Saxophones Carrying a tenor on a (motor)bike?

The XJ6' big brother is fun.

XJR1300

Now the style of that I really do like, very much. But the Gladius will be big enough for me for quite a while - 200kg, 31" seat, 650cc, 75 bhp. Plus I can afford one!
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The XJ6' big brother is fun.

XJR1300

Is any of you chaps fast enough to make full use of all the performance such bikes offer? It's long since I used to ride fast. Nowadays bikes have far greater performance with cornering and braking to go with it, but the ability of human beings hasn't changed. I used to make full use of my BMW R90/6's fifty-odd bhp, but I was riding near my own limits. By this I mean the mental ability to assess rapidly changing situations and react quickly and accurately, while cranked over so that I was nearly scraping the valve covers first in one direction then the other. I don't think I could have ridden much faster on a modern bike. Nowadays, 35 years on, I'd be much slower and have to ride accordingly. And, back in those days we didn't need to bother much about speed traps. Nowadays I'd have no licence if I were to ride like I used to.
 
So what's the point?
The point of being on 2 wheels instead of 4, wind in your face, the open feel, and more importantly pose factor !
I would get another bike but for the reasons above wouldn't be ars*d about getting the most out of the bike.
I have a V6 coupe' can't get the most out of that (law abiding) but i love driving her especially with the windows down.
Pure Pleasure ! 🙂 (big cheesy grin)
 
The point of being on 2 wheels instead of 4, wind in your face, the open feel, and more importantly pose factor !
! 🙂 (big cheesy grin)

...............And of course the performance to make a Porsche 911 look like a mobility scooter , avoid traffic jams and basically enjoy getting from A:B instead of it being a chore (unless when it was hammering down or freezing cold, then it was more chore than in a car) ..

The invention of speed cameras and camera vans marked the end of my biking days
 
Is any of you chaps fast enough to make full use of all the performance such bikes offer? It's long since I used to ride fast. Nowadays bikes have far greater performance with cornering and braking to go with it, but the ability of human beings hasn't changed. I used to make full use of my BMW R90/6's fifty-odd bhp, but I was riding near my own limits. By this I mean the mental ability to assess rapidly changing situations and react quickly and accurately, while cranked over so that I was nearly scraping the valve covers first in one direction then the other. I don't think I could have ridden much faster on a modern bike. Nowadays, 35 years on, I'd be much slower and have to ride accordingly. And, back in those days we didn't need to bother much about speed traps. Nowadays I'd have no licence if I were to ride like I used to.

My 1150 has about 90 bhp and I very rarely use all of it, and I've never had it flat out, and I never would. However, what I do use, on a daily basis, is the enormous mid range oomph, for rapid, easy and safe overtaking. The big flexible engine also makes for a relaxed ride around town. This also means that I rarely stress the engine, which is good for me and good for the engine. Leaving aside the overtaking acceleration, a 250 could go as fast as I normally ride. However, that would be ragging the little engine to its limits, which wouldn't last long before it went bang.

Jay, the Gladius is a great bike. I once had a go on its predecessor, the SV650. It was physically too small for me, but it rode nicely, with a grunty and characterful engine, and it was very easy to ride.
 
The invention of speed cameras and camera vans marked the end of my biking days

I do about 16,000 miles a year on my bike and I don't have any points on my licence. In fact, in thirty years of biking, I've never had a speeding ticket. Had a couple in the car, and been warned a couple of times on the bike years ago, but no tickets.
 
The point of being on 2 wheels instead of 4, wind in your face, the open feel, and more importantly pose factor !
more importantly pose factor !
And of course the performance to make a Porsche 911 look like a mobility scooter
But if neither you nor the Porsche driver can use that performance, what's the point of having it? Just so you know you could beat him if you were Mike Hailwood and he were Jackie Ickx?
 
But if neither you nor the Porsche driver can use that performance, what's the point of having it? Just so you know you could beat him if you were Mike Hailwood and he were Jackie Ickx?

The point of all that power is what @jonf said, isn't it?

However, what I do use, on a daily basis, is the enormous mid range oomph, for rapid, easy and safe overtaking. The big flexible engine also makes for a relaxed ride around town. This also means that I rarely stress the engine, which is good for me and good for the engine. Leaving aside the overtaking acceleration, a 250 could go as fast as I normally ride. However, that would be ragging the little engine to its limits, which wouldn't last long before it went bang.
 
Speed cameras ?.... make sure you've a Really Dirty rear number plate 🙂
I've also seen random black elec. tape that surely must have been stuck on the no plate by those pesky local yoofs, honest officer...
 

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