Any other motorcylists here?
-
I cry just getting my hair cut LOL! All this talk of bikes is getting me itchy to get my L's. Anyone got any horror stories, or are you all going to tell me it's perfectly safe and I should just go for it (come to the dark side Chris...) cheers, Chris Maunder
G'day Chris, Motorcycling isn't inherently safe, but IMHO, it's one of the most fun things you can do with your clothes on. :-) If you're seriously interested in getting your Ls, the best advice I can offer you is to get yourself some good training. Attitude is just about everything when riding motorcycles (this is probably true for any activity involving an element of danger, I suppose). Of course, even with the best training/skills one can still fall victim to just plain bad luck. Wrong place/wrong time type of thing. As for horror stories, hmmm... How about the time I 'highsided' at about 220kph in a race? I flew through the air for about 50 metres and had plenty of time to think 'Boy, this is gonna hurt!'. And I was dead right, too! Finished up with a compound fracture in my leg and just managed to wriggle out of my very expensive leathers before the ambulance guys arrived to cut them off. Gawd, that one hurt... :eek: Steve
-
I cry just getting my hair cut LOL! All this talk of bikes is getting me itchy to get my L's. Anyone got any horror stories, or are you all going to tell me it's perfectly safe and I should just go for it (come to the dark side Chris...) cheers, Chris Maunder
Everybody is right on this: 1. Assume the risks. It's not safe, but then again neither is traveling in a cage.... 2. AMA Basic Rider Course is a must. The Experienced rider course is recommended. 3. Seriously, you're going to go down. It's not so bad, but learn from it. 4. If you own a harley, check the bolts every couple of weeks (I'm always loosing my kickstand). Ritch Blah!
-
G'day Chris, Motorcycling isn't inherently safe, but IMHO, it's one of the most fun things you can do with your clothes on. :-) If you're seriously interested in getting your Ls, the best advice I can offer you is to get yourself some good training. Attitude is just about everything when riding motorcycles (this is probably true for any activity involving an element of danger, I suppose). Of course, even with the best training/skills one can still fall victim to just plain bad luck. Wrong place/wrong time type of thing. As for horror stories, hmmm... How about the time I 'highsided' at about 220kph in a race? I flew through the air for about 50 metres and had plenty of time to think 'Boy, this is gonna hurt!'. And I was dead right, too! Finished up with a compound fracture in my leg and just managed to wriggle out of my very expensive leathers before the ambulance guys arrived to cut them off. Gawd, that one hurt... :eek: Steve
Traveling to Vegas....had a couple of beers (Ok, I had about 8 and there's no justification for my actions). It was about 11:00pm and it started to rain and I couldn't find my clear visior, so I snapped on the tinted visor (impaired judgment). Pulling out of the gas station and onto the onramp I realised that I was now heading east, back the way I came. I thought to myself "Hey, I'm on a bike, I can just turn around.", so I did(impaired judgement again). Dropped the hammer and I'm probably doing 60 by now, I can't really see, and I'm headed the wrong way on an onramp. All of a sudden this 10 inch concrete curb appears in front of me and I can see the narrow part of a highway sign coming at me rather quickly. No time to hit the brakes, I hit the curb and I am launched airborne several feet. The tires exploded on impact, the rims had a 6 inch V shape in them, spokes were sticking out....and somehow I'm still holding on to the handlebars. The rear end of the bike strikes the leg of the signpost (my left hardbag tears off at this point) and starts to swing the other way. My feet decide it's time to rise above my head as the bike plummets towards the ground nose first. Somehow as the front weel makes contact with the ground, my left foot grabs a foothold on the rear sissybar. The second weel makes contact as the fork seals bust. I travel a couple of inches before the mangled wheels grab at the swingarm, downtubes, and fork legs and the bike starts to slide out from under me. I fly forward and hit the ground on my right side and I end up on my back. My tiny beanie helmet (or big ass head) never hit the ground. The bike slides towards me on its exahust throwing up sparks that made it look like some sort of comet. This happened the weekend of the laughlin river run and several other bikers witnessed the event and came to my rescue. The bike was dead. I was brused and battered, but the leathers took most of the damage. The sobering reality in all this is that I knew better. Over half of all fatal motorcycle crashes involve an intoxicated rider. Over 90% of those riders had less than 2 beers in their system............. Blah!
