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M

maxheadwound

Member
Agreed, this is the same for all KTM vs BMW's

GS = 80% on road use 20% off road (leatherman tool)
KTM adv = 20% onroad use and 80% off road (mad dakar monster)

This looks like its the same story for the naked bikes

BMW naked = controlled easy to ride do anything bike
KTM duke = f$cking raw power monster to tear up the road.

Its again all depends on what you want...
 
D

demented

Member
Man, the weather's getting better and better here, motorcycles buzzing about and I can't be getting new one because I leave for 2 years after summer :(

But at least I can dream about what I'm gonna buy when I come back.
 
W

Watevaman

Member
My spring break is in a week and a half and I keep looking at the weather hoping I'll have a day warm enough to ride the 5+ hour trip down here.

Also gonna try and get my wheels plasti-dipped during the break. Been meaning to spray them for a while now. Old+white=busted looking dirt magnets
 
T

thesoapster

Member
maxheadwound said:
Agreed, this is the same for all KTM vs BMW's

GS = 80% on road use 20% off road (leatherman tool)
KTM adv = 20% onroad use and 80% off road (mad dakar monster)

This looks like its the same story for the naked bikes

BMW naked = controlled easy to ride do anything bike
KTM duke = f$cking raw power monster to tear up the road.

Its again all depends on what you want...
Click to expand...

The KTM is very manageable, as they said. It's not scary unless you want it to be. Their main plus to the BMW's characteristic was better stability at high speed (250kph was their number). I maintain that is a ridiculous number to use when testing super nakeds. No one is going to maintain that kind of speed for fun on one. It's ridiculous torture! I like the BMW, but I feel they should have used better criteria to compare the two bikes (talk more in depth about handling, talk about brakes, talk more about fueling). On a subjective note, their opinion that they love the BMW's sound was stupid. It sounds like any big i4 bike.
 
M

maxheadwound

Member
thesoapster said:
The KTM is very manageable, as they said. It's not scary unless you want it to be. Their main plus to the BMW's characteristic was better stability at high speed (250kph was their number). I maintain that is a ridiculous number to use when testing super nakeds. No one is going to maintain that kind of speed for fun on one. It's ridiculous torture! I like the BMW, but I feel they should have used better criteria to compare the two bikes (talk more in depth about handling, talk about brakes, talk more about fueling). On a subjective note, their opinion that they love the BMW's sound was stupid. It sounds like any big i4 bike.
Click to expand...

Agreed, might be covered when MCN put them head to head
 
F

Fallout-NL

Member
Good news! The X1 is back from the dead:

imag1022leiyn.jpg


Worked on it for a couple weekends over the winter and we've probaly put a good 17 more hours in it this last weekend, but we've looked at and taken care of pretty much everything in terms of maintenance. New oil filter, new oil pump drive gear, new 1250cc hammer performance cylinders and pistons, steel-sheet gaskets everywhere, new seals and oil in the front fork, oil change, transmission oil change, adjusted the primary chain, cleaned the cylinders heads and valves, etc... pretty much a complete revision I think.

And... this is a tad ridiculous, but I've added a third bike to the collection. It's an M2 Cyclone 2002 and according to the Odometer, it has 8900 km on the clock. Paid a reasonable price for it as it does need some work (again, seals on the front fork) and it handles like an absolute pig for some reason, nothing like the X1. Obviously not the way it's meant to handle I think. But I'll get to that later in the season. I bought it more because those tube frame Buells are becoming rare and I have so much fucking fun riding that X1. I guess the M2 is there for backup if the other one ever gets stolen or blows up or something...

It's not entirely stock, the subframe/seat bit is custom and a lot shorter/better looking than what the M2 had originally, the air filter is aftermarket and expensive, as is the rear shock and it has double disc brakes up front. So some pretty expensive mods then. Hope they just need some setting up and that's why it handles like dogshit. It's pretty though and it looks mint:

imag1014q7lgf.jpg


And the two of them together (the Duc is elsewhere atm):

imag1031ikayl.jpg
 
W

Watevaman

Member
Man, I love the look of Buells, and even though they pop up fairly cheap on CL from time to time I don't think I could see myself owning one.

But man, those are beautiful. Good job.
 
F

Fallout-NL

Member
Yeah it does, perhaps I should get the M2 a new coat of paint in the same colour somewhere down the line, because the current black/gold scheme isn't original I think.
 
D

daw840

Member
God....I am very pissed at this weather. March is supposed to be the beginning of riding season! There is fucking snow on the ground and salt/sand everywhere. GRRRR
 
W

Watevaman

Member
Yeah. Just a few days ago the forecast for next week was putting Thursday at 60F or so and I was thinking about riding my bike down to school. Now it's saying that same day is gonna be 50 and rainy. Eugh.
 
