Motor bike chit chat

[glojo]

Nope thats your meds affecting your judgement - mine was a serious proposal that has merit and could/would work.

I'm not sure about this, but I thought I read somewhere that the Metropolitan Police Traffic Department used to comply with your suggestion and if you wanted to become a traffic officer you had to spend a period on a motor bike?? (question)

You and I would be okee dokee but I wonder what the non bike riding fratenity will think Oh and I also have an HGV licence (well had )

Comes the day of the revolution all those that cannot ride a bike will be.......... pelted with rotten eggs

Regards
John

 

[Trophy1200]

Comes the day of the revolution all those that cannot ride a bike will be.......... pelted with rotten eggs

I can think of a worse fate for them John

I too have car, bike and HGV licenses, only had 2 accidents in 32 years of driving/riding. Side swiped in a car by an HGV and driven into from behind by a car whilst on the bike. I count myself lucky but feel that my defensive style of driving/riding has its part to play.

 

[Sp!ke]

Are bikers more vulnerable now than before?

Well let me try and describe where bike technology has now reached. Indulge me if you will for just a moment.

Picture this, you're in lane 3 of a motorway and following a solitary car a couple of seconds ahead of you bumbling along doing 70-80 mph. He starts indicating to pull into lane 2 and in anticipation you drop down a gear or two and as soon as half a lane is clear you let it rip, and throttle it all the way to the stop.

If the road is damp, you'll spin up the back wheel immediately and fishtail your way past the vehicle in lane 2 and be able to keep the back-end spinning at will way beyond double the speed limit with little or no effort or fuss involved. The bike remains calm and planted and even doing this one handed still doesn't represent much of a drama. A wiggle of the hips to exaggerate the fishtail still doesn't introduce anything of concern even at these speeds.

If the road is dry, the bike will launch itself forward as if pulling from a standstill, you'll feel a second stage surge as you hit the power band and if you're not holding on tight, you'll struggle to maintain your grip, the surge is massive. The speedo needle is now a blurr and literally rocketing up the dial, too quickly to gauge.

By the time you pass the car that was only two seconds ahead a moment ago, you're past the 150 mark. You snick up a clutchless gear change and keep it pinned for just a second or so more, (you can not resist, the adrenaline is pumping like you've never felt experienced prior) by now the wind noise is immense, painful even, yet you can still make out the induction roar. The buffeting on your helmet is so severe it is simply too much for your brain to compensate and the three lane carriageway ahead suddenly looks very narrow and distorted. You try and glance down at the dials but can't make out what what its reading. You look down again, aware that you cant afford to take your eyes off the road ahead for more than the briefest glimpse but this time you focus harder and your brain registers that you are somewhere between 180 and 190.

You roll off the throttle, aware that you've still got a gear left. Back down to normal cruising speed, your heart is pounding and your brain is still rushing with information overload.

What an incredible 7 seconds that was!

You immediately think "next time I'll hold it a little longer and plant it into top gear"

Zero to A&E in a blink of an eye - literally.

 

[Ade B]

Are bikers more vulnerable now than before?

Well let me try and describe where bike technology has now reached. Indulge me if you will for just a moment.

Picture this, you're in lane 3 of a motorway and following a solitary car a couple of seconds ahead of you bumbling along doing 70-80 mph. He starts indicating to pull into lane 2 and in anticipation you drop down a gear or two and as soon as half a lane is clear you let it rip, and throttle it all the way to the stop.

If the road is damp, you'll spin up the back wheel immediately and fishtail your way past the vehicle in lane 2 and be able to keep the back-end spinning at will way beyond double the speed limit with little or no effort or fuss involved. The bike remains calm and planted and even doing this one handed still doesn't represent much of a drama. A wiggle of the hips to exaggerate the fishtail still doesn't introduce anything of concern even at these speeds.

If the road is dry, the bike will launch itself forward as if pulling from a standstill, you'll feel a second stage surge as you hit the power band and if you're not holding on tight, you'll struggle to maintain your grip, the surge is massive. The speedo needle is now a blurr and literally rocketing up the dial, too quickly to gauge.

By the time you pass the car that was only two seconds ahead a moment ago, you're past the 150 mark. You snick up a clutchless gear change and keep it pinned for just a second or so more, (you can not resist, the adrenaline is pumping like you've never felt experienced prior) by now the wind noise is immense, painful even, yet you can still make out the induction roar. The buffeting on your helmet is so severe it is simply too much for your brain to compensate and the three lane carriageway ahead suddenly looks very narrow and distorted. You try and glance down at the dials but can't make out what what its reading. You look down again, aware that you cant afford to take your eyes off the road ahead for more than the briefest glimpse but this time you focus harder and your brain registers that you are somewhere between 180 and 190.

