You know it's not good to rev an engine so high without load.
BTW, I got screwed on my engine. I mean, it works for now, but I found out after the fact (and nobody is owning up) that they trusted JE when JE told them they didn't need to coat the skirt on the pistons. Uh, it's aluminum on aluminum guys, you shouldn't have to ask that question (and then they suggest that since the pistons are 2618 aluminum and the engine is alusil it doesn't have the problems of similar metals...um no, they're both still aluminum).
Currently at the paint shop. When I left it, it had a temporary exhaust on it (tri-y's, downpipes, then a very light muffler)...louder than all get out and more pissed off sounding that Antriebs open headers (kinda like a 454 SS)
Hopefully this is an appropriate place to post some pictures I took today at the Rodeo Drive Concourse d'Elegance in Beverly Hills. This year's theme: Cars of California. C&C welcome!
1937 Talbot Lago T150CSS
1958 Pontiac Star Chief
1967 Shelby Mustang GT 500 "Eleanor"
1932 Ford Roadster
1956 Lotus Eleven Le Mans (believed winner of 1956 24 Hours of Le Mans)
Learned to ride a motorcycle this weekend. It's interesting I guess, but I don't really get the attraction, though maybe it's because I was learning on what I think was big and heavy (i.e. dumb) bike: Honda Shadow Aero.
MG TD. Owner got the car from his aunt, who was the original owner. She bought it in red because she had a nail polish that would match it if she ever scratched it.
It's got original paint, with lots of character, cracked leather seats.
I want to ask again about this shot. I remember you telling me you find roads like this everywhere you look (cresting road allowing a vantage point where you see nothing but sky above the road) and you use this when you can't find an interesting background to use otherwise. But when you shoot a shot like that what legal and traffic law issues do you face?
Geez, mercphoto, I'm really sorry for not answering this question. I must've missed it when you first asked it.
So, I hope you're still here somewhere.
Basically, it's completely illegal. But I always travel with a few copies of the magazine in the van, so that I can show a cop what I'm doing.
I've never been approached by a police officer. I imagine if it was a problem, they'd just tell me to move along. I can also imagine comping the guy a subscription to the magazine and having him run a traffic detail for me. Cops are almost always car guys.
Fitz, you are becoming quite the automotive photog... gonna hang up your Brando's and pencil and hang the Canon around your neck full time?
Antrieb - she looks good. so when is it going up for sale? :hide
Hey Doc. In spite of my not really getting the point of motorcycles, my dad may be buying one. Doesn't want a BMW because he says "these things they make now aren't BMW's any more" (the last time he rode a motorcycle was the early 1970s) and he also says they are overpriced compared to the rest of the market (I think he's looking to spend around 8k). He doesn't want a rice-rocket lean-over job, but he doesn't want a fat-ass cruiser either.
Any recommendations? I'm thinking a Triumph. Do you know how the quality is on the new ones?
Any recommendations? I'm thinking a Triumph. Do you know how the quality is on the new ones?
If you want a basic "motorcycle" the new Triumph bikes are awesome. My friend had one for the past couple years and it was bullet proof, great to ride, and very reasonable priced. I would give them a big two thumbs up. I'd love to have one of the throwback models myself, as a nice "jeans and leather jacket" bike.
that being said, bmw's are bmw's for a reason. You get what you pay for. If you don't want more, than yeah, they are overpriced. don't discount a good used bmw bike. The r1150r or other "standard" could make a great bike. another friend just sold a very nice 04 for less than 7k. good thing about used beemers: they weren't owned by racer kids, so they are usually meticulously cared for.
good for dad.
btw, you said you "learned how to ride"... with a friend, or did you take an MSF course? I have nothing but praise for the latter, and nothing but negatives about that former.
If you want a basic "motorcycle" the new Triumph bikes are awesome. My friend had one for the past couple years and it was bullet proof, great to ride, and very reasonable priced. I would give them a big two thumbs up. I'd love to have one of the throwback models myself, as a nice "jeans and leather jacket" bike.
that being said, bmw's are bmw's for a reason. You get what you pay for. If you don't want more, than yeah, they are overpriced. don't discount a good used bmw bike. The r1150r or other "standard" could make a great bike. another friend just sold a very nice 04 for less than 7k. good thing about used beemers: they weren't owned by racer kids, so they are usually meticulously cared for.
good for dad.
btw, you said you "learned how to ride"... with a friend, or did you take an MSF course? I have nothing but praise for the latter, and nothing but negatives about that former.
No, I didn't really learn, I just learned in an empty parking lot with my dad. Of course at the end of it he said "you could probably pass a road test right now, but if for some reason you do get interested in this (I let him know that even after riding I didn't really get the attraction) take the MSF 2 day course (he took the half day refresher before going to get his license again)."
