Changing things up...(Car and motorcycle related)

[FrostedxB]

Well now that I've finished high school and my gf is going away for college, my little beater Scion xB is no longer the most useful thing in the world. I've been browsing through vehicles that I can have a good bit of fun with, but can still drive an hour and a half to her college to visit. I've come up with a pickup/motorcycle combo. Obviously the truck will come first, as I'll need something practical to drive daily (and I kinda want to go off-roading) and I've always sorta wanted a bike (though they can be very dangerous).

So anybody here ride a motorcycle? Whats it like?

Anyone here just grow tired/feel their car is outdated and no longer useful and buy something completely different?

EDIT: Before it comes up, no I'm not a "**** YEA THATS INTENSE! ADRENALINE! TOTALLY BRO!" kinda guy.

 

[repiV]

Well now that I've finished high school and my gf is going away for college, my little beater Scion xB is no longer the most useful thing in the world. I've been browsing through vehicles that I can have a good bit of fun with, but can still drive an hour and a half to her college to visit. I've come up with a pickup/motorcycle combo. Obviously the truck will come first, as I'll need something practical to drive daily (and I kinda want to go off-roading) and I've always sorta wanted a bike (though they can be very dangerous).

So anybody here ride a motorcycle? Whats it like?

Anyone here just grow tired/feel their car is outdated and no longer useful and buy something completely different?

EDIT: Before it comes up, no I'm not a "**** YEA THATS INTENSE! ADRENALINE! TOTALLY BRO!" kinda guy.

Ooh a bike thread.

Yes, bikes are awesome. Just yesterday we had a glorious sunny/sometimes a bit cloudy day (a rarity on the west coast of Britain, I assure you) and I took the day off to spend a day out on the bikes with my cousins. Cheap photo op below

In true British style, today it's pissing down with rain all day so I'm spending my other day off on the interweb or watching bad TV.

When it's good, there's nothing better. There's nothing inherently dangerous about bikes, and IF you're properly trained and do everything right, there's no particular reason you should come to any harm. I haven't crashed a bike in nearly three years (started riding five months before that), and the bike is my only form of transport as well as a hobby. The roads around here are very hazardous aswell.

However, the problem is that it's many times more challenging to ride a motorcycle than it is to drive a four-wheeled vehicle, and they're very unforgiving of any errors. Not only will you almost certainly be seriously injured at the least in any significant accident, but it's a lot easier to screw something up and crash in the first place. When I did crash last (and I had a couple of minor accidents leading up to that point), I broke my leg in several places and ended up on crutches for six months. It's still not 100% right now, and probably never will be. It took me a couple of years to be able to walk properly again, and without constant pain. And really, I should have been killed. At the time, I didn't realise I was doing anything particularly dangerous. Now I know better but it's kinda too late.

Also take into account the following:

Bikes will always be more expensive than you expect. You can pick up a good bike for very little money if you know where to look, I got my GSXR750 above for £1000! However, decent bikes aren't particularly fuel efficient, they need servicing every 4000 miles, new tyres every 4-8000 miles, things WILL go wrong and need fixing, the inevitable expense when you drop it moving it around on your driveway when you're new, riding gear is very expensive, etc.

Riding in bad weather is either a major inconvinience, an unpleasant experience, or a downright ordeal. That particular novelty wears off VERY quickly. In some countries of course it's impossible to ride one in the winter. Depending on where you live, it will sit unused in a garage for half the year.

It's a very expensive hobby and, if you're like most hobby riders, you'll ride it once or twice a month for a few hours. It can also be very frustrating (and indeed, painful) at times. For many people though, it's absolutely worth it. I'd definitely go for it if you have an interest in that sort of thing, just remember to set aside a lot more money than you expect to need.

 

[FrostedxB]

Nice bike, I'm looking at a Kawasaki Ninja 250R since they're only 4000 brand new.

This little guy -

Sadly, I've seen a lot of bike crashes and the majority of them were fatal. Not even the riders fault, just another driver who overlooked the bike and slams into it. Basically I'd just want it for casual riding/around the block type stuff, not cross country/highway riding. How difficult it the motorcycle license test/what exactly did you have to do?

