Discussion - always find my self ridding in motorcycle

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Automotive Insanity > Cycle Asylum > Discussion - always find my self ridding in motorcycle

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Rev. Dr. Moses P. Lester: Oct 3, 2000

TerraCat posted:

Would any model of Moto-Guzzi be a decent replacement?

Definitely not any Guzzi, no. If you get a pre-1980s one you're probably good. They're built like airhead BMWs, they're beefy and simple and easy to work on. And I think parts are kinda available if you're not talking about side covers and trim stuff like that. I've worked on a few and I like them. The newer ones suffer from exotic Italian vehicle issues, the build quality is not great, there are electrical gremlins. And the modern ones don't even have the nice tradeoff of being light and powerful and fun to ride like Ducatis.

# ¿ Aug 14, 2021 15:33

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# ¿ May 17, 2024 17:29

Rev. Dr. Moses P. Lester: Oct 3, 2000

Sagebrush posted:

vvvvvvvvv try a june bug at 60 mph. they blow up like paintballs

They actually hurt when hit through textile gear

# ¿ Aug 18, 2021 03:27

Rev. Dr. Moses P. Lester: Oct 3, 2000

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 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.

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.

Is that M.S.? How do you know her? I also thought she sold the Dnepr on the east coast, unless she bought another one, which I guess might be the kind of thing she'd do.

Rev. Dr. Moses P. Lester fucked around with this message at 02:49 on Aug 25, 2021

# ¿ Aug 25, 2021 02:45

Rev. Dr. Moses P. Lester: Oct 3, 2000

There are very serious errors in Slavvy's writeup, namely that Torque is actually a fantastic movie

# ¿ Sep 1, 2021 03:34

Rev. Dr. Moses P. Lester: Oct 3, 2000

Slavvy posted:

I don't know you but I know you deserve better than a versys.

Thread title for "tell me what bike to buy"

# ¿ Oct 12, 2021 03:02

Rev. Dr. Moses P. Lester: Oct 3, 2000

TheBacon posted:

Man the cbr250rr in the F9 video is for sale listed at $11k. That�s a lot but at the same time cheaper than I was expecting?

A beat up one recently sold on ebay for 2500. I really wanted it but thought even that was too much.

Slavvy posted:

Just imagine being so lost, so utterly devoid of any corporeal or spiritual anchor, that you wake up one day and decide that building a bespoke trellis chassis to fit the old-style pregnant swan vespa drivetrain is your calling.

I have to jump in here and defend Vespas and cut Lambrettas down to size. Vintage Vespas, although a very antiquated legacy design by the late 70s, were brilliantly designed. There was serious talent used in that machine. The entire frame and body are basically one piece, it's very light, cheap to manufacture, the entire drivetrain including intake exhaust and wheel is a single unit attached to the monocoque with literally two bolts. The drivetrain is the rear suspension. There are no chains anywhere, the gearbox is unusually compact because it uses very simple moped style shifting mechanisms. The electrical system, early on at least, was all A/C with no battery. Both axles were single sided with jeep style split rims so tire changes were very easy on the side of the road.

Lambrettas are nothing like that. They may look cool but they're completely different under the hood. It's a pitiful mishmash of cobbled together different technologies with no thought given to their overall integration. From an engineering perspective I think they're sad. Too many parts, too much weight, too many things to go wrong. I suppose their design allows for more hot rodding which makes them popular with unreasonable enthusiasts.

Vespa good Lambretta bad.
I mean in the overall context of vintage scooters.

That said though, I've seen videos of British people racing unlimited mod Lambrettas around various tracks and those guys are loving insane, I'd love to see that in person.

# ¿ Dec 28, 2021 02:43

Rev. Dr. Moses P. Lester: Oct 3, 2000

Jim Silly-Balls posted:

Hard to imagine a more triumphant and character-defining epitaph than "it is what it is"

# ¿ Dec 29, 2021 00:40

Rev. Dr. Moses P. Lester: Oct 3, 2000

Also isn't the recommended oil on those things something almost unheard of like 5W60?

# ¿ Dec 31, 2021 02:12

Rev. Dr. Moses P. Lester: Oct 3, 2000

Slavvy posted:

I have a few things in mind but I'd love to know exactly what they hosed up.

