|
I'd buy that guy a jager bomb just to hear about all the sweet street races hes won
|
#
?
Jul 17, 2012 01:06
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 8, 2024 22:34 |
|
|
red19fire posted:I just witnessed a squid Layer Dan not an hour ago while I was walking to work here in Philadelphia. Exhilarating. Dude's wearing the squid uniform: shorts, t-shirt, tennis shoes and a backwards hat, with his helmet secured to the rear peg on the left side. This dude is awesome.
|
|
#
?
Jul 17, 2012 02:13
|
|
|
I'm in North Carolina for a few weeks visiting my wife's family. The wife needs to head to Atlanta for a few days for a conference, so I decided I'd remove myself from the in laws' hair by renting a bike and checking out Deals Gap. So we were in Raleigh this weekend having dinner with her brother and I mentioned that I was renting a Street Glide* and he should join me up on the Blue Ridge Parkway. His response? "No way, my Sportster is a hardtail and it would shake me to pieces on a long trip like that." He has a bone stock 2005 Sportster. I assume he thinks "not a Softail" == "hardtail". Not very astute for a mechanical engineer. * Harley is the only viable bike rental I could find near Charlotte. There's a place in Asheville on the way to the gap that rents metric bikes for 50-100% more than Harley charges. But I ride sport/UJM/ADV bikes all the time so getting a Harley is kind of a nice novelty. AnnoyBot fucked around with this message at 04:36 on Jul 17, 2012 |
|
#
?
Jul 17, 2012 04:10
|
|
|
At the risk of being lynched, I didn't find my buddy's Harley terrible. It was good if you just wanted to roll around sedately and see the sights. Was irritated by the short gearing though.
|
|
#
?
Jul 17, 2012 04:20
|
|
|
Z3n posted:At the risk of being lynched, I didn't find my buddy's Harley terrible. It was good if you just wanted to roll around sedately and see the sights. Was irritated by the short gearing though. I've always enjoyed test riding them at the local motorcycle show, although scraping the boards on my very first freeway on ramp came as a surprise.
|
|
#
?
Jul 17, 2012 04:38
|
|
|
Z3n posted:At the risk of being lynched, I didn't find my buddy's Harley terrible. It was good if you just wanted to roll around sedately and see the sights. Was irritated by the short gearing though. Harley are really, really good at what they do - after all, they've been making the same basic bike for over a century now. Sure they're overpriced and a lot of them are owned by idiots, but the bikes themselves are fine within the limits of their type. (I'm eventually going to go over to the States and rent one - probably something ridiculous like an Electra Glide - for a road trip, so I have to believe this to convince myself that I'm not just a slavish victim of American cultural imperialism).
|
|
#
?
Jul 17, 2012 07:30
|
|
|
After riding a few different Harleys, I'm of the opinion that they're fine for not really doing anything.
|
|
#
?
Jul 17, 2012 21:19
|
|
|
invision posted:After riding a few different Harleys, I'm of the opinion that they're fine for not really doing anything. I know many people who have had Harleys in the past and now own Hondas/Suzukis/Triumphs because the build quality is a lot better. That said, my neighbor has an Electraglide or whatever and despite being new, it barely idles. If I had to go with the "expensive, retro, slightly unreliable" aspect of motorcycling, it's Ducati over Harley any day.
|
|
#
?
Jul 17, 2012 22:06
|
|
|
Xovaan posted:and despite being new, it barely idles.
|
|
#
?
Jul 17, 2012 22:37
|
|
|
AnnoyBot posted:"No way, my Sportster is a hardtail and it would shake me to pieces on a long trip like that." While he may not be technically correct, a Sporty with stock (read: decorative) shocks and forward controls of that era is for all practical purposes a hard tail. Your spine is the de facto shock absorber. This is less true of the Roadster variant, and obviously any other models customized to mimic it. You don't need a degree to recognize that your prostate is just about to get launched into your chest cavity.
|
|
#
?
