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ImplicitAssembler posted:Tough crowd. your bike rules. haters btfo
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Sep 25, 2021 15:51
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knox_harrington posted:The only thing that bike screams is "you should have bought a Scrambler" Speaking of Scramblers, as a noob for offroading but not road-riding, am I crazy for being drawn to the Triumph 1200 XE? I test-rode one on some fire-roads at the Touratech Rally last week and really enjoyed it. Like left me with a mood boost for at least 2 hours. Then rode it again the next day to make sure it wasn’t a fluke - wasn’t. I’ve taken a dirt class but am a noob to off-road riding. At 41, I don’t think I’m going to be starting a career in motocross, but doing fireroads and some of the WA BDR would be more my speed. Currently I have a KLR that’s set up for road-use and an R1200R, and the Triumph has me considering selling both and going to it as a single bike. I feel like good-sense is to off-road’ify the KLR in steps to see if it will be able to balance what I’d be looking for in limited off-roading without sacrificing it being good for a roadtrip.
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Sep 25, 2021 17:36
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televiper posted:Speaking of Scramblers, as a noob for offroading but not road-riding, am I crazy for being drawn to the Triumph 1200 XE? riding a 450lb+ bike offroad is way more difficult than just riding a dirt bike offroad. you're wrestling it whenever you're going slow, and there's a lot of slow offroad. that being said I've done a lot of the WABDR, ORBDR, TAT, and MABDR on my 1290 and loved every minute of it, but I have been riding dirt bikes / motocross since like age 6 or something. my dad has done parts of the ORBDR on his GSA and he's 60 and that bike is an even bigger pig I would not recommend offroadifying the KLR as they are turds and nothing is particularly fun on them wrestling big bikes is super rewarding and I think you'd enjoy it. the 1200 is cool and has a 21" front wheel so you have my blessing. the smartest thing you can do is know your limit and when you should turn around lol
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Sep 25, 2021 20:19
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Skill aspects notwithstanding, a tiger 1200 off-road will break down long before you can get into any serious difficulty. Also a 1200 triple on dirt is a terrible idea.
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Sep 25, 2021 21:26
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Missenden Flyer has some footage of kinda new Triumph Tiger breaking down when greenlaning lol. Someone over here told the story about those things outright refusing to try to start if the battery is just a little bit too weak and that seemed to be their problem.
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Sep 25, 2021 22:24
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LimaBiker posted:Missenden Flyer has some footage of kinda new Triumph Tiger breaking down when greenlaning lol. That may have been me and it's all triumphs.
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Sep 25, 2021 23:24
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Went and sat on some bikes today with a very clear “I am currently saving money and will buy in maybe a year or so” message. Salesperson was totally cool with that and asked good questions about what I would likely be doing, etc. Still pushed a little of their own biases, etc. but not in a way that set off any of my alarms (I’ve done enough time in sales to know the tactics and he wasn’t pushing any hard sales stuff on me). They had a VStrom, but only the 1050. I’m eager to see a 650 when they come in. The riding posture and height felt just about perfect and it didn’t feel too heavy for me to keep control of or pick up. Definitely felt the weight of it more than the other bikes since its center of gravity is higher. The Africa Twin is too fancy and felt like it was going to give me hip dysplasia. I would definitely need to trade out seats. Really felt like you were sitting in the bike rather than on it. Are KTM’s as high maintenance as I’ve been lead to believe? He admitted he’s a KTM guy and that he hasn’t had trouble out of his, but also that he’s had good fortune because he takes maintenance seriously. And it’s not that I wouldn’t, but I’m in the market for something to ride. I will probably pick up some really dumb little moped to tinker with at some point, but what I’m looking for now is riding with little to no muss or fuss. Also looked at a KLR 650 and was impressed with it. The main problems I have are that it’s the bike my partner’s husband wants and while we’re all in a long-term, happy polyamorous relationship, it is just loving weird when we match and that I hate “urban camo.” I like the dash, but I can’t help but imagine my phone falling through the opening.