M

maxheadwound

Member
Update on Honda MSX125

Managed to find a dealer to allow me to test ride the little MSX 125 GROM. For £2700 you do get one hell of a nice bike. This little bike is the new look monkey bike. Its got 4 gears and can go upto about 60mph. Colour they come in is yellow, black, white and red. I like the white and black.

Its really light on fuel.. guys are getting around 90-110mpg. You can also customise to your harts content.

The ride is interesting if you are use to a big bike... as you dont really see the front of the bike but its got a comfortable seating position and I am 5'11. The seat is hard and you tend to put your foot out around the roundabouts.... dont know why it just feels like that type of bike. Think the cops will give you trouble if they see you do that but hey its fun

The gear changed is smooth and easy to shift. All the components are nice and feels solid.


So now I have to think about this... I just dont know if I am going to use the bike much as I love to ride my big bike... but man for short rides to work and to the shops this bike would be awesome.

I am going to have to think about this... might even look at a secondhand one. Also the insurance is around £80 a year for fully comp.

If you get a chance to test ride one.... do it even if its just for fun
 
D

Dougald

Member
I'd love one, but I don't think I'd ever ride it

If I commuted locally it would be the perfect scooter alternative though
 
Fixed1979

Fixed1979

Member
Has anyone ever ordered from SC Project? I was thinking about getting their exhaust for my Street, having a hard time getting a price without VAT from them, tried e-mailing them and sent them a tweet both without a response, not a good way to kick things off...
 
G

Gritesh

Member
So I own a leather setup for hard summer riding but I'm looking for something a little more conservative for commuting in the city.

I was looking at the alpine stars ride out collection but I'm not sure about abrasion resistance on those jackets.

Anyone have any recommendations for a non flashy low profile textile jacket? Anyone have any experience with the alpinestars ride out collection? Looking for something alone that collections line up in terms of styling. Or should I not be so worried about reduced abrasion resistance?

Been riding leathers for years kinda concerned about going to a textile type jacket in the case of a mishap.
 
F

Fallout-NL

Member
Yeah it doesn't look like it would hold up too well, but I'm sure they must've come up with something otherwise they wouldn't sell it as such right?

It'd be kinda cool if it worked though, those jackets look like regular clothing.
 
D

Dougald

Member
I suspect those would be pretty terrible in a crash

I wear a proper textile jacket when it's too hot/cold/wet for leather. But it makes you look like you're missing your motorcycle when you're off it

If I want to look halfway normal off the bike, I wear a leather jacket, and a pair of hood kevlar jeans (which are fully lined, not little patches like most kevlar jeans)
 
G

Gritesh

Member
Yeah i'll probably just say screw it and keep wearing the leather jacket.

I was thinking about picking up some kevlar enforced jeans as I dont like commuting to friends or going for coffee in leather pants with sliders on them.

I usually just wear black jeans, not sure if the "re-enforced" jeans are worth dropping the cash on though.
 
W

Watevaman

Member
I don't own a pair of riding jeans (I also just wear regular jeans or my Cortech leathers) but I know that there are great riding jeans out there that are really good. I think both RHOK and Draggin jeans are supposed to be pretty good. I just think it's going to take an actual wreck for me to realize they're worth the cash.
 
M

maxheadwound

Member
I always feel a bit bare when I only ride with jeans as I am so used to the all my kit. But if I was only going to do a short ride for coffee around town then proper leather jacket and kevlar jeans. Also dont forget a good pair of bike shoes or boots. Its all about abrasion resistance.
 
W

Watevaman

Member
and ankle support. full length boots have devices to keep your ankle from bending too far one way or the other. my Cortechs have a tension belt thing.
 
F

Fallout-NL

Member
Gritesh said:
Yeah i'll probably just say screw it and keep wearing the leather jacket.

I was thinking about picking up some kevlar enforced jeans as I dont like commuting to friends or going for coffee in leather pants with sliders on them.

I usually just wear black jeans, not sure if the "re-enforced" jeans are worth dropping the cash on though.
Click to expand...


Leather jackets are awesome anyway :p
 
D

Dougald

Member
I'm not too keen on the draggin jeans, as they're only covered in kevlar patches. The hoods have it from the waist all the way down to your shins, where your boots should reach anyway. Regular denim is just going to evaporate on tarmac, so I like that underlayer. Bloody hot though.
 
G

Gritesh

Member
Yeah I bought a new set of puma full length boots last summer that I love to wear. Probably pick up the Dainese D 1 Kevlar this summer too then. The puma boots look great with jeans over top lots of ankle support and some shin protection but looks just like shoes off the bike
The Dainese d1 has impact protectors built in too, minimal but better than straight jeans
 
O

opticalmace

Member
Weird, guess my post didn't go through.

