Bikes really are unsafe

[Mr2Mike]

1/10 for troll. Unoriginal, not very entertaining and virtually no bites.

[Hooli]

Wedg1e said:

LoonR1 said:

having a high speed weave, like the Pan European a few years back.

The Pan Euro 1300 STILL has a high-speed weave, it didn't go away...

It's 'character' once everyone knows about it

[Tango13]

Hooli said:

Wedg1e said:

LoonR1 said:

having a high speed weave, like the Pan European a few years back.

The Pan Euro 1300 STILL has a high-speed weave, it didn't go away...

It's 'character' once everyone knows about it

I was talking to a Trafpol about this and he said he and some riders never had a problem yet some of his collegues needed all three lanes of the motorway. The ones who never seemed to have a problem were the big lads, over 6' and 15st plus riding kit yet the smaller/lighter riders really suffered. This is all 3rd hand infomation so could well be bks but it might have some bearing on the matter

[Hooli]

Tango13 said:

Hooli said:

Wedg1e said:

LoonR1 said:

having a high speed weave, like the Pan European a few years back.

The Pan Euro 1300 STILL has a high-speed weave, it didn't go away...

It's 'character' once everyone knows about it

I was talking to a Trafpol about this and he said he and some riders never had a problem yet some of his collegues needed all three lanes of the motorway. The ones who never seemed to have a problem were the big lads, over 6' and 15st plus riding kit yet the smaller/lighter riders really suffered. This is all 3rd hand infomation so could well be bks but it might have some bearing on the matter

I know on the ST11 it's the topbox that causes it, at least that's true with mine. Wedg1e's ST13 seems to weave withtout a topbox, I've ridden it too & both of us are quite light so you might have a point.

[Wedg1e]

Hooli said:

I've ridden it too & both of us are quite light so you might have a point.

Thanks mate, I've been feeling quite fat at 85Kg but that cheers me up

[Globs]

Jimbo. said:

Nothing to do with the yokes. A short wheelbase, phenomenally grunty engine, light weight and a steep head angle all conspired to bite people on the arse. The never-seen-since rotary rear shock was often hinted at (by the likes of Maxton, etc) as being a contributory factor, but at the end of the day it was just a bike that demanded respect.

Of course, the utter s at MCN jumped up and down on it, hyping it up beyond all belief. "Killer bike" this, "Widow maker" that...editing readers letters from "My ZZR1100 had a mild tank slapper..." to "My TL1000S tried to kill me...".

Suzuki shat themselves and issued a recall to fit a steering damper. The TL1000R was rushed out, the TL1000S killed off. A shame

My view was that it was caused by a geometry and chain tightness issue. It was possible to load the back so the chain got tight, at which point the rear suspension became totally rigid - no springing or damping - which caused the crashes.

As long as you avoid chinese bikes most are fairly good these days TBH. Even my scooter (Taiwanese, 171cc) cruises at 70mph (one or two up) in perfect stability..

[RizzoTheRat]

While many bikes do have mechanical faults, the most dangerous one is usually the loose nut behind the bars.

[Hooli]

Wedg1e said:

Thanks mate, I've been feeling quite fat at 85Kg but that cheers me up

I don't talk french, is that more or less than my 14stone?

[odyssey2200]

Hooli said:

Tango13 said:

Hooli said:

Wedg1e said:

LoonR1 said:

having a high speed weave, like the Pan European a few years back.

The Pan Euro 1300 STILL has a high-speed weave, it didn't go away...

It's 'character' once everyone knows about it

I was talking to a Trafpol about this and he said he and some riders never had a problem yet some of his collegues needed all three lanes of the motorway. The ones who never seemed to have a problem were the big lads, over 6' and 15st plus riding kit yet the smaller/lighter riders really suffered. This is all 3rd hand infomation so could well be bks but it might have some bearing on the matter

I know on the ST11 it's the topbox that causes it, at least that's true with mine. Wedg1e's ST13 seems to weave withtout a topbox, I've ridden it too & both of us are quite light so you might have a point.

IIRC the police had a problem with their old BMWs whereby they suffered from a high speed weave/wobble alledged to have resulted in the death of an officer.

BMW pointed to the fact that the bikes were actually over/badly loaded given the load Plod stuck on the bikes and that when you fit paniers to a bike, they come with a warning not to exceed a certain speed.

The upshot was that Plod switched from BMWs to Pan Europeans (I was working at HUK at the time)

Now we have the exact same problem being aleged against the Pan and plod looking to go back to BMWs.

[redstu]

I think you worry too much.
Have you had a recent "moment"?

