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 Post subject: Re: The Motorbike Thread
PostPosted: Tue Jun 13, 2017 18:24 
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Gogmagog

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When in doubt, pin it.

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 Post subject: Re: The Motorbike Thread
PostPosted: Tue Jun 13, 2017 18:31 
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How the FUCK did he control that mother of a tankslapper?
FUCK ME :o :o :o

... We're not worthy etc. :)

And no, I won't be trying that on the Harley. :D

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 Post subject: Re: The Motorbike Thread
PostPosted: Tue Jun 13, 2017 18:53 
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Probably slipped on some oil that fell out of your Audi.


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 Post subject: Re: The Motorbike Thread
PostPosted: Tue Jun 13, 2017 19:07 
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markg wrote:
Probably slipped on some oil that fell out of your Audi.

:DD

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 Post subject: Re: The Motorbike Thread
PostPosted: Tue Jun 13, 2017 19:27 
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Hello Hello Hello

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Touché :)

It doesn't actually drop any oil at all though, it all just goes into the engine and gets blown up with the petrol. Something to do with the piston rings apparently.


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 Post subject: Re: The Motorbike Thread
PostPosted: Tue Jun 13, 2017 22:30 
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Yeah, whoever ran the engine in on your car was a fucking bellend and ragged it way past safe limits during the run-in period.

So instead of your piston rings making a proper seal in the cylinders, there's little bits that oil can seep through into the combustion chamber. I suppose if anything it should increase power slightly (more energy in the combustion?) but it's not good for the engine.

Similar fault on the early 140bhp 7th gen Celicas, although in that instance it was a manufacturing fault that made the piston rings weaken over time and become misshapen, allowing the oil to leak through. Worst case I ever heard of on that car was burning a litre of oil for every 200 miles.


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 Post subject: Re: The Motorbike Thread
PostPosted: Tue Jun 13, 2017 22:35 
SupaMod
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It's not that bad for the engine as long as it has oil in it.

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 Post subject: Re: The Motorbike Thread
PostPosted: Thu Jun 22, 2017 9:08 
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Gogmagog

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Aged Thing. I just don't know what to think. "when shit goes south, I can escape. Unless safety is 121 miles away. And, around a bend".

Still, seems you fit a lot of stuff on a bike, making a trip to a festival faff less, eh, myp?

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 Post subject: Re: The Motorbike Thread
PostPosted: Thu Jun 22, 2017 11:22 
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Heh! Not everyone's cup of tea to be sure, but I love stuff like this.
One of the key things I love about Harleys is that they are, by default, post-factory customised in almost every case, and individualised. No two bikes are ever the same, and it's great just chewing the fat with other Harley bikers about their own bikes/projects, and what could work for me. Sure, we're all 40+ but it's an interesting mix of weekend warrior accountants and genuine MC 1%-ers the like of which you'd normally not even lock eyes with, let alone say anything to 'em, and everything in between. Lots of Harley gals, too, and not just pillions either, naturally. To me, it's cool (Malicool? :) )

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 Post subject: Re: The Motorbike Thread
PostPosted: Wed Aug 02, 2017 11:47 
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Gogmagog

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I thi k it is MaliCool.

This is, too. It's Old Man Afterthought's Bonneville America


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 Post subject: Re: The Motorbike Thread
PostPosted: Wed Aug 02, 2017 12:52 
SupaMod
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I'm not sure about the furry seat cover.

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 Post subject: Re: The Motorbike Thread
PostPosted: Wed Aug 02, 2017 13:18 
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I've always liked the Bonneville America; my carbed Bonnie T120 was a lovely little machine, and that 900cc engine's a peach.

Gotta be honest, I hate big screens (and furry seats :D ) but it's his ride, so it's his choice. :)

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 Post subject: Re: The Motorbike Thread
PostPosted: Wed Aug 02, 2017 13:35 
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Gogmagog

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When Riles books the camping, i might take it to Le Mans over the ER5.

