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Motorcycles
- Thread starter NCorder
- Start date
Fun thing I learned about that bike: ignition was close enough to TDC that if you rolled it backwards and dumped the clutch it would start and run backwards.
A favorite prank of mine, which I would deploy on the unwary who'd ask to try my bike was to ride it up the hill at our sand pits, out of view and earshot due to other bikes, then shut it off and restart it backwards. I'd then coast back down the hill in neutral, revving and brapping convincingly and step off and hand the smoothly running machine to my grinning quarry. A difficult burden would be borne by my knowing friends, who'd struggle heroically to keep a straight face and not fall down dying of laughter, as they would just moments after my unwitting victim slung a leg over the bike and enthusiastically stomped it into gear : D
A favorite prank of mine, which I would deploy on the unwary who'd ask to try my bike was to ride it up the hill at our sand pits, out of view and earshot due to other bikes, then shut it off and restart it backwards. I'd then coast back down the hill in neutral, revving and brapping convincingly and step off and hand the smoothly running machine to my grinning quarry. A difficult burden would be borne by my knowing friends, who'd struggle heroically to keep a straight face and not fall down dying of laughter, as they would just moments after my unwitting victim slung a leg over the bike and enthusiastically stomped it into gear : D
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Apparently some snowmobile engines do this as well in order to provide reverse. They've got it down so that at idle you just push a button and the fuel injection stumbles in just the right way to flip it backwards. It appears to just burp and continue running, but backwards. Clever!
Killercanary; I had a couple of them; a '78 (IIRC) R90; and an '82 R100, that was tricked out as a touring bike. Both were nice - especially the R100 - but a 30+ year old bike is not ideal for a daily rider in todays traffic conditions. Plus, they were pretty maintenance-intensive; on the other hand, maintenance was pretty simple, and, like most things German; if you did it when scheduled, a Beemer would/will run - and last - pretty much forever. If not, then expect to be doing it on the side of the road..at night..in the rain. The points & condenser ignition was a PITA to work on; it's hard to find one these days, without a replacement solid state ignition installed. The Bing carburettors were pretty fussy, and prone to float problems; I had to fix mine on the side of the road more than once. The "shaft-jacking" on the old air-heads was pretty unnerving, too; and requires a completely different riding technique, compared to a chain-driven bike. Finally. depending on the year(s), air-heads had severe valve seat problems, caused by unleaded gas and the hardened valve seat inserts in the aluminum heads. My R100 had that problem; I had to send the heads off to a specialist shop in California that could fix them. But they did; and for sport touring, it was the best bike I ever had - even better than the CBX. To this day, I'm not sure why I sold it; and of all the bikes I've owned, that R100 is the one I really wish I still had...
GlBrat51
Not to worry. It just means that you're unsane.
Like the rest of us gearheads.
Be proud!
Not many members of the new breed can fix any bike by the side of the road.
Not to worry. It just means that you're unsane.
Like the rest of us gearheads.
Be proud!
Not many members of the new breed can fix any bike by the side of the road.
I hear ya. I've ridden a friend's GS for a couple hours when we traded one day for awhile. Very nice machine. But looked at as a 'giant enduro', which is what it is IMO I much prefer my Multi, which isn't as good offroad but is MUCH better on. IMO. Now, I'm 50 and for long distance, slab/twisty mix and dodgy weather I'd much rather be behind the large, electrically adjustable windscreen/fairing of the RT. And the heated seats and grips, luggage, ABS/traction control. Etc. Yeah, lots of tech but there are many times I'd want that, especially two-up, which these days is most of the time. I've got my Multi for the dirty work. In fact a few years ago the local dealer hosted a 'GS Only' ride, which entailed much hard pack dirt roads, loose gravel, shallow stream crossings etc. It went from Brookfield CT to Somerset VT (Mt Snow) almost entirely on unpaved roads. I showed up among a sea of GS's and drew disaproving stares. But the leader was cool and said 'hey, come with us and if you can't hack it you can drop out- paved roads are never far away.' So off we went. 6+ hours later I was aboard the ONLY bike other than the leader to make it all the way. And we had a BLAST, flat-tracking many, many miles of hard pack /loose stuff. Miles and miles of that. He and I hit it off. It was his GS I rode. He liked my Multi but wouldn't admit it : D
I'll tell ya, if Ducati would build a real Luxo-sport-tourer like the current RT with some version of their Testrasetta engine I'd think it would be massively successful. Imagine RT comfort and tech with THAT motor and tranny and suspension. I'd sell nearly everything I own to get one.
