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Slavvy posted:They are as close to a literal three wheeled tractor as it's possible to get, for better and worse. I've worked on a couple and they are exactly like the various ladas - they get constantly criticized for being "poo poo" but when you actually examine the hardware and put aside your biases you find they're a very good machine built to requirements nobody in western countries has. You just have to put aside what marketing has taught you is cool and good. I enjoyed the reverse gear and every screw being flathead. Friend of mine bought a Dnepr when she moved to Richmond from L.A. a few years ago and she didn't want to buy a car. It made it through the snow OK, though it went sideways a few times.  
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Aug 25, 2021 01:55
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Buy your friend an account
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Aug 25, 2021 02:03
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Slavvy posted:No I genuinely liked it. The whole bike was designed in a way that you could basically do a roadside engine rebuild with a handful of tools. I like vehicles that are just completely utilitarian and don't give any fucks about looking cool or being marketable or whatever the gently caress. Just a tool for a job, the job being drunkenly weaving across the steppe for decades on end. I worked on one which had a stamped steel bracket attaching the brake caliper to the front end which had bent laterally over time because [I think] it wasn't heat treated and the caliper pulls slightly off axis from the bracket. The brake pads were worn at a visible angle as a result. PeterCat posted:Friend of mine bought a Dnepr when she moved to Richmond from L.A. a few years ago and she didn't want to buy a car. It made it through the snow OK, though it went sideways a few times. Rev. Dr. Moses P. Lester fucked around with this message at 02:49 on Aug 25, 2021 |
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Aug 25, 2021 02:45
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Rev. Dr. Moses P. Lester posted:I worked on one that blew some bearings in its final drive at like 15k miles. I'm not sure I've ever seen a final drive fail in all the dozens of Guzzis and BMWs I've worked on, aside from seal leaks. Yeah these are issues of manufacture, not design. The guy on the heat treat rig was drunk, the guy putting the final drive together was shooting up krokodil. This is part of the reason I want to get my hands on an OG USSR built one.
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Aug 25, 2021 02:53
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Here's a an old adage I just made up: if it's built so you can repair it on the side of the road, it's because you're going to need to repair it on the side of the road.
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Aug 25, 2021 03:11
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Finger Prince posted:Here's a an old adage I just made up: if it's built so you can repair it on the side of the road, it's because you're going to need to repair it on the side of the road. Ok but Toyotas exist
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Aug 25, 2021 04:43
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Rev. Dr. Moses P. Lester posted:I worked on one that blew some bearings in its final drive at like 15k miles. I'm not sure I've ever seen a final drive fail in all the dozens of Guzzis and BMWs I've worked on, aside from seal leaks. That is! It's kind of an old picture, and I haven't spoken with her in a while. But it seemed on point and I was super impressed with her choices. We were online acquaintances and briefly IRL. I keep running into odd connections with her. I went and saw gangsta grass in Iowa City and one of their members had a guitar strap that she had made. PeterCat fucked around with this message at 14:14 on Aug 25, 2021 |
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Aug 25, 2021 14:08
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Which one of you goons is gonna buy this https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1979-honda-cbx-super-sport-8/
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Aug 25, 2021 14:38
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I really want an Ural or Dnepr, but without side car. Turns out, those are very rare because the factory front suspension isn't really suitable for riding without side car, causing it to do all kinds of weird things in corners. There are brand new ones available without side car, but those also are styled differently, which is not my thing. Maybe some day...
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Aug 25, 2021 16:19
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There's two different front end suspensions available on the Dnepr and they swap easily. Opt for the overhead valve model, they're a bit better. I almost bought one when I was living in Ukraine... they're like $200 there.
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Aug 25, 2021 17:03
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I originally planned to have my sidecar rig be swap able, but it's a real pain in the rear end to remove and reattach, and there's no good spot for the battery on the standalone bike. Plus I can't find a stand worth a drat
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Aug 25, 2021 17:39
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I figured I'd disconnect my sidecar and ride the bike by itself every now and then - it's just two fasteners and a cable to unplug - but I've done it all of once. Just easier to get on a different bike.