His complaints against the BMWs are too tall, too pricey, and too complicated (he says they look weird and have betrayed their buyers by selling some bikes with engines that aren't horizontally opposed, and he also thinks they don't look like motorcycles and have too much techno-babble...like I said, he last rode in the early 1970s, and he preferred BMWs then). I'm trying to talk him into either a Triumph or a Ducati GT1000.
(he says they look weird and have betrayed their buyers by selling some bikes with engines that aren't horizontally opposed, and he also thinks they don't look like motorcycles and have too much techno-babble...like I said, he last rode in the early 1970s, and he preferred BMWs then)
BMW wouldn't exist anymore if they only catered to the old codgers. Yes, the old timers got them started and have a loyal following, but if you've been to a BMW MOA rally, you'd realize that if BMW didn't do something, they'd have no one left in 10 years when all the die-hards kicked the bucket. Good for BMW I say, lots of exciting and well-built new products.
Triumph and GT1000 are both very nice bikes. Both very simply, very elegant, very saturday sunday kinda ride. Wouldn't want to do the kind of long riding I do on either one, but yeah, great weekend run bikes.
, and too complicated (other stuff)and have too much techno-babble....
Mate sorry but your dad has no possible idea what he is talking about. I can open up the valves on my BM in ...what ...under 2 mins with an allen key & then do the timing in a few mins more with a spanner on the end of the crank (another allen key job) after i flick out the rubber gromet to see the flywheel marker.
Shaft drive ...ive never even thought about it...changed the oil twice. Ive had 25 bikes & my BM is without doubt the most simple, easy to work on machine ever. In saying that...i never touch it. It goes in for a service every 15000 klm. It is without doubt the most maint/trouble free bike avail on the market.
Buy that ducati & he will soon see that little has changed since the 70's re reliability. They are nick named 'shitcatis' here.You dont get the reputation as unreliable expensive garage queens for nothing.
Triumph and GT1000 are both very nice bikes. Both very simply, very elegant, very saturday sunday kinda ride. Wouldn't want to do the kind of long riding I do on either one, but yeah, great weekend run bikes.
Re: not being able to take them on long hauls. He test drove a BMW R1200 R originally because he remembered how BMWs were fine for at least 10 hours of riding. Then he remembered that a person living in DC would have to be nuts to drive a motorcycle as a main means of transportation.
Buy that ducati & he will soon see that little has changed since the 70's re reliability. They are nick named 'shitcatis' here.You dont get the reputation as unreliable expensive garage queens for nothing.
That may sway him away from Ducati. Back in the day one of the bikes he bought was a Benelli. 2.5 miles from the dealer it stopped running. He walked the bike back. The shop owner said he could fix the bike no problem. 5 hours later he walked back into the service area and saw the owner hitting the crank over and over trying to get it started in a last ditch effort of futility. Finally, the owner offered him a new Benelli, to which my dad said no thanks I'll take a Yamaha.
Mate sorry but your dad has no possible idea what he is talking about.
Don't get him wrong. He says obviously BMW builds the best motorcycles, he just says they aren't for him. I'd be pushing the K1200R with all my might if they were.
BTW, why does nobody make fast small engine bikes any more? I and he both think an extremely light 250cc would be loads of fun, but it seems like all of the 250's these days are just small engined heavy bikes.
Tell him to forget the 70's...it has nothing to do with now. Jap is fast/high consumables & reliable...BMW is much slower/much lower consumables & much more reliable. relatively speaking that is.
Everything else lies inbetween & references the above 2 as flagstones in what a bike sould be...be that at either end of the scale.
I forgot....ducati is great for posing at parties but on the drive home you will always shed a quiet tear as the radio struggles to keep in tune and the windscreen wipers beat in time along that country road because its at the dealer ..waiting for parts & you had to drive & you know that the car probably has to go to be able to afford the ducati parts & labor. I had a friend won a 888 strada. 8000 miles & he was on the 3rd clutch hub at $1000 US a pop. He was really sweating about the day it came out of warranty...sold it & bought a flogged out 750 FZR yamaha & it never gave an ounze of trouble & did what it was designed to do, go to 10 000 rpm in every gear for the rest of its natural life.
Tell him to forget the 70's...it has nothing to do with now. Jap is fast/high consumables & reliable...BMW is much slower/much lower consumables & much more reliable. relatively speaking that is.
Everything else lies inbetween & references the above 2 as flagstones in what a bike sould be...be that at either end of the scale.
