Who rides bikes and what are they

[gibboty]

97 ST1100 white ex NSW police bike and going strong. Wants to chase Harley's for some reason, have to pull the reigns on her every now and then.

 

[Old.Tony]

She has 55,000km on it. Likely to be called "Lily".

If I grow a beard now, John, it'll only be so I can comb it around and over the top of my head to hide the ever-increasing lack of hair up top. My riding gear (Alpine Dri Riders) will probably be updated some time in the near future. I'm also looking to dump my nearly 30-year old Boeri helmet for something with a lift-up face section.

 

[happy john]

I got pulled over for a drug and alcohol test on Saturday, the copper told me my bike was way too loud. It has had a Staintune pipe and header for years. When I got it they supplied a mod plate stating "Stationary Noise Test" 94db@3600rpm. He was a rude ******* and spent 10 mins on his phone trying to prove me wrong. In the end I passed and was on my way thanks to the plate. I'm not sure if this is normal to fit a plate for noise testing but ffs listen to some of those Harleys, how the heck do they pass?.

 

[Old.Tony]

They probably pass because you just pay off the copper. Heard it a few times - 80% of the Newcastle cops are corrupt. I would be very, very surprised to find that figure vastly different anywhere else in the country (except for a one-horse town, and then I'd expect it to be 100%). Fact of life - they're in a position of power, and power corrupts.

My Wing has factory exhaust. No extra noise - and since I hardly rev the engine at all, they'd be hard pressed to notice me by the noise alone.

 

[308bever]

tony, you`ll have to get a nice silver bucket and join the yo sissies (((-; i`ve been a member for 6 years already, they are a great group in geelong (((-;

 

[Old.Tony]

Believe it or not I'm not quite old enough to join them.

The previous owner of the bike was a member and the sticker hadn't been removed from the back ... so it's still there. It's going to make people think I'm older than I am!

 

[happy john]

Who remembers the Yamaha IT'S?, here is my 81 model after I retired it and used it on the road weekends only. A good 490 in unrestored condition sold for 19k recently.

 

[happy john]

And 6 volt power to boot. Remember the old v/dub Tony?.

 

[Old.Tony]

I had one. Back seat even caught fire once, I had to put it out. Marvellous vehicles. Didn't need headlight blinds in wartime because the headlights weren't worth sh;t in the first place. They floated. Great for when flood waters came into town, your car ended up scoring a goal in the shopping centre. Oh, and if you painted the number 53 on the side it suddenly started working on all 4 cylinders.

 

[Rabbid-chop]

How's the mighty Goldwing going Old Tony? Any updates?

 

[Old.Tony]

As a daily commute vehicle it's bloody comfortable! I've fitted a fridge in one of the side panniers and wired up a relay so it comes on when ignition is on (and when I want it, not all the time the bike's running). The compressor for the adjustable suspension is operating again, I've now got the bike's intercom answering phone calls as well and I think I need to adjust the cruise control because it lets the bike drop about 1-2km/h before it picks up.

Fuel-wise it's not bad, getting about 5.6LPHK on a combined cycle but I know the carbs are out of tune (slow to return to idle and my idle is sitting quite high - about 1200-1400rpm) so once I fix that up I should be able to get her into the low 5's.

She's just had a new back tyre put on - can't thank the guys at Brisans enough for how they handled that, they were superb. And now they know it's not a huge job getting the rear wheel off a Wing.

 

[Rabbid-chop]

That bike sounds like its right up your ally with all the ancilliaries and bells and wistles to play with. A bike with a fridge..... that is just awesome.

 

[Old.Tony]

What's silly is the thing has a 60A alternator from factory and I can buy a 90A "high output" alternator for it. With no complex electronics (it's a carby model, no CAN/ECU) there's actually nothing to power - although it does have quite a few lights installed around the bike making it hard to miss at night, I should take a pic of her in the dark!

 

[happy john]

Maby it needs a fair bit of grunt to turn over Tony, the battery must be huge too.

 

[Rabbid-chop]

Its good to know you can get that 90a alt though, just in case you decide to fit a stove and a home theater or what ever else!

 

[happy john]

Lol R/C, the wing gets going well for a big bike. It walked over this Harley.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZHiXbqSYuI

 

[Old.Tony]

That was a GL1800, mine's only a GL1500. The battery is a YTX20L-BS which is only 20Ah. I can't help but wonder (now that I'm thinking of it) how many amp hours I can fit if I drop a LiFePO4 in there - and whether or not the LiFePO4 can not only supply the cranking amps, but reverse too - reverse gear is achieved by moving a lever to move the starter gear from the flywheel to the gearbox drive and then using the starter button to provide the drive.

 

[happy john]

I learn every day here Tony, I had no idea reverse was powered that way. A bloke your size would seldom need reverse on a large bike, but some spots could be a bother.Do you take your wife on the wing or just yourself?.

 

[Old.Tony]

I bought it to commute to work and back. She doesn't get on it, but the grandson loves a ride. The passenger armrests do a superb job of keeping him where he's supposed to be too, although he has so much fun he doesn't jump around like we feared he might do.

The thing weighs 400-odd kilos. If I was the Hulk I might manage to waddle the thing up a hill backwards, but this thing is a beast. Reverse gear is occasionally valuable, and quite the head-turner when used!

 

[Old.Tony]

Okay, time for some evening pics. I've discovered that one of the parker bulbs is out - I've removed it, it's a standard park+stop globe, so the thinking is heading towards LED replacements ... but I'm going to pull ALL of the globes out and take a squiz at what I've got in there first. Naturally indicators will probably have to have a load resistor added but I'll see how it goes.

Yes that's a trailer plug on the rear but the tow hitch has been removed and I'm not really eager to get one - although all bets are off, I've found a source for some missing bits in northern(ish) NSW and I'm heading there on Sunday (on the bike, going to fit the goodies as I pay for them!). If he's got a tow hitch ready to go I might be tempted - although I don't have a trailer (yet). Will see how I feel on the day!