Any other motorcylists here?
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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!
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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!
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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
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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
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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
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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.
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Got any pics of the EH? Blah!