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 Post subject: Re: The Motorbike Thread
PostPosted: Wed Aug 02, 2017 13:36 
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Gogmagog

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Agree on seat and screen.

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 Post subject: Re: The Motorbike Thread
PostPosted: Wed Aug 02, 2017 13:43 
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Seriously think I might pick one of these up after the weekend:

Image

250 Watts of raw power. A proper motorbike, not one of your "enginebikes".


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 Post subject: Re: The Motorbike Thread
PostPosted: Wed Aug 02, 2017 13:45 
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markg wrote:
250 Watts of raw power. A proper motorbike, not one of your "enginebikes".


<insert Mad Max "That's Bait" gif here>

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 Post subject: Re: The Motorbike Thread
PostPosted: Wed Aug 02, 2017 13:48 
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Wow, that's 0.3hp :D
My old Honda C50 chicken chaser had 3.5hp. So relatively speaking, it's a CBR1000RR Fireblade to this. :p

(But seriously, I actually think it's pretty neat, just taking the piss likes :) )

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 Post subject: Re: The Motorbike Thread
PostPosted: Wed Aug 02, 2017 14:19 
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It's a higher BHP per tonne though, i suspect.

What sort of range does it get before the battery runs out?

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 Post subject: Re: The Motorbike Thread
PostPosted: Wed Aug 02, 2017 14:22 
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markg wrote:
Seriously think I might pick one of these up after the weekend:

Image

250 Watts of raw power. A proper motorbike, not one of your "enginebikes".

I've got a spare FlyKly smart wheel if you're interested, Mark.


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 Post subject: Re: The Motorbike Thread
PostPosted: Wed Aug 02, 2017 14:33 
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Grim... wrote:
It's a higher BHP per tonne though, i suspect.

What sort of range does it get before the battery runs out?
It depends how hard you pedal and what level of assist you're using (to be UK-legal you have to be pedalling even if it's basically a token gesture), how much you weigh, wind, hills. But real world seems to be about 30-40 miles or so. By all accounts it's like cycling normally but always with a strong wind at your back, which is a type of cycling I actually enjoy. It should have more than enough to get me to work and back plus more if I want to go out for a longer ride.


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 Post subject: Re: The Motorbike Thread
PostPosted: Wed Aug 02, 2017 14:35 
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GazChap wrote:
I've got a spare FlyKly smart wheel if you're interested, Mark.

Thanks, I wasn't aware of those but I think I want a bit more range and power, not too keen on the idea of a single speed bike either really.


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 Post subject: Re: The Motorbike Thread
PostPosted: Wed Aug 02, 2017 14:40 
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Grim... wrote:
It's a higher BHP per tonne though, i suspect.

What sort of range does it get before the battery runs out?


Doubt it; a C50 weighs around 65kg, so that's 18.6kg/bhp.

So if there's only 0.3bhp on offer, that means for the same power to weight ratio, Mark's bike would have to weigh in at around 5.5kg, whereas it's obviously going to be more than that. Even if it did only weigh that much, the weight of the rider would still be vastly more significant and be a dealbreaker... Oh man I'm such a :nerd:

I very much doubt that this little bike could do 30-40mph unassisted like a C50 can. :)

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 Post subject: Re: The Motorbike Thread
PostPosted: Wed Aug 02, 2017 15:05 
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Yep, but unlike a moped the bike can do 20mph on the lower promenade. Still, it probably won't be faster at getting me to work than a moped, but it'll be faster than a Porsche.


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 Post subject: Re: The Motorbike Thread
PostPosted: Wed Aug 02, 2017 15:09 
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Heh, indeed. Porsches suck in traffic, just like everything else.... 2 wheels required. :)

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 Post subject: Re: The Motorbike Thread
PostPosted: Wed Aug 02, 2017 15:10 
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My 2-tonne, shiny black Amarok is good at intimidating its his way through traffic though. :D

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 Post subject: Re: The Motorbike Thread
PostPosted: Wed Aug 02, 2017 15:16 
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Nah, new and shiny and I call their bluff. Old and battered are the ones I give a wide berth to.


