Any Motörbike riders here?

thebreeze

Actually on closer inspection they look nice from the side but there’s something not right about the square lights and view from the front.  I’m going to have to try them all I suppose.

Dominic

good analogy

Kittyfrisk

Dominic said:

Pan America = Fugly
Not really a Harley 
Not as Slick as a BMW GS 
Not in the same league as a KTM Superadventure  or Ducati Multistrada Pikes Peak
Not as good value as a Honda Africa Twin
What actually is it ? 

Harley's take on a Royal Enfield Himalayan...

Dominic

I'd rather have the Enfield at 30% of the price thanks

AK99

thebreeze said:

Actually on closer inspection they look nice from the side but there’s something not right about the square lights and view from the front.  I’m going to have to try them all I suppose.

That Pan-America 'Adventure' bike weighs in at 242kg. How in Gawd's name could anybody seriously consider an 'offroad' bike that's at least twice the weight of any proper offroad machine  ?

They should give all of the marketeers who are pushing the damn things one each to ride up and down a boggy mountain somewhere outside of Milwaukee, see how they get on

TheBigDipper

Great day out yesterday with my old East London chums. Lots of cyclists and horse boxes to deal with, but that's rural Dorset for you. 

@Dominic the Corfe to Studland road is still just as good as you remember it. And we managed to get to the head of the queue for the ferry (no, didn't queue, just filtered to the front) as the opened the gates. Rode straight on without even switching off! 

Dominic

Glad you had a great day 
I just love that road.....as soon as you get off the ferry and see the little beach bar restaurant on the left it stops feeling like England

Haych

AK99 said:

thebreeze said:

Actually on closer inspection they look nice from the side but there’s something not right about the square lights and view from the front.  I’m going to have to try them all I suppose.

That Pan-America 'Adventure' bike weighs in at 242kg. How in Gawd's name could anybody seriously consider an 'offroad' bike that's at least twice the weight of any proper offroad machine  ?

They should give all of the marketeers who are pushing the damn things one each to ride up and down a boggy mountain somewhere outside of Milwaukee, see how they get on

An R1250GSA is 268kg!  Goodness knows what the newly anticipated R1300GSA will weigh. 

I still quite fancy a GS and did semi seriously look at a used R1200GS TE LC a few months ago. It was a very nice machine, I can easily see it being a great bike for touring. 

That said, apart from maybe extra luggage carrying capacity and maybe more comfort for two up touring, it wouldn’t do anything that I couldn’t do on my old R1200R - until that breaks in catastrophic fashion I see no reason to change it. 

TheBigDipper said:

Great day out yesterday with my old East London chums. Lots of cyclists and horse boxes to deal with, but that's rural Dorset for you. 

@Dominic the Corfe to Studland road is still just as good as you remember it. And we managed to get to the head of the queue for the ferry (no, didn't queue, just filtered to the front) as the opened the gates. Rode straight on without even switching off! 

Riddle me this, is there a lane for MCs which bypasses the tolls on the approach to the chain ferry?

Last time I was there I’m sure there was - either that or I misread the markings on the road and went down a lane I shouldn’t have?

I did still pay on the ferry but I’m sure road markings took me down a narrow lane on the left which completely bypassed the toll booth. To this day I don’t know if I did anything wrong and looked like a fare dodger. 

TheBigDipper

Haych said:

<snip>

TheBigDipper said:

Great day out yesterday with my old East London chums. Lots of cyclists and horse boxes to deal with, but that's rural Dorset for you. 

@Dominic the Corfe to Studland road is still just as good as you remember it. And we managed to get to the head of the queue for the ferry (no, didn't queue, just filtered to the front) as the opened the gates. Rode straight on without even switching off! 

Riddle me this, is there a lane for MCs which bypasses the tolls on the approach to the chain ferry?

Last time I was there I’m sure there was - either that or I misread the markings on the road and went down a lane I shouldn’t have?

I did still pay on the ferry but I’m sure road markings took me down a narrow lane on the left which completely bypassed the toll booth. To this day I don’t know if I did anything wrong and looked like a fare dodger. 

Yes. Exactly that. (Bicycles, too). And the ferry peeps prefer you to ride to the front of the queue and get onboard first. You pay on board. 

Haych

TheBigDipper said:
Yes. Exactly that. (Bicycles, too). And the ferry peeps prefer you to ride to the front of the queue and get onboard first. You pay on board. 

Ah, thank you. For a couple of years now I’ve often wondered if I did anything wrong and if I ever went back would I do it differently. 

AK99

Haych said:

An R1250GSA is 268kg!  Goodness knows what the newly anticipated R1300GSA will weigh. 

