# A thread for motorcycle porn!



## weltweit (Dec 10, 2009)

Whatever machine you covet, post it up here!


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## Maurice Picarda (Dec 10, 2009)

I currently covet a Piaggio MP3 250, after giving up on my electric bicycle plan. But Mrs P says I'm not allowed one.


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## London_Calling (Dec 10, 2009)

Did you mention her breasts?


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## weltweit (Dec 10, 2009)

Brough Superior SS100


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## London_Calling (Dec 10, 2009)

You seem to need arms twice as long as your legs?


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## weltweit (Dec 10, 2009)

London_Calling said:


> You seem to need arms twice as long as your legs?



For the Brough Superior? yes it does look like that. 

I mentioned to a mate that I liked them and he said won't get change from £30k ... it seems they have appreciated a lot since they stopped making them. 

Years ago I did see them competing in a hill climb, they can be surprisingly fast old things!


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## weltweit (Dec 10, 2009)

Ducati 900SS Desmo 






And I've never even ridden a Ducati. Would like to.


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## Sigmund Fraud (Dec 10, 2009)

RC30

The bloke I bought my bike off had one of these on a wooden plinth in his lounge.  I thought that was very - it should be ridden, esp as it will last forever in stock trim.  It was achingly jewel like and beautiful.


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## weltweit (Dec 10, 2009)

Sigmund Fraud said:


> The bloke I bought my bike off had one of these on a wooden plinth in his lounge.  I thought that was very - it should be ridden, esp as it will last forever in stock trim.  It was achingly jewel like and beautiful.



Yes, nice, I am pretty sure it was an RC30 that first broke the 120mph lap at the Isle of Man.


As to people having motorbikes in their houses rather than riding them. I know one person who has a Moto Guzzi race bike in their living room, a very beautiful single minded machine it is too. Another who has a GSXR1100 mounted on the wall in his living room. Mad!


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## weltweit (Dec 10, 2009)

Vincent Black Shadow. 1000cc V twin. 






Another bike I have never ridden. But I will ride one of these before I die, somehow somewhere I will get my chance. I don't need to own one, just take one for a ride that's all.


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## weltweit (Dec 10, 2009)

So, Brough Superior SS100, Ducati 900SS, Honda RC30, Vincent Black Shadow.... 

All V configurations..


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## yardbird (Dec 10, 2009)

I don't know how to post pics i'm afraid 

 I lived in East Sheen from my first college days in 1969.

Down the road was the most fabulous motorcycle shop/ workshop.
Geoff Dodkin Motobikes.
The place was full of Velocette and Matchless bikes, some in bits and being worked on.

Fantail pipes 

Best bike I had was a Honda 500 Four.
Kick start of course.


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## weltweit (Dec 10, 2009)

yardbird said:


> I don't know how to post pics i'm afraid



yardbird, if you want to learn how to post pics, click quote on one of the posts above that has an image in it and you can then see the two items of code you need to type to make the image url display as an image.


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## weltweit (Dec 10, 2009)

Suzuki GS750 1977.






This was my last bike. I bought a crashed wreck from a scrapyard and rebuilt it. Total cost was £500 not including hours. On it I did Lands End to John O'Groats non stop in 14.5 hours on A roads. Rode to France and Spain. All in all it was a fantastic bike for me. Sold it recently to a guy who specialises in Suzuki GS models. Hope it went to a good home.


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## Meltingpot (Dec 10, 2009)

weltweit said:


> Vincent Black Shadow. 1000cc V twin.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



I see a Vincent parked near the off licence in Liskeard sometimes. I don't know whether it's a Black Shadow or not, but it's a smart and classy machine.

Anyway, I've got a hankering for a 1970s Benelli 900 Sei. Just look at those pipes;

http://motoprofi.com/bikephoto/3398/benelli_900_sei_1980_2.jpg

http://www.motorcyclespecs.co.za/Gallery/Benelli 900Sei.jpg

Sadly my eyesight's too poor for one (or any other fast bike tbh) at the moment. Probably needs a nicer /  comfier seat too.


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## weltweit (Dec 10, 2009)

Meltingpot said:


> Anyway, I've got a hankering for a 1970s Benelli 900 Sei. Just look at those pipes;



Yes, very exotic. I remember seeing them on the road when they came out. 

Then of course there were the two Japanese sixes, the Honda CBX1000 which was wide wide wide and then the Kawasaki Z1300 with water cooling. 

There was a guy up at a bike meeting point with a CBX1000 modified to be a low rider. When he stopped he just leant the bike over on its engine


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## Pingu (Dec 10, 2009)




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## Sigmund Fraud (Dec 10, 2009)

I'm no fan of Harleys but this is a fucking beaut.


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## weltweit (Dec 10, 2009)

eta @ the Aprillia RSV4 .. 

I don't rate the pillion arrangements


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## sim667 (Dec 10, 2009)

Shame its only at concept stage


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## pogofish (Dec 10, 2009)

How about some motorcycle snuff porn?






My bike after the local theving scum had had their fun and stripped it of easy to sell parts.


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## tendril (Dec 10, 2009)

I know it's make believe but the monocycle from Against a dark background:


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## weltweit (Dec 10, 2009)

pogofish said:


> How about some motorcycle snuff porn?
> 
> My bike after the local theving scum had had their fun and stripped it of easy to sell parts.



Was it a beemer?


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## weltweit (Dec 10, 2009)

Suzuki GSXR1100..






I coveted one of these for many years, never found the cash to buy one though. Perhaps now in my later years I might splash out (perhaps when I have a job) but then I also quite fancy a Suzuki Bandit 1200... choices choices


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## weltweit (Dec 10, 2009)

No title needed: 






Will I ever ride a Harley chopper across America?


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## Rainingstairs (Dec 10, 2009)

YES! YES! YES! I'm buying this in Feb.


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## stupid dogbot (Dec 10, 2009)

Sigmund Fraud said:


> RC30
> 
> The bloke I bought my bike off had one of these on a wooden plinth in his lounge.  I thought that was very - it should be ridden, esp as it will last forever in stock trim.  It was achingly jewel like and beautiful.



 

Obvious, but:


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## Rainingstairs (Dec 10, 2009)

stupid dogbot said:


> Obvious, but:



crotch rockeeetttttt! :d


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## geminisnake (Dec 10, 2009)

Yes, pogo's bike was a Beemer. 

This is lovely in the 'flesh'






And


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## Sigmund Fraud (Dec 10, 2009)

weltweit said:


> Suzuki GSXR1100..
> 
> 
> 
> ...



I fucking love these (and the 750 slabby).  One of the all time best motorcycle engines, super tough and tunable.  Gorgeously brutal styling too.  I was looking for one for six months and all I could find were red and black ones, its just got to be blue and white. There are almost no good ones left...so I bought a fireblade.


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## weltweit (Dec 11, 2009)




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## weltweit (Dec 11, 2009)

Almost perfect for a ride across America.


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## weltweit (Dec 11, 2009)

?????


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## pogofish (Dec 11, 2009)

Sigmund Fraud said:


> One of the all time best motorcycle engines, super tough and tunable.



I remember the launch night for that bike - Someone managed to blow the engine on one of the only two test bikes north of Edinburgh!


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## pogofish (Dec 11, 2009)

weltweit said:


> Was it a beemer?



Yup.






Insurers are still being cunts, although I have had an interim payment of about half its value out of them.


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## not-bono-ever (Dec 11, 2009)

not serious

this however is serious


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## moose (Dec 11, 2009)

This Triumph Bonneville T140 is virtually identical to one I owned in the 80s, and I'd love it back.


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## Sweet FA (Dec 11, 2009)

My 1st 'proper' bike. Not this exact one but pretty similar. It was a bit of a dog if the truth be told but I did love it. The fairing was cut down from something else but was the wrong size so you had to kick the brake forward rather than push down. The tank was way too high for the seat so under heavy braking (no other type was possible with the erm..customised braking arrangement) there was an inevitable slide forward and a painful bollock/tank meeting. The fairing was only attached in a few places so it flapped around until you reached 40 odd, the clip ons were too low so chronic back pain was inevitable after about 15 minutes riding and the back tyre was balding so it slid about under even moderate acceleration. The micron was fitted badly so it sounded like several thousand really angry wasps in a biscuit tin, it burned oil from several unidentified leaks so there was always a mushroom cloud of blue smoke every time I (eventually) started the fucker and for a couple of miles thereafter, it wouldn't go in the rain or any kind of weather actually (probably a godsend as it was a deathtrap on dry, smooth roads). 

Actually, what am I talking about? It was awful. It looked kind of OK standing still (as it was most of the time, usually by the side of the road) but that's it. I eventually missed the 2nd corner on an S bend and ended up wedged into a hedge, trapped by the mismatched fairing. When I was eventually extricated by the driver of the car I'd narrowly missed, (and retrieved my plums from my lower intestine whence they'd been smacked by the tank) I decided it was time for me and the LC to part company. 

I swapped it for a GT380 hardtail chop


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## stupid dogbot (Dec 11, 2009)

More here.


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## ViolentPanda (Dec 11, 2009)

A mid-1970s BMW R60






Preferably in olive green, rather than black. I am a person of simple tastes.


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## Cid (Dec 11, 2009)

I want one of these:


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## stupid dogbot (Dec 11, 2009)

Nothing like as nice looking in the flesh, imo. And not very comfy to sit on, either.


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## weltweit (Dec 11, 2009)

Mick Doohan ...


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## Sigmund Fraud (Dec 11, 2009)

Kevin Schwantz






Schwantz, Rainey, Gardner, Lawson...the golden years.


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## weltweit (Dec 11, 2009)

Sigmund Fraud said:


> Kevin Schwantz
> Schwantz, Rainey, Gardner, Lawson...the golden years.



Yes and Fred Merkyl (sp). 

I can also remember back to Kenny Roberts, and then before him, to lucky no 7 Barry Sheene! 

Incidentally I saw Barry Sheene race a Manx Norton at the Goodwood 50s revival meeting a year or so before he died. Apparently the bike's mechanic was none too pleased with him because he kept popping wheelies and burnt the clutch out


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## nick h. (Dec 11, 2009)

Blimey, where do I start? There must be at least 100 bikes that I covet very seriously. If I was a bazillionaire I'd keep them all at the Nurburgring and hire a suspension genius to build custom shocks and set them up for me. 

This one must have the best looking motor ever:


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## Pingu (Dec 11, 2009)

weltweit said:


> eta @ the Aprillia RSV4 ..
> 
> I don't rate the pillion arrangements


 

i do.

pillions upset the balance and make you go all slow and wobbly


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## Louis MacNeice (Dec 11, 2009)

Cheers - Louis MacNeice


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## Pingu (Dec 11, 2009)

weltweit said:


> Almost perfect for a ride across America.


 
indeed. not so great where any corners or braking is concerned mind you


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## weltweit (Dec 11, 2009)

Pingu said:


> indeed. not so great where any corners or braking is concerned mind you



Indeed, and no where to hang any panniers or a tank bag either! 

But it does LOOK beautiful!


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## Pingu (Dec 11, 2009)

I am not anhuge fan of roadsters or chops but this is really nice


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## nick h. (Dec 11, 2009)

Just as well there's no seat for all the grubby retarded tattooed skanks you'd attract.

Edit: I meant the Harley thingy for crossing the US, obv!


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## Pingu (Dec 11, 2009)

not exactly a great looking bike but two cylinders from a rolls royce merlin engine... cool (picture straight out of mad max adds to the win)


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## nick h. (Dec 11, 2009)

What picture?  It might be in your cache  but I can't see a thing!


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## weltweit (Dec 11, 2009)

Me neither


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## Sigmund Fraud (Dec 11, 2009)

The original mega-trailie.  I like the Ewan McGregor era GS but this is smarter, cuter and better off road.  I will always regret selling mine


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## stupid dogbot (Dec 11, 2009)

nick h. said:


> Blimey, where do I start? There must be at least 100 bikes that I covet very seriously. If I was a bazillionaire I'd keep them all at the Nurburgring and hire a suspension genius to build custom shocks and set them up for me.
> 
> This one must have the best looking motor ever:



Mmmm. 

Post the rest!


