Saxophones Carrying a tenor on a (motor)bike?

[Jay]

How's about a trike no probs carrying the sax or falling off and they kind of set you apart from the average biker

The Harley trikes are quite cool, but very expensive 😱

 

[jonf]

I'm not imagining what it might be like to ride a bike with a tenor on it, I actually do it all the time, so I'm speaking from experience. Comments:

• A tenor weighs about 4% of the weight of a Van Van. Put across the seat, it will not affect stability in the slightest.
• Hard packed gravel is perfectly stable to ride on, and does not create stability issues. My drive is gravel. Freshly laid, or overly deep gravel is a completely different matter, but unless its newly laid or you put down far too much, it will be fine.
  
• If the sax is no wider than the bars it is not going to come into contact with anything the bars have not already hit.
  
• I do about 15,000 miles a year by bike, and have never 'come to grief' with a sax on the back.

A Van Van is an economical easy to ride four stroke, with a low seat height, and is good for learners. Should do over 100mpg on country roads.

Trikes and sidecars offer the worst of all worlds. The width of a car without the weather protection, air con, etc, and the handling is generally awful.

 

[gladsaxisme]

In truth if you really want a bike I see no reason you couldn't build a small metal frame to bolt to the existing rear carrier that you could then strap the sax case to in an upright position, very little difference to having a passenger onboard I would have thought and the sax would be firmly fixed and stable most metal workers could knock one up in no time

 

[Jay]

I'm not imagining what it might be like to ride a bike with a tenor on it, I actually do it all the time, so I'm speaking from experience. Comments:

• A tenor weighs about 4% of the weight of a Van Van. Put across the seat, it will not affect stability in the slightest.
• Hard packed gravel is perfectly stable to ride on, and does not create stability issues. My drive is gravel. Freshly laid, or overly deep gravel is a completely different matter, but unless its newly laid or you put down far too much, it will be fine.
  
• If the sax is no wider than the bars it is not going to come into contact with anything the bars have not already hit.
  
• I do about 15,000 miles a year by bike, and have never 'come to grief' with a sax on the back.

A Van Van is an economical easy to ride four stroke, with a low seat height, and is good for learners. Should do over 100mpg on country roads.

Trikes and sidecars offer the worst of all worlds. The width of a car without the weather protection, air con, etc, and the handling is generally awful.

Thanks @jonf, it's good to hear from someone who does this and doesn't think it's mad.
The gravel drive is about 25m long. I have to get off at the road end to open the farm gate anyway, so if I'm really feeling nervous I can unload my bike at the gate and/or push it up to the house. Most of that length is well packed gravel, some (about 5m) is deeper.

 

[Colin the Bear]

Under no circumstances buy a Chinese bike. The metal they use is very rust prone. You won't believe how fast it disappears. Every one I know who has bought one is disappointed.

The worlds best selling bike is still the Honda C50

Fast




and flexible

 

[kevgermany]

• A tenor weighs about 4% of the weight of a Van Van. Put across the seat, it will not affect stability in the slightest.
• Hard packed gravel is perfectly stable to ride on, and does not create stability issues. My drive is gravel. Freshly laid, or overly deep gravel is a completely different matter, but unless its newly laid or you put down far too much, it will be fine.

Agree.

 

[Colin1]

Jay
Though others have brushed on the prospect of injury if you fall, the issue of an outright accident needs to be considered. If the roads where you are are mostly rural then that in itself is a bit of a flag; country roads are statistically 8 times more dangerous than A roads, duals and motorways for

a. the typical lack of maintenance for rural sections, and
b. the isolation that can create an impression that there's nobody else on the road (ie coming the other way)

Broaching a blind bend with you on a bike and Carlos Fandango coming the other way on the racing line in his hot hatch, you're always going to come a poor second in a collision.

Doesn't need to be a boy-racer, it could be a local with a landie full of straw or on a tractor pulling a trailer load.

Bit stark but needs to be mentioned methinks.

Straight question that you need to ask yourself: How good are you with bikes? Can you read a situation before it materialises? Important in cars, critical on bikes.

 

[Jay]

Jay

Straight question that you need to ask yourself: How good are you with bikes? Can you read a situation before it materialises? Important in cars, critical on bikes.

Well I don't currently ride a motorbike, so it's hard to tell. I was married to a traffic sergeant who of course had done advanced police driver training, which seems to involve learning to drive at 120pmh on tiny country roads! (car). He spent a lot of time teaching me to look further ahead, look through curves to see the road beyond, read likely situations - made me do the 'risk talk' they have to do when training (ie car coming up to gate, could pull out, passing housing - potential for dogs and kids etc. )

I have reasonable processing speed, and whilst my reactions are certainly slower than they were as a youngster, I don't think they're too bad yet.

