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All I got from your post was: Your dad really loves you, man. And I would definitely take the bike, along with all the safety gear that you have on hand. It'll go a long way towards convincing your parents that you're a sensible rider.
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Jun 19, 2012 13:07
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I guess that's the real sting: I know he's just worried and stuff. I'm not even mad or anything; its par for the course at this rate. I think I will show him my bike and gear at some point, after this simmers for a little while. With him, he just needs to air his concern (via cryptic emails and text messages) until he feels better. I guarantee you that within a few months he will be bragging to people about my bike. That's typically how this type of thing plays out.  At the end of the day my wife is rather taken with my bike, and since I have to live with her that's what really matters. 
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Jun 19, 2012 14:28
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Odette posted:All I got from your post was: Your dad really loves you, man. This is exactly how I handled it. My mom's brother almost died in a motorcycle wreck, so she's always been horrified of them. I never even told her I was interested in them, but I showed up in full gear with my M license. Seeing all the gear went a long way to easing her mind. My mom is more or less ok with it now. Just give him time.
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Jun 19, 2012 14:29
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I've been meaning to ask this for a while now: Why are bikes so unreliable? I'm not trolling, it's an honest question. In 13 years of driving, I've never, ever been stranded by a car. Cars in my experience pretty much Just Work, and we're talking Honda Accord, Subaru Forester, Toyota Tercel...these aren't exactly super-nice and/or luxury cars. In less than a year of riding, I've been stranded a couple times by my 2005 gs500. Hasn't started a number of times, sometimes I can push-start it, sometimes I can't. Granted, maybe it's just a low-end bike. I'm not really complaining, I feel like people should know more about the tools they're using (cars, bikes, etc) rather than treating them as black boxes that Just Work until they Don't Anymore. Hence I'm looking for a beginner/intermediate mechanics course. My point is, I haven't had to wonder "is my method of transportation going to work today?" until getting a bike. My co-worker is a long-time biker, he helped me get into motorbikes, and I remember the first time I told him "my bike wouldn't start this morning" and he smiled and said "welcome to motorcycles". 
epswing fucked around with this message at 15:07 on Jun 19, 2012 |
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Jun 19, 2012 14:56
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epalm posted:I've been meaning to ask this for a while now: I've had the exact opposite experience. I've been stranded 5 or 6 times due to stupid poo poo like belts breaking, alternators failing, hoses popping off, starters taking a poo poo, etc. Granted it's always been with 80s Fieros and Volvos but still. My guess would be that it's a lot simpler to gently caress something up on a bike. Killswitches, exposed electronics, parking lights (I've killed my battery 3 or 4 times that way), and tight maintenance schedules can lead to problems.
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Jun 19, 2012 15:07
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Most of it stems from the fact that for the majority of people North America, a bike isn't a primary source of transportation. As such, they're much more likely to sit for extended periods of time. If you're one of the  ). Sitting unused kills.Another thing to consider is BECAUSE bikes are viewed as entertainment items, they're built to considerably higher performance specifications than a standard econobox. There's not too many cars out there pushing 200hp/L... High compression ratios and ridiculous RPMs don't do much for longevity either.
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Jun 19, 2012 15:11
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Your bad luck maybe? Every new bike I've owned has been really reliable and has never left me stranded. All my old bikes are no less reliable than I would expect any car of the same vintage to be. The most unreliable vehicle I've ever owned was an 89 Jeep Wrangler
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Jun 19, 2012 15:22
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I've only been stranded by my bikes a few times over the years. I've blown 2 engines, one was my fault, one was sort of inevitable due to a hack repair job on the cam caps. Blew a transmission on a former racebike with 135k miles on it, and one of my GL500s stranded me when I went out like an idiot on it when I knew the battery was dying and the petcock wasn't working right. Lots of cranking and I killed the battery. But besides that, knock on wood, across 30ish bikes and probably about a quarter of a million miles now, the situations that I didn't see coming or cause myself have been basically non-existent. The signs are usually there when the bike needs work, it's just that most people don't know enough to recognize the or ignore them.
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Jun 19, 2012 15:37
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needknees posted:There's not too many cars out there pushing 200hp/L... High compression ratios and ridiculous RPMs don't do much for longevity either. Hell, not a lot of (naturally aspirated) cars even pushing 100hp/L, although there have been a few notable ones.