-
Everybody is right on this: 1. Assume the risks. It's not safe, but then again neither is traveling in a cage.... 2. AMA Basic Rider Course is a must. The Experienced rider course is recommended. 3. Seriously, you're going to go down. It's not so bad, but learn from it. 4. If you own a harley, check the bolts every couple of weeks (I'm always loosing my kickstand). Ritch Blah!
You guys are a bad, bad influence. What's a good bike to start with? I'm assuming for leathers and helmet just pay as much as I can afford. I wonder if hospitals have wirless internet connections yet... cheers, Chris Maunder
-
You guys are a bad, bad influence. What's a good bike to start with? I'm assuming for leathers and helmet just pay as much as I can afford. I wonder if hospitals have wirless internet connections yet... cheers, Chris Maunder
G'day Chris, Here in OZ, beginners are restricted to riding bikes with 250cc engine capacity or less for the first couple of years. I'm pretty sure that the ACT has a power/weight limit as well. Hence, you can't ride any of the 250cc two-stroke rocket-ships (Suzuki RGV250, Aprillia RS250, etc.), but you will be limited to something with a bit more weight and a bit less power. My brother (Cam) is the head mechanic at a bike shop here in Brissy, and there are two bikes they mostly sell to beginners: Honda 250 Spada (MC20) and the Honda CBR250R (MC19). (Follow the links for pics/specs.) The Spada is a really nice little V Twin. They're fairly butllet-proof and don't cost much to run. They typically retail for around AUS$3-4k. The CBR250R has an inline four engine and is a bit more powerful and sportier than the Spada. These things rev to about 18k RPM :eek: and sound really sweet! They retail for around AUS$4-6k depending on mileage/condition etc. These prices are for second-hand bikes with new tyres, brake pads, brake fluid, and brought up to 2001 Australian Design Rules specifications. They'd typically have 10000-20000 KM on their clocks. These two models are really popular with the beginners. Cam reckons they just can't get enough of them to sell. He likes them because they're so reliable and they hold their re-sale value fairly well. As for riding gear. My Dad used to say, "If you have a $10 head then wear a $10 helmet" :-) Good helmets range from $200-1000. Anything above say $400 and you're paying for a trick Mick Doohan replica paint-job and nothing more. Jeans and a cardy just won't cut it, so you'll definately want some good riding pants and a good jacket (full leathers are ideal, but they can be expensive). A good water-resistant jacket will set you back about $300-500. They mostly have removable liners (take the liner out for summer) and built-in body armour for the elbows and shoulders. Leather pants will cost around $200-400. They also will have body-armour at least in the knees and sometimes for the hips as well. Some even come with knee sliders, but you won't need them for a while yet, unless of course, you fancy youself as a budding Mick Doohan type. :-) Gloves range from $50 to $100. Boots from say $100-$500 depending on style etc. If you want to look really swish and get top of th
-
Traveling to Vegas....had a couple of beers (Ok, I had about 8 and there's no justification for my actions). It was about 11:00pm and it started to rain and I couldn't find my clear visior, so I snapped on the tinted visor (impaired judgment). Pulling out of the gas station and onto the onramp I realised that I was now heading east, back the way I came. I thought to myself "Hey, I'm on a bike, I can just turn around.", so I did(impaired judgement again). Dropped the hammer and I'm probably doing 60 by now, I can't really see, and I'm headed the wrong way on an onramp. All of a sudden this 10 inch concrete curb appears in front of me and I can see the narrow part of a highway sign coming at me rather quickly. No time to hit the brakes, I hit the curb and I am launched airborne several feet. The tires exploded on impact, the rims had a 6 inch V shape in them, spokes were sticking out....and somehow I'm still holding on to the handlebars. The rear end of the bike strikes the leg of the signpost (my left hardbag tears off at this point) and starts to swing the other way. My feet decide it's time to rise above my head as the bike plummets towards the ground nose first. Somehow as the front weel makes contact with the ground, my left foot grabs a foothold on the rear sissybar. The second weel makes contact as the fork seals bust. I travel a couple of inches before the mangled wheels grab at the swingarm, downtubes, and fork legs and the bike starts to slide out from under me. I fly forward and hit the ground on my right side and I end up on my back. My tiny beanie helmet (or big ass head) never hit the ground. The bike slides towards me on its exahust throwing up sparks that made it look like some sort of comet. This happened the weekend of the laughlin river run and several other bikers witnessed the event and came to my rescue. The bike was dead. I was brused and battered, but the leathers took most of the damage. The sobering reality in all this is that I knew better. Over half of all fatal motorcycle crashes involve an intoxicated rider. Over 90% of those riders had less than 2 beers in their system............. Blah!
