|
A few years ago I was passing traffic on my R1 in Upstate NY at about 120, pulled back into my lane for a corner and was coasting down in gear at 95ish when a cop appeared going the other way, immediately hit his lights. I stopped on the shoulder and waited for him to get turned around, he thanked me for stopping, checked my license, and told me to slow down because there were deer out that time of day, seemed genuinely concerned and didn't even say anything about my (very) expired inspection sticker. I think stopping and being polite wins you a lot of points with cops.
|
#
?
Oct 22, 2018 19:19
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 28, 2024 05:14 |
|
|
So what y'all are saying is that if we stop we won't get a ticket, and if we disappear we won't get a ticket. I also (Ninja 250 at the time) got thanked for stopping, for being honest, and for asking before I reached for my registration. Also no ticket.
|
|
#
?
Oct 22, 2018 19:40
|
|
|
unless you're dealing with bored suburb georgia cops. got clocked doing 72 in a 45 (that magically turns into a 45 from 55 at some random point) by a pickup truck cop and the guy lectured me for like 30 minutes and then gave me a ticket. i shouldn't have stopped
|
|
#
?
Oct 22, 2018 20:52
|
|
|
Razzled posted:pickup truck cop I bet that guy hates life.
|
|
#
?
Oct 22, 2018 20:56
|
|
|
captainOrbital posted:So what y'all are saying is that if we stop we won't get a ticket, and if we disappear we won't get a ticket. Here if you get pulled over, you get a ticket as the stop is logged and the cop has to justify spending the 'resources' to pull you over, sometimes retroactively, preferably while adding to his quota. Like it physically pains them to let you go without any ticket at all. I've found I've gotten the best reaction when I pull over pre-emptively so they don't have to turn their lights on. No lights = no official stop = talk poo poo about bikes for five minutes and gently caress off. Never had to ask before reaching for my license though, that's some crazy fascist poo poo that blows my mind every time I hear it. In other news: a guy who restores japanese bikes decided to do a harley for the first time with no experience with them at all. He's a go big or go home type of fella, so he picked a 1974 iron-head sportster to cut his teeth on. Quickly got lost because he's used to bikes that 'make sense' and 'work properly' and got me to help out. Cue 2 hours' worth of him agonizing over everything being slightly different to the specs/manual and me telling him the engine in front of him IRL running happily overrules a piece of paper written in the late 70's. Like seriously, a harley engine from the 50's can't tell your ignition timing is 3 degrees off of nominally perfect no matter how many forums users tell you otherwise. He was also surprised to learn you can't just have the bike running in the garage and play around with it indefinitely because it'll cook itself, and admitted it would be toast by now if he had been able to get it started in the first place as he would've sat there for hours trying to get the point gap micrometer perfect or whatever. This is why I hate working on ancient bikes: the work isn't that hard, bridging the cultural divide between the machine and owner is often impossible. Seems like as a culture, riders have forgotten that a owning a bike which isn't constantly broken in some way is a relatively recent development and that in the old days the variation between individual machines/ownership experiences was huge. They're extremely analog creatures which demand a patient, holistic approach. Reality frequently doesn't match the manual, you often have to wing it and make educated guesses, you often have to modify stuff because it was designed incorrectly to start with, and even with everything running perfectly poo poo will still break because the design doesn't have benefit of CAD and modern metallurgy. Luck is often a key component in how well-built the bike is. Convincing people all this is normal is far more challenging than the actual work and not something I'm capable of mastering I don't think. This is also why I never pass up a chance to talk poo poo with greybeards about technical minutae. They often have enormously valuable knowledge unobtainable through any other means, because none of them use the internet, and that knowledge will eventually disappear in all but the most closeted of hobbyist circles. I feel lucky for being uniquely positioned at the temporal nexus between the old way and the new era: I'm old enough that I get to pick high-ranking wizard brains for useful info before they die, develop a feel for old bikes, do things the analog way that kids learning about bikes today won't have the opportunity to, get a little share of all that experience before it disappears into museums and get some context for why we do things the way we do. But I'm also young enough to understand and get to work on modern electro-wizardry bikes, I get to learn about handling dynamics by having access to tyres/suspension that aren't garbage, learn to fix megasquirt from clever people on the internet and use modern methods to put together bikes that people in the 80's would've thought impossible. I feel that this will eventually make my brain pretty valuable. People's desire for classy old shitters is constantly increasing while their expectations get further and further from the reality of said shitters. Having the ability to adapt EFI to old turds and make them slightly less terrible to own could be pretty profitable. Rant post turns into good to be alive post, wtf is wrong with me 
|
|
#
?
