New wheels time

[Neeyik]

Old age and an old bike accident = bad back, dodgy knee, etc etc = no more sporty biking! So today I bought myself this hulking monster:

Varoom! Geddaoutamaway!

 

[Malo]

So your getting old, you have a bad back, and a dodgy knee..... and still bought a bike?

 

[Neeyik]

Heh - I've had a bike for years now but always, without fail, a sports or sporty one. Since my Schwantz-wannabe days are now long behind me and all I use a bike for is commuting, it made sense to go with something more suitable.

 

[digitalwanderer]

I hate you all, I'm not allowed to get a motorcycle.

 

[epicstruggle]

I gave up on the idea of getting a bike when i saw this on top gear:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdkEV-t9jg0

/drool

 

[JBark]

I gave up on the idea of getting a bike when i saw this on top gear:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdkEV-t9jg0

/drool

Is that the "my epiglottis is full of bees" episode?

Hilarious.

 

[Geo]

I hate you all, I'm not allowed to get a motorcycle.

Ha ha ha. My wife says I can have a Harley anytime I want one! I'm just not allowed to take it out of the driveway. :smile: It's a decent length driveway, but still haven't taken her up on that yet.

Nick, I'm afraid to know what the "sporty" one looked like, if that's the "comfy" version!

 

[Sxotty]

I hate you all, I'm not allowed to get a motorcycle.

I am not either, but that is why my wife insisted on getting a WRX so I felt a bit better.

 

[Neeyik]

Bike history in pics (although only the first is one of my own)....

Sporty (Suzuki SV650S)

Sporty (Honda CBR600)

Sporty (Honda CBR750)

Sports (Yamaha FZR600)

Sports (Suzuki RGV250)

First ever!

 

[Reverend]

I'm not much into bikes but is it common for bikes to have fatter rear tyres like the bike you just bought?

 

[Neeyik]

Trail-type bikes don't need wide, low-profile tyres like a sports bike does (and even then, most are bigger than they need to be - fashion often dictates what sizes one can see); they need narrow widths with a high sidewall to help strengthen the tyre and absorb bumps more.

That said, not all road-biased 'trail' bikes to have such a tyre setup. The Japanese manufacturers tend to favour a slightly more 'normal' bike arrangement, as this offers a greater choice of tyres.

 

[nintenho]

I gave up on the idea of getting a bike when i saw this on top gear:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdkEV-t9jg0
/drool

God you just made me orgasm.

 

[Deepak]

Neeyik, which bike is it? Cool one! I would like to own a bike like Honda Hornet 250 one day.

 

[Neeyik]

Honda XRV750 Africa Twin - now there's a name that rolls off the tongue!

 

[DuckThor Evil]

I gave up on the idea of getting a bike when i saw this on top gear:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdkEV-t9jg0

/drool

yep Atom rules, however Top Gears car vs bike tests are not very unbiased LOL!
As we all know how much Jeremy likes bikes. Even in that test you can see that the biker is not trying very hard in corners.

 

[Neeyik]

Regardless of the rider, the bike was never really going to win anyway. Ariel Atom = ~300bhp, ~500kg (0.6bhp/kg), 4 large contact points. CBR600RR = ~115bhp, ~165kg (0.7bhp/kg), 2 rather small contact points. Such a car will stuff a road bike on braking and cornering every time - that said though, a decent rider on a GSXR1000 K5 'worth' £20k would make it a considerably more interesting test.

 

[DuckThor Evil]

Regardless of the rider, the bike was never really going to win anyway. Ariel Atom = ~300bhp, ~500kg (0.6bhp/kg), 4 large contact points. CBR600RR = ~115bhp, ~165kg (0.7bhp/kg), 2 rather small contact points. Such a car will stuff a road bike on braking and cornering every time - that said though, a decent rider on a GSXR1000 K5 'worth' £20k would make it a considerably more interesting test.

Yes that's true. The result in that test was not the thing that bugged, me the execution of the test was. Still it didn't made me grinch like their previous car vs Bike test, which had 911 Carrera 4 against Yamaha R1. The end straight was pretty long and the two exited the last corner with the Porsche leading by a a few meters, but somehow the R1 wasn't able to overtake it on the straight...