Jul 17, 2012 23:08
|
|
|
Pardon my ignorance, but what exactly is the benefit of a hardtail? Especially on a bike like a Harley, in which I would think one of it's main draws is cruising comfort?
|
|
#
?
Jul 17, 2012 23:41
|
|
|
The "benefit" is that it looks like a badass hardtail. No other reason. The big innovation on the softails was a way of moving the suspension inboard so that you couldn't see it, giving the appearance of a hardtail without having to give up shock absorption. Is it true that the shocks on a sporty are decorative? I thought that part of the reason for the animosity against them was because they had suspension (as opposed to the badass "hardtail" softail electra glide of course). They're fakes? Or do you just mean that they have very little travel/aren't set up properly?
|
|
#
?
Jul 17, 2012 23:57
|
|
|
Xovaan posted:I know many people who have had Harleys in the past and now own Hondas/Suzukis/Triumphs because the build quality is a lot better. That said, my neighbor has an Electraglide or whatever and despite being new, it barely idles. If I had to go with the "expensive, retro, slightly unreliable" aspect of motorcycling, it's Ducati over Harley any day. Interesting, in my experience Harleys ('90s forward) are well put together with much more substantial materials and components than their japanese counterparts. My vstar tried so hard to be a Harley but looking at them side by side close up, you can tell the vstar was full of cost-savings to get it to the half-the-price-of-a-Harley price point that all the metric cruiser guys love to talk about. Plastic plastic plastic, silly little "covers" to hide ugly components that don't need to be ugly, inexplicably cacophonous mechanicals, and terribly-designed control cables. And the vstar was the best half-the-price-of-a-harley cruiser I found. Isn't suzuki notorious for budget-oriented shared components and clunky finish? Most current models seem like toys when I touch them at the dealer, and it seems like I am going to break every fastener I touch on one. I think Honda is riding a well-earned reputation for quality but even their Harley competitors aren't even really competitors. Their current line of 1300s are visually scarring from within 10 feet, it's like they got their sport bike guys to design them and they designed them to put under a fairing. As far as a new 'Glide that barely idles, some folks see them shake and get the wrong impression - above idle they are smooth like glass. Are you sure it isn't that: - you aren't used to a lumpy rubber mount vtwin doing its normal idle thing? they shake, it's what they do. - the idle isn't turned down way too low by the owner to get the cool "potato potato" sound? people do this and it isn't great for the motor
|
|
#
?
Jul 18, 2012 00:20
|
|
|
Sagebrush posted:Is it true that the shocks on a sporty are decorative? I thought that part of the reason for the animosity against them was because they had suspension (as opposed to the badass "hardtail" softail electra glide of course). They're fakes? Or do you just mean that they have very little travel/aren't set up properly? For a Custom and other slammed variants (Hugger, Low, Super Low, et al) the stock shocks (I think they're low-end Showas) are usually the second thing to come off, after the mufflers. It is a near universal source of grief, but you can't really blame the MoCo for this--they know a large percentage of their customers are going to yank a lot of stock components anyway and they'll be more than happy to install more expensive HD alternatives. This is why the stock grips look like they came off a Chinese Wal-Mart ten speed--they know they're just a placeholder for future skulls and eagles. They're not fakes, they're just ineffectual and many wind up installing Progressives or adjustable Road King shocks. This is often accompanied by Progressive springs and possibly Ricor Intiminators up front. The shocks alone aren't responsible for the pounding--if your legs are kicked out in front of you, they're not absorbing the nastier bumps, leaving that to your rear end and everything north of it. In some cases, I'm not sure what magic people expect out of the shocks when the fender's sitting just a a few inches off the rear tire to begin with.
|
|
#
?