Oct 22, 2018 21:24
|
|
|
Slavvy posted:Never had to ask before reaching for my license though, that's some crazy fascist poo poo that blows my mind every time I hear it. Not asking permission to reach for your licence in 'merica could well result in your mind being blown [out the back of your head], yes.
|
|
#
?
Oct 22, 2018 22:38
|
|
|
First time I ever got stopped by a cop on my bike was because it was unregistered. I pulled over neatly, took my helmet off and asked them what was up. They told me it was unregistered, I told them how I'd bought the bike less than 3 months ago from a dealer and I hadn't been sure how much rego was on it and had been waiting for the paperwork to be mailed to me. I got a warning instead of a $1200 fine. Another time I got stopped was for riding in the bicycle lane to get around peak hour traffic. Cop got me, gave me a fine but wasn't a dick about it, and offered to help me maneuver the bike back on to the road (I'd had to pull over in an awkward spot). I've yet to have one be an outright dick to me. Edit: and I've never had to worry about being shot
|
|
#
?
Oct 22, 2018 22:54
|
|
|
I was watching some TV show like DCI Banks or something in which Northern cops go around solving the most Depressing Crimes, and whenever they bust into a house with guns, they're always yelling "ARMED POLICE" and I was like oooooh bc 90% of the time, they're not loving armed which seems to work out really well. So yeah, I ask before putting my hand in my jacket bc even though I am Caucasian, you never loving know. Also though the guy was appreciative that I asked him, really it's a low-key diss on cops
|
|
#
?
Oct 22, 2018 22:59
|
|
|
I was pulled over on my EX250 in the everglades and, when I reached into my napoleon pocket for my wallet, both officers tensed and got hands on their guns before I froze. So, I usually ask for permission for everything when I get pulled over.
|
|
#
?
Oct 23, 2018 00:38
|
|
|
Slavvy posted:He was also surprised to learn you can't just have the bike running in the garage and play around with it indefinitely because it'll cook itself, and admitted it would be toast by now if he had been able to get it started in the first place as he would've sat there for hours trying to get the point gap micrometer perfect or whatever.
|
|
#
?
Oct 23, 2018 21:11
|
|
|
I really have no idea, all I can tell you is his garage had immaculate showroom condition examples of the following: First gen fireblade Rd350lc 750 water buffalo Old triumph of some kind Also I've given my b12 a massive beating, come back and let it idle for ages while loving around with MS and the oil temp stays rock steady at 100°c.
|
|
#
?
Oct 23, 2018 22:51
|
|
|
Finger Prince posted:The only thing I know about setting sag is whether to go with paneer or aloo. I like both together, but only when I'm feeling decadent.
|
|
#
?
Oct 24, 2018 04:59
|
|
|
Slavvy posted:
I mean there's a reason that greasers were called greasers
|
|
#
?
Oct 24, 2018 16:55
|
|
|
Lol how did this thread get stickied
|
|
#
?
Oct 24, 2018 17:03
|
|
|
Sagebrush posted:I mean there's a reason that greasers were called greasers I always thought that was cause of the hair 
|
|
#
?
Oct 24, 2018 18:07
|
|
|
HenryJLittlefinger posted:Lol how did this thread get stickied Plus it should be renamed the haunted echo chamber!
|
|
#
?
