• Motorbike Thread V1: Winter is nearly over!
    200 replies, posted
Passed the MSF, super excited to ride.. [i]oh right[/i], DMV is closed on Saturday. Also, [i]oh right[/i], I have to rebuild my bike. also, :c
Gotta love them close calls and van drivers! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Za9T4LqsFaA
I'd have been so tempted to fold his wingmirror in on the way past. Very restrained of you (for the better!)
My 2006 Suzuki GS500F is biting the dust. I got a hole in the gas tank which is going to cost me £300 to get fixed. In light of this I'm wondering if it would be better to simply purchase a new (albeit secondhand) motorcycle instead. Any recommendations you guys can give for a bike around £2000? Preferably something I can ride on my A2 licence with a restrictor kit as I'm looking to get my category A level licence in September of this year.
Ehhh A2 compliance with a restrictor is a pretty limited field, coupled with the sub 2k price point and still be something you want to ride after you have your full license might be virtually impossible - most modern bikes that are under the 70kw don't meet the power to weight ratio requirement. An old suzuki sv650 would just about do it I think, but I couldnt find any under 2k just now which weren't in piss poor condition (didn't look too hard though, there were a fair few for sale). The old Yamaha XJ6 Diversion would also probably fit the bill and relatively cheap, but not terribly exciting as a ride. How bad is the tank leak? If it's a small corrosion pinhole downaround the underside have you considered using a tank sealant and putting up with it for the remaining 4-5 months? Then you could pick up a nice 2008-10 600/650 of some description.
I figured it'd be a difficult guess. In the end an SV650 seems like the better option currently, even though I'd like to move on to a more tourer-like bike as soon as it's viable. I don't know the severity of the corrosion unfortunately as I only heard it from the mechanic. Tank sealant seems like a pretty good idea though, I'll see if the mechanic agrees.
Cant be that bad if you didn't know about it, my mates diversion started pissing a fine spray of petrol on to the top end of the engine while we were riding, fortunately it didnt light and we only noticed it when we came to a stop, but that was fixed with tank sealant so even a relatively major leak is solvable (he was told it needed welding, but is still rideable a year on) give it a look!
This shit just happens on the daily in America. I split going slow for this very reason. Although in general, Californians are hyper-aware of motorcyclists since we've been lane splitting for decades, the majority of people (I'd say at least 75%) notice me and even do their best to move over, particularly during rush hour on the freeway. I try and throw them the sign as thanks, but sometimes everyone is doing it and I can't keep my hand off the grip long enough to thank everyone lol. Your mechanic isn't going to agree with you since it would obviously make him less money. If I were you I'd remove the tank (seriously just about the easiest think you can do on a bike) and inspect the leak yourself. If it isn't terrible, you can sand away the paint and solder (yes, solder) the hole shut. Spray some POR-15 over that and you'll be good to go.
This shit just happens on the daily in America. I split going slow for this very reason. Although in general, Californians are hyper-aware of motorcyclists since we've been lane splitting for decades, the majority of people (I'd say at least 75%) notice me and even do their best to move over, particularly during rush hour on the freeway. I try and throw them the sign as thanks, but sometimes everyone is doing it and I can't keep my hand off the grip long enough to thank everyone lol. It's much the same here in the UK, really nice change to when I lived in Australia as, even though it's legal, people try to close the gap or in general ignore you there
Alternate between hand thanks and sticking a foot out. Or you need a motorized retractable hand stuck to your back. https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41QcfkKwGqL.jpg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mg3CMxLbUzU&feature=youtu.be First time I've been beeped for going too slow...people are weird
I mean, there was a pretty massive gap in between you and the van. Not justifying them being an asshole, it's not like it affected them at all since you caught up to the van eventually, but people in general get annoyed if you leave large gaps in front of you.
Any one got an idea for what I should get for a first time bike? Looking for a fairly cheap cruiser motorcycle that's light weight. I've been looking into 250-400cc bikes. Something to putt putt around from town to town. I will NOT going on the highway with it, since I barely trust people to drive around me in my bright orange Neon.
The Highway is probably the safest place to ride to be honest! When you say cruiser, do you mean the specific styling of bike (e.g Harleys) or just something in general to cruise about on.
