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droog |
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droog Spanner Monkey
Joined: 03 Dec 2019 Karma :
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Posted: 21:52 - 06 May 2020 Post subject: What type of bike have you had most 'fun' on? |
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'Fun' is kind of a cheesy expression but I can't sum up the concept any better than this.
I guess this is principally a sport v naked question - I'm in the market for a mid-noughties litre sportsbike but I've got a sneaking suspicion that in terms of actual fun and happiness something like a Kawasaki Z1000 or similar naked would be the better option for me.
It's based on the idea that these bikes are designed to be used and experienced in different 'zones' - and that you should choose a bike based on the kind of 'zone' you spend most of your time in - whether that is the road or the track - or maybe this is just horsesh*t which is why I'm interested in your opinions.
I remember reading a Bike magazine article where a 954 Blade and a Kawasaki Z1000 went back to back on the public road. The upshot of the article was that while the Blade represented the pinnacle (at the time) of motorcycle performance and technology the Z Thou was the more rewarding and fun bike to ride because all of the sweet spots in the Kawasakis performance and handling were calibrated to coincide with the kind of speeds and conditions we experience as road riders - whereas with the 954 the whole package (while brilliant) only really came together at the kind of sustained high speeds you only really get to see at somewhere like the Nurburgring.
If you have experience of both types of bike I was just wondering if anyone has any thoughts on this? |
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pepperami |
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pepperami Super Spammer
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chickenstrip |
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chickenstrip Super Spammer
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Posted: 22:23 - 06 May 2020 Post subject: |
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Different kinds of enjoyment for different reasons on many of the bikes I've had, but for pure fun, I guess I'd have to say the RG500 and the Street Triple were probably top of the list. ____________________ 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! |
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spottedtango |
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spottedtango Trackday Trickster
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Polarbear |
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Polarbear Super Spammer
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Posted: 22:53 - 06 May 2020 Post subject: |
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Fun purely in bike riding terms, A few old Yammy 2 smokes back in the youthful days (could be a tint of rosy glasses there mind)and recently, my Street Triple R for sure.
But I get huge enjoyment touring around on my bikes and for that my Goldwing 1800 was the dogs danglies and I loved it. Does enjoyment and fun equate?
Obviously that wasn't as exciting (as in wetting myself type of exciting) as when I hit stupidly illegal 3 figure speeds on my Busa on a motorway in the early hours of one morning but my nerves wouldn't stand that too often. Some people might call it fun though.
So Street Triple for me. ____________________ Triumph Trophy Launch Edition |
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redeem ouzzer |
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redeem ouzzer World Chat Champion
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xX-Alex-Xx |
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xX-Alex-Xx World Chat Champion
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P. |
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P. Red Rocket
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stinkwheel |
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stinkwheel Bovine Proctologist
Joined: 12 Jul 2004 Karma :
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Posted: 08:30 - 07 May 2020 Post subject: |
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Most fun on a bike? Small bikes with silly power delivery.
1980's 100cc air cooled 2-strokes are a good example. Utter hoot, grin from ear to ear every time I go out on one. 9bhp, skinny tyres and a wafer-thin powerband can be a right laugh.
I preferr riding a naked bike to be fair, a sports bike is more purposeful and mindful. A fairing is sometimes necessary.
I'm (hopefully) going on a Euro-trip later on this year. Last years Euro trip had certain places I had to be at certain times (Spa classic racing then Vosages) and some of them a long way away. My VFR was the tool for the job. I can say for a certainty that going on a lower powered/naked bike would have definately been less fun. This year, we've decided on a loose 150mile/day limit and staying off motorways in the Spanish Picos. I'm giving serious consideration to taking my tuned Enfield bullet ____________________ “Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles. |
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TheIncredible... |
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TheIncredible... Nova Slayer
Joined: 30 Mar 2020 Karma :
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Posted: 08:42 - 07 May 2020 Post subject: |
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My experiences are vastly fewer in quantity to most on here, especially with anything other than Sports Bikes, having only ever ridden 2 Naked bikes in my time.
