gunsmoke on 7/1/2013 at 08:18
My new toy! I have a 1979 Kawasaki KZ1000 LTD. Wet kit (nitrous/shower heads) 4 carburetors, is actually 1100 cc's (bored out), a push-button shift kit, (no clutch, it's too fast to shift in 1/4 mile!), wheelie bar I designed on this very PC and welded myself, headers, 13-inch racing slick, and a drag chute, and much more.
This is a similar bike. A CSR 1000 Kawasaki. This one I will actually be able to ride on the street! I love buying bikes in the winter, people sell 'em SO cheap.
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http://img688.imageshack.us/img688/7063/figginskawi.jpgDoes anybody else here @ TTLG ride? Post some stories, pics, specs, etc...
demagogue on 7/1/2013 at 08:24
I saw that pic on FB and thought fuck yeah, like a boss. I'm a Japanophile so I always loved Kawasaki before something like a Harley.
As for my own experience, I think my own recent update sums up my status on that:
Quote:
They're trying to teach me to ride a motorbike (best way to get around), and I literally plowed through a roadside stand of bananas (not going fast). I swear those things are put there purely for comedic purposes. So I'm done for the day. I'll practice another day on an open field with no obstacles.
Lol. But I had a friend die in a bike accident (not to dampen the mood) so I've never been a fan of actually riding one. I just like the idea of it. Maybe if I've had a lot more practice and built up my confidence I'd warm up to it more. If I did and had my pick of the lot, I'd get the bike of Brando, James Dean, and Steve McQueen, a Triumph Bonneville. I just love the oldschool way they look.
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http://www.bikeexif.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/triumph_bonneville_belstaff.jpggunsmoke on 7/1/2013 at 08:59
Cheers, dema. And sorry, but LOL @ plowing through a banana stand (I assume the only injury was pride?). Total TV trope, that scene!
And I am a huge Kawasaki fan. Japanophile here, too, but it has nothing to do with my affection for the bikes. They are just kings of the track and I love 'em.
I actually despise Harley-Davidsons (ride them for a day, fix them for 3), as it has actually become a freaking mockery of themselves. Nobody can just ride/own a HD. They have to put the black t-shirt, the leather jacket, and jack boots/bandanna on. Most of them are ridden by upper middle class these day, as they are the only ones that can afford them... Plus they are the least comfortable bike in existence. Usually seen as a mid-life crisis on wheels these days, or a sign of a small penis to women...
My late father had a 69 Triumph chopped out with huge ape-hangers. Similar to this one (dad had a 69 Bonny). Nothing sounds, feels, looks or rides like the British bikes, BSA, Triumph.
Ignore the douche sitting on it...
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http://jaccosbonneville750.yolasite.com/resources/Schoolreis%20007.1.jpgVolitions Advocate on 7/1/2013 at 14:27
My wife and I might be moving to a smaller town that orbits the city, and I told her if we do that I want a motorbike because I dont want to spend all the money on gas. We'll see what comes up for sale if we do that, but I always wanted a Ducati Monster. Not a big fan of crotch rockets, and the Monster seems to be a cruiser that wants to be a crotch rocket, but its somewhere in between, seems like my kind of thing. and the smallest (760cc) version is only 8K brand new. I hadn't realized that every bike does not cost as much as a Harley until recently, so I'm excited about shopping around for a used one sometime this year.
gunsmoke on 7/1/2013 at 17:32
Ducatis are NICE. 760 is a lot of motor, too. And I agree on crotch rockets. I can't ride Ninjas/Hayabusas/CBRs. Talk about uncomfortable... My bike is pretty darn easy to take a nice, long ride on, but still has the ass in it to beat about anything out there. The only downside is all of that motor makes for a WIDE bike, so you feel like you're straddling a Clydesdale if you aren't used to it.
Want/need any help when it comes time to drop some coin on your bike, look me up. I keep up on just about every bike out there, save for those shitty mass-produced 'production customs' that everyone was riding 5-10 years ago.
Volitions Advocate on 7/1/2013 at 19:10
My dad keeps bugging me to get a Goldwing. I can see why he would want one, but I'd be a pretty casual biker and I don't think I'd be up for a lot of road trips unless it was a day trip with some buddies to Calgary or something. That strikes me as a LOT of bike. I wouldn't even mind something small (something considered "girly" even) that I could tune up and dote over to make it perform well enough.
