Be Excellent To Each Other

Not sure if we've ever done this guys?
Hey, us 2-wheelers deserve our own thread I think!

Me?
I adore bikes, FAR more even than cars; never been without one for 30 years now (if we're including my first, a 50cc 4-stroke 'chicken chaser' Honda moped, which was actually an awesome little bike!). These days I'm into Harleys, but I'm not fussed what it is, as long as it has two wheels and an engine, I'm happy. Scooters, sportsbikes, trailies, Goldwings - they're all good; I've had most in my time, from GSX-Rs and Speed Triples, vintage aircooled 2-stroke twins (including the eponymous Yam RD400 ), a YZF250 trails, 'peds, a Bonnie and now a big custom Harley to boot. It's a tired old cliche, but shit, there's just something about a bike - being 'out there' in the elements, being part of the man-machine system (in literal, dynamic terms) that gets you round corners. In a car, you're always ultimately a passenger, but not so on a bike.

Plus if I'm honest, I just love the "fuck you" mentality of bikers in general, and always have.

I found this surprising video clip of a Harley V-Rod 10th Anniversary just like mine being put through its paces on the 'Ring of all places.

http://www.autoblog.com/2012/06/11/harl ... ts-new-re/

Clearly, a 310kg pile of shining metal and chrome isn't the best starting point for this, but the bike does really well for one so porcine and the testers really love it. I'm constantly surprised at just how adept a handler this bike is - relatively speaking of course. Plus, seeing a Harley taking out a GT3-RS on a racing track is not something I ever thought I'd see, worth a look just for that alone lol.

Came across this not so long back, it's a lad I used to skate with, one of those types who just seems able to get supremely good at stuff really quickly. Anyway he's got into bikes now and mostly does that sort of stunt riding on big sports bikes but also tears the place up like a fucking loon:



Terrifying.

"I ain't stayin' in today, watching fucking DVDs"

My sentiments exactly.

Cheers for that Mark, awesome vid - what a buzz. Now that's what I call "filtering"... My bro' lives and works in London and swears by his KTM660. Great bike - very light and maneuverable, loads of grunt/torque, very tall and narrow. Great for the commute.

I used to have this Honda CBR 600 until it got stolen: http://www.motorcyclespecs.co.za/model/Honda/honda_cbr600f2%2091.htm

0-60 in about 3 seconds, then another 5 or so to reach 110. Yet the ride was so smooth you barely knew you were moving.

Great bike mate, possibly the best all-rounder of all time. Honda quality and finish is just unsurpassed; only the Honda VFR800 rivals the CBR for my money.

You just can't go too far wrong with one of these.
Sorry to hear it got nicked though, man.

here's Mummy Afterthought and myself and my Erfive. The mirror belongs to a Stage2 HD Sportster 1200 which Old man Afterthought had for a while before getting rid of it for a Vstrom 650 whiihc was then chopped in for the new version of the Bonneville.Which he'll proabbly change agian soon. Before the HD he had a GPZ500 which is a the sportier variant of the Erfive. The HD was an absolute blast to ride, but felt positively agricultural compared to the ERfive. I'd have one in an instant. The Erfive is currently in a garage with the 125 awaiting transport up north.

I don't have a bike any more, but Mr Grim... Snr has several older ones. I only have pictures handy of the Vincent, though.



He's also got a BSA SuperRocket, a Norton, a Harley, er, something and a V-twin Honda which looks butt-ugly but is the nicest of the lot to ride. He's also got a Verus from 1919. And a Honda Monkey Bike!

There's others, but I've forgotten.

I don't have any pics, but these are my two beasts that currently reside at my sisters place...

Awesome photo mate, fair do's to your mum being a biker!

Stage 2 Harley is pretty cool - it has hot cams (Stage 2), as well as the usual low loss exhaust/airbox and engine remap (Stage 1), yeah? Hard core. Personally I love Sportsters. They're slow and heavy compared to modern oppo, but that totally misses the point. Just because something is RELATIVELY slow (er, but still fecking fast compared to almost all cars off the line), certainly doesn't mean it can't be enjoyable. Like you say, they're agricultural old bikes but they've heaps and heaps of character, they sound fantastic and they're as cool as liquid nitrogen (see also the gloriously OTT candy-painted Harley 48 here http://www.harley-davidson.com/en_US/Co ... eight.html )

Personally I don't like Jap customs - that's just a prejudice on my part I'm afraid - but the new Bonnie is a lovely bike (if rather cheap, under-damped suspension which "pogos" like a bitch on shite British backroads), and the GPz500/ER5 are good, solid bikes.