I forgot....ducati is great for posing at parties but on the drive home you will always shed a quiet tear as the radio struggles to keep in tune and the windscreen wipers beat in time along that country road because its at the dealer ..waiting for parts & you had to drive & you know that the car probably has to go to be able to afford the ducati parts & labor. I had a friend won a 888 strada. 8000 miles & he was on the 3rd clutch hub at $1000 US a pop. He was really sweating about the day it came out of warranty...sold it & bought a flogged out 750 FZR yamaha & it never gave an ounze of trouble & did what it was designed to do, go to 10 000 rpm in every gear for the rest of its natural life.
Mate if you got money to blow...yeah they are fun to brag about & they are now quite fast & handle well (they have been for a long time actually). But for a practicle bike...they fall beside the road.
I would do what doc suggested & look at the trump bonnie or the semi-chopper style ...called an 'americana' here.
I'm considering a bike like that in Oz. In all reality, I'll be too busy to do a lot of long riding, and when I do get a long weekend, I think I'd rather hop on a plane or train and go see Fiji or Uluru.
In defense of the Ducati (deep down I still love them, owned 4 in my life) - yes, the 1098 and superbikes are still maintenance heavy, but that new air-cooled 1000cc motor (in the GT1000, Multistrada, Hypermotard, etc) is a real piece of brilliance. I've read nothing but good things about it, and heard at least one first-hand good review of it from a Multistrada owner who's put over 10k miles on his (with only one service). That motor is single handedly breathing new life into Ducati.
If the old man wants a long haul bike, get an RT or a GS. Both are more
than capable. I don't see anything wrong K bikes even though they be more
"complicated". In fact, I own one (K1200GT).
Hard to make a recommendation that's good for your dads ridding style with
out knowing him. The Triumph recommedatons are good but I'd be thinking
about a 675
Moderator Journeys/Sports/Big Picture :: Need some help with dgrin?
Comments
http://zwilliams.smugmug.com/
BTW, I got screwed on my engine. I mean, it works for now, but I found out after the fact (and nobody is owning up) that they trusted JE when JE told them they didn't need to coat the skirt on the pistons. Uh, it's aluminum on aluminum guys, you shouldn't have to ask that question (and then they suggest that since the pistons are 2618 aluminum and the engine is alusil it doesn't have the problems of similar metals...um no, they're both still aluminum).
Currently at the paint shop. When I left it, it had a temporary exhaust on it (tri-y's, downpipes, then a very light muffler)...louder than all get out and more pissed off sounding that Antriebs open headers (kinda like a 454 SS)
About 1,500 miles on the new engine and I haven't had any problems yet
http://zwilliams.smugmug.com/
moderator of: The Flea Market [ guidelines ]
http://zwilliams.smugmug.com/
1937 Talbot Lago T150CSS
1958 Pontiac Star Chief
1967 Shelby Mustang GT 500 "Eleanor"
1932 Ford Roadster
1956 Lotus Eleven Le Mans (believed winner of 1956 24 Hours of Le Mans)
Thanks for looking!
still, welcome!
http://zwilliams.smugmug.com/
http://zwilliams.smugmug.com/
http://zwilliams.smugmug.com/
Learned to ride a motorcycle this weekend. It's interesting I guess, but I don't really get the attraction, though maybe it's because I was learning on what I think was big and heavy (i.e. dumb) bike: Honda Shadow Aero.
It's got original paint, with lots of character, cracked leather seats.
What a charming little car.
Antrieb - she looks good. so when is it going up for sale? :hide
moderator of: The Flea Market [ guidelines ]
It's definitely becoming the most enjoyable part of my job, especially when I can find a good location like that one.
I should've waited another hour or so, but I'm pretty happy with the results.
Geez, mercphoto, I'm really sorry for not answering this question. I must've missed it when you first asked it.
So, I hope you're still here somewhere.
Basically, it's completely illegal. But I always travel with a few copies of the magazine in the van, so that I can show a cop what I'm doing.
I've never been approached by a police officer. I imagine if it was a problem, they'd just tell me to move along. I can also imagine comping the guy a subscription to the magazine and having him run a traffic detail for me. Cops are almost always car guys.
Hey Doc. In spite of my not really getting the point of motorcycles, my dad may be buying one. Doesn't want a BMW because he says "these things they make now aren't BMW's any more" (the last time he rode a motorcycle was the early 1970s) and he also says they are overpriced compared to the rest of the market (I think he's looking to spend around 8k). He doesn't want a rice-rocket lean-over job, but he doesn't want a fat-ass cruiser either.