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## Meltingpot (Dec 11, 2009)

weltweit said:


> Yes, very exotic. I remember seeing them on the road when they came out.
> 
> Then of course there were the two Japanese sixes, the Honda CBX1000 which was wide wide wide and then the Kawasaki Z1300 with water cooling.
> 
> There was a guy up at a bike meeting point with a CBX1000 modified to be a low rider. When he stopped he just leant the bike over on its engine



Yeah, I remember getting a copy of Bike when they tested the Honda CBX1000 and (bearing in mind this was the 1970s) the reviewer said it was outside the norm for everyday biking and no one ever needed one for normal biking or touring needs. 

There was also a test around the same time where the bike racer Phil Read put a CBX1000 through a set of speed tests (0-60, negotiating cones etc.) on a track against an Aston Martin Vantage to see which was faster, and the results were written up in both a bike and a car magazine (I forget which). The Honda was the faster machine on every test except lapping the track, where the Aston's higher top speed eventually won through. Even the car mag called the Honda a "fantastic machine", though it went on to point out (in order to defend the Aston) that a Lotus F1 racing car would have beaten both of them but would still make a lousy choice for everyday transport. 

Basically, they were saying some people would still choose the Aston if they could afford it because it was a car (and a luxurious one) rather than a bike.

And remember the CBX had "only" 105 bhp. There are bikes around with north of 150 bhp, like the Suzuki Hayabusa (my cousin had one until he crashed it ).

I can only remember seeing one Kawasaki Z1300 (in 1980) but I remember it was really big. There was an accident a while back in which one of those hit a car in a head-on collision and both the car driver and the bike rider were killed (as opposed to normally where the car driver survives a collision with a bike even if the bike rider gets killed).


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## weltweit (Dec 11, 2009)

1959 Manx Norton (the Fireblade of its day!)






Never ridden one, would love to ride one!

I am not sure but I think it was a machine like this that first lapped the Isle of Man at an everage of 100mph.


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## geminisnake (Dec 11, 2009)

nick h. said:


> This one must have the best looking motor ever:



Hubby says he's ridden loadsa bikes in the last 30 yrs and that is the only one he said he would NEVER get on again. It's scary apparently.

Aberdeen had a LOT of Z1300s at the time, you shoulda gone there 

Pingu, pillions do NOT adversely affect the handling


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## stupid dogbot (Dec 11, 2009)

Not if they know what they're doing, innit. There's a guy who teaches race lines and track riding with pillions...

The only Enduro I ever really wanted, long before Ewan and Charlie made the R1200GS trendy with 40 somethings in suits:


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## stupid dogbot (Dec 11, 2009)

My next bike (I don't see the problem with having several...) will probably look something like this:


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## weltweit (Dec 11, 2009)

And the I believe worlds best selling motorcycle of all time :











Much loved of pizza delivery people ..


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## weltweit (Dec 11, 2009)

My favourite tralie used to be :


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## nick h. (Dec 11, 2009)

stupid dogbot said:


> Not if they know what they're doing, innit. There's a guy who teaches race lines and track riding with pillions...
> 
> The only Enduro I ever really wanted, long before Ewan and Charlie made the R1200GS trendy with 40 somethings in suits:



Africa Twins are pants. The big joke was that they came with some sort of rally timer thing, as if you could ever compete on one! The R1100GS was triffic - handled better than the 1150. I'll post a pic of mine later.


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## stupid dogbot (Dec 11, 2009)

Did it specify somewhere on the thread that the bike had to be any good? I must have missed that. I thought this was about fantasies...


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## nick h. (Dec 11, 2009)

Well, OK...but wouldn't an NXR-750 Dakar winner be a better fantasy?

If we're going to have rubbish bikes I suppose I can confess my longings for a CX-500 with a massive wedge fairing from Churchgate mouldings with matching panniers.


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## stupid dogbot (Dec 11, 2009)

Thing is, I was 14 when I first saw one of those... doesn't have to make sense, does it?

You're right, I probably wouldn't have one NOW, but I did once lust after it, in that HRC trim that's all. And the NXR is fuck ugly.


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## weltweit (Dec 11, 2009)

I find myself hankering just a bit for a BMW, it must be my age, I kind of fancy the original faired 1000 I forget which model designation but the sporty one. Then there is the one they are selling now with the sporty fairing which might do upside of 150mph, I quite fancy one of those. 

It must be my age!


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## weltweit (Dec 11, 2009)

Has anybody here done the National Rally? 

I did it twice, it was great fun.


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## stupid dogbot (Dec 11, 2009)

I should point out too, there's nothing whatsoever wrong with the R-GS series, they're utterly superb bikes and if I was after that sort of thing, I'd have one in a flash. They've just attracted some right Charlies lately.


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## weltweit (Dec 11, 2009)

I lusted after a used one of these for a while. They were going for about £3k used but I just didn't have the spare sponds at the time. 






eta: I saw them racing at Le Mans one year and going from the stands straight into the first flat out right hander then braking hard into the sharp left before the dunlop bridge .... they looked simply awesome!


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## nick h. (Dec 11, 2009)

stupid dogbot said:


> Thing is, I was 14 when I first saw one of those... doesn't have to make sense, does it?
> 
> You're right, I probably wouldn't have one NOW, but I did once lust after it, in that HRC trim that's all. And the NXR is fuck ugly.




Yebbutt, that's not HRC trim, that's just an HRC sticker! There were some pukka Africa Twins specced up with HRC bits for customers. They were called the Africa Twin Marathon. I think you had to be selected by Honda to get one - the idea being that a whole bunch of customers would compete in the amateur class of the Dakar. http://www.nightwings.org/Marathon/Marathon-home-en.html


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## geminisnake (Dec 11, 2009)

nick h. said:


> If we're going to have rubbish bikes I suppose I can confess my longings for a CX-500 with a massive wedge fairing from Churchgate mouldings with matching panniers.



Don't you be dissing the CX, it was a great bike for doing what it was designed for. Ours broke down ONCE in over 100k+(clock) miles. Coped with everything, kept upright running over a dead sheep at 80mph(it was dark, he didn't see it), went through a foot depth of water at a similar speed, stalled but started again no probs.
It was dead comfy too.
Hubby brightened it up somewhat


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## weltweit (Dec 11, 2009)

what colours geminisnake !!


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## weltweit (Dec 11, 2009)

An Iconic machine .. and unique to look at from both ends :

Ducati 916 











When they came out I though wow drool .. but they were so expensive... and they are so small!


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## Maurice Picarda (Dec 11, 2009)

London_Calling said:


> Did you mention her breasts?


 
It didn't seem to make any difference. Not even for the 600cc Gilera Fuoco Comfort: 





http://www.gadget-paradise.com/news_images/0078_toyota-i-real-mobility-vehicle.jpg


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## Sweet FA (Dec 11, 2009)

weltweit said:


> An Iconic machine .. and unique to look at from both ends


Or just one side; Ducati on a wall on Grand Designs


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## Jambooboo (Dec 11, 2009)

What I want next...


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## stupid dogbot (Dec 11, 2009)

nick h. said:


> Yebbutt, that's not HRC trim, that's just an HRC sticker! There were some pukka Africa Twins specced up with HRC bits for customers. They were called the Africa Twin Marathon. I think you had to be selected by Honda to get one - the idea being that a whole bunch of customers would compete in the amateur class of the Dakar. http://www.nightwings.org/Marathon/Marathon-home-en.html



Probably rather out of my league, eh? 

Anyway...










Bimota DB5-R


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## stupid dogbot (Dec 11, 2009)

MV Agusta F4 Tamburini


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## stupid dogbot (Dec 11, 2009)

Benelli Tornado


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## weltweit (Dec 11, 2009)

A classic, The Kawasaki z900 






And I know it's a photo of a z1000 but I couldn't find any decent ones of a z900 on the web. At least it has spoked wheels like the z900 !!  

Ps: also the z650 was a fine fine machine.


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## weltweit (Dec 11, 2009)

What about the big two strokes that we don't see anymore. 

- Yamaha RD350LC
- Yamaha RD400 (air cooled)
- Suzuki RG500
- Suzuki GT750
- Kawasaki KH250
- Kawasaki KH750 H2 

I doubt we will see their like again.


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## Meltingpot (Dec 11, 2009)

geminisnake said:


> Don't you be dissing the CX, it was a great bike for doing what it was designed for. Ours broke down ONCE in over 100k+(clock) miles. Coped with everything, kept upright running over a dead sheep at 80mph(it was dark, he didn't see it), went through a foot depth of water at a similar speed, stalled but started again no probs.
> It was dead comfy too.
> Hubby brightened it up somewhat



Yep, those are very underrated. It's a good solid practical (and comfy) bike though rather than something to lust after IMO.


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## London_Calling (Dec 11, 2009)

Maurice Picarda said:


> It didn't seem to make any difference. Not even for the 600cc Gilera Fuoco Comfort:


Perhaps she thought you said something else.


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## Meltingpot (Dec 11, 2009)

weltweit said:


> What about the big two strokes that we don't see anymore.
> 
> - Yamaha RD350LC
> - Yamaha RD400 (air cooled)
> ...



Yeah, I knew someone who had a GT750 and it was a good fast bike. I understood those big two-strokes were killed off by the emissions legislation.


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## geminisnake (Dec 11, 2009)

weltweit said:


> What about the big two strokes that we don't see anymore.
> 
> - Yamaha RD350LC
> - Yamaha RD400 (air cooled)
> ...



Two of my favourite bikes and the only reason I would pas my test is if I can have an LC  but hubby keeps saying how they're an old bike now and geting bits can be a pain 

We had an RD400 for a while 

Am I the only female on this thread??


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## newme (Dec 11, 2009)

Partially cos some completely cunt nicked mine. Loved that bike, everything worked perfectly, fun to ride, and so shineh  haha


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## sherriff rosco (Dec 11, 2009)

Sweet FA said:


> My 1st 'proper' bike.



I still hanker for my 350 LC. 

Ahhhh the days of..

Bump starting an F2 tuned LC at the lights when the clutch cable kept failing

Having two stroke stains on your t-shirts because you run pre-mix and the only place to carry a bottle of the stink fluid is down the front of your paddock jacket

Having to ride around at night squinting through the black visor of your Simpson Bandit ... ( pretty useless in the day as well because they were soooo draughty you`d be crying your eyes out over 30 mph)

Spending long nights re-building the top end before trying to get to work on it the next day. ( This also would piss the neighbours right off as spanners do get dropped no matter how carefull you are ..and swearing travels quite far at night?)

Getting into arguments with the 4 stroke boys (" all torque and no go") about who was quickest and then having to leg it after humiliating another GPZ1100 owner at the lights...

I know it was broken into a million pieces by the bloke I sold it too! He didn`t understand the meaning of " don`t rev it past 11k because it will explode!" So the 375LC ... F2 tuned , TZ750 reeds, TZ350 rods 38mm Mikuni powerjets  and Swarbricks was reduced to a cardboard box of scrap.....

Actually I might have to go find some fotos....


.p.


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## Motown_ben (Dec 11, 2009)

WHat about the Britten ? Dont here much about them these days since the guys death. Amazing bike for its time tho.


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## Motown_ben (Dec 11, 2009)

Hondas oval pistoned NR750 from the early / mid 90s I think.

Never the fastest 750 on the planet (only had about 100 bhp at the time and was pretty heavy) BUT it cost £37000 new ( 37 grand!!!) and was built buy honda just to prove a point. Iv never seen one on the road but iv seen one on a wall in shop a few years back.


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## Johnny Canuck3 (Dec 11, 2009)

weltweit said:


> Almost perfect for a ride across America.



By the time you got there, you'd have no kidneys left.


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## Johnny Canuck3 (Dec 11, 2009)

This is the bike I want:


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## weltweit (Dec 11, 2009)

Johnny Canuck2 said:


> By the time you got there, you'd have no kidneys left.



Yes, it's true... 

I do like suspension.. 

But it does look cool!


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## Bernie Gunther (Dec 11, 2009)

weltweit said:


> Brough Superior SS100



Lawrence of Arabia was killed riding one of those.


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## Bernie Gunther (Dec 11, 2009)

Anyone remember the early Kawasaki two-stroke 750 triples? 

Scariest bike ever IMO. Pure fucking adrenaline craziness.


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## Johnny Canuck3 (Dec 11, 2009)

Bernie Gunther said:


> Anyone remember the early Kawasaki two-stroke 750 triples?
> 
> Scariest bike ever IMO. Pure fucking adrenaline craziness.



The first really fast Kawasaki I remember was the Kawasaki 500. I think it was a triple. The bike that really took my breath away after that, was the Kawasaki 900.


