Not positive; but I would wager that I was riding my 1977 Honda CB750 four K through the nice rolling hills of Connecticut long before you were hitting middle school my friend.

And ya, back then I didn't wear a helmet unless I had to. But I digress......



Most *kids* who get sportbikes without ever having ridden one are getting it because they think it's the cool thing to do. And wearing full gear doesn't fall into that cool category.

I could give a shit less what other people do; I just laugh my ass off when I see a dude wearing a sweat outfit wreck in front of me.............

 

I don't know who you heard all of that from..... I over shot a turn after coming up over a hill in New Kent. I got it down to about 30 mph or so before hitting the dirt. As soon as I hit the dirt I came off the bike and rolled but the bike made it back to the road and thats what did all the damage. Needs a front fairing, new speed screen, Right fairing and it cracked the starter/clutch cover. About $600 in parts and I'm going to paint it a nice solid blue. Nothing else on the bike got even a scratch.

I dont think you knew about this after selling me the bike but it has a minor electrical problem that effects the speedo (goes crazy after 70 mph). Did it ever do that when you owned it? I am starting to think its a fualty speedo. I can't seem to find any wrong wiring or fualty grounds....

 

You're 4 years older than me, so whatever that works out to be.... since I have no idea when you got your first bike, but for me it was my 17th birthday. Anyway.... thats all symantics.

My point was this, what you're wearing while you are riding really doesn't mean shit beyond what risk level you are willing to take. If you want to go out with nothing but sunglasses on, then so be it, its your perrogative, it doesnt make you any less of rider.


*Edit... this could be fun

Some things I would considered squidly:

1. Revving your bike sitting at a light, so everyone sees you, these things will idle, lay off the throttle.
2. Tires that are flat in the middle and shiny on the outside.
3. Stretched swing arms on bikes that have never been to the track.

 

Agreed.

 

x2.

The stretched swingarm factor I could agree with or disagree with. Not a fan of the stretched swingarms personally, but I do know a few guys with stretched bikes that rarely ever hit the track. They have liter+ bikes and not only did it for looks, but they did it to keep the front wheel down during daily driving. As you said, that's there perrogative. I don't care if you choose not to wear gear, and I will not criticize you for it, so I damn sure don't expect to be criticized for my decision to wear what I wear. That's my decision.

 

call me a ricer but i like the swing arm

 

To me, it has nothing to do with being a ricer, it has everything to do with ruining the functionality of an otherwise nice sport bike. Sport bikes are made to be tearing up the turns, not cruising with a half shell helmet on and a stretched swing arm. But I guess to each his own, if you want to buy a bike and stretch it so you can look cool, than so be it, its yours. (not really talking directly to you Derrick)

 

Again; agreed.





And any decent rider will/can learn to keep the nose down. A stretched swingarm on a street bike that rarely (if ever) see's a track is *usually* for someone who just wants to look cool ( I have NO IDEA who actually thinks that looks cool) or is compensating because he cant keep the nose down under hard acceleration.

 

Disagree.

One of them that rarely hits the track actually ran IIRC a 5.9 on his GSX-R 1000.. Granted, that's a 1/8th mile track, but that's fucking fast! He runs with me through the mountains and curvy roads, so either his riding ability extremely overcompensates the stretched swingarm, or it doesn't completely kill his handling.

Another one has been riding for at least 10 years and he's got a GSX-R 1000 too.. On the drag strip, his front wheel is in the air almost the entire time and it's not because of his riding ability.. he's one hell of a good rider. That one, obviously, is not stretched. That's with a full gas tank and him laying with all of his weight being forward.

You can stretch/extend a swingarm without totally ruining the handling characteristics. If handling is your primary concern, a huge stretch is obviously not a good idea.. but I've seen stretched bikes that were only extended maybe 3-4 inches and it looked good and still handled great. I've seen some bikes that had to have been stretched like 8 inches just for show, maybe more.. when the rear tire sticks out behind the tail-light.. that, to me, is tacky. Use moderation if you're going to stretch it out, PLEASE.. D.

 

Okie doke.