Do you ever envy those rocket ships with 1WD?
Discussion
Bikes are great, but they use the same roads as cars and trucks.
Several people I know have been badly injured by inattentive drivers hitting them and I know of others killed. These people were cruising on a Sunday and not riding like a Barry Sheene wannabe.
I occasionally look at Ducatis on Craigslist and then remind myself of the above. I'm a married man with responsibilities and those come first.
Several people I know have been badly injured by inattentive drivers hitting them and I know of others killed. These people were cruising on a Sunday and not riding like a Barry Sheene wannabe.
I occasionally look at Ducatis on Craigslist and then remind myself of the above. I'm a married man with responsibilities and those come first.
ORD said:
Lots of excellent posts and genuinely informative.
As for the 'you wouldn't turn down a Caterham 500', I would. I would turn down any super fast car because I just don't think faster is better. I can see that this might be a bit different for bikes (because you can overtake even more and because gaining and shedding speed is fast), but the primary reason that I think I wouldn't ever want a 458 S or 991 Turbo S is speed limits. I don't actually want a vehicle that will be doing 120 if I squeeze the throttle at 40 for an overtake.
I think I would definitely want a revvy smaller engined bike, though, assuming that tastes for car engines cross over into tastes for bike engines. I don't like torque-heavy engines. I think even the NA lump in my car is a bit too torquey, and turbo lumps bore me s
tless because it feels like there is no point revving high (although there usually is in fact).
Exactly the reason I have this for fun on roads and track As for the 'you wouldn't turn down a Caterham 500', I would. I would turn down any super fast car because I just don't think faster is better. I can see that this might be a bit different for bikes (because you can overtake even more and because gaining and shedding speed is fast), but the primary reason that I think I wouldn't ever want a 458 S or 991 Turbo S is speed limits. I don't actually want a vehicle that will be doing 120 if I squeeze the throttle at 40 for an overtake.
I think I would definitely want a revvy smaller engined bike, though, assuming that tastes for car engines cross over into tastes for bike engines. I don't like torque-heavy engines. I think even the NA lump in my car is a bit too torquey, and turbo lumps bore me s
tless because it feels like there is no point revving high (although there usually is in fact). 
£1300 buys you 400cc of 14.5k free revving V4. A grand total of 60hp and heavier than a modern sports 600! Every time I ride it though it's a hoot, and the sensation of speed and fun comes without the added worry of getting your collar felt...well....at least the book thrown at you.
Cheers,
Tom
GavinPearson said:
Bikes are great, but they use the same roads as cars and trucks.
Several people I know have been badly injured by inattentive drivers hitting them and I know of others killed. These people were cruising on a Sunday and not riding like a Barry Sheene wannabe.
I occasionally look at Ducatis on Craigslist and then remind myself of the above. I'm a married man with responsibilities and those come first.
Everyone has responsibilities, if you don't want one fine but that last part implies those that choose to ride don't care about their responsibilities like their partner/children!!Several people I know have been badly injured by inattentive drivers hitting them and I know of others killed. These people were cruising on a Sunday and not riding like a Barry Sheene wannabe.
I occasionally look at Ducatis on Craigslist and then remind myself of the above. I'm a married man with responsibilities and those come first.
Here's another way to look at it, because those that ride do care about their responsibilities they'd rather ride therefore enabling them to spend more time at home due to the bike at least halving their commute time
I know people that have passed or been badly injured in car crashes should I not drive? Yes you'll be more injured if you come off your bike no argument with that fact but you could also get badly hurt if your in a car crash if you did would you not drive?
ZX10R NIN said:
Everyone has responsibilities, if you don't want one fine but that last part implies those that choose to ride don't care about their responsibilities like their partner/children!!
Here's another way to look at it, because those that ride do care about their responsibilities they'd rather ride therefore enabling them to spend more time at home due to the bike at least halving their commute time
I know people that have passed or been badly injured in car crashes should I not drive? Yes you'll be more injured if you come off your bike no argument with that fact but you could also get badly hurt if your in a car crash if you did would you not drive?