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## Bernie Gunther (Dec 11, 2009)

Johnny Canuck2 said:


> The first really fast Kawasaki I remember was the Kawasaki 500. I think it was a triple. The bike that really took my breath away after that, was the Kawasaki 900.



There was a 750 two-stroke that was even scarier, H3 I think it was called. The 500 was pretty hot stuff though.


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## weltweit (Dec 11, 2009)

Bernie Gunther said:


> Anyone remember the early Kawasaki two-stroke 750 triples?
> 
> Scariest bike ever IMO. Pure fucking adrenaline craziness.



Yes, I remember them.

There was a KH250 and a KH750 (H1 and H2) they were air cooled and very rapid. The 750 had a reputation as a wheelie machine. I was looking earlier for a good picture of one but so far can't find one. 

I never rode one though. Didn't see too many of them in my neck of the woods.

eta: this is a KH750 but made into a cafe racer.. very non original. (still can't find an orig pic)


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## Sigmund Fraud (Dec 12, 2009)

Yam TZ750 (OW31)


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## Fedayn (Dec 12, 2009)

Lambretta SX 200


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## Jambooboo (Dec 12, 2009)

Meh, I really don't like (hyper) sports bikes/crotch rockets - given the choice of a Suzuki Hayabusa or a (Hayabusa-powered) Suzuki B-King, I'd go for the latter every time.


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## weltweit (Dec 12, 2009)

This, Suzuki GS1000 was quite a useful tool of its day, (Pre GSX and GSXR models.)


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## Meltingpot (Dec 13, 2009)

This one's complete lunacy. Probably the biggest and heaviest motorbike ever;

http://www.themotorreport.com.au/3568/monster-motorbike-coming-to-2008-melbourne-motor-show/


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## Meltingpot (Dec 13, 2009)

weltweit said:


> This, Suzuki GS1000 was quite a useful tool of its day, (Pre GSX and GSXR models.)



Yeah, it was, and the GS850 had a lot of fans too. Maybe I'm showing my age here but I like conservatively-styled bikes like that better than the newer, more wraparound ones.


----------



## Garek (Dec 13, 2009)

The new, unrealsed Triumph Sprint.

Or a new, modern Yamaha FZS600. My hopes are on a FZ8 Fazer that delivers where the FZ6 Fazer failed to.


----------



## Libertad (Dec 13, 2009)

Meltingpot said:


> I see a Vincent parked near the off licence in Liskeard sometimes. I don't know whether it's a Black Shadow or not, but it's a smart and classy machine.


 Yep, I've seen that beast too, I think it lives somewhere around Upton Cross.


----------



## beesonthewhatnow (Dec 13, 2009)

Yeah, it'll handle like shit etc, who cares?  Turn up on a plastic race rep with matching leathers and people will think you're a knob.

Turn up on that and girls will want to sleep with you


----------



## weltweit (Dec 13, 2009)

beesonthewhatnow said:


> Turn up on that and girls will want to sleep with you



Yes, possibly, but lacking a pillion seat or any pegs you will not be able to get said nubile back to your pad easily. She will have to follow in a taxi


----------



## geminisnake (Dec 13, 2009)

beesonthewhatnow said:


> Turn up on that and girls will want to sleep with you



What?? After they've stopped laughing??? 
Plus, would you ever actually get there?? 

Nice engine but those pipes, eeeww. Fantail or peashooter pipes woulda been better. I'm a big fan of them


----------



## Meltingpot (Dec 13, 2009)

Two ultra-rare European bikes from the '70s. My cousin reckons he's seen the first of these (the Van Veen) in Plymouth but I haven't seen either.

*Van Veen OCR 1000*

http://www.bikeexif.com/van-veen-ocr-1000

http://www.bikez.com/motorcycles/van_veen_ocr_1000_1977.php

*Munch Mammoth 1200*

http://www.thecreeper.net/munch.htm

http://www.motorcyclespecs.co.za/model/munch/munch_mammoth_tts1200.htm


----------



## weltweit (Dec 13, 2009)

Does anyone remember the 1000cc flat twin air cooled BMW bikes, one with a high fairing, one with a lower fairing and one with a bikini fairing? I think they hailed from the 70s but can't be sure. 

I have been trying to find images of the one with the full but low height fairing as it is one of my favourite bikes and I would like to own one. All I can find is modern (very modern) bmw bikes or lots of cars.

What I want is the full model number so I can find images of it.


----------



## Pingu (Dec 13, 2009)

weltweit said:


> What about the big two strokes that we don't see anymore.
> 
> - Yamaha RD350LC
> - Yamaha RD400 (air cooled)
> ...


 

you missed out the daddy








the only bike i have ever had that NEEDED a steering damper and would pop whellies at 70


----------



## weltweit (Dec 13, 2009)

BMW R100RS 

I never wanted one before, but now they are kind of growing on me. Being able to cruise at 100 behind that fairing might be nice on continental jaunts.


----------



## weltweit (Dec 13, 2009)

Pingu said:


> you missed out the daddy
> 
> the only bike i have ever had that NEEDED a steering damper and would pop whellies at 70



Yes you are right .. .forgot about that beaut completely..


----------



## Pingu (Dec 13, 2009)

weltweit said:


> Yes you are right .. .forgot about that beaut completely..


 

http://www.zombieware.com/pics/2008/rd500r.jpg (big picture)

please please please please 
please please please please 
please please please please 
please please please please 
please please please please 
please please please please 
please please please please make it

also 






i really realy wanted one of these when younger

and its big brother


----------



## Pingu (Dec 13, 2009)

in fact for 2010 I am going to find an 1100 kat and buy it. Its been years since i did a project bike, last one was a rd400 (coffin tank) - never known a bike go through piston rings so quickly


----------



## Sweet FA (Dec 13, 2009)

sherriff rosco said:


> I still hanker for my 350 LC


Mine was a 250 but the drawbacks are pretty similar


----------



## Sigmund Fraud (Dec 13, 2009)

weltweit said:


> Does anyone remember the 1000cc flat twin air cooled BMW bikes, one with a high fairing, one with a lower fairing and one with a bikini fairing? I think they hailed from the 70s but can't be sure.
> 
> I have been trying to find images of the one with the full but low height fairing as it is one of my favourite bikes and I would like to own one. All I can find is modern (very modern) bmw bikes or lots of cars.
> 
> What I want is the full model number so I can find images of it.



R90s?  





It had twin Del Ortos instead of the stock Czech bings, less restrictive pipes and Marzocchi forks and shocks.  In its day it made more power than a Z1 and out handled anything Japan INC could build.


----------



## Sigmund Fraud (Dec 13, 2009)

Speaking of Z1s, no thread like this is complete without one.


----------



## weltweit (Dec 13, 2009)

I liked the look of these: (but only the part faired versions not the full faired) 

Yamaha FZ750 






five valves per cylinder!


----------



## stupid dogbot (Dec 13, 2009)

It's a beast. There's essentially one man who can tame it. But when he does (and he's not sick), as often as not, everyone else gets left behind.


----------



## nick h. (Dec 14, 2009)

Sigmund Fraud said:


> R90s?
> 
> 
> 
> ...



I think he means the R100s and R100CS (which were virtually identical) and the R100RT. All the 100s had virtually identical engines. The R90 was slightly earlier.

R100S






R100CS 






R100RT


----------



## weltweit (Dec 14, 2009)

It was this one I was thinking of. I found the model number on a BMW website. 



weltweit said:


> BMW R100RS


----------



## nick h. (Dec 14, 2009)

Good choice.  I like them best with the single seat:


----------



## ViolentPanda (Dec 14, 2009)

weltweit said:


> Does anyone remember the 1000cc flat twin air cooled BMW bikes, one with a high fairing, one with a lower fairing and one with a bikini fairing? I think they hailed from the 70s but can't be sure.
> 
> I have been trying to find images of the one with the full but low height fairing as it is one of my favourite bikes and I would like to own one. All I can find is modern (very modern) bmw bikes or lots of cars.
> 
> What I want is the full model number so I can find images of it.



R100/7 (late 70s/early 80s) were sold stock with fairings (earlier were optional IIRC).


----------



## ViolentPanda (Dec 14, 2009)

weltweit said:


> It was this one I was thinking of. I found the model number on a BMW website.



There's something about BMWs with fairing that just doesn't look "right" to me. Sidecars with MG40s mounted on them, yes. Fairings, no.


----------



## nick h. (Dec 14, 2009)

ViolentPanda said:


> R100/7 (late 70s/early 80s) were sold stock with fairings (earlier were optional IIRC).



Eh? The 100/7 was the base model with no fairing.


----------



## Meltingpot (Dec 14, 2009)

*The Triumph Rocket 3*

Subtle this one isn't (it's got a bigger engine than many cars);

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triumph_Rocket_III


----------



## stupid dogbot (Dec 14, 2009)

Hehe. 

Pistons the same size as those in a Dodge Viper. 

(one of my colleagues owns one of those. nice bike)


----------



## beesonthewhatnow (Dec 14, 2009)

Meltingpot said:


> Subtle this one isn't (it's got a bigger engine than many cars);
> 
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triumph_Rocket_III



Pah, that's a teeny weeny bike!

Compared to a BossHoss anyway:






6200cc
445 horsepower
445 ft/lb torque


----------



## stupid dogbot (Dec 14, 2009)

3 weeks to turn in the road...


----------



## beesonthewhatnow (Dec 14, 2009)

stupid dogbot said:


> 3 weeks to turn in the road...



Who needs to turn?  I imagine that thing will go through anything it can't go round


----------



## ViolentPanda (Dec 14, 2009)

nick h. said:


> Eh? The 100/7 was the base model with no fairing.


Hmmm, I remember perving on one back in the day that had a stock fairing. Could have been a factory-option order that didn't sell and ended up at the dealership, I suppose.


----------



## stupid dogbot (Dec 14, 2009)

beesonthewhatnow said:


> Who needs to turn?  I imagine that thing will go through anything it can't go round



Fair point!


----------



## geminisnake (Dec 14, 2009)

Meltingpot said:


> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triumph_Rocket_III



Thought I'd post a better photo coz my mate has got one. It sounds brilliant


----------



## cliche guevara (Dec 14, 2009)

Meltingpot said:


> Subtle this one isn't (it's got a bigger engine than many cars);
> 
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triumph_Rocket_III



The new Thunderbird is much nicer than the Rocket III, was lucky enough to be at the Triumph factory a few weeks ago to see the new colours. Must say their stand at the NEC was very popular, they're gonna do well out of the next couple of years.


----------



## stupid dogbot (Dec 15, 2009)

There was a modded "Gulf" (as in the Fuel company) German Rocket III in MCN last week. Looked utterly crazy.


----------



## stupid dogbot (Dec 15, 2009)

http://www.rsrocket.com/home/


----------



## weltweit (Dec 15, 2009)

Anyone remember the era of the Kawasaki GPz ... 

There was the GPz900 .. perhaps the first 160mph road machine, with a small front wheel. 

Then there was the GPz1100 aircooled which I liked a lot.


----------



## beesonthewhatnow (Dec 15, 2009)

stupid dogbot said:


>



Want.

Want want want want want.


----------



## weltweit (Dec 15, 2009)

beesonthewhatnow said:


> Want.
> 
> Want want want want want.



I would prefer a Yamaha V Max .. and I bet it would be more usable!!


----------



## beesonthewhatnow (Dec 15, 2009)

weltweit said:


> I would prefer a Yamaha V Max .. and I bet it would be more usable!!



But wouldn't look anything like as cool.


----------



## stupid dogbot (Dec 15, 2009)

weltweit said:


> I would prefer a Yamaha V Max .. and I bet it would be more usable!!



V Max? Do you mean the new one?






Ugggh.


----------



## weltweit (Dec 15, 2009)

stupid dogbot said:


> V Max? Do you mean the new one?
> 
> Ugggh.



no, this one:


----------



## stupid dogbot (Dec 15, 2009)

Even worse. If Alan Partridge rode a cruiser...


----------



## spawnofsatan (Dec 15, 2009)

stupid dogbot said:


> Even worse. If Alan Partridge rode a cruiser...



Faster than an R1 away from the lights though...

When I move to the states, I fancy one of these.

