Motorcycle Thread

lurkingdirk · Aug 1, 2014

I have riding pants for cold and warm weather - kevlar knee and hip protectors, tear proof material. I won't get road rash, but bones would still break.

And a_skeleton_03 - yeah, I have had exactly the same experiences. Fitting through a small hole when I would have been toast if I were in a car...Never had so much adrenalin in my system as that. Also had it happen twice where I was not at a high speed so I could avoid accidents by dropping my bike into a grassy ditch with no damage to me or the bike. I have never gotten myself into trouble, it's always someone else being stupid.

a_skeleton_03 · Aug 1, 2014

I love the guys I see wearing gloves .... with a tank top. Do they just care about their knuckles and not the rest of their arms?

lurkingdirk · Aug 1, 2014

a_skeleton_03_sl said:
I love the guys I see wearing gloves .... with a tank top. Do they just care about their knuckles and not the rest of their arms?

No kidding. And the guys with crotch rockets who have their girlfriends riding on the back with tank tops and flip flops...Darwin award waiting to happen.

a_skeleton_03 · Aug 1, 2014

lurkingdirk_sl said:
No kidding. And the guys with crotch rockets who have their girlfriends riding on the back with tank tops and flip flops...Darwin award waiting to happen.

Was driving behind one of those the other day and looked at my daughter and told her to never do that. Explained to her that sandals with a heel, Capri pants exposing your g-string when you sit on the bike, and a strappy low cut shirt were not riding material.

Cad · Aug 1, 2014

a_skeleton_03_sl said:
Was driving behind one of those the other day and looked at my daughter and told her to never do that. Explained to her that sandals with a heel, Capri pants exposing your g-string when you sit on the bike, and a strappy low cut shirt were not riding material.

Its more like barefoot and bikinis in the summer in Dallas.

lurkingdirk · Aug 1, 2014

My daughters won't get on the bike without serious shoes, jeans, and coat. I think I've drilled that lesson into their brains enough. They also think crotch-rocket bikes are dumb. Their thoughts, which mirror my own, are "why would you get a bike that's uncomfortable to sit on and ride after 15 minutes?"

lurker · Aug 2, 2014

lurkingdirk_sl said:
...I have never gotten myself into trouble, it's always someone else being stupid.

I'm a shitty rider. Sure, I've taken the courses, read the books; hell I even practice things like panic stops and swerving. Technically, I'm good. Practically, I suck because speed, acceleration and deceleration make me high and the euphoria makes me dangerous to myself if not others. So when my kid was born, I sold my bike because at the time, motorcycling was not an acceptable risk. I did not want my kid growing up w/o a dad. Now that she's out of school (I'm older than most of you here), I have a bike again. I'm slower and wiser and always have my wife riding pillion. She keeps me sane and motorcycling is an acceptable risk again. I lack the self-control to ride solo even on my old tank of a bike.

lurkingdirk · Aug 2, 2014

Yeah, some people need that check to keep them from adrenaline riding. I didn't get that gene. I don't break the speed limit - I've never had a speeding ticket in my life, actually - and I'm cautious. I'm not the annoying, overly cautious grandma whose driving is dangerous because it's so slow and holds everyone up, though. I try to think ahead a lot, and tend to do things to ensure that other drivers see me.

I never took the courses to learn how to drive better. I thought about taking them when I moved to the states and found out there was one offered here. When I took the test to get the stamp on my license for motorcycles the instructor told me not to bother, that I wasn't going to learn anything I didn't already know from that course. Seemed a weird thing to say.

a_skeleton_03 · Aug 2, 2014

lurkingdirk_sl said:
Yeah, some people need that check to keep them from adrenaline riding. I didn't get that gene. I don't break the speed limit - I've never had a speeding ticket in my life, actually - and I'm cautious. I'm not the annoying, overly cautious grandma whose driving is dangerous because it's so slow and holds everyone up, though. I try to think ahead a lot, and tend to do things to ensure that other drivers see me.

I never took the courses to learn how to drive better. I thought about taking them when I moved to the states and found out there was one offered here. When I took the test to get the stamp on my license for motorcycles the instructor told me not to bother, that I wasn't going to learn anything I didn't already know from that course. Seemed a weird thing to say.

