Who rides bikes and what are they

[happy john]

You loaded it up Tony, where is the seat?.

 

[Old.Tony]

LOL. Back of the tank of course, the saddle bags were on either side - my legs were either side of the tank. Being tall it was easy enough to swing over the bike loaded like that. I had the pillion seat full as well, so that the guitar was padded. Seen more than one guitar with holes through the sound box.

I should probably find a pic of me standing behind/beside it.

 

[Old.Tony]

Yep, found it. Not as much of a load on the bike this time, I had a passenger.

 

[Rabbid-chop]

That's a bad-arse right there! ^

https://youtu.be/FrxscwTIlyw i think the honda looks great. not bland or demure at all. Im a little bit sick of the trend for new motorbikes to all look like robots out of the Transformers movies.

 

[happy john]

Who is the long haired lout?, it's funny how the bike bug comes back Tony. My problem is severe carpel tunnel in my right wrist and tennis elbow as well, any decent ride leaves me in pain after an hour. What did BOL DE OR refer to was it a touring spec bike with a few extras?. This link may bring back some memories.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBfZlR0Ce6I

 

[abouttogobush]

Who is the long haired lout?, it's funny how the bike bug comes back Tony. My problem is severe carpel tunnel in my right wrist and tennis elbow as well, any decent ride leaves me in pain after an hour. What did BOL DE OR refer to was it a touring spec bike with a few extras?. This link may bring back some memories.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBfZlR0Ce6I

Hmmm severe carpel tunnel of the right wrist, i wonder the cause of that?

 

[happy john]

Very funy Bushman, it is caused by pulling. 30 years of working on small engines and yanking that damm cord.

 

[abouttogobush]

Very funy Bushman, it is caused by pulling. 30 years of working on small engines and yanking that damm cord.

30 yrs of pulling aaha jackpot or should that be jerk off

 

[Rabbid-chop]

Yep, found it. Not as much of a load on the bike this time, I had a passenger.

Now i know wher i've seen this, lol
https://youtu.be/Lwacyd9cqhQ

 

[happy john]

Ha ha good one!

 

[atcmatt]

Here is my ride, bit out of the ordinary but who likes to be the same as everyone! 1986 atc350x imported from califonrnia! All original and in mint condition! Absolute blast on the dunes and bush alike!

 

[happy john]

Nice!, looks like a xr motor.

 

[atcmatt]

Kind of. SOHC with 4 valves. These motors were better than the RFVC XR motors. Thanks mate! This is my other one I restored..

 

[happy john]

You've done a lovely job Matt, I had a 84 XR with the twin carbs. It went like a bullet in the top end, but tuning those carbs was a bugger. I'm sure from memory rfvc meant Radical Four Valve Combustion.

 

[atcmatt]

Thanks John. Has taken me many many years to get it how it was from the factory sourcing NOS parts and the like. Expensive little hobby too! Yeah you are right there on the RFVC meaning! I love the old pre 90s bikes! They are great!

 

[Old.Tony]

You know, the more I look at reviews between the various bikes the more I'm liking the Africa Twin. The Ducati has 160Hp (119kW). That's more grunt than a stock D22 (96kW) and almost as much as my D40 (126kW). Obviously nowhere near the torque but still a stupid amount of power for a bike that goes off-road. Why would you need that much grunt? The Duke is also much heavier. I'm not as young as I wish I was. If I drop the thing, I have to lift it - and that's going to be a struggle, particularly with the Duke's height.

So while the Ducati looks better in many ways, the Africa Twin is actually a better choice of bike for me. Its 70kW (just shy of 94hp) is more than enough power, really - I found its on-road performance quite brilliant, very spritely and even at part throttle, exciting. If I'd opened the throttle right up, she would have easily lifted the front wheel - not something that I enjoy doing a lot, it's just not my thing.

So I guess I know which way I'm going to jump!

My helmet and riding gear all need replacing. I will probably get matching helmets with an intercom system too - just in case. Panniers - yep. Rear box - yeah most likely. Not sure I want to throw a tank bag in yet but a shotgun holster and 40mm grenade launcher built into the side would be handy if anyone knows a supplier, I'm interested.

 

[308bever]

what`s wrong with the kawa old tony? have you tried it, i like hondas too...

 

[Old.Tony]

Do you mean the KLR650? No offense intended, but it doesn't come close.

For starters, it has 37hp compared to the "paltry" 93hp of the Africa (which looks dismal when you put it beside the Multistrada's 160hp but who the hell needs 160hp on dirt? Maybe Scotty LOL). It's only 40kg lighter, single cylinder ... I don't like a single disc on the front. Its alternator puts out 17A at 7000rpm - no, no, no. That's a disaster especially since I plan to add a pair of 4" HID lights and might add some 10W LED spots. The Africa has a 35A (possibly 40A) alternator at 5000rpm - leaving a fair amount of spare capacity.

I read a post on a US forum about the charging wire possibly needing upgrading. Might have to keep an eye on that.

 

[308bever]

i`m a d%ck, i meant suzi sorry, the 1000 vstrom 17k ride away, put some dual sport metzlers on it and hang on for some seriously well priced fun (((-;

 

[Old.Tony]

That's a much better alternative LOL ... the V-Twin should be marginally more smooth than the parallel configuration, and a 40A alternator. Hmm. Never had a Suzuki before. Same price I can get the Africa for ... I could wander in to Graeme Boyd Suzuki and take one for a spin, but I am having a hankerin' fer the Africa ...

I wonder why Kawasaki didn't enter this race with anything substantial?