Personally, I think everyone should learn how to ride one so they'll be aware
of them on the road.
I couldn't agree more!
I learned to ride at the age of 16 on an old 400cc Honda twin, which my parents had picked up as a 'learner' bike when they got back into riding after having been out of it for a long time. Dad marked off a copy of the NH DMV test course in the street in front of our house. I practiced for 3 months and then rode down to the DMV and just about aced the NH MC test.
For new riders, I highly highly recommend signing up for a MSF basic course before even looking at bikes. In most states passing the MSF basic automatically gets you your license. It also gets you a break on insurance and is just mandatory basic knowledge for street riding. One weekend and a relatively cheap fee is all you loose to find out if you can even handle a bike in traffic, some just can't deal w/ it. I know a few MSF instructors and that program just rocks. It should be government sponsored and required for all riders.. of course if it were, the gov't would probably go ahead and screw it up.
I secretly wish I had taken the MSF basic course back then.. and frequently think about sighning up for a refresher or maybe an advanced course.
Alright motor-heads, I attended my first SCCA Autocross since I was 4 this last Saturday! I was just there as a spectator, but it was pretty fun.
My folks used to be heavy into autocrossing. Mom and Dad met by way of the SCCA at U-Maine Orono. Also in the mix up there was a guy who eventually became my uncle by marrige, Jim. Mom and dad stayed relatively active through the late 70's and early 80's when they moved to NH. Dad was even president of the NH chapter for a while at one point.
Well ol' uncle Jim was at Easter dinner a few weeks ago. Jim got back into autocrossing a few years ago. He runs his Tiberon in the HS class w/ the New England Region (NER) at what used to be Devens AFB in Ayer, MA. Basically they get to use the reminants of the old runway. Jim says they can get a course up to 1 mile long and get up to 4 cars on the course at a time if they use all the space they can. They weren't on Saturday. Instead they had a back and forth course set up on two legs of the runway and only had two cars on the course at a time. Jim usually gets his butt handed to him pretty reliably. In fact he says the only time he hasn't come in dead last in recent memory is when a driver DNFs or dosen't work (not working = automatic DNF for the event, not sure if that's universal). But he has fun.
He was going to run on Saturday, but got the dates mixed up and thought the event was on Sunday. I called him from the autocross wondering where the hell he was. He realized his mistake and came down to watch w/ me in the afternoon. He wasn't there for tech or the driver meeting, so naturally he couldn't run. We had a good time watching the B, C, D and F-Mod cars running though. Intense stuff! Jim even offered to let me run in his Tibby sometime if I want..
...and that program just rocks. It should be government sponsored and required for all riders.. of course if it were, the gov't would probably go ahead and screw it up.
They already have. When I took the course in 1999, we did panic-braking, rear brake lockup, all sorts of very useful stuff that you don't get to do on the street, and may not have the guts to try on your own shiny bike without good supervision. My mom took the course 2 years ago, and she said they basically rode around in circles. Very few of the more "intense" drills that I did were part of the course. Response from the instructor was of course "liability", the riding part of the course had been watered down a bit over the past few years.
Regardless, I still recommend it to everyone who says the word motorcycle to me. I think it's invaluable experience - and like you say, a great way to try it out first on someone else's bike, in a safe setting. I had been riding for several years (offroad) when I took the course, and I still think I learned a lot.
Regardless, I still recommend it to everyone who says the word motorcycle to me. I think it's invaluable experience - and like you say, a great way to try it out first on someone else's bike, in a safe setting. I had been riding for several years (offroad) when I took the course, and I still think I learned a lot.
The first time I took it, it was un-organized and really long--back when it was
called the California Motorcycle Safety Program. Our instructors were a bunch
of guys from Travis AFB and they worked the crap out of us. Back then, it
was not viewed as a substitute for the lollipop test. When the MSF won the
contract, the course was watered down considerably and now passes as the
skills test for the California M1 endorsement. I will say that MSF's skill test is
still better than the lollipop (three times around a circle, weave between
cones entering and exiting). I've taken it fairly recently as a refresher and I'm
still surprised at the things I do wrong...but like Erik, I think the original was
a better class.
