Got to see the Classified Moto shop yesterday, which is the custom garage out here that built Norman Reedus's streetfighter seen in The Walking Dead. I actually kinda love the guy's Virago builds even if a few of his others are a little bit over-the-top. Pretty functional by fuckoff-flashy custom bike standards, though
EICMA news this year includes:
- New Harley Davidson ADV bike, the Pan America, and streetfighter, the Bronx. Both built on a slimmed-down variant of the V-Rod's Porsche/HD motor, for 2020. These had been teased but it's finally happening. Horsepower/torque to rival comparable Ducatis and KTMs.
- Suzuki's making the new V-Strom a 1050 with fully modernized electronics and Euro 6 compliance. Also gets a retro body kit reminiscent of the DR-Big from the 80s.
- KTM is finally releasing the 390 Adventure, on the Duke 390 motor, but it's limited to cast wheels for now. I expect an R model with spoked wheels and long suspension for 2021
Has anyone else been extremely disappointed in electric motorcycles? I was really excited about some of the Zero motorcycles dual-sport offerings until I saw how poor the range is on them. There's no way you can ride out somewhere, explore (or even camp) and get back home. I even wrote to them and they told me that to get the kind of distance I usually get out of 1 tank of gas on my XT250, I would basically need a solar panel the size of a garage door, and many hours of charging out in the middle of nowhere.
Sadly it sounds like the electric bike industry is more focused on making them quicker to charge back up rather than making a battery that can hold more. They do seem like great bikes if you only do short trips around the city though, and have a dedicated place to plug it in every night (no street parking).
Yeah the e-bikes are just like electric cars - absolutely impeccable manners and almost zero maintenance, but really designed as commuters. The "dual-sport" ones are really best for a more Japanese/SE Asian-style philosophy of use, where dual-sport bikes are extremely popular as city/semi-urban bikes that can handle roads of any quality and split lanes like a scalpel
I really want to emphasize that to literally anyone who gets range anxiety, too - if you want a bike with long touring ranges, get an ICE bike and use it as a tourer! The two don't have to be exclusive and most of the average person is emissions come from commuting anyways! A touring bike and an electric bike would actually be awesome for me, given my current commute is 3 miles
My current dream e-bike is the Cake Kalk& - a 175-lb Swedish supermoto that can be tweaked to behave like a two-stroke, four-stroke, or pure e-bike. They also have a bike at this EICMA called the Ösa+, which is basically an electric Honda Motra with the multiple cargo racks, but also is much faster than the old Honda was. The cargo racks actually have me really intrigued
The problem with e-bikes is the weight of battery relative to its capacity.
It afflicts cars as well, but the impact is less noticeable in an age when people use 4x4s as city cars. Even Lotus ended up building a 1700kg barge when they tried to build an electric car.
On a bike, though, there's an upper limit to how heavy you can make the thing before it's too unwieldy, so range gets sacrificed instead.
That Cake bike gets approx 50 miles out of 150lbs for the single battery pack config, and about 175 lbs for the double pack config which increases range accordingly
I spent all weekend city riding and only barely hit 60 miles, while hitting a pretty huge amount of urban Richmond VA, and that'd have included loads of chances to charge including two overnights
The e-bike is a maturing technology, but I think a lot of fears are overblown, so long as you're using these bikes for the correct philosophy of use
I did consider getting a Zero for my commuter bike. While range was clearly limited, it was well within my requirements, as I'm only ever ~60 miles round trip from home.
Damn glad I put it off until my CBR finally got to the point servicing exceeded value. When I went looking, I found that the one store in my state (Victoria, Australia) that stocked them, had closed. And few motorcycle shops at all, and none apparently willing to deal with EBikes. While I appreciate the low maintenance aspect, having to crate it interstate, or perhaps international, if it did have a problem, was something I was glad I waited on.
Is a shame. I really did like the look, and the technical data I was seeing.