 

[Kula Meenur]

Very popular bike, nice high bars and smooth gearbox (for a Kawasaki, that is) which is great for learning. The parallel twin puts down power in a very linear fashion and the EFI adds to decent fuel economy.

Have a think about the Honda VTR250 brodad. Bulletproof bike and much less expensive if you drop it. Not to be a prick or anything, but you will do this at some point or another. OEM fairings run in at around $1500(AUD)-$4000(AUD) and get pretty costly if you go for a slide/drop it in your driveway Do you have a class system in the East Coast dude, ie: is it mandatory to ride a 250 for a year before upgrading?

Our licensing system over here is a ****ing joke; all the rider needs to do is a few o-turns two emergency stops and just practical riding stuff. Which is why a lot of riders over here can't ride for shit. When you pass, make sure you do some advanced ride days, like tuning sessions or a day at the track. They will help you out to no end.

Riding is a ****ing beautiful thing, which many people will never understand. There's nothing quite like taking a nice sweeping country corner at $2.00+ almost crying from laughter. The fun and crazy sex with loose women makes up for the risk.


Love the GSXR, Repiv. Old school awesomity right thar

 

[CyberPitz]

The next logical step up from a Scion xB

 

[repiV]

Nice bike, I'm looking at a Kawasaki Ninja 250R since they're only 4000 brand new.

This little guy -

They look good. I reckon you can get a lot more bike for a lot less money though. Something like a Honda CB500, they don't look particularly inspiring but with no biking experience it will feel unbelievably fast at first. I did my test on one, acceleration feels like your guts are being sucked out through your spine when you're not used to it.

Considerably quicker than your Ninja 250 and you should be able to pick up a tidy one for under half what you're looking at for a new Ninja. Plus they don't have fairings so as Kula said, much cheaper when you drop it.

Sadly, I've seen a lot of bike crashes and the majority of them were fatal. Not even the riders fault, just another driver who overlooked the bike and slams into it. Basically I'd just want it for casual riding/around the block type stuff, not cross country/highway riding.

Interesting points you picked up on there.

Just because an accident is someone else's fault, doesn't mean it was at all unavoidable. You quickly learn to anticipate and plan for other people's stupidity when you ride a bike. I used to commute from one side of London to the other on a daily basis which was incredibly dangerous but I went from having a close call pretty much every day to having no issues at all and a calm, stress-free (and quicker) ride in over the course of a few months. Point being, you can pretty much ALWAYS prevent an accident from happening, whether it was your fault or not. Whether you will have the skills, concentration and werewithall to do so consistently over the course of a biking career is another matter.

Also round the block is probably the most dangerous place to ride, and the highway is most definitely by far the safest. Besides, most of the joy of biking comes from riding them round bends. Hopefully you live somewhere with nice twisty roads. I'm fortunate in that, living in an area characterised by hills, valleys and areas of high moorland, pretty much all the roads round here are very twisty. Biking suddenly became far more enjoyable than it was in London, which happens to occupy the flattest, most geographically dull part of the country and so all the roads within a hundred mile radius are shit (and full of traffic).

I don't get that whole Harley nonsense. Riding a motorbike for long distances in a straight line isn't fun, if anything it's quite an unpleasant, monotonous and uncomfortable experience. Probably why they never actually ride the bikes...

How difficult it the motorcycle license test/what exactly did you have to do?

In the UK, it's pretty difficult - a lot harder than the car test, which is already one of the most stringent in the world. However, how much of the hoops they make you jump through will actually help you in real world riding situations is another question entirely. They teach you how to ride round town and don't examine riding at high speed on rural roads, which is a very different beast and exactly what people buy bikes for.

You have to do a theory test, an off-road maneuvering test involving various exercises, and an on-road test where you're followed by an examiner for half an hour. I learnt to ride before the off-road test came into play (damn meddling EU idiots), and I did a CBT (basic certificate which allows you to ride 125cc bikes and mopeds), hired a 125 for a couple of weeks to properly get the hang of it and then did a five day intensive course which cost about £700 to get my full license. You have to be over 21 and do the test on a 500cc+ bike to get an unrestricted license.

