calling all bikers - Page 2

Sixy_the_red · 04 April 2007, 11:02

I'm not talking race cans, I'm talking classic customs - its a bit different. My exhausts have nothing to do with performance and everything to do with needing a pair of street exhausts after buying an ex-drag bike that only had down pipes and nothing more and it being cheeper and easier to get a mate to fabricate me a full SS system than spending ages hunting round for an original system that would have cost a small fortune. That and personally I think a large bore parallel twin on open pipes sounds glorious - think old brit twin - no offensive whine, just a warm rounded thud. I could still hear the cam rattle over the exhausts so it can't be THAT loud...

All I have to work on regards safety is personal experience that tells me that when I ride my petit, black loud bike I get much less grief than when I rode my faired Kwak green quiet bike. My riding style didn't change nor did the fact that I only use my lights when its dark.

I try to ride in such a way that even if someone does f*ck up, I'm either not in the way or able to get out of it sharpish. Seems to be working so far touch wood.

For the record large jap 4's on race cans just sound silly since most of the riders don't seem capable of actually USING the increased performance...

Sixy_the_red · 04 April 2007, 11:04

Quote:

Originally Posted by donutsina911

back in the car, the only think that would stop me twatting a filtering bike is its headlights on so I can see in my mirror and a quick check over the shoulder...

I assume you're a biker so you're on the look out. Most incidents involve the car driving simply failing to look at all...

donutsina911 · 04 April 2007, 11:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sixy_the_red

I assume you're a biker so you're on the look out. Most incidents involve the car driving simply failing to look at all...

yep, albeit a newbie one..

Sixy_the_red · 04 April 2007, 11:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by donutsina911

yep, albeit a newbie one..

Stick at it, its great! Just assume everyone else on the road is trying to kill you and stay well away from trucks - they've got blindspots you could lose a bus in...

donutsina911 · 04 April 2007, 11:50

I'll try to, although got a Ducati 916 on Monday last week and by Sunday I'd dropped it so my perseverance will last as long as my bank balance, which with £800 in new parts and a £700 service this month to look forward to, wont be long!

I'd figured the first bit after a transit van nearly wiped me out on Saturday - I guess the trick is to always assume the worst from everybody and keep well away from trucks then!

Sixy_the_red · 04 April 2007, 11:57

Its always worth having something smaller and cheep until you find your feet. Something like a GPZ500 - you could pick up a tatty for about £500 and it won't matter if you drop it.

£700 for a service?!?! Learn to DIY! No one works on any of my bikes except me and Nos4r2.

codprawn · 04 April 2007, 12:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sixy_the_red

All I have to work on regards safety is personal experience that tells me that when I ride my petit, black loud bike I get much less grief than when I rode my faired Kwak green quiet bike. My riding style didn't change nor did the fact that I only use my lights when its dark.

I try to ride in such a way that even if someone does f*ck up, I'm either not in the way or able to get out of it sharpish. Seems to be working so far touch wood.

For the record large jap 4's on race cans just sound silly since most of the riders don't seem capable of actually USING the increased performance...

May I ask why you don't use your headlight in daylight? To me it is one of the best ways of all of us motorists noticing a bike.

Nos4r2 · 04 April 2007, 13:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by codprawn

May I ask why you don't use your headlight in daylight? To me it is one of the best ways of all of us motorists noticing a bike.

Firstly because I'm a bloody awkward bastard and if we all do it the government will sneak a law through to say we have to do it all the time.

Secondly because there's times when it masks you from being seen-see this:- http://jmrc.tripod.com/fa/stealth/stealth2.htm

Thirdly because it's harder to judge the speed/distance away of a bike with the headlight on.

They go on when conditions dictate- ie when wet,dull,foggy,dark-or when having them on will be an advantage. That's NOT all the time.

Sixy_the_red · 04 April 2007, 13:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by codprawn

May I ask why you don't use your headlight in daylight? To me it is one of the best ways of all of us motorists noticing a bike.

Certainly.

Towards the end of WWII the US navy experimented with the use of daytime running lights as a form of camouflage for their anti-sub bombers. It reduced the 'visibility threshold' from 10km to 2km. The research was scrapped because other methods of non-visual detection became more widely used, so the 'camouflage' design had to change.

http://jmrc.tripod.com/fa/stealth/stealth2.htm

Its a well known but little publiced fact that if you're riding with the sun low behind you then having a headlight on (or highviz for that matter) breaks up your silhoutte thus making you significantly LESS visible, and that its far harder to judge approach speed of an oncoming vehicle if it has its lights on - you can get away with it on a car because, since there are 2 light sources the brain can make a judgement based on looming, but on a bike you don't have that luxury.

Have you ever watched a bike approaching along a straight road? The slightest undulation in the surfaces causes the pitch of the bike to change, effectively making the headlight appear to flash. There are very plausible theories that some right of way violations at junctions are as a direct result of the waiting driver believing that he has been 'flashed out' by the bike.

At the end of the day I take every step that I believe will prevent me from having a crash. These range from loud pipes (they really DO make a huge difference), to road position, to careful observation and planning, and yes, in low light I have my lights on - I tend to turn them on on the bike sooner than I would in the car for instance. Touch wood so far its paid off and I don't believe for a second that I've had any incidents that would have been prevented had I had a light on. In fact I can only recall maybe 3 near misses that were the fault of a car driver. In 2 cases they simply failed to look at all and in the 3rd case someone joining the motorway decided to try to force me out of the way. A light can only work if someone's looking at you and gives a sh*t.

Sixy_the_red · 04 April 2007, 13:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nos4r2

Firstly because I'm a bloody awkward bastard and if we all do it the government will sneak a law through to say we have to do it all the time.

Secondly because there's times when it masks you from being seen-see this:- http://jmrc.tripod.com/fa/stealth/stealth2.htm

Thirdly because it's harder to judge the speed/distance away of a bike with the headlight on.

They go on when conditions dictate- ie when wet,dull,foggy,dark-or when having them on will be an advantage. That's NOT all the time.

snap!

Jono · 04 April 2007, 15:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by codprawn

May I ask why you don't use your headlight in daylight? To me it is one of the best ways of all of us motorists noticing a bike.

Well, I ride with mine on more often than not.. especially when filtering (Picture is not my bike, but a pretty similar set up)... and you can see at which point the car drivers notice you coming by an involuntary twitch....

I agree with Nos... to a SMALL degree, obviously....

..Legislation of the Nanny state will overtake us all... I rode with the legend that was Fred Hill back in 1979, five years before his death in prison..on a MAG run, fighting to repeal the Helmet Law.... I'd wear a helmet by choice... but being told to wear one pisses me off...