Oct 24, 2018 22:08
|
|
|
Ecto Chamber.
|
|
#
?
Oct 25, 2018 21:54
|
|
|
Slavvy posted:Seems like as a culture, riders have forgotten that a owning a bike which isn't constantly broken in some way is a relatively recent development and that in the old days the variation between individual machines/ownership experiences was huge. They're extremely analog creatures which demand a patient, holistic approach. Reality frequently doesn't match the manual, you often have to wing it and make educated guesses, you often have to modify stuff because it was designed incorrectly to start with, and even with everything running perfectly poo poo will still break because the design doesn't have benefit of CAD and modern metallurgy. Luck is often a key component in how well-built the bike is. Convincing people all this is normal is far more challenging than the actual work and not something I'm capable of mastering I don't think. I've worked on precisely one AMF era Harley, and my god, this is the truth. Thankfully, the owner was cool and took the bike to me because he trusted me? (i know, I don't know why either). But the "hey, I need to level the clutch relative to itself and then there's like 4 different oddball adjustment mechanisms and what the gently caress is this chain drive okay well, uh, it runs, just ride it until it stops running and we'll figure it out". His response was: "Oh this is like 90% better than it was, here's a pile of cash and thaaaaaanks!" Sometimes things work out!
|
|
#
?
Oct 31, 2018 21:23
|
|
|
Other fun things old Harleys do: Pull the head studs out thanks to thermal expansion, the barrels get like 6mm longer from cold to hot Pushrods force the head gasket open thanks to thermal expansion/locking hydraulic cam followers + laughably poor rocker tower design Drop the magnets off the stator rotor which nukes the stator and also the clutch because they're one and the same Shave bits off the engine cases when the crank starts trying to break free, which is about thirty seconds after the engine is built because it's a giant millstone supported by a ridiculous taper bearing + prayers Ping despite having bugger all compression ratio because half the combustion chamber lacks LOS to the spark plug thanks to the hilarious piston dome; fixed by grinding a trench in the top of the dome or converting to dual spark heads depending on your budget/sanity
|
|
#
?
Nov 1, 2018 08:23
|
|
|
Slavvy posted:Other fun things old Harleys do: 
|
|
#
?
Nov 1, 2018 13:05
|
|
|
Not a bike rant per se, but... I recently started carpooling to work due to gf's new job. My normal commute on a bike normally takes 12, may be 16, minutes in the worst of traffic. This time it was over an hour for 8 miles 1 way. Fuuuuuuuuuuck.
|
|
#
?
Nov 1, 2018 23:15
|
|
|
I assume you're in California. When I bought my bike there my commute went from almost 45 minutes to about 8 minutes. Unfortunately I live in Nebraska now which will never ever legalize lane splitting.
|
|
#
?
Nov 2, 2018 01:23
|
|
|
Z3n posted:I've worked on precisely one AMF era Harley, and my god, this is the truth. Thankfully, the owner was cool and took the bike to me because he trusted me? (i know, I don't know why either). But the "hey, I need to level the clutch relative to itself and then there's like 4 different oddball adjustment mechanisms and what the gently caress is this chain drive okay well, uh, it runs, just ride it until it stops running and we'll figure it out". Some of the most interesting things I've seen working on old vs. new stuff is the range of things that used to require adjustment which don't today. My 1956 BMW has bolts inside the transmission that allow adjustment of the throw of the internal linkage that rotates the cam. Never seen that on anything 1970s or newer. I assume the casting, metallurgy and machining at the factories got accurate enough that those things didn't need to be tweaked to make them work right anymore. And the things which were overbuilt and underbuilt, because designers just didn't know what needed to be strong and what didn't. The wheel bearings and spokes on a 1923 Ner-a-Car are beefy enough for sidecar work, despite the bike being lighter than a modern scooter. But the handlebars are so long and poorly braced that it's hard to see in the mirrors if you take your hands off the bars. And the engine case looks like some kind of Bauhaus art, the motor mount bosses are so thin and long. I've never seen a case so spindly. Also the variation between brands is interesting, I've worked on a 1957 Zündapp in addition to my 56 BMW, and they seem nothing alike, despite being made at the same time. They're both heavy and their wiring colors are similar, that's all they share. The BMW is simple and sturdy and most parts on it are stronger than they need to be. Almost every moving part on the bike has a rolling element bearing. Cam, crank, rods, rockers, swingarms. Many things that would just be bushings on a British bike from the same era. (WW1 era Henderson fours have no rolling element bearings in the engine at all, everything is a bushing. That blew my mind when I learned it, I didn't think motors could run like that) The Zündapp looked like it was designed by an Italian with a BBW fetish. Not much of it fit together, there were many flimsy sheet metal parts, it was heavy but not sturdy. One (only one) of the body panels was magnesium for no reason at all.