In America though, as far as I'm aware, in most states you can just jump on anything you like without any tuition whatsoever. Sheer madness.

Riding is a ****ing beautiful thing, which many people will never understand. There's nothing quite like taking a nice sweeping country corner at $2.00+ almost crying from laughter. The fun and crazy sex with loose women makes up for the risk.

And if we could combine British roads with Australian weather, life would be heaven. Oh wait - we can, it's called Spain! Hmmmmm....and clearly loose Spanish women are of higher quality than British or Australian ones too.

Love the GSXR, Repiv. Old school awesomity right thar

Cheers.

Gotta be honest, after the novelty's worn off, I prefer the ZX6. It's a much better bike, as you would expect being 10 years newer! But I wanted the cash and for what I paid for the GSXR, I'm definitely not disappointed...

 

[YROC]

I bought a bike a month, maybe two months ago. It's a 2003 Suzuki GSXR 1000. My main two reasons for getting it were because i'm usually the only one driving around and they're so awesome when it comes to gas consumption.

This is mine. Bought it used. It was taken care of really well. Never dropped or anything, so I felt good about it. Costed around 3800. This thing frightens me when i'm on the highway. I'm talking, so fast, you can feel the wind trying to rip you from the bike. Good for warm weather, but I don't know how i'm going to ride this in the winter, with the cold air, icy roads and such.

pics of said bike

Spoiler

 

[kazsymonds]

...and clearly loose Spanish women are of higher quality than British or Australian ones too...

Oh man, I was with you in this entire thread until this.

In my experience Spanish badger is amongst the worst in the world.

I'd rather ride a bike on icey Swedish roads but have all of those amazingly hot women, than enjoy the hot weather of Spain but have to come home to a mule.

 

[FrostedxB]

Just looked on the NJ DMV site, I have to apply for a permit, pass a knowledge and vision test to get that permit (same as for a drivers license) then ride around with another licensed motorcyclist for 20 days. After those 20 days, you go back and take a road test.

Or you can go to a Motorcycle Safety Education Program class and provide the DMV with proof that you passed it. Seems real easy to get here in the states (at least New Jersey).

Also, Pitz, the next logical vehicle would be a full size vehicle. The xB takes up about 3/4's of a parking space. I think I need to learn to drive something bigger then that piece of shit. Still looking at small and midsize pickups because nobody wants to sell used trucks at reasonable prices. (100K miles, 2002 Ranger for 8 grand my ass.)

 

[Kula Meenur]

Do a wheelie when you pass the test. Put in gear and pull in the clutch, hold revs at redline for a few seconds. As quickly as possible release the clutch and don't let the revs drop from redline at all.

 

[CyberPitz]

Also, Pitz, the next logical vehicle would be a full size vehicle. The xB takes up about 3/4's of a parking space. I think I need to learn to drive something bigger then that piece of shit. Still looking at small and midsize pickups because nobody wants to sell used trucks at reasonable prices. (100K miles, 2002 Ranger for 8 grand my ass.)

Oh man, I HATE driving big vehicles. I'm used to my tiny sports cars, so when I get in something more than 6 inches off the ground, I'm useless.

Also, some people are selling trucks/SUV's for way too much money these days. I don't know what makes them think people will buy.

 

[FrostedxB]

Well the first stage of this is done, I'm now the owner of a 2007 Chevy Colorado. Traded in the shitbox for it.

 

[bam23]

I go with the tricycle. Think about how much gas that could save.

 

[FrostedxB]

Well heres the truck -

Now I have to work towards that bike in a year or two...

 

[Mogi67]

why do you need a truck that big, especially in jersey? jesus.

 

[FrostedxB]

Its not that big, its a mid-size, extended cab pickup.

As opposed to the Chevy Silverado, which would be a full size truck. This just looks big because of the Z71 package (bigger tires, higher suspension etc...)

 

[xcellerate]

Do a wheelie when you pass the test. Put in gear and pull in the clutch, hold revs at redline for a few seconds. As quickly as possible release the clutch and don't let the revs drop from redline at all.

I don't get it, that's how I always leave a stoplight.

 

[Kula Meenur]

Lol

Kind of a two-wheeled joke, telling him to wreck his bike