I just had to deal with my biggest issue with the electric sportbikes, literally just now while walking home from the drugstore
Picked up an old dude off the road after he very clearly surprised himself with the off-idle torque of his Zero SR, and this was a bike he'd put 8000 miles on
Basically, he gunned it off a light in the middle of the city, hit a part of the road with a nearly invisible dip, and went into a tankslapper faster than he could recognize what was happening. He and the bike were mostly fine besides a minor bit of rash to his thighs, and about a centimeter eaten off the left hand bar end and the kickstand's foot
See my prior comment about some bikes having more motor than suspension
I just had to deal with my biggest issue with the electric sportbikes, literally just now while walking home from the drugstore
Picked up an old dude off the road after he very clearly surprised himself with the off-idle torque of his Zero SR, and this was a bike he'd put 8000 miles on
Basically, he gunned it off a light in the middle of the city, hit a part of the road with a nearly invisible dip, and went into a tankslapper faster than he could recognize what was happening. He and the bike were mostly fine besides a minor bit of rash to his thighs, and about a centimeter eaten off the left hand bar end and the kickstand's foot
See my prior comment about some bikes having more motor than suspension
Yikes. Hopefully he's ATGATT after that. I know it sadly took me a few bad wrecks to learn that rule.
I just had to deal with my biggest issue with the electric sportbikes, literally just now while walking home from the drugstore
Picked up an old dude off the road after he very clearly surprised himself with the off-idle torque of his Zero SR, and this was a bike he'd put 8000 miles on
Basically, he gunned it off a light in the middle of the city, hit a part of the road with a nearly invisible dip, and went into a tankslapper faster than he could recognize what was happening. He and the bike were mostly fine besides a minor bit of rash to his thighs, and about a centimeter eaten off the left hand bar end and the kickstand's foot
See my prior comment about some bikes having more motor than suspension
Yikes. Hopefully he's ATGATT after that. I know it sadly took me a few bad wrecks to learn that rule.
Yeah. I don't always wear proper gear pants (though it's always full length, never shorts), but helmet, boots, gloves and jacket, any time it comes out of the garage.
Any time I see a squid, especially one with open toed shoes, I wince.
Only ever come off at speed once (about ~40mph), and I was thankful as hell for my gear, and the damage that could have been done without it.
I just had to deal with my biggest issue with the electric sportbikes, literally just now while walking home from the drugstore
Picked up an old dude off the road after he very clearly surprised himself with the off-idle torque of his Zero SR, and this was a bike he'd put 8000 miles on
Basically, he gunned it off a light in the middle of the city, hit a part of the road with a nearly invisible dip, and went into a tankslapper faster than he could recognize what was happening. He and the bike were mostly fine besides a minor bit of rash to his thighs, and about a centimeter eaten off the left hand bar end and the kickstand's foot
See my prior comment about some bikes having more motor than suspension
Yikes. Hopefully he's ATGATT after that. I know it sadly took me a few bad wrecks to learn that rule.
Yeah. I don't always wear proper gear pants (though it's always full length, never shorts), but helmet, boots, gloves and jacket, any time it comes out of the garage.
Any time I see a squid, especially one with open toed shoes, I wince.
Only ever come off at speed once (about ~40mph), and I was thankful as hell for my gear, and the damage that could have been done without it.
Yeah road rash is not fun, nor is having your front teeth replaced. My wife had a bad wreck on the Ecuador/Peruvian border and twisted her knee while getting pinned under the bike. She's still having issues almost 2 years later, but I can't imagine how bad it would have been if she didn't have pants with knee pads in them.
I'm sure we've all met people talking about "Klim Life" but I will say that my Klim gear is the most comfortable, fully armored riding gear I've ever worn.
I'm so ridiculously excited to finally have the Alpinestars airbag suit for next track season. Like i'm one step closer to Iron Man!
Gear is amazing and awesome and for the life of me i cant figure out why people dont wear it.
I'll admit that most of the time I'm on my scooter it's with sturdy pants, boots that cover my ankle, and a leather/jean jacket, but other than a helmet and gloves no motorcycle-specific gear.
But then I don't really go over ~30 or so, which I'll do on a bicycle wearing basically nothing except a styrofoam yarmulke by comparison.
