Any Motörbike riders here?

cruxiform

guitargeek62 said:

Oh yeah - I had my first "accident" on the new bike this week; hit-and-run from a driver coming the opposite way past passed traffic - I'd already moved over* but he drifted out too far and I had to swerve almost into the curb at the last second. I got lucky though, "just" a bruised foot and bent rear brake peg - could have been a lot worse had I swerved a few more inches either way!!! Managed to stay upright, check the situation, then straight into A&E to make sure nothing was broken... the b*stard didn't even slow down!

*I was already alongside the parked cars when he decided to join in, otherwise I could/should have waited and let him pass

Eek. At least it was minor but the fucker driving away!

jaytmon

Nice evening for a ride...

cruxiform

Cleaned the bike today, ready for a 9 day Euro trip with a mate. The initial plan was the Austrian alps but it seems that the weather is going to be shit there next week so we're heading to the Languedoc region of France with the option for French alps or the Pyrenees. Camping all the way, we love it... 

jaytmon

I do like those K series BMs. Very nearly bought a 1300s last year. @cruxiform ;
have a great trip, hope the weather is kind to you! Rather you than me with the camping mind

cruxiform

Thanks man. Yeah, camping's a bit marmite but I like it, although carrying the extra gear is a ballache sometimes. If you did ever go for a K, the 1300 is a much better bike than the 1200. I love mine but it's not without its quirks.

guitargeek62

The back roads between Toulouse and Andorra are stunning - great roads and views. Enjoy your trip

cruxiform

guitargeek62 said:

The back roads between Toulouse and Andorra are stunning - great roads and views. Enjoy your trip

Noted! Thanks

jaytmon

I took a K1300S for a test ride and stopped after half an hour in a lay by to admire the bike and the fucking thing wouldn't start! Not even turn over! Until that is the boys from the shop turned up when it proceeded to start first time.... I subsequently learnt about 'hot start issues' with those K series engines. Scary fast though with a fantastically raucous exhaust note. 

cruxiform

guitargeek62 said:

The back roads between Toulouse and Andorra are stunning - great roads and views. Enjoy your trip

You weren't wrong @guitargeek62, great roads! The whole area has a lot to offer. We first rode to Avallon then to Millau. We based ourselves in Millau and did around 200 miles a day exploring the area. Then we rode back skimming the French Alps and then through the Jura mountains, ending up in Epernay. Cracking week away. 

A highlight was riding Combe Laval, very narrow with a 400m drop off the sides!

guitargeek62

Ah man, I miss it even more now! Glad you enjoyed them too, great pics!

I'm heading to northern spain from Plymouth in August for a few days, then riding back up through France and home to London. 

cruxiform

That sounds amazing, I did something similar last year. I loved the Pyrenees, especially the N260 and N240 roads. Other than that the people, culture and food won me over

midiglitch

Well I just traded in my RC8 for a 2015 fireblade.
Strange feeling. The head says yes, everyday of the week: the blade is smooth, has ABS, is a Honda so will probably run forever, the KTM vibrates like a sex toy, is twitchier than a turettes on speed,  will probably explode at any minute, but my god, the torque! The heart is more torn than the brain, but i had reached the conclusion that being killed on the KTM was only really a matter of time and as a consequence i really wasn't using it enough.

Pick it up Friday hopefully, can't wait.

jaytmon

midiglitch said:

Well I just traded in my RC8 for a 2015 fireblade.
Strange feeling. The head says yes, everyday of the week: the blade is smooth, has ABS, is a Honda so will probably run forever, the KTM vibrates like a sex toy, is twitchier than a turettes on speed,  will probably explode at any minute, but my god, the torque! The heart is more torn than the brain, but i had reached the conclusion that being killed on the KTM was only really a matter of time and as a consequence i really wasn't using it enough.

Pick it up Friday hopefully, can't wait.

Funnily enough I did the same with the Superduke 990 - traded in for a CB1000R (not quite sportsbike territory I know!) Let's just say it was a decision borne out of self-preservation! Loved the Honda and the smoothness of the inline four was just delicious.

Hope you enjoy the blade! 

I'm currently in Germany having biked through France the last couple of days

cruxiform

Great stuff. I've owned 2 Fireblades and both were excellent bikes. 

MtB

I kind of felt the same way with my SuperDuke GT - what with 209kg and 173bhp..... 

And for an old git like me it make me realise how piss poor the road surfaces are these days in the UK. I ended up trading the GT in a couple of months ago for a 1290 Super Adventure S 

midiglitch

This is it. I hope I never need abs, and I practise often to be able to stop well without it. But honestly is that practise so ingrained that it would just be muscle memory, in a very sudden situation, on possibly wet roads, perhaps strewn with gravel or horse shit? I'm not sure. I'll take abs and hope that i never need it.
Of course one still has to ride sensibly to the conditions, the road, and other road users but i don't see any downside in taking steps to reduce risk.
The other thing i loved about the blade was the feedback- it just gave me loads, whereas with the RC8 i had tried everything with the suspension setup, even changing springs to better match my weight and it just wasn't confidence-inspiring to ride, for me anyway.

octatonic

I had an interesting evening tonight.
I was part of a focus group to look at some new bike designs from a certain manufacturer.
There were 6 of us, all with super naked bikes, who went through various designs, rating them and talking about what we want from a super naked.
I can't say much more about it due to an NDA clause but trust me that something fucking insane is coming quite soon.

roundthebend

I passed my theory test last week. Looking at finances and weather now to decide when to take the next step.
My mate recently got his licence and his first bike is a Harley Davidson Iron 883 XL. I never thought I'd fancy a Harley, but that is a stunning machine for not much money.

octatonic

roundthebend said:

I passed my theory test last week. Looking at finances and weather now to decide when to take the next step.
My mate recently got his licence and his first bike is a Harley Davidson Iron 883 XL. I never thought I'd fancy a Harley, but that is a stunning machine for not much money.

Personally for a bike that weighed that much I'd want more than one disc up front.
Check out the Fat Bob.

guitargeek62

Congrats @roundthebend ! My gf is now in the same boat, she's having a taster afternoon next week to see if she wants to jump straight into DA, or stick with a 125 for a little longer.