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_0mzZVT8Q0l4/S...Harley Davidson VRSCDX NightRod Special-3.jpg

(Awaits abuse)


----------



## beesonthewhatnow (Dec 15, 2009)

spawnofsatan said:


> Faster than an R1 away from the lights though...
> 
> When I move to the states, I fancy one of these.
> 
> ...



No abuse from me, I'd love one


----------



## spawnofsatan (Dec 15, 2009)

beesonthewhatnow said:


> No abuse from me, I'd love one



I've seen a pic where everything on the bike is black, pipes, brake handles etc, nasty in such a good way.


----------



## stupid dogbot (Dec 15, 2009)

spawnofsatan said:


> Faster than an R1 away from the lights though...



Yeah, but look at it! 

And then try cornering. You'll be in the hedge as I fly past.


----------



## spawnofsatan (Dec 15, 2009)

I used to have a full power V-max in the 80's it was fun, but as you say, not one for getting your knee down on.

The new max is ridiculously overpriced.

Anybody bother picking up one of the cheap Buells on offer, I was tempted, but my hooligan days are over.


----------



## stupid dogbot (Dec 15, 2009)

My mate has a Lightning, and as you say, it's a hoolie machine.

In a similar vein to the V (or actually, Night) Rod up there, Victory make some cracking looking cruiser bikes, I reckon:







Hammer S






8 Ball






Cory Ness Jackpot Ltd


----------



## cliche guevara (Dec 15, 2009)

I had a little perv over those last week as well, they seemed very popular. Will probably attract a lot of UK Harley riders after they all realise what horrendously unreliable heaps of shit they're currently riding, or when H-D goes bust (I'm guessing within twelve months). 112 000 bike recalled ffs


----------



## beesonthewhatnow (Dec 15, 2009)




----------



## spawnofsatan (Dec 15, 2009)

beesonthewhatnow said:


>




Can you imagine having to clean that!

I might enter the world of rat and survival bikes, always liked that look, bet you get pulled over by plod a lot though.

http://www.ratbike.org/a_readers.php


----------



## sir.clip (Dec 15, 2009)

The Baron built at Baron's Speed Shop, London.


----------



## cliche guevara (Dec 15, 2009)

That's a bit of a looker. What engine is it?


----------



## spawnofsatan (Dec 15, 2009)

That's beautiful.


----------



## stupid dogbot (Dec 15, 2009)

cliche guevara said:


> I had a little perv over those last week as well, they seemed very popular. Will probably attract a lot of UK Harley riders after they all realise what horrendously unreliable heaps of shit they're currently riding, or when H-D goes bust (I'm guessing within twelve months). 112 000 bike recalled ffs



I know of the Victorys mainly because a mate's just got rid of his Sportster XLC1200, with the intention of getting a Hammer. They don't build a lot of bikes, but I think they're lovely, and from what I read, they're good to ride and far more reliable than the Harleys, who seem to be gradually slipping down the tubes.

The Baron is awesome.


----------



## weltweit (Dec 15, 2009)

cliche guevara said:


> That's a bit of a looker. What engine is it?



Pre Unit Triumph with cast iron head. Possibly 650cc


----------



## stupid dogbot (Dec 16, 2009)

The Saxon Henchman

Cracking name, ace looking bike.


----------



## Jambooboo (Dec 16, 2009)

beesonthewhatnow said:


>



Chubby back wheels give me a chubby.


----------



## stupid dogbot (Dec 16, 2009)

Jambooboo said:


> Chubby back wheels give me a chubby.





Check out some of the wheels on these, then...

http://www.streetfighters.nl/


----------



## Sigmund Fraud (Dec 16, 2009)

Too many chops spoilt the broth...





Guzzi V7 sport


----------



## stupid dogbot (Dec 16, 2009)

Sigmund Fraud said:


> Too many chops spoilt the broth...



For me too, as it goes... but some of those back wheels are nuts.


----------



## Pingu (Dec 16, 2009)

^^ possibly the most fuel inefficient bike i have ever owned but jebus what fun to ride

in the fun stakes this was the second most fun bike i have ever had


----------



## stupid dogbot (Dec 16, 2009)

THE two dream bikes of my youth.


----------



## Meltingpot (Dec 17, 2009)

stupid dogbot said:


> V Max? Do you mean the new one?
> 
> 
> 
> ...



I can't explain this; I think it's ugly but at the same time I like the look of it, in an odd kind of way. It's got character and looks almost human. Same as I'm probably the only person who liked the last Ford Scorpio.


----------



## Pingu (Dec 17, 2009)

stupid dogbot said:


> THE two dream bikes of my youth.


 

they were both pretty ace bikes. the rgv had the best handling of any bike i have ever ridden and was possibly the most fun - on a good day though I got 19 to the gallon. the NC30 had awesome brakes and a sweet engine note -  was nearly as much fun as the rgv but there was always a slight fear about stacking it and it didnt have that two stroke mentalness.


----------



## ViolentPanda (Dec 17, 2009)

Sigmund Fraud said:


> Too many chops spoilt the broth...
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Awesome bike, looks like it wants to pounce and rip your throat out.


----------



## Pingu (Dec 17, 2009)

awesome bike apart from the bendy toy frame that meant you could only do 5 mph


----------



## Dandred (Dec 17, 2009)




----------



## stupid dogbot (Dec 17, 2009)

Not in green?


----------



## Meltingpot (Dec 17, 2009)

ViolentPanda said:


> Awesome bike, looks like it wants to pounce and rip your throat out.



Yeah, Guzzis are/were good bikes and not bad value for money. When I was at Cranfield (college) I knew two people who had one; both 850s, a California and a Le Mans.


----------



## weltweit (Dec 17, 2009)

Meltingpot said:


> Yeah, Guzzis are/were good bikes and not bad value for money. When I was at Cranfield (college) I knew two people who had one; both 850s, a California and a Le Mans.



Can you remember the magazine adverts for them: 

"Long legged and easy to live with!"


----------



## Meltingpot (Dec 17, 2009)

Just about. What I remember best was, "Take a(nother?) look at the excellence of Moto Guzzi you get a lot more for your money!" And that was how it was punctuated.


----------



## weltweit (Dec 17, 2009)

A friend of mine had Moto Guzzis ..


----------



## Meltingpot (Dec 18, 2009)

Nice bike. What year / vintage is that?


----------



## weltweit (Dec 18, 2009)

Meltingpot said:


> Nice bike. What year / vintage is that?



Oh that is just a pic from the interweb.

Don't know what it is for sure. I think it is an 850 Le Mans, but it could be a 1,000cc. It is custom because it has spoked wheels and larger brake disks.


----------



## mrs quoad (Dec 18, 2009)

I googled 'bicycle porn.'

First hit is blazingly NSFW.

http://theworldisinsane.com/wp-content/plugins/wp-o-matic/cache/b88b2_bicycle_sex.jpg


----------



## beesonthewhatnow (Dec 18, 2009)

mrs quoad said:


> I googled 'bicycle porn.'
> 
> First hit is blazingly NSFW.
> 
> http://theworldisinsane.com/wp-content/plugins/wp-o-matic/cache/b88b2_bicycle_sex.jpg



Awesome


----------



## Meltingpot (Dec 18, 2009)

weltweit said:


> Oh that is just a pic from the interweb.
> 
> Don't know what it is for sure. I think it is an 850 Le Mans, but it could be a 1,000cc. It is custom because it has spoked wheels and larger brake disks.



Thanks, I knew it was one I didn't recognise (not that I'm any kind of expert).


----------



## weltweit (Dec 18, 2009)

Meltingpot said:


> Thanks, I knew it was one I didn't recognise (not that I'm any kind of expert).



But it is a pretty handsome machine no? 

I have a friend who used to race them, his race bike was a beauty.


----------



## DownwardDog (Dec 18, 2009)

Couple techno-retro tribute bikes from RetroSBK in CA.

Wayne Rainey






Wes Cooley


----------



## weltweit (Dec 18, 2009)

The Bikini fairing on the blue/white one looks like a Suzuki GS1000GS fairing. 

They both look very nice bikes indeed! 

Sort of streetfighter style


----------



## Sigmund Fraud (Dec 18, 2009)

If Darth Vader was a motorbike...


----------



## weltweit (Dec 18, 2009)

Is that a Suzuki ? 

I don't really like black bikes, there was craze for doing it (spraying everything black) when I was a lad, one jerk even sprayed over the speedo and revcounter glass so he could not see how fast he was going. Idiot!!


----------



## DownwardDog (Dec 18, 2009)

weltweit said:


> Is that a Suzuki ?



It's a Suzuki GS1200SS from 2002-4. It was a factory retro based on a 1200 Bandit. It was never imported into the UK being a Japan and, for some unfathomable reason, New Zealand only model.


----------



## Sigmund Fraud (Dec 18, 2009)

Yeah its a Japan only model - GS1200ss - based on the bandit 1200 but made to look like a mid 80s endurance racer.

Everybody was spraying everything black in the 80s.  Our local bike shop used to do a roaring trade in PJ1 (don't know if you can still buy it, urban legend says it was made by the same folk that made the paint for stealth bombers)


----------



## Meltingpot (Dec 18, 2009)

weltweit said:


> But it is a pretty handsome machine no?



Yes it is.



weltweit said:


> I have a friend who used to race them, his race bike was a beauty.



I'll bet. I assume he was racing for a hobby rather than professionally?


----------



## nick h. (Dec 18, 2009)

Suzuki did a Wes Cooley replica GSX1400, but only for the Japanese market. 






I think I'd probably have that in my garage, but it would have to be properly race prepped with lush bits: 











Here's Wes on the real thing:


----------



## weltweit (Dec 19, 2009)

Suzuki TL1000S






I used to like these a lot, a cheaper ducati perhaps but the first iteration with just the bikini fairing I really liked the look of. Once it was fully faired I didn't like it at all. (I felt the same way about the Yamaha FZ750, loved the bikini faired but loathed the full faired) I rode about with one for a ride and they sure can move.


----------



## Sigmund Fraud (Dec 19, 2009)

weltweit said:


> Suzuki TL1000S



AKA 'The Widowmaker'.  The Ducati importer promised to eat his hat if this suzuki made over 120bhp at the dyno...needless to say it did.

They sound fantastic on carbon cans.


----------



## weltweit (Dec 19, 2009)

Sigmund Fraud said:


> AKA 'The Widowmaker'.  The Ducati importer promised to eat his hat if this suzuki made over 120bhp at the dyno...needless to say it did.
> 
> They sound fantastic on carbon cans.



Yes, the one I rode with had loud pipes, it sounded great. 

The first ones needed steering dampers apparently, would otherwise flick their riders off at inopportune moments.



eta: so, did the Ducati importer then do what he promised and Eat his Hat!!  I hope so.


----------



## Meltingpot (Dec 19, 2009)

*The Honda Valkyrie Rune*

Another totally OTT bike, a cruiser for the American market;

http://image.motorcyclecruiser.com/f/9428355/xl+2004_honda_valkyrie_rune+ride_left_view.jpg


----------



## Sigmund Fraud (Dec 19, 2009)

weltweit said:


> eta: so, did the Ducati importer then do what he promised and Eat his Hat!!  I hope so.



He did some forefit for MCN, can't remember. He took it on the chin.  It wasn't a special tester bike either that'd been tuned (like naughty kawasaki do), it was off a dealers floor.


----------



## weltweit (Dec 19, 2009)

Meltingpot said:


> Another totally OTT bike, a cruiser for the American market;
> 
> http://image.motorcyclecruiser.com/f/9428355/xl+2004_honda_valkyrie_rune+ride_left_view.jpg



A totally ridiculous machine!!!


----------



## Meltingpot (Dec 19, 2009)

Isn't it just?


----------



## weltweit (Dec 19, 2009)

I suppose it was inevitable since the creation of the Goldwing:


----------



## Meltingpot (Dec 20, 2009)

Yeah, and after that you had the Aspencade which added a few more trimmings and some more kit. The wiki traces the bike's evolution between the earliest Gold Wings and the Valkyrie;

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_Gold_Wing

and some more about the Valkyrie;

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_Valkyrie


----------



## Meltingpot (Dec 20, 2009)

*MV Agusta 850 Magni*

A classic (and expensive) bike from 1978;

http://www.motorcyclespecs.co.za/Gallery C/Mv Agusta 850 Magni.jpg


----------



## Meltingpot (Jan 30, 2011)

*Moto Guzzi V7 Classic*

I saw one of these recently, and I like it a lot;

http://www.realclassic.co.uk/motoguzziv7classic.html

Who really _needs_ 150 bhp on a motorbike?


