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Post by JohnV on Feb 1, 2017 19:11:06 GMT
for anyone else who likes very small quick bikes
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Post by Ssscrudddy on Feb 1, 2017 19:13:19 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Feb 1, 2017 19:30:11 GMT
Nice photos
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Post by Ssscrudddy on Feb 1, 2017 19:44:48 GMT
My thoughts on new-to-bike people. If you drive your bike in a similar way to how you drive your car, you will be injured or die fairly quickly. You need a "whole new paradigm" of defensive driving. In a car, you drive along a main road, a car approaches on a side road to give way, you just carry on. If you do that on a bike, one time in a thousand that car will pull straight out and kill you. The thing with probabilities is that the one in a thousand event may occur on the first event, not the 1000th. So you need to adjust your speed so that when the car does pull out, you can avoid it - ie you eradicate the hazard. You also need to be positioned in the road so as to maximise the probability of the other driver seeing you. That's just an example of course. I'd strongly recommend training beyond the CBT to get the hang of riding to stay alive. Also when I had a small trail bike and a big fuck-off sports bike, the difference in how other users regarded me was massive. On a small bike, you are pushed into the dirt, ignored etc. On a big bike, they are intimidated by you and keep their distance. So a big bike driven at a sensible speed is much safer than a tiddler driven the same way. Very good advice. If you've not ridden bikes I'd definitely recommend proper training beyond the CBT. There are so many things you wont know about that dont affect cars, & a few extra rules of what you can & cant do. Different braking techniques for different situations, how the camber affects your steering, getting out of a tank slapper, slow speed high sides, surface conditions (eg a white line), powering your way out of trouble (& no I'm not on about having a fast bike), counter steering...
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Post by Deleted on Feb 1, 2017 20:07:20 GMT
Great thread BTW. I'd recommend a Honda CG125 to start with. They are bullet proof and return nearlly 100 mpg. I commuted on one for many years between Luton and Stanmore on the M1. I've had loads of bikes over the years but can't find any pics sadly. My Kawasaki KH400 was fun. Was a courier in London in 1979 on a Kawasaki Z400 and later an MZ250. I lasted longer than the bikes fortunately.
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Post by kris on Feb 1, 2017 20:18:01 GMT
I think I'm going to get a 125 for my back deck this year. I'll definately go for a Honda though I've had a few and I like them. I rode all over India on a 175cc Honda, it didn't have enough power on the highways,but it got you there and it was cheap. Mind you that was a while ago, I bet there's more traffic on the roads in India now.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 1, 2017 20:26:30 GMT
Great thread BTW. I'd recommend a Honda CG125 to start with. They are bullet proof and return nearlly 100 mpg. I commuted on one for many years between Luton and Stanmore on the M1. I've had loads of bikes over the years but can't find any pics sadly. My Kawasaki KH400 was fun. Was a courier in London in 1979 on a Kawasaki Z400 and later an MZ250. I lasted longer than the bikes fortunately. The CG was a fabulous bit of kit, 1 bhp less than the ohc motor and much much stronger, less prone to eating the head and cam if oil changes were neglected - unlike the XL/CB 125. The early Japanese machines were quite pleasing on the eye for such a utilitarian bike too. The later Brazilian bikes were good, but I have a soft spot for the original model.
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Post by Clinton Cool on Feb 2, 2017 1:26:07 GMT
3 and a half years for me with my Suzuki GN125. It lives on a rack I had built that sits behind the cruiser deck.
My one single bit of advice: however tempting it is to get a bigger bike, don't do it. OK, during the summer when everything nice and dry and there's easy access to a road a bigger bike is no problem. Fast forward to late autumn and winter, the towpaths all quagmires, maybe you need to ride up a 30 degree incline covered in slippery leaves: you'll appreciate a bike that weighs little more than 100KG.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 2, 2017 4:15:25 GMT
Must say I have always rather liked the Suzuki "VanVan" it looks comfortable and not too heavy. also might be OK for taller riders.
I expect a 125 and a CBT is the way forward.
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Post by faffer on Feb 2, 2017 15:30:48 GMT
Must say I have always rather liked the Suzuki "VanVan" it looks comfortable and not too heavy. also might be OK for taller riders. I expect a 125 and a CBT is the way forward. I looked at them before I got the Shadow and was about to get one. have good read ups and look good. Chunky like.
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Post by Ssscrudddy on Feb 2, 2017 15:56:31 GMT
Big bikes dont have to be heavy. This slightly modified Yamaha XJ900 is probably the lightest bike I ever owned, & it went like shit off a shovel!
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Post by Deleted on Feb 2, 2017 19:48:31 GMT
memories, oh the memories......
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Post by JohnV on Feb 2, 2017 20:55:57 GMT
memories, oh the memories...... Oi !!! that's a Jap love fest, What about all the other great bikes of the 70's The Laverda SFC, Laverda 3C and Jota. The Ducati 650 SS or even better the 650 desmo Super Sport. Moto Guzzi 750 "Green Meanie" The Benelli Sei 6 cylinder. or the Van Veen OCR 1000 now that bike was something else again ....... a truly mind blowing acceleration ( but I confess it was a lump to sit on .... didn't own one but was lucky enough to be given a test ride) (and no, I didn't try to get anywhere near it's top speed) Or if that wasn't big and heavy enough there was always the Munch Mammoth, Now that really was a monster although strictly speaking it was late 60's ....... or of course we can go from the ridiculous back to the sublime the prettiest and best sounding bike of all time (in my eyes) The MV Augusta
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Post by bargemast on Feb 27, 2017 17:31:13 GMT
While going through some old photos today, I found one of me on the Yamaha XS-750 on which I did a tour of California in 1980. A comfortable and most reliable bike, some great memories came back looking at this photo, hard to believe how more then 35 years flew by. Peter.
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Post by flatdog on Feb 28, 2017 8:50:50 GMT
My iron horse coming up to 100k miles in 10 years still luvved up. Too big for anything less than a roro ferry tho!!!
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