You roll off the throttle, aware that you've still got a gear left. Back down to normal cruising speed, your heart is pounding and your brain is still rushing with information overload.

What an incredible 7 seconds that was!

You immediately think "next time I'll hold it a little longer and plant it into top gear"

Zero to A&E in a blink of an eye - literally.

Another reason to ride a BMW twin - they run out of puff at 140

Ade

 

[Sprintmick]

Reading this has made me wish i still had some of my bikes.



Mick

 

[glojo]

Regarding Sp!ke's comment, I think we are singing from the same hymn sheet. Most modern motor bikes tend to look like a track bike and does this then encourage us to emulate our hero's? We even have parents buying very young children this type of machine:

On older style motor bikes that never had any type of fairing going above 80mph took grit and determination, hence we had the clip-on handle-bars to get our heads down low and not get buffeted by the wind. The biggest mainstream bikes were 650's and I doubt very much if they would compare to a modern day 250? (question)

For the last twenty years or so there has been numerous debates about the power of our modern bikes and has this gone oo far, I have no opinion on that issue but what would the insurance costs be for something like a Fireblade?

Is insurance costs a back door means of controlling the size\power of modern motor-bikes?

Regards
John

 

[Doodle]

Another reason to ride a BMW twin - they run out of puff at 140

Ade

140? Wishful thinking for me...the GSA struggles to pull past 125, but then it is trying to push the side of a barn through the air

I understand what Spike means though - the dealers lent me a K1200S at the last service, and that was stupidly quick. In the hands of someone who doesn't know what they're doing (or more likely doesn't know their own limits and is about to do something inappropriate for the given conditions) then all bets are off.

In regard to John's point, I find it strange that this country has such an obsession with sports bikes, in Europe I see a much more even spread across all the genres. On some of the roads I ride (which admittedly make the moon look smooth) the GSA is actually quicker because it deals with the bumps so much better.

 

[Sp!ke]

On the insurance side, rather bizarrely, insurance on my Hayabusa was £212 a year fully comprehensive, which is significantly lower than my tired old W124 coupe and the purchase cost of the bike was less than that of a five year old fiesta.

I dont understand it either.

I dont think its the look of the bikes that encourage speed but rather the design. The point of my post above was to describe how effortless they are to ride at speed and how quickly you can get into a whole heap of trouble.

They handle so well that if you masked of your speedo and just rode according to what felt safe under the conditions, you'd find yourself significantly above the posted limits in all but the rarest occasions. Riding within the constraints of the law on such machinary is frankly so tame its plain dull and dreadfully boring. So in order to actually enjoy the experience, one must take it up a level or two to where the dangers of getting hit or falling off are infinately higher.

 

[Benzowner]

Interesting read with some excellent points. Has biking become more dangerous, well, probably not, but the riders have become less quallified IMO. Many modern day bikers come from the born again biker brigade and I confess to being one of them. Rode a bike untill I was in my late 20's, married, kids came along, bike sold, then in my late 40's, kids grown up, a little bit more spare cash, lets get a bike. The 750cc Honda I rode in 1979/80 was a nice bike and look they still make them CB750/4. Big trouble my 1979 version would just about do 112mph the new one easilly reaches 130 if you can hang on, and gets there an awful lot quicker. A friend of mine, another born again biker, went from a car to a VFR750 to a CBR1100 which is a bike that will do what Sp!ke refers. He has now slowed down and rides a CB1000. The point I am trying to make is that many accidents involve the born again biker fraternity who are probably much older but have not grown up and have missed out on 20 or so years of motorcycle development and the increased speed which these machines are now capable of. I with Ade B I also ride a BMW 1150 RT which will just about scrape 125 ish, but not with me on it

 

[glojo]

In regard to John's point, I find it strange that this country has such an obsession with sports bikes, in Europe I see a much more even spread across all the genres. On some of the roads I ride (which admittedly make the moon look smooth) the GSA is actually quicker because it deals with the bumps so much better.

Totally 100% agree. I'm a big bloke and I would not fancy a long haul on these very uncomfortable looking pocket rockets where we have to have our legs up around our ears and our chin on the fuel tank .

Hayabusa and £212 is indeed remarkable. Are there any restrictions regarding mileage, use and overnightparking?

Regards
John

 

[Dieselman]

Hayabusa and £212 is indeed remarkable. Are there any restrictions regarding mileage, use and overnightparking?

Regards
John

I suspect the insurance cost is directly linked to the payouts. Bikes generally do fewer miles per year so have less time on the road and when they do hit something the chance of major insurance outlay is a lot lower. Stone walls and ditches don't make claims for severed limbs and long term disablement..