I'll admit that most of the time I'm on my scooter it's with sturdy pants, boots that cover my ankle, and a leather/jean jacket, but other than a helmet and gloves no motorcycle-specific gear.
But then I don't really go over ~30 or so, which I'll do on a bicycle wearing basically nothing except a styrofoam yarmulke by comparison.
I understand your point. And sometimes I don't want to put all that gear on, so if it's a short trip I will just drive (even though I love taking the bike). But I've also seen someone on a scooter get rammed by a car while sitting at a stoplight. So it's always a gamble.
I'll admit that most of the time I'm on my scooter it's with sturdy pants, boots that cover my ankle, and a leather/jean jacket, but other than a helmet and gloves no motorcycle-specific gear.
But then I don't really go over ~30 or so, which I'll do on a bicycle wearing basically nothing except a styrofoam yarmulke by comparison.
I understand your point. And sometimes I don't want to put all that gear on, so if it's a short trip I will just drive (even though I love taking the bike). But I've also seen someone on a scooter get rammed by a car while sitting at a stoplight. So it's always a gamble.
Agreed. It's about understanding and accepting thresholds of risk, I guess.
FWIW, I've also seen people on bicycles get nailed at stoplights/intersections.
I would always wear some kind of reinforced footwear just because even in a low speed tip over on a scooter some part of the machine probably lands on your foot
I guess I should get Klim pants? I need a pair that look somewhat acceptable for the office
it was the smallest on the list but
Pluto was a planet and I'll never forget
I would always wear some kind of reinforced footwear just because even in a low speed tip over on a scooter some part of the machine probably lands on your foot
I guess I should get Klim pants? I need a pair that look somewhat acceptable for the office
I just had to deal with my biggest issue with the electric sportbikes, literally just now while walking home from the drugstore
Picked up an old dude off the road after he very clearly surprised himself with the off-idle torque of his Zero SR, and this was a bike he'd put 8000 miles on
Basically, he gunned it off a light in the middle of the city, hit a part of the road with a nearly invisible dip, and went into a tankslapper faster than he could recognize what was happening. He and the bike were mostly fine besides a minor bit of rash to his thighs, and about a centimeter eaten off the left hand bar end and the kickstand's foot
See my prior comment about some bikes having more motor than suspension
Yikes. Hopefully he's ATGATT after that. I know it sadly took me a few bad wrecks to learn that rule.
Apparently he is while touring, but this was just a relative puddle-jump across town
There was definitely a touch of complacency at a couple levels here
- A Bell MX-9 Adventure MIPS helmet. Basically a dirt helmet with a visor, but it's DOT/ECE rated, lightweight, and only costs like $200. A bit noisy over 50 mph but that's what good earplugs are for
- Racer Mickey gloves. The perfect glove for anything dry over 50°f, and I can extend that with Merino liners. Fuckin' enormous scaphoid protector sliders, but they are perfectly shaped so that they never interfere with controls.
- TCX Hero WP boots. Comfy, look good, and are about the minimum I'd want for protection but they're perfectly sufficient for the kind of riding I do.
And if I am doing gloves/boots/helmet-only riding (which is rare!) I do at least wear a mid-weight denim jacket and long pants. Only ever played the t-shirt game once and that was plenty!
I also wear:
- Klim Tactical shorts. These act as both hip armor and seat padding.
For warmer/drier weather:
- Rev'It Traction mesh jacket. Flows air brilliantly, and has exactly as many pockets as I ever want. The mesh is pretty impressive too.
- Rev'It Alpha RF Chinos. Pretty much armored Carhartt pants with a bit of extra reinforcement.
For colder/wetter weather:
- the previous generation of Klim Traverse suit, which I bought off an old guy for like 1/6 the sticker price. Meant for being a lightweight dual-sport and ADV suit, but I find it to also be a good minimalist touring suit. Fits insulating layers under it well, too.
