A friend describes motorcycle riders as folks that fall into two categories, gonna have an accident and had an accident.

I'm in the latter category.

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83 SD

84 CD

This was my first bike



A 1954 Victoria, 250cc 2-stroke, 14HP (a lot for the quality of the frame and brakes)
It was the "sports" version with foot gear change, the "touring" had a manual gear change.

Rob

you'll put your eye out with that thing

Justin you go sit in the time out corner......that is not a thread to start on Christmas morning....

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"It's normal for these things to empty your wallet and break your heart in the process."
2012 SLK 350
1987 420 SEL

Bikes are a bad idea, guys on them die all the time in my area. Usually a car not paying attention pulls out in front of them, they hit it and that's it.

My insurance agent is an x bike racer and one heck of a rider who has done work for Cycle World I think its called?

He was on a ride with them and one of the guys who was not as experienced as the rest of them lost it on a corner in upstate CT and smashed a new Ducati into the back of a landscape trailer. Guy broke his leg, bone was sticking out threw his pants, nearly killed himself.

Stick to 4 wheels.

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2006 CL500
2009 C300 4matic
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

There used to be a statistic that went something like this..."90% of the fatalities on motorcycles come in the first week of ownership".

Young folks get a bike and just start to be familiar with the rudiments of operation and make a mental error and PFFFFFT!

The physical part of operating a bike is just a small part of the needed skills to survive. The mental alertness and suspicion of every other machine on the roads required to survive takes a good while to build up.

Be careful indeed.

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

Over here we have a rather extensive exam to get a driving permission for a motorcycle .
First you have to pass a theoretical exam 50 questions (max 5 wrong)

Then an practical exam om a closed area, tight turns, figure eights, slalom emergency stop etc. This take about one hour.

If you passed these you can do the real exam on the road, also one hour.

If you are under 21 you can drive only 35kw ore less bikes for the first 3 years.

This stopped a lot of youngsters getting a fast bike and kill themselves.
It takes some time to get your licence and it is not cheap.

Rob

Custom Fighters - Streetfighter & Custom Motorcycle Forum & Blog | Custom Fighters

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$60 OM617 Blank Exhaust Flanges
$110 OM606 Blank Exhaust Flanges
No merc at the moment

Over on kawiforums, we've had some good discussions about the differences in European and American motorcycle licensing. The general consensus was that we don't need to be as restrictive as the full European system, but some sort of tiered licensing would be a good idea. As it is, an American can take a two and a half day MSF Basic course (generally on a 250-I got a Honda Rebel), and then take their card down to DMV and get a license that allows them to throw a leg over a Hayabusa. There's something wrong with that.

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Whoever said there's nothing more expensive than a cheap Mercedes never had a cheap Jaguar.

83 300D Turbo with manual conversion, early W126 vented front rotors and H4 headlights 401,xxx miles
08 Suzuki GSX-R600 M4 Slip-on 26,xxx miles
88 Jaguar XJS V12 94,xxx miles. Work in progress.
99 Mazda Miata 183,xxx miles.

Its a little like going from autocrossing a Miata to driving a f1 on the track.

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

It's easier than that. A 25-question test, and you have 90days on whatever you want to throw your leg over here. I need to go back and get my permanent endorsement still, but it definitely was a learning curve. I'm used to being on two wheels, but on two wheels on the road in traffic is a bit unnerving. Luckily my 75 MT250 is a bit of a smoker so it was hard to miss, and knobbies make it feel unstable enough to ease it through the corners.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Zlrl-v7hYk

Caught a video of Justin out their on his new bike, only did 200mph...

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2006 CL500
2009 C300 4matic
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

I have had a CA Motorcycle Lic. since the 1970s and I thought that the actual Motorcycle riding test (taken on an BMW R-50 with an R-69S Engine) exceeded maneuvers that someone would do in actual traffic.

Also a Motorcycle Rider is only likely to hurt His or Her self if they cause an accident.

After years of riding a Motor Cycle many yeas I had the feeling like I had a Bulls Eye Target painted on My back. I believe it is a great way to learn defensive diving.

I think People would be better Car Drivers if they had to spend their first 2 years of Diving on a Motorcycle before they are allowed to drive a Car.

The inattentive or carless first time Cycle Riders would get injured or worse but at least they would likely not hurt someone else.

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84 300D, 82 Volvo 244Gl Diesel

You make some great points!

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

and their bikes as "donorcycles."