Any Motörbike riders here?

thebreeze · September 2023

Yes, a great meet up Chris @Haych, thank you. Funnily enough I put a bit of welly into it coming back too - must have been something about the sunset or empty Sunday evening roads. That's a nifty little BMW recording thing you've got there....., does the 72mph that comes up at the end mean top speed or average speed or something else entirely?

Haych · September 2023

thebreeze said:

Yes, a great meet up Chris @Haych, thank you. Funnily enough I put a bit of welly into it coming back too - must have been something about the sunset or empty Sunday evening roads. That's a nifty little BMW recording thing you've got there....., does the 72mph that comes up at the end mean top speed or average speed or something else entirely?

It's an app called Relive - the 72mph recorded is what it thinks my top speed achieved was. It's not that accurate, one time on the way to work it suggested I'd achieved about 96mph on the M5!! A complete lie!

I'm not a speed demon at all, although it's quite possible I did open the taps a bit without realising on this occasion.

p90fool · September 2023

Dominic said:

I've been riding like that today ........I think@P90 fool is of the same mentality

Definitely. Most of the world is too tbh, deliberately planning a high speed slide down the road is a very northern European thing really.

Dominic · September 2023

I have worn a T shirt and shorts whilst riding 650 miles last week .Loved every minute.
Pulled up on saturday on my hooligan bike KTM Superduke RS alongside a 'tutting ' bore on a GS1250 with £3,000 of BMW Safety Clothing /body armour etc on ......I watched the poor dehydrated fella with sweat pouring off his neck and genuinely thought if it came to that as an alternative for me I'd rather be in a car with Air-Con.
He didn't look like he was bound for a trans-Saharan adventure but had the stupid great metal box panniers fully extended so he couldn't stream the traffic .....bloody thing was wider than a smart car
I just thought.............what's the point ?

AK99 · September 2023

^ 'Performativity'
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/performativity

Or as the Bard might have said:
All the world's a stage
And those Wrong Way Round Wannabes merely players

Haych · September 2023

Dominic said:

I have worn a T shirt and shorts whilst riding 650 miles last week .Loved every minute.
Pulled up on saturday on my hooligan bike KTM Superduke RS alongside a 'tutting ' bore on a GS1250 with £3,000 of BMW Safety Clothing /body armour etc on ......I watched the poor dehydrated fella with sweat pouring off his neck and genuinely thought if it came to that as an alternative for me I'd rather be in a car with Air-Con.
He didn't look like he was bound for a trans-Saharan adventure but had the stupid great metal box panniers fully extended so he couldn't stream the traffic .....bloody thing was wider than a smart car
I just thought.............what's the point ?

I take the middle ground. I try to apply some sensibility without going ATGATT.

It also depends on what kind of ride I’m doing. If I’m going long distance for hours then I’ll kit up a bit more. If I’m off to the shops for a pint of milk, I’ll go as I am.

But yeah, some of the GS and ADV bike brigade do make me chuckle with their astronaut suits.

robinbowes · September 2023

Haych said:

Safety is interesting over there too. I get that it's a little bit warmer than Blighty and wearing full gear would be uncomfortably hot, but they seem to go completely the opposite way - other than a helmet (which I reckon they only wear because it's the law, and they would probably forego that if they could) then whatever shorts and flip-flops you happen to have on that day is all you really need.

I was in the South of France at the end of August and drove (in a car) from Cannes to Avignon.

The speed limit for a lot of the journey was 130km/h (80.77 mph).

While travelling t that speed, a guy on a Ducati roared past me wearing vest, shirts, and flip flops!

Insane!

Haych · September 2023

robinbowes said:

Haych said:

Safety is interesting over there too. I get that it's a little bit warmer than Blighty and wearing full gear would be uncomfortably hot, but they seem to go completely the opposite way - other than a helmet (which I reckon they only wear because it's the law, and they would probably forego that if they could) then whatever shorts and flip-flops you happen to have on that day is all you really need.

I was in the South of France at the end of August and drove (in a car) from Cannes to Avignon.

The speed limit for a lot of the journey was 130km/h (80.77 mph).