Crikey Richard. It sounds like you were pretty luck to walk away form that one. > Over half of all fatal motorcycle crashes involve an intoxicated > rider. Over 90% of those riders had less than 2 beers in their system I used to work as a machine examiner/scrutineer at the local race trace a few years ago. It amazed me how (very) occasionally, some bloke would turn up to practice on a Saturday afternoon, having stopped off at the pub for a couple of beers on the way there. :eek: Needless to say they never passed scrutineering or made it onto the track, but you've got to wonder what they were thinking... Steve
-
Crikey Richard. It sounds like you were pretty luck to walk away form that one. > Over half of all fatal motorcycle crashes involve an intoxicated > rider. Over 90% of those riders had less than 2 beers in their system I used to work as a machine examiner/scrutineer at the local race trace a few years ago. It amazed me how (very) occasionally, some bloke would turn up to practice on a Saturday afternoon, having stopped off at the pub for a couple of beers on the way there. :eek: Needless to say they never passed scrutineering or made it onto the track, but you've got to wonder what they were thinking... Steve
It's amazing (and selfish) when I think about it. The only time I've ever been hospitialized was when some lady ran a stop sign and hit me at about 40mph. I didn't break any bones, but I cracked my head up something fierce. I had 9 small rocks from the gravel enter my head near one ear and stop moving near the other ear. The doctor (who felt I didn't need any anisthetic) used these little peices of wire to drag the rocks out of their hiding place under my skin. Unfortunatly, he didn't want to cut any more holes in my skin, so he used the existing ones and pushed the wire around my scalp until it reached the other side. Then he would use his fingers to help hook the rocks with the wire and drag them back the other way. Not fun at all. I think he caused some of the pain on purpose because I wasn't wearing a helmet. Needless to say, I've slowed way down in the last couple of years. I'd like to live to 30. I've taken the Basic/Experienced rider courses. I've realized how safe motorcycling can be when you are aware of your surrounding Blah!
-
G'day Chris, Here in OZ, beginners are restricted to riding bikes with 250cc engine capacity or less for the first couple of years. I'm pretty sure that the ACT has a power/weight limit as well. Hence, you can't ride any of the 250cc two-stroke rocket-ships (Suzuki RGV250, Aprillia RS250, etc.), but you will be limited to something with a bit more weight and a bit less power. My brother (Cam) is the head mechanic at a bike shop here in Brissy, and there are two bikes they mostly sell to beginners: Honda 250 Spada (MC20) and the Honda CBR250R (MC19). (Follow the links for pics/specs.) The Spada is a really nice little V Twin. They're fairly butllet-proof and don't cost much to run. They typically retail for around AUS$3-4k. The CBR250R has an inline four engine and is a bit more powerful and sportier than the Spada. These things rev to about 18k RPM :eek: and sound really sweet! They retail for around AUS$4-6k depending on mileage/condition etc. These prices are for second-hand bikes with new tyres, brake pads, brake fluid, and brought up to 2001 Australian Design Rules specifications. They'd typically have 10000-20000 KM on their clocks. These two models are really popular with the beginners. Cam reckons they just can't get enough of them to sell. He likes them because they're so reliable and they hold their re-sale value fairly well. As for riding gear. My Dad used to say, "If you have a $10 head then wear a $10 helmet" :-) Good helmets range from $200-1000. Anything above say $400 and you're paying for a trick Mick Doohan replica paint-job and nothing more. Jeans and a cardy just won't cut it, so you'll definately want some good riding pants and a good jacket (full leathers are ideal, but they can be expensive). A good water-resistant jacket will set you back about $300-500. They mostly have removable liners (take the liner out for summer) and built-in body armour for the elbows and shoulders. Leather pants will cost around $200-400. They also will have body-armour at least in the knees and sometimes for the hips as well. Some even come with knee sliders, but you won't need them for a while yet, unless of course, you fancy youself as a budding Mick Doohan type. :-) Gloves range from $50 to $100. Boots from say $100-$500 depending on style etc. If you want to look really swish and get top of th
What exactly are Australia's motorcycle laws like? I think they were the first country to enact manditory helmet law (~1960). Here in the states we didn't get our first bit of manditory opression until 1966 (Georgia). Can a normal bloke ride a HD 1200 or TC88 (1450)? or is it too expensive? Ritch Blah!