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 Post subject: Re: The Motorbike Thread
PostPosted: Wed Aug 02, 2017 15:22 
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:this: :D

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 Post subject: Re: The Motorbike Thread
PostPosted: Wed Aug 02, 2017 15:23 
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True! I bloody love that truck. :)

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 Post subject: Re: The Motorbike Thread
PostPosted: Wed Aug 02, 2017 16:08 
SupaMod
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While there's nothing wrong with the Amarok, the Raptor will be on sale in the UK soon...

Image

I'd have one just so I could say "clever girl" every time something happened...

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 Post subject: Re: The Motorbike Thread
PostPosted: Wed Aug 02, 2017 16:22 
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Wow, that is awesome.
I love the Amarok; reckon it could pull tree stumps clean out of the ground with that immense torque; goes like absolute stink for such an absurdly large vehicle; full 4x4 is permanently engaged and is liquid nitrogen cool in its own way (IMO :) ), but that rocks. Is it a diesel? (Mind you, the Amarok's V6 does no better than 28 mpg, though is still running in)

Mrs C's RR Sport (diesel) absolutely kicks the Amarok's arse though, and it's almost as big/just as heavy/still only a 3 litre V6.

PS: like the Jurassic Park reference :metul:

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 Post subject: Re: The Motorbike Thread
PostPosted: Wed Aug 02, 2017 16:24 
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No, it's a 444BHP petrol, mounted to a 10-speed box that'll drag it to 60 in five seconds dead!

Give them some more money and they'll make it 590BHP, which is just fucking insanity.

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 Post subject: Re: The Motorbike Thread
PostPosted: Wed Aug 02, 2017 16:33 
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Saw this and thought of you Grim...

It's up for sale on eBay at the mo' for £18.5k and there are videos on YouTube of it powersliding around rally stages

https://www.topgear.com/car-news/modifi ... -rally-car

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 Post subject: Re: The Motorbike Thread
PostPosted: Wed Aug 02, 2017 16:38 
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I mean... I can't think of a more poorly-suited body for your rally car!

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 Post subject: Re: The Motorbike Thread
PostPosted: Wed Aug 02, 2017 17:33 
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Grim... wrote:
No, it's a 444BHP petrol, mounted to a 10-speed box that'll drag it to 60 in five seconds dead!

Give them some more money and they'll make it 590BHP, which is just fucking insanity.


8)

Bloody hell, that's awesome. Want.

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 Post subject: Re: The Motorbike Thread
PostPosted: Wed Aug 02, 2017 17:48 
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Only £125k!

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 Post subject: Re: The Motorbike Thread
PostPosted: Wed Aug 02, 2017 18:00 
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8)

Fook me.... I guess the Amarok will have to do! :) (that does sixty in less than 7 secs I think - feels very quick for its size, there's a 15 secs overboost function which means the mill chucks out 250bhp. Hilarious blowing off 320d BMWs at the lights and leaving them for dead in that behemoth :D )

Probably costs less than half that in the States... >:(

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 Post subject: Re: The Motorbike Thread
PostPosted: Wed Aug 02, 2017 18:13 
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My old man has a Toureg with the same engine. I don't like the autobox, bit the engine is indeed a nice lump.

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 Post subject: Re: The Motorbike Thread
PostPosted: Wed Aug 02, 2017 18:53 
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Grim... wrote:
My old man has a Toureg with the same engine. I don't like the autobox, bit the engine is indeed a nice lump.


Dunno how true it is (probably BS) but according to VW the engine's significantly changed (and detuned) as compared to the standard VAG 3 litre V6 found in Q5s, A6es and all the rest of 'em, as the Amarok is classed as a commercial vehicle that could reasonably be expected to cover much greater distances, in worse conditions e.g. building site. Apparently they've toughed it up; certainly feels much more agricultural than ever it does in a Q7 or my son in law's old A6... could just be down to NVH tho.

