Any Bikers in here?

[Swoop]

Lazs mate, you don't know enough about this stuff.


My GSX-R600 will do around 160mph.  Not 190mph.  That's Honda Blackbird / Suzuki Hayabusa territory and those aren't sportsbikes, those are sports-tourers (marketing men wouldn't agree, they call em hypersportsbikes) that go very fast in a straight line and get all squirly at the sight of a corner.

My bike goes round corners like it's on rails cos it's lighter, only a 600cc machine, 350lbs without me on it.  You'll find the smaller and lighter the bike the better it'll corner, Aprillia RS125s are probably the fastest cornering bikes on the planet but they wont go much over a ton in a straight line, downhill with a tailwind.


Now think about this some more mate.  If the air resistance of an unfaired bike will slow it's top speed then it'll also slow it's acceleration as well.  Right?  No traffic law in this country mentions acceleration.  The speed limit might be 60mph (for example) but I get there from a standing start in under 3 seconds and Mr Plod can't do anything about it.



I also much prefer the protection from wind you get on a faired bike over an unfaired.  Mate of mine once rode an unfaired Suzuki bandit over to Holland for a visit and we both rode back to Blighty.......ok, he's a big lad (6'4", 280lbs) but damn......the weather wasnt great and he was acting like a sail with no fairing to deflect the wind away.  This is at motorway cruising speeds (100mph ish - attitude to speed isn't quite the same in Britain as it is in Europe or the US.  At 100mph you'll still have people overtaking you).


No so, it's not just about top end speed however, to quote you once more "you really do need that extra last little bit".  Nope, I don't need it.  I want it.

[indy007]

Originally posted by Swoop
Nope, I don't need it.  I want it.

[moot]

Lazs it is a moot point as a matter of fact, so being up to taste, why argue it?

[Zulu7]

Because arguing seems like the main point of the OC part of the BBs?? Its fun??

[Staga]

Few years back I loaned my friend's "plastic bike"; I needed to get a lift and got his K100.
It was late autumn, temp was something like 7-10c at evening and I was wearing a suit with walking shoes.
I was going to drive to home to get driving gears on but after few kms I headed straight to the highway 'cause all I felt was warm air coming from radiator...
So I rather drive a "plastic bike" and not a stripped down version, thank you.

Hell in Finland it's not unusual to see a Biker driving when it's snowing; I'd love to see Lazs driving at such circumstances without windshields etc.

I didn't think I'd ever say this but Lazs; You really don't have a clue.

[Swoop]

No, no, no.  Be nice to Lazs, he's trying he's just gotton the wrong impression and thinks all plastic bikes are the same.  Plus, since he lives in California he'll have no experience of riding in the conditions we ride in every day.

[Puck]

Last bike was a Kawasaki ZX-10R.  Down 15 in a right turn lane when a 16 yo in a Toyota Sequoia decided she just HAD to be where I was.  Had to put the bike down, THEN she finished a right hand turn and ran me over with both right side wheels.  That was a two day stay in the hospital.

Nine days later some wonk breaks into a friends garage where my bike is hanging out while I heal.  The key got jammed in by the tank bag, so he sees a very nice bike with a key in the ignition...takes the friend's Hayabusa out, rides off with my Kawasaki...

...about two weeks later I get a call from the Denver police.  They found my bike next to the guy who stole it...

Before:



and after:



I'll probably get an '05 GSXR-1000 in a month or so.  Need a new helmet and a jacket, too.  My Arai took its one hit and my jacket got cut off at the scene.  For some reason they took the boots and pants off at the ER rather than cutting them off.  Quite nice of them if you ask me.

I've had the Kawi up to 158 indicated, but that was only 4th gear.  I had it to 109 indicated in first just to see if I could and where the RPM limiter is.  I could keep up with the 'busa in corners (you CAN corner a Hayabusa, you just have to work hard at it) but it walks away from me in the straights. You just can't argue with that much torque.

[indy007]

[moot]

Zulu you should look up the word "absurd".

[Skuzzy]

Originally posted by Swoop
heh, posted while I was still editing......


I'm the last two in your list.  Are there actually that many who fit the bill for choice one?

