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I'm not yet used to having a gear indicator since the last bike didn't but yeah, it's not super useful. I don't look at it much so it doesn't always prevent me from checking for 7th. It doesn't prevent me from being in too high a gear either, but In fairness to the SV it's more forgiving than the little honda if I mess up since the engine has way more punch down low and doesn't fall completely flat on its face when I lug it by mistake. The tach is purely academic information IMO, there's a rev limiter to protect the engine so whatever, I can hear and feel all I need to know. The speedo is good for keeping my licence, but if it weren't for the existence of cops I think I'd be perfectly happy with just a set of lights for temp, fuel, neutral, blinkers and high beam as the only instrumentation.
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Apr 19, 2023 04:59
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I just rode to work and decided not to look at the instruments at all as an experiment. I forgot myself and shot a glance at the speedo in a school zone but that was the only slipup. All in all it was a successful experiment and a fine ride, and I am now more convinced than ever that this is truly The Way and I shall practice it henceforth. E: Speaking of new testament poo poo, I do like having a clock. I also wish I had a thermometer at times but I've never seen one of those on a bike. Invalido fucked around with this message at 06:53 on Apr 19, 2023 |
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Apr 19, 2023 06:40
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Cheap thermometers are rarely accurate, sadly. The one in my car is though, and I like having it. I'm only ever curious about ambient air temp when I'm riding near the freezing point, when such information can sometimes be highly relevant. As for the coolant temp, I'm assuming without knowing that motos work like cars, with a pump, a thermostat (mechanically regulating how much coolant goes to the radiator) and a radiator fan kicking on when things get too hot. If those systems are sized right and work as they should you're unlikely to see any big changes in coolant temp in a wide span of conditions once warmed up.
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Apr 19, 2023 07:53
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Bro and I are thinking of getting a bike with knobby tires and long suspension travel. None of us have any real experience off the pavement, though I at least have fond memories of zipping around Bali for a month on a rented 125 some 20 years ago. Both of us are moderately overweight 40-something men around 180+cm tall. Off road riding here is illegal, but there are lots of little gravel roads and logging trails that can be explored, so that's the probable use case for such a bike. We're looking for something road legal and preferably pretty cheap, like 2-3K. There's a few plated dirt bikes with 450cc engines available, whether Yamaha, Honda or Husqvarna/Husaberg, but looking at the maintenance intervals of those they just seem too extreme, also probably way too much bike for the intended riders. That leaves small dual sports, or the larger dual sport thumpers. While the TW200 was sadly never sold in Sweden (at least there's none available) there's the DRZ400 (usually cost 4K when road legal though), KLX250 the WR250R in the former category. The CRF300L looks nice but too new and expensive. There's the usual late 90's/early 00's suspects available in the Japanese 600-ish cc thumper category. Both bro and I are coming at this completely ignorant of what we like, want or need. Bro thinks he wants a somewhat powerful engine (for more fun), I think I want lower weight (for more fun). None of us know what we're talking about. Advice from experience would be appreciated.
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Jun 4, 2023 07:20
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There's a cheap 2001 yamaha tt600r for sale locally. 29kW, 155kg wet weight according to the DMW. Terrible idea? (The seller claims it needs new tires and a fork job)
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Jun 4, 2023 20:15
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Supradog posted:Get this one Pretty far away but the price is definitely right. It hasn't been inspected in almost a decade so that's pretty much a barn find I guess, maybe it's even been sitting in the barn shown in the picture, who knows. People write good things about the model, some complain about tire availability. Do you have any idea what it's like to get spare parts for a bike like that?
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Jun 16, 2023 14:48
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Got sniped on that Honda NX250 sadly. Would a 1990 Suzuki DR350S for €1800 be worth looking into?
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Jun 20, 2023 12:56
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Didn't have time to act on that one either, it was pretty far away. The search continues.
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Jun 24, 2023 06:38
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Supradog posted:Semi related, I love the anti stall feature on my vfr. You can just let go of the clutch and with no throttle input at all it will creep along at around 10mph /17kmh. Same for 2nd gear, at around 20mph. My third gen sv650 has that too. Not necessary, but nice. Crawling along at slow speed is like easy mode, no throttle needed. I've managed to stall it at a red light but it takes some really bad clutch work to make it happen.