I suppose the Duc hasn't done it because
1) they're not quite sure how yet and
2) the economy, stupid and perhaps
3) they don't want to soil their sporting heritage with a 'Sport-Something' machine.
They don't want to 'sell-out.'
I can appreciate that.
But then, Porsche of all companies finally relented and did it with the Cayenne and it saved the day.
Ferrari of all people, the 'race to live-live to race' company makes a (very fast) 4WD station wagon. OK, ' Estate Car.' Love it or hate it.
So anyway I want an RT with a Testrasetta motor. Please : D
I suppose the Duc hasn't done it because
1) they're not quite sure how yet and
2) the economy, stupid and perhaps
3) they don't want to soil their sporting heritage with a 'Sport-Something' machine.
They don't want to 'sell-out.'
I can appreciate that.
But then, Porsche of all companies finally relented and did it with the Cayenne and it saved the day.
Ferrari of all people, the 'race to live-live to race' company makes a (very fast) 4WD station wagon. OK, ' Estate Car.' Love it or hate it.
So anyway I want an RT with a Testrasetta motor. Please : D
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Love those. You'd appreciate this- I had one of these, exactly like this one, back in 1978 or so. Thumbs up if you know what it is. No cheating. : D
The rear tire's leaking. I think it's spoke fluid. ;-)
Ducati did give touring bikes a try - sorta - years back, with their water-cooled ST2 (like Jools4001's) and ST4. Sport touring, anyway. I don't know how well they sold in Europe, but I've only ever seen one on the road here. I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for a full blown tourer from them; for several reasons.
1. V-twins that make 200hp@ 10,000 rpm don't work well at all for a "cruise down the Interstate @ 75" bike. For a real touring bike, that engine would be a disaster.
2. Touring bikes in this country, are big bikes - and, even unladen, can weigh close to 1,000 lbs. Which, unfortunately, means a big, torquey engine. Ducati would have to come up with a completely new engine for a viable touring bike. And putting a new motor on the street these days is a multi-million $$, multi-year project; which I can't see them bothering with.
2. Touring bikes with chain drive? Not in this day and age; belt drive at least, and preferably a shaft, thank you very much. Can't even imagine a Duc with a shaft... which would be a nightmare to adapt for their current engine design, anyway...
3. Finally, Piaggio - the company that owns Ducati - also owns Aprilia, MV Agusta, and Moto Guzzi. I doubt they really want to take market share away from the touring bike (with shaft drive, and a V-twin that loves cruisin' down the highway) they already have - and sell a lot of. That's almost always not good for your business.
But, it's always fun to speculate...
And as for the GS vs. RT thing; as I said, the RT is a great bike, but, functionally, it didn't do anything my GSA doesn't do. But, if I didn't have anything else, the RT would probably still be living in my garage. Take a look at the picture of my GSA; that luggage is a lot bigger than the stuff on an RT. I know - I had both. And that windscreen, the huge gas tank, and the cylinders, do a pretty fair job of blocking the wind (and rain). And, trust me; with the right tires (like the low profile Pirelli Skorpion radials I had on mine in the picture - it has Metzler Tourances now), A GS or GSA will give any touring bike - and most of the sport touring bikes - a run for their money any day. And the new ones do have heated grips, ABS, (my '04 does, too), cruise control, traction control, electric suspension adjustment, and even (IIRC) a heated seat. Plus it will still go down a dirt road quite nicely - if you want...
1. V-twins that make 200hp@ 10,000 rpm don't work well at all for a "cruise down the Interstate @ 75" bike. For a real touring bike, that engine would be a disaster.