What's next on your biking agenda mate? I see you as an out-and-out sportsbike fiend, you young blade you; something like an R6.

I've seen that previously mate, that Vincent is just pure, unadulterated filth. Gotta love classic old British iron; sounds even better than Harleys do. Fair do's to your old man mate, man after my own heart!

Would you consider getting something in future again mate? Funnily enough, I think you'd make a good 'big Harley' man, same as myself. Would you fancy a 'Rod or a Breakout?

Check this out, it's got "Grim...." all over it

http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=h ... wAA&dur=91

Lol, classic mate - they're mini motos, yeah?
Bet they are great fun; never tried it myself but would love to. Man, I'd be shite though, and 16 st is an awful lot of weight for 50cc and a tiny chassis to carry

Oh, that's lovely.

30mph at that height is a laugh.

The off road one has bent pegs, as it had trouble handling my 18st bro-in-law over the jumps

It just so is, isn't it mate... that's a big part of Harley for me. I consider many of them as art, far more so than most of the worthless crud that actually gets classified as supposedly bona fide art these days. Shit, that bike could never turn a wheel and permanently reside in my lounge on display, and it'd *still* justify the purchase price for me.

Oddly, I'm not a big fan of big bikes like that (although it is bloody lovely).

I'd quite like a Z1000, but I'd never ride it.

Grim... on that would look like Trooper on the minimoto

I wouldn't - that's a huge bike.

I'll see if I can grab the minimotos for the cottage this year. I'm not even sure if they even start anymore!

I'd love a ridiculous big custom chopper. Something really vulgar, like this:

Have you bought a car yet?

My brother used to have a Honda Superdream. I've nothing much more to add, I just really like the name.

Actually, yeah, I remember you talking about this mate. Very nice bike; not my cup of tea personally (I should think my legs are too short for it, I'm only 5'10", hence my nickname of "Gimli" from my cheeky fucker sons-in-laws )

I'd go for a lighter KTM myself, for that kind of thing, but sure this Kwack is very nicely engineered and finished. Btw, why wouldn't you ride it much, time issues?

Hell yes, now we're talking mate.
These super raked out hardtails are basically near impossible to ride for even short distances, but who cares when they look like that. I love out and out customs.

Both the original 250N and 125TDC (that I used to have btw) were nice bikes. Always preferred the out and out power and lairiness of 2-strokes, personally, but there was much to commend these reliable, economical and good looking Honda 4-strokes. They handled very nicely too, especially the monoshocked 125 which was sublime for its day/price point.

Not in the near future (or ever - mrsA), but I wouldn't mind a Moto guzzi V7 Cafe racer, or a Triumph Thruxton.

I quite like Guzzis; the mid-90s Daytona being my fave. The Thruxton is lovely to look at but I simply could not live with the nigh on impossible seating position, reach and drop 'bars etc. They look cool but are basically unusable.

As for being allowed, or not allowed bikes by my dear lady wife etc., Mrs C is a VERY posh bird indeed, but I did not commit to marriage until:

(a) I established she was a biker, had been to the TT, was on the back of RD400s at 14 years of age
(b) I saw her drinking pints
(c) Had a meaningful conversation with her about the merits of 900 Ninjas, Yammy 2-stroke twins vs. contemporary Kawa triples AND seen her in all her leather biking glory (and nowt else)

Aha! Mr Grim... (snr) has a Moto Guzzi too, the V11 I think.

Ah, so that'll be big one then as you of course know, good stuff. Grunt-tastic!
Found these pics of the Daytona; I'd forgotten what a looker this bike was (is):

http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=h ... A&dur=1142

Huh, that does look quite a bit like it.

I'll get a list of him when I see him tomorrow (to shift hay - bah).

I'd have a Dyna Wide Glide.

