A picture a day... biker banter (Vol 6)
Discussion
New to me this weekend.
Few hundred miles, mainly Dales / Peaks, lots of fun.
Based on a few of the comments on here regarding GSs I expected to be blanked at best by fellow bikers on the roads, if not openly mocked or dragged from my bike, tarred & feathered - but everyone seemed perfectly friendly, lots of exchanges of nods and acknowledgement - as it should be
Few hundred miles, mainly Dales / Peaks, lots of fun.
Based on a few of the comments on here regarding GSs I expected to be blanked at best by fellow bikers on the roads, if not openly mocked or dragged from my bike, tarred & feathered - but everyone seemed perfectly friendly, lots of exchanges of nods and acknowledgement - as it should be
Fullook said:
New to me this weekend.
Few hundred miles, mainly Dales / Peaks, lots of fun.
Based on a few of the comments on here regarding GSs I expected to be blanked at best by fellow bikers on the roads, if not openly mocked or dragged from my bike, tarred & feathered - but everyone seemed perfectly friendly, lots of exchanges of nods and acknowledgement - as it should be
Coming head on they probably mistakingly thought you were on a Tiger Few hundred miles, mainly Dales / Peaks, lots of fun.
Based on a few of the comments on here regarding GSs I expected to be blanked at best by fellow bikers on the roads, if not openly mocked or dragged from my bike, tarred & feathered - but everyone seemed perfectly friendly, lots of exchanges of nods and acknowledgement - as it should be
Where are your 500litres of panniers?
Were you wearing full new matching BMW Motorrad kit?
Fullook said:
Hugo Stiglitz said:
Where are your 500litres of panniers?
Were you wearing full new matching BMW Motorrad kit?
Well no, I'm a bit of a knob, obviously (black Rukka, since you ask) but not a total sociopath Were you wearing full new matching BMW Motorrad kit?
Surely you should have some high viz or a light coloured bmw safari suit?
I've come to the conclusion that GSs and the suchlike are the SUVs of the motorcycle world. There are loads and loads and loads here in Europe. It's as though fifty percent of the bikes that we've passed are adventure lifestyle oriented. They're possibly capable but I seem to recall that biking was a little less homogeneous pre-LWR.
Speed addicted said:
Fullook said:
Hugo Stiglitz said:
Where are your 500litres of panniers?
Were you wearing full new matching BMW Motorrad kit?
Well no, I'm a bit of a knob, obviously (black Rukka, since you ask) but not a total sociopath Were you wearing full new matching BMW Motorrad kit?
Surely you should have some high viz or a light coloured bmw safari suit?
bolidemichael said:
I've come to the conclusion that GSs and the suchlike are the SUVs of the motorcycle world. There are loads and loads and loads here in Europe. It's as though fifty percent of the bikes that we've passed are adventure lifestyle oriented. They're possibly capable but I seem to recall that biking was a little less homogeneous pre-LWR.
Having owned a variety of bikes (including a vfr1200), and still owning 4 of different styles I find the triumph Explorer to be a good mix for the type of riding I do. At 6’2” 45 years old I find the ergonomics better for my ruined back and knees than sportier stuff. It’s fast enough, handles well, comfy enough and easily takes luggage for touring.
Basically I treat mine like a big speed triple, it doesn’t go off-road but spend most of its time howling round the highlands.
More focussed bikes are great if you want something specific, but sports bikes hurt me, I couldn’t stop speeding on the VFR1200 and a lot of other bikes are just too physically small.
I can ride my Ducati for about 2-3 hours as long as there isn’t much town stuff, I can ride the triumph all day with no discomfort.
I suppose it’s also a mix of the biking population getting older, speed enforcement getting tougher and adventure bikes being far better than they were 20 years ago.
Yep, this is me:
This was a big purchase for me and I take those seriously. Like, do LOADS of research.
My requirements were:
All day comfort - I'll be using the bike for some longish trips. My knees and neck are a bit creaky so upright bars and tall seat are good.
Big tank range - hated having to think about fuel stops after 180 ish miles on previous bikes.
Plenty of torque & enough engine character low down - don't want to feel I have to cane it, one speeding ban was enough.
Preferably shaft drive - not critical but nice to have
Luggage options - I'll use it to take me to the start of some decent hiking / camping trails and will need to both cart the camping gear with me & then have somewhere to securely store my bike gear while I'm away up a hill.
For me it came down to the GSA or the version of the new Triumph 1200 with the 30l tank, but they can only be had new which means big ££ and wait times.
Did also think about the big tank version of the Africa Twin, but the relative lack of power compared to the GSA put me off a bit.
So after really thinking about it, apparently I've ended up with exactly the bike I'd have got if I'd not applied any thought at all
This was a big purchase for me and I take those seriously. Like, do LOADS of research.
My requirements were:
All day comfort - I'll be using the bike for some longish trips. My knees and neck are a bit creaky so upright bars and tall seat are good.
Big tank range - hated having to think about fuel stops after 180 ish miles on previous bikes.
Plenty of torque & enough engine character low down - don't want to feel I have to cane it, one speeding ban was enough.