|
|
#
?
Nov 2, 2018 03:13
|
|
|
Rev. Dr. Moses P. Lester posted:Henderson fours Hoooly poo poo don't get me started on henderson fours. I know an ancient psychopath who put one of those engines in a loving plane.
|
|
#
?
Nov 2, 2018 05:21
|
|
|
Slavvy posted:Other fun things old Harleys do: If any of this reads like hyperbole, its not. My father in law has an AMF era Harley Softail and its like babies first engineering project. It loving snapped a head stud on its own, due to thermal expansion. The bolt just snapped and proceeded to rattle around in the hole for god knows how many miles. He has replaced nearly everything on it and its a ship of theseus thing at this point. It leaks, runs like poo poo, the brakes were hilariously bad when the bike was new, in 2018, they should be illegal, its just all around garbage. The worst part? He mothballed a cool SOHC Honda 750 for the Harley. Still has it, just doesnt ride it, and continues to throw money in the Harley pit. He's owned that Honda since new, and it has never required anything more than routine maintenance and consumables. Its unbelievable how much better the Honda is, its not even a comparison In summary: AMF era Harleys were the Chinese scooters of their time, but instead of being leaned against a shed to disintegrate in the weather, boomers covet them and absolutely vomit money at them to keep them on the road Beve Stuscemi fucked around with this message at 16:03 on Nov 2, 2018 |
|
#
?
Nov 2, 2018 16:01
|
|
|
No way, my Chinese scooter still has an electrical system after it's shed-side seasoning  But seriously, the fact that HD still even exists as a separate company today is one of history's unlikely miracles. Japanese bikes at the time were just devastatingly superior. Change the oil, rehash the carbs and that cb750 will start and ride straight away.
|
|
#
?
Nov 2, 2018 18:45
|
|
|
Slavvy posted:No way, my Chinese scooter still has an electrical system after it's shed-side seasoning Someone should ride a Screaming Eagle Harley FatDynaRoadGlideKing into an Econ101 lecture as soon as they start talking about "rational consumers".
|
|
#
?
Nov 2, 2018 19:49
|
|
|
Finger Prince posted:Someone should ride a Screaming Eagle Harley FatDynaRoadGlideKing into an Econ101 lecture as soon as they start talking about "rational consumers". Speaking of, I'm about to hire one of those for two weeks to ride from LA to Vegas (via the scenic route, even Harleys aren't that slow). I know it's a loving terrible bike by every possible measure... but I can't see myself doing that ride on any other bike.
|
|
#
?
Nov 2, 2018 19:57
|
|
|
Modern ones wont be bad, its the 70's/80's era where they were really bad. It'll be fine
|
|
#
?
Nov 2, 2018 20:11
|
|
|
I'd contend the gulf between modern Harley and AMF Harley is nearly as big as modern triumph vs pre-hinckley triumph.
|
|
#
?
Nov 2, 2018 20:25
|
|
|
Turns out, bowling pin engineers and motorcycle engineers have very little overlap
|
|
#
?
Nov 2, 2018 21:11
|
|
|
B-b-but aircraft aluminium!
|
|
#
?
