Motorcycle-licensed pilots

[Beefitarian]

Happy birthday, I hope you're going for a curry or at least crumpets.

That cockpit has TVs in it.

[photofly]

18 years ago there was no exchange program, so I just claimed experience and went to the G test. Still have my pink paper UK license. They now have worked out the money grab, and gone to photo licenses with 5 year expiry or something, but mine still says it is valid until 2039.

I'm constantly amused driving round here being held up by motorcycles, and wondering why they never seem to overtake anything.

One of the conditions of getting a Canadian licence is that you don't already hold a licence in any other country without surrendering it (you're not allowed two) - so don't tell anyone you kept your old one.

[flyinthebug]

My dad got me a 1971 Mini Trail 50 when I was 7 and I have had a bike ever since. Got my M when I was 16 yrs and 12 days old. Started on Honda 400 Hawk, RD350 and then late teens graduated to a 73 Harley. Its been Harleys ever since for me. Currently ride a Heritage softail.

[Beefitarian]

My first street bike is an RD350lc.

[Colonel Sanders]

in the UK you're expected and obliged to move to the head of a traffic queue, at lights, etc, moving between (and outside) the lanes of stationary cars.

What you're referring to is called "filtering" and is
expressly illegal in North America - except, oddly
enough, California. If a cop catches you doing
what you describe, you will get a ticket.

There are many different kinds of motorcycles,
and riders. Roughly, there are cruisers, crotch
rockets and off-road. They often have absolutely
nothing to do with each other, and scornfully hate
each other quite vocally. I would not confuse the
three groups.

This is an aviation-related posting because this is
a picture of a tool I designed and built which very
easily compresses Lycoming valve springs:

[Shiny Side Up]

There are many different kinds of motorcycles,
and riders. Roughly, there are cruisers, crotch
rockets and off-road. They often have absolutely
nothing to do with each other, and scornfully hate
each other quite vocally. I would not confuse the
three groups.

Which since I apparently ride a "standard" bike, no one returns my wave. Ah, like in flying, I don't belong in the usual cookie cutter groups.

[I_Drive_Planes]

There are many different kinds of motorcycles,
and riders. Roughly, there are cruisers, crotch
rockets and off-road. They often have absolutely
nothing to do with each other, and scornfully hate
each other quite vocally. I would not confuse the
three groups.

Which since I apparently ride a "standard" bike, no one returns my wave. Ah, like in flying, I don't belong in the usual cookie cutter groups.

Me too, and I like it that way. No group to join, nothing to defend. I do find that the rate of wave backs I receive varies based on the type of bike I meet.

In order of most wave backs received:

1. Touring bikes (especially Goldwings)
2. Dual sports
3. Sportbikes
4. Metric cruisers
5. Harley-Davidsons (I don't know what it is about Harleyists, but they probably wave back 25% of the time or less)
6. Scooters (I have never, ever had a scooter rider wave back)

I don't see enough standards to add them to the list in a meaningful way, but anecdotal evidence suggests that they consistently wave back. When I meet a long line of touring bikes I have my arm stuck out for so long I feel like a General receiving a salute from a parade.

[photofly]

What you're referring to is called "filtering" and is
expressly illegal in North America - except, oddly
enough, California. If a cop catches you doing
what you describe, you will get a ticket.

Yes it is. When I took my motorcycle test, I did some very aggressive filtering over onto the wrong side of the road and down the outside of a line of 30 or so cars. The examiner who was following my riding school CB125 on some kind of big tourer (I remember it as a Honda PanEuropean) told me afterwards if I hadn't she'd have failed me. She told me "nobody rides a bike to wait in line with the cars."

Except in North America, apparently.

[Pavese]

Great thread PDW!

OK, my turn. Been riding since.....home made mini bikes, dirt bikes and so on. Ms. Pavese got a later start but has been at it for long enough to know better.

My license test. The examiner stood under the eaves of the shopping centre out of the rain and watched me go out of the parking lot, through a traffic light & back. Despite stalling it once (125 dirt bike, you know, the kind with a kick starter...) I think I passed because I didn't get run over and made it back in one piece. They never asked candidates how they got the bike to the test or what you'd do if you didn't pass......

Anyhow,

His:



Hers:



And since this is an aviation forum:

Our cottage, we take turns in the left seat:



OK, so it's not a picture of ours but it's the right colours and pretty close and I didn't have to upload an image......

D

[Pavese]

" and a 2009 Kawasaki Ninja 250R"

They described the little Ninjette as "having the looks of a lion but the heart of a cuckoo clock."

Hilarious!

Great starter bike, especially for aspiring jockeys and petite ladies.

That was high on Ms. Pavese's list until she realized she'd grow out of it in a year or two.

D

[Colonel Sanders]

"nobody rides a bike to wait in line with the cars."

