Motorcycle safety activists worried about baby boomer deaths

MaineToday.com ^ | 1/15/05 | DAVID SHARP

[JoeSixPack1]

Ok,, big harley secret time. ----
Any round key will fit the door! (Since 1997).

But a little JSP1 insight here: dump the whole mess and go for one of these paul yaffees--

Now, Don't complain about the brake pedal, hey, it's already the new, improved, forward placed, ergo design, don't have to go out, up, over, back, and down as usually since 1903 now offered to you for your riding pleasure by H-D! The greatest feature it has --- It works. :-)

You want innovation? Call BMW. :-)

Sir Safety Dude!

[JoeSixPack1]

And One More Thing......... (heheheh)

Noticing how easily the E-Glide handles, you can now understand how the Harley drill teams can move so well.

Hint -- : V-Twin ergonomics stabilize significantly at high RPM when traveling at a minimal MPH. IOW, you can slow dance in the parking lots if you keep the rpms elevated.

It works! Try it. :-)

[Melas]

My Ultra Classic is lighter, handles better, is more comfortable, has a better stereo, carries more, and gets better mileage than a comparable Gold Wing despite the number of times that behemoth has been reinvented over the years.

Define better. If I give the Japanese credit it's for the Wing. It has a lean angle significantly deeper than your Ultra so I'd give it the edge in Handling. The real advantage the Wing has is the engine. It's not only much, much faster than your twin-cam, but it's an engine with a duty cycle of 300,000 expected miles between rebuilds. Your Ultra only has a duty cycle of 100,000 miles. Granted that's amazing for an air-cooled engine, but that's exactly the downfall: The limitations of an air-cooled engine.

[blackie]

Mine is faster. :)

[RamingtonStall]

What do you like better about the R1200GS as compared to the K1200RS?

RamS
........ 1991 K 100LT abs and still loving it. ([: ^ )

[Da_Shrimp]

A similar thing happened over here in the UK when they changed the way that people could train for and get their bike licence. The new rules meant that anyone over 25 could train for and then take their test on a 500cc+ bike, then buy any capacity machine they wanted instead of being restricted to a low-power machine for 2 years as had previously been the case.

Special 5-day intensive courses became popular, where someone without any experience of bikes at all could train and then pass. These courses were expensive, so of course the people who could afford them tended to be older. This led to a rash of accidents as blokes with five days experience under their belts rushed off to buy Honda Fireblades and stacked themselved up on the first corner!

[killjoy]

What do you like better about the R1200GS as compared to the K1200RS?

GS can go offroad. :)

[killjoy]

This led to a rash of accidents as blokes with five days experience under their belts rushed off to buy Honda Fireblades and stacked themselved up on the first corner!

Playing devil's advocate, how does the engine size make a bike more or less dangerous? A R1 is not a beginner's bike but neither is a R6. If you don't know how to countersteer and keep the bike under control, it doesn't matter what type of bike you are on, you are going to go down.

[Da_Shrimp]

If you don't know how to countersteer and keep the bike under control

Generally, it was the acceleration that caught them out, going too fast for the corner according to accident reports. Passing a test on a Honda 500 didn't quite prepare them for that!

[RamingtonStall]

How about the Engine comparison for the R1200GS as compared to the K1200RS??

I am primarily a Road Warrior and only rarely go off road as when at a campground, etc. I also have the problem of being "Inseam Impaired" so that I am not able to ride the Off Road versions.

Thanks,

RamS

[Tax Government]

You're right about that.

I am glad this bike (Yamaha Road Star) is a slug, since it has kept me out of trouble so far.

[killjoy]

Generally, it was the acceleration that caught them out, going too fast for the corner according to accident reports. Passing a test on a Honda 500 didn't quite prepare them for that!

I remember reading some things in 'Bike' magazine (British publication) where they went over this. The feeling I got was the report put out by the government on this was very politically motivated.

[killjoy]

How about the Engine comparison for the R1200GS as compared to the K1200RS??

I love the engine in the K12. It is amazing. Very smooth. I haven't ridden the R12GS, but my friend who has one says it is equally smooth believe it or not. I trust his opinion since he also has a R1150R and has ridden both the K12RS and R1150GS. All BMW dealers offer test rides. Go in and see for yourself. :)

I also have the problem of being "Inseam Impaired" so that I am not able to ride the Off Road versions.

There are a lot of 'shorter' riders on the offroad bikes. There is a lot that can be done to lower the seat height. I am on the tall side (6'3) but that has its disadvantages also. I can't fit on most of the sportbikes out there. :(

Check out the Short Bikers List FAQ:

http://www.nebcom.com/noemi/moto/sbl.faq.html

and Short Bike List:

http://www.nebcom.com/noemi/moto/sbl.sbl.html

[blackie]

The top speed of the Suzuki SV650 is in then 130 range, whiich isn't fast when compared to liter + performace bikes.

It's quickest on twisty hilly roads like we have here in Western Oregon. It's the most fun bike I've ever owned. :)

Isn't the Yamaha Road Star one of the most popular metric V-Twins to hop up?

It seems I've read about some kind of records they've set at the drag strip.

[BraveMan]

OK, I'll admit my criteria is subjective.

