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Motorcycles

Fledermaus said:
Up until the 1960s the HD was the bike you grew up to ride. It was the biggest and baddest bike on the block.

By the 1970s Japanese were making inroads into the liter+ bikes.
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the point was engineering, not style. of course Ducati had both. They made the gold standard vtwin.
 
Glitch said:
Definitely angular and boxy. I use to own a Kawasaki myself. That doesn't make it a bad bike, just not as sleek and tapered looking as the others.

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Yeah I was thinking of the mid to late 70s Kaws. That GT 750 is a later model. It's not a terrible looking bike but it doesn't have the lines of the more vintage bikes to my eye. And rectangular headlights...bah.
 
RF667799 said:
Yeah I was thinking of the mid to late 70s Kaws. That GT 750 is a later model. It's not a terrible looking bike but it doesn't have the lines of the more vintage bikes to my eye. And rectangular headlights...bah.
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Yea, the Kawasaki GT 750 in the photograph is from 1991. My GT 750 was from 1985. I liked my Kawasaki, it performed very well. I just like Yamaha, Honda, and American designs better. Kawasaki seems to be patterned more after European motorcycles, while Yamaha and Honda seem to be patterned more from American motorcycles. Harley-Davidson definitely had the sleek and tapered appearance long before Japan got into the market. This 1960 Harley is proof of that:

1960 Harley.jpg
 
Fledermaus said:
2012, California legal.

Most folks guess 1950s which is correct for the year of the machinery it was built with.
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Disc brake a bit of a giveaway that it isn't early vintage. Made in India, right? I like those Roxors that Mahindra is importing now that are dead ringers for a 1940 something Willys Jeep. Which they should be, because they started building them under license back then and never stopped.
 
My first bike was an old Norton 850 Commando. Then a Triumph chopper. Had a couple of big Hondas - didn't like them. I currently have 5 Harleys - from a 350 single piston to 1965 900 cc up to the last carb model, a Heritage model made only 1 year. All but one are show condition. My favorite is my old school hotrod 1000 cc 4 speed chain drive Sportster with a wide glide front fork set up. Haven't ridden any of them in about 3 years.
 
Glitch said:
I drove motorcycles exclusively for 7 years in southern California. I survived the experience by adopting the philosophy that I was invisible, and every vehicle on the road was out to get me.
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I tell new riders "assume everyone is trying to kill you. You'll probably be right." The only accidents I have had (knock wood) have been hit and run by drivers "not seeing me", including one when I was 12th in line at a standing red light. Driver behind me decided to go when traffic wasn't moving. Go figure. He took off because he had no insurance and stolen plates (from his dad, no less).

"Always leave yourself an out." Even when sitting in traffic.
 
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NWRatCon said:
I tell new riders "assume everyone is trying to kill you. You'll probably be right." The only accidents I have had (knock wood) have been hit and run by drivers "not seeing me", including one when I was 12th in line at a standing red light. Driver behind me decided to go when traffic wasn't moving. Go figure. He took off because he had no insurance and stolen plates (from his dad, no less).

"Always leave yourself an out." Even when sitting in traffic.
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I was fortunate to avoid being hit. Unfortunately all my accidents were self-inflicted. A few times I lost it when taking turns too fast. Twice I dumped my bike when I lost control of the front wheel, once on a rock and another time on a diesel patch in the road while I was doing 75mph. And once I sliced open my foot pretty badly as I drove by a vehicle as they opened their front door. The bottom edge of the driver's door caught the top of my right foot as I drove by at about 10 mph.

You have to adopt a completely paranoid attitude when on a motorcycle, particularly in heavy city traffic. Even when following another vehicle you never follow directly behind them. You are either on the left or right side of the vehicle, allowing you to maneuver should it suddenly become necessary. Paranoia, maneuverability, and speed can save a life on a motorcycle if used appropriately.
 
I think being a two wheel pilot makes one a better cage pilot.
 
Glitch said:
I was fortunate to avoid being hit. Unfortunately all my accidents were self-inflicted. A few times I lost it when taking turns too fast. Twice I dumped my bike when I lost control of the front wheel, once on a rock and another time on a diesel patch in the road while I was doing 75mph. And once I sliced open my foot pretty badly as I drove by a vehicle as they opened their front door. The bottom edge of the driver's door caught the top of my right foot as I drove by at about 10 mph.