I ran into my first instructor up on the coast one day a couple of years back.
It was great to see him after almost 15 years
Ian
Moderator Journeys/Sports/Big Picture :: Need some help with dgrin?
Wow the place I dropped my 325ix off was like a dream. All they do there is buy wreked BMW's to part out, and do engine swaps and Forced Induction on BMW's all day long.
Wow the place I dropped my 325ix off was like a dream. All they do there is buy wreked BMW's to part out, and do engine swaps and Forced Induction on BMW's all day long.
So it's getting parted out? BTW, if you ever come across a place like that for MB, let me know. Non of the salvage yards I know have a palomino colored dead pedal that I need for a W126 (well, there is one that I'm sure has it but they say it's not worth their time - no matter what I offer to pay...well within reason - and they won't let me back there).
Nope the other option. The fate of my car is a 1995 m3 engine with a hairdryer attached. Should put our 450hp to all 4 wheels! It's also getting a 5-speed swap.
e30 M3. If you have the means, I highly recommend you pick one of these up. If you can get the "lightweight", you're in for a real treat.
When you said "Lightweight", I am wondering you were refering to E36 M3 Lightweight??? But E30 M3 (1988-1990) is the first M3. My E30 M3 in So Cali and E46 M3 in Fairfax, Virginai...
So don't you have work to do to pay me for the car that you bought that you don't own any more because you sold it to a guy to part it out so you could buy the smurfmobile
So don't you have work to do to pay me for the car that you bought that you don't own any more because you sold it to a guy to part it out so you could buy the smurfmobile
diesels
Ok you lot. I PM'd doc seeing he just bought a VDub but i recon some of you have owned newish diesels.
Looking at a new car (wifes car) peugeot 307/citroen C4 & VW golf all offer a diesel turbo for about the same price as *petrol (*i just cant say gas..sorry).
Now diesel at the pump here is $1.40 AUD/lt ($4 USD/US gallon) but the car will travel a good deal further. I always sell the cars at the end of their 2 or 3 year warranty so i dont care about issues but was wondering if these diesels are the way to go ? Power seems up there with petrol but thats not the big issue here...im looking at decent $ savings on fuel.
You say that power isn't the big issue...well if that's the case then don't limit your question to newish diesels. Diesels have always been more durable and gotten better mileage. In the old days they were slow, noisy, and smelly, but modern diesel engines get very good power, are quite quiet, and don't smell. I don't know about pugeut and citroen since we don't get them in the states (though alfa is coming in late 2007...w00t I'm jonesing for that alfa romeo C8), and well french machinery has never struck my fancy. I do know that we rented a volvo diesel s60 in Italy, and it was great. Amazing fuel mileage, great low end grunt, and durable as heck (don't ask me how I know...when you're used to automatics sometime you forget about redlines), and was just all round good. IIRC the VW golf diesel gets as good fuel mileage as hybrid electric vehicles.
Going to bed now, exam in 4.5 hours...HA and don't worry be happy just got played on the autp-shuffle on my computer.
You say that power isn't the big issue...well if that's the case then don't limit your question to newish diesels. Diesels have always been more durable and gotten better mileage. In the old days they were slow, noisy, and smelly, but modern diesel engines get very good power, are quite quiet, and don't smell. I don't know about pugeut and citroen since we don't get them in the states (though alfa is coming in late 2007...w00t I'm jonesing for that alfa romeo C8), and well french machinery has never struck my fancy. I do know that we rented a volvo diesel s60 in Italy, and it was great. Amazing fuel mileage, great low end grunt, and durable as heck (don't ask me how I know...when you're used to automatics sometime you forget about redlines), and was just all round good. IIRC the VW golf diesel gets as good fuel mileage as hybrid electric vehicles.
Going to bed now, exam in 4.5 hours...HA and don't worry be happy just got played on the autp-shuffle on my computer.