Personally I love an auto-box in really big diesels; swapping ratios is great in a sports car but, for me, less so in a chuffing great van or truck with a mountain of grunt. Just put it in D and go... anywhere pretty much. :)

To bring things full circle, the Amarok reminds me of the Harley - big ol' heavy brute of a thing that doesn't go round corners very well (the live axle and unladen leaf springs see to that), but certainly puts a smile on your face. It has a certain charm, honesty and very clear purpose, which I like. :)

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 Post subject: Re: The Motorbike Thread
PostPosted: Wed Aug 02, 2017 18:56 
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I dislike the jog box, which still changes gear for you if the revs get high or low enough. It should grind to a halt or bounce off the redline if I tell it too.

It's very good when you're towing things on the motorway, though :)

Sorry about your bike thread, folks!

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 Post subject: Re: The Motorbike Thread
PostPosted: Wed Aug 02, 2017 19:01 
Filthy Junkie Bitch

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MaliA wrote:
When Riles books the camping, i might take it to Le Mans over the ER5.

I was making loud hints yesterday. Problem is I was making loud hints about doing L2P again last week so I think they were wilfully ignored.


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 Post subject: Re: The Motorbike Thread
PostPosted: Mon Aug 14, 2017 12:20 
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Old Man Afterthought just told me he has agreed to buy a BSA Bantam. It is a 1962 engine (overbored to 183cc) in a 1966 frame. No, I don't know why, either.

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 Post subject: Re: The Motorbike Thread
PostPosted: Mon Aug 14, 2017 12:31 
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I've never really "got" the whole classic Brit bike thing, though it doesn't help in my case that I'm seriously useless and maintaining, much less actually rebuilding stuff. But, fair play to him though, and to be fair it is nice seeing old metal like this out and about on a sunny Sunday afternoon. :)

(Plus, I do so love 2-strokes.... even genteel little old beasties like this, albeit I'd be more interested if it were an RG500 Gamma or wild old KH750 triple, huh. Now *there's* a machine :D )


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 Post subject: Re: The Motorbike Thread
PostPosted: Tue Aug 29, 2017 11:20 
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I like that. Exhaist are wicked.

I was camping near Hawes at the weekend. It us some form of bike Mecca. The road from Ingleton through the dales is amazing. Cavey, you would love it. AND there seemed to be some kind of Ford Capri run out there, too. Even saw 15 people on Pan Europeans roll through. Surly looking bunch, them.

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 Post subject: Re: The Motorbike Thread
PostPosted: Tue Aug 29, 2017 11:31 
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I don't know much about motorbikes but that one up there, that's a really nice looking bike if you ask me.


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 Post subject: Re: The Motorbike Thread
PostPosted: Tue Aug 29, 2017 18:09 
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MaliA wrote:
I like that. Exhaist are wicked.


:)

The whole bike is wicked... 750cc's of 1970s air-cooled two stroke "triple"... three cylinders of complete and utter mayhem, the like of which will (probably thankfully) never be seen again, though this and other lesser 'strokers will always hold a place in my heart.

She looks a benign old girl by todays' standards but, by crikey, looks can be deceptive. The frame was nowhere near up to the job of handling the power, less still batshit-crazy power delivery, and the crappy brakes even less so... the giant two-stroke motor holed pistons as soon as look at you, especially if not jetted right with microns and the like, plus there was the "usual" eating chains, sprockets, tyres, frequent rebuilds, fragile electrics. Oh, and about 10mpg.

No, this thing made about as much sense as filling your pockets with hypodermic needles and deliberately falling down the stairs (as I once saw amusingly ascribed to it; not my words lol), but it's a glorious, uncompromising thing; the stuff of legends. Personally I don't think much, if anything else can touch it; if we're talking four-strokes, perhaps a lairy old early Laverda Jota of about the same era, or something equally hairy-chested.

Quote:
I was camping near Hawes at the weekend. It us some form of bike Mecca. The road from Ingleton through the dales is amazing. Cavey, you would love it. AND there seemed to be some kind of Ford Capri run out there, too..