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Aug 2, 2023 19:44
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I check my local market for Suzuki Burgmen regularly just because i'm very intrigued. Electric folding mirrors and heated seats FFS. Probably cavernous cargo holes by the look of them. Also I suspect that at least the 650cc burgman goes like a bat out of hell.
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Aug 12, 2023 12:41
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It's possible I've found the gravel bike bro and I have been lusting for! Yesterday I was at the moto parts place to pick up some oil filters for the SV, and the only other bike sitting outside was a yellow, a bit shabby and faded somewhat rusty looking DRZ400. Never having seen one of those up close in the flesh I was curious, and the owner came out of the store by the time I had my helmet off and earplugs out. We got to talking, and he said he was thinking of selling it. He also seemed like a nice guy in general, let me sit on his bike, and to boot said he works as a vehicle inspector so I'd like to talk to they guy again and ask him about work stories if nothing else. Anyways I got his number and looked up the bike's registration at the DMV and it seems alright, 2006 model, only about 9000 km on the odometer which is sensational if true. Im gonna contact him and see if anything comes of it.
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Aug 16, 2023 06:03
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Completely disregarding fuel consumption I guess there's potential for some significant rideability gains if not outright performance advantages from a hybrid system on a bike. The ability to ride silently and having an electric walk mode like on an ebike would be pretty handy if nothing else. I'll curb my enthusiasm until there's an actual weight figure. But it's interesting technology, sure.
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Oct 9, 2023 19:31
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Slavvy posted:Yeah cause the average Japanese bike is so horribly unreliable. I wrote "rideability" not "reliability". Obviously complexity means more things to break. If you can reach the wheelie limit in a lighter package than just adding more combustion it might be good for outright performance but I doubt that's possible with current tech, though the much hyped solid state batteries might change this soon-ish - if they can deliver on the promise on a small very light battery pack that can discharge/charge real fast yet have a long service life. So I'm waiting for the weight figures prepared to be disappointed. "Interesting" doesn't mean I want one, it just means it will be interesting to see if anything good comes out of this. E: a hybrid drive should obviously be coupled with a real temperamental two-stroke to help you stay in the power band. Invalido fucked around with this message at 20:42 on Oct 9, 2023 |
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Oct 9, 2023 20:39
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F1 cars are sort of engineering magic. Their electric motors are limited to a minimum weight of 15 lbs and a maximum output of 120kW. Surely insanely expensive too.
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Oct 9, 2023 21:04
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mCpwnage posted:I guess my question is for one of the above, is it better to get a newer/nicer bike and not have to worry/hassle with initial maintenance but spend a bit more or an older bike with old tires and a questionable maintenance history? It seems like the savings might be washed away with a new set of tires, inspection, and overdue service.
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Nov 24, 2023 08:11
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The KLX isn't sold in Europe and this makes me sad 
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Feb 14, 2024 19:03
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MSPain posted:how dumb would I be to buy a used sv650s? I only have experience with the naked version but I get the impression that the hivemind here considers the sv an excellent bike in its class. I'm very happy with mine (that I bought used).
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Mar 7, 2024 08:19
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What is it like to ride and own a 1977 four cylinder Honda cb400? Asking for a friend.
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Mar 11, 2024 05:59
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It's in parts, been for several years, as I understand it a chain tensioner issue that escalated into a bunch of "while I'm in there" type engine work and a café racer mod that got interrupted by a baby arriving. Owner says all parts are sorted minus a rusty spoked front wheel that needs re-lacing (new spokes included). Lots of huge warning flags, but there are some mitigating circumstances. The owner is a trusted long-time friend/colleague and known skilled bike wrencher but he's moving out of country and needs to offload his junk. The price is cheap - nowhere near whatever market value for a running bike of this model might be as I understand it. All original parts before the cafe mods are still around, some frame welding required though. Friend wants to buy this as an adult lego set primarily to wrench on a bike. He's willing to lose his money. God bless him I say, though I wouldn't want a project like this myself and I told him so.
