Motorcycles BS Thread 2.0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtcd1kSdlQY

 

I would rather try this over dirt. I like the cold. I have been to the hill climbs in Pa. It gets hot and dusty AF!

 

Yea, ok, this just became #1 on my list, Damn you!

 

its tough to argue with anything Gunny screams at you lol

 

I want to go for a scoot but it’s cold and raining.

 

These video's reminded me of a video of a two wheel drive bike I saw a while ago.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSWlht1ybL4

 

Oh, if I can get one of these with barely any miles on it for under $10k I would buy it in a heartbeat. Then add a turbo.

 

Harley allow dealerships to declare a certain number of units as "demo bikes" and they get a price break on them allowing them to be used for demo rides for a defined period of time and mileage tehn they get sold and a new bike or bikes are allocated as demos. When I worked for a dealership I often got to put on some initial break in miles on some of them. Mpst other brands only do demo rides when a dealership has the regional demo fleet brought in for a day or possibly a weekend.

 

They must have stopped doing test rides at the dealerships after my test ride incident back in 1981, when the first 2-stroke 3-wheeler hit the market. The Honda ATC250R 3-wheeler 2-stroke. Lots of hype prior to these coming out, all 3-wheelers prior were slow 4-strokes. I, having grown up on dirt bikes I was never interested in these 3-wheelers. My buddy and I went to the Honda dealer check them out. The salesman asked if we’d like to test ride one. He asked if we had experience on riding dirt bikes. My buddy who was all mouth bragged me up. I had no worries on riding this beast. We were 20 year olds with a purpose. After signing a waiver off I went.

There was a small MX track behind the dealership for this purpose. I hopped on and nailed it. Fast as shit, I hit a jump and then a left handed berm right after the jump. I was used to riding 2 wheel dirt bikes and instinctively put my left foot down going around the berm. The rear tire climbed my leg and I flipped the bike end over end. Oops! I stood up in pain and laughing, sorry. The salesman and my buddy come running over “are you alright” “yes”. We all stood there looking at the tore up bike. The damage was bent bars and the rear plastics were tweaked.

My buddy and I looked at the salesman as we were leaving and I said “yeah, I don't think I want one of those, I’ll stick to the 2 wheel version, thank you!” as we walked out.

 

i thought the ninja was staying in all weather regalia

 

Imagine falling and get caught in the back by one of these tires

 

Yea, all the Harleys I bought I test rode. I would think all dealers would be able to offer the service if they are big enough. The Pete's Cycles store on Bel Air Rd. in Bel Air, Md. is closing it's doors after 52 years. It is moving operations to the larger store (there were 3 total) in Baltimore County but still on Bel Air Rd. They attribute it to declining business. Shame.

 

It is - there’s nothing pristine about that bike.

I guess I just don’t feel like getting cold and wet. I can handle one of those conditions but not both.

 

The biggest problem for a dealership to offer test rides is the insurance costs. Big risk if someone gets hurt or killed on their bike. Sadly we live a very litigious society.

I was shocked a few years back when in Johnstown, PA for Thunder in the Valley the Yamaha demo truck actually had a R-1 available to test ride. You had to go out with a group but even at that......Lot of machine there. After a 35-40 minute loop they took us on I knew I could never own one if I wanted to keep my license.

 

Two of the worst rides in my life - 1, the ride home from Washing DC "Ride to the Wall" to Baltimore in a steady rain for an hour. 2 - A buddy called, said he was at the bar, hadn't eaten, had some tequila and shouldn't drive home. He had a Heritage Softail with a windshield and I tried to squeeze into his one piece. It was 36 degrees and dark, and a 45 minute drive.

I think the cold was the worse of the two.

 

Yea, I am pretty sure you absolutely cannot test drive anything without you or them insurance. The Night Rod Special after having the Road King was the same way. It was scary fast and I like going fast second to nothing.

 

Worst ride of my life was also second best ride of my life.

I had been camping in Yellowstone, and there was a multiple day storm rolling the next morning. I get up at 4am (I think?) to pack up my tent and bags and try to head back West and avoid the worst of the storm. Apparently I left an hour too late, because I ended up in pouring down rain, in the dark, for about 3 hours on the leading edge of the storm. My body eventually just numbed up. Aside from not really being able to see, constantly trying to dodge puddles in the road, and being on Heidenaus K60's that suck in the rain, the single worst part was my jacket constantly dripping down onto my pants zipper, eventually puddling water and soaking them through. Still remember the moment that cold cold cold water got all up on my junk. Found the next gas station I could and drank coffee until I was warmed back up. Sky dried up by the time I hit I-90, luckily, so I could do the full 80+mph speed limit across most of Montana.

The rest of that day ended up being gorgeous and I got to do HWY 12 over the Lolo pass between Montana and Idaho in the sun. I think I was on the bike 12 hours and 500something miles that day.

Not my photo, but this warning sign is at the start of it:



I was on my F800GS all sorts of loaded up:


edit: sorry on the blur on this photo, I had my phone mounted to the handlebars most of the trip and the vibrations ruined the image stabilization on the camera module. Terrible timing for that haha.

 

I love stories like these.

This past summer, two friends and I took a trip out to the Laurel Highlands. On the way, we rode through a microburst thunderstorm - it was intense! We had no choice but to power through it because it would have been way too dangerous to stop on this road.

Once we were out of the storm, the skies were blue and we were all dried out by the time we arrived.

I just went out for a scoot anyway. 45 degrees, wind and rain. It wasn’t a bad scoot at all!

 

For that trip back from DC all I had on was leather jacket, t-shirt and blue jeans, boots. By the time I got home even my socks were wet. Worst part was, the wife caught a ride with some friends in their van, and I beat them home. Home at the time was a row home in the city and she had the house keys. I had to pee so bad and with it being daylight, I had to just lean over the bike like I was working on the side of it and go right there in the back yard and hope no one saw me and called the cops.

 

Nice! Hard core