Nov 2, 2018 21:18
|
|
|
Finger Prince posted:Someone should ride a Screaming Eagle Harley FatDynaRoadGlideKing into an Econ101 lecture as soon as they start talking about "rational consumers". 
|
|
#
?
Nov 2, 2018 21:37
|
|
|
Jim Silly-Balls posted:In summary: AMF era Harleys were the Chinese scooters of their time,
|
|
#
?
Nov 3, 2018 01:13
|
|
|
Slavvy posted:aluminium Aluminum, man - this is 'MURICA we're talkin' 'bout
|
|
#
?
Nov 3, 2018 19:04
|
|
|
Rev. Dr. Moses P. Lester posted:Serious post here, you're being unfair to Chinese scooters. They have pretty reliable motors. At least they’re knockoffs of something that originally worked well enough to be knocked off.
|
|
#
?
Nov 3, 2018 20:22
|
|
|
Jazzzzz posted:Aluminum, man - this is 'MURICA we're talkin' 'bout It makes sense that the designers couldn't spell; poor literacy explains a lot of harley's design problems - they could've been avoided by just reading a book or two. RadioPassive posted:At least they’re knockoffs of something that originally worked well enough to be knocked off. There are three broad varieties of chinese/taiwanese scooter as far as I can tell: License built copy of a yamaha jog 50 2t (the best scooter engine ever made) License built copy of a suzuki/minarelli 50 2t GY6 4t in a variety of displacements The latter is an engine that doesn't resemble any japanese bike I've seen but has features cribbed from various brands. I don't know where the design originated, it's got the barest minimum of parts you need for a pressure lubricated, air cooled four stroke single. They are gutless, unrefined and crudely made but also extremely easy to work on and pretty rugged.
|
|
#
?
Nov 4, 2018 01:23
|
|
|
Slavvy posted:The latter is an engine that doesn't resemble any japanese bike I've seen but has features cribbed from various brands. I don't know where the design originated, it's got the barest minimum of parts you need for a pressure lubricated, air cooled four stroke single. They are gutless, unrefined and crudely made but also extremely easy to work on and pretty rugged. Years ago I read about the Chinese government specifically designing a bike engine equivalent of the Kalashnikov - simple, cheap as possible to build, and more or less immortal with rudimentary maintenance - because in the 70s they were importing so many Honda Cubs (or paying so many licensing fees to build them locally) that it was starting to have an impact on their economy. I can't find the article now (drat you pre-internet publications), but I wonder if this engine is the result of that?
|
|
#
?
Nov 5, 2018 11:04
|
|
|
A couple of weeks ago I met up with a friend to teach her bike basics, and 10 minutes in my WR250's battery died. I bought a CBR250 2 weeks ago and resumed this session yesterday. Once again the battery died. It was a yuasa. Either I or my friend is cursed. One of us must be possessed by a spirit that seeks it's former life of speed, glory and ruin - the life of a motorcycle. At least this time she did some circles in the parking lot, feet off the ground and everything. I also push started a bike successfully for the first time. Yay! Last but not least - the bike' s PO is getting me a new battery. pokie fucked around with this message at 18:02 on Nov 5, 2018 |
|
#
?
Nov 5, 2018 17:43
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 28, 2024 05:14 |
|
|
goddamnedtwisto posted:Years ago I read about the Chinese government specifically designing a bike engine equivalent of the Kalashnikov - simple, cheap as possible to build, and more or less immortal with rudimentary maintenance - because in the 70s they were importing so many Honda Cubs (or paying so many licensing fees to build them locally) that it was starting to have an impact on their economy. I can't find the article now (drat you pre-internet publications), but I wonder if this engine is the result of that? Could be, what muddies that particular water is that they also make copies of the super cub motor (cheap fix if, against all odds, you manage to blow up a postie) AND simplified copies of the XL/xr single.
|
|
#
?
Nov 5, 2018 19:02
|
|