You probably wouldn't learn anything from the Basic Rider's Course but the Advanced or the other ones you would.

Those courses will also get you a discount on most insurances.

lurkingdirk · Aug 2, 2014

I thought about that, but there isn't an advanced riders course offered anywhere near here. Also, my motorcycle insurance is crazy bananas cheap already. $112 peryearis all I pay for really good coverage. It's ridiculous. If I were in Canada, it would likely be 10 times that.

Borzak · Aug 3, 2014

2015 Indian Scout revealed

lurkingdirk · Aug 3, 2014

That is really beautiful! Slick looking bike.

Have you seen the Triumphs from this and next year? They are sex on wheels.

jooka · Aug 3, 2014

Been thinking of trading in my BMW on a triumph lately. That pic probably put me over the edge

lurkingdirk · Aug 3, 2014

The Triumphs are seriously pretty, but I think the BMWs are better, more reliable, more long term bikes. But that's just, like, my opinion, man.

Lejina · Aug 3, 2014

a_skeleton_03_sl said:
I love the guys I see wearing gloves .... with a tank top. Do they just care about their knuckles and not the rest of their arms?

Usually I put the jacket on (I wear the pants pretty much only for long ride, since they are a pain in the ass to walk around with or take off and carry) but every now and then I'll wear only my helmet, boots and gloves. I bundle the gloves with the helmet as absolute minimum gear to wear since I can easily shove them in the helmet and carry them with it and they don't add to the bulk/heat like the jacket would. You can find reasons (read excuses) to not wear the jacket or pants, but there really isn't any not to wear the gloves, so that's why you can see people riding pretty much naked while still wearing gloves.

Cad · Aug 3, 2014

Borzak_sl said:
2015 Indian Scout revealed

That looks pretty much just like the 1990 indian scout

jooka · Aug 3, 2014

lurkingdirk_sl said:
The Triumphs are seriously pretty, but I think the BMWs are better, more reliable, more long term bikes. But that's just, like, my opinion, man.

I need something lower and heavier since I ride 40 miles or so a day to work in the Columbia Gorge, riding my f650gs scares the fuck out of me when a wind gust hits and end up less than 6-8 inches from a trucker. Wind is a bitch on a tall bike.

brekk · Aug 3, 2014

lurkingdirk_sl said:
That is really beautiful! Slick looking bike.

Have you seen the Triumphs from this and next year? They are sex on wheels.

Farewell Triumph Tiger Explorer | RideApart

Customer Service At Its Best | RideApart

So take those for what you will, bikes may not be the best, but being a smaller manufacturer they'll do more to make it right and keep a customer.

lurkingdirk · Aug 3, 2014

jooka_sl said:
I need something lower and heavier since I ride 40 miles or so a day to work in the Columbia Gorge, riding my f650gs scares the fuck out of me when a wind gust hits and end up less than 6-8 inches from a trucker. Wind is a bitch on a tall bike.

Mine is a tall bike, and I do have wind issues, but I don't find them a problem to deal with, actually. It certainly keeps me alert on the highway, but, to be honest, I feel a lot safer sitting on a tall bike going down the road than a low one. Good thing there are options, as everyone has their own preferences! 40 miles a day is enough that you really want something you're comfortable with, that's for sure. I ride about 20 miles a day, tops. Except days like today when I was on my way home, and the perfectly delicious weather, combined with an absolute lack of other vehicles on the road, made my 8 mile ride home turn into a 60 mile trip just because I could.

brekk_sl said:
Farewell Triumph Tiger Explorer | RideApart

Customer Service At Its Best | RideApart

So take those for what you will, bikes may not be the best, but being a smaller manufacturer they'll do more to make it right and keep a customer.

I'm not saying they are terrible bikes, I think they're pretty good, and they do seem like a great company. I just think you're going to have a lot fewer issues with a BMW that has 120,000 miles on it than a similar age bike from Triumph.

jooka · Aug 3, 2014

Im not sure where you live, but the Columbia Gorge, especially Hood River is probable above average for wind. Its why we kiteboard/windsurf.

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