Oh man, I think I need to get involved.... that sounds awesome! :)

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 Post subject: Re: The Motorbike Thread
PostPosted: Tue Aug 29, 2017 18:11 
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TheVision wrote:
I don't know much about motorbikes but that one up there, that's a really nice looking bike if you ask me.


Aw thanks man, she's a wild old girl as noted, but to my eyes a fantastic thing. Worth stupid money now, though.... few years ago you might have picked a nice one for a few grand, these days it's £20k upwards. Too many old bastards like me wishing to relive their misspent youths, plus it's not as though there will ever be anything like 'em again anyway - too dangerous, too noisy, inherently fragile, too thirsty, emissions awful etc. Very much an ever decreasing, dying breed.

I can only imagine what it must've been like to ride one fresh out of the box in 1975... just amazing.

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 Post subject: Re: The Motorbike Thread
PostPosted: Tue Aug 29, 2017 21:52 
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@cavey

My late sorely missed ex brother in law was a committed biker. I knew him from the age of 7 or 8.
Bikes I remember from that period and moving forward a few years, so late 70s to mid 80s.
Honda CBX. There was one, in silver, routinely parked outside the pub around the corner from my mum's.
Yamaha XJ650. Do you remember this mental beast; it was turbo charged.
The Yamaha RDs, both the 250 and 350 LC. Many of my brother's and brother in law's friends owned them.
My brother in law, being the contrary son of a birch he was, had a CB250N Superdream, as he always maintained he preferred the noise. He thrashed the arse out of it at Llandow trying to prove that it was better than the RD250, stripping the flywheel and shagging the cylinder head in the process.

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 Post subject: Re: The Motorbike Thread
PostPosted: Wed Aug 30, 2017 7:33 
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New leathers for this chap, methinks.

https://twitter.com/TweetbeatIOM/status ... 2717517825




I do wish they'd put the mountain one-way for the festival like they do for TT, I've had a few near misses myself this year with bikes on the wrong side of the road coming straight at me.


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 Post subject: Re: The Motorbike Thread
PostPosted: Tue Sep 05, 2017 15:06 
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DBSnappa wrote:
@cavey

My late sorely missed ex brother in law was a committed biker. I knew him from the age of 7 or 8.
Bikes I remember from that period and moving forward a few years, so late 70s to mid 80s.
Honda CBX. There was one, in silver, routinely parked outside the pub around the corner from my mum's.
Yamaha XJ650. Do you remember this mental beast; it was turbo charged.
The Yamaha RDs, both the 250 and 350 LC. Many of my brother's and brother in law's friends owned them.
My brother in law, being the contrary son of a birch he was, had a CB250N Superdream, as he always maintained he preferred the noise. He thrashed the arse out of it at Llandow trying to prove that it was better than the RD250, stripping the flywheel and shagging the cylinder head in the process.


Sorry to hear of your late, ex brother in law DBS; he sounds like he would've been my kind of guy also (especially if he was a contrary SOB who blew up his 'Dream in pursuit of glory as against the mighty RD250LC... respect). :(

Yes, we hark from the same era. Whereas I cut my teeth on a Honda CB125 "Superdream" 4-stroke twin only a few months old when I bought her (of mid-80s vintage), and as much as I loved that little bike, two things soon became evident: (1) 2-strokes were vastly quicker, more tunable and much more fun, despite the very nice handling of the 'Dream, and (2) Bigger bikes were much faster than learner 125s with stupid 12bhp power cap, which everyone apart from Honda treated with the contempt it deserved (yes, I hated safety regs - or indeed any regs - just as much then, as now. Old habits etc.).

Now, whereas with the 125 I'd loaned myself up to the hilt for 3 years (as you do, right? :roll: ), and managed to get myself made redundant within a month of taking out said loan, as well as smashing my bike up a few times at 60mph with on fire bits etc., which does rather affect resale values, when the time came to get my first "big" bikes after having blagged through my full bike licence test, there was no money. Which meant cheap ratters - which at the time meant 1970s era Jap bikes that all the cool kids had spurned for newer, shinier, much more reliable and safer stuff which had brakes which (sort of) worked.