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Jun 19, 2012 16:03
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- Because cars for the most part don't care about weight or space, their systems (cooling, electrical, etc) can be built much beefier. Car batteries are tremendously larger and heavier. Hoses and wires can be thick and have strong connectors and latches. Luxurious fuel pumps instead of gravity feed. Electrical connections have surface metal to spare. Meanwhile, a bike sacrifices everywhere to shed ounces of weight. This is probably the main reason for reduced reliability. - Bike parts are exposed to the elements and subjected to stronger / stranger forces as the bike corners, both of these wear on parts like cables / hoses. Similarly you don't slosh your oil around in a car like you do knee dragging / wheelie-ing. - Bikes tend to be run to extremes more than cars. Generally you do not redline your Camry too often. My bike has almost 140 hp/liter and revs to 10k+ RPM, and sees redline almost daily. This despite (as stated above) much leaner cooling systems, ultralight pistons / conrods, etc. - Bikes deliver that performance at rock bottom prices. Mine will blow the doors off a 911 off the line for the price of a lightly used Corolla; admittedly it doesn't have things like doors or an interior, but there are still limits to the unobtanium materials and zero-gravity manufacturing processes available at that price point. - For better or for worse car regulations accelerate tech obsolescence. For instance, the carburetor has been gone from passenger cars for ages, while the GS500 was carbed until 2009 or so. You may love carbs for whatever reason but they're complete poo poo for reliability compared to EFI. - A lot of car part failures don't strand you. Losing your windshield wiper motor won't sideline you if it's not pouring rain. Losing your AC or even power steering shouldn't keep you from getting home. A radio fuse that keeps popping doesn't kill your ignition. Blow a tire and you can slap on a balloon spare from the trunk. This can cause imbalance between the people who say cars are worse because irrelevant poo poo keeps failing, and those who gripe about bikes because drat near anything breaking means you walk home.
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Jun 19, 2012 16:04
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Snowdens Secret posted:- For better or for worse car regulations accelerate tech obsolescence. For instance, the carburetor has been gone from passenger cars for ages, while the GS500 was carbed until 2009 or so. You may love carbs for whatever reason but they're complete poo poo for reliability compared to EFI.  I demand satisfaction!
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Jun 19, 2012 16:11
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Has anyone been to the AMA Hall of Fame? I'm about 45 minutes away and thinking of taking a trip there today.
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Jun 19, 2012 16:19
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Olde Weird Tip posted:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jadvt7CbH1o
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Jun 19, 2012 16:21
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astrollinthepork posted:Has anyone been to the AMA Hall of Fame? I'm about 45 minutes away and thinking of taking a trip there today. I'm pretty much the same distance away, but no, I've stupidly never been there.
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Jun 19, 2012 17:05
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Bucephalus posted:I'm pretty much the same distance away, but no, I've stupidly never been there. The only reason I'm ever reminded that it exists is seeing it while on 270.
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Jun 19, 2012 17:12
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In the same vein, I've never lived more than ~20 minutes from Mid-Ohio, and I've only been there once. 20 years ago.
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Jun 19, 2012 17:54
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Bucephalus posted:In the same vein, I've never lived more than ~20 minutes from Mid-Ohio, and I've only been there once. 20 years ago. I've never been, but drive past it quite frequently on my way to Ontario. I've never had a vehicle that I want to take on a track and none of my friends are interested. Whereabouts are you located? I'm in Marion.
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Jun 19, 2012 17:57
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Outside Fredericktown, rural northern Knox county. Knox Lake area. Marion -> Ontario: 95E to Chesterville, then 314N? Dagen H fucked around with this message at 18:03 on Jun 19, 2012 |
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Jun 19, 2012 17:59
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Bucephalus posted:Outside Fredericktown, rural northern Knox county. Knox Lake area. Nah, 309>288>314. It's a strange route, but it's somewhat curvy. At least compared to Marion. Nice and empty after dark which is a plus. Mohican SF has some interesting roads too. I pass through Fredericktown on my way up there. That mill downtown is cool as hell. Now that I remember who you are, I think you posted a picture of that mill here.
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Jun 19, 2012 18:20
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I trust my KLR far more than any car, because I know everything has been maintained by the book without spending a lot of time or money. With cars, it is incredibly expensive to keep up on all the maintenance, or at least a huge pain in the rear end and waste of time. I tend to buy 1-2K beaters and so timing belts/chains are always ticking timebombs.
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Jun 19, 2012 19:22
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My power steering belt shredded on my car on Highway 17. I replaced it before heading up for Spring Quarter a few months ago so I'm certain it was a defective one. I opened the hood, said, "that sure is a lot of stuff surrounding that power steering pump", closed it, and now just drive with a manual rack. It's a fifteen minute job. Bikes have made me so lazy.
