Hey, LATS... (and some others on here)

I just picked up my first motorcycle:

Nice dude. What year is it?

It's a 1979.

I don't have a lot of useful opinions about ikes and all, but I like 'em, and yours looks nice man! Eventually I'll get me a bike. But I'll have to learn how to ride a bike really well before venturing. KNowing how to do a bicycle is not enough.

Originally Posted by: kingdavidKNowing how to do a bicycle is not enough.

Yeah, I was learning that yesterday.

But once you're used to the way they shift, it's really not so bad.

This bike should make for some great cheap transportation next summer.

[font=trebuchet ms]Good stuff! I haven't been to Vermont myself, but all of my riding friends who have been, tell me there are some wonderful roads there. I predict you're gonna find that 'getting your knees in the breeze' becomes an important facet of your life. Dealing with incompetent car-drivers around town is a hassle, but purring along on rural roads is very therapeutic. As soon as I finish looking through the new posts here, I'm off to the Rockies, while the weather still permits.[/font]

Originally Posted by: RaskolnikovYeah, I was learning that yesterday.

But once you're used to the way they shift, it's really not so bad.

This bike should make for some great cheap transportation next summer.

[font=trebuchet ms]Braking smoothly is the tricky bit. Most of your braking effectivenes is at the front wheel. The harder you brake, the more the weight shifts forward, reducing the rear whell traction. That makes it hard to brake strongly without locking up the rear wheel. Don't get stressed about it. A bit of rear wheel skidding is not a problem. Empty parking lots make good practice areas.

Get used to initiating turns by mentally pointing the way with your finger. For a left turn, think of pointing with the finger of your left hand while still holding the handlebars. This will cause you to push slightly on the left grip, which will initiate the turn. 'Point' with the finger of your right hand to initiate a right turn. This 'push steer' or 'countersteering' technique will make following twisty roads a lot easier, because the bike responds immediately. Simply leaning in the direction you want to go is not enough to assert control of the bike.[/font]

Originally Posted by: Lordathestrings[font=trebuchet ms]Good stuff! I haven't been to Vermont myself, but all of my riding friends who have been, tell me there are some wonderful roads there.[/font][/QUOTE]
For sure. One of the first things I noticed as I came back from Louisiana is that it suddenly required skill to drive the roads I was driving on. I missed that a lot more than I'd realized.



[QUOTE=Lordathestrings][font=trebuchet ms]Dealing with incompetent car-drivers around town is a hassle[/font]

Yeah, I've already had someone riding on my ass and I've only had it out on pavement once.

It's not good weather often enough here in Iowa to do much with a motorcycle, but if it was I would be saving up for one.

*rolled into Nazareth, was feeling about half-past-dead*

Originally Posted by: AkiraThen she sold it a few years ago, and bought this:

You've got a helluva mother.

Originally Posted by: Leedogg*rolled into Nazareth, was feeling about half-past-dead*

*had to find some place, where I could lay my head*

dude, I want a motorcycle... my parents won't let me get one though, apparently they think it's way too dangerous... so, I'm probably going to get one when I'm 18 and they have no say in the matter.

That'll teach 'em! My buddy is my age (24) and on his third motorcycle.

He bought the first one when we were 16, but his parent's noticed $400 missing from his savings account, found out about the bike, then sold it and never gave him the money for it.

The second bike he got when we were 20. It was a Ninja crotch rocket that he made $100/month payments on for a year and never got the chance to ride. He was taking over payments on it from a friend of his, then gave the bike back to him when he was having trouble in School.

This last bike he's put lots of time and money into and has only ridden once for any worthwhile distance. He was going into the Air Force and needed a place to store it so he kept it in my mom's garage. It was there since August of '04, but his insurance recently expired and his parents found out about this one too. They've been seriously against him owning a motorcycle. Well, to make a long story a little shorter, his parent's went over to my Mom's last weekend to get the bike. Time will tell if they coax him into selling this one or not, but looking at his past track record he's had 3 bikes that he hasn't really gotten a chance to ride...Just spend a lot of money on :D

Originally Posted by: Leedogg... It was there since August of '04, but his insurance recently expired and his parents found out about this one too. They've been seriously against him owning a motorcycle. Well, to make a long story a little shorter, his parent's went over to my Mom's last weekend to get the bike. Time will tell if they coax him into selling this one or not ...

[font=trebuchet ms]Have I got this right?

He's 24.
He's in the Air Force.
His parents are still runing his life?

This guy don't need a bike - he needs a gonad transplant![/font]

Originally Posted by: Lordathestrings[font=trebuchet ms]Have I got this right?

He's 24.
He's in the Air Force.
His parents are still runing his life?

This guy don't need a bike - he needs a gonad transplant![/font]

Hehe, ain't that the truth. This kid's been a mess for some time now, but we've been best buds since we were 12. It's funny that you mention his need for a gonad transplant because I whenever he's asking for advice I usually say "Grow a pair!" or some deviation of that theme.

He's not in the Air Force any more, he washed out in Basic.

As for his parent's they're pretty crazy and have made him kinda crazy too. He's got such low self-esteem that I swear you can carry him around in a bucket. :D

Originally Posted by: Raskolnikov... One of the first things I noticed as I came back from Louisiana is that it suddenly required skill to drive the roads I was driving on. ...

[font=trebuchet ms]Oh, yeah. This picture I took of my bike when I passed the 100,000 km mark doesn't show the road I was on, but the background should convey cause for the need to concentrate![/font] :D

>pic<

Look at that ancient Electrolux!! (1st post. 3rd pic)

Nothin' Sucks Like An Electrolux!!!

I remember riding one of those.

Illegal racing exhaust? What?

I don't know anything about engines, why would any exhaust be illegal? I didn't even realize different exhausts did much of anything besides look awesome.

Originally Posted by: HammurabiIllegal racing exhaust? What?

I don't know anything about engines, why would any exhaust be illegal? I didn't even realize different exhausts did much of anything besides look awesome.

well, the engine creates exhaust fumes, and has to push them out the exhaust pipe, and the smaller around the exhaust pipe is, the harder the engine has to work to do it, so, by installing a larger diameter exhaust system, you can add a couple horsepower, not near as much as, say, adding a turbo (on a car) but still enough to make a difference...

it can be illegal because then your car (or bike) is emitting too much toxic gas, so it's not good for the environment (supposedly, I'm not an environmentalist, and I believe that global warming is unrealistic, I mean, one volcano eruption releases more toxic gas then all of the fumes from all of the cars in the world do in a year!)

or something to that extent anyway, you can correct me if I'm wrong (about exhaust, not global warming)