It's hard to believe now, but stuff like (admittedly rough) Kwak KH400s, Suzook X7s and in my own case, Yamaha RD400s (pre LC, pre YPVS Power Valve) swapped hands for a few hundred quid (worth many, many thousands now). For that, you got 50bhp with Micron expansions, 15mpg and more wheelies than you could shake a stick at. I will never, ever forget the first time I "banded" an RD400; not much doing <4500RPM, then that tell tale sharpening of the exhaust note before wailing all the way to 8000RPM 2-stroke heaven, wheel pawing the air and me - quite literally - screaming with delight in my helmet. What. A. Feeling. Kids today have their iPads and electric cars, but we had *this*. :D No wonder so many old crusties are chasing those last few, pristine examples in the vain hope of reliving their youth, but I say never go back, what's done is done and enjoy the memories.

Like I said, it was always old ratters for the cash-strapped in my case, I have to be honest; one of the first acts I ever did when I got together with Mrs C was to wheel my creaking, knackered old RD400 across her little lounge carpet (since it was mid terrace with no access to the yard except via the house), and of course the old girl dripped 2-stroke oil all over the (cream) carpet... man, she is a patient woman, luckily for me also a biker or I'd have been toast. But I do well remember those bikes that you mention - the Honda CBX was an awesome sight with its transverse six motor (I always remember the Beneli also, as well as the old Z1300 also of course, but the Honda had the class and the build IMO).

I can't remember much about the Yammy XJ650 Turbo if I'm honest, but I do recall the Honda CX500 Turbo... batshit insane complexity and not much more go than a 350 YPVS of the same era, let alone an RG500... but like I said, I am a 2-stroke fiend. Much as I adore Harleys and always have (I love extremes), bikes like the RD250, RD250LC, "club light" RD350LC YPVS... these are the stuff of legends, I love them all. Hot summer Essex nights, the evocative whiff of exotic 2-stroke oil hanging heavy in the air and filling the nostrils; the testosterone of youth pumping through the veins and the best mates you'll ever have dicing with you out on the open road, pissing ourselves with laughter over a beer afterward. No, if I'm really honest, I love the antisocial side to motorcycling, now almost as much then; I do still enjoy the ripple of tension parking The Black Beast deliberately, thunderously and very visibly right next to some genteel bar or restaurant terrace or other, with all the attendant tutting, looking at the floor, the incredulity at our getting served. Its all extremely childish, I know. :D My Spain Road Trip of a couple of years back with one of my best mates count among the best days of my life (I shared a few photos on the forum I think).

Anyway, here are some lovely pictures to look at; a lovely old Yammy RD350LC, and an RD350LC YPVS. :) Feast your eyes. Happy times. :)

...All that power came at the expense of civilized riding. The mufflers were really racing expansion chambers, muffled just enough to meet the loose decibel requirements of the 1960s. The H1 [Kawasaki KH500/KH750] would pop wheelies at the slightest provocation, sometimes in the middle of turns. Vibration was annoying, and the seat was uncomfortable, but the kids who bought H1s didn’t care, and the H1 became immensely popular with the young men who formed the bulk of early Seventies riders — if not with their parents and the highway patrol. ... yeh baby!!! :metul:


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 Post subject: Re: The Motorbike Thread
PostPosted: Tue Sep 05, 2017 15:21 
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Prince of Fops

Joined: 14th May, 2009
Posts: 4296
On Sunday I was sat in departures at Limoges airport and realised I was surrounded by men from the isle of man. They were all wearing t shirts saying sheepskull enduro riders. A look at their website reveals they (hilariously) call themselves the purple helmets.

http://www.sheepskullenduroriders.com

They seemed like a gentle bench in spite of their size and number, and only one had eyebrows on his cheeks.


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