The first was an old GS500 which I passed my test on many moons ago, which being the first bike I'd ever ridden, felt fast.......
Then I ventured on to a Bandit 1200 which I borrowed from a mate and that was incredibly good fun, until I hit about 75-80mph at which point it felt like the buffeting was going to dislodge my shoulders from their sockets.
From the very first time I rode a sports bike (if you can call a J1 ZX6-R a sports bike?), I've been hooked ever since and probably will be until such time that my ageing frame cannot hunker over the tank to reach the bars.
Oh and I've had the pleasure of riding an RS250 which was immense fun but by the very nature of the "beast", it was such hard work to make progress compared to other bikes I'd ridden at the time. Full throttle or nothing at all, which was fun but draining! ____________________ Current Bike:-Suzuki GSXR 1000 - K3
Past Bikes:- ZX6-R, ZX7-R, RSV Mille x2 (1st Gen). |
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MarJay |
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MarJay But it's British!
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droog |
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droog Spanner Monkey
Joined: 03 Dec 2019 Karma :
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Posted: 10:24 - 07 May 2020 Post subject: |
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Interesting comments - thanks
Quote: | pepperami; As with most of us here, I’ve had many bikes since, but those two stand out as smile makers. |
Yeah - I get this - there are always those bikes that stand out in your memory for some reason - I've had 750 and 1000 sport bikes in the past but funnily enough the most fun and smiles I ever had was on my commutes into London on a 600 Hornet.
Quote: | chickenstrip; Different kinds of enjoyment for different reasons on many of the bikes I've had |
Yeah - I guess ultimately what we all need is a stable of different bikes for different scenarios - I wish I had the cash and the space to do this
Quote: | spottedtango; First generation Aprilia tuono 1000, it’s hard to express the how hilariously fun it is and it’s easy to ride in town |
Yeah - I've always been intrigued by the Tuono and have heard very good things about it - definitely an alternmative to the Kawa Z.
Quote: | spottedtango;Would you consider a twin or is your heart set on an I4? |
I like twins - the power characteristics, the sound etc - but the one thing I don't like is that the centre of gravity seems higher on twins - the bike feels 'taller' and you are sitting 'on it' rather than 'in it' due to the practicalites of building a frame around a large twin cylinder (whereas the Kawasaki Z looks squatter with a lower centre of gravity which has a tremendous impact on the way the bike feels when you ride it) - if you know what I mean? Or maybe this is not true - I have never ridden a Tuono so I could be totally wrong on this.
Quote: | Polarbear; Fun purely in bike riding terms, A few old Yammy 2 smokes back in the youthful days |
Aaah yes - the days of the RD350LC, the Green Harrington jacket and DMs
Quote: | Polarbear;Obviously that wasn't as exciting (as in wetting myself type of exciting) as when I hit stupidly illegal 3 figure speeds on my Busa on a motorway in the early hours of one morning but my nerves wouldn't stand that too often. Some people might call it fun though. |
Yeah - I get this - I used to have an old Yamaha 1000 (Thunderace) - not in Busa territory but with the power and legs to get you up to similar speeds in fairly short order given the right circumstances - usually experienced like you in the early hours and before the motorways became 'smart'.
Quote: | Forcedl Anything two-stroke. I just prefer the sound, feel and smell |
Yeah - missing out on two stroke is a big hole in my motorcycing experience - as a kid I went on the back of my mates Suzuki Gamma and the experience was frantic and intense!
Quote: | xX-Alex-Xx; Had a load of fun on a CRF-50. Two of us drifting them around in the football field next to work, even managed to high-side it when the back end dug into some mud and it flicked me off. |
Pure motorcycle happiness in one sentence
Quote: | Paddy; For all round laughs and enjoyment, Street Triple, 100%. |
Yeah - this bike has had some incredibly good reviews - I would love to have a ride on one.