While travelling t that speed, a guy on a Ducati roared past me wearing vest, shirts, and flip flops!

Insane!

You can look at it that way. Most accidents on a motorcycle happen at low speed. The guy on the Ducati was more likely to fall off at the traffic lights than at 80mph on the motorway.

At the end of the day, everyone makes a personal risk assessment and choice based on that. Of course there is always a large degree of things-only-happen-to-other-people as well.

I’m not advocating throwing PPE in the bin, but neither do I think one should be forced to wear it based on what another considers high risk. In this country I’m surprised anyone is allowed out the front door for any reason without a full suit of medieval armour!

Kittyfrisk · September 2023

Haych said:

robinbowes said:

Haych said:

Safety is interesting over there too. I get that it's a little bit warmer than Blighty and wearing full gear would be uncomfortably hot, but they seem to go completely the opposite way - other than a helmet (which I reckon they only wear because it's the law, and they would probably forego that if they could) then whatever shorts and flip-flops you happen to have on that day is all you really need.

I was in the South of France at the end of August and drove (in a car) from Cannes to Avignon.

The speed limit for a lot of the journey was 130km/h (80.77 mph).

While travelling t that speed, a guy on a Ducati roared past me wearing vest, shirts, and flip flops!

Insane!

You can look at it that way. Most accidents on a motorcycle happen at low speed. The guy on the Ducati was more likely to fall off at the traffic lights than at 80mph on the motorway.

At the end of the day, everyone makes a personal risk assessment and choice based on that. Of course there is always a large degree of things-only-happen-to-other-people as well.

I’m not advocating throwing PPE in the bin, but neither do I think one should be forced to wear it based on what another considers high risk. In this country I’m surprised anyone is allowed out the front door for any reason without a full suit of medieval armour!

I know that was a tongue in cheek comment, but as you mention & in my experience, most individuals in the UK have very little idea of the most basic elements of risk assessment & mitigation.
'Health & Safety gone mad' has passed into the UK vocabulary & is usually trotted out by those with limited understanding & experience (not pointing at anyone here).

robinbowes · September 2023

Haych said:

robinbowes said:

Haych said:

Safety is interesting over there too. I get that it's a little bit warmer than Blighty and wearing full gear would be uncomfortably hot, but they seem to go completely the opposite way - other than a helmet (which I reckon they only wear because it's the law, and they would probably forego that if they could) then whatever shorts and flip-flops you happen to have on that day is all you really need.

I was in the South of France at the end of August and drove (in a car) from Cannes to Avignon.

The speed limit for a lot of the journey was 130km/h (80.77 mph).

While travelling t that speed, a guy on a Ducati roared past me wearing vest, shirts, and flip flops!

Insane!

You can look at it that way. Most accidents on a motorcycle happen at low speed. The guy on the Ducati was more likely to fall off at the traffic lights than at 80mph on the motorway.

At the end of the day, everyone makes a personal risk assessment and choice based on that. Of course there is always a large degree of things-only-happen-to-other-people as well.

I’m not advocating throwing PPE in the bin, but neither do I think one should be forced to wear it based on what another considers high risk. In this country I’m surprised anyone is allowed out the front door for any reason without a full suit of medieval armour!

Yeah, you're right. He was probably completely safe.

Dominic · September 2023

That guy on the Ducati would be me only I probably be going quite a bit quicker
You're as dead at 50 as you are at 150 (there are probably quite a few exceptions )
In cars / bikes / high falls ......high impact injury people die of a ruptured Aorta
I already have a large Aortic Aneurysm so basically falling off a chair or a bicycle let alone 20 mph on a motorbike would very likely be curtains for me anyway so I'm not too worried about all the protective gear .
As a point of fact the protective gear saves skin and soft tissue etc it doesn't really lesson impact damage

p90fool · September 2023

People do have a false sense of security when they feel protected and the risk taking goes up accordingly. My son doesn't drive so we're often the the chauffeurs for our young grandkids and on the bikes we dress them for warmth, not for protection, as we both feel that crashing motorcycles with such a precious cargo is simply not an option.