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Sep 26, 2021 00:22
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Geekboy posted:They had a VStrom, but only the 1050. I’m eager to see a 650 when they come in. The riding posture and height felt just about perfect and it didn’t feel too heavy for me to keep control of or pick up. Definitely felt the weight of it more than the other bikes since its center of gravity is higher. the AT is a turd. heavier than the 1290 with like half the power. it's one of the most boring modern ptwins. it is a very pretty turd though. BMW feels the same way wrt sitting IN rather than ON re: KTMs nah. the LC8 bikes (950, 990, 1090, 1190, and 1290) are insanely easy to work on with the 1090 and up being even easier. it's an ancient, wonderful vtwin that has had all it's major kinks worked out more or less. only gotcha I've consistently seen is plugged fuel filters. happened to me and my brother and has been said that some (all) dealers ignored a TSB stating to rinse the tank out during PDI, but who knows. all I know is we both swapped our filters out around 5000mi and have been golden ever since. LC8c (ptwin in the 790 and 890) is a decent ptwin, but still a ptwin and still a new KTM design. most common complaints are blown shocks (no explanation there except WP (owned by KTM) definitely hosed something up, and some folks have smoked their clutches, but I attribute that more to dudes who've never owned a cable clutch and therefore never adjusted it after delivery cause lol PDI. definitely more of a dice roll on the 790 / 890, but I'd buy one before I bought a 690. the 690 is just not as fun on road "touring" and is as unfun offroad as the 790 / 890 is. doesn't do much well except for get you tickets sumoing in the city lol also the LC4 is not great. I'd buy a 500 before I bought a 690 only maintenance I've done on mine is pretty easy stuff. oil changes are every 9800mi per the manual and plenty of people make the 10w50 molasses it needs so no need to feed it expensive motorex stuff. valves are just as much a pain in the butt as any other road bike (except bmw lol), but iirc those are like every 26000mi or so. I checked mine around 10000 and didn't need to adjust til 30000, but you'd definitely be paying a dealer around a grand for that job I'd imagine my recommendation is to try to find a t7. that's a motor yamaha has had longer than KTM has had their LC8c and while it is definitely not as much "fun" (72hp vs 100hp claimed for both) it will likely give you far less problems and it looks to be a good bike at a great price
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Sep 26, 2021 01:34
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One of the dealers got a 2013 CBR600RR in, so I went to take a look, willing to make a deal. (Intending to trade mine in) Values of the bikes are roughly the same, but they still wanted $2k on top + taxes/fees, meaning I would have to pay $2500 for getting a bike of the same value. Sure, I know they exist to make money, so I was willing to throw some money on top, but not that much. Decent sports bikes are in very short supply at the moment. Nothing new available and the used market isn't awesome either.
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Sep 26, 2021 03:14
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How much are they asking total? Feels like it probably isn't that much less than a new one.
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Sep 26, 2021 18:18
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$8k (Canadian). The 2021 CBR600RR isn't available in Canada. The mid-size sportsbike market has been declining over several years, but it's obviously come back. There's not a new sportsbike to be found at any of the dealers and barely any used ones. Private market is 'ok', but that depends on me selling the Guzzi first and I'll lose out on all the tax savings from a trade-in. (We have to pay 12% tax on any money changing hands). I was negotiating with another guy about trading for his 2009 GSXR600 (only 8000km), but it's in need of replacing all consumables (including hoses/lines) and he had limited funds to throw on top of the deal. However, in view of yesterday, that might not be a bad option and a good winter project.
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Sep 26, 2021 19:37
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ImplicitAssembler posted:Tough crowd. Aw, nuts, that's your bike, isn't it? Sorry for being a jerk, I was being pretty full of myself at the time. The V7s do look pretty great, though I think I prefer the more understated earlier years just after the re-release. One of the few bikes I've ever test-ridden by just asking the dealer if I could take one for a spin.