Jul 18, 2012 01:14
|
|
|
clutchpuck posted:Isn't suzuki notorious for budget-oriented shared components and clunky finish? Most current models seem like toys when I touch them at the dealer, and it seems like I am going to break every fastener I touch on one. The material is visually of higher quality, but I've yet to hear of major components failing on most of the alternative cruisers out there. Harleys may look nice, but I'd much rather have something for half the price, even if it's a hit on aesthetics. Shared components reduce overall price as well and most of the Suzukis I've seen are definitely a good bang-for-buck, if at a slightly less overall quality finish to their counterparts. My Bandit 1200, despite being covered in plastic, mechanically feels as rock solid as anything else I've seen at dealers. I'll give it to Harley that they know how to make a quality finish motorcycle, but it's still a matter of what I'm getting for what price, and I just don't see the end price justifying the means. That, and there is a little bit of the feeling that I'd be lumped in with Harley Davidson riders like that one guy who comes to my local comic book shop in a vinyl jacket and sunglasses to buy Yu-Gi-Oh cards, and I just couldn't live with that. 
|
|
#
?
Jul 18, 2012 02:51
|
|
|
Anecdotal, but I had a huge incidental breakdown on my vstar. It sucked so bad and it was expensive. Cost of a ninja 250 expensive.
|
|
#
?
Jul 18, 2012 03:01
|
|
|
clutchpuck posted:Anecdotal, but I had a huge incidental breakdown on my vstar. It sucked so bad and it was expensive. Cost of a ninja 250 expensive. Ouch  poo poo does happy with any motorcycle but that still sucks rear end. Would it have been the same cost to fix had it been a Harley though?I should clarify: If I actually had disposable income and Harold Darlon culture didn't exist like it does now, I would ride a Harley because I think they're cool, especially after seeing somebody in a one piece A* suit and a GoPro riding one. But I still think the better deal is a Honda Shadow or a Magna or Vstar for somebody that is frugal and still wants a good motorcycle.
|
|
#
?
Jul 18, 2012 03:55
|
|
|
clutchpuck posted:Interesting, in my experience Harleys ('90s forward) are well put together with much more substantial materials and components than their japanese counterparts. My vstar tried so hard to be a Harley but looking at them side by side close up, you can tell the vstar was full of cost-savings to get it to the half-the-price-of-a-Harley price point that all the metric cruiser guys love to talk about. Plastic plastic plastic, silly little "covers" to hide ugly components that don't need to be ugly, inexplicably cacophonous mechanicals, and terribly-designed control cables. And the vstar was the best half-the-price-of-a-harley cruiser I found. Didn't you have the friend with an HD that would rattle off its air filter? GI Joe jobs fucked around with this message at 05:31 on Jul 18, 2012 |
|
#
?
Jul 18, 2012 05:26
|
|
|
A while ago I was at a friends house when she wanted to go off and find a bottle-o somewhere, so she chucks on this woollen Balaklava to hop on the back of her mate's bike. So I had to ask what the deal was with this Balaklava (it was a pretty hot night) "the helmet doesn't have any padding, so I need to wear this thing so it doesn't fall off." edit: forgot that the image attachment disappears when you preview your post 
|
|
#
?
Jul 18, 2012 08:08
|
|
|
Gullous posted:Didn't you have the friend with an HD that would rattle off its air filter? All good bikes rattle things off, it's called "character". The more important and likely to cause severe damage the thing rattled off, the more characterful the bike. These are the things you tell yourself in the middle of the night at the side of the road, retracing your route and trying to find the bolt from the gear shift linkage that detached itself from your Laverda, two days after the ignition barrel had shaken itself out. Erm, or that's what I've been told.
|
|
#
?