As for people dying in bike accidents, I've known a few here in town even with only 1 or 2 degrees of separation. Speed and/or alcohol was always a factor. I don't drink so I'm safe there, and I've just never seen the reason to zip down the highway at 230 Km/h just because I can, it seems the reasons most guys die is because of that. Not to say anything bad about your friend Dema, thats not what I'm trying to say at all. I just plan to be very careful and enjoy my rides rather than try to brag about my skill and/or bike.
Also, if anybody ever wanted a healthy dose of Canada for the kick of it. I highly recommend:
(
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1104806/)
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http://ia.media-imdb.com/images/M/MV5BMTY4MjQ1NTgwOF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwNDM1NTc0Mg@@._V1._SY317_CR3,0,214,317_.jpgSubJeff on 7/1/2013 at 19:38
I've ridden small bikes and I'd love a bike. But the UK doesn't have the weather for it and I'm not prepared to take the risk.
demagogue on 8/1/2013 at 03:12
Re: my friend, no worries. He was coming back from a party so I don't doubt he was tanked. Yeah from what I understand it's fine if you stay sober & aren't going crazy fast. It's more about affecting my confidence than anything else.
Also it's cool to laugh at the banana stand thing because everybody standing around watching (I was like the spectacle for the day, so half my students wanted to watch) broke out into unrestrained laughing. I hadn't quite coordinated accelerating & turning, and it was my first big turn & I went wide, and the stand was ridiculously (hilariously) perfectly placed where you could see the inevitable coming. I didn't make bodily contact with it, only the wheel clipped through the corner and threw it down with all the bananas flying everywhere, then the motorcycle keeps speeding off like a mofo and the Thai lady that owned the thing runs out waving her fist. Haha, yeah, totally like out of a '70s comedy.
Naturally I came back, apologized profusely, and me & the students helped put the table back & pick up all the bananas trying to hide the laughing and smiling.
CCCToad on 8/1/2013 at 04:51
Quote Posted by gunsmoke
. Nobody can just ride/own a HD. They have to put the black t-shirt, the leather jacket, and jack boots/bandanna on. Most of them are ridden by upper middle class these day, as they are the only ones that can afford them... Plus they are the least comfortable bike in existence.
Yep....guilty as charged. I actually didn't start doing that for awhile, until I noticed that people were usually very aggressive with me when I dressed casually, with the safety vest, etc. When I was leathered up and looked like a more hardcore biker the "cagers" would NEVER stuff like tailing too close, cutting me off, etc. They give me a wide berth, right of way, and lots of respect. It makes sense. A lot of people these days or more or less sociopaths who don't really give a crap if they kill someone.....but they do give a crap if they are afraid of getting their own assess kicked.
Also, my Sportster is pretty comfortable. The previous owner upgraded it with a windshield, saddlebags, and a touring seat and the controls are positioned almost perfectly for me. I've spent a few hours on it at a time and been perfectly fine.
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https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc7/483077_10100334255381459_1151853730_n.jpgI'll get a better pic, with me on it, tomorrow.
Tocky on 10/1/2013 at 02:23
My first bike was a QA 50. Our record for jumping over people was 5. This was back in the Evel days. Then my bro in law gave me his 160 Honda Dream which I rode throughout highschool-
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http://imageshack.us/a/img594/3002/hondadream.jpgIt had the first square headlight I had ever seen but rode more like a sawhorse on wheels than a dream. It will always have a place in my heart though.
Next I bought a Honda Shadow 750 the year they came out. It rode great. The first shaft drive. It would pop a wheelie like a racehorse on crank. My cousin flipped it with his girlfriend on the back and smashed the tach. Didn't do his girl any good either.
Next I got this-
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http://imageshack.us/a/img14/5720/meonharley.jpgI don't care what pretentious peckerwoods do or don't, I love the torque of a harley. They are heavy as a cub tractor but I once blew a sparkplug out of the head and didn't notice a difference in pull. I have ridden a friends Ducatti and was impressed. 135 mph in nothing flat and felt as light as cardboard. I would kill myself within a week on something like that. I like heavy metal. You worked on the old shovel heads some like the FLH above but now they have the evo engine and it's not like the old days. I have push cranked it in second many times when I had a stater problem. I rode to Florida and New Orleans and it never let me down though. It had that double kick-stand that you could fuck on wild as you like and never knock it over. It too will have a place in my heart always.
Make some memories on yours and watch out for armadilloes.