Its a case of weighing up the odds though , I gave up smoking when I had kids , just because I felt it was time to be a little less selfish since others were relying on me more , same with bikes really. Here's another way to look at it, because those that ride do care about their responsibilities they'd rather ride therefore enabling them to spend more time at home due to the bike at least halving their commute time
I know people that have passed or been badly injured in car crashes should I not drive? Yes you'll be more injured if you come off your bike no argument with that fact but you could also get badly hurt if your in a car crash if you did would you not drive?
Its never been an issue re-commuting for me , bikes have only ever been a hobby
I have friends who are very serious bikers- their speciality is doing immense road trips in places like Norway and South America etc - and the biggest difference between cars and bikes is that bikers have a huge sense of community , at least from my perspective. There also seems to be far less of the willy waving brand snobbery that infests the car world which has to be a good thing .
The odd thing ,though, is that there still seems to be that subversive outlaw mindset , allied to a weird mawkishness about death - as though dying on a bike is some sort of badge of honour . Don't see the glamour in it myself .
The odd thing ,though, is that there still seems to be that subversive outlaw mindset , allied to a weird mawkishness about death - as though dying on a bike is some sort of badge of honour . Don't see the glamour in it myself .
ZX10R NIN said:
Everyone has responsibilities, if you don't want one fine but that last part implies those that choose to ride don't care about their responsibilities like their partner/children!!
Here's another way to look at it, because those that ride do care about their responsibilities they'd rather ride therefore enabling them to spend more time at home due to the bike at least halving their commute time
I know people that have passed or been badly injured in car crashes should I not drive? Yes you'll be more injured if you come off your bike no argument with that fact but you could also get badly hurt if your in a car crash if you did would you not drive?
It's not if, it's when on the road. Yes you could get hurt in a car accident but the risk of a life changing injury or worse is much, much higher on a bike. When I used to ride it didn't bother me, I keep looking at bikes again as I miss them but a. I have an issue with self control and b. I have a feeling that buying a bike would lead to trackdays which would lead back into racing. Nothing gives as big a hit as a litre bike, everyone needs to try one just once Here's another way to look at it, because those that ride do care about their responsibilities they'd rather ride therefore enabling them to spend more time at home due to the bike at least halving their commute time
I know people that have passed or been badly injured in car crashes should I not drive? Yes you'll be more injured if you come off your bike no argument with that fact but you could also get badly hurt if your in a car crash if you did would you not drive?
darkyoung1000 said:
Exactly the reason I have this for fun on roads and track
£1300 buys you 400cc of 14.5k free revving V4. A grand total of 60hp and heavier than a modern sports 600! Every time I ride it though it's a hoot, and the sensation of speed and fun comes without the added worry of getting your collar felt...well....at least the book thrown at you.
Cheers,
Tom
£1300, really? I thought the values of these were heading past £2500-£3000?£1300 buys you 400cc of 14.5k free revving V4. A grand total of 60hp and heavier than a modern sports 600! Every time I ride it though it's a hoot, and the sensation of speed and fun comes without the added worry of getting your collar felt...well....at least the book thrown at you.
Cheers,
Tom
Been driving cars for over 20 years, serious petrolhead and the one car I have owned that put smiles on my face all the time was a Westfield. Always got attention because of how it looked and the noise it made (didnt really like the attention though). Over the years occasionally thought about bike ownership but didnt have anywhere to safely store one. Couple of years ago with petrol price increases decided to do CBT so could commute on a 125. I had fun, enjoyed commuting, although on minor roads as didnt feel safe on dual carriageways etc. Then you start to get hooked, did my full bike license and got a year old CBR 500. The extra poke and small reduction in economy over the 125 meant I could now commute on the carriageways, enjoyed my commute every day even more. In fact it made going to work and then coming home more tolerable than if I was driving, let alone on the days when traffic was dire. I dont even mind the rain and a bit of wind, it just adds a bit more of a challenge. Sure it takes longer to get ready at home and then when arriving at work, but the shorter journey time easily compensates.