I used textile pants last year. They seemed to work, but I think I'm going to get a pair of leather pants for this season. I don't think I could imagine riding in just regular jeans. I've crashed on a mountain bike ... a lot ... I can't imagine what it's like going down from a motorbike at speed with just jeans on.
 
F

Fallout-NL

Member
Sometimes I do just go for jeans (albeit always with leather jacket, gloves, boots and helmet). But the thought of blunt force trauma scares me more than possible road rash, so much in fact that I've resolved not to crash... ever. Hehe. I have a pretty defensive riding style.

Went for the first longer ride on the X1 today (about 80 km's worth), truly glorious. Love that bike so much. Feels like I'm cheating on the 1100.

And I've discovered why the M2 Cyclone handled like a pig. Turns out those morons that worked on it previously mounted the rear brake caliper just completely fucking wrong. There's no other way to put it. The bolt that fixes it was inserted into the hole that's normally plugged with a rubber that keeps the rear swing-arm from taking on water, instead of mounting it in the space that allows the caliper to move forward when adjusting final drive deflection. The result was that the rear wheel was mounted at an odd angle. Just biblically stupid.
 
D

Dougald

Member
Stripped a damn Philips screw on my Triumph Speedo cable at the weekend, had to dremel a slot in it yesterday to get the thing off. I have to relubricate the cable every year, or the Speedo bounces between 65 and 75 when I'm doing 70

Spring is finally here though, bike season is on!
 
M

maxheadwound

Member
Fallout-NL said:
Sometimes I do just go for jeans (albeit always with leather jacket, gloves, boots and helmet). But the thought of blunt force trauma scares me more than possible road rash, so much in fact that I've resolved not to crash... ever. Hehe. I have a pretty defensive riding style.

Went for the first longer ride on the X1 today (about 80 km's worth), truly glorious. Love that bike so much. Feels like I'm cheating on the 1100.

And I've discovered why the M2 Cyclone handled like a pig. Turns out those morons that worked on it previously mounted the rear brake caliper just completely fucking wrong. There's no other way to put it. The bolt that fixes it was inserted into the hole that's normally plugged with a rubber that keeps the rear swing-arm from taking on water, instead of mounting it in the space that allows the caliper to move forward when adjusting final drive deflection. The result was that the rear wheel was mounted at an odd angle. Just biblically stupid.
Click to expand...

Man that would piss me off, dont know why people would claim to know how to do stuff and then stuff up your kit that you spent money on. Hope you going to take them on about it
 
F

Fallout-NL

Member
maxheadwound said:
Man that would piss me off, dont know why people would claim to know how to do stuff and then stuff up your kit that you spent money on. Hope you going to take them on about it
Click to expand...

Yeah, luckily it wasn't me who paid someone to mount those bits and pieces. I would have been fuming if I had though :).

No, I took it off the hands of a private owner and (my noticing of the result at least of ->) those shortcomings allowed me to talk down the price. I paid € 3900 which might seem like a lot as those M2's go for a lot less over in the States, but they've always been more rare over here in the Netherlands. Asking price was € 4500 - and two years ago - the bike was sold for € 5500 (I found and old entry of the ad to which the previous owner must have replied).

(When mounted correctly, haha - ) the rear brake mods, dual front brake mods, rear shock, air filter and carbon rear seat must have set someone back nearly two grand, so I did alright I guess.
 
M

maxheadwound

Member
Fallout-NL said:
Yeah, luckily it wasn't me who paid someone to mount those bits and pieces. I would have been fuming if I had though :).

No, I took it off the hands of a private owner and (my noticing of the result at least of ->) those shortcomings allowed me to talk down the price. I paid € 3900 which might seem like a lot as those M2's go for a lot less over in the States, but they've always been more rare over here in the Netherlands. Asking price was € 4500 - and two years ago - the bike was sold for € 5500 (I found and old entry of the ad to which the previous owner must have replied). So I did alright I guess.

(When mounted correctly, haha - ) the rear brake mods, dual front brake mods, rear shock, air filter and carbon rear seat must have set someone back nearly two grand, so I did alright I guess.
Click to expand...

Good deal in the end and you managed to get some money off to spend on up speccing the bike.
 
Fixed1979

Fixed1979

Member
So I got pretty much all my plastic on the bike over the weekend, just missing the seat cowl which I ordered incorrectly, replacement should be here on Wednesday. SC Project exhaust is on order, I'll hopefully have that before the end of the month. Definitely get some pictures up once it's all finished.