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Jun 19, 2012 19:40
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Having worked on bikes basically my entire life, I have no desire to work on cars at all. Everything on them is so hard to get to and heavy, and surrounded/covered by a billion other heavy things. I can hang all my bikes from the rafters to get at them better. The car could fall off the jackstands and kill me. No desire for that. I take my car to the dealer for literally everything and wouldn't have it any other way. The only thing I take my bike in for is tires, and thats only on the DRZ because I dont want to scratch the wheels with my tire irons.
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Jun 19, 2012 20:44
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Olde Weird Tip posted:on the DRZ because I dont want to scratch the wheels with my tire irons. This is the silliest thing. Every DRZ should just look like it rode out of the apocalypse, otherwise what is the point?!
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Jun 19, 2012 20:53
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Spiffness posted:This is the silliest thing. Every DRZ should just look like it rode out of the apocalypse, otherwise what is the point?! Ratbikes arent my thing. You can still ride the nuts off it and not have it look like total poo poo.
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Jun 19, 2012 20:56
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In my experience you can't baby a set of supermoto wheels and also ride the pants off it. Rims take a beating offload, in crashes and with frequent wheel changes. Good news is you can't tell from more than 2 feet away. It's something I had to get over quickly when I put the tubeless bicolor orange flake KTM wheels on the 690... they don't stay pretty long.
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Jun 19, 2012 20:59
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I spend so little time offroad that my wheels mostly only get dusty. Besides not wanting to scratch the rims, I also hate changing tires, and the DRZ's would be far harder to change by hand than my other bikes, so theres that.
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Jun 19, 2012 21:05
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Olde Weird Tip posted:I spend so little time offroad that my wheels mostly only get dusty. I'll confirm that. Even with a buddy's no mar changer pilot powers on the DRZ 17's were a bit more effort to throw on than SS 180's. The fronts weren't much different but the rears seemed a little harder imo. Then again "a bit more effort" on the no mar still pretty much means it was dead simple. That thing is a godsend.
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Jun 19, 2012 21:09
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astrollinthepork posted:Has anyone been to the AMA Hall of Fame? I'm about 45 minutes away and thinking of taking a trip there today. I stopped there while riding through Columbus as a way to get out of the rain. They've got some nice covered bike parking available. It's not the largest museum, but kind of interesting. Here's a flickr page of photos to get a taste of what's there. After that, I stopped at Iron Pony up the road and spent entirely too much money on gear I then had to take with me. drat you, Columbus!
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Jun 19, 2012 21:11
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SimplyCosmic posted:I stopped there while riding through Columbus as a way to get out of the rain. They've got some nice covered bike parking available. 
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Jun 19, 2012 21:17
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Olde Weird Tip posted:Having worked on bikes basically my entire life, I have no desire to work on cars at all. Everything on them is so hard to get to and heavy, and surrounded/covered by a billion other heavy things. I can hang all my bikes from the rafters to get at them better. The car could fall off the jackstands and kill me. Put plastic waterbottles under the irons. I've ever scratched a rim that way and I've dealt with 40 year old soft aluminum wheels.
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Jun 19, 2012 21:33
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Bucephalus posted:Outside Fredericktown, rural northern Knox county. Knox Lake area. astrollinthepork posted:Nah, 309>288>314. It's a strange route, but it's somewhat curvy. At least compared to Marion. Nice and empty after dark which is a plus. Mohican SF has some interesting roads too. I pass through Fredericktown on my way up there. That mill downtown is cool as hell. Now that I remember who you are, I think you posted a picture of that mill here. If you guys want to meet up there some time, I'd be up for it if I get time off, I'm about 20 miles on the other side of Bellefontaine.