Ta mate
They are sold before warranty runs out so i dont care about problems after that. I need new as its a free company car & it has to be new. One of them claims the same torque as our current 2.5 lt V6. The hybrid cars are still too dear to consider. It will be a manual.
Bah, still up...what's the budget for this company car? I've long been fond of BMW diesels (I actually don't like new MB diesels, though the old ones are the best ever made, modern era MBs are the only modern era diesels I ever see smoking).
BTW, what I meant by "You say that power isn't the big issue...well if that's the case then don't limit your question to newish diesels." was that if a person isn't concerned with power than diesels have always been the way to go, and now days even if you do care about power they are the way to go...unless you want like ferrari speed. I knew you were only considering new cars, I was just saying, there is no downside really to diesels outside of power.
Gus - replied to your PM - but I have to throw out this disclaimer for this thread: while us young car-nuts will spew out all sorts of info and opinions (that we've only glammed from car shows and magazines, foreign ones at that), we collectively know NOTHING about small modern diesels and have no direct experience!
Richard's older-than-him MB doesn't count! (is it even a D?)
Our car market has been essentially diesel free for a long time. The Vdub you asked me about specifically is pretty much the only diesel-car that was available here in the last decade. So while it was a good car here and got great mileage compared to its petrol counterparts, it didn't have any direct competition.
A somewhat flighty and eclectic buddy of mine just bought himself a VW Jetta TDI. I haven't driven it (yet), but the basic rundown he gave me is that it is slow as a turd, even if you work the living daylights out of its 6-speed gearbox. ... But it will climb the Mt Washington Autoroad* in second gear w/ your feet off the accelerator!
So yeah, not much real 'performance' as we know it, but tons of torque! Overall he's in love w/ the thing so far. I'm not quite as convinced. He is getting mileage in the 40 MPG range though. Tough to argue w/ that.. And yes, that is directly comparable to the mileage my GF got in her '03 Toyota Prius hybrid. Probably the biggest thing he is stoked about is the idea of running 'bio-diesel'. He's a bit of a crunchie, earth lovin', hippy freak and the idea of recycled fuels really apeals to him. He says he's going to get himself a large tank and start processing his own. We'll see if that actually happens..
Hybrids are not a really great shake unless you do lots of time in urban, stop-and-go traffic. In the long run, I don't think hybrids are worth the premium they charge for them. If you to lots of highway time, methinks the diesel is a much better deal. I'm half considering a Golf TDI myself.
(*For the uninitiated, the Mt Washington Autoroad is a road that goes up the side of Mt Washington (duh!). Mt Washington is the tallest peak in New England at 6288' (1916m). The autoroad is a part paved, part dirt road w/ an avergage grade of 12%. My normally very torque laiden 4.0L V6 gas-powered mini-pickup won't do most of those grades in second w/o frying the clutch. 1st was required most of the way up. Going in 2nd w/ your feet off the go-pedal is impressive!)
Alright you beamer phreaks!
I know it's borderline OT.. but I drove a nice beamer this weekend.. although 'rode' is probably more appropraite. I got to try a few miles on an '04 BMW R1150 RT. What a weird motorcycle! The bike belongs to my father's longtime friend. The guy is a retired merchant marine and now spends his days motorcycling. If he's not in the saddle, he's in the driver's seat of his RV towing the bike somewhere just to get back into the saddle. The guy taught MSF for a while and is one of the better riders I've ever met. I usually take lots of pointers from him.
Years ago he had a 750cc 'K' bike. And has recently 'upgraded' to the R1150. I have to admit, I'm quite clueless about BM 'veh' bikes. He spent the afternoon bringing me somewhat up to speed... and showing off his RT.
Compared to my freaky little Bandit 1200.. I think I'll keep my Bandit. The RT was a million times more comfortable. But my B12 is just so much quicker. He was bragging about the bike's low-end grunt.. I got off the bike wondering if he'd put some bad gas in it or something. No grunt found. I couldn't really lug the RT below say 2k RPM. My B12 will happily roll back to life from as low as 1200 RPM. I'm also not used to bikes that don't rev to at least 10k anymore. The RT's 7k limit is definitely a change. The RT was much more stable at slow speeds. But the B12 just smokes it in the corners. Maybe it's just 'cause it's not my bike, but I can 'hang it out' so much easier on the B12. I can also flat foot the B12 at a stop.. can't do that on the RT, it's much taller. I also didn't like the brakes. You can keep that funky, linked ABS w/ servo assist crap. Hydraulic disks is about as advanced as I want to get.