Right after I finished putting on the belly pan, I hopped on the bike to move it out of the way and my bud asked me if I wanted to get a better look at it, so I told him "sure, why don't you jump on". Went to get off the bike and forgot the stand...over we went. Besides some embarrassment we made it out relatively unscathed, there's a couple micro scratches on the clutch cover and that's it. Good lesson for me, after 4-5 months off the bike and being excited about the new kit I got moving too quickly, I'm usually so careful with that stand, double kick it every time before I get off to make sure it's down etc. I'll know to slow down when the season actually gets going.
 
K

kn0wsk1lls

Member
gaf i recently purchased a 2000 kawasaki ninja ex250 (first bike) and wrecked it a week later :( thought it wasnt too bad till i noticed this:

hPR4B0K.jpg
Click to expand...

trying to find it online but dont know what thats called? i saw something similar looking on bikebandit.com called brake holder but not sure. can you guys help a noob out?
 
Fixed1979

Fixed1979

Member
kn0wsk1lls said:
gaf i recently purchased a 2000 kawasaki ninja ex250 (first bike) and wrecked it a week later :( thought it wasnt too bad till i noticed this:



trying to find it online but dont know what thats called? i saw something similar looking on bikebandit.com called brake holder but not sure. can you guys help a noob out?
Click to expand...

That is the rear set, well half of it, should be easy enough to track down replacements, even used originals as people do upgrade them.
 
Q

QualityPixel

Banned
kn0wsk1lls said:
gaf i recently purchased a 2000 kawasaki ninja ex250 (first bike) and wrecked it a week later :( thought it wasnt too bad till i noticed this:

trying to find it online but dont know what thats called? i saw something similar looking on bikebandit.com called brake holder but not sure. can you guys help a noob out?
Click to expand...

After quite a struggle to find the part, I think I found it. I probably was on live chat for about 45 minutes, then I told them to email me the part number if they found it.

35063-0078
(replaces part #
35011-1355)

It's $81 at www.rockymountainatvmc.com if you want OEM.
Click OEM parts > Kawasaki > find your bike > select "Electro bracket" and you'll see the part on the schematic image and in the list below. (why on earth is it under "electro bracket?!? lol) Anyway, they were very helpful, so I would probably order it from them for working on it for so long. They're a local company for me, and they do a good job.

There are some aftermarket ones on ebay, but I can't vouch for those.

EDIT: I should say that I think that is the part you need, but I'm not 100% sure. I don't own a Ninja afterall.
 
Fixed1979

Fixed1979

Member
It's almost spring (sorta) and this thread is so quiet!! Anyone planning any rides over the summer? I really want to take a trip into the Rockies at some point, I got a week booked off at the end of May for some reason and really nothing planned...might be a good time to take a long ride.

Flo_Evans said:
Damn, BEAST MODE: how to ride a big adventure bike off road https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWIZfYQhgMc
Click to expand...

I can only imagine how much fun it would be to have that much skill, pretty much do whatever you want.
 
B

Brick

Member
So, after nearly three weeks, I finally got the title to my motorcycle. Going to get it registered tomorrow and I'll FINALLY be able to take my first motorcycle out for a ride. Really looking forward to this.
 
Fixed1979

Fixed1979

Member
Brick said:
So, after nearly three weeks, I finally got the title to my motorcycle. Going to get it registered tomorrow and I'll FINALLY be able to take my first motorcycle out for a ride. Really looking forward to this.
Click to expand...

Congrats! I'm sure you'll have a blast on the Shadow.
 
F

Flo_Evans

Member
Fixed1979 said:
It's almost spring (sorta) and this thread is so quiet!! Anyone planning any rides over the summer? I really want to take a trip into the Rockies at some point, I got a week booked off at the end of May for some reason and really nothing planned...might be a good time to take a long ride.



I can only imagine how much fun it would be to have that much skill, pretty much do whatever you want.
Click to expand...

I am real close to buying a new car but it is getting nice here so I think I may just buy a new bike. No rides planned, might go on the swinging bridges ride this year again.

Yeah I wish I was in New Zealand I would take that guys riding class :p Fallout-NL you live there right? Do it!
 
K

kn0wsk1lls

Member
Fixed1979 said:
That is the rear set, well half of it, should be easy enough to track down replacements, even used originals as people do upgrade them.
Click to expand...

i was unable to find them here in my town. i was trying to find it here: http://www.bikebandit.com/houseofmotorcycles/2000-kawasaki-ninja-250r-ex250f-ca/o/m149557#sch73162

but dont want to order the wrong part. the closest thing that looks like it, is part 43034 in the oem parts. would you be able to help me find it? one of my friends said to try and get it welded. would that be ok?
 
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