Me.  I rode 1,000,000 miles, parked it, and have not been on one since.  I figure hitting that mileage without putting it down pushed the odds farther than most will be able to.

Do I miss it?  Damn right I do.  Not a nice day goes by where I look out the window and think, "Damn, what a day for a ride!"

[lazs2]

interesting...  so not being able to go past 150 mph for lack of plastic is one reason?  I am sure that if you put some hidious fairing afair on the turn signals you could pick up a mph or two... I am sure that some of the junk on there is more hindering than helpful to top speed if that is all you are concerned about.  

I still maintain that you are spending a whole lot more time cruising than going over 150mph.  

staga... if all you own is a motorcycle then maybe you would want the most plastic around you that you could get for staying warm in the snow but how much of a sport bikes capability can yu use in the snow?  5%?   You would be more comfoprtable, safer and... have more performance capability in a car under those conditions.   Why bother with a useless phony racer when a 500 dollar car would be ten times better in the snow?

This is the first I have heard that the whole sport bike fairing and plastic neon crap was all put on there so that you would be more comfoirtable in the snow tho... the adds seem to leave out that very i9mportant sales point.

Painting your car like a NASSCAR rainbow and gutting the interior and making it as close to the real racer as possible may some small part to it's capabilities but it still would be an embarassing pretender.

lazs

[Puck]

Originally posted by lazs2

I still maintain that you are spending a whole lot more time cruising than going over 150mph.  

lazs

True enough.  I cruise to the places where I go fast, but I also spend more time <120 with the bike leaned over and my butt off the seat than I spend >150.  The bit I like about my sport bikes is the insane acceleration that puts me ~120 out of a corner, up to ~160 on the straight, down to ~100 going into the next one, and out at ~120 again.  On my friend's 'Busa I don't even shift out of third for that; on the ZX-10 I had to go from third to fourth.  Didn't have the beast long enough to get to the places where you can turn on the afterburner.

Don't know about you, but I LIKED my black neon.  The new R1 looks better than the GSX-R, but I suspect the Suzuki will outrun it off the line.  We'll find out when the test results come in.  At the end of the day I'm riding the thing, not looking at it.  Do you spend a lot of time in your garage making cow eyes at your vehicles?

[Zulu7]

Moot I know the meaning well.

"(adj) Ridiculous: senseless. absurdity (n)"

Ok for you. So whats your point again?

[Staga]

Originally posted by lazs2

staga... if all you own is a motorcycle then maybe you would want the most plastic around you that you could get for staying warm in the snow but how much of a sport bikes capability can yu use in the snow?  5%?   You would be more comfoprtable, safer and... have more performance capability in a car under those conditions.   Why bother with a useless phony racer when a 500 dollar car would be ten times better in the snow?

lazs

Lazs; it may be shock to you but at least in here we have A) rainy days and B)chilly days even at spring and fall and then it's quite nice to lower your head behind the Windjammer and press your legs behind the side panels and stay dry and warm if you can keep little speed up.
I think you're a "Good weather biker" who hasn't driven 500km in the rain or cold; if you'd done it with bikes with and without wind shields I'm pretty sure even You would take CBR600 over HD Sportster.
After 50km you'd really praise the guys who designed those silly looking plastic things you despise so much....

btw when was last time you did drive in cold weather..say around 30-40F, with any bike?

Would You rather use this...


or this...


Now be straight...

[Gixer]

This thread has turned into the ridiculous. How many times has Lazs said "Pretender" it must be a record for a thread and someone repeating the same word in every message. I don't care what your opinion is on sportsbikes or any kind of bike that dosn't fit your preconcieved and fixated mind. And that you wish to make your point two or three times that's fair enough. But after that it looks like a childs rant.

With such a narrow focus your missing out on alot of experience and enjoyment. I've ridden everything from 50cc trail bikes and Scooters, to  1200GS Adventure tourers,Cruisers,Cafe Racers,Sportstourers,Sportsbikes ,Race bikes,Speedway Solo's and Sidecars. And I've always found something in all of them that I enjoy. I've never seen another bike on the road and slagged it or the owner off for one reason or another

I can't see why anyone feels the need to get so uptight about one type of bike over another. When at the end of the day your both enjoying bikes for the same reasons.


...-Gixer