My son and his partner are currently in trauma units in different hospitals with very serious injuries as their housemate binned his BMW on Sunday morning and they had to be cut out. He often has our grandkids in the car, and yet I've been called reckless for taking them on the bikes.

TheBigDipper · September 2023

p90fool said:

<snip>
My son and his partner are currently in trauma units in different hospitals with very serious injuries as their housemate binned his BMW on Sunday morning and they had to be cut out. He often has our grandkids in the car, and yet I've been called reckless for taking them on the bikes.

Not good to hear. Hope they're doing OK.

Dominic · September 2023

p90fool said:

People do have a false sense of security when they feel protected and the risk taking goes up accordingly. My son doesn't drive so we're often the the chauffeurs for our young grandkids and on the bikes we dress them for warmth, not for protection, as we both feel that crashing motorcycles with such a precious cargo is simply not an option.

My son and his partner are currently in trauma units in different hospitals with very serious injuries as their housemate binned his BMW on Sunday morning and they had to be cut out. He often has our grandkids in the car, and yet I've been called reckless for taking them on the bikes.

That's awful .......must have been a very worrying last 48 hours for you.......I hope all works out ok.
Life is a weird game of chance ......on the one hand taking young kids on any type of motorcycle is a huge risk and no kind of latest Dainese suit of armour is going to save them if the unthinkable happens ;
What's the unthinkable ?.......being in the path of the housemate's BMW on Sunday morning......however if they were it wouldn't have made any difference if they were on the back of a hyper Sport bike , having a gentle pushbike ride with Grandpa or just walking to the park with their friends ........in fact they would probably have been no better off had they been BMW passengers or in a car going the other way.
There is no answer to this one besides fate.

p90fool · September 2023

Cheers guys, keeping everything crossed here.

Haych · September 2023

Thinking of you and yours @p90fool, hope things look up soon.

thebreeze · September 2023

Yes, very sorry to hear that’s happened @p90fool, sadly life throws up these terrible things from time to time. I wish them both a full recovery, both physically….and for all of you, from the trauma.

Kittyfrisk · September 2023

Bloody hell @p90fool thats awful news.
Sending positive vibes to you & all the family, hope the news is better soon & they can make a complete & speedy recovery.

p90fool · September 2023

Thanks all, we're heading back to the hospital now, hopefully they'll both be stable.

p90fool · September 2023

Anyway, back on topic, Royal Enfield have started fitting cast wheels to the 2023 Interceptors and in the interests of reliability I've always fancied tubeless tyres for mine, so courtesy of a factory contact in India I bought a pair for a grand total of £400, shipped door-to-door in eight days.

I know everyone likes spoked wheels on their retro bike, but the Interceptor wheels are pretty ugly and I can always bung them back on to sell it anyway.

I think it looks pretty cool, too.

Haych · September 2023

I think that looks way cool, @p90fool. I’m also all for pragmatism- spoked wheels do look good but must be a nightmare to keep clean and maintain.

Tony from ManCaveMoto on YouTube is doing an Interceptor build. It’s quite interesting even if it’s something I’d probably never do.

AK99 · September 2023

Looks much better with the mags. Never been a fan of spokes (or 'laced' wheels as our 'Murkin cousins would have it). Yeah as Haych says, too much cleaning, and too many potential points of failure. Changed the spoked ones on the FXR back to a set of cast ones off a Sportster as soon as I got it. It was only when I was taking the old ones off I discovered a broken spoke on the rear, snapped clean through right down at the nipple on the drive side ...

That really is a crackin' looking bike now P90. The al-round proportions of it and the way the engine sits canted forward like that make it look purposeful, and something you just want to hop on and head out for a spin

Haych · September 2023

AK99 said:

...... too much cleaning, and too many potential points of failure.

A salient point.

I saw this a while back, the quality isn't great and it's difficult to see exactly what caused the accident but when the wheel finally collapses you can see spokes detaching from the rim and hub. I don't know if that was the reason it failed, but it would be on my mind if I had spoked wheels.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkHhhC3h9sI&t=189s

There's also another channel, Bunny King Hogs which is all tits for follows basically (and why I don't follow any more), but they had some issues with Harley spoked wheels coming loose and causing dangerous handling issues.

