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to v or not to v
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Joined: 24 Nov 2020
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 Posted: 23:36 - 07 Mar 2021  Post subject: first ride this millenium |
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picked up my new bike yesterday. a Yamaha Thunderace on a p plate.
its the first time ive been on a bike since the 1990's.
it was a bit surprising just how quick the bike rev'ed, ive never had to be that delicate with a throttle before. and the first few turns and bends took a bit of getting used to 
the journey back was about 60 miles, around fifty of them being motorway miles. i found getting used to the bike much easier on the mway than in city traffic.
the seat was very comfortable but the rear suspension felt a bit harsh.i could feel every bump.
the only problems i had on the mway were not being able to turn my head enough to see my blind spots and dust getting in my eyes.
i thought the dust must have gotten into my helmet whilst its been in storage for the last 23 years. but when i got home and checked, it turned out that the foam lining on the inner top of the helmet is crumbling away. a bit annoying as id only worn the helmet 3 or 4 times before i put it away, and it wasnt cheap.
i enjoyed the bikes acceleration, although i only went up to around 7000rpm in 2nd and 3rd on about half throttle. it was enough to impress though
the bike felt well balanced, but its a bit of a heifer to push around.
think im going to have to find a quite car park and practice low speed
manouvers.
apart from the seat being to high(tiptoes) and the handlebars being to low, im quite pleased  |
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| A100man |
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A100man
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to v or not to v
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Posted: 09:02 - 08 Mar 2021  Post subject: |
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ive just purchased a new helmet from Halfords for a whopping £24 with my trade card. reviews were promising so i thought id give it a try.
its dayglo yellow, but for the price im not complaining |
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P.
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| Fat Angry Scotsman |
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Fat Angry Scotsman
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| droog |
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droog
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| Posted: 10:54 - 08 Mar 2021 Post subject: Re: first ride this millenium |
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Nice one  - having owned an Ace in the past I'm sure you will love this bike - freshen up the suspension and tires and this bike will really shine. |
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Easy-X
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Posted: 10:56 - 08 Mar 2021  Post subject: |
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"...haven't ridden for years, best ease myself back into this."
buys litre sports bike
https://media.giphy.com/media/4Hmjz2sqdtASJ2gFMH/giphy.gif
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| xX-Alex-Xx |
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xX-Alex-Xx
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| Posted: 12:06 - 08 Mar 2021 Post subject: |
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At least it wasn't a "modern" litre bike.
OP: Welcome back to the dark side
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| chickenstrip |
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chickenstrip
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| Posted: 14:02 - 08 Mar 2021 Post subject: |
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| xX-Alex-Xx wrote: |
At least it wasn't a "modern" litre bike.
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I'm in two minds as to which is best for someone inexperienced if they're going to have something with a lot of power. With modern bikes you at least have modes and things that can tame it for you. But with something older, you have to learn to tame it yourself, which makes for good experience...assuming you survive it!
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Fat Angry Scotsman
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| MarJay |
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MarJay
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Fat Angry Scotsman
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chickenstrip
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| Posted: 15:22 - 08 Mar 2021 Post subject: |
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I went from a CB100N learner bike to a Kawasaki GPz750 Turbo. Powerful, fast, heavy, brakes and tyres not up to what we have these days, a lot of physical input needed to ride fast; no rider modes, ABS, traction control - just standard clutch, throttle and brakes. Probably unwise, and I did have a couple of moments early on...I was lucky to survive one occasion in particular, but it certainly taught me to respect the bike!
But I put about 20k miles on that bike in less than a year and survived it. Looking back, I can't say I regret the decision to go about things that way. I would just say if you do, respect that such a bike has way more than you can handle, and treat it correspondingly. Get used to it slowly, curb your enthusiasm on the throttle!
It probably is sensible to go up in smaller steps though.
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Nobby the Bastard
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MarJay
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Posted: 15:50 - 08 Mar 2021  Post subject: |
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| chickenstrip wrote: | I went from a CB100N learner bike to a Kawasaki GPz750 Turbo. Powerful, fast, heavy, brakes and tyres not up to what we have these days, a lot of physical input needed to ride fast; no rider modes, ABS, traction control - just standard clutch, throttle and brakes. Probably unwise, and I did have a couple of moments early on...I was lucky to survive one occasion in particular, but it certainly taught me to respect the bike! |
Still only 110ish HP though, in a bike that weighs 220kg+ dry. The performance of a modern litre bike, even a second level one such as a Katana or GSX-S or Z1000 or whatever is... mad. People say the Katana has an on-off throttle response. I've ridden worse, but for someone used to a 125, that will be too much. Don't forget an early turbo bike will still have lag, which cushions you somewhat from the excesses of the right wrist.
| chickenstrip wrote: | It probably is sensible to go up in smaller steps though. |
I'd say so, yes.