Yup, me too!
The Dyna Wide Glide is the archetypal big Harley chop - check out the one Harley themselves use in the link below. Yet another truly beautiful bike.

http://www.harley-davidson.com/en_GB/Mo ... glide.html

I'm very tempted by a Triumph America to go with my Vespa GTS. I fancy another proper bike now.

Nice looking bike, that Trumpet, and very good value for money - they cost little more than half as much as the big Harleys. As a biased Hog owner I'm bound to say I prefer the latter, but hey, I've also had an excellent Bonnie T100 (which shares the America's same lovely air-cooled vertical twin) and thus I like these Triumphs as well.

Talking of Vespas, there must've been some rally or other close to where I live, as there were LOADS of them on the roads yesterday afternoon. (They gave me a wide berth on my 'Rod, in my black HD leathers with Chapter patches etc.; I guess they thought I was a 'Rocker' lol )

Meh, thinking about it, if I could persuade Grim... to get that Harley Breakout, Mali to get a Triumph America like the one you're eyeing up, Pundy gets the Wide Glide and Craster some awesome custom hardtail... we could start the Beex Chapter!

Man, that would be awesome - the coolest Geeks in history!

A plan with no drawbacks!

I have just been introduced to the Ducati Monster 1100 Evo.



Mother of shit.

Awesome mate, my kind of bike.

I love "nakeds" - and these are surely among the best of the bunch. Gorgeous to behold; monster twin pot torque; lovely sound; impeccable pedigree. What's not to like?

So then, are you getting one mate? Man-maths says 'if you can. you must'.

That said, Dukes do rather suffer from an Italian temperament and penchant for histrionics in my experience - but there again that was on an old 900SS; sure quality control has got a lot better since the mid 90s, the era I'm referring to.

Btw, I'm seriously starting to clock the miles on the Waterhog these last few weeks; it's deffo been biking weather!

Mrs C and I are planning a California bike road trip for next year, on a CVO Harley ElectraGlide.... but more on this one later as our plans take further shape. Not bad for a granny and grandad eh!

Apparently the build quality is now fine, but the bad reputation helps keep prices low, which is nice.

The chances of me getting one of these are about the same as me weighing ten stone tomorrow.

Don't worry mate, I spent years in a similar situ whilst the kids were growing up, but once a biker, ALWAYS a biker. You'll be back!

In the meantime, you can always ride my Hog if you need a top up of biking goodness, I'll swap ya for a go in the Tomcat.

I'll convert you to the charms of *huge* torque, big bruisin' Hogs yet! Mine's only a small one - a mere 1300 lol, most of 'em are 1800s these days (albeit air cooled).

Money issues aside, I'd love to get into bikes. There's a decent motorbike dealership down the road from where I live that do training courses and I've often thought about going in there and making enquiries. Same goes for the missus.

It's massively taboo in both our families though. My grandmother's first husband was killed in a motorbike accident (I've often pointed out that, had this not have happened, nan would not have remarried and given birth to my dad, but this point seems to get ignored) and my girlfriend lost both her granddad and her uncle within a year of each other in motorbike accidents.

All the same though... maybe once I have managed to get this debt bullshit sorted I can take a proper look into it. I've got it nearly stored away in the brain-file labelled "Possible Mid-life Crisis Options".

Fantastic, I would like to do something like that one day.

Yeah, there really can be no denying it, bikes are dangerous things.
Of course, you can partially mitigate the risks by riding sensibly and defensively (i.e. not like me lol); getting the best training; religiously doing all your "lifesaver" observations and anticipating/expecting the worst from idiot SMIDSY car drivers - especially those whom you can see are distracted. But at the end of the day, if someone pulls out of a blind junction 0.25 secs before impact, there's just not a lot you can do other than bounce off their bonnet, hoping for a favourable trajectory. Barely a week goes by here without bouquets of flowers being left by the bypass roadside; it's a fast arterial road and a mecca for bikers.

I've dropped bikes a number of times; sometimes it's been my fault and other times not. One of the key reasons why I switched to a Harley was in recognition of the fact that my reflexes simply aren't what they were; nearly came to grief on the Speed Triple. It's all relative though; my "slow" Harley does 0 to 60 in 3 seconds dead, and will do 140mph...