[eddd1e]

LoonR1 said:

I don't want to die as a result of someone else's mistake.

If you're worried about this happening then changes are it won't be a bike defect that causes it... it will be some **** pulling out in front of you etc.

In my opinion there isn't much room for these kind if thoughts when riding, everyone knows the risks involved.

Just my thoughts

[Globs]

graphene said:

Fork failures? BMW again! Anyway, it's a conspiracy; the machines are taking over in ways far more surreptitious than the Skynet/Matrix scenarios would have us believe. However, the mechanical fiends have waited too long - the world is voided this year, so giving up bikes is futile...

You may scoff but every time I've been out on 2 wheels in the last 2 weeks I've got rained on.

So there.

[Jazoli]

I too think bikes are stupidly unsafe, take today for instance, doing 60 mph down a bumpy road and the front wheel keeps pointing to the sky, how dangerous is that? I cannot believe a manufacturer would release a bike with such a defect as it prevented me from braking and steering to avoid a sheep.

Also they fall over unless they are propped up with a bit of metal, again what a silly idea!

I'll be writing a strongly worded email to Yamaha later expressing my concerns and will be seeking compensation for an adrenaline overdose



as said above the most dangerous part of a bike is the nut holding the bars

[CBR JGWRR]

RizzoTheRat said:

While many bikes do have mechanical faults, the most dangerous one is usually the loose nut behind the bars.

Yeah, that.


I've ridden bikes with no brakes, ones which weren't safe to even think about leaning over, ridden in a blizard on a scooter with slipping drive belt issues causing it to try to highside beyond 19 mph when it got some power (In the end, it was hitting a patch of ice which caused the highside)

I would happily ride in the same cirucumstances again.


The most dangerous time I've ever had on a bike, indeed, the only time I've ever been scared on a bike, was when I tried to find the top speed of a CBR 125R (happy little, broke, commuter) and spend too much time looking at the speedo. And not at the 80 degree off camber corner that was rapidly approaching... (To it's credit, it made the corner. Just. at 75 mph...)

[Mr2Mike]

Jazoli said:

I too think bikes are stupidly unsafe, take today for instance, doing 60 mph down a bumpy road and the front wheel keeps pointing to the sky, how dangerous is that? I cannot believe a manufacturer would release a bike with such a defect as it prevented me from braking and steering to avoid a sheep.

Also they fall over unless they are propped up with a bit of metal, again what a silly idea!

I'll be writing a strongly worded email to Yamaha later expressing my concerns and will be seeking compensation for an adrenaline overdose

That's outrageous. Do you also find your bike leans rather dangerously when you take a corner at speed rather than remaining upright and stable as surely a safe machine would?

[byt]

as I am NOT the main bread winner and the fact that I believe my wife and kids would be happier if I wasn't here I think a bike is an excellent form of transport for me, the cheaper and older the better. lol

[Nigel Worc's]

vonhosen said:

The worst financial outcomes for most involve coming off badly, getting life changing injuries, but not being killed.

Aren't you the little ray of sunshine !

[Reardy Mister]

tezzer said:

deltashad said:

Did the TL1000s not have some really bad problem when it was originally launched?
Something to do with the yokes leading on to high speed tank slappers? I did a search but didn't see anything. Don't know why that's stuck in my head...

I had an early (97) TL-S which was a superb bike ridden to the max on many occaisions, and never once did I have a "moment". No idea why, maybe due to my small stature and light weight, but not once until it was brutally stolen from my locked garage did it give me cause for concern. odd.

Had a TLS too. Never had an issue, showed a few Buells a clean pair of heels when they were the next big thing and it wheelied a treat.

[Jazoli]

Mr2Mike said:

That's outrageous. Do you also find your bike leans rather dangerously when you take a corner at speed rather than remaining upright and stable as surely a safe machine would?

Its ridiculous in the extreme, another one which happens sometimes is when you pull the front brake the rear wheel can leave the ground, restricting my ability to brake and also restricting vision as I now cannot see what I was about to hit, only the ground directly under my front wheel.

I think they should be banned for safety's sake.

[Hooli]

Jazoli said:

Mr2Mike said:

That's outrageous. Do you also find your bike leans rather dangerously when you take a corner at speed rather than remaining upright and stable as surely a safe machine would?

Its ridiculous in the extreme, another one which happens sometimes is when you pull the front brake the rear wheel can leave the ground, restricting my ability to brake and also restricting vision as I now cannot see what I was about to hit, only the ground directly under my front wheel.

I think they should be banned for safety's sake.

You think that's bad? mine sometimes make so much noise I need to wear earplugs, I could go deaf owning one of these.