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Mar 11, 2024 11:30
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The prospective buyer has a reliable bike, this is meant primarily as a wrenching project, not a riding project. Dude already has too many wrenching p projects but who am I to judge. He's a pretty skilled car mechanic but new to bikes other than regular maintenance. He can machine and weld stuff so if the pile of parts is as nice as he says I think he can probably pull it off if he sticks with it, which is where my doubts come in.Finger Prince posted:I think y'all are looking at this old pile of parts from a motorcyclist's perspective, and not from the perspective of the time honored tradition of a pile of dusty, greasy bits of metal passed from one man (or his estate) to another, to take up space in the garage and exasperate partners, until the next big move/death/ultimatum to clean out the garage comes around, and then it's passed on to the next man. Pretty much this is where I'm guessing this will end up. Maybe I'm wrong.
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Mar 11, 2024 18:24
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A DRZ with a reasonable asking price just popped up locally, and I think I might go for it unless someone gets there first. According to the very sparsely worded ad it's a 2004 with 15,000 km on it and new tkc 70 tires. Is there anything special I should look at other than obvious stuff before buying, given that the title is clean (don't know the reg number yet so this is undetermined atm) and the seller isn't super sketchy? I've never ridden a DRZ but when I sat on one it seemed to fit my 183cm body pretty well, the bars were wide and the seat was pretty uncomfortable and that's all I know about these bikes other than it's considered a good light dual sport. E: Spoke to the seller, everything seems OK apart from it not being road legal at the moment due to not having undergone periodic inspection since 2022, the dude had a reasonable story for why it's been sitting, and it rhymes with the low price for what seems to be a machine in good knick. He also told me the bike has an aftermarket Öhlins steering damper of some sort, and extra large tank not mounted and also sent a picture of a box of parts (right side mirror and and brush guards) and consumables (oil filters, OEM brake pads) Anyways I'm going to look at it tomorrow evening, wish me luck! Invalido fucked around with this message at 12:27 on Apr 7, 2024 |
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Apr 7, 2024 11:24
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Will look into stator bolts and chain tensioner if I end up buying it. According to what little I've read thus far the breaking point for suzuki's fix was model year 2002, and I guess it's entirely possible that whatever needs fixing is already sorted, but the only way to know for sure is to take things apart. According to the D.O.T this bike has had 9 owners so far (which includes dealers) so there's potential for all sorts of fuckery. The seller came down in price unasked on the phone but seemed firm with the number he gave me so it seems like a take it or leave it sort of thing. Which is fine. I don't have to buy this bike, but I hope I will. The story he gave me was it was his friend's bike, who suffered a stroke and can't ride anymore and let the street legality lapse because of this . So dude buys it, doesn't like it (he says he mostly rides a GS1200-something), replaces the offroad focused "hard tires" as he described it with something more streetable, still didn't like the bike and now he's selling it for what he paid the stroke victim buddy plus the cost of the tires. Fair if true and a good lie if not IMO.
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Apr 7, 2024 15:39
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I bought it. The guy was nice and not sketchy at all. The bike seems to be in very good condition considering its age from what I can tell. Seems to have lived indoors and been pretty pampered for what it is. A few scratches of course but overall I was pleasantly surprised. The CCT has already been replaced with a manual one unless I'm mistaken (there's a big hex head head sticking out of it and the color of the whole part sticks out as a replacement). There's a few mods that I'm not wild about - the heated grip switch is in a dumb location and slightly broken, and the bike has been lowered in the rear - the stock dogbone looking links were in the box of parts though. Someone has drilled a hole in the front fender for something that's been removed. The very short test ride didn't reveal anything I though out of place and it ran great (at least I though so, not being used to carburation) once I put the petcock on reserve since it ran out of gas and struggled in the process of dying. I'll pick it up with a trailer in the coming days and post a few pics in the appropriate thread once I get it home.
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Apr 8, 2024 17:38
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| # ¿ May 1, 2024 10:38 |
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Thanks! Yeah though super short the test ride made me confident that this bike is indeed gonna rule. I'm excited to ride it for real and go explore all those gravel roads and logging tracks I tend to avoid on either the sv or the 50cc scooter. Maybe I'll even learn how to wheelie a little who knows? It felt like the bike wants me to try it at least.
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Apr 9, 2024 04:05
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