Any recommendations? I'm thinking a Triumph. Do you know how the quality is on the new ones?
that being said, bmw's are bmw's for a reason. You get what you pay for. If you don't want more, than yeah, they are overpriced. don't discount a good used bmw bike. The r1150r or other "standard" could make a great bike. another friend just sold a very nice 04 for less than 7k. good thing about used beemers: they weren't owned by racer kids, so they are usually meticulously cared for.
good for dad.
btw, you said you "learned how to ride"... with a friend, or did you take an MSF course? I have nothing but praise for the latter, and nothing but negatives about that former.
moderator of: The Flea Market [ guidelines ]
No, I didn't really learn, I just learned in an empty parking lot with my dad. Of course at the end of it he said "you could probably pass a road test right now, but if for some reason you do get interested in this (I let him know that even after riding I didn't really get the attraction) take the MSF 2 day course (he took the half day refresher before going to get his license again)."
His complaints against the BMWs are too tall, too pricey, and too complicated (he says they look weird and have betrayed their buyers by selling some bikes with engines that aren't horizontally opposed, and he also thinks they don't look like motorcycles and have too much techno-babble...like I said, he last rode in the early 1970s, and he preferred BMWs then). I'm trying to talk him into either a Triumph or a Ducati GT1000.
Triumph and GT1000 are both very nice bikes. Both very simply, very elegant, very saturday sunday kinda ride. Wouldn't want to do the kind of long riding I do on either one, but yeah, great weekend run bikes.
moderator of: The Flea Market [ guidelines ]
Mate sorry but your dad has no possible idea what he is talking about. I can open up the valves on my BM in ...what ...under 2 mins with an allen key & then do the timing in a few mins more with a spanner on the end of the crank (another allen key job) after i flick out the rubber gromet to see the flywheel marker.
Shaft drive ...ive never even thought about it...changed the oil twice. Ive had 25 bikes & my BM is without doubt the most simple, easy to work on machine ever. In saying that...i never touch it. It goes in for a service every 15000 klm. It is without doubt the most maint/trouble free bike avail on the market.
Buy that ducati & he will soon see that little has changed since the 70's re reliability. They are nick named 'shitcatis' here.You dont get the reputation as unreliable expensive garage queens for nothing.
Re: not being able to take them on long hauls. He test drove a BMW R1200 R originally because he remembered how BMWs were fine for at least 10 hours of riding. Then he remembered that a person living in DC would have to be nuts to drive a motorcycle as a main means of transportation.
That may sway him away from Ducati. Back in the day one of the bikes he bought was a Benelli. 2.5 miles from the dealer it stopped running. He walked the bike back. The shop owner said he could fix the bike no problem. 5 hours later he walked back into the service area and saw the owner hitting the crank over and over trying to get it started in a last ditch effort of futility. Finally, the owner offered him a new Benelli, to which my dad said no thanks I'll take a Yamaha.
Don't get him wrong. He says obviously BMW builds the best motorcycles, he just says they aren't for him. I'd be pushing the K1200R with all my might if they were.
BTW, why does nobody make fast small engine bikes any more? I and he both think an extremely light 250cc would be loads of fun, but it seems like all of the 250's these days are just small engined heavy bikes.
Everything else lies inbetween & references the above 2 as flagstones in what a bike sould be...be that at either end of the scale.
I forgot....ducati is great for posing at parties but on the drive home you will always shed a quiet tear as the radio struggles to keep in tune and the windscreen wipers beat in time along that country road because its at the dealer ..waiting for parts & you had to drive & you know that the car probably has to go to be able to afford the ducati parts & labor. I had a friend won a 888 strada. 8000 miles & he was on the 3rd clutch hub at $1000 US a pop. He was really sweating about the day it came out of warranty...sold it & bought a flogged out 750 FZR yamaha & it never gave an ounze of trouble & did what it was designed to do, go to 10 000 rpm in every gear for the rest of its natural life.
Screw the Ducati then I guess.
I would do what doc suggested & look at the trump bonnie or the semi-chopper style ...called an 'americana' here.
Im totally in love with the thruxton's myself.
I'm considering a bike like that in Oz. In all reality, I'll be too busy to do a lot of long riding, and when I do get a long weekend, I think I'd rather hop on a plane or train and go see Fiji or Uluru.
In defense of the Ducati (deep down I still love them, owned 4 in my life) - yes, the 1098 and superbikes are still maintenance heavy, but that new air-cooled 1000cc motor (in the GT1000, Multistrada, Hypermotard, etc) is a real piece of brilliance. I've read nothing but good things about it, and heard at least one first-hand good review of it from a Multistrada owner who's put over 10k miles on his (with only one service). That motor is single handedly breathing new life into Ducati.
moderator of: The Flea Market [ guidelines ]
than capable. I don't see anything wrong K bikes even though they be more
"complicated". In fact, I own one (K1200GT).
Hard to make a recommendation that's good for your dads ridding style with
out knowing him. The Triumph recommedatons are good but I'd be thinking
about a 675