----------



## weltweit (Jan 30, 2011)

Meltingpot said:


> *Moto Guzzi V7 Classic*
> 
> I saw one of these recently, and I like it a lot;
> 
> ...


 
Never ridden a Moto Guzzi, but 49bhp does not sound a lot, my last bike only had 62bhp and sometimes I felt I needed a good bit more than that to keep up ..


----------



## stupid dogbot (Jan 30, 2011)

Meltingpot said:


> Who really _needs_ 150 bhp on a motorbike?


 
Well, not me, honestly. But it sure is a whole lot of fun...


----------



## Meltingpot (Feb 2, 2011)

weltweit said:


> Never ridden a Moto Guzzi, but 49bhp does not sound a lot, my last bike only had 62bhp and sometimes I felt I needed a good bit more than that to keep up ..


 
Yeah I know what you mean. I remember the late seventies when 100 bhp was a big deal for a motorbike (when the first Jap 1000 cc superbikes such as the Honda CBX, Suzuki GS1000 and Yamaha XS1100 came out). Now it's almost standard for a big bike to have that and more.


----------



## Meltingpot (Feb 2, 2011)

stupid dogbot said:


> Well, not me, honestly. But it sure is a whole lot of fun...



I'll take your word for that. I have a cousin who used to have a Hayabusa a while back; some powerful bike that was.


----------



## weltweit (Feb 2, 2011)

Meltingpot said:


> superbikes sich as the Honda CBX, Suzuki GS1000 and Yamaha XS1100


 
Real motorbikes  I used to love the idea of an XS1100 .. but I was riding an SR500 at the time.


----------



## RubyToogood (Feb 5, 2011)

I no longer need porn as I am entirely happy in my current relationship.


----------



## Stanley Edwards (Feb 5, 2011)

I saw something called a 690 DukeR yesterday. Saw it real - in the flesh. I so fucking well want. Suspect it was a Kawasaki, but didn't get that close.

Next time maybe


----------



## stupid dogbot (Feb 5, 2011)

That'll be a KTM. 690 twin, nice bike. But the 990 Super Duke is nicer...


----------



## DownwardDog (Feb 5, 2011)

weltweit said:


> Never ridden a Moto Guzzi, but 49bhp does not sound a lot, my last bike only had 62bhp and sometimes I felt I needed a good bit more than that to keep up ..


 
I had a V7 loaner last week when my Griso was getting service. Very nice bike, but small - it felt like riding a BMX. All Guzzis, except the 4 cylinder ones, are awesome. That's a motorcycle fact.


----------



## Motown_ben (Feb 7, 2011)

Meltingpot said:


> A classic (and expensive) bike from 1978;
> 
> http://www.motorcyclespecs.co.za/Gallery C/Mv Agusta 850 Magni.jpg


 
Thats very nice indeed.


----------



## weltweit (Feb 7, 2011)

Motown_ben said:


> Thats very nice indeed.


 
Yes, air cooled straight four ...  no messy radiators


----------



## weltweit (Feb 7, 2011)




----------



## stupid dogbot (Feb 7, 2011)

Anyone been watching Cafe Racer on Discovery Turbo, recently? Some of the bikes on there they've built have been gorgeous. 






1968 Honda CB450 "Brass Cafe" by http://www.dimecitycycles.com/


----------



## Motown_ben (Feb 9, 2011)

stupid dogbot said:


> Anyone been watching Cafe Racer on Discovery Turbo, recently? Some of the bikes on there they've built have been gorgeous.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 
Yeah iv seen a few episodes of it, Gotta say that some of em have been fucking terrible as well though. Saw one the other night where they were adapting a modern Honda Hornet (looked like a hornet but i missed the start of the ep) into a cafe racer style and the outcome was truly shit. 

It got crashed on a test run aswell because one of the builders had failed to tighten something on the front spindle i think . Still it was probably for the best as it looked hideous.


----------



## Motown_ben (Feb 9, 2011)

weltweit said:


>


 
Everything about that just looks "right".


----------



## Motown_ben (Feb 9, 2011)

A more modern Guzzi, Not sure what though, a special of some sort, quite like it though.


----------



## Sigmund Fraud (Feb 9, 2011)

stupid dogbot said:


> That'll be a KTM. 690 twin, nice bike. But the 990 Super Duke is nicer...


 
Its a single.  At 71.9bhp it is also the most powerful single ever made.


----------



## stupid dogbot (Feb 9, 2011)

A thumper. Of course it is. Silly me.


----------



## Spymaster (Feb 9, 2011)

There's a sad lack of Ducati's on this thread.


----------



## Garek (Feb 9, 2011)

You forgot the funny, but awesome, looking 999


----------



## Motown_ben (Feb 9, 2011)

Certainly different eh?

Confederate Motorcycles, I shouldnt imagine its great for touring though


----------



## stupid dogbot (Feb 9, 2011)

I rode the 1198 last year.

Deeply, deeply unimpressive, even more so considering the cost (£5k more than most in class, pre-mods). Easily, comprehensively beaten in every category (including looks, imo) by all of the Japanese 1000s.



Motown_ben said:


> Yeah iv seen a few episodes of it, Gotta say that some of em have been fucking terrible as well though. Saw one the other night where they were adapting a modern Honda Hornet (looked like a hornet but i missed the start of the ep) into a cafe racer style and the outcome was truly shit.
> 
> It got crashed on a test run aswell because one of the builders had failed to tighten something on the front spindle i think . Still it was probably for the best as it looked hideous.


 
I don't think I saw that one. But most of the bikes were beautifully done.


----------



## weltweit (Feb 9, 2011)

I rode motorbikes since the age of 16 till 36

Haven't ridden a bike of any description at all in the last 10 years.


----------



## geminisnake (Feb 9, 2011)

Spymaster said:


> There's a sad lack of Ducati's on this thread.


 
No, there wasn't


----------



## stupid dogbot (Feb 9, 2011)

Ducatis are for fashionistas and fairweathers, really.

If you were going to buy something like that now and you had sense, you'd go for the S1000RR or the R1, cos they're both superb and the Ducati is ordinary, aging and creaky.


----------



## Part 2 (Feb 9, 2011)




----------



## Part 2 (Feb 9, 2011)

Have we had any Falcons yet?


----------



## RubyToogood (Feb 10, 2011)

This is like that porn you stumble across occasionally that opens your eyes to a whole new area of deviance whose existence you'd never been aware of before.


----------



## stupid dogbot (Feb 10, 2011)

Chip Barm said:


> Have we had any Falcons yet?


 
That's _gorgeous_.


----------



## stupid dogbot (Feb 10, 2011)

How about this...






Not the greatest view, but that's the NorVin 1000cc Cafe Racer, half Norton, half Vincent.


----------



## Garek (Feb 10, 2011)

stupid dogbot said:


> Ducatis are for fashionistas and fairweathers, really.


 
I do agree with you, however there are one or two which make me slightly weak at the knees.


----------



## stupid dogbot (Feb 10, 2011)

Yeah, I'm being intentionally harsh, really. I rode a Monster on a stunt riding course and it was a decent bike. And I like how the 1198 looks, just not how it rides. My mate bought an RSV4 last year for about the same price and he couldn't believe after riding both that people would still consider the Ducati. But it's about buying a badge for a lot of 'em.

I'll tell you a Ducati owner story...

I was sitting on my bike last summer, outside a garage with a group of mates, whilst one of our number is awaiting the mechanic to change the front tyre on his Gixxer. We're all on sports bikes, me on the R1. This guy turns up to meet his mate (whose Aprilia RSV Mille is currently front wheel-less on the ramps) on a 749. He's your classic mid-40s weekend warrior on a Duke. Branded Ducati one piece leathers, fancy sunglasses, mid-range "racing" lid. He sits and talks to us, telling us all about how the hand-built Italians are so much better than the "soulless, machine-built" Japaneses, which we all happen to be riding. 

His mate comes out with his bike, and he starts his 749 up. It sounds _terrible_. The mechanic wanders over and says "excuse me, mate. you know that's only firing on one of its cylinders, don't you".

Gales of laughter, including his mate on the (much nicer) Mille.

Bloke rides off in a huff.

Typical Ducati owner.


----------



## Garek (Feb 10, 2011)

Heh 



stupid dogbot said:


> He sits and talks to us, telling us all about how the hand-built Italians are so much better than the "soulless, machine-built" Japaneses, which we all happen to be riding.



I hate this argument, this kind of elitist bollocks. It means fuck all. I go to Rye every now in the Summer on a Sunday. Lot's of bikes there but it is pretty alienating. Loads of middle aged blokes in one pieces riding, sorry posing next to, gleaming bits of metal.

It does not surprise me one bit when I read that the average age of a bike is rising year on year.

EDIT: Hmm not very coherent thought banging round my head on this issue, but there something that bothers me about the atmosphere of a lot of these Sunday bike meets.


----------



## stupid dogbot (Feb 10, 2011)

Yeah, agreed. The Japanese factories aren't just bulk producers, they're precision operations. Yes, they churn out a thousand machines in the time it takes the Italians to build two, but their quality control is pretty stringent. The only Euro-built bikes that have the same build-quality feel I've ridden have been the Beamers - an R1150GS and obviously, the S1000. I sure there are others, but I hate this idea that it must be hand built to be "worthy".

The R1 gets pleasant attention, mostly. People come and look at it, and it's all very relaxed and chatty. One bloke with a '98 asked if he could sit on it to see how it felt, as he'd thought about buying one. Mostly, I get questions about the crossplane and how it works, which leads to quickly glazing expressions.

I really don't mind the Dukes themselves, but for those guys with that attitude, I say you'll have a job staying on my back wheel out of a corner... 

I grew up on battered scramblers and filthy, borrowed Gas-Gas trials bikes. Having something shiny at all is a huge bonus to me.


----------



## Garek (Feb 10, 2011)

stupid dogbot said:


> Having something shiny at all is a huge bonus to me.


 
If I had a garage I would certainly get me self one it has to be said. I'd quite like a ZX-6R.


----------



## Part 2 (Feb 10, 2011)

stupid dogbot said:


> That's _gorgeous_.


 
Guess you may have googled already but here's the link anyway...10 bikes built around classic british engines

http://www.falconmotorcycles.com/index.php


----------



## geminisnake (Feb 10, 2011)

LOL @ the duke owner  I've met some decent ducati owners as well as some right tits but you get tits on most bikes these days ime. 

That Falcon is well tasty!!


----------



## DownwardDog (Feb 11, 2011)

stupid dogbot said:


> Yeah, agreed. The Japanese factories aren't just bulk producers, they're precision operations. Yes, they churn out a thousand machines in the time it takes the Italians to build two, but their quality control is pretty stringent.


 
In terms of fit and finish, my 999 was far superior to the RC45 I had before it. The 999 was superbly designed and put together whereas the RC45 had a super cheap finish and lots of nasty fasteners. The 999 electrics were a fucking nightmare though as a cable got crimped, probably in the PDI at the dealer, and it took months of intermittent faults to trace the problem. I had 3 R1s from 2003-2006 and they were all faultless but I don't think I could bring myself to own the current "surprised toad" one.

The 999R is a cast iron future classic though, if I could find a nice one that hadn't been raced, dropped or modded I would buy it.


----------



## weltweit (Feb 11, 2011)

Chip Barm said:


>


 
That is quite a cool photo... 

Big V twin..

No front brakes or suspension. 

Drifting back and front wheels

No foot down on the inside 

No gloves 

One cool dude  

The only thing bothering me is that it seems 
he could cut the flow of air into the carb with 
his right knee quite easily ..


----------



## stupid dogbot (Feb 11, 2011)

DownwardDog said:


> I don't think I could bring myself to own the current "surprised toad" one.



It has split opinions, certainly. I didn't like it the first time I saw it in the dealer. Which is funny, because I _love_ it now... but I think the 999 is a rather odd looking thing unless you catch it from the right angle. I do quite like the look of the 998 (without the stacked micro headlights), though.

If I had to pick one, I like the looks of the Desmo, but it's not really a practical bike. Oh, and Jason Statham has one. 

Personal taste is strange, eh?


----------



## Sigmund Fraud (Feb 11, 2011)

DownwardDog said:


> In terms of fit and finish, my 999 was far superior to the RC45 I had before it. The 999 was superbly designed and put together whereas the RC45 had a super cheap finish and lots of nasty fasteners.