Scary stuff, give me a cast wheel any day.

AK99 · September 2023

Wow. Have to say the guy did a great job holding it until the final high-side - a good rider. The photographer also did a good job in terms of managing the space behind the bike.

The phrase 'You can follow a trail of bad decisions all the way up to the crash site" gives you a lot of food for thought.

Moe_Zambeek · September 2023

I prefer the looks of spokes but generally can’t be arsed cleaning them…cast wheels are much easier.

The ‘dark’ version of the interceptor looks pretty cool but it highlights the single disk up front more than the spoked version.

Moe_Zambeek · September 2023

On the subject of ATGATT I mix and match but am generally dressing for the other idiot more than this idiot, and it needs to be comfortable.

I’m not really sure why the adv types
leave the boxes on when trying to commute, the whole point is to split the lanes and you can’t do that if you’re wider than a Micra.

Haych · September 2023

Moe_Zambeek said:

I’m not really sure why the adv types
leave the boxes on when trying to commute, the whole point is to split the lanes and you can’t do that if you’re wider than a Micra.

I can think of a few reasons:

1.) They are a pain to remove/install (no idea if this is actually true or not).
2.) They are generally huge and finding somewhere to put them when they're not attached to the bike is a problem.
3.) They think it looks cool and it draws attention from other people that they have an "adventure bike" regardless of whether they actually go on an adventure further than the far side of the local Starbucks carpark.
4.) There is a small, incie-wincie chance they are actually on a tour and those panniers are full of spare underpants.

Dominic · September 2023

I always think those GS riders with all the metal boxes look like high speed photographers
I have visions of the boxes being full of big Zeiss lenses and Hassellblad bodies
they look fucking useless for anything else

Kittyfrisk · September 2023

Haych said:

Moe_Zambeek said:

I’m not really sure why the adv types
leave the boxes on when trying to commute, the whole point is to split the lanes and you can’t do that if you’re wider than a Micra.

I can think of a few reasons:

1.) They are a pain to remove/install (no idea if this is actually true or not).
2.) They are generally huge and finding somewhere to put them when they're not attached to the bike is a problem.
3.) They think it looks cool and it draws attention from other people that they have an "adventure bike" regardless of whether they actually go on an adventure further than the far side of the local Starbucks carpark.
4.) There is a small, incie-wincie chance they are actually on a tour and those panniers are full of soiled underpants.

FTFY. They'd be saving the laundry for their Mum's when they get home...

TheBigDipper · September 2023

Haych said:

Moe_Zambeek said:

I’m not really sure why the adv types
leave the boxes on when trying to commute, the whole point is to split the lanes and you can’t do that if you’re wider than a Micra.

I can think of a few reasons:

1.) They are a pain to remove/install (no idea if this is actually true or not).
2.) They are generally huge and finding somewhere to put them when they're not attached to the bike is a problem.
3.) They think it looks cool and it draws attention from other people that they have an "adventure bike" regardless of whether they actually go on an adventure further than the far side of the local Starbucks carpark.
4.) There is a small, incie-wincie chance they are actually on a tour and those panniers are full of spare underpants.

Some BMW-related info, then… :-) Can't speak for the others.

1: If the cases are standard BMW cases, then they are dead easy to take off, put on and lock to the bike. (But don't you have cases on your BMW, Haych?)
2: Finding somewhere to keep them at home when they're off the bike can be an issue.
3: If you're using your bike as daily transport, rather than just a sunny Sunday bike, having a lockable "boot" is useful. God knows they're not cool…
4: Unlikely.

On standard GSs (I don’t like the big boy Adventure versions) then if the mirrors and cylinder heads can get through, so will the cases at the back. Non-BMW cases often have extra width due to the extra brackets they need to fit them.

I leave the cases on my F900XR unless I'm off with my mates to beat up some back roads, in which case I take them off and use a seat pack for bits and bobs.

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