Saxophones Carrying a tenor on a (motor)bike?

[Ads]

Lasts long enough ---------- 😀

 

[Jay]

Hey, I realise I'm very easily amused by such things at the moment, but I had plenty of fun 0 - 60 yesterday, on a bike that accelerated 😀

 

[jonf]

Is that because you never speed or because you're careful not to get caught? 😉

Now what do you think?😀

 

[jonf]

I'm not sure. My 50-odd bhp BMW used to be more than adequate and I think it still would be. I suspect that Trimmy's remark about pose factor may have much to do with it.

Adequate, yes. But if you and I were both riding along side by side at 40mph in fourth, you on the R90 (which are lovely bikes, BTW) and me on my big GS, and we both whacked the throttle wide open, you'd see the difference.

Oh, and if you look at the pic of my bike earlier in the thread, you'll see that there's no pose value in it at all - pure function. Frankly, it's ugly, but I don't care!

 

[Ads]

Adequate, yes. But if you and I were both riding along side by side at 40mph in fourth, you on the R90 (which are lovely bikes, BTW) and me on my big GS, and we both whacked the throttle wide open, you'd see the difference.!

Hence why you never see GSXR-1100s with enclosed pram style sidecars fitted .........

 

[Targa]

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?

What if you were both John Surtees?

 

[kevgermany]

There's adequate and there's a comfortable surplus. The surplus is what bikes are about. I used to use all the power of my bikes. Good thing was that there were no speed limits out of town on the Island. So we could legally go flat out, and did. Not sure if it's the cade now or not. But there are still Autobahns🙂. And the lack of speed limits allows you to go a long way in a very short time. It's not unusual to see a polo doing 100mph. Driving at legal speeds in the UK is tedious and time consuming.

 

[richardr]

I'm sure your modern bikes would out-drag my old Bee Emm, but I reckon its performance would still be plenty for practical purposes.
I used to ride into Manchester city centre to get to work at 9am, through the worst of the rush, a bit over 25 miles. I once timed myself, trying rather hard. I made it in 28 minutes, door-to-door. That involved doing about 110mph between lanes of traffic on the M66. In those days plenty of bikers rode the same way and drivers used to leave room for us.
One curious thing is that in the rush hour, the A56 Bury New Road is far less congested than it used to be. I don't know why.
The only biker accident I ever came across on the M66 was a very odd one: I was heading North in the evening and two Yam RD250s were Southbound. Suddenly, for no apparent reason, one of the bikers came off. I stopped and crossed over to see if I could help. The rider was bruised, shaken but OK. The driver of a truck they had just passed was already on the scene. He remarked that the rider was lucky in that he, the trucker, raced bikes himself, recognised the puff of smoke that warned of an engine seizure and braked instantly. The fallen rider said thank you, but he didn't think it was an engine seisure, it was the front wheel that locked up. We got the bike, which was little-damaged, on its stand and operated the kick-start: the engine was as free as could be. The front wheel was fine as well. What had brought the rider down? Then we noticed that the forks were splattered with rubber so we took a closer look at the front tyre and saw that the centre groove, which should have been narrow and parallel-sided was wide and V-shaped. We concluded that the accident had been cause by the tyre picking up something small (a stone?) in its centre groove that had jammed against the close-fitting mudguard, locking-up the front wheel just long enough to bring the bike down.
It turned out that the fallen rider had passed his test earlier that day and this was his first ride on a bike bigger than 125cc. What a start to his biking career!

 

[Targa]

Driving at legal speeds in the UK is tedious and time consuming.

Never bother with speed limits unless there's a camera or police around.
I also never drive on motorways (except the M53 out of the tunnel) because it's boring.

 

[Colin the Bear]

Hate motorways on the bike. I can feel my tyres squaring. I used to draw a straight line on the map and use the roads nearest to it. Miscalculated one time and ended up driving along a brook. Should have gone to spec savers.

 

[trimmy]

I suspect that Trimmy's remark about pose factor may have much to do with it.

Pose factor remark was a reply to Colins reply to what's the point in having a bike today, when i was riding i bought the best all rounder i could afford and was available at the time.
If i was to buy a bike today it would have to have 'pose factor' as long as it got me to A-B and looked good getting me there. (Shallow i know) !!

 

[Colin the Bear]

Have you seen the only Harley to have? Porche engined Vrod. A couple of years after it came out they did an extra chrome version called the Street Rod and an all black, black engined version called the Night Rod. I used to wind the owners up by announcing the fluorescent orange to be released.............. The Dyno Rod.

The point I was trying to make when I said what's the point is, with being too heavy, less flexible, lost my bounce, eyes not as sharp, wits not as sharp, immortality gone, hearing suffering from wind noise I feel I should be riding a road going version of a Dodgem. I don't want to pootle about and be one of those good old boys that are still riding with an OFC patch.

 

[Jay]

The point I was trying to make when I said what's the point is, with being too heavy, less flexible, lost my bounce, eyes not as sharp, wits not as sharp, immortality gone, hearing suffering from wind noise I feel I should be riding a road going version of a Dodgem. I don't want to pootle about and be one of those good old boys that are still riding with an OFC patch.

I can see that, it can be hard to do something you used to do as a youngster, and compare yourself to how you are now. I was an international fencer in my yoof. I went back about to it about 15 years later, only for a couple of hours and thought 'this is just depressing'. So I think for some things you move forward and do new stuff, rather than go back. But other things you find you can still enjoy, just rather more sedately. I still love to sail, though I am never going to race again. It's an individual thing, each to their own.

 

[Colin the Bear]

Oy! I only stopped riding last year. Did less than 100 miles year before. Not a conscious decision. Just still sorned from winter and a pile of dust on the bike.

 

[Jay]

Oy! I only stopped riding last year. Did less than 100 miles year before. Not a conscious decision. Just still sorned from winter and a pile of dust on the bike.

😛 It mebbe wants dusting off and taxing then, or happen it's one of those things that can tek a backseat for a bit? 😎
I managed three hours out between showers this afternoon. Corners getting faster (not fast note, but faster than my former geriatric snail pace) and throttle control a bit smoother. Just a good afternoon to be out 🙂

 

[trimmy]

I can see that, it can be hard to do something you used to do as a youngster, and compare yourself to how you are now.

Yep 🙁

 

[Jay]

Yep 🙁

I much prefer the inside of my own head these days, but it would be very nice, in more ways than one, to have my 25 year old body back. Ah well 😛

 

[Vlad]

Mmm, think we might have had the best of it, era wise...Don't think I'd much want to be dragged back to restored yoof and have to live in the next 50 years or so 🙁

 

[richardr]

After a few years of fast and furious biking I quit in my early 30s but bought another bike when I was 40. When I'd got over my dismay that after only a few years' lay-off I'd lost it I still enjoyed riding more sedately. By that time I'd become involved in photo-journalism as a lucrative hobby and owning a bike gave me an opportunity to write for "Back Street Heroes", Britain's premier custom bike magazine. That's history for me, but the other thing about biking in middle age was that it gave me the freedom to tour the countryside looking for subject for articles. That's why I'm strongly tempted to get another bike, because it's the way to tour the country.

 

[Vlad]

^ A perfect vehicle for the travelling photographer certainly !