 
The RC45 probably isn't the best example of Honda or indeed Japanese factory output - it was a race homologation special made by HRC after all...but saying that the RC30 was like a Swiss watch in the build quality stakes.


----------



## stupid dogbot (Feb 11, 2011)

Yeah, by and large, Honda are famed for their build quality, aren't they?

There's a Y-reg Pan European down the road from me, and it doesn't even rattle. It's done 65,000 miles, never been garaged and it still looks and feels _brand new_.


----------



## weltweit (Sep 5, 2013)

I have a hankering for one of these:


----------



## yardbird (Sep 5, 2013)

In the 70s I had one of these and loved it - later traded up to a 750 four. Big mistake, size isn't all.


----------



## yardbird (Sep 5, 2013)

These were ultra cool in my time


----------



## Sprocket. (Sep 5, 2013)

The Honda CB 500 Four was one on the best examples of leading edge engineering when they came out.
Classic machine, cracking photo.


----------



## weltweit (Sep 5, 2013)

I remember someone who had a CB500 four chopper. It was always a bit of a pain going places with him because he was so slow. To be fair I think it was nigh on unrideable!


----------



## weltweit (Sep 6, 2013)

yardbird said:


> These were ultra cool in my time


 
I saw a Honda CBX1000 drag bike a couple of years ago, it was so low and the engine so wide that he hardly needed a sidestand, he could just lean it on the engine!!


----------



## yardbird (Sep 6, 2013)

weltweit said:


> I saw a Honda CBX1000 drag bike a couple of years ago, it was so low and the engine so wide that he hardly needed a sidestand, he could just lean it on the engine!!



Which immediately reminded me of Peter Morton the founder of The Hard Rock Cafe, who indulged himself and bought an Electaglide (yeah I know ).
When you stop at traffic lights take your feet off the running boards and place them on the ground,
or at least be strong enough to get from underneath  it.


----------



## weltweit (Sep 6, 2013)

yardbird said:


> Which immediately reminded me of Peter Morton the founder of The Hard Rock Cafe, who indulged himself and bought an Electaglide (yeah I know ).
> When you stop at traffic lights take your feet off the running boards and place them on the ground,
> or at least be strong enough to get from underneath  it.


 
I took my motorbike test on a trail bike. At the emergency stop I stopped next to the examiner on his command but I didn't put my feet down, there was no need I was only stopped next to him for a moment and the bike was very well balanced. At the end of the test he had a comment that I didn't come to a complete halt because I didn't put my feet down. What I said - I stopped - then you waved me on and I rode on - he passed me but I think he really thought I should have put my feet down!


----------



## weltweit (Sep 6, 2013)

Quite fancy one of these:


----------



## Sweet FA (Sep 14, 2013)

I'm about to order one


----------



## weltweit (Sep 14, 2013)

What is it Sweet FA ?


----------



## Sweet FA (Sep 14, 2013)

weltweit said:


> What is it Sweet FA ?


AJS Bobber 125


----------



## weltweit (Sep 14, 2013)

Sweet FA said:


> AJS Bobber 125


 
I didn't even know AJS were still functioning. Prices look quite reasonable.


----------



## Sweet FA (Sep 14, 2013)

Made in China so will need every nut and bolt checking from what I've heard. The dealer does a full build up & 12 month warranty though. I might get him to shorten the pipes while he's about it.


----------



## weltweit (Sep 14, 2013)

Sweet FA said:


> Made in China so will need every nut and bolt checking from what I've heard. The dealer does a full build up & 12 month warranty though. I might get him to shorten the pipes while he's about it.


No taking pillion passengers though.

As to shortening the pipes I am not sure that is such an idea, pipes are usually tuned to a certain length so that the reflected wave from the first change in diameter, goes back up the pipe and helps to close off the exhaust flow..


----------



## Sweet FA (Sep 14, 2013)

weltweit said:


> No taking pillion passengers though.


It's a Chinese built 125; I'm not sure it could take 2s up anyway.



weltweit said:


> As to shortening the pipes I am not sure that is such an idea, pipes are usually tuned to a certain length so that the reflected wave from the first change in diameter, goes back up the pipe and helps to close off the exhaust flow..


I don't understand most of those words. It will look better and sound even louder (they're straight thru pipes anyway..).


----------



## weltweit (Sep 14, 2013)

Sweet FA said:


> It's a Chinese built 125; I'm not sure it could take 2s up anyway.


Yes, you have a good point there.


Sweet FA said:


> I don't understand most of those words. It will look better and sound even louder (they're straight thru pipes anyway..).


You may lose power if you shorten the downpipes.
How loud do you want it? And btw you may run foul of approval regs at MOTs and the like.

Personally I do like bikes to make a noise, not too much but you should be able to hear them coming imho.


----------



## Ponyutd (Oct 19, 2013)




----------



## ViolentPanda (Oct 19, 2013)

Ponyutd said:


>



Ariel Leader.
My dad had one back when I was at primary school, for getting to and from work at Smithfield (no buses at 2AM back then!).  He loved riding in the rain and not getting his trousers soaked!


----------



## Ponyutd (Oct 19, 2013)

Quite right. Couldn't be sure if it was horrible or super cool. Up at auction with an auction estimate of£ 3,000.


----------



## ViolentPanda (Oct 19, 2013)

Ponyutd said:


> Quite right. Couldn't be sure if it was horrible or super cool. Up at auction with an auction estimate of£ 3,000.



Cool, if you're a fan of the development of motorcycles, and widely used by rural police forces too, into the '70s (when they got Austin Allegro panda cars  ).
The 1940s-vintage engine was apparently really easy to work on (once you took the panelling off), and apparently the only faff was the same faff you have with all 2-strokes - mixing oil in with the petrol, and having that lovely smokey smell.


----------



## lt35 (Oct 24, 2013)

*KTM 350 EXC-F (2011-current) 349cc, 46bhp  




*


----------



## hipipol (Oct 24, 2013)

500cc Single pot Enfield with Tamil Hadu plates parked near Liverpool St a couple of months back


----------



## SikhWarrioR (Nov 2, 2013)

hipipol said:


> 500cc Single pot Enfield with Tamil Hadu plates parked near Liverpool St a couple of months back



Royal Enfield still made in India and you can also buy them new in the UK


----------



## pogofish (Nov 2, 2013)

weltweit said:


> I remember someone who had a CB500 four chopper. It was always a bit of a pain going places with him because he was so slow. To be fair I think it was nigh on unrideable!



My memory of UJM chops from the time was indeed that they were nigh-on unrideable and many were absolute bodge-up nightmares mechanically.


----------



## pogofish (Nov 2, 2013)

weltweit said:


> I didn't even know AJS were still functioning. Prices look quite reasonable.



As a brand-name for a Chinese built horror. Big enough for reasonable size adults to ride comfortably but the ones I've seen havelooked to be reallly poor quality construction and absolute rust buckets as well - just not up to our climate.


----------



## weltweit (Nov 2, 2013)

pogofish said:


> My memory of UJM chops from the time was indeed that they were nigh-on unrideable and many were absolute bodge-up nightmares mechanically.


 
Yes. I can remember this friend of mine who used to build choppers. One afternoon I was in his workshop and he had a perfectly serviceable Yamaha XS1100 with the rear stripped down to frame rails. He fired up an angle grinder and hacked off the rear frame rails en masse. Then he welded on a triangle of a hard tail and that was it, a perfectly rideable bike totally wrecked


----------



## twentythreedom (Nov 2, 2013)

The current issue of MCN Sport is full of '80s race bike porn - well worth a look


----------



## pogofish (Nov 2, 2013)

weltweit said:


> Yes. I can remember this friend of mine who used to build choppers. One afternoon I was in his workshop and he had a perfectly serviceable Yamaha XS1100 with the rear stripped down to frame rails. He fired up an angle grinder and hacked off the rear frame rails en masse. Then he welded on a triangle of a hard tail and that was it, a perfectly rideable bike totally wrecked



Yup - Saw lots of that back then <shudder>


----------



## weltweit (Nov 3, 2013)

Posted this somewhere but this is a better place..

Was talking to a chap who sells motorbikes and :

Triton 750 Unit £6,500
Triumph Bonneville 650 Unit £6,500
Vincent Black Shadow 1,000cc £30,000
Brough Superior SS100, £90-100,000


----------



## Sigmund Fraud (Nov 4, 2013)

weltweit said:


> Posted this somewhere but this is a better place..
> 
> Was talking to a chap who sells motorbikes and :
> 
> ...



At the height of the 80s classic car price boom the VBS value was almost £50k. Considering how few were made £30k isn't bad. £6500 for a 650 bonnie aint bad either.


----------



## weltweit (Nov 4, 2013)

Sigmund Fraud said:


> At the height of the 80s classic car price boom the VBS value was almost £50k. Considering how few were made £30k isn't bad. £6500 for a 650 bonnie aint bad either.


I must be getting old, I can remember when 3k would get you a range of smart British bikes.


----------



## Sigmund Fraud (Nov 5, 2013)

I can remember even less buying you nice Brit iron. My mate bougt a Norton Dommie cafe racer in the early 90s for £800.


----------



## weltweit (Nov 5, 2013)

Sigmund Fraud said:


> I can remember even less buying you nice Brit iron. My mate bougt a Norton Dommie cafe racer in the early 90s for £800.


 
Well indeed. My Suzuki GS750 cost me a total of about £500. I built it from a crashed wreck.


----------



## Sweet FA (Nov 5, 2013)

weltweit said:


> I must be getting old, I can remember when 3k would get you a range of smart British bikes.


Triumph SPEED TRIPLE 1050 (2006, 8k) £3,895


----------



## weltweit (Nov 5, 2013)

Sweet FA said:


> Triumph SPEED TRIPLE 1050 (2006, 8k) £3,895


 
So, the classics are fetching more than the modern Triumphs.


----------



## Sweet FA (Nov 5, 2013)

Pretty much; prices on MCN for '69 T120s start at the £6500 you quote above.


----------



## DownwardDog (Jan 10, 2014)

1965 Honda RC115







21,000rpm redline with about 1,500rpm of usable powerband. 9 speed gearbox and V-Brakes! Superb.


----------



## stupid dogbot (Jan 14, 2014)

Gaz Johnson's 2011 IOM TT Fireblade is for sale...






A snip at £20k.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Honda-Cbr...rbike-Gary-Johnson-/151206194355?roken=kakIPa


----------



## stupid dogbot (Jan 20, 2014)

Not that I'm intending to spam the thread with Hondas (not that I just bought one or anything  ), but I saw this at the weekend and was quite taken with it...






I think it's the kit reproduction AC15, rather than the 60s original CR110, but still. A 50 cc, air cooled, transverse, single cylinder, DOHC four stroke making 5.6 horsepower.

Beautiful.


----------



## DownwardDog (Jan 21, 2014)

stupid dogbot said:


> I think it's the kit reproduction AC15, rather than the 60s original CR110, but still. A 50 cc, air cooled, transverse, single cylinder, DOHC four stroke making 5.6 horsepower.
> 
> Beautiful.



Yeah, that's the Japanese market repro from the 90s. It's not as rare as that sign implies!

Skyteam make a compellingly cheap Dream replica called the Ace. They are really cheap and cost about as much as a pair of Daytona boots and a nice AGV. It also arrives in a crate and you have to assemble it yourself. There's loads of tuning parts for them and nutters putting XL250 motors, etc. in them.







I've got one but haven't got around to de-crating it yet.


----------



## stupid dogbot (Jan 23, 2014)

Also very pretty. I don't have room for another one at the moment, having just bought the VFR and all it's luggage. But I'd love something like that as a little scoot around.


----------



## DownwardDog (May 31, 2014)

1994 Harley-Davidson VR1000. It had injected 60 deg V-twin in a small, almost 250 sized, chassis. HD soon lost interest as it wasn't competitive with the 916s in AMA (mainly because DuHamel was on the HD and B-Boz was on the Ducati) but some elements of the motor ended up in the horrible VRSC V-rod.






It seems ludicrous that I don't have one and yet that's the reality.


----------



## DownwardDog (Jun 4, 2014)

Shaw Customs XR1200TT.






The cooling may be marginal I suspect but other than that it's tight butthole.


----------



## Sigmund Fraud (Jun 4, 2014)

Two great mods for the Honda Grom minibike.