Love the sadle, windscreen, and hard cases though. My next will likely be a sport-tourer. Or maybe I'll save my scratch and invest in some lockable hard-bags for the B12. That power-adjustable windscreen is still choice though. Oh, the shaft drive and EFI have my attention too! Definitely 'must-haves' for the next ride..
So you R1150GS riders: the RT is basically the same bike but in street form, no? A guy in my parking garage has a GS. I oogled it last night. Suspension, engine and driveline all look pretty much the same to me.. just knobier tires and different plastics.
Richard's older-than-him MB doesn't count! (is it even a D?)
No, it's not (and for the record it's not older than me, it's exactly as old, exactly...assuming you start you count at when it was purchased), though we did also have a D for a time (and my dad had 4 D's before I was born), stil lthough the mags have little reason to lie I suppose...I did drive that Volvo diesel in Italy though, and basically every mid-size and larger car around you is also a diesel in Italy.
So you R1150GS riders: the RT is basically the same bike but in street form, no?
Any bmw bike with an "R-" in front is the same. So yes, in terms of engine only, barring minor differences, usually gear ratios, the bikes are the same.
BMW bike nomenclature has always been:
[engine type][displacement, designation thereof]["chassis type]
R = boxer twin
K = inline four, until 2005 it was mounted in paralle, now they are mounted transverse, more akin to your bandit and other inline 4's.
Comments
Wow...that's just mean.
I have more, a lot more... if you want to see them, just say the word
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Aww, isn't that cute!
moderator of: The Flea Market [ guidelines ]
I learned to ride at the age of 16 on an old 400cc Honda twin, which my parents had picked up as a 'learner' bike when they got back into riding after having been out of it for a long time. Dad marked off a copy of the NH DMV test course in the street in front of our house. I practiced for 3 months and then rode down to the DMV and just about aced the NH MC test.
For new riders, I highly highly recommend signing up for a MSF basic course before even looking at bikes. In most states passing the MSF basic automatically gets you your license. It also gets you a break on insurance and is just mandatory basic knowledge for street riding. One weekend and a relatively cheap fee is all you loose to find out if you can even handle a bike in traffic, some just can't deal w/ it. I know a few MSF instructors and that program just rocks. It should be government sponsored and required for all riders.. of course if it were, the gov't would probably go ahead and screw it up.
I secretly wish I had taken the MSF basic course back then.. and frequently think about sighning up for a refresher or maybe an advanced course.
My folks used to be heavy into autocrossing. Mom and Dad met by way of the SCCA at U-Maine Orono. Also in the mix up there was a guy who eventually became my uncle by marrige, Jim. Mom and dad stayed relatively active through the late 70's and early 80's when they moved to NH. Dad was even president of the NH chapter for a while at one point.
Well ol' uncle Jim was at Easter dinner a few weeks ago. Jim got back into autocrossing a few years ago. He runs his Tiberon in the HS class w/ the New England Region (NER) at what used to be Devens AFB in Ayer, MA. Basically they get to use the reminants of the old runway. Jim says they can get a course up to 1 mile long and get up to 4 cars on the course at a time if they use all the space they can. They weren't on Saturday. Instead they had a back and forth course set up on two legs of the runway and only had two cars on the course at a time. Jim usually gets his butt handed to him pretty reliably. In fact he says the only time he hasn't come in dead last in recent memory is when a driver DNFs or dosen't work (not working = automatic DNF for the event, not sure if that's universal). But he has fun.
