impression that Red wants to drop bikes entirely, just that commuting is too loving stressful, which I understand completely, as I felt the same way after 8 months. Riding is one of those things that's too dangerous to do if you're not enjoying it. If you get nothing out of riding but additional danger, why not just bicycle or cage it? redscare posted:I don't like riding a bicycle to work because its probably even more suicidal than riding a motorcycle. LA is not a bicycle friendly city at all. Cool...what are you thinking about getting? 
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Mar 28, 2009 03:05
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OrangeFurious posted:The board in question: http://www.valkyrieriders.com/. Oh holy poo poo! They finally got a decent forums going! I joined the VRCC, but last time I looked there the forums were using some horrible abortion of software. Thanks! (And don't worry. Goldwings and Valks are like cousins or something.  )
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Mar 28, 2009 06:27
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I am starting to doubt the bulletproof nature of the Suzuki GS500 that I ride. At 10,000 miles it threw a CCT and bent the exhaust valves, and now at 13,000miles the front brake reservoir sight glass has cracked and is leaking brake fluid out. So now I need to replace this as well. Sure the bike doesn't have alot of problems but the bike is just over 4 years old and has pretty low km's. I commute on it everyday on it, racking up like 100-150miles a week. I don't abuse it, I maintain the bike perfectly and this is how it repays me. From what I can tell the replacement is 150USD new odd, a little annoying seeing as the brake fluid was only replaced 5 months ago. 
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Mar 28, 2009 11:02
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You must have a lemon or something. GS failures in general are pretty rare. How on earth did the sight glass crack? Its not under any stress/pressure normally. Something has to have hit it.
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Mar 28, 2009 16:38
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DiZ posted:At 10,000 miles it threw a CCT and bent the exhaust valves, and now at 13,000miles the front brake reservoir sight glass has cracked and is leaking brake fluid out. So now I need to replace this as well. Epoxy that bitch up.
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Mar 28, 2009 17:06
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Phat_Albert posted:You must have a lemon or something. GS failures in general are pretty rare. The sight glass plastic appears to have gone really brittle, no idea what has caused it, I am quite stumped and annoying. Simkin posted:Epoxy that bitch up. I thought about it, apart from the fact that I would fail registration inspections, I might as well just grab another assembly and replace it.
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Mar 29, 2009 00:57
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As long as it's not actively weeping, I'd imagine that it would pass inspection. If it's really a worry, you could epoxy it on the inside, fill it up, pass inspection, and then epoxy the outside afterwards. The VF500 that I worked on had a cracked sight glass as well, and it was quite obvious that a po had done just that - it seemed to be holding up pretty well.
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Mar 29, 2009 01:03
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I just sold a motorcycle with a blown engine and radiator with a hole in it, that is 21 years old, that I bought for $1000, for $500. Thats right, I road a motorcycle for almost 2 years, blew its engine and radiator, put almost 10k miles on the previous 14k miles, learned a large amount about working on motorcycles and cars in general, and only lost $500 (excluding insurance, modzzz, and maintenance). I also paid for a years worth of insurance, and since I didn't use but half of it, I get a pretty sweet check back in the mail for that as well. Today was a good day.
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Mar 29, 2009 01:38
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Simkin posted:As long as it's not actively weeping, I'd imagine that it would pass inspection. If it's really a worry, you could epoxy it on the inside, fill it up, pass inspection, and then epoxy the outside afterwards. The VF500 that I worked on had a cracked sight glass as well, and it was quite obvious that a po had done just that - it seemed to be holding up pretty well. It is actively weeping out, it holds steady sitting on the side stand but as soon as I move the bike it runs out. There is a good spares place near my house that have a few GS500, so I'll check out their price and availability, I'll ring the bike shops around as well and see what a brand new one is worth, and how many weeks I have to wait to get one from them.