My last proper (and road legal) off-road bike - the IT425 - weighed in at around 115 kg.

I'm trying to picture riding that with a 140kg+ dead-weight brute of a passenger on the back 

Dominic

Thing with all the Superadventure bikes  GS, KTM, Multristrada etc is that the looks,style and marketing is all based on Paris-Dakar type race machines....
they have become a sub-genre of bike in their own right and some buyers have a vague notion of standing on the pegs and going off road on a track ( not quite the desert dunes of Mergouza ) but few realise they are no better than any road bike unless the suspension is set up and they are fitted up with off-road tyres or very good hybrids

Haych

I wonder what Ted Simon or Elspeth Beard think about modern ADV bikes, given that they managed on much more ordinary and humble machines?

No need to suffer if you don't need to I suppose, but at the same time at what point does a machine become overkill for what a rider needs for the kind of riding they do?

 

AK99

Well, on that note..my biking role/model was a kid I used to go to college with - Yonky.

Yonky had a little 175cc Bantam he used for getting everywhere. Got chatting to him, and he told me about riding the Bantam to Greece the previous Summer from Yorkshire. " It were grand until 't damn thing seized on the way up 't hill to 'tAcropolis.  Sat down, 'ad a brew to let it cool down - pulled the head, tapped it loose, gave the rings and barrel a rub wi' a bit of wet and dry, and it were grand"

Makes even our Ted's lardy Tiger 500 seem like overkill 

octatonic

Haych said:

but at the same time at what point does a machine become overkill for what a rider needs for the kind of riding they do?

Most GS/GSAs never see any dirt.
They are largely commuter/touring bikes for well-heeled middle-aged men.

I've done a bit of offroading- broadly speaking, unless you are highly experienced these bikes are just overkill and harder to ride than something like a KTM 300EXC.
They are much more comfy on tarmac of course.

My GSAs were, by far, the best bikes to own though.
All day comfortable.

I've been bikeless for coming up to a year now- I am starting to get the itch again.
It won't be a big tourer next time though.
A Bonne is probably the most likely I think.

Devil#20

How do you know when it's time to change your bike helmet? I have an AGV that's about 10 years old and an HJC which is about 7 years old. I learned today that you shouldn't keep your gloves in the helmet because petrol fumes and residue on them degrade the lining. Obvious once you've been told I suppose. If you didn't do this though what degrades the helmet to being no longer fit for purpose. The shell can be polycarbonate, fibre glass or carbon fibre or some combination. Is it the amount of UV exposure the helmet gets or is it something else. If it's never been dropped and the padding is still firm is there any reason to change it. A decent Arai is around the £800 mark nowadays. 

Haych

Rule of thumb, I was told is that a polycarbonate helmet should be replaced after two years and a fibreglass or carbon helmet after five years. 

BUT, that was by a guy selling me a helmet so a pinch of salt might be necessary. 

Devil#20

Haych said:

Rule of thumb, I was told is that a polycarbonate helmet should be replaced after two years and a fibreglass or carbon helmet after five years. 

BUT, that was by a guy selling me a helmet so a pinch of salt might be necessary. 

@Haych Yes. This was where I was coming from too. I don't know anyone who would bother with a polycarbonate helmet though. If I'm spending 800+ on a new helmet I'd want to be getting more than 5 years out of it. When do you decide yours is past it's sell by date? I look after mine. I always have 2 or 3 at any one time and rotate wearing them to give them an antibacterial spray inside and a chance to dry out and I wear a balaclava except when the weather is like it is at the moment. 

Haych

I’ve not been riding long enough to have needed to replace a helmet, to be honest. 

I replaced the one that bounced off the road in Belgium for obvious reasons, but I still have two which I alternate and which I hope will last many more years. 

I did ask Google and it came up with this:
https://timeless2wheels.com/682077/do-motorcycle-helmets-expire/#:~:text=Helmets%20have%20a%20limited%20lifespan,years%20after%20the%20production%20date.

LastMantra

Dominic said:

Thing with all the Superadventure bikes  GS, KTM, Multristrada etc is that the looks,style and marketing is all based on Paris-Dakar type race machines....
they have become a sub-genre of bike in their own right and some buyers have a vague notion of standing on the pegs and going off road on a track ( not quite the desert dunes of Mergouza ) but few realise they are no better than any road bike unless the suspension is set up and they are fitted up with off-road tyres or very good hybrids

Is it not just the same as people riding super bikes thinking they are j rey, or harley riders thinking they're cruising down route 66 or whatever? 

I think I'd prefer the riding position on and adventure style better, sitting up straight, for touring. Although, the ones I've noticed recently don't have very comfortable looking seats?