Lane splitting is legal. And I was thinking of bikes similar in size to this: G400C Motorcycle | Genuine Scooters
If you want brand new you cool look at the Yamaha SR400, although that is is kick start rather than electronic button start like most other motorbikes. Unfortunately I'm not an expert on that type of bike and it's proving difficult to find any reputable brand type bikes within the 250cc-400cc range (e.g. Suzuki, Yamaha, Honda) If you're willing to push out to a 500cc there's the Honda CMX500 Rebel as well.
You'll find that cruisers in that size are extremely underpowered. For a cruiser as a first bike, I'd recommend a 750. It sounds like a lot, but cruisers are heavy, not tuned for excessive power, and have a low center of gravity making them stable, comfortable, and easy to keep upright. However, if you're buying new, the G400 isn't a bad bike, but that's more of a "standard" than a cruiser. Thing looks more like a scrambler than anything else. At 350 pounds with 400cc's, it's probably faster than a genuine 750cc cruiser (like a Shadow, Vulcan, etc.).
I can't imagine they honked just for that. I don't even know why they would. That's like a 3 seconds gap at most which is pretty much mandatory if you ever need to stop abruptly.
I would have killed for a bike, just for yesterday ... Didn't have a bike ready for what's possibly the greatest day of outing motorcycles in Denmark. http://blokhus.dk/Storage/cache/img/Storage/plugin_files/news/images/2469/bc12d294ecd20741da176df15e3a60b6.JPG
Wish it was like that here yesterday. Was the worst day for rain recently. https://i.imgur.com/IghuH5f.jpg
That camera also doesn't help, makes it look farther away than it actually is. But in general, people are impatient. They don't want you to leave a large gap. The picture in the post above mine is a normal following distance: https://i.imgur.com/IghuH5f.jpg This was your following distance: https://files.facepunch.com/forum/upload/113284/8a3346cc-1bbd-436e-b0b7-554998c39db5/image.png Shit like that makes people impatient. I don't think you did anything wrong since you were both coming up to a yield/stopping point, but I understand why the driver was annoyed since that's just how people are; impatient assholes.
Been thinking of maybe getting a license+bike next year. Thoughts on Yamaha FZR 600 as a first bike? Either that or a suzuki GSX-R 750
I'd normally say get something that's more forgiving as a first bike, but that's entirely upto you. In saying that, those are both solid bikes, I've ridden an FZR 600 and it was a pretty good ride, however I did find the clutch pretty heavy. Also doesn't Estonia have restrictions on the first licence you can get?
It depends what age of bike are we talking here? As in the old 1990s FZR 600? Assuming equivalent age, I'd probably go for the FZR but might be worth looking at something a bit newer like a thundercat? Never ridden an FZR 600 but the thundercat is pretty comfortable for long distance riding but also wont be holding you back in terms of power any time soon.
Anyone ever use a smart watch for GPS/turn by turn maps? Was thinking about getting one to strap/magnetic clip to my handlebars between the clamps, since my phone has a case that makes RAM mounts a no-go.
Not my first license. I'm 23 and have had my B cat license for a while now I do know very little about bikes in general, so I'm slowly reading through this thread to get a feel for it. Don't know what bikes are more or less forgiving so.
I meant motorbike license by bad. At 23 though you may be able to go straight to an A class licence instead of an A2 which is good. What are you going to be using your bike for?
Aye, 23.5 years + B cat = A cat. Road trips with friends and rush hour commuting mainly. More the latter than former.
If that's the case I'd suggest a more comutery bike like a Suzuki Bandit 600/650, GS500, Honda CB500x etc and put a windshield on it for road trips. I've commuted and done long distance trips on sport bikes before and oh man, my back was killing me afterwards, plus with a naked you can wiggle the handlebars and mirrors around other car mirrors and such muuuch easier when filtering. In saying that, if you prefer sports bikes, by all means go and get one, but they can certainly be a little more harsh then more commuter orientated bikes. Even my CBR250rr was pretty brutal compared to other 250s or even my GS500 I owned as the throtte was basically on or off
I'll defo take that into consideration, thanks bud
Sorry, you need to Log In to post a reply to this thread.