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Aug 25, 2021 18:06
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cursedshitbox posted:There's two different front end suspensions available on the Dnepr and they swap easily. Opt for the overhead valve model, they're a bit better. I was gonna say 'for that money i can easily get a plane to ukraine and ride back' but i figure that it's too likely that at multiple points in the 1500ish km the bike will break down and everything will just become a shitshow.
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Aug 25, 2021 20:00
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LimaBiker posted:I was gonna say 'for that money i can easily get a plane to ukraine and ride back' but i figure that it's too likely that at multiple points in the 1500ish km the bike will break down and everything will just become a shitshow. You don't buy a Ural/Dpner because you want a bike that's going to run perfectly for a while
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Aug 25, 2021 21:09
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Retro Futurist posted:You don't buy a Ural/Dpner because you want a bike that's going to run perfectly for a while Yup. While living there I had my doubts of making one work with any regularity at all... let alone dragging one across Europe.
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Aug 25, 2021 21:18
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I don't understand how Ural gets away with starting at $17k. At least a Royal Enfield is dirt cheap.
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Aug 25, 2021 22:08
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Deeters posted:I don't understand how Ural gets away with starting at $17k. At least a Royal Enfield is dirt cheap. Hipster market. I distinctly remember a time many years ago when they were closer to $5k. Then, a few years after the Ducati Scrambler came out and hipsterbikes exploded as a market segment, a whole bunch of hipsters "discovered" Ural. Then Ural got a lot of press coverage from that. From there, it got articles in Bloomberg, Forbes and Financial Times in the "what you should buy with your money" sections, talking about how it's ~authentic~ it is and how fashionable and how you will impress people in California by riding it and that you should buy it instead of the Ducati Scrambler. Note that those articles never talked about other scramblery bikes, from what I recall, they were all directly "You should buy an Ural instead of a Ducati".
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Aug 26, 2021 09:01
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The place near me is doing a Kawasaki demo day. I've never ridden any kind of sport bike, so I'm looking forward to checking out the Ninja. Anything on this list a "must ride"?
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Aug 26, 2021 18:05
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For me, in order of interest, I'd look at the Ninja 400, KLX300SM, Z900RS, and ZX-6R.
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Aug 26, 2021 18:21
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Deeters posted:I don't understand how Ural gets away with starting at $17k. At least a Royal Enfield is dirt cheap. I am going to get a bike with a sidecar. I wanted a Ural buuuut all new sidecar rigs have to be on the left in the UK now and Ural doesn't do that. So maybe a Royal Enfield with a Watsonian Squire.
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Aug 26, 2021 18:37
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Strife posted:The place near me is doing a Kawasaki demo day. I've never ridden any kind of sport bike, so I'm looking forward to checking out the Ninja. The 1000sx is an unassuming dad bike but probably the functionally fastest one on that list, and also among the most fun.
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Aug 26, 2021 18:52
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Strife posted:The place near me is doing a Kawasaki demo day. I've never ridden any kind of sport bike, so I'm looking forward to checking out the Ninja. Z900RS. Then ask them "Z400RS when?"
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Aug 26, 2021 19:57
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Steakandchips posted:Then ask them "Z400RS when?" Oh gently caress yeah  I'd also like to give the w800 a whirl, just to see what the bike that's more Bonneville than the Bonneville is like
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Aug 26, 2021 20:03
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Steakandchips posted:Z900RS. I'm real annoyed that they seem to be doing a Z650RS first/instead. Nobody wants a 650! Anybody who can ride one would just get the 900! Phy posted:Oh gently caress yeah Heavier on paper but much easier to handle/push around at a stop compared to the bonnie. Also feels really small, like a 250 class, but big enough for comfortable two-up riding. Really the best thing about it is that people routinely mistake it for a genuine classic; everyone who walks up to ask me about mine, their first question is always how old it is. Renaissance Robot fucked around with this message at 22:15 on Aug 26, 2021 |
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Aug 26, 2021 22:10
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Strife posted:The place near me is doing a Kawasaki demo day. I've never ridden any kind of sport bike, so I'm looking forward to checking out the Ninja. Get there early if you want to try out the ZX-6R, or be prepared to wait and be aggressive about getting back over to the signup booth after the ride. If you've never done any kind of sport bike that would be a great introduction to the supersports, and you should know pretty quick if you hate it or not!