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Sep 27, 2021 17:03
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Haha, don't worry. I put it up on the pedestal, so it probably deserved it 
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Sep 27, 2021 17:54
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Aaand, I've pretty much just traded it for a GSXR600. Took a lot of back and forth to get the money on top I wanted, but we got there. Still pending inspection, which I'll book tomorrow, but if things go to plan I'll have a new (to me) bike on Friday. It's a 2009, but with only 8000km. Clean, no mods, square (worn!) tires and probably haven't been serviced for years, hence the inspection. It'll need all hoses/pipes replaced, but that's factored into the price...and since the season is coming to I plan to do most of the work myself over the winter.
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Sep 29, 2021 04:15
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I did a chain adjustment yesterday on my N650, it was super easy actually, but I wonder how often you actually have to do them or if you need to just keep an eye on the chain? I measured the chain and it was out of spec, but not by a huge amount. Pretty easy to tightening it up and done. I put about 4500 km on the bike this summer. I think I could feel the chain lash getting loose but I really don't know. Any ways its up to spec and I'm gonna take a peek at the other maintenance items through the winter. My bike is also an 09 but it really doesn't seem like it needs much, yet. Previous owner kept it in the garage, not so lucky with me. Bundle up little ninja.
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Sep 30, 2021 08:15
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A month prior to my 35th birthday, I finally decided to get a bike. Got my permit last week and brought this into the garage earlier this week. Picked up an 18k mile 05 FZ6 for 3k. One year old tires, fresh oil and coolant. Guy before owned it from 17-25; he got a brand new MT-09 to replace this. Really nice condition, a single very small dent on top of the tank, and a very minor crack in the fairing where the windscreen meets it from what he says was the only drop it had. Having minimal experience riding before, the clutch has been easy enough to modulate and the throttle doesn't feel too twitchy. Grabbed an Arai Quantum-X in XXL to fit my big dumb round head, got a half leather/mesh jacket with shoulder, elbow, and back pads, some solid AlpineStars gloves, boots are on the way, and I'll get some pants early next year after maybe losing a few more pounds. Signed up for PA's basic riders course in November, so until then I'm only planning on brief quiet neighborhood rides as I'm still not confident in low speed turns. Even then I don't expect much riding time to take place until winter comes and goes.
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Oct 1, 2021 15:36
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metallicaeg posted:A month prior to my 35th birthday, I finally decided to get a bike. Got my permit last week and brought this into the garage earlier this week. That is not an insane first bike if you have good self control, but it’s not the best to learn on. It is a good bike overall though. I don’t know if you’re familiar with the nature of I4 engines, but they feel sedate until you’re past about 3/4 throttle and then things start to happen rather quickly. Get some pants now and trade up when you lose weight. Good on you for covering everything else.
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Oct 1, 2021 17:27
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HenryJLittlefinger posted:That is not an insane first bike if you have good self control, but it’s not the best to learn on. It is a good bike overall though. I don’t know if you’re familiar with the nature of I4 engines, but they feel sedate until you’re past about 3/4 throttle and then things start to happen rather quickly. I have a 2004 naked variant. If you ride it as a car (ie just shift it up when not lugging, it is pretty sedate. It can cruise all day in 6th at 5k rpm farting out 30hp. The throttle throw is long. The bike itself is well built, though suspension lacks adjustability. Spark plugs and valve check(long interval luckily) is a hassle due to space issues above the engine vs the frame. But you can break any national speed limit save the autobahn in 2ND gear. Please be careful. And yeah, get some pants. There is always a ton of used gear for sale with people trading up/ stopping riding.
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Oct 1, 2021 18:06
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I was waiting until I dropped some covid weight to get a pair of pants I would wear on non-track days (Tobacco pants most likely) when I crashed in regular pants earlier this year and let me tell you I would have gladly paid $300 to avoid that road rash, and that was only at 30mph. Also, contusions on your knees really suck and armor would have helped that a lot too.