Aside from the commute also been out on some weekend rides with work colleagues, and like others have said there is a definite community spirit amongst most bikers. Of course there are some snobs who wont nod depending on what you ride.
The bug eventually bit deeper and I now have a second weekend/fairweather ride, GSXR 750, which for me is immense. I am now more used to the acceleration but at first it felt mind bendingly quick. Bikes are quicker in a straight line but cant corner as well as a car and reaching the limit on the road is far harder and more dangerous on a bike, but the challenge and getting it right makes riding so much more enjoyable for me. Even the fact that bikes take more looking after than cars isn't too much of a negative as I enjoy being a home mechanic, something not so easy to do these days on modern cars.
I have always enjoyed driving cars, but I wish I had taken my bike test much sooner than I did as I always have fun every time I ride, being in a car isn't always as exciting. Again, even though I dont like it, you do get more attention on a bike and kids always seem interested and like to wave at you, the older ones always want to see you pulling a wheelie!
Aside from the commute also been out on some weekend rides with work colleagues, and like others have said there is a definite community spirit amongst most bikers. Of course there are some snobs who wont nod depending on what you ride.
The bug eventually bit deeper and I now have a second weekend/fairweather ride, GSXR 750, which for me is immense. I am now more used to the acceleration but at first it felt mind bendingly quick. Bikes are quicker in a straight line but cant corner as well as a car and reaching the limit on the road is far harder and more dangerous on a bike, but the challenge and getting it right makes riding so much more enjoyable for me. Even the fact that bikes take more looking after than cars isn't too much of a negative as I enjoy being a home mechanic, something not so easy to do these days on modern cars.
I have always enjoyed driving cars, but I wish I had taken my bike test much sooner than I did as I always have fun every time I ride, being in a car isn't always as exciting. Again, even though I dont like it, you do get more attention on a bike and kids always seem interested and like to wave at you, the older ones always want to see you pulling a wheelie!
Edited by EagleMoto4-2 on Tuesday 6th October 14:34
yonex said:
It's not if, it's when on the road.
Garbage. I've been riding 15 years so I guess I'll soon be dead eh?! No idea how I've lasted this long.
Haven't crashed the bike once but did spend a week in a coma due to a car accident (wasn't my fault!)
Riding a bike isn't a guarantee of your death on the roads. Yes, perhaps the odds are increased but so what? Thousands of people die in car accidents and in numerous other ways. You've got to die one day so I'm doing what I enjoy.
daveofedinburgh said:
Not until this last year or so.
A new member of our management team came on board, and has the same daily M1 commute from MK/ Luton area to Watford that most of my colleagues endure.
It's a big engined (1000cc I believe) Jap sports bike (Yamaha/ Kawasaki or something). Yes, I know f*ck all about bikes.
He always arrives early or on-time, and is never frazzled when the M1 is f*cked. He doesn't bother looking at traffic updates before heading home, and therefore never hangs around the office hoping traffic will start moving.
He also seems to enjoy every journey, often telling stories about how he had a great drive to work in the morning, and looking forward to the blast home.
A boring reason to envy those 1WD rocket ships, but he seems to have genuinely cracked it as far as I can tell.
I enjoy going really fast, don't mind a bit of risk, and don't care about being cold/ wet, so maybe I should consider getting a bike licence. Definitely the best bang-for-buck performance 'vehicle', but not sure I have the ability to do a proper sports bike justice.
You sound a prime candidate for two wheels, to be honest.A new member of our management team came on board, and has the same daily M1 commute from MK/ Luton area to Watford that most of my colleagues endure.
It's a big engined (1000cc I believe) Jap sports bike (Yamaha/ Kawasaki or something). Yes, I know f*ck all about bikes.
He always arrives early or on-time, and is never frazzled when the M1 is f*cked. He doesn't bother looking at traffic updates before heading home, and therefore never hangs around the office hoping traffic will start moving.
He also seems to enjoy every journey, often telling stories about how he had a great drive to work in the morning, and looking forward to the blast home.