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Aug 26, 2021 23:26
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After seeing the Kawasaki demo day thing I checked if they're doing anything in my area and found out there's an event later on this year with a pretty solid lineup (https://motorcycleshows.com/content/street-demo-rides) coming my way. I'm a little sad that Honda won't be at my location, but as a newer rider I'm excited for the chance to try out a lot of bikes.
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Aug 27, 2021 00:44
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You gotta try the 300SM and tell us how it is.
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Aug 27, 2021 00:46
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I know we joke about Yamaha making pianos and all manner of other musical instruments, but am I the last person to know they make e-bikes, and apparently have for a long-rear end time? https://www.yamahabicycles.com/
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Aug 27, 2021 02:53
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Spotting a KTM bicycle threw me for a loop but are apparently fairly common in Europe.
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Aug 27, 2021 03:53
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numberoneposter posted:Spotting a KTM bicycle threw me for a loop but are apparently fairly common in Europe. Also the X-BOW  https://www.ktm.com/de-ch/X-BOW/models.html
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Aug 27, 2021 10:30
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Yeah totally common in Europe. Everyone drives an XBOW here.
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Aug 27, 2021 11:12
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busalover posted:Yeah totally common in Europe. Everyone drives an XBOW here. That's why we have such good air quality, everyone has to get public transport most of the time.
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Aug 27, 2021 13:03
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Jazzzzz posted:I know we joke about Yamaha making pianos and all manner of other musical instruments, but am I the last person to know they make e-bikes, and apparently have for a long-rear end time? I saw one for the first time the other day too and was really surprised but I guess it totally makes sense. I like that they have the electric motor arranged to look like a motorcycle engine. That’s what it looks like to me anyway. 
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Aug 27, 2021 13:18
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Of course it's blue.
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Aug 27, 2021 13:19
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KTM bikes are pretty disconnected from the motorcycle business, there is also 0 overlap between shops. But yeah, the pushbikes are everywhere and are regarded as just generally good.
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Aug 27, 2021 13:25
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Jim Silly-Balls posted:I saw one for the first time the other day too and was really surprised but I guess it totally makes sense. It definitely does. And look! A bicycle suspension linkage designed by people who know what they're doing!
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Aug 27, 2021 19:33
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the down tube even has a twin-spar thing going on with the battery pack lol
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Aug 27, 2021 19:41
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The lower part of the swingarm also screams R1.
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Aug 27, 2021 19:42
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Slavvy posted:It definitely does. And look! A bicycle suspension linkage designed by people who know what they're doing! It looks like a horst link design, which is one of the several options that offer certain tuning benefits. If you're curious about mountain bike suspension design, here's a decent run down: https://www.bikeradar.com/features/the-ultimate-guide-to-mountain-bike-rear-suspension-systems/ I doubt yamaha did anywhere near the amount of research and trail testing that Specialized/Trek/Giant have on their e mountain bikes. So i'd rather have a emtb designed by a bicycle company, rather than a side project for a motorcycle company. The geometry (stack and height) is not as modern i think and the lack of sizes is also a downside unless you're averaged sized. The spec is what you'd expect for under 5k aluminum emtb. It's a little budget, which you might notice if you're really taking it own some gnarly terrain. I really like that they built their own motor and I think yamaha is involved with supplying toyota with electric motors for cars, so a positive in my eyes. This is a first attempt for them, so i'm sure they will evolve this over time, but maybe not fast enough since it's a side project. It's just not going to be as good as the top emtb from bicycle manufacturers if you ride them side by side, even if you're a regular joe. But I'm always a fan of lower cost options being available. Motorcycle stuff isn't always directly applicable to bicycles. Look at upside down forks for instance. FOX had one on the market ($$$$). The stiffness isn't there on single crown forks, but maybe we'll see it again on double crown downhill forks though. Russian Bear fucked around with this message at 21:00 on Aug 27, 2021 |
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Aug 27, 2021 20:54
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Yeah that's fair. With USD's I don't see them having any value on a bike that can't and doesn't need to do meaningful amounts of trail braking, conventional forks are definitely lighter all things being equal, so it makes sense they haven't really been adopted. I see they're loving around with alternative front ends which supports the assertion someone here made that bicycles on the cutting edge are motorbikes from twenty years ago.
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Aug 27, 2021 21:31
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