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Oct 1, 2021 18:28
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MomJeans420 posted:I was waiting until I dropped some covid weight to get a pair of pants I would wear on non-track days (Tobacco pants most likely) when I crashed in regular pants earlier this year and let me tell you I would have gladly paid $300 to avoid that road rash, and that was only at 30mph. Also, contusions on your knees really suck and armor would have helped that a lot too. I just saw an ad from Tobacco today and I like what they offer. I busted up my knee on my bicycle a month ago, and that was just simply falling over in some gravel after getting the front tire stuck in some mud during a slow turn and unable to clip out in time, doing enough damage to get blood down into my sock by the time I could ride back. I can't imagine what a 30mph drag would feel like. I think I've got a lot of the dumb poo poo out of my system in my early 20s with fast cars, so I fully intend on keeping the RPMs down in the four digits for some time. I think this bike is only a few HP short of my Civic now haha, but yeah I know the risks. My father and a few uncles have all been riding for decades, so they've been giving me their (better or worse) wisdom and two cents.
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Oct 1, 2021 19:01
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tobacco stuff is way too expensive for what it is imo. but i still wear the same pair of RHOK jeans that i bought with my first bike, they're still in good condition despite all the times i've sat down hard while practicing wheelies
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Oct 1, 2021 20:15
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That's a totally fine bike for OP, it's not a TL1000S or something. Obviously it's enough bike to to gently caress yourself up if you're an idiot but, like, dont do that.
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Oct 1, 2021 21:26
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Big, heavy, fat tyres. He'll learn slowly and badly but such is life I guess.
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Oct 1, 2021 21:28
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Am I crazy or is that front tire mounted backwards
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Oct 1, 2021 23:04
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Gorson posted:Am I crazy or is that front tire mounted backwards ...right? edit: well poo poo, i double checked and you are right. It appears its on backwards. woof. what I wrote above applies to the rear, not the front. Carteret fucked around with this message at 23:28 on Oct 1, 2021 |
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Oct 1, 2021 23:24
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That is definitely backwards, good spotting.
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Oct 2, 2021 00:50
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Yep, if you have a similar directional pattern on both tires, they should be facing opposite directions. This is because the rear tire is loaded most heavily under acceleration but the front tire is loaded under braking. Metallicaeg, go and get it remounted for your own safety. I would also get a mechanic or very experienced motorcyclist to look it over for anything else that you might not have caught. (No shame in not knowing, everyone is new at some point, but you don't want to overlook something else too).
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Oct 2, 2021 01:36
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Razzled posted:tobacco stuff is way too expensive for what it is imo. but i still wear the same pair of RHOK jeans that i bought with my first bike, they're still in good condition despite all the times i've sat down hard while practicing wheelies Hence the reason I had been waiting to drop some weight before buying it, but at this point I'm willing to pay for something I'll actually wear versus my leather pants which are great for the track or canyon days but not so much having lunch with a friend.
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Oct 2, 2021 17:07
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What's so strange about leather pants at lunch?
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Oct 2, 2021 21:43
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Russian Bear posted:What's so strange about leather pants at lunch? Some people don't eat animal by-products like leather.
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Oct 2, 2021 22:07
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Every motorcycle manufacturer needs to take a page from 1990’s Dodge/Chrysler/Plymouth playbook. They greenlit all their wild concepts and it’s how we got the Viper and the Prowler And to a lesser extent the Neon, which was an important car regardless of its place as a joke these days
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Oct 2, 2021 22:31
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I'm just going to put down some quick notes that no one asked for from the test rides I did today- Livewire 1: It was my first time riding an electric motorcycle and it was fun. The twist-and-go style was less engaging than I like but was crazy to look down and oh I'm doing 70. Zero S/F- The Livewire but felt a little smoother to ride? The throw on the throttle felt much longer than I preferred for both electrics. Tenere 700- It felt too big when throwing a leg over and was really expecting to be disappointed in the engine after it'd been built up by so many people. Once it was in motion I realized just how wrong I was. Thing was stable as could be when riding in a crosswind and was a joy to go through the gears. I'm 99% sure this is going to be my second bike. Trident 660- Light, nimble, and was fun on some backroad twisties. The same crosswinds I barely felt on the Tenere felt like they were going to launch me off the interstate. Street Scrambler- This one is difficult. It was comfortable and sounded great, but felt jerky coming off the line and when shifting into second. I might give it another shot down the line but ultimately didn't care for it.
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Oct 2, 2021 23:20
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Spiggy posted:
The good news is if you like the powertrain and don't like the height/style, there are 3 other versions with the same engine you might like better!