Preferably shaft drive - not critical but nice to have
Luggage options - I'll use it to take me to the start of some decent hiking / camping trails and will need to both cart the camping gear with me & then have somewhere to securely store my bike gear while I'm away up a hill.
For me it came down to the GSA or the version of the new Triumph 1200 with the 30l tank, but they can only be had new which means big ££ and wait times.
Did also think about the big tank version of the Africa Twin, but the relative lack of power compared to the GSA put me off a bit.
So after really thinking about it, apparently I've ended up with exactly the bike I'd have got if I'd not applied any thought at all
Fullook said:
Yep, this is me:
This was a big purchase for me and I take those seriously. Like, do LOADS of research.
My requirements were:
All day comfort - I'll be using the bike for some longish trips. My knees and neck are a bit creaky so upright bars and tall seat are good.
Big tank range - hated having to think about fuel stops after 180 ish miles on previous bikes.
Plenty of torque & enough engine character low down - don't want to feel I have to cane it, one speeding ban was enough.
Preferably shaft drive - not critical but nice to have
Luggage options - I'll use it to take me to the start of some decent hiking / camping trails and will need to both cart the camping gear with me & then have somewhere to securely store my bike gear while I'm away up a hill.
For me it came down to the GSA or the version of the new Triumph 1200 with the 30l tank, but they can only be had new which means big ££ and wait times.
Did also think about the big tank version of the Africa Twin, but the relative lack of power compared to the GSA put me off a bit.
So after really thinking about it, apparently I've ended up with exactly the bike I'd have got if I'd not applied any thought at all
I did a track day on my boring 1250GS today, which is wearing Michelin Anakees. The S1000RR and Panigale 959 in my group never managed to catch me (yes, ok maybe this says more about the riders than the bikes!), in fact the only guy that was consistently catching me was on a 1290 Superduke.This was a big purchase for me and I take those seriously. Like, do LOADS of research.
My requirements were:
All day comfort - I'll be using the bike for some longish trips. My knees and neck are a bit creaky so upright bars and tall seat are good.
Big tank range - hated having to think about fuel stops after 180 ish miles on previous bikes.
Plenty of torque & enough engine character low down - don't want to feel I have to cane it, one speeding ban was enough.
Preferably shaft drive - not critical but nice to have
Luggage options - I'll use it to take me to the start of some decent hiking / camping trails and will need to both cart the camping gear with me & then have somewhere to securely store my bike gear while I'm away up a hill.
For me it came down to the GSA or the version of the new Triumph 1200 with the 30l tank, but they can only be had new which means big ££ and wait times.
Did also think about the big tank version of the Africa Twin, but the relative lack of power compared to the GSA put me off a bit.
So after really thinking about it, apparently I've ended up with exactly the bike I'd have got if I'd not applied any thought at all
Fullook said:
New to me this weekend.
Few hundred miles, mainly Dales / Peaks, lots of fun.
Based on a few of the comments on here regarding GSs I expected to be blanked at best by fellow bikers on the roads, if not openly mocked or dragged from my bike, tarred & feathered - but everyone seemed perfectly friendly, lots of exchanges of nods and acknowledgement - as it should be
I got no issue with just any bike on the road but dont like it when I see a group of these wearing the hi vis 'polite' and get the hump when I casually pass them with them then making comments. I know this happens as once a group had open mesh on their sena and I had mine running but wasn't talking. When I passed they said within their group 'f**in idiot its a 40, 50 etc limit' which I was maybe a bit over and then proceeded to go through some bends/roundabout lent over a bit (not knee down by any means) and more comments from themFew hundred miles, mainly Dales / Peaks, lots of fun.
Based on a few of the comments on here regarding GSs I expected to be blanked at best by fellow bikers on the roads, if not openly mocked or dragged from my bike, tarred & feathered - but everyone seemed perfectly friendly, lots of exchanges of nods and acknowledgement - as it should be
At this point I said 'I can hear you' and then 'there are plenty of things I could say about you lot right now thinking you are some kind of 'polite' police'. I think they were more surprised as not a word was said after that.
BrilliantBirky_41 said:
Well they say all good things come to an end...
I've now been discharged after 5 days in there and feeling very swollen and very sore. It has been very hard with my wife and kids and very much a reality check that I'm 40 not 25 with work and family commitments.
I'm going to be at least 8 weeks before I can put any weight on it and 6 months before I can compete... And that's if I feel I should and if it's morally right given the stress I've put family in again
I went from a great job with a lot of benefits (incl WFH) to starting a business with low wages and no benefits, so I'm now fully aware of what an accident could do to me. Previously a broken leg would have me continuing to work with my feet up, now it would probably shut the business down completely as I'm on my feet all day.I've now been discharged after 5 days in there and feeling very swollen and very sore. It has been very hard with my wife and kids and very much a reality check that I'm 40 not 25 with work and family commitments.
I'm going to be at least 8 weeks before I can put any weight on it and 6 months before I can compete... And that's if I feel I should and if it's morally right given the stress I've put family in again
That's part of the reason I got a more sensible bike with some modern electronics. Oh and I'm now 46 and sore in the morning from doing nothing, I think I sat on the sofa funny last night.
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