Jul 18, 2012 11:08
|
|
|
Ridden my dads friends 2001 Harley Sportster 1200, this was pre-rubber mounted engine. It vibrated the whole bike like hell at a stop but smoothed out when you got moving, power felt pretty good around town but I didn't take it on the freeway. The bike was a bit top heavy at low speeds and definitely took a lot of effort to turn at low speeds. Overall I was pretty glad to get back on my 636 after riding it. I've considered a cruiser before but for the most part they don't have any major advantages over types of bikes. They aren't meant for going off road, acceleration/topspeed aren't their goals, aren't all that comfortable due to the riding position and limited suspension travel, and they can't lean much because of low pegs and floorboards. You just can't consider one for practical purposes other than looks and maybe sound, but plenty of Japanese/Italian Vtwin engines sound great too. If you need a practical bike with luggage and great for distance and overall are reliable then BMWs are great, if you wanted speed and handling sportbikes make sense, and Standards can pretty much take care of everything inbetween. That being said I kind of like the Yamaha Roadstars: 
infraboy fucked around with this message at 11:46 on Jul 18, 2012 |
|
#
?
Jul 18, 2012 11:43
|
|
|
goddamnedtwisto posted:All good bikes rattle things off, it's called "character". Indeed, and as a fellow KTM owner Gullous should be painfully aware of this. KTM designs their bikes in such a way that the harder you ride them, the more ancillary parts are shed, making themselves lighter and more Ready to Race.
|
|
#
?
Jul 18, 2012 11:46
|
|
|
My previous bike, an R1100GS, was nice enough to shake off one of the side cases and the license plate on a particulary bumpy ride.
|
|
#
?
Jul 18, 2012 13:00
|
|
|
ReelBigLizard posted:Indeed, and as a fellow KTM owner Gullous should be painfully aware of this. KTM designs their bikes in such a way that the harder you ride them, the more ancillary parts are shed, making themselves lighter and more Ready to Race. KTM was thoughtful about automatic weight shedding, though. The secondary air system , for example, was designed to fall off! It's a feature.
|
|
#
?
Jul 18, 2012 14:15
|
|
|
goddamnedtwisto posted:All good bikes rattle things off, it's called "character". The more important and likely to cause severe damage the thing rattled off, the more characterful the bike. These are the things you tell yourself in the middle of the night at the side of the road, retracing your route and trying to find the bolt from the gear shift linkage that detached itself from your Laverda, two days after the ignition barrel had shaken itself out. Good manufacturers and mechanics use things like cotter pins and threadlocker 
|
|
#
?
Jul 18, 2012 14:20
|
|
|
Sounds to me like your "good" manufacturers are adding weight, not lightness.
|
|
#
?
Jul 18, 2012 14:26
|
|
|
Xovaan posted:Ouch If I had a big twin Harley it would have been a smaller job - their whole gearbox can be removed without splitting the cases. Vstar not so much. The bearing that carries the front pulley disintegrated, so it was an engine out split cases operation. And because of H-D's better dealer network I also would have needed a 40 mile tow if were a Harley, and it would have been all covered by roadside assistance. There are all sorts of lovely little "authorized" Yamaha technicians, and because I had to be a little picky on that (the closest guy was a Yamaha snowmobile guy who said he could do tires for me), I paid the $270 difference in towing cost between the closest mechanic and the closest *legit* mechanic.
|
|
#
?
Jul 18, 2012 15:57
|
|
|
Of course I've got limited reference material but in my experience Harley's have got some more solid/over dimensioned components than other bikes I've dealt with. Allen instead of Philips screws, a (decent) chrome exhaust system so it doesn't rust, nice coating on the engine parts. Meanwhile my Buell's rocker boxes suffer from aluminum corrosion, the headers and especially the pipe rust, etc. My Yamaha had a lot of really lovely, soft, screws everywhere which was infuriating, and the plastics cracked, especially at the bolt holes. Of course it was 25 years old so it might not be indicative of current Yamaha quality.
|
|
#
?