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Jun 20, 2012 02:19
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Good lord the CHP motor cops are a bunch of little Hitlers. I was riding up Hwy 24 in afternoon commute traffic when I see a motor cop ahead. I have an exit to take so I roll up to his right and as I pass I give him a little wave. He responds by swinging behind me and turning on his lights and siren. I pull over and stop, and he starts by telling me that "that motorcycle cannot be on the street." I tell him it is a Kawasaki KLR650. He explains that it may have been at some point, but the muffler is not stock, the plate is vertical, and it lacks the tiny red reflectors on the rear sides and the tiny amber reflectors on the forks. I state that those things can be fixed, no problem, and he says it's much more serious than a fix-it ticket and asks for my license and registration and insurance. I produce those, he bitches about an old address on my license. Then I get a long lecture on how nothing on my motorcycle is legal, blah blah blah, and to park it when I get home. And then he gives back my papers and rolls away. No ticket, no warning. Nothing. My strategy with cops is to play an adept pupil, but the whole experience is moderately humiliating. If he had written me a ticket then at least I'd have something to show for it, but instead all I got was verbal jizz in my ear. Pretty sure I need to make it so my KLR doesn't sound like a Huey, not sure what to do about the rest. It seems like if the CHP wants to be a pile of shits then they can do it. Sounds like others have been pulled over for reflectors: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruCPZ6X3cN0 http://www.r6messagenet.com/forums/speeding-tickets-street-racing/3982-update-red-rear-reflector-ticket-cali.html http://www.600rr.net/vb/showthread.php?t=47594 Probably worth taking a few steps to fly under the radar but my immediate feeling is that I should go buy a Street Triple and go ride wheelies with open headers. MotoMind fucked around with this message at 02:43 on Jun 20, 2012 |
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Jun 20, 2012 02:41
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MotoMind posted:bored cops Yeah I recently got pulled by a city cop doing *gasp* 6 over on a 5-lane state highway while riding with my Ulysses pal. Are you kidding me. I play the oblivious dickhead to cops, so I made sure to check my oil in front of him while he was running my license. "Well you guys have good driving records so just don't speed ok." Thanks for the heads up...in my mind 6 over is within a margin of error. I am pretty much the slowest motorcyclist on the road. To be honest, though, I am surprised we didn't have trouble in California when I rode down with my loud Vstar and a loud Harley. We had some milkdrinkers in SF shout at us for it, but no problems with LEO. As far as equipment goes, our cops seem to be onboard with "loud pipes save lives". To be safe I added reflective tape to my new Pelicans.
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Jun 20, 2012 02:51
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clutchpuck posted:milkdrinker What the hell is a milkdrinker? I don't think you're making a skyrim reference. VVVV I should have known if it was nonsensical it started with the mootmoot. GI Joe jobs fucked around with this message at 04:07 on Jun 20, 2012 |
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Jun 20, 2012 03:54
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Its a mootmoot reference. He referred to scooter drivers as milkdrinkers in an attempt to burn them i guess.
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Jun 20, 2012 04:01
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Olde Weird Tip posted:Its a mootmoot reference. He referred to scooter drivers as milkdrinkers in an attempt to burn them i guess. See milquetoast: A weak, ineffectual or bland person. The word is derived from the character Caspar Milquetoast from the 1924 comic strip The Timid Soul. Odds are this is what he meant to say. So look for Toasteater next.
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Jun 20, 2012 04:12
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Gullous posted:What the hell is a milkdrinker? I don't think you're making a skyrim reference. You don't think wrong. I played way too much.
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Jun 20, 2012 04:14
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Retarded Pimp posted:If you guys want to meet up there some time, I'd be up for it if I get time off, I'm about 20 miles on the other side of Bellefontaine. Bike is hibernating while I work out some personal issues. No ETA. 
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Jun 20, 2012 04:49
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Boru posted:I guess that's the real sting: I know he's just worried and stuff...At the end of the day my wife is rather taken with my bike, and since I have to live with her that's what really matters. I think the motorcyclist that got t-boned by a semi occupies the same space in folklore as childhood pets that went to live on a farm in the country, and the girl in high school who liked hot dogs a little too much. As a father with kids old enough to be squids, I know where your dad is coming from. As a rider, I know that way too often it is just dumb luck and a dash of ESP that keeps you from eating Gerber baby food for the rest of your life. I don't have to invent boogiemen, which means I'm probably ten times more frightened by the idea. Jesus, we're ready for the sedatives when you first drive a car, never mind a motorcycle. We struggle with whether the skills and luck we've accumulated are going to be hereditary. We know how immortal you think you are. And we don't want anyone or anything loving with our legacy, because God knows no one's ever going to read our boring memoirs. Read the obituaries sometime. Avid car enthusiast. Played the trombone. Middle manager at Schlepco. Trust me, you guys are it. If you want a lighter version, Sanchezz has the best parents and motorcycling story EVER TOLD.
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Jun 20, 2012 05:27
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It wasn't a mootmoot reference? I want to believe! I've been commuting on a motard lately with NON oem tail lights. It feels conspicuous as gently caress, even with both wheels on the ground. A bike cop nodded back today, though.
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Jun 20, 2012 05:33
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