SCT,
The Turbocharged Spud bike in my Avatar photo had 120 HP and an exhaused that was most docile at lower RPM speeds. That was enough potatoes for me. At over a ton it was a screamer.
And yes, the RR's exhausts are also very unnerving at 14,000rpm plus as they rip past my shop in town, on a two lane Highway.
There definitely is a place for exhibition and competitive riding,
but not on the crowded streets and highways.
Kinda like the two fatties on the bike and an empty sidehack. It's just not a wise or smart thing to do.
That is my point.
Lonnie
Originally written by Gummiente on 7/29/2006 6:07 PM
Getting a bike with more power just to "avoid scenario's" has got to be the worst idea I've heard in a long time. More power is NOT the key to survival - riding within your limits and those of your bike, along with taking regular refresher riding courses, is what increases the odds in your favour. If you find yourself avoiding more potential situations with a twist of the throttle, then you need to seriously re-evaluate your riding skills (no matter how many years you have in the saddle) because otherwise you wouldn't BE in those potential situations in the first place.
And I respectfully disagree with you. Just take your Ural out on the interstate and you'll immediately feel the need for more power. I certainly don't advocate more power as a pancea for less than adequate riding skills, however, I do assert that without adequate power you can and will get into scenario's that can cause you harm.
I find it both amusing and interesting at the same time that potato bike owners have to pile a ton of money into their mounts to get them to run with respectibility. My last HD, the FLT Classic was a nice bike but oftemtimes I felt my riding lawnmower had more suds. I don't go running around on any bike acting like the kid I'm not, but if I need the power, I want it to be there. 'nuff said.
Originally written by SCT100 on 7/29/2006 8:14 PM
Just take your Ural out on the interstate and you'll immediately feel the need for more power.
You've completely missed my point. I don't take the Ural out on the major highways because that would be operating outside its abilities. More power is not a substitute for common sense.
Wow, how did my thread get turned into a potato-potato vs commie vs squidsickle flamewar?
Originally written by Bandit Bill on 7/29/2006 9:46 PM
Wow, how did my thread get turned into a potato-potato vs commie vs squidsickle flamewar?
See what happens when you turn your back for a few minutes? 😀
I want "The rest of the story". The whole thing,see the beer faling and the smoking tires and the crash at the end
Ron in Co
I'm still amazed, though, that the OPP even let an event like this happen much less be a part of it. I've never been to the rally (for obvious reasons, considering what I ride) but I have several friends on sportbikes who have. This year's event was apparently even more of a squid fest than in previous years, so I'm told, which really makes me wonder how bad it actually was. I recall riding past Parry Sound two years ago shortly after the rally; there were many fresh flowers and helmets along the roadside marking the spots where riders had crossed the final "finish line" on a public road.
Obviously, a closed course run by the OPP is better than the alternative of impromptu drags on the town's streets and surrounding highways. But I'm curious as to how many riders actually took advantage of it and what, if any, pre-qualifications were needed before taking part?
Originally written by Gummiente on 7/29/2006 5:27 PM
Originally written by SCT100 on 7/29/2006 8:14 PM
Just take your Ural out on the interstate and you'll immediately feel the need for more power.You've completely missed my point. I don't take the Ural out on the major highways because that would be operating outside its abilities. More power is not a substitute for common sense.
Now you've confused me, Mike. Are you saying he should not have been on the highway with a Harley? I have to agree with him about power. It doesn't have to be your first line of defense, but rather an ace in the hole if you need it. I also want to comment, and I'm not entirely sure why this is, but in the last year or so we've been seeing an awful lot of Cruisers going down around here. Even to the extent of one couple on an FLH hitting a black bear in the middle of a bright sunny afternoon.
Bill:No flame war. Different strokes for different..... You know.Besides, if I need potato's I'll go out and dig them up. They reside under the dirt in the garden.....
I'd rather have the power and not really need it than to not have the power and need it. Nver too much power especially with a sidecar rig. If someone doesn't want to go fast just don't twist the grip too much.
We are in the process of building a rig based on a Yamaha YZF750R(Was that the right dsignation? Yamaha 750 crotch rocket anyhow). I am really wondering how it will actually work out. I understand the powerband on these is a little 'peaky'. Time will tell....
Hey Bill lets both go to the drags and we can have a match race.
Coming to Beaver Springs Dragway..the sidecar show down featuring the fire breathing Suzuki Bandit based Hannigan rig of Wild Bill Strong.
Beeeeee There! Sunday Sunday Sunday
One stipualtion Bill...we go down the strip and then have to turn arond and come back. That would be more interesting.
Originally written by SidecarMike on 7/30/2006 11:59 AM
Now you've confused me, Mike. Are you saying he should not have been on the highway with a Harley?
No, that's not it at all. The Ural is not a superslab bike, to take it onto the highway is to operate it beyond its capabilities. I don't NEED extra power on my Tourist because I don't take it where it's not supposed to go in the first place.
To get back to the point, getting rid of a bike (in this case SCT's FLT) because it didn't have enough power to get out of a situation is putting the blame on the wrong end of the handlebars, IMO. An "ace in the hole" of extra power is nice to have, sure, but what I'm trying (without success it seems) to get across is that if one rides within the limits of their bike and their own skills, then "more power" becomes a non-issue. If you don't let yourself get into a situation you're not going to need extra power to get you out of it. It's like people depending upon ABS brakes and Traction Control to save their butts when they get into trouble; to me they're riding with a false sense of security rather than relying on their defensive riding skills.
FWIW, my '04 FLHT carried me over 56,000km in two years under all road conditions and I never felt the need to have "more power" with it, nor did I get into any situations where I needed "more power" because I operated it within its limits. My '01 Triumph Tiger 955i had more than enough power on tap but I never had to use it as an emergency measure.
Riding defensively is what makes one survive on the roads. Having extra power to compensate for a lack of skills and foresight does not.
So we all need more power,so we can run from some redneck in a chevy pickup and endanger every one on the road with us? why not use the brakes and let the idiot go down the road?
Henry
Hell man, I thought Ford was the Redneck pickup of choice.
You sure this wasn't one a Dubbya's Republicans.
Lonnie (LTI owner)
Now we've really hijacked the thread!
"I want "The rest of the story". The whole thing,see the beer faling and the smoking tires and the crash at the end
Ron in Co"
Nah, there was no blood and gore - but there was a peat-bog swamp at the outside of a right hand turn roughly a 1/4 mile down the road (hence, it being only 1/8 mile 🙂 ) that you had to clamp the binders down pretty soon for, or go swimming.
No timing lights, no two laned drags. Just one at a time, with a cop beaming you with his radar gun at the top of the low rising hill. A terminal speed recorded at the end of the 1/8th mile marker, and bragging rights for 'faster than you, or slowest slug moving down the road ever' depending on the run, of what ya brung. I swear it's the same cop who had a radar trap set up outside of town after conclusion of the sportbike rally too .. and i bet he was playing favorites.
I touched on this earlier .. no way would i drag two rigs at once, just too much potential for a real good train-wreck. But dang, is it ever fun doing it just for the heck of it!