Jul 18, 2012 17:21
|
|
|
High Protein posted:Of course I've got limited reference material but in my experience Harley's have got some more solid/over dimensioned components than other bikes I've dealt with. Allen instead of Philips screws, a (decent) chrome exhaust system so it doesn't rust, nice coating on the engine parts. Meanwhile my Buell's rocker boxes suffer from aluminum corrosion, the headers and especially the pipe rust, etc. My Yamaha had a lot of really lovely, soft, screws everywhere which was infuriating, and the plastics cracked, especially at the bolt holes. Of course it was 25 years old so it might not be indicative of current Yamaha quality. Are screws really that expensive? I've always wondered why so many things have lovely fasteners, or weird fasteners that you need a special tool for. Even the cheapest screwdriver can be made of rock hard metal, but every screw is like warm butter, so if you don't coddle it just right, it strips. I guess if Harleys really do have quality fasteners and components, it (partially) justifies the price. I guess the next step is having owners who have a clue on how to fix their bikes.
|
|
#
?
Jul 18, 2012 17:24
|
|
|
Pagan posted:Are screws really that expensive? I've always wondered why so many things have lovely fasteners, or weird fasteners that you need a special tool for. Even the cheapest screwdriver can be made of rock hard metal, but every screw is like warm butter, so if you don't coddle it just right, it strips. Fasteners add up in price and weight. That's a big weight and cost savings and most owners will never see the tradeoff. I love my Buell but the bolts are one weak point. I use PBlaster or whatever penetrating grease on pretty much every bolt I remove just to make sure I don't twist off the head - on the other hand, as far as big sport tourers go, it's a lightweight and I appreciate that.
|
|
#
?
Jul 18, 2012 17:59
|
|
|
Xovaan posted:I should clarify: If I actually had disposable income and Harold Darlon culture didn't exist like it does now, I would ride a Harley because I think they're cool, especially after seeing somebody in a one piece A* suit and a GoPro riding one. But I still think the better deal is a Honda Shadow or a Magna or Vstar for somebody that is frugal and still wants a good motorcycle. This is an interesting point. I find the absence of culture just as strange. What is the buying experience about in a HoKawSuYa megaplex? The race/sport machines clearly reflect each company's DNA and you can sort of imagine the thread running back to Lawson, Sheene, etc., but on the cruiser/standard side of the house, is it any different from buying a generator or leaf blower? In the grand scheme of things, it's probably an expendable business line to their respective conglomerates, but at HD it's core business and you can clearly tell the difference. Yes, they run the world's biggest souvenir shop, but you have to generate income in January. The Japanese dealerships just seem so...sleepy and vacant, like a Sears appliance department on a Tuesday afternoon. There are EIGHT product lines under the Star umbrella, not counting the VMax, with clear overlap. How is this even possible in 2012? And yes, they look amazing.
|
|
#
?
Jul 18, 2012 18:16
|
|
|
I am sort of surprised that Yamaha is still selling new 650s and 1100s.
|
|
#
?
Jul 18, 2012 18:21
|
|
|
Re: softness - fasteners are also made to be the weak link. Which would you prefer: ruined screw/bolt or the hole that it goes into ruined? lovely as it may be, I'll take some left-handed drill work over putting a Helicoil or replacing a body panel or block any day. That said, there's a certain point where becomes just cheap for cheap's sake, so yeah. gently caress those ones. e: Marv Hushman posted:What is the buying experience about in a HoKawSuYa megaplex? So far in my experience, it's pretty super bad. Salespeople who don't ride, don't know the lines, and definitely can't field any technical questions, across several dealerships. It drove us straight to Craigslist and the internet. I can't speak to HD, but the Victory dealer I've been to was the exact opposite in every way. Problem there was that Victorys only come in one engine size and price (big). This was a small Victory-only shop (Victory of Southern Maryland), not just a megaplex with a Victory authorization. Splizwarf fucked around with this message at 18:34 on Jul 18, 2012 |
|
#
?