----------



## Bernie Gunther (Jun 4, 2014)

More effective than Ducolax ...


----------



## Pingu (Jun 5, 2014)

the h1 was a real mans bike... for about the 37 minutes it took to kill you


----------



## DownwardDog (Jun 5, 2014)

Saroléa SP7. Hand built by Belgian hipsters to compete in TT Zero.


----------



## weltweit (Jun 5, 2014)

DownwardDog said:


> Saroléa SP7. Hand built by Belgian hipsters to compete in TT Zero.


Will look forward to seeing it, if I can remember which day the Zero is on


----------



## DownwardDog (Jun 6, 2014)

weltweit said:


> Will look forward to seeing it, if I can remember which day the Zero is on



It was Wednesday and the Saroléa finished 4th. The Honda/Mugen Shinden Ni now has such a crushing technical dominance that it renders the competition largely pointless.






117mph lap vs. 98mph for the best of the rest.


----------



## weltweit (Jun 6, 2014)

DownwardDog said:


> It was Wednesday and the Saroléa finished 4th. The Honda/Mugen Shinden Ni now has such a crushing technical dominance that it renders the competition largely pointless.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Blimey, a 117mph lap is pretty quick ..


----------



## renegadechicken (Jun 6, 2014)

Still think this looks good....my first bike.


----------



## DownwardDog (Jun 6, 2014)

weltweit said:


> Blimey, a 117mph lap is pretty quick ..



It's about as fast as a late 80s/early 90s RC30. Although that was ridden by Foggy at the height of His Satanic Majesty's powers not by a knackered McPint so that's got to be worth 2-3mph.


----------



## Sigmund Fraud (Jun 6, 2014)

renegadechicken said:


> Still think this looks good....my first bike.



My first bike too....if I airbrush out a C70 cub and a Honda Novio 50

GPs are brilliant bikes.


----------



## SikhWarrioR (Jun 6, 2014)

Ah the dear old Yamaha FS1E as a 16 year old though I couldnt wait until I was 17 and pass bike test then 18/19 to afford something bigger with more go........Wonder who many FS1E's are still around


----------



## Chilli.s (Jun 6, 2014)

My first:


----------



## Sweet FA (Jun 8, 2014)

SikhWarrioR said:


> Ah the dear old Yamaha FS1E as a 16 year old though I couldnt wait until I was 17 and pass bike test then 18/19 to afford something bigger with more go........Wonder who many FS1E's are still around



Me too 

This exact model:



Though I paid £100 for mine 30 years ago and this one's for sale at £2500!!! And that's pretty cheap - restored ones go for around £3 - £3.5k  I should have kept mine. I swapped it with a kid over the road for an RD250 with a full fairing, clip ons and minimal brakes. Utter death trap.


----------



## weltweit (Jun 8, 2014)

A younger mate had a Fizzy when we had 250s. We always used to give him a few minutes to get going on a journey before setting out after him. Usually he beat us to the destination, or came off trying!


----------



## DownwardDog (Jun 24, 2014)

1973 Honda-Mugen MRV1000. Built because Hirotoshi Honda (son of Sochiro) wanted to build a Black Shadow type bike.


----------



## weltweit (Jun 24, 2014)

DownwardDog said:


> 1973 Honda-Mugen MRV1000. Built because Hirotoshi Honda (son of Sochiro) wanted to build a Black Shadow type bike.


Image does not work for me.


----------



## Bernie Gunther (Jun 29, 2014)

Pingu said:


> the h1 was a real mans bike... for about the 37 minutes it took to kill you



Check this out ... 






http://www.bikeexif.com/kawasaki-cafe-racer


----------



## Part 2 (Jul 2, 2014)

My mate's been building a few of these


----------



## DownwardDog (Jul 3, 2014)

Bimota BB3. The motor and electronics package from the BMW S1000RR in a steel trellis frame and CF bodywork.






I have the opportunity to take over my mate's order for one and I really, really want it but the motorbike situation chez DD  is simply out of control at the moment. I've currently got 7 on the road - HD SS250, Guzzi Bellagio, ZX-10R, 2 x Ducati 999R (I need two because there's only a 50% chance one will work), MV F4 1000RR and an XT250 - that's costing me over a grand a month in insurance and registration and I haven't even got a fucking driving licence. At least I'm down to 2 cars...


----------



## Farmer Giles (Jul 4, 2014)

weltweit said:


> Suzuki GSXR1100..
> 
> 
> 
> ...



My mate is rebuilding his one. I will post up pics when it is done. They have a scarily thin back tyre for a bike capable of over 150.


----------



## DownwardDog (Jul 7, 2014)

JSB1000 ZX-10R raced by Kazuki Watanabe.






I love the Beet Racing exhaust, MotoGP style swing arm and the "seat".


----------



## Sweet FA (Jul 9, 2014)

Chip Barm said:


> My mate's been building a few of these


Seems like the world and its partner is building brats, trackers, cafe racers etc. I met some posh people at the weekend and they were wearing Deus Ex Machina, Wrenchmonkee and Blitz branded gear (t-shirts and hardcore biker gear like flip flops mainly); not a bike between them. There's quite a funny website called Bullshit Hipster Bike Videos that takes the piss out of the whole scene. The Wheels & Waves 'rally' in Biarritz is kind of the apotheosis of how wanky it can all be. Beckham riding his custom Triumph badly through Brazil is like an advert for it - definitely no front mudguards needed when you're riding off-road; just whack on an open face lid, bandana and 500 quid goggles 







eta Not putting your mate in this bracket btw Chip Barm; the style of the bikes just made me think of the 'new custom scene' that's all over Bike Shed, Pipeburn, Bike EXIF etc.


----------



## twentythreedom (Jul 9, 2014)

This was bike porn for me - the only brand new vehicle I've ever owned. Had one of the first batch when it was a new model  I fucking loved that bike. Went to the shops, toured, dispatched, track days, the lot. Many happy memories


----------



## Part 2 (Jul 9, 2014)

Sweet FA said:


> eta Not putting your mate in this bracket btw Chip Barm; the style of the bikes just made me think of the 'new custom scene' that's all over Bike Shed, Pipeburn, Bike EXIF etc.



No offence taken, it's not something I'm that familiar with, although I do think the bikes are nice. He's also quite a young kid who I've watched grow up so it's cool to see he's found an outlet for his talents.


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## Sweet FA (Jul 9, 2014)

Chip Barm said:


> I do think the bikes are nice. He's also quite a young kid who I've watched grow up so it's cool to see he's found an outlet for his talents.


Me too & if the 'scene' is good for anything, it's getting young'uns into building bikes. It's mainly fairly loaded 40 somethings having a midlife crisis who're buying them afaics. Me saving for my KTM is nothing at all like that though at all. Nope. At all.


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## twentythreedom (Jul 9, 2014)




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## Sweet FA (Jul 9, 2014)

Kenny Roberts' flat tracker is so copied I've _almost_ got bored of seeing them. That and McQueen's 'Elsinore'.


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## Part 2 (Jul 9, 2014)

Sweet FA said:


> Me too & if the 'scene' is good for anything, it's getting young'uns into building bikes. It's mainly fairly loaded 40 somethings having a midlife crisis who're buying them afaics. Me saving for my KTM is nothing at all like that though at all. Nope. At all.



Ha, I seem to tick all the boxes there. I do find myself looking at this too often 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Triumph-U...6852142?pt=UK_Motorcycles&hash=item2ecebaebae


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## Sweet FA (Jul 9, 2014)

Chip Barm said:


> Ha, I seem to tick all the boxes there. I do find myself looking at this too often
> 
> http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Triumph-U...6852142?pt=UK_Motorcycles&hash=item2ecebaebae




£20K!!! Though I would probably just sit and look at it so no chance of fucking it up.

You can have this for 5 and a half (plus whatever it takes for a respray).


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## DownwardDog (Jul 10, 2014)

Bike modification trends that need to die now:

Cafés.
Bobbers, Brat Style, Wrench Monkees, Deus Ex and Spirit of the 70s. All that shit.
Wrapped exhausts.
A big fucking hole through the bike where the battery should be.
TKC80s on everything.

At least the long cultural nightmare of rim tape is over.


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## Sweet FA (Jul 10, 2014)

DownwardDog said:


> Bobbers, Brat Style, Wrench Monkees, Deus Ex and Spirit of the 70s. All that shit.


Though El Solitario do make me laugh. I suspect they might be properly taking the piss.


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## DownwardDog (Jul 18, 2014)

For those who consider the 750 H1 not quite enough.






I think the steering damper is just there for psychological reasons.


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## DownwardDog (Oct 4, 2014)

Sigmund Fraud said:


> At the height of the 80s classic car price boom the VBS value was almost £50k. Considering how few were made £30k isn't bad. £6500 for a 650 bonnie aint bad either.



Yesterday I spent 5 hours driving to and being lost in the Yorkshire dales to find a widow, a barn and this VBS which I bought from her. Her husband had spent 5 years restoring it then dropped dead. I'm going to ship it to Australia, re-register it there, ride it for a few months and then double my money. There was also a really nice "flat floor" E-Type and a Manx Norton in the barn but I'll be in enough spousal strife over this.


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## weltweit (Oct 4, 2014)

DownwardDog, do they really go for that much more down under?


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## High Voltage (Oct 4, 2014)

This . . . .






I'm too old, my legs won't bend enough, it's too frantic, manic and out and out too intense . . . but my god

I had a 10 mile test ride of one Hmmmmm! years ago - - - - If my soul had any value left in it . . . it would be a tough choice for a brand new, out of the box bike, for a life time of torment and sorrow

Luckily, I've grown up . . . but . . . . 15 years ago . . . . I don't like to think


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## twentythreedom (Oct 4, 2014)




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## DownwardDog (Oct 4, 2014)

weltweit said:


> DownwardDog, do they really go for that much more down under?



Yes. I'm pretty confident I can make decent coin on it. I didn't pay full whack for this one as it's got an oil leak and an electrical problem I'll have to fix.


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## BandWagon (Oct 4, 2014)




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## BandWagon (Oct 4, 2014)

I used to own one of these, lovely bike, got the double-sided SLS brake too:


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## weltweit (Oct 4, 2014)

twentythreedom said:


> View attachment 61991


Would love to see more info on that but I have to say it does not look very pretty in the small pic..


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## weltweit (Oct 4, 2014)

BandWagon said:


> I used to own one of these, lovely bike, got the double-sided SLS brake too:


that pic didn't work for me


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## BandWagon (Oct 4, 2014)

weltweit said:


> that pic didn't work for me


Sorry. Is this better?


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## weltweit (Oct 4, 2014)

BandWagon said:


> Sorry. Is this better?


Yep, that is great and I know someone who owned one of those.


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## twentythreedom (Oct 4, 2014)

High Voltage said:


> This . . . .
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Awesome ^^ 

This too  :


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## twentythreedom (Oct 4, 2014)

Me missing an apex on my old ZX9R at Lydden in 2001


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## jakethesnake (Oct 17, 2014)

Wilkinson 1910 touring cycle.


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## DownwardDog (Nov 5, 2014)

After a few years in the doldrums it's great too see that superbike arms race is now well and truly on again. 200bhp+ is the new normal.






2015 Kawasaki Ninja H2. I think I'll trade my ZX-10R for one because it's SUPERCHARGED.


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## weltweit (Nov 5, 2014)

200bhp has to be massive overkill .... sure there will be takers though.


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## DownwardDog (Nov 6, 2014)

Also launched this week (and also with 200bhp+) is the Yamaha R1M.






It has the most sophisticated electronics of any road bike by far.



> Power Delivery Mode (PWR), similar to the earlier “D-Mode” system, lets the rider choose from four settings of throttle-valve opening rate in relation to the degree of throttle-grip opening to best match their riding conditions.
> Variable Traction Control System (TCS) with lean angle calculating the differential in front to rear wheel speed as well as the lean angle, it helps prevent rear wheel spin when exiting corners. As lean angle increases, so does the amount of control…with ten separate settings (off and 1-9) enabling the rider to dial in the exact level of control needed.
> Slide Control System (SCS), the first of its kind on a production motorcycle comes directly from the YZR-M1. It works in tandem with the IMU, where, if a slide is detected while accelerating during hard leaning conditions, the ECU will step in and control engine power to reduce the slide. This too can be adjusted by the rider. Four settings (1-3 and off).
> Lift Control System (LIF): IMU detects the front to rear pitch rate and the ECU controls engine power to reduce the front wheel lift during acceleration. Four settings (1-3 and off).
> ...