You can lane filter if you want to, but be warned that
when the cops see you doing it, you'd best be willing
to bounce your literbike on the rev limiter in 6th for a
while, if you don't want a ticket. I know guys that do
that, and the cops get really pissed about it.

I don't know why, but in North America, we take great
pride in driving (and riding) badly and slowly. We don't
like to manufacture anything, either.

This is an aviation post because this is a picture of a tire
after doing one-wheel landings:

[skydivepilot]

" and a 2009 Kawasaki Ninja 250R"

They described the little Ninjette as "having the looks of a lion but the heart of a cuckoo clock."

Hilarious!

Great starter bike, especially for aspiring jockeys and petite ladies.

That was high on Ms. Pavese's list until she realized she'd grow out of it in a year or two.

D

I keep going down in displacement with the street bikes (VFR800, ZX-6R 636, DR-Z400SM, and now the Ninja 250) ever since I started riding on the track. Its harder to contain myself on the street and I actually love riding the little Ninjette. I got a great price from a friend and it was mint with only 3800kms. I have a 14 year old son who is eyeing the 250 already but I'm thinking maybe a CRF250L (M if it ever comes to Canada) would be a good first street bike for him before the Ninja.

[Colonel Sanders]

The only problem with the small-displacement bikes
is that their suspensions are junk, and there are no
aftermarket products (Ohlins) for them. How you
upgrade the suspension is by selling the bike and buying
a larger displacement bike. The Kawi ex 250/500 have
this problem in spades.

Smallest bike I've ever ridden with a really good suspension
was a pirate bike (arr-arr) 600.

Anyone ridden the new 250/300 entry bikes that Honda/etc
are coming out with?

[sidestick stirrer]

Elly doing the reportedly impossible on her Ninjette ZZR when she was seventeen.
Being so petite and not having much gasoline in the tank helped.

[I_Heart_Seaplanes]

Toys
http://imgur.com/a/C44uA#0

After a 'runway FOD check'
http://imgur.com/a/C44uA#1

[Colonel Sanders]

Lovely pictures! You can almost smell and hear
the ticking, cooling metal

Wheelies are great fun. I love the torque of the
RC51 for this reason. If all you do is roll on full
throttle in first gear, you simply can't keep the
front tire on the ground. I rather like that.

However the small displacement bikes, it's all
about technique and balance. I can wheelie the
little 4 stroke 80cc dirt bike, by rolling off the
throttle in first gear to compress the front struts
then rolling it on again and leaning back, using
my right foot to control the angle. Once you
get the front tire up, it's just a matter of balance.

This is an aviation post because this is a picture
of a bunch of Navy SEALs I'm about to drop at
an airshow:

[North Shore]

My first street bike is an RD350lc.

I still love the RDs..ring, ding, ding, ding what an awesome sound (and smell, if you get the right oil...) [Damn, will the Green Party suspend my membership for admitting that? ]

The first bike that I remember riding was a Honda Z50, and then my dad bought my brothers and me an XR75 - many happy times on that beaut. Had a Ninja750 in the early '90s, until over-enthusiastic wrist twisting while the engine was cold blew the head gasket, and I couldn't afford to have it fixed (Probably good, in a way, as the way I was riding it (big on balls, small on brain) probably wasn't conducive to longevity of my licence, or health..)
Then I got into pedalling my mountain bike, and I've never really been interested in owning a motorcycle since. I get the appeal, and I'm a Huge fan of the IOM, but as I work all summer in a town with two straight roads leaving it: one north to nowhere, and the other south, through nothing to somewhere, there's not many places to ride a sportbike... and owning a toy for zipping around on non-rainy days in the winter, meh, not so much - I'd rather spend my money on a new MTB or going skiing. Still, every once in a while, I get bitten, and troll around on Kijij or the like, trying to find that elusive 1986 NS400R lying around in someone's barn, with only 5000 klicks on it, and would $500 be too much?

Sanders: Quit with the silly photos! We all know that this is a post about bikes, and it hasn't yet descended into the usual inanity, so as far as I'm concerned, it'll stick around...until someone gets into the dirt's better than street, better than Harley, better than Yamaha, etc..

[Beefitarian]

My dirt bike years were one of the few times I ever focused in my life. Between about 7 and 14 I was obsessed. I thought I liked girls but knew I loved RM80s then 125s. I never thought I would ever ride on pavement. One day I took a friend of my uncle's Honda out, I think I was around 16. I still wasn't convinced. Then I found the RD at T.J's cycle getting two stroke oil for my KX250. Grabbed it for $1000. Eventually moved up to a GSXR750 a local guy had set up for production racing. Sold it and ended up getting the RD back. Poor thing ended up outside at my parents house.