There's a lot more gear I'd ideally like to have, but what I've got totally works. My intended approach is akin to my experience with backpacking, and also based on what a lot of rally riders do: it's a bit more precise to layer up, and add/remove as needed, than to have one huge layer (also a bit less convenient but hey)
Trellis frame that uses the motor as a stressed member, and a small-block unitized motor - honestly, you take the bodywork off those bikes and they look more like KTMs than anything else
Trellis frame that uses the motor as a stressed member, and a small-block unitized motor - honestly, you take the bodywork off those bikes and they look more like KTMs than anything else
wrt the new Africa Twin CRF1100L, I'm most impressed that they actually dropped the weight pretty reasonably through some clever redesign of the subframe and the body work. the base model is a hair under 500lbs! actually makes it lighter than the BMW F850GS and the KTM 1090R, two of its closest competitors
the bike in that mid-weight segment I'm most excited for is the Tenere 700 but y'all already have that out in Oz
Hey look, a motorcycle thread. Yes, know this thread has been dead for over two years, but I did something cool today and have no one to share it with.
I took my new baby:
(The Spyder, not the truck)
Through the tail of the dragon in Deal's Gap. "318 curves in 11 miles" It was a good time.
Bought a Kawi Versys 650LT back in May and rode it from where I picked it up near Long Beach, CA to home in Richmond, VA
Though due to titling issues and postal delays, I'm not able to get into the VA DMV again until October so it's just kinda sitting right now. I should throw on my CRF's plate and ride it exactly long enough to keep the gas from going too stale...
Hey look, a motorcycle thread. Yes, know this thread has been dead for over two years, but I did something cool today and have no one to share it with.
I took my new baby:
(The Spyder, not the truck)
Through the tail of the dragon in Deal's Gap. "318 curves in 11 miles" It was a good time.
Did you need a separate three wheeler license for that in your state? A majority of the people in my three wheeler class were going to buy/ride those, rather than a sidecar.
Nice! My Killboy photos aren't great but I had a blast a couple months back.
We rode down from MI and got absolutely pissed on with 40F rain and hail a couple months back, managed to find a Penske truck and rig all the bikes in a Home Depot parking lot and drove down. Ran out of gas in NC - that shortage was happening - but the morning crew showed up and sold us some emergency to get us to our airbnb. Two awesome days of riding. My tinnitus is starting to fade from the ride back (fucking wind noise amplified through a Sena)
SummaryJudgment on
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SummaryJudgmentGrab the hottest iron you can find, stride in the Tower’s front doorRegistered Userregular
edited August 2021
Funny thing - since I've come back I haven't been on the bike as much this summer ( bad rain and work/family) and its reminded me what a perishable skill riding is
Like, I just slammed the Dragon and Cherohala, why do I feel clumsy on normal riding around town
SummaryJudgment on
Some days Blue wonders why anyone ever bothered making numbers so small; other days she supposes even infinity needs to start somewhere.
I haven't been able to ride as much as I'd like to lately, so I've been upgrading my bike to a full Cogent Dynamics suspension setup. The rear shock was a noticeable improvement, and I should have the forks done soon. Kinda pricey, but it's about the last thing I need to do with it.
Funny thing - since I've come back I haven't been on the bike as much this summer ( bad rain and work/family) and its reminded me what a perishable skill riding is
Like, I just slammed the Dragon and Cherohala, why do I feel clumsy on normal riding around town
Oh same, since I got done with that 4300+ mile trip, between rainy weather and letting my wrist heal up I've probably ridden about 300 miles all summer. Need to take my CRF Rally in for safety inspection tomorrow though, so I might get some light-mileage fun times in afterwards
Posts
- New Harley Davidson ADV bike, the Pan America, and streetfighter, the Bronx. Both built on a slimmed-down variant of the V-Rod's Porsche/HD motor, for 2020. These had been teased but it's finally happening. Horsepower/torque to rival comparable Ducatis and KTMs.
- Suzuki's making the new V-Strom a 1050 with fully modernized electronics and Euro 6 compliance. Also gets a retro body kit reminiscent of the DR-Big from the 80s.
- KTM is finally releasing the 390 Adventure, on the Duke 390 motor, but it's limited to cast wheels for now. I expect an R model with spoked wheels and long suspension for 2021
Sadly it sounds like the electric bike industry is more focused on making them quicker to charge back up rather than making a battery that can hold more. They do seem like great bikes if you only do short trips around the city though, and have a dedicated place to plug it in every night (no street parking).