Jul 18, 2012 18:23
|
|
|
Splizwarf posted:Re: softness - fasteners are also made to be the weak link. Which would you prefer: ruined screw/bolt or the hole that it goes into ruined? lovely as it may be, I'll take some left-handed drill work over putting a Helicoil or replacing a body panel or block any day. Yeah, there's designed-in weaknesses and then there's just poo poo. I've never understood why people put up with that, at most in the bulk they'll be buying in they can only be saving pennies on the cost of the whole bike. It's to the point where some people I know get the stud extractor out with the screwdrivers if they have to do any work because they know that something's going to strip/cam. Mind you I ride a bike which, while it's not got a spot of corrosion anywhere after three years of everyday use, refuses to start if the engine is too warm and whose oil filter is literally the first thing water and crap off the road from the front wheel hits, so maybe I can't get too preachy. Splizwarf posted:So far in my experience, it's pretty super bad. Salespeople who don't ride, don't know the lines, and definitely can't field any technical questions, across several dealerships. It drove us straight to Craigslist and the internet. I like the big dealers - if you've done your research beforehand and have a good idea what you want, there's not normally a problem getting a test ride and you can usually haggle a much better deal out of them because all they care about is shifting units. I take my bike to small dealers for servicing and stuff though because dealing directly with the guy who owns the place and knowing the mechanics by name always helps. Anyway, got some fresh off the presses stupid motorcycle poo poo. Just had my bike MOTed and some new tyres fitted. I mentioned how I hated scrubbing in new tyres in the wet (it started raining literally the second I dropped the bike off) and a bloke at work said I should deflate them down to 10psi to widen the contact patch and heat them up more quickly to burn off the release compound, and then just ride like that for a hundred or so miles...
|
|
#
?
Jul 18, 2012 20:40
|
|
|
I bought a pack of of metric bolts, nuts and washers to replace any stripped screws. They're all hex head from 7-11mm. Good investment IMO.
|
|
#
?
Jul 18, 2012 21:33
|
|
|
Pope Mobile posted:I bought a pack of of metric bolts, nuts and washers to replace any stripped screws. They're all hex head from 7-11mm. Good investment IMO. I picked up a dozen bags of new black metric allen head bolts, probably 30 lbs, for $10 at a garage sale last week. I think the guy was a NASA engineer who was downsizing- he had just sold 2 computer controlled Bridgeport mills in his shed when I got there. Best score ever, for nuts and bolts anyway. Hopefully I won't need to hit up the metric section of the dealer for a good long while. (gently caress Honda and their $10 each 7mm bolts) Also- sorry for opening up the HD shitfest. I didn't mean for that to happen.
|
|
#
?
Jul 19, 2012 01:38
|
|
|
Gullous posted:Didn't you have the friend with an HD that would rattle off its air filter? Yeah I love bringing that up with him. But it was a cheap super huge 3rd party aftermarket chrome showoff thing, so I can't rightly attribute it to being a manufacturer problem. He put a smaller lighter air cleaner on and its been fine since. That bike has 40k mi and it started losing that part after some extensive engine work, too, so the bike isn't exactly as new.
|
|
#
?
Jul 19, 2012 01:55
|
|
|
Gullous posted:Didn't you have the friend with an HD that would rattle off its air filter? that's more of a design problem than a mfg problem
|
|
#
?
Jul 19, 2012 01:57
|
|
|
 Why do you need all of those earplugs? For riding! A buddy of mine lent me some last weekend and it made riding a much more pleasant experience. Less headaches! You shouldn't wear earplugs when you ride. It's extremely dangerous. Why is that? I know of many motorcyclists who wear earplugs. It saves their hearing. There's a reason why it's illegal to wear headphones when you drive. You can't hear a car's horn. Also, I just had a friend die off of (local canyon road). He was riding with a friend and went off a cliff. 
|
|
#
?
Jul 19, 2012 03:10
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 8, 2024 22:34 |
|
|
He clearly didn't hear the cliff honking
|
|
#
?
Jul 19, 2012 03:23
|
|