Quote: | stinkwheel; Most fun on a bike? Small bikes with silly power delivery. |
It's that two stroke thing again - I'm starting to feel I really missed out by only having ridden IL4s and the odd twin.
Quote: | My VFR was the tool for the job. |
A truly brilliant motorcycle - and that V4 engine is an absoilute jewel.
Quote: | TheIncredible...Then I ventured on to a Bandit 1200 which I borrowed from a mate and that was incredibly good fun, until I hit about 75-80mph at which point it felt like the buffeting was going to dislodge my shoulders from their sockets. |
Yeah - I also heard this from a Bandit 1200 rider - a big engine capable of getting you up to high speed very quickly but you can end up feeling a bit like a sail with you arms stretched out over the bars and no fairing (although come to think of it you can get them with the bikini fairing).
Quote: | TheIncredible...From the very first time I rode a sports bike (if you can call a J1 ZX6-R a sports bike?), I've been hooked ever since and probably will be until such time that my ageing frame cannot hunker over the tank to reach the bars. |
Yeah - Kawasaki J1ZX6R is definitely a sportsbike - and I feel the same way - if it comes to the crunch and I have one choice I will stick with sports bikes.
Quote: | TheIncredible.. RS250 Full throttle or nothing |
Yeah - that famous power band - I imagine it takes a lot of skill to ride those old strokers properly. |
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spottedtango |
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spottedtango Trackday Trickster
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wr6133 |
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wr6133 World Chat Champion
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chickenstrip |
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chickenstrip Super Spammer
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Posted: 14:38 - 07 May 2020 Post subject: |
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Droog wrote: |
Quote: | chickenstrip; Different kinds of enjoyment for different reasons on many of the bikes I've had |
Yeah - I guess ultimately what we all need is a stable of different bikes for different scenarios - I wish I had the cash and the space to do this |
Don't we all!
But in the end I took your question as literally as I could. The two bikes I mentioned seemed to me to be about just one thing, although the ST actually was quite capable in other regards too. The RG500 though - a definite one-trick pony, i.e. mad as a box of frogs and no alternative way to approach it. I couldn't live with that much fun all the time! ____________________ 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! |
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TheIncredible... |
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TheIncredible... Nova Slayer
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MarJay |
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MarJay But it's British!
Joined: 15 Sep 2003 Karma :
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Posted: 15:10 - 07 May 2020 Post subject: |
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MarJay wrote: | Paddy. wrote: | For all round laughs and enjoyment, Street Triple, 100%. |
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So let me expand on this.
Street Triple
The Street Triple is immense fun. It's all around great. It has good handling, it turns nicely, it's lightweight and has an eager rorty engine with a great sound. It's got a good amount of power, but not so much as to be constantly looking over your shoulder for PC Plod. Also, you can use it for things. You can go to the shops on it. I commuted 100 miles a day on mine a few times. It's comfortable, fairly reliable and has a few practical features. Why do I find myself mentioning these things in a thread about fun? Well, you'll find out shortly.
RGV250 gamma /TZR250R 1KT / KR1S / 350LC
Nothing can beat the pure fun of a 250cc/350cc sporty lightweight two stroke. Particularly the RGV, it was just nuts. I've said in another thread (about 'keepers') the Street Triple encourages you to ride like a nutter. The RGV DEMANDED it. I have previously compared having a pure bred tuned 250cc two stroke sportsbike to (what I imagine it's like) dating a supermodel. On the days when it's good, it's REALLY REALLY good, but the rest of the time they throw strops and smash all the crockery. I wouldn't ever try to go somewhere on my RGV. I luckily had some fast dual carriageways, roundabouts and twisty B roads on my doorstep when I had it. And I wouldn't ever go anywhere else. I tried to go up into the village for petrol once, and it coughed and spluttered and I had to slip the clutch and tiptoe one mile up there. When it was working though, it was absolutely magic. Beautiful smooth power at the top end, and absolutely sublime flickable but stable handling. Trouble is, it really was only good 50% of the time or less, and the rest of the time it was either a pig to ride, or was dead in the garage. The same is true for my KR1S too. The LC and TZR were a bit better, but neither quite reached the highs of the RGV.