He was going to run on Saturday, but got the dates mixed up and thought the event was on Sunday. I called him from the autocross wondering where the hell he was. He realized his mistake and came down to watch w/ me in the afternoon. He wasn't there for tech or the driver meeting, so naturally he couldn't run. We had a good time watching the B, C, D and F-Mod cars running though. Intense stuff! Jim even offered to let me run in his Tibby sometime if I want..
Regardless, I still recommend it to everyone who says the word motorcycle to me. I think it's invaluable experience - and like you say, a great way to try it out first on someone else's bike, in a safe setting. I had been riding for several years (offroad) when I took the course, and I still think I learned a lot.
moderator of: The Flea Market [ guidelines ]
The first time I took it, it was un-organized and really long--back when it was
called the California Motorcycle Safety Program. Our instructors were a bunch
of guys from Travis AFB and they worked the crap out of us. Back then, it
was not viewed as a substitute for the lollipop test. When the MSF won the
contract, the course was watered down considerably and now passes as the
skills test for the California M1 endorsement. I will say that MSF's skill test is
still better than the lollipop (three times around a circle, weave between
cones entering and exiting). I've taken it fairly recently as a refresher and I'm
still surprised at the things I do wrong...but like Erik, I think the original was
a better class.
I ran into my first instructor up on the coast one day a couple of years back.
It was great to see him after almost 15 years
Ian
moderator of: The Flea Market [ guidelines ]
Damn, we didn't start a pool on when you where gonna sell this car. You shoulda just totaled it so someone could have won the pool money. :cry
www.zxstudios.com
http://creativedragonstudios.smugmug.com
moderator of: The Flea Market [ guidelines ]
Wow the place I dropped my 325ix off was like a dream. All they do there is buy wreked BMW's to part out, and do engine swaps and Forced Induction on BMW's all day long.
So it's getting parted out? BTW, if you ever come across a place like that for MB, let me know. Non of the salvage yards I know have a palomino colored dead pedal that I need for a W126 (well, there is one that I'm sure has it but they say it's not worth their time - no matter what I offer to pay...well within reason - and they won't let me back there).
When you said "Lightweight", I am wondering you were refering to E36 M3 Lightweight??? But E30 M3 (1988-1990) is the first M3. My E30 M3 in So Cali and E46 M3 in Fairfax, Virginai...
Shot on D200 (before the camera was sold);
This is using my brother's coolpix;
Nice e30m3 by the way. I love Lachsilber (sp?)
Oh and welcome to my thread
So don't you have work to do to pay me for the car that you bought that you don't own any more because you sold it to a guy to part it out so you could buy the smurfmobile
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Andy....any plans to open a bank?
So, did you enjoy your driving lesson today, Cra$h??
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Ok you lot. I PM'd doc seeing he just bought a VDub but i recon some of you have owned newish diesels.
Looking at a new car (wifes car) peugeot 307/citroen C4 & VW golf all offer a diesel turbo for about the same price as *petrol (*i just cant say gas..sorry).
Now diesel at the pump here is $1.40 AUD/lt ($4 USD/US gallon) but the car will travel a good deal further. I always sell the cars at the end of their 2 or 3 year warranty so i dont care about issues but was wondering if these diesels are the way to go ? Power seems up there with petrol but thats not the big issue here...im looking at decent $ savings on fuel.
Going to bed now, exam in 4.5 hours...HA and don't worry be happy just got played on the autp-shuffle on my computer.
Ta mate
They are sold before warranty runs out so i dont care about problems after that. I need new as its a free company car & it has to be new. One of them claims the same torque as our current 2.5 lt V6. The hybrid cars are still too dear to consider. It will be a manual.
BTW, what I meant by "You say that power isn't the big issue...well if that's the case then don't limit your question to newish diesels." was that if a person isn't concerned with power than diesels have always been the way to go, and now days even if you do care about power they are the way to go...unless you want like ferrari speed. I knew you were only considering new cars, I was just saying, there is no downside really to diesels outside of power.
Richard's older-than-him MB doesn't count! (is it even a D?)