All that plus the GPS datalogging will make it a phenomenal track bike but the Ninja H2 will probably be better for 'spirited' (ie like a twat) road riding.


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## weltweit (Nov 6, 2014)

DownwardDog said:


> Also launched this week (and also with 200bhp+) is the Yamaha R1M.


At least the Yamaha looks like a motorbike in the Yamaha tradition, rather than that futuristic Kawasaki you posted up there. The screen on this one looks at least as if it might deflect some wind!


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## beesonthewhatnow (Nov 6, 2014)

200bhp on a road bike? Fuck me, that's insane.


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## Bahnhof Strasse (Nov 6, 2014)

beesonthewhatnow said:


> 200bhp on a road bike? Fuck me, that's insane.



That's the same as my nearly 2 ton car, and that's fast enough


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## DownwardDog (Nov 7, 2014)

Player 3 enters the game...






Honda RC213V-S. A road version of their MotoGP bike. When Marc Marquez was introducing it my face was like Quagmire's that time Barry Manilow was singing to him.


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## Sigmund Fraud (Dec 24, 2014)

Spotted in an underground carpark - think its a K75 given the GS treatment. Shock is a Fournales, forks are Showa. Silencer looks like its from a Triumph trophy and the clocks and headlight look like Triumph Bonneville. Cool as milk but its been sitting there for what looks like months with an 05/14 tax disk.

Personally I think it looks well weapon.


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## kwaimaisabai (Dec 26, 2014)

Sigmund Fraud said:


> well weapon.



Want!  I've seen the odd K100 with a set of knobblies but the 75 is meant to be a better bike.  Needs a sump guard though.  And a proper tank.


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## DownwardDog (Dec 27, 2014)

kwaimaisabai said:


> Want!  I've seen the odd K100 with a set of knobblies but the 75 is meant to be a better bike.  Needs a sump guard though.  And a proper tank.



The K75GS was a real missed opportunity for BMW. Quite a few people have rolled their own.


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## kwaimaisabai (Dec 27, 2014)

If I saw that for sale, I'd have it.
Still no proper sump guard though and it might need spoked wheels.


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## kwaimaisabai (Dec 27, 2014)

DownwardDog said:


> The K75GS was a real missed opportunity for BMW



For HPN also.


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## DownwardDog (Jan 27, 2015)

The naffness of being a CR is cancelled by the awesomeness of being a 750 Harley.


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## weltweit (Aug 17, 2015)

These guys are not just getting their knees down, their elbows too!!


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## weltweit (Aug 17, 2015)




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## weltweit (Aug 17, 2015)

My last bike took me from Lands End to John O'Groats on A roads in 14.5 hours, it was great, but then I became a dad and haven't ridden a bike since. Thing is, I still dream about motorbikes, 16 years later, so they must feature in my future somehow. One of the issues I have is that I never got my knee down and that is something I will have to rectify at some point.


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## weltweit (Aug 18, 2015)

Better quality image: Getting your elbow down:


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## DownwardDog (Aug 19, 2015)

weltweit said:


> One of the issues I have is that I never got my knee down and that is something I will have to rectify at some point.



On the track doesn't count, it has to be on the road. Double points for doing it in the wet.


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## beesonthewhatnow (Aug 19, 2015)

DownwardDog said:


> On the track doesn't count, it has to be on the road. Double points for doing it in the wet.


Only if you're a massive twat.


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## yardbird (Sep 29, 2015)

This was my first bike about 1972 a brilliant commuting machine and not common so a bit of a conversation piece.


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## ViolentPanda (Sep 29, 2015)

yardbird said:


> This was my first bike about 1972 a brilliant commuting machine and not common so a bit of a conversation piece.



Monkey Bike!


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## yooper (Apr 4, 2016)

Sigmund Fraud said:


> I'm no fan of Harleys but this is a fucking beaut.


-----------------------------  very nice although I am an English bike guy with a 2008 Triumph T100 Bonneville but I like Harleys especially Sportsters and stripped down shovel heads and earlier Pan and Knuckles and Flatheads . Anything Harley is fine if it is stripped down .  Currently I like the XR1200 but I think that it has been discontinued . Also like Buells which as every one knows are Sportster engine Sport , café racers .	I like the earlier tube frame Buells the best .  Also one of my old favorite factory conceived bikes is the 76 - 78 XLCR Sportster .   ---  XLCR Evolution Mecatwin ---   also love the bikes by Storz - Storz SP 1200 Sportster | Bike EXIF .   XR1200 ---  Harley Davidson Sportster XR1200 (pictures) | Biser3a  ---  .


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## yooper (Apr 4, 2016)

I started out in 1965 with a Bultaco 175 Mercurio , I got it because it was available at a price I could afford .   It was fine but not really what I wanted as I wanted a dirt bike , still it was ok but not really what I wanted .  About a year later at about 19 or 20  I got a brand new 1969 Triumph 650 TR6C .   It said 'Made in England' in a gold lettered decal on the steering head , had high desert racer pipes , a skid plate , a kicker and I was in heaven .   After that I got a couple old BSA 650 twins and a couple Triumph Trident 750 triples .  After those I got a 81 or 82 square headlight Suzuki GS 1100 with flat bars and a Kerker 4 into one exhaust .	After that I got a Kawasaki GPZ 1100 .  After that I got a couple of KLR 650 and then a 2008 Triumph T100 Bonneville in 2010 .


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## yooper (Apr 4, 2016)

next , I think that I may get a Harley Superglide but I don't know as I have an old pickup truck that I should fix up for hunting and camping .  I will try to visit the Harley factory / museum in Milwaukee this summer so I might buy one when I am there .


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## Saul Goodman (Apr 4, 2016)

weltweit said:


> Better quality image: Getting your elbow down:


Shoulders are the new elbows


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## twentythreedom (Apr 28, 2016)

Mate of mine just sent me this pic of his new bike - Yamaha R1-M

Bastard


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## blairsh (Apr 28, 2016)

Send him a text back saying you think the wheels are a bit shit


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## twentythreedom (Apr 28, 2016)

blairsh said:


> Send him a text back saying you think the wheels are a bit shit


I will


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## DownwardDog (May 1, 2016)

blairsh said:


> Send him a text back saying you think the wheels are a bit shit



The power delivery on them is a bit weird as well - on the stock map at least. It shits the bed at 7,000rpm. Presumably some noise/emissions bollocks.

Due to a house move I've had to go down to one road bike! No licence at the moment though...


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## weltweit (May 1, 2016)

DownwardDog said:


> .. Due to a house move I've had to go down to one road bike! No licence at the moment though...


What happened to your licence?


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## DownwardDog (May 1, 2016)

weltweit said:


> What happened to your licence?



 63km/h in a temporary 60km/h zone pushed me over the demerits limit for a 28 day suspension.


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## weltweit (May 1, 2016)

DownwardDog said:


> 63km/h in a temporary 60km/h zone pushed me over the demerits limit for a 28 day suspension.


What you mean the gradual top up of points. They didn't offer a speed awareness course then or have you been through that loop already?

When I had my 28d ban one upside was that when I got my licence back it was cleaned of points.


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## Saul Goodman (May 2, 2016)

DownwardDog said:


> 63km/h in a temporary 60km/h zone pushed me over the demerits limit for a 28 day suspension.


They did you for 3km/h over?


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## DownwardDog (May 2, 2016)

Saul Goodman said:


> They did you for 3km/h over?



Western Australia...


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## Saul Goodman (May 2, 2016)

DownwardDog said:


> Western Australia...


Harsh


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## weltweit (May 3, 2016)




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## DownwardDog (May 26, 2016)

RC213V-S to be ridden in a production class race at the IoM TT. It probably won't do anything but it looks good.


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## weltweit (Apr 9, 2017)

Today I watched lots of very various motorbikes at a hill climb. Amongst the great variety there was this oddity which I thought suitable for this thread.

A V10.


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## twentythreedom (Apr 9, 2017)

I bet it handles like a dream, perfect for a twisty hill climb course ￼￼￼  That front tyre's got to be a 160 at least

Good effort, bet it sounds good


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## weltweit (Apr 9, 2017)

twentythreedom said:


> I bet it handles like a dream, perfect for a twisty hill climb course
> 
> Good effort, bet it sounds good


He wasn't really going for it, but it did pull well out of the corners, lots of grunt.


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## twentythreedom (Apr 9, 2017)

weltweit said:


> He wasn't really going for it, but it did pull well out of the corners, lots of grunt.


See edit about front tyre, plus with a half ton of metal I'm not surprised he wasn't totally going for it


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## weltweit (Apr 9, 2017)

Here is a clip about that bike, created by Alan Millyard, it is a Viper V10 ..
and it did 207.1 mph


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## OzT (Jun 8, 2017)

Just got my Matchless (500cc) on the road and insured again. I've owned it since Feb 1976, paid £30 for it. Was my daily transport back then. In the early 80s I moved to 'Frisco for 4 years and that bike I had shipped over dismantled in crates and reassembled there, where it caused a few raised eyebrows. I had high export bars, fashionable back then, on it, and used to say it's half a Harley!  Crated it back to England mid 80s where I put it back together and left in a garage when I went travelling again. In 1997 came back to England, where I discovered it has lost it's rego and had to join the Matchless Owners club to get them to verify it is a Matchless to get my original rego back, took it apart again and had the framed stoved and cleaned the engine out and got it MOT'd and back on the road for a few months. Back into garage it went again whilst I went travelling, then 2003 moved it to the garage in my current house. And spent this year doing bits at a time to basicly rebuild it, then fired it up last week. A bit of adjustments and test rides round the block, and Wednesday got it insured ready to take back on the road for proper journeys. As you can see it's a rough bike, mechanically sound though, and I have put the traditional flat bars back on.

In the background is my Commando which I dropped a few years ago. My next project's to get that back up and running again, but going to enjoy the Matchless this year first, so be a winter project.

To me that Matchless is the sexiest bike ever! Oh that's my own paint work, from '97


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## OzT (Jun 8, 2017)

to go with the above picture, that was what the bike looked like when I first rebuilt it in 1997 after I got my rego back from DVLA, and stil had the American export bars on


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## Motown_ben (Jun 8, 2017)

DownwardDog said:


> Bimota BB3. The motor and electronics package from the BMW S1000RR in a steel trellis frame and CF bodywork.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## weltweit (Jun 8, 2017)

OzT said:


> to go with the above picture, that was what the bike looked like when I first rebuilt it in 1997 after I got my rego back from DVLA, and stil had the American export bars on
> 
> 
> View attachment 108825


Ozt that front mudguard doesn't look right to me.
Too high, and or too small.


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## OzT (Jun 9, 2017)

It's too high weltweit. the orignals were alloy, but I brought an aftermarket general chrome one for 19inch wheels, but my home made bracket was not quite precision made hence a bit higher off the tyres than desirable.

One of those things I need to redress later this year.

Oh the bike's not orignal at all really, I put heapsa what I think are useful changes in. Besides chrome front and rear mudguards and exhaust cooling ring, for looks, I converted it from 6v dynamo to 12v alternator with an alloy chaincase, and with it a 5 plate clutch. Added in auto advance/retard, and the gearbox's the later AMC/Norton rather than Burman box. The switches are later Lucas all in one grip/switches and rubber gaiters to hiode the sliders, concentric in place of monobloc carb, and full width front hub, plus a louder thru silence, my nod to the boy racer in me!! LOL!

All those still on the bike just I have removed the export bars for standard flats as in the first picture.

But it seems to work better in modern day conditions


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## twentythreedom (Mar 6, 2018)

twentythreedom said:


> This was bike porn for me - the only brand new vehicle I've ever owned. Had one of the first batch when it was a new model  I fucking loved that bike. Went to the shops, toured, dispatched, track days, the lot. Many happy memories
> 
> View attachment 57206


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## DownwardDog (Nov 20, 2019)

I'm not saying I could podium this but I'm pretty sure I could put it in the top 10.


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## weltweit (Nov 20, 2019)

Looking back at twentythreedom getting his knee down makes me sad, will I ever get my knee down? on my Suzuki I only wore jeans so it would have been rash. I haven't ridden a motorbike now for 20 years but when the sun shines and the tarmac is hot and I see a motorbike charging up the road, I feel wistful.


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