What makes a bike fun?

[M.C]

[chickenstrip]

None. Yet. But because of the suspension (maybe), I just don't feel I want to push it as much as I will the Fazer. Plus, it's more stone walls than hedges around here; bit less forgiving
____________________
Chickenystripgeezer's Biking Life (Latest update 19/10/18) Belgium, France, Italy, Austria tour 2016 Picos de Europa, Pyrenees and French Alps tour 2017 Scotland Trip 1, now with BONUS FEATURE edit, 5/10/19, on page 2 Scotland Trip 2 Luxembourg, Black Forest, Switzerland, Vosges Trip 2017
THERE'S MILLIONS OF CHICKENSTRIPS OUT THERE!

[G]

[chickenstrip]

[M.C]

[chickenstrip]

[M.C]

So crashing's fun?

[struan80]

[Fladdem]

Fun?

I think the danger that I may not get home again on it as it will break down on me anywhere. I like the gambling of unreliable bikes. I like having something that will just about touch a hundred with a lot of winding it up.

I hated my Varadero 125 with a passion, excellent bit of kit, but it always started everytime and never wanted for anything. It then got from a to b without a fuss and was cheap to run.


My crossers are great because there is always something stupid about to happen. The engines are far more capable than the chassis, so you bounce along like a pogo stick and fail to stop when necessary. You can wheelie it dead easy and the knobblie tyres never grip the road, you can then go wherever you want on them, my CB400 doesn't go offroad very well. And you get the risk of something going wrong because you ride the snot out of them and have ruined their reliable reputation.
____________________
Current:1991 Honda MT50 (Soon to be a H100/MTX/MT5 hybrid), 1976 Honda Cub C70, 2005 Honda Varadero 125, 1993 Yamaha TTR250 Open Enduro , 2010 Road Legal Stomp YX140, 1994 Honda CRM 250 MK III, 1999 Cagiva Mito 125, 1992 Honda CB400 Super Four, Stomp T4 230, 1984 Honda H100s, 2009 Sym XS125K
Past:2003 Aprilia RS125, 1982 Kawasaki GPZ550(FREE BIKE!)
I'm having more fun than a well-oiled midget.

[chickenstrip]

[G]

Pegs down I don't like - it's very much the wrong type of 'edge of traction' on the road for me. You're probably fine, but have them catch in something and it's a very binary 'fine' to 'Oh ****'. Believe someone from a hornet forum died doing this.
Much more likely on soft suspension, of course.

[chickenstrip]

[G]

I crashed the same or more times on my first bike as you have overall!
It was a cg125 and I was a silly 17 year old.
I am including some doing stunts in fairly 'safe' place.

Who talks about losing a knee cap getting your knee down on the road? Have they not heard of leathers and sliders.
I can see it being pretty nasty, especially if you've got extra grippy velcro, but hopefully unless it was a ridiculously big pot hole, you'd just lose your slider.
It's very rare I'd go for knee down on the road; though the RS250 was so tiny you really didn't need to try much to do it.

The vast majority of my crashes on the road were a long time ago - last one must have been 9 years ago; pushed it too much on an empty business park roundabout on chilly summer evening not considering that the road and tyres would be a lot cooler than the same one at midday.

Yes, for the most part pegs down are fine, especially presuming they're hinged. Even exhaust down you generally get away with. But there's that 1 time in a 1000 or whatever that'd I'd rather not risk.

Since starting trackdays a good while etc I got a bit bored of road riding and found most pleasure from open-road riding in learning 'advanced riding' stuff as it's a skill I can improve, while I generally don't want to push pure speed any more because the risk vs reward when compared to track riding doesn't come close for me.

[chickenstrip]

You're not trying hard enough
____________________
Chickenystripgeezer's Biking Life (Latest update 19/10/18) Belgium, France, Italy, Austria tour 2016 Picos de Europa, Pyrenees and French Alps tour 2017 Scotland Trip 1, now with BONUS FEATURE edit, 5/10/19, on page 2 Scotland Trip 2 Luxembourg, Black Forest, Switzerland, Vosges Trip 2017
THERE'S MILLIONS OF CHICKENSTRIPS OUT THERE!

[G]

I think that was my original point - I don't want to 'try hard' on the road .


Note; actually 8 years ago, but once I left that job haven't had the need to ride on the road that much, so very sporadic.

[chickenstrip]

[M.C]

[redeem ouzzer]

[stevo as b4]

I dunno, I get more of a pure sense of freedom from my mountain bike riding, than from road riding motorbikes. But if you go out without all the gear, no helmet etc and go flying down a loose steep downhill track that's tree lined both sides, you could easily fuck oneself up quite well from making a small mistake?

I don't really seek that what if risk, but I do find there's something more basic and closer to disaster occuring from riding my MTB generally. Its all interesting though, as im fairly sure I could not give up mountain biking for motorbike riding as an either/or, and I'd miss it more than road riding a motorbike.

In fact if the roads are or were quiet, I'd sometimes be just as happy hooning in my car as on a motorbike these days. I think if I was seriously into off road biking still then it would be different, as there is some real buzz from off roading generally or so I've always felt.

I think if using a bike to say ride from one place to another say 50miles away, it could be a scooter or bike and any type or size and I'd still feel about the same level of enjoyment from the journey?

[M.C]

[chickenstrip]

[M.C]

[G]

[M.C]

[stevo as b4]

I'm not sure of that though, when I'm watching Binge's track day or race vids on the 4valve monster pit bike. It looks far quicker than I'd want to go on such a physically small bike, and it's pretty take no prisoners and ballistic, especially on generally small tracks with not much run off etc.