[North Shore]

A friend of mine up in YYC just bought a completely restored 81 RD. It's in showroom condition - straight frame, and tank(no bondo) new levers, pegs, and fairings - even the bolts are new. I'm quite envious.

[Keenflyer]

Couple of old bombs, have never seen an XLV in Canada but have seen a couple of XT's

[skydivepilot]

The only problem with the small-displacement bikes
is that their suspensions are junk, and there are no
aftermarket products (Ohlins) for them. How you
upgrade the suspension is by selling the bike and buying
a larger displacement bike. The Kawi ex 250/500 have
this problem in spades.

Smallest bike I've ever ridden with a really good suspension
was a pirate bike (arr-arr) 600.

Anyone ridden the new 250/300 entry bikes that Honda/etc
are coming out with?

Ohlins and lots of options out for Ninja 250, 300, etc. now. I agree that the suspension and brakes aren't as good as a supersport, even the stock setup from my 10 year old 636. Suspension upgrade is something I am considering on the 250 because I certainly love the Hyperpro shock and Ohlins spring I have on my ZX-6R. Woodcraft clip-ons and Galfer stainless steel brake lines were nice additions. Friend of mine used to race an R6 and has now moved to the 250 because its fun at safer speeds and much cheaper.

[Colonel Sanders]

Glad to hear the 250/300 SS class is getting taken
seriously, and has good aftermarket suspension parts
available.

After you ride a sport bike with a really good suspension,
it's hard to go back to the low-cost crap. Carving through
the corners is what these things do, after all.

Sanders: Quit with the silly photos!

Mea culpa. Just trying to give the mods here (with their
fingers quivering over the delete button), what they want!

[Chris M]

I used to have an '85 VF500 that I learned on. Great little practise bike, light handling and not enough power to get into too much trouble. I got dinged one point on my M road test because I pulled into someone's driveway for my "emergency stop". Apparently wanting to clear a busy suburban street is frowned upon.

Oh right, airplane forum. Who wants a business jet? I've got a few sitting on the ramp.

[flyinthebug]

My dirt bike years were one of the few times I ever focused in my life. Between about 7 and 14 I was obsessed. I thought I liked girls but knew I loved RM80s then 125s. I never thought I would ever ride on pavement. One day I took a friend of my uncle's Honda out, I think I was around 16. I still wasn't convinced. Then I found the RD at T.J's cycle getting two stroke oil for my KX250. Grabbed it for $1000. Eventually moved up to a GSXR750 a local guy had set up for production racing. Sold it and ended up getting the RD back. Poor thing ended up outside at my parents house.

It sounds like we had similar childhoods beef! My 1st race bike was an RM 80 (my progression was Z50, DT100 (Yamaha), then RM`s). Back then the CMA called the 80 classes "small wheel schoolboy", then in 1978 they added a "large wheel schoolboy" to accommodate the new 100 series being made. I went from an RM 80 to RM 100 and then RM 125 (Beef, I noticed your jump was from the 80 to the 125...you must be a lot younger than I, as I remember they quit making the RM 100 around 1982 or so?). I quit racing when I was 16 after a particularly bad crash on my RM 125 in a race at Hully Gully in Varna Ont (I wonder if anyone remembers that track??) and broke a bunch of ribs etc...but didn't stop riding nor ever wanted to. My parents made me give up racing so I moved out lol.

At 16 I went to Germany for 4 months to work and came home to buy a brand new 1980 Honda Hawk CB400. That was a great little bike. Then my buddy bought an RD350 brand new in 1980 and he smoked me and my little Honda 400...so went and traded my 400 Hawk on an new 81-RD350 and LOVED that bike! I would still put it up against anything in its cc class of today`s bikes...ill bet she would give the 250 Ninjas a heck of a run!

Like you, I remember being more focused during that time in my life than ever before or since,. My bedroom walls were covered with Motocross bike pics, and of course my heros of the day (Roger Decoster and Bob "Hurricane" Hannah) both world champions in the 70s and early 80s. I used to deliver newspapers to Bob Hannah`s home in Oshawa, Ont when I was 11 yrs old and he knew my obsession with moto-x etc and always took the time to talk to me and show me his YZ 250 race bike. I was in awe of both the man and his bike.

Its funny but at that age I was going to be a pro Motocross rider and win the world championships. The funny thing is I really believed I could pull it off! I was winning local races and with Hannah`s encouragement I felt I could really do it. Then I went for a flight in my Uncle 172 and found my new obsession. Racing slowly started to lose its appeal and flying took over my blood system. Of course the accident on the RM 125 was my jump off point with Motocross and jump on point for flying.

VERY cool thread pdw! Thanks for starting it.

Fly safe all.

[AirFrame]

Filtering is unlawful in California too, but it is condoned and you won't get ticketed for it. But if you have an accident while doing it, you'll be at fault because you were doing something unlawful at the time.