A boring reason to envy those 1WD rocket ships, but he seems to have genuinely cracked it as far as I can tell.
I enjoy going really fast, don't mind a bit of risk, and don't care about being cold/ wet, so maybe I should consider getting a bike licence. Definitely the best bang-for-buck performance 'vehicle', but not sure I have the ability to do a proper sports bike justice.
Do it!
And don't worry about 'doing it justice'. Just get something you want and love, because you can. Barely anyone does their bike justice so who cares?
DuraAce said:
Garbage.
I've been riding 15 years so I guess I'll soon be dead eh?! No idea how I've lasted this long.
Haven't crashed the bike once but did spend a week in a coma due to a car accident (wasn't my fault!)
Riding a bike isn't a guarantee of your death on the roads. Yes, perhaps the odds are increased but so what? Thousands of people die in car accidents and in numerous other ways. You've got to die one day so I'm doing what I enjoy.
I didn't say dead, I said an accident. I wouldn't wish it on anyone but the odds of getting hurt are against you. I've been riding 15 years so I guess I'll soon be dead eh?! No idea how I've lasted this long.
Haven't crashed the bike once but did spend a week in a coma due to a car accident (wasn't my fault!)
Riding a bike isn't a guarantee of your death on the roads. Yes, perhaps the odds are increased but so what? Thousands of people die in car accidents and in numerous other ways. You've got to die one day so I'm doing what I enjoy.
ORD said:
Lots of excellent posts and genuinely informative.
As for the 'you wouldn't turn down a Caterham 500', I would. I would turn down any super fast car because I just don't think faster is better. I can see that this might be a bit different for bikes (because you can overtake even more and because gaining and shedding speed is fast), but the primary reason that I think I wouldn't ever want a 458 S or 991 Turbo S is speed limits. I don't actually want a vehicle that will be doing 120 if I squeeze the throttle at 40 for an overtake.
I think I would definitely want a revvy smaller engined bike, though, assuming that tastes for car engines cross over into tastes for bike engines. I don't like torque-heavy engines. I think even the NA lump in my car is a bit too torquey, and turbo lumps bore me stless because it feels like there is no point revving high (although there usually is in fact).
I mean, you wouldn't turn down a go in a Caterham R500. As an ownership proposition, you buy what suits you, but in terms of having a blast, why not? Fast bikes give you that performance in a very usable package, but you don't have to fly everywhere like you're on a qualifying lap or whatever. You mention not wanting to reach 120 by accident trying to overtake at 40mph, but in reality, that just won't happen. Overtaking is usually a case of a wider throttle opening in this gear and lower revs, or a smaller opening in a lower gear with more revs. As for the 'you wouldn't turn down a Caterham 500', I would. I would turn down any super fast car because I just don't think faster is better. I can see that this might be a bit different for bikes (because you can overtake even more and because gaining and shedding speed is fast), but the primary reason that I think I wouldn't ever want a 458 S or 991 Turbo S is speed limits. I don't actually want a vehicle that will be doing 120 if I squeeze the throttle at 40 for an overtake.
I think I would definitely want a revvy smaller engined bike, though, assuming that tastes for car engines cross over into tastes for bike engines. I don't like torque-heavy engines. I think even the NA lump in my car is a bit too torquey, and turbo lumps bore me s
tless because it feels like there is no point revving high (although there usually is in fact). Car engine tastes and bike engines are pretty different. My preference for cars is low torque and high RPM power. Bikes are so far and away different though, most that I've ridden are quite capable at all gears and speeds, but still have their power locked away up high and go from fast to ballistic at the top end. The exception being the twins I've tried, which is mostly low down thump and midrange, tailing off at high RPM's, and singles, which I just don't like at all. Even my T595, with it's inline triple, was slower than the Fireblade and the R1 it was it was sold against in the showrooms, but it is still pretty f
king quick, and despite not revving as highly as the aforementioned bikes, still comes alive at 5000rpm and gets silly at 8000rpm, by the time the 10500rpm limit comes up, you're really shifting. Day to day riding can be done below 5000rpm with ease, and even short shifting at 8000rpm is 'fast'. I always want to try more bikes and more engines, but there is little commonality between car and bike engines, even the most oft-heard comparisons seem way off to me (single/V-Twin = diesel, four cylinder = Honda Vtec etc etc).One point covered earlier is the freedom and choice bikes give you on the road, a point I really agree with. More space to position yourself, more choice on how to corner, more interaction with the machine in terms of how you operate it, even going as far as to position your body to corner, brake or accelerate, and flexible power that's happy either tootling to really thrashing along.