I really want to emphasize that to literally anyone who gets range anxiety, too - if you want a bike with long touring ranges, get an ICE bike and use it as a tourer! The two don't have to be exclusive and most of the average person is emissions come from commuting anyways! A touring bike and an electric bike would actually be awesome for me, given my current commute is 3 miles
My current dream e-bike is the Cake Kalk& - a 175-lb Swedish supermoto that can be tweaked to behave like a two-stroke, four-stroke, or pure e-bike. They also have a bike at this EICMA called the Ösa+, which is basically an electric Honda Motra with the multiple cargo racks, but also is much faster than the old Honda was. The cargo racks actually have me really intrigued
It afflicts cars as well, but the impact is less noticeable in an age when people use 4x4s as city cars. Even Lotus ended up building a 1700kg barge when they tried to build an electric car.
On a bike, though, there's an upper limit to how heavy you can make the thing before it's too unwieldy, so range gets sacrificed instead.
I spent all weekend city riding and only barely hit 60 miles, while hitting a pretty huge amount of urban Richmond VA, and that'd have included loads of chances to charge including two overnights
The e-bike is a maturing technology, but I think a lot of fears are overblown, so long as you're using these bikes for the correct philosophy of use
Damn glad I put it off until my CBR finally got to the point servicing exceeded value. When I went looking, I found that the one store in my state (Victoria, Australia) that stocked them, had closed. And few motorcycle shops at all, and none apparently willing to deal with EBikes. While I appreciate the low maintenance aspect, having to crate it interstate, or perhaps international, if it did have a problem, was something I was glad I waited on.
Is a shame. I really did like the look, and the technical data I was seeing.
This makes sense, based on the tablespoon of black sludge that came out when I went to change the oil the first time after I bought it.
Seems like I have a winter project.
Picked up an old dude off the road after he very clearly surprised himself with the off-idle torque of his Zero SR, and this was a bike he'd put 8000 miles on
Basically, he gunned it off a light in the middle of the city, hit a part of the road with a nearly invisible dip, and went into a tankslapper faster than he could recognize what was happening. He and the bike were mostly fine besides a minor bit of rash to his thighs, and about a centimeter eaten off the left hand bar end and the kickstand's foot
See my prior comment about some bikes having more motor than suspension
Yikes. Hopefully he's ATGATT after that. I know it sadly took me a few bad wrecks to learn that rule.
Yeah. I don't always wear proper gear pants (though it's always full length, never shorts), but helmet, boots, gloves and jacket, any time it comes out of the garage.
Any time I see a squid, especially one with open toed shoes, I wince.
Only ever come off at speed once (about ~40mph), and I was thankful as hell for my gear, and the damage that could have been done without it.
Yeah road rash is not fun, nor is having your front teeth replaced. My wife had a bad wreck on the Ecuador/Peruvian border and twisted her knee while getting pinned under the bike. She's still having issues almost 2 years later, but I can't imagine how bad it would have been if she didn't have pants with knee pads in them.
I'm sure we've all met people talking about "Klim Life" but I will say that my Klim gear is the most comfortable, fully armored riding gear I've ever worn.
Gear is amazing and awesome and for the life of me i cant figure out why people dont wear it.
But then I don't really go over ~30 or so, which I'll do on a bicycle wearing basically nothing except a styrofoam yarmulke by comparison.
I understand your point. And sometimes I don't want to put all that gear on, so if it's a short trip I will just drive (even though I love taking the bike). But I've also seen someone on a scooter get rammed by a car while sitting at a stoplight. So it's always a gamble.
Agreed. It's about understanding and accepting thresholds of risk, I guess.
FWIW, I've also seen people on bicycles get nailed at stoplights/intersections.