 

[esox]

If the road is dry, the bike will launch itself forward as if pulling from a standstill, you'll feel a second stage surge as you hit the power band and if you're not holding on tight, you'll struggle to maintain your grip, the surge is massive. The speedo needle is now a blurr and literally rocketing up the dial, too quickly to gauge.

Is this a CX500?



Seriously now,if you are a car driver,one way to prevent car/bike interfaces is to practice looking over your shoulder when changing lanes.
Do not rely on mirrors only.
I have never seen a car driver perform this check...
It seems to be the most often potential incident when i`m out n my bikes - car drivers who are not bike-aware and fail to check their blind-spot.
Bikes can easily fit into that blind spot for a second or two when overtaking.

I always perform the look over the shoulder when i`m in a car.
Is it taught in the driving test nowadays?

It`s not called the life saver for nothing.

 

[glojo]

I suspect the insurance cost is directly linked to the payouts. Bikes generally do fewer miles per year so have less time on the road and when they do hit something the chance of major insurance outlay is a lot lower. Stone walls and ditches don't make claims for severed limbs and long term disablement..

Bike insurance is normnally directly reflected on pay-outs and from what I have heard I think Sp!ke's premium is amazingly cheap. His bike is not a slouch and will give a worn out CX500 a decent run for its money

I always wanted the beautiful looking CX500 Turbo

Looking at that picture, I can see where BMW got its designs from

I hate to admit it, but I still like its looks even though it is 1982 technology

 

[esox]

John,this John,this is what it would look like today;

I think that looks rather good!

 

[Sp!ke]

Hayabusa and £212 is indeed remarkable. Are there any restrictions regarding mileage, use and overnightparking?

Not much to be honest, dont forget I live in quite a high risk area for insurance. It does have to be garaged overnight but I doubt that even offsets the sorry state of my licence.

I would estimate that bike claims are pretty high. If I rode an attractive sports bike into town and left it there for 8 hours (even if it was locked up with a reasonable chain) I wouldn't be at all surprised if it wasnt there on my return. The chances of recovery are also very slim. Equally, something simple like the bike falling off its sidestand has been known to write off new bikes as the cosmetics are so expensive and the honeycomb section aluminium frames are not repairable so even a graze is uneconomical to repair, even on a £10k bike.

[EDIT] my god that CX750 mockup looks good (for a plastic maggott)

 

[Doodle]

Equally, something simple like the bike falling off its sidestand has been known to write off new bikes as the cosmetics are so expensive and the honeycomb section aluminium frames are not repairable so even a graze is uneconomical to repair, even on a £10k bike.

Agreed, bikes don't seem to crash as well as they used to - my old ('93) Transalp survived a 40mph rear impact with a Hilux, and after 10 mins work with a crowbar and a new rear light, was straight enough to ride again (and pass an MoT, as it happened)

 

[Frank O' Phile]

Is this a CX500?



Seriously now,if you are a car driver,one way to prevent car/bike interfaces is to practice looking over your shoulder when changing lanes.
Do not rely on mirrors only.
I have never seen a car driver perform this check...
It seems to be the most often potential incident when i`m out n my bikes - car drivers who are not bike-aware and fail to check their blind-spot.
Bikes can easily fit into that blind spot for a second or two when overtaking.

I always perform the look over the shoulder when i`m in a car.
Is it taught in the driving test nowadays?

It`s not called the life saver for nothing.

Totally agree with esox on this one, especially as bike mirrors (mine at least) tend to be poor in terms of visibility, unless you want a view of your elbows. but why only on bike? I practice this in the car too.

One day I might get good at it.

 

[Trophy1200]

Only problem I have with the mirrors on the Trophy is that the wife can see them when she's riding pillion.

Seriously thought, that's why it's called a LIFESAVER and should be taught to car drivers AND should be included in the test, not as a minor point though.

 

[raymont]

Agree with the 'lifesaver' comments. Always do it on the bike and quite often in the car; especially when changing lanes on / joining motorway or dual carriageway.

One thing I’ve noticed when driving is a bikes ability to arrive behind you from nowhere. You look in the mirror and there’s no one there, you look again a few seconds later and there’s a bike right behind you.. Cars don’t just appear like this.

Bikers should be aware of this. You weren’t there two seconds ago when the driver looked so he feels it’s safe to change lanes or perform some other manoeuvre. Give the driver a chance and the time to see you.

 

[Defiant]

Oof! Warthog fans!

Is this a CX500?



Seriously now,if you are a car driver,one way to prevent car/bike interfaces is to practice looking over your shoulder when changing lanes.
Do not rely on mirrors only.

The Messerschmidt Twitch. Always looking for that hidden bogey. I also noticed one day my GS1000S had its chromed turn signal housings lined up just about perfectly for a quick lane-peek.
You use whatever tools you can get your hands on.