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Oct 2, 2021 23:46
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The height felt good once I got over the mental block. I threw a leg over the R7 and just do not like the positioning on sports bikes.
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Oct 3, 2021 00:10
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I did some low speed drills in the school parking lot, using the traffic cones for their drop off lane as a slalom, and after a few completely successful runs in both directions decided to get on the 45mph roads near my house, though I don't feel like I'm ready for the six lane main drag in my area and it's all torn up with construction at the moment anyway. Got up over about 40 and returned home for earplugs, then spent an hour or so actually using my 4th gear and finished up with a stop at the coffee shop near my house, and got home before sunset.
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Oct 3, 2021 00:21
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Sagebrush posted:Yep, if you have a similar directional pattern on both tires, they should be facing opposite directions. This is because the rear tire is loaded most heavily under acceleration but the front tire is loaded under braking. Oh wow, alright, thank you. Just checked the tires and they're Pirelli Angel ST without any directional markings, but the tread direction is going the same on both so I'll look up a shop. I live within walking distance of these fairgrounds, so I more or less crossed the street from the alley and went in there for about a half hour yesterday, going from doing laps around the drive outside of that track in both directions, to various turns around the lamp posts in the large parking area in the back. Briefly touching 35mph felt like twice that pace. Turning felt familiar at speed, I was able to follow my desired line and look through turns. I felt way more comfortable after a while with low speed, tight turns and felt good counterbalancing my body and getting reasonably smooth with modulating the clutch and throttle. Left handed turns felt better than right, I dunno what it is but I seemed consistent looking through turns when going left but noticed needing to stay more focused on it in right hand turns to avoid looking more immediately in front of me. metallicaeg fucked around with this message at 04:47 on Oct 3, 2021 |
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Oct 3, 2021 04:35
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Catching up on the last 30 pages of this thread has made me more comfortable with my current level of being uncomfortable. Went out yesterday around the neighborhood again. Clutch modulation continues to feel better, I'm getting a feel for the weight balance transfer during braking, and in general my inputs across the board were smoother. It was the first time pulling back into the garage that I didn't have the feeling of "okay, that's enough excitement for now" but instead "that felt good, I want to go out longer" Also listened to my derpy but well meaning neighbor talk about how he had to Layer Dan decades ago while talking about the dangers of riding, before admitting he had a drinking problem back then as he cracked open a second can of Miller Lite during our brief conversation.
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Oct 6, 2021 16:34
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almost every instance of layer dan can be avoided by not going too fast and smooth purposeful inputs. it happened to me and i got lucky, but i banged up my knee pretty good and scratched up my fairing. thinking back on my accident now only half a year later im shaking my head at myself about how i was riding when it happened. make no mistake experience is everything and experience takes time. had a great ride yesterday and today, took some time off work and have been putting in a few hours a day while the weather is still good, exploring back roads and weird stuff i havnt been down before. the back roads are starting to get damp pine needles all over the place. stomped on the rear brake to test traction and the rear of the bike moved out half a foot, have to ride gingerly over that stuff.
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Oct 7, 2021 00:38
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Hi thread, noob question here about tyres that may be stupid but that's what this thread is for, right? So the tyres supplied on my little Benelli 125 are your typical Chinese 'these are the bare minimum required for us to be able to sell this as a complete bike' type ditchfinders. So are bike tyres like car tyres in that you can only get certain models in certain sizes? Is there a general decent brand/model for them? My little bike has 120/70-ZR12 tyres so I'm assuming my choice is going to be a bit more limited due to them being smaller but are there any to take a look for? I'm going to be using the bike over winter so ideally I'd like something that can handle a reasonable amount of our lovely UK weather in the colder months. Much appreciated and apologies if the question has been asked a thousand time before, I'm slowly making my way through these threads.
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Oct 8, 2021 11:32
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That's a scooter tyre size so there will be loads. I don't have any experience with those but maybe someone with a Grom can advise. Looks like your rear tyre is a 130 btw.
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Oct 8, 2021 11:55
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