I also have normal-ish looking boots which means I can ride to the office without having to change
I actually think once my big bike test is done I'll probably go for a maxi-scooter for commuting
I guess I should get Klim pants? I need a pair that look somewhat acceptable for the office
Pluto was a planet and I'll never forget
I wear the Outrider pants, they are their most low key looking pants. The knee armor comes out pretty easy too.
https://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/klim-outrider-pants
My wife really loves her Ugly Bros pants as well, but they tend to be too tight for me.
https://www.uglybrosusa.com/
Apparently he is while touring, but this was just a relative puddle-jump across town
There was definitely a touch of complacency at a couple levels here
- Racer Mickey gloves. The perfect glove for anything dry over 50°f, and I can extend that with Merino liners. Fuckin' enormous scaphoid protector sliders, but they are perfectly shaped so that they never interfere with controls.
- TCX Hero WP boots. Comfy, look good, and are about the minimum I'd want for protection but they're perfectly sufficient for the kind of riding I do.
And if I am doing gloves/boots/helmet-only riding (which is rare!) I do at least wear a mid-weight denim jacket and long pants. Only ever played the t-shirt game once and that was plenty!
I also wear:
For warmer/drier weather:
- Rev'It Traction mesh jacket. Flows air brilliantly, and has exactly as many pockets as I ever want. The mesh is pretty impressive too.
- Rev'It Alpha RF Chinos. Pretty much armored Carhartt pants with a bit of extra reinforcement.
For colder/wetter weather:
- the previous generation of Klim Traverse suit, which I bought off an old guy for like 1/6 the sticker price. Meant for being a lightweight dual-sport and ADV suit, but I find it to also be a good minimalist touring suit. Fits insulating layers under it well, too.
There's a lot more gear I'd ideally like to have, but what I've got totally works. My intended approach is akin to my experience with backpacking, and also based on what a lot of rally riders do: it's a bit more precise to layer up, and add/remove as needed, than to have one huge layer (also a bit less convenient but hey)
Curiously, the sales guy there was actually a former KTM guy and seemed really hyped for the new ADV and streetfighter bikes
How are they gonna get the weight down, though?
https://m.imgur.com/gallery/dk2cSO6
I saw the new Africa Twin at my local Honda dealership today, good gracious those are fantastic machines.
the bike in that mid-weight segment I'm most excited for is the Tenere 700 but y'all already have that out in Oz
I took my new baby:
(The Spyder, not the truck)
Through the tail of the dragon in Deal's Gap. "318 curves in 11 miles" It was a good time.
Though due to titling issues and postal delays, I'm not able to get into the VA DMV again until October so it's just kinda sitting right now. I should throw on my CRF's plate and ride it exactly long enough to keep the gas from going too stale...
Did you need a separate three wheeler license for that in your state? A majority of the people in my three wheeler class were going to buy/ride those, rather than a sidecar.
Also HOLY CRAP ITS A MOTORCYCLE THREAD! LOOK AT MY NEW MOTORCYCLE!
(sorry it's a night)
Mainly got it to commute to work. So far removed the lightbar, replaced the mirrors, and worked on removing all the british flag decals all over it.
Seriously, there were like 12 different union jacks on it when i bought the thing. We get it, Triumph.
Nice! My Killboy photos aren't great but I had a blast a couple months back.
We rode down from MI and got absolutely pissed on with 40F rain and hail a couple months back, managed to find a Penske truck and rig all the bikes in a Home Depot parking lot and drove down. Ran out of gas in NC - that shortage was happening - but the morning crew showed up and sold us some emergency to get us to our airbnb. Two awesome days of riding. My tinnitus is starting to fade from the ride back (fucking wind noise amplified through a Sena)
Like, I just slammed the Dragon and Cherohala, why do I feel clumsy on normal riding around town
And my tail of the dragon photo:
My wife on the tail:
Oh same, since I got done with that 4300+ mile trip, between rainy weather and letting my wrist heal up I've probably ridden about 300 miles all summer. Need to take my CRF Rally in for safety inspection tomorrow though, so I might get some light-mileage fun times in afterwards
Rush home, open the box, the bars arent in there, only the packing.
So either someone from the warehouse put them in a box without caring that there were no bars, or someone from FedEx stole my Drag bars.
In any scenario, will not be working on the bike this weekend.