-
What exactly are Australia's motorcycle laws like? I think they were the first country to enact manditory helmet law (~1960). Here in the states we didn't get our first bit of manditory opression until 1966 (Georgia). Can a normal bloke ride a HD 1200 or TC88 (1450)? or is it too expensive? Ritch Blah!
G'day Richard, Yep, helmets have been mandatory here since I was a kid. <oldfart>Back when I were a lad</of>, if you could ride a bike around the block with out hitting anything you got your licence. The last 10 years or so have seen a lot of changes to motorcycling licensing laws. The licensing requirements are different for each state, but here in Queensland, there are mandatory training courses that you must complete before attempting a licence test. After getting your license you aren't permitted to ride anything over 250cc for the first year or so, after that the sky's the limit. As I understand it, some other states require further training/testing after the first year, but after that you're free to ride whatever you like. The variety of bikes available here is probably a bit larger than that in the US (Our emission control laws aren't quite a strict as those in the US). Also, there's a large grey-market for Japanese imports which the manufacturers don't directly import themselves. The outfit that my brother works for imports a lot of Japanese bikes that ordinarily wouldn't be available out here otherwise. Basically, if you see/hear of a cool bike, then it's probably available in OZ. Motorcycling can be expensive out here as there are no local manufacturers, so all bikes are imported. With the value of the Aussie dollar going down the toilet as I write (< 50 US cents last night!!!), things are going to get even more expensive. Mind you, it's always possible to find a nice bike at a reasonable price if you are prepared to look. My RVF400 cost about AUS$7k second hand with about 15000km on the clock. It came with new paint, tyres, brake pads, chain and a few other goodies. I consider it a bargain. Hogs start around ASU$20k+ (I think). Some accessories and a lot of clothing are manufactured out here and most of it is excellent quality, so that's not normally too costly. Imported tyres can be expensive. I fitted a set of Michelin Pilot Race tyres to my bike a few weeks ago. They'd retail for about AUS$550 the pair normally. Granted, they're about the most expensive rubber you can get, but it should give you an idea of comparative prices. All round, motorcycling in OZ can be as cheap or as expensive as you want (i.e CB125 versus an R1 with full race kit :-)). Steve
-
All this talk of snowboarding has me feeling a little left out. It doesn't snow much here in Brisbane, but we do have some excellent weather and roads for motorcycling. So, do any of you coders also double up as biker scum? :-) Steve
-
It's amazing (and selfish) when I think about it. The only time I've ever been hospitialized was when some lady ran a stop sign and hit me at about 40mph. I didn't break any bones, but I cracked my head up something fierce. I had 9 small rocks from the gravel enter my head near one ear and stop moving near the other ear. The doctor (who felt I didn't need any anisthetic) used these little peices of wire to drag the rocks out of their hiding place under my skin. Unfortunatly, he didn't want to cut any more holes in my skin, so he used the existing ones and pushed the wire around my scalp until it reached the other side. Then he would use his fingers to help hook the rocks with the wire and drag them back the other way. Not fun at all. I think he caused some of the pain on purpose because I wasn't wearing a helmet. Needless to say, I've slowed way down in the last couple of years. I'd like to live to 30. I've taken the Basic/Experienced rider courses. I've realized how safe motorcycling can be when you are aware of your surrounding Blah!
Oh, my god. :) David
-
I am. Go here The 1993 Harley-Davidson currently has 79k miles on it and no matter the weather, it gets ridden. The 1999 Exclesior-Henderson is languishing at 500 miles in the garage, awaiting it's next owner.
-
Got any pics of the EH? Blah!