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Mar 29, 2009 02:16
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Trintintin posted:I just sold a motorcycle with a blown engine and radiator with a hole in it, that is 21 years old, that I bought for $1000, for $500. Motorcycle depreciation (appreciation lol) is awesome. I bought my Ninja for $1,000 and sold it for $1,500. All I did was an oil change.
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Mar 29, 2009 02:46
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You could replace it with any master cylinder you want really. No reason you can't stick one from a Ninja 250 or 500 on there. They look nearly identical and have to be common as anything.
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Mar 29, 2009 03:42
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Bugdrvr posted:You could replace it with any master cylinder you want really. No reason you can't stick one from a Ninja 250 or 500 on there. They look nearly identical and have to be common as anything. Do an 06-09 R6!
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Mar 29, 2009 03:49
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Christoff posted:Motorcycle depreciation (appreciation lol) is awesome. I bought my Ninja for $1,000 and sold it for $1,500. All I did was an oil change. I sold my Silverwing for the exact same amount of money as what I bought it for, mostly because I didn't have the time to dick around with trying to get more for it. It sold precicely 1 minute after I put it up for sale too. I loving love bikes.
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Mar 29, 2009 07:06
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Yeah I will see whats available.
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Mar 29, 2009 07:16
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Christoff posted:Motorcycle depreciation (appreciation lol) is awesome. I bought my Ninja for $1,000 and sold it for $1,500. All I did was an oil change. I sold my SV650 for about $300 more than I paid for it as well, although I had put a little money into it. I'm going to get hosed when I go to sell my Daytona 675 though. Guess I have to keep it forever.
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Mar 29, 2009 07:22
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AngryGuy posted:I'm going to get hosed when I go to sell my Daytona 675 though. Guess I have to keep it forever. What, are you complaining?
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Mar 29, 2009 07:32
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How are you guys flipping your bikes for more money than you paid? Doesn't the title contain a history of how much you paid for it?
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Mar 29, 2009 08:42
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fnkels posted:How are you guys flipping your bikes for more money than you paid? Doesn't the title contain a history of how much you paid for it? no. And who says the person buying is going to closely examine the title before you sell it? I've made quite a bit of money flipping bikes too.
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Mar 29, 2009 08:56
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The best I've done is break even, but that's more just me being an impatient rear end than anything. Buy during the slow season, and sell when everyone and their dog is looking to get back on the road (usually mid-late spring).
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Mar 29, 2009 09:32
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| # ? Apr 29, 2024 19:47 |
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The next bike I buy will have heated grips. I went on a camping trip with 10 people a few hours south of Dallas this weekend. I rode, they caged it. Its late March, in Texas, right? Nice weather, right? Nope! On the way down I rode through a pretty awesome thunderstorm and got my duffel bag fairly wet. No problem, I thought. After I got the camp site and had my tent up, I set my clothes out in my tent to dry. A couple hours later (before my friends had arrived) a pretty rockin thunderstorm came through that was associated with a cold front. The temp dropped from about 80F to about 50F in the span of an hour, and it came with 30mph winds. Overnight the temp dropped to 30F, and nobody was really prepared well for that sort of weather with crazy stiff winds. So, around 7:30pm on Saturday enough of the group decided to pack it up that I figured I'd get a room in the nearby town and that would be that. One night of freezing cold was enough for the group. When I got to the town, I figured I could just keep going and be back home in my nice warm apartment for the price of two hours of cold riding. Armed with four upper layers, three pants layers, a balaclava that I keep in my saddle bags, and glove liners under my summer gloves I set off. It was about 40F out the whole way, which wouldn't have been bad at all if I had better gloves. The liners help, but my throttle hand was pretty much frozen for the duration of the trip. Highway riding in Dallas on a Ninja 250 with a frozen right hand and a ton of gear bungied to the back of the bike is quite the experience. So yes, heated grips. I need them. I enjoyed the people who looked at me like I was mad, and the local scooter guys riding around in north Dallas who gave me a big thumbs up when I was sitting next to them at a light holding my engine with my right hand.
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Mar 29, 2009 16:19
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