Back in the day we used to question people who came on the forum wanting to go for a 600 sports bike as their first bike... Nowadays you get people wanting to buy S1000RRs as their first bike. It's mad. Traction control and ABS don't make the bikes uncrashable. In fact, they might even push the limits out a bit so when you do have a mishap it's that much worse.
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chickenstrip
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| Posted: 17:13 - 08 Mar 2021 Post subject: |
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| MarJay wrote: | | chickenstrip wrote: | I went from a CB100N learner bike to a Kawasaki GPz750 Turbo. Powerful, fast, heavy, brakes and tyres not up to what we have these days, a lot of physical input needed to ride fast; no rider modes, ABS, traction control - just standard clutch, throttle and brakes. Probably unwise, and I did have a couple of moments early on...I was lucky to survive one occasion in particular, but it certainly taught me to respect the bike! |
Still only 110ish HP though, in a bike that weighs 220kg+ dry. The performance of a modern litre bike, even a second level one such as a Katana or GSX-S or Z1000 or whatever is... mad. People say the Katana has an on-off throttle response. I've ridden worse, but for someone used to a 125, that will be too much. Don't forget an early turbo bike will still have lag, which cushions you somewhat from the excesses of the right wrist. |
Yes, but the point is the bike wasn't anything like the same level of handling and manoeuvrability as a modern bike. It's so much easier to ride later bikes - they pretty much look after themselves, and never mind the various electronic 'taming' devices. If you're riding those older bikes at or near the limit, ok you're not going as fast, but you're also always nearer to disaster in a way, with the potential for the bike to tie itself in knots, as I experienced one time - the most frightening experience I have ever had, and I've ridden much faster than that occasion since. But yes, you make a good point - they certainly have much more performance now if kept raw with the controls all switched off.
The turbo lag wasn't bad on the Kawasaki, largely down to how close the turbo was mounted to the exhaust ports, unlike the other offerings at the time. You felt the boost beginning to feed in at around 4k rpm, so you didn't need to be pinning it before you started to get useful shove*. You really didn't get much "cushioning" if you rode it hard, but also it wasn't a strip-tuned bike. Fast for its day, it was pretty much on par with the GPz1100. Wheelied more easily though (my mate used to be able to get better launches off the line on his 11 than me on my turbo. When I briefly owned an 11 later, I realised why - it'd spin up the rear from a standstill, but the front wasn't so eager for the sky, so you had a be a little more careful feeding it in on the turbo bike).
*Edit: the problem for an 18yo was that the shove from the turbo at about 6k and over was addictive, and that's where it could get you into a bit of bother If you go and look at the articles I posted on the Z900 with turbo, he talks about this, and it very much reminded me of how I felt about my turbo bike.
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Last edited by chickenstrip on 18:21 - 08 Mar 2021; edited 2 times in total |
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chickenstrip
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| Posted: 17:17 - 08 Mar 2021 Post subject: |
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| MarJay wrote: |
| chickenstrip wrote: | It probably is sensible to go up in smaller steps though. |
I'd say so, yes.
Back in the day we used to question people who came on the forum wanting to go for a 600 sports bike as their first bike... Nowadays you get people wanting to buy S1000RRs as their first bike. It's mad. Traction control and ABS don't make the bikes uncrashable. In fact, they might even push the limits out a bit so when you do have a mishap it's that much worse. |
I think above certain speeds it becomes a bit academic anyway.
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chickenstrip
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| Posted: 17:21 - 08 Mar 2021 Post subject: |
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| Weisse Schlange wrote: | | MarJay wrote: |
The Katana WILL be too much for a newbie.
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Nope, it won't.
It's a dawdle to ride. Just don't ride outside your capabilities. Same as with every bike really. |
Yep, large capacity bikes are very easy to ride if you ride with restraint. How much restraint do you have? I had very little (I was 18 when I had my turbo)
The thing is, the manufacturers aren't designing these things to kill you the first time you throw a leg over one.
I wouldn't exactly recommend going straight to a modern litre bike, but nor would I suggest stopping people from doing so if that's what they really want to do. On their head be it, basically
Also, newbies these days normally get to ride on a bike of about 650cc or so capacity as a requirement to getting their full license don't they? So they're not going straight from a 125 to litre with zero experience of something larger.
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chickenstrip
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| Posted: 18:38 - 08 Mar 2021 Post subject: |
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| MarJay wrote: | | chickenstrip wrote: |
Also, newbies these days normally get to ride on a bike of about 650cc or so capacity as a requirement to getting their full license don't they? So they're not going straight from a 125 to litre with zero experience of something larger. |
only if they are under 26. They can still do a DAS at 26... but even so a 70 year old probably still shouldn't' go from a 125 to a 1000cc. |
Now you've got me picturing some little old granny in black leathers, discarding her walking frame and slinging an arthritic leg over a turbo Hayabusa - "get out of my way sonny, I can handle this!"
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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
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Old Thread Alert!
The last post was made 3 years, 42 days ago. Instead of replying here, would creating a new thread be more useful? |
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