All I can say is, it's obviously a very personal decision, but for all the occasional coming to grief, I've never been happier than when I've been on bikes over the years. There's just no comparison. So, as mid-life crises go, you could do a lot worse mate.

Thanks mate.

It's been a longstanding dream of ours; Mrs C is also a biker (or at least pillion), and we've always promised ourselves that, once the kids were safely all grown up and married off (lol), this is something we were always going to do.

Check out the ride - the ElectraGlide is the archetypal 'American Dream Spec' touring Harley - as big as a whale, and fitted with such luxuries as an ass-kicking stereo (the rear speakers are built into the enormous 'Queen' pillion seat), ABS, satnav, the works. Hopelessly too big for UK's crowded, potholed streets, but on the long, empty Californian highways and coastal roads? Perfect.

She's a *beast*, makes my 'Rod look like a Honda 50!

http://www.harley-davidson.com/en_GB/Mo ... l#!gallery

I can well believe that. My girlfriend has another uncle, the twin brother of the one who died, who's still massively into his bikes. He lost his father and his twin brother on them, but his love for bikes is abundantly clear. It's just the rest of her family that are a lot less keen.

I know an old boss of mine who was big on motorbikes also reckoned it made him a vastly better car driver and I can understand that too. It must give you a unique experience into the sort of hazards you need to be aware of whilst driving.

CBT is about £110 I think, and you could get a 125cc for way less than a grand. A 125 will also do 80+mpg, so pretty good for a commute. A cooking model 500 will do 0-60 in the same time as an Impreza WRX and you can get one for less than a grand. A 900cc superbike you can get for less than a grand will be mental fun.

Trouble is, they made the tests harder now, I think, so you can't just rock up, pass a Direct Access then ride anything the insurance company will let you pay for. Also, bikes are dead easy to work on.

I'm sure that's true mate; on a bike, it's just so important to 'read the road' and anticipate the actions/errors of other people. Nine times out of ten you'll be being disingenuous, but it's the one-in-ten time that someone pulls out suddenly to avoid the much slower moving cyclist they'd failed to notice, right into your path if you hadn't hung back (or booted it) to avoid, that's the life saver. Certain types of road user also tend to be more prone; just ask any biker - it used to be the proverbial Volvo Estate (even to the extent that some bike mag bought a load of 'em up so they could be sent to the crusher lol), but now we all fear the big, posh 4x4 and white van driver. Must be the feeling of invulnerability and the high up driving position, or summat. Can't tar everyone with the same brush, but statistically speaking, they tend to be the worst. Cyclists can be deadly too, especially when there's a number of them - not so much of themselves, but what they often panic-force other road users into doing in order to evade them, is sometimes at the oncoming, uninvolved (and unseen ) motorbikes' expense.

Just-parked passengers opening their doors right into you is another "classic"; always give these shoppers a very wide berth!

I suppose I don't really help myself either; my leathers (and helmet) are all black as I simply refuse to wear fluorescent "prat jacket" safety clothing. At least the pipes are *deafeningly* loud (all silencing removed, just open pipes), so even the profoundly deaf can't fail to hear me coming.

Loud pipes save lives.

I think someone told that to the 16yr old on his moped who lives in my street, who also seems to be very forgetful and keeps needing to pop out to the shops at least a dozen times a day and night. The little cunt.

Heh. In that case, you really wouldn't have liked my classic Yammy RD400F mate - 400cc, air cooled 2-stroke, twin Micron pipes with all baffling removed. When she hit her power band, the front wheel would ALWAYS lift, accompanied by the banshee 2-stroke wail of a billion super-pissed off hornets in the largest, most undamped tin can ever. And lots of blue smoke swirls.

I actually managed to set off a house alarm when "banding" into a tunnel, once. Must've concentrated/focused the sound pressure wave to a very great extent to do that.

Ah, lovely, wonderfully crazy old girl - the likes of which will never be seen again in today's squeaky clean world. Man, I miss her.

Noise pollution from the Hog isn't really too much of an issue where I live though; I only have 1 "neighbour" for about a half mile radius and he's 80-odd and deaf as a post, bless him.

That's the key difference, really. On a night in the big city where it's too hot to close the windows, noisy motorbike exhausts are a little more infuriating