2. Touring bikes in this country, are big bikes - and, even unladen, can weigh close to 1,000 lbs. Which, unfortunately, means a big, torquey engine. Ducati would have to come up with a completely new engine for a viable touring bike. And putting a new motor on the street these days is a multi-million $$, multi-year project; which I can't see them bothering with.
2. Touring bikes with chain drive? Not in this day and age; belt drive at least, and preferably a shaft, thank you very much. Can't even imagine a Duc with a shaft... which would be a nightmare to adapt for their current engine design, anyway...
3. Finally, Piaggio - the company that owns Ducati - also owns Aprilia, MV Agusta, and Moto Guzzi. I doubt they really want to take market share away from the touring bike (with shaft drive, and a V-twin that loves cruisin' down the highway) they already have - and sell a lot of. That's almost always not good for your business.
But, it's always fun to speculate...
And as for the GS vs. RT thing; as I said, the RT is a great bike, but, functionally, it didn't do anything my GSA doesn't do. But, if I didn't have anything else, the RT would probably still be living in my garage. Take a look at the picture of my GSA; that luggage is a lot bigger than the stuff on an RT. I know - I had both. And that windscreen, the huge gas tank, and the cylinders, do a pretty fair job of blocking the wind (and rain). And, trust me; with the right tires (like the low profile Pirelli Skorpion radials I had on mine in the picture - it has Metzler Tourances now), A GS or GSA will give any touring bike - and most of the sport touring bikes - a run for their money any day. And the new ones do have heated grips, ABS, (my '04 does, too), cruise control, traction control, electric suspension adjustment, and even (IIRC) a heated seat. Plus it will still go down a dirt road quite nicely - if you want...
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There's a guy on GSResources who went through three engines in five years in his 1200S.
Poor bastard.
Poor bastard.
You make some very good points. I'd forgotten the Guzzi connection. Yes, I agree the GS is effective. But I have issues with it, in particular it doesn't have enough weather protection, it's too tall, and its appearance.... isn't for me, to be kind. : DDucati did give touring bikes a try - sorta - years back, with their water-cooled ST2 (like Jools4001's) and ST4. Sport touring, anyway. I don't know how well they sold in Europe, but I've only ever seen one on the road here. I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for a full blown tourer from them; for several reasons.
1. V-twins that make 200hp@ 10,000 rpm don't work well at all for a "cruise down the Interstate @ 75" bike. For a real touring bike, that engine would be a disaster.
2. Touring bikes in this country, are big bikes - and, even unladen, can weigh close to 1,000 lbs. Which, unfortunately, means a big, torquey engine. Ducati would have to come up with a completely new engine for a viable touring bike. And putting a new motor on the street these days is a multi-million $$, multi-year project; which I can't see them bothering with.
2. Touring bikes with chain drive? Not in this day and age; belt drive at least, and preferably a shaft, thank you very much. Can't even imagine a Duc with a shaft... which would be a nightmare to adapt for their current engine design, anyway...
3. Finally, Piaggio - the company that owns Ducati - also owns Aprilia, MV Agusta, and Moto Guzzi. I doubt they really want to take market share away from the touring bike (with shaft drive, and a V-twin that loves cruisin' down the highway) they already have - and sell a lot of. That's almost always not good for your business.
But, it's always fun to speculate...
And as for the GS vs. RT thing; as I said, the RT is a great bike, but, functionally, it didn't do anything my GSA doesn't do. But, if I didn't have anything else, the RT would probably still be living in my garage. Take a look at the picture of my GSA; that luggage is a lot bigger than the stuff on an RT. I know - I had both. And that windscreen, the huge gas tank, and the cylinders, do a pretty fair job of blocking the wind (and rain). And, trust me; with the right tires (like the low profile Pirelli Skorpion radials I had on mine in the picture - it has Metzler Tourances now), A GS or GSA will give any touring bike - and most of the sport touring bikes - a run for their money any day. And the new ones do have heated grips, ABS, (my '04 does, too), cruise control, traction control, electric suspension adjustment, and even (IIRC) a heated seat. Plus it will still go down a dirt road quite nicely - if you want...
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[/QUOTE]
For one moment I thought I have said things I don't remember. Was it some kind of mistake while you were typing or is it the
spam problem encountered today?