You have to adopt a completely paranoid attitude when on a motorcycle, particularly in heavy city traffic. Even when following another vehicle you never follow directly behind them. You are either on the left or right side of the vehicle, allowing you to maneuver should it suddenly become necessary. Paranoia, maneuverability, and speed can save a life on a motorcycle if used appropriately.
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Very true.
When I used to ride with traffic I constantly scanned the road right and left for an escape if I need to avoid someone. You just neve know when someone is just going to come right over into your lane (while it is occupied by you).

And somebody tell me please, why in hell do they give motorcycles these little wimpy horns while a semi has a horn they use in a lighthouse to warn ships? It should be the other way around.

I remember when I had my Norton I put a air horn on it as an alternate horn. I had a car drift right into my lane and I hit that air horn and saw the driver about jump out of his seat.
 
Loud pipes save lives.
 
Crosscheck said:
Very true.
When I used to ride with traffic I constantly scanned the road right and left for an escape if I need to avoid someone. You just neve know when someone is just going to come right over into your lane (while it is occupied by you).

And somebody tell me please, why in hell do they give motorcycles these little wimpy horns while a semi has a horn they use in a lighthouse to warn ships? It should be the other way around.

I remember when I had my Norton I put a air horn on it as an alternate horn. I had a car drift right into my lane and I hit that air horn and saw the driver about jump out of his seat.
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I replace my horns with Fiamm that are about three times as loud.
 
Fledermaus said:
I replace my horns with Fiamm that are about three times as loud.
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It was back in early 70's when I had my Norton. I just don't think I was aware of any post market horns available to me back then.

But you need a horn like a Flamm. When you see a half ton pile of rolling steel coming your direction you need a way to get their attention. And if it makes them crap their pants that much better.:)
 
Crosscheck said:
It was back in early 70's when I had my Norton. I just don't think I was aware of any post market horns available to me back then.

But you need a horn like a Flamm. When you see a half ton pile of rolling steel coming your direction you need a way to get their attention. And if it makes them crap their pants that much better.:)
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Fiamm horns I adopted from the auto parts stores. I always grafted in a stand alone relay and ran a larger gage wire from the battery.

A pair of 120+ dB horns would wake the dead.
 
Gregor55 said:
Personally, I'm a huge fan of my bike. I went to the store today to pick up a fuel stabilizer for the winter, and came across several different fuel or oil additives that claim to prolong the life of your engine. Then I decided to do my own reserch, read this article https://motoclever.com/best-fuel-stabilizer-for-motorcycles and I discovered there are additives that you can put into your oil (which makes me nervous) and same with fuel. Any one have any experience with something like this?
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I'm a believer in a good synthetic oil in the engine and no other additives. I do use fuel stabilzer in my bikes and all my other smaller engines. I like the Sta-Bil Marine spec stabilizer. It's blue as opposed to the pinkish regular Sta-Bil.
 
RF667799 said:
Harleys were an American bike and suited the American lifestyle. They were simple, pushrod motors that could be wrenched on by a guy in his garage. They had a lot of torque and could lope along without a strain on long highways. (Long as you stopped and used those wrenches to snug things up once in awhile.)

British bikes typically were lighter and handled better. Some were faster. They weren't any more oil tight or reliable than Harleys for the most part. *cough Lucas Electrics cough*

Japanese were little marvels of engineering. Emphasis on "little". Yet they established a niche with those little 90cc bikes. When the Japanese started making larger bikes- like the XS 650 Yamaha, various Honda 4s, etc. they already had a reputation for trouble free reliability and the bell started tolling in Milwaukee. Came damn close to burying The Motor Company too. Also decimated the British companies. With the advent of the Z-1 Kawasaki it was obvious that the Japanese could build a motorcycle that out performed anything available off the shelf in the world.

Ronald Reagan put a tariff on Japanese motorcycles to give Harley some breathing room. Harley virtually reinvented themselves, becoming a marketing entity as much as a motorcycle company. Riding a Harley was about image for most of their newer customers.

Not that they don't build a good bike these days. The bad AMF days are behind them. I believe they build a great bike, for those that want such a bike. One thing I have been impressed with about Harley for the past couple decades is their fit and finish. It is usually impeccable and they can be beautiful bikes.

My partial take on things anyway, having grown up in the era.
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I reviewed my above take on Harley-Davidsons now that I have one. I stand by it. :)
 
RF667799 said:
I reviewed my above take on Harley-Davidsons now that I have one. I stand by it. :)
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Which model did you get?

Also , what is that a picture of above your Member's name?
 
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