GasGas Pampera
Another bike that stands out in my memory is my GasGas Pampera, which as the only really capable offroader I've owned, sticks out as being a laugh for getting muddy. I would like another off roader, but it's not a priority at the moment so I'm not too concerned, but I did enjoy it.
Buell XB12R, XB12S and XB12R again
The Buells were amazing. Not quite as good as the Street Triple, but very close and very unique sound, engine feel and grunt. It had a weird combination of big bike grunt and torque and small bike flickability and thrashability.
Hmm... Maybe there is a pattern here? I like bikes that don't have immense power, but are flickable and have lovely tight handling.
Anyway, really the two subsequent Buells I owned did not quite match up to the fun, grunt and hoonability of the first one. The first one had a muller power clutch, a Rizoma spring loaded belt tensioner and a low gearing kit as well as a flat bar conversion. I loved that bike, and was very sad when I had to sell it. The others I had never quite recaptured that. The third one I sold just last summer, and I don't really feel bad about doing so. It was a good bike, but not as good as the Street. I think I bought it after the unfinished business of writing off my 12S in 2011.
Speed Four - Light, flickable, confidence inspiring, but didn't quite have that same sparkle as the others on the list. Cheap fun though! ____________________ British beauty: Triumph Street Triple R; Loony stroker: KR1S; Track fun: GSXR750 L1; Commuter Missile: GSX-S1000F
Remember kids, bikes aren't like lego. You can't easily take a part from one bike and then fit it to another. |
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droog |
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droog Spanner Monkey
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droog |
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droog Spanner Monkey
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martin734 |
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martin734 Spanner Monkey
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droog |
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droog Spanner Monkey
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stevo123 |
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stevo123 Nitrous Nuisance
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MarJay |
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MarJay But it's British!
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barrkel |
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barrkel World Chat Champion
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Posted: 23:38 - 07 May 2020 Post subject: |
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SH300 and Brutale 920.
The SH300 scooter is massive fun in London traffic. The low centre of gravity means it's got quick steering, but the 16" wheels give it more stability than something like a Vespa, the engine is enough to dart for gaps in the 20-40mph speed range, and the brakes are surprisingly good in case you misjudge, with ABS for good measure. At city speeds, I'd rather be on the SH300 for an emergency stop than on the S1000R with its Brembos & fancier ABS.
I kept doing accidental wheelies on the Brutale the first time I rode it. It has very little torque just off idle, so you need to slip the clutch more than a little, and then it goes pow. It feels quite short, and is a lot of fun on mountain passes - more fun than my VFR was on tight Alpine-style roads - and I rode it back and forth between France, Switzerland and Italy multiple times on the one tour I took it.
The Brutale has a lot of jerk; it hits maximum acceleration faster than my S1000R, even though it's got a good 30hp less power. That means it's quicker to wheelie, and feels both more responsive and more dangerous. It's not smooth unless you are.
It's also quite hard to get parts for, the ignition coils in particular were falsely advertised as for sale on multiple sites. If it had better support, I'd probably have kept it - or traded it for a higher power version. ____________________ Bikes: S1000R, SH350; Exes: Vity 125, PS125, YBR125, ER6f, VFR800, Brutale 920, CB600F, SH300x4
Best road ever ridden: www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2MhNxUEYtQ |
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ThatDippyTwat |
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ThatDippyTwat World Chat Champion
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Old Thread Alert!
The last post was made 3 years, 353 days ago. Instead of replying here, would creating a new thread be more useful? |
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