My bike will be going away for the winter, and I don't have the space to get a snotter to commute on. I'll miss it when it's away.
CorvetteConvert said:
My R500 Superlight is the nearest car to a bike, pretty much.
But a bike still does things no car will ever do and it's the VFM that i really love.
The value for money is a big, big plus. I'd decided a few years ago I'd never get a bike, having seen plenty of accidents involving bikes in the past through work. Then my brother turned up on £1800's worth of GSX-R 600 and that was that. Super clean bike, amazing noise, really quick. I was sold. I decided to give it a go myself, thinking 'if I treat this sensibly, I'll be okay'. I've been enjoying myself ever since. But a bike still does things no car will ever do and it's the VFM that i really love.
I got into biking again last year after a 10 year absence. I used to ride sports bikes when in my early 20's and frankly scared myself out of them, plus after a few cold and wet commutes, decided that cars were more my thing.
For no understandable reason at all, I woke up one day last summer and decided I had to get a bike again. I started obsessing over them but didn't want a sports bike so went for a Ducati Monster. For only £4200 I had a 3 year old machine with just 5000 miles on her, from a Ducati main dealer. It has bags of character and is great fun to ride. I had forgotten how cheap biking was, with fully comp insurance coming in at only £17 a month, and a tank of fuel leaving change out of a twenty quid note!
This summer I decided to add to the fleet so bought a Triumph Bonneville too. I was going to part-ex the Monster (especially as I was offered £4500 for it) but decided to keep them both and have best of both worlds, as the Triumph is much more of a relaxed ride and a very different beast.
I have used one or the other a lot this summer and the only time I've used a car is when I needed to take someone with me or go to a business meeting. The only real downside is going around with helmet-hair, as I look a right mess.
The quality of driving on the roads does concern me. I've had 2 non-fault car accidents in the past couple of years and I certainly don't want to continue those odds whilst out on a bike, but you do only live once and need to get on with the stuff that makes you smile. I can't see myself ever being without a bike again.
For no understandable reason at all, I woke up one day last summer and decided I had to get a bike again. I started obsessing over them but didn't want a sports bike so went for a Ducati Monster. For only £4200 I had a 3 year old machine with just 5000 miles on her, from a Ducati main dealer. It has bags of character and is great fun to ride. I had forgotten how cheap biking was, with fully comp insurance coming in at only £17 a month, and a tank of fuel leaving change out of a twenty quid note!
This summer I decided to add to the fleet so bought a Triumph Bonneville too. I was going to part-ex the Monster (especially as I was offered £4500 for it) but decided to keep them both and have best of both worlds, as the Triumph is much more of a relaxed ride and a very different beast.
I have used one or the other a lot this summer and the only time I've used a car is when I needed to take someone with me or go to a business meeting. The only real downside is going around with helmet-hair, as I look a right mess.
The quality of driving on the roads does concern me. I've had 2 non-fault car accidents in the past couple of years and I certainly don't want to continue those odds whilst out on a bike, but you do only live once and need to get on with the stuff that makes you smile. I can't see myself ever being without a bike again.
I never said 180 degrees for a start, 90 more like. Bikes can get blown over by a sufficiently strong wind. Hell, even a car can be vulnerable to crosswinds - my old Mk2 Capri was terrifying on motorways for that reason, it would drift sideways, which had to be countered, and might not have taken much to blow over. Taking it to absurd extremes, Top Gear proved the point by running a 2CV and a Mondeo behind a 747 and flipping them over many times in the jumbo's jet blast.
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