So I'm not the doziest of road users, but yes, it isn't always your fault and bikers come off worse.

 

[Colin1]

Ha ha
I wasn't implying that you were dozy Jay but yes, you can get taken out by a car in situations that weren't your fault at all. The stuff you did with your ex will be useful if you decide to go ahead with the bike idea.

 

[Colin1]

Apologies, it looks like a 4-stroke so it should be economical. Indeed it looks very similar to the CG125 that I recommended. It's certainly not a scooter. I still wouldn't like to carry my tenor on it.

I passed my test on a CG125. I'd never heard of a Van Van either but it's likely in the same class. It certainly looks just like a CG125

 

[thomsax]

This is best bike you can own if yu want to carry your tenor. Also good if you are busking. You can travel with both a small PA and saxes.

 

[jonf]

This is best bike you can own if yu want to carry your tenor. Also good if you are busking. You can travel with both a small PA and saxes.

Jay lives in Cumbria. Have you seen what the terrain is like there?

 

[richardr]

Trikes are cool but they miss the fun of biking, particularly on little bikes. Here's an example:

In truth if you really want a bike I see no reason you couldn't build a small metal frame to bolt to the existing rear carrier that you could then strap the sax case to in an upright position, very little difference to having a passenger onboard I would have thought and the sax would be firmly fixed and stable most metal workers could knock one up in no time

If I were carrying a tenor on a small bike, I'd want it horizontal regardless of width, unless it were strapped to me. Reason: when you're rolling it will make little difference to stability, but when you're stationary or just wheeling the bike about, say when you're dealing with the gate, that weight high-up will make it more difficult. If you've never ridden a bike before you will be surprised at how heavy it feels and you'll probably be scared of dropping it when you're wheeling it about. Also, you'll have to be extra careful when you leave the bike on its prop-stand. I found out when riding small bikes loaded with camping gear that there was a real risk of them falling over by rotating about the axis formed by the stand and the bottom of the back wheel.

A little bike falling over isn't a disaster because it's light enough for the rider to pick it up but it is apt to result in minor damage such as broken indicator lights.

You'll have to take your own view on the risk of injury which is much greater than in a car, but we all enjoy our pleasures and take the risks. I ride a horse which is even riskier!

If I were you, in deciding, bike or no bike, I'd assume that I couldn't carry my sax. Later, when you're a confident and competent rider, you can experiment with loading your tenor and, if it works, that's a bonus.

Beware: for many bikers it's like saxophony in that there's no such thing as one of them. You could easily and up with several!

 

[richardr]

This is best bike you can own if yu want to carry your tenor. Also good if you are busking. You can travel with both a small PA and saxes.

You could go into the ice cream trade as well. Or, if you fancy a Harley trike, you could try to lay your hands on a Servicar.

 

[thomsax]

Jay lives in Cumbria. Have you seen what the terrain is like there?

I'm sure Jay will mange the terrain in Cumbria. Look at video. A proof of Cargobikes versatility! Bike is big over her. If it possible i prefer to go to gigs by bike.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/18/world/europe/in-denmark-pedaling-to-work-on-a-superhighway.html

 

[richardr]

I'm sure Jay will mange the terrain in Cumbria. Look at video. A proof of Cargobikes versatility! Bike is big over her. If it possible i prefer to go to gigs by bike.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/18/world/europe/in-denmark-pedaling-to-work-on-a-superhighway.html

Surely you weren't serious about a pedal trike for Jay?

But well done to Jay for starting yet another interesting thread.

 

[Jay]

Jay lives in Cumbria. Have you seen what the terrain is like there?

Ha, I think my 'environmental' contribution will have to be running a 125cc engine sometimes rather than a 2200cc one. I'm absolutely sure my emissions trying to cycle up some of our cumbrian hills on a tricycle would easily outdo those of a motorbike!

 

[thomsax]

Surely you weren't serious about a pedal trike for Jay?

But well done to Jay for starting yet another interesting thread.

A Cargobike is no good in Cumbria!

 

[llamedos]

Must congratulate Jay on starting a thread that has this far not deviated -it's often interesting to read the last post in a thread and try to work out how the hell it started!

Having last ridden a motorbike in 1958 I will refrain from offering advice or comment apart from a plea to follow advice from others to wear the right gear and not to economise on the very best of helmets. Safe riding whether on carrier bike, tricycle or Harley,Jay.

Dave

 

[Detroit Dave]

I carry my back-up tenor on my motorcycle all the time. I have a good photo of it in Florida from a few years ago, with all my other gear and camping stuff, but I haven't yet figured out how to upload a jpg file here.