What are you thinking? I've never ridden a Polaris Indian but I've noticed over the years an awful lot of bikes are prone to this if you take your hands off the bars at low/medium speed.

# ¿ Jan 1, 2022 16:27

Rev. Dr. Moses P. Lester: Oct 3, 2000

Slavvy posted:

Ninja 300: Oh gently caress I've entered too fast! If you have moxy and you're on to it you'll just lean further and make it. If you're less confident you can use the brakes while turning, or stand the bike up and stop. Any jagged or conflicting inputs will likely lead to scary wobbles but not an immediate crash. Probability of escaping the lean angle trap is high even with low skill.

This is the reason you almost always wanna start riding on a Ninja 300, on street or track. Everything it does is user friendly and easy to manage, even if you're pushing it hard. You're free to learn, nothing gets in your way. Heavy weight and lots of power, although they look sexy in photos and stats, get in your way.

# ¿ Jan 2, 2022 04:58

Rev. Dr. Moses P. Lester: Oct 3, 2000

AJS and BSA now? How many more decades dead British brands will be revived by grifters rebadging Chinese DR125 knockoffs? Can we get a Douglas, Ariel, Matchless, Velocette?

# ¿ Jan 9, 2022 04:24

Rev. Dr. Moses P. Lester: Oct 3, 2000

Jim Silly-Balls posted:

This is how i imagine rev Dr Moses looks in real life

https://www.tiktok.com/embed/7097009848906239278

Since you brought it up, no, that bike is too new

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# ¿ May 14, 2022 05:02

Rev. Dr. Moses P. Lester: Oct 3, 2000

Slavvy posted:

This triggered me.

Was is the sprotor? Or the lack of shielding on both exhaust and chain?

# ¿ Jun 3, 2022 02:21

Rev. Dr. Moses P. Lester: Oct 3, 2000

Slavvy posted:

It's the extremely painful owner verbally masturbating just out of frame.

The bike itself is honestly one of the better ones I've seen, I believe it's a Texas Big Dog? Or possibly a big bear; it's the wrong style for a west coast outfit and it's far too well built to be a redneck engineering (yes, this is a brand) or similar low-tier bike. It's all quite clean and tidy and even has a sprung seat which I've never seen on a chopper personally.

Having said that, I've ridden one with bars that small and they just don't work at all. The sprotor honestly doesn't bug me as much as the exposed belt primary it almost certainly has on the other side, or the rear wheel that almost certainly has a bunch of loose spokes, or whatever the gently caress is happening with the air filter, or the fuel filter just casually resting on the cylinder head, or the flogged out springer bushes. The lack of shielding on pipes clearly designed to accommodate it is annoying. Oh and the buttons on the switch blocks fail all the time, can't be had independently and are sometimes permanently joined to the housing, I recognize those stupid little round buttons anywhere. Still, one of the better ones I've seen.

The bars didn't bother me so much, cause I've ridden high rise Z bars that were about 10" wide at the grips. That was horrible. Those grips do bother me, even though I know they're not exactly rare. They feel like poo poo and often come loose in my experience. I have no idea why anyone wants those. Because of the looks? Grips are designed to grab onto though, they're not designed to look at.

He does actually have a front brake, I guess he deserves credit for that.

# ¿ Jun 4, 2022 01:26

Rev. Dr. Moses P. Lester: Oct 3, 2000

Slavvy posted:

Correct. The latest model moved to a girder front end because the public's addiction to more and bigger meant the handling/comfort compromise became impossible to sustain.

Goldwing forks were way undersized for a very long time in my professional opinion as an owner of a couple mass market chassis books who hasn't read them all yet. And the duolever style setup on BMW K bikes is an absolutely fantastic suspension system which feels great on the road.

# ¿ Jun 13, 2022 13:41

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# ¿ May 17, 2024 17:29

Rev. Dr. Moses P. Lester: Oct 3, 2000

SSH IT ZOMBIE posted:

Will I have fun on my Versys X 300 at a track day? The bike is tall, can it handle it if I learn or should I rent a ninja 400 on site?

I think that would be a pretty good bike for it. Also NYST is a great track. At least in comparison to everywhere else I've been which is just NHMS and NJMP and Canaan.

# ¿ Jun 18, 2022 02:02

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Automotive Insanity > Cycle Asylum > Discussion - always find my self ridding in motorcycle

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