Our car market has been essentially diesel free for a long time. The Vdub you asked me about specifically is pretty much the only diesel-car that was available here in the last decade. So while it was a good car here and got great mileage compared to its petrol counterparts, it didn't have any direct competition.
moderator of: The Flea Market [ guidelines ]
So yeah, not much real 'performance' as we know it, but tons of torque! Overall he's in love w/ the thing so far. I'm not quite as convinced. He is getting mileage in the 40 MPG range though. Tough to argue w/ that.. And yes, that is directly comparable to the mileage my GF got in her '03 Toyota Prius hybrid. Probably the biggest thing he is stoked about is the idea of running 'bio-diesel'. He's a bit of a crunchie, earth lovin', hippy freak and the idea of recycled fuels really apeals to him. He says he's going to get himself a large tank and start processing his own. We'll see if that actually happens..
Hybrids are not a really great shake unless you do lots of time in urban, stop-and-go traffic. In the long run, I don't think hybrids are worth the premium they charge for them. If you to lots of highway time, methinks the diesel is a much better deal. I'm half considering a Golf TDI myself.
(*For the uninitiated, the Mt Washington Autoroad is a road that goes up the side of Mt Washington (duh!). Mt Washington is the tallest peak in New England at 6288' (1916m). The autoroad is a part paved, part dirt road w/ an avergage grade of 12%. My normally very torque laiden 4.0L V6 gas-powered mini-pickup won't do most of those grades in second w/o frying the clutch. 1st was required most of the way up. Going in 2nd w/ your feet off the go-pedal is impressive!)
I know it's borderline OT.. but I drove a nice beamer this weekend.. although 'rode' is probably more appropraite. I got to try a few miles on an '04 BMW R1150 RT. What a weird motorcycle! The bike belongs to my father's longtime friend. The guy is a retired merchant marine and now spends his days motorcycling. If he's not in the saddle, he's in the driver's seat of his RV towing the bike somewhere just to get back into the saddle. The guy taught MSF for a while and is one of the better riders I've ever met. I usually take lots of pointers from him.
Years ago he had a 750cc 'K' bike. And has recently 'upgraded' to the R1150. I have to admit, I'm quite clueless about BM 'veh' bikes. He spent the afternoon bringing me somewhat up to speed... and showing off his RT.
Compared to my freaky little Bandit 1200.. I think I'll keep my Bandit. The RT was a million times more comfortable. But my B12 is just so much quicker. He was bragging about the bike's low-end grunt.. I got off the bike wondering if he'd put some bad gas in it or something. No grunt found. I couldn't really lug the RT below say 2k RPM. My B12 will happily roll back to life from as low as 1200 RPM. I'm also not used to bikes that don't rev to at least 10k anymore. The RT's 7k limit is definitely a change. The RT was much more stable at slow speeds. But the B12 just smokes it in the corners. Maybe it's just 'cause it's not my bike, but I can 'hang it out' so much easier on the B12. I can also flat foot the B12 at a stop.. can't do that on the RT, it's much taller. I also didn't like the brakes. You can keep that funky, linked ABS w/ servo assist crap. Hydraulic disks is about as advanced as I want to get.
Love the sadle, windscreen, and hard cases though. My next will likely be a sport-tourer. Or maybe I'll save my scratch and invest in some lockable hard-bags for the B12. That power-adjustable windscreen is still choice though. Oh, the shaft drive and EFI have my attention too! Definitely 'must-haves' for the next ride..
So you R1150GS riders: the RT is basically the same bike but in street form, no? A guy in my parking garage has a GS. I oogled it last night. Suspension, engine and driveline all look pretty much the same to me.. just knobier tires and different plastics.
BMW bike nomenclature has always been:
[engine type][displacement, designation thereof]["chassis type]
R = boxer twin
K = inline four, until 2005 it was mounted in paralle, now they are mounted transverse, more akin to your bandit and other inline 4's.
as in: R1150GS or R1150RT or K1200R
got it?
moderator of: The Flea Market [ guidelines ]
What kind of small POS car was made by toyota, branded by geo/GM, and had a subaru diagnostics system circa 1995?
www.zxstudios.com
http://creativedragonstudios.smugmug.com