Yes, the 'Wing has better ground clearance and subsequent lean angle. But how much do you really need? By the time I'm grinding hardware on the left side I'm going much faster than is reasonably prudent. I have yet to find the limit of the right side; don't want to ball up my brand new bagger just yet. Bottom line, the vaunted lack of lean angle is not really an issue in the Real World as it seems to be in the minds of magazine testers. I'm not going to be turning laps at Elkhart Lake on the bike anytime soon.

However, the Gold Wing has a higher center of gravity which can make the bike genuinely spooky in slow speed maneuvers; parking lots, driveways, etc. And there is a certain feeling of "disconnectedness" with the road I just couldn't get used to. I never knew what the tires were doing. I felt like I had to just plant it in the corner and hope it would stick. To it's credit, for the short times I had it, it always stuck. Maybe that feeling of uncertainty diminishes with time & familiarity. For Gold Wing owners, I hope so.

I can't argue your points about duty cycle. I'll let you know when I get 100,000 miles on the clock. The electric smoothness of the 'Wing's powerplant is impressive, but it's hampered by a significant amount of driveline lash as well as a tendency to squat under deceleration and stiffen under acceleration. And the 'Wing's motor can be genuinely wimpy when you're caught in the wrong gear and the revs are low.

There's a ton of other little things that turned me off about the Gold Wing. The cruise is quirky and inaccurate, the radio controls are still sprawled all over the place, the "saddlebags" are small and the seating position is surprisingly confining.

Then there is the aesthetics. I suppose it's much easier to keep looking clean, but . . .

Admittedly, subjective.

[Da_Shrimp]

I think it was perhaps politically motivated to some extent, but the number of fatalities amongst over-40 inexperienced bikers did rise, according to a friend of mine whose a bike cop and who had to attend a fair number of accidents.

[Melas]

Of course, it's all entirely subjective.

I understand your complaints about the Wing, and I share many of them, however, most of my complaints about the Wing are my complaints about the Ultra, and to a lesser degree even the Road King and it's ilk.

In the HD lineup, I'm a Sportster fan, always have been. To me, it's just the elemental Harley. I feel more in tune with the bike, and the bike more in tune with me than on any other model. That's not to say that my next bike won't be a Triumph Bonnie. It's also a very elemental motorcycle.

Still, even though I'll never own one, I respect the Wing like few other bikes. Low maintence, excellent handling, powerful engine, and a duty cycle that rivals Honda's autos. Your complaints about the revs and power has pretty much been solved with the latest offerings. The 1800 is much torquier than the 1500.

[Tax Government]

It's gratifying to think that Road Stars *might* set records.

Yamaha launched Road Star with the goal of having it customized -- when the bike was first released, there was already a large Yamaha catalog of add-ons (mostly "billet" junk -- expensive aluminum-shiny things to hang on every surface). I'm still waiting for an oil cooler add-on. Anyway, there is now an approved "Commander" hop-up kit (pipes, jets, ignition module) that leads to an across-the-range improvement in rpm and hp.

The Road Star comfort range tops around 75; a larger front pulley wheel would help.

One of these days I'll have to buy a real speed demon (Hayabusa or whatever). It's amazing to me that a smaller (650 cc) bike could go 130; the Road Start tops out around 115.

[blackie]

Yes ~ the modern 600cc four cylinder motorcycles are faster than the 1100cc motorcycles of the early 80's. The SV659 is a 90° V-Twin and isn't quite as fast as the 600cc four's. 11 second quarter miles at 110 mph aren't too shabby though for a 650cc V-Twin that costs around $6K (before you do anything to the suspension, intake and exhaust.) :)

A few months ago three of us were riding the back road twisties here, one rider ( a professional AMA racer) was rehabilitating a broken arm and was getting back in racing shape, he was riding a Suzuki GSX R 1000 like the one he races. The other rider; his physical therapist was riding a Suzuki SV650/S which has a small fairing and I was riding my SV650 which is unfaired.

Naturally the pro was much quicker than us, it the twisties we all were pretty close, because the SV650's handle so well, a little straightaway and the GSX/R is gone. When we hit Crow Rd. it has some pretty straight stretches, the pro said he never went over 160 mph and the therapist and I were right together and he said we hit 130+ ~ I was too busy hanging on to look at the speedometer ~ when you reach 115 mph on an unfaired bike, it gets pretty uncomfortable with the wind tugging at your old carcass. :)

After we finished our ride we stopped for coffee and did a little bench racing. The pro's name is Jimmie Moore and I don't know if he's still racing as he lost his main sponsor after his get off at Brainerd last year, he's around 30 and the therapist is close to 40, I was 73 at the time, but had a birthday in October and am now 74. The therapist is a pretty good rider, he does track days, etc and is very into it.

He was very surprised that the old curmudgeon hung right with him and passed him a couple of times, I've just been riding a long time with some very good riders, both in the dirt and on the street. The list names of the pro riders I've ridden and hung with is quite long, going back to Joe Leonard and Dick Bugsy Mann. :)

[Tax Government]

Clearly you've been riding a long time... Congrats on staying so healthy and active. I started riding 38 years ago, and have ridden a mix of smaller bikes for the most part. (A long time ago I commuted on a Honda Trail 80 with footpegs on the fork, so I could foot steer.) These days I commute on a Road Star about 500 mi per month. When I'm rich and famous (sometime after I grow up), I'll need to buy a Triumph Rocket to park next to the old 2010 Hayabusa.