Any one watch ALL THE GEAR NO IDEA ??

[gaffer77]

Hi a new work collegue has just had his bike made over on ALL THE GEAR NO IDEA

is a programme on sattallite where a uk biker is shipped out with his bike to LA i think anyway he had his cbr 600 done is kinda nice just got it back in the last fortnight

just wondered if it is screened in the usa (the programme)

is on in england this week i think

no where near as good as biker build off but good all the same

[bandet01]

nope not played here in the states

[mro]

hi ya gaffer77

Have looked at a few forums across the pond and it seems that the majority of your bikers favor sport instead of cruiser bikes.

A lot of under 1000cc's. (not counting some truly XSive dragsters)

Wrong impression or do you guys just like the speed?



mro

[Pat Kelly]

mro,
That's one trend that I haven't liked about the US market.
I'm not a big fan of cruisers. I've always liked sport bikes, particularly smaller-displacement.
I loved the handleing of my 400cc Honda Hawk. RD 350-400, TZ250.... there used to be a bunch of 125 thru 550cc streetbikes.
Now the trend is bigger, louder, flashier. Anymore a 600cc is considered a small bike (in the US). Tough to find a real "beginner" bike. Yes there are the Honda 250 Rebel and I think Kawasaki has a 250. There are the dual-sports but tall seat height make those difficult for newbies to the sport.
Even scooters are going big (maybe that's what is replacing the smaller bikes of the past). A co-worker just bought a 400cc scooter. The down-side is I (and others) tease him and call it a "girls bike" .

[gaffer77]

Hi mro

Right then me personally i like all bikes

sports bikes well you just dont need one on the roads it aint the place

your never gonna use all the power and if you do your never gonna keep your license

whats the point in paying the costs of running them??

I hate plastic and you have to dress up like a power ranger

I really enjoy watching the racing tho !!

especially isle of man tt and british super bikes


Till i bought my Fazer a couple of months ago (for work use )
I wouldn't have given anything a second look ,they all look the same ,,yer they are missiles and fun but they just aint for me
the fazer is a good fun easy to ride generally nice bike and i kind of like it

you get different type of bloke with different type of bikes

me i like classic stuff ,bikes ,cars,lorries,buses ,tractors anything !!

they got more character ,class and style
bikes day to day on the road are mainly superbikes that you see
but the vintage stuff well theres masses of people into those !!

xs1100 well trike fans like them some chops ,street fighters out there but they are classed as big overweight ,poor handling and ugly here so most people with them here are really into them and thats it

I like the biker who wears a white oily T-shirt and jeans there aint many left !!

everyone critisises everyone which is pathetic to me no matter what bike modern,classic ,vintage everyone's always got something to say ,i say stuff em all and like what you like !!

Harleys well theres a massive following here i like to look at some of them and like the sound of the engine prefer an old battered one to a shiney new one ,the people who ride them
well could be someone who wanted one and finally bought one with thier retirement ,the out and out biker or just the poser others as well i know it just aint for me ,but there are thousands here,, thousands !!

cruisers or racebikes?? cruisers dont like to acknowledge race bikes and racebikes dont acknowledge cruisers

stupid divide to me,,,,, a bike should be metal to look like a bike in the firstplace ,should be a bit beefy looking,cheap and easily available spares which you can fit yourself at home and reflect something of you in it and not be the same as every other flamin bike out there !!


who's right who's wrong ?? all i know is i'm having fun and that's all that matters to me ,everyones got a story to tell and thier own desires ,

sometimes i think the true biker is the bloke with little money who buys the best heap he can get and keeps it going on a shoestring ,riding it all year round as main transport theres nothing fake or flash in that,, its just true and honest to the core

oh well better stop before i write a book

Theres all kinds over here ,,aint surprising that most forums on a modern computer are about modern superbikes tho by modern living people

i wish all forums were as good as this one !!

This is the best

[gaffer77]

Pat not a big fan of cruisers?? your list of bikes is full of the big cruisers??

I like ducati and other makes exotic parts and things on race bikes but thats what they are race bikes

i like the RD350 YPVS and most people do as well

i like the hyabusa too just get bored of seeing R1 R6 ,CBR600 ,AND ZXR models everywhere just bored of seeing the same thing time and time again ,need variety

never get bored of a suzuki maybe its the colour thing??

[Pat Kelly]

My definition of cruisers is Harleys or the wannabe Harleys (like the Wife's Virago, Yamaharley).
I 'un-cruisered' my Midnight Special by swapping the wheelbarrow handlebars for superbike bars and added a cafe fairing (plastic of course ).
My E is a tourer with (as I heard it described before) a big, ugly, wind-grabbing sail.
The bike I loved most (as read in many other posts) was my Honda Hawk. Years ago (when I weighed less) it would beat a lot of other bikes off the line and it cornered like it was on rails.
The important thing is to be proud (or at least happy) with what you ride. Don't be offended when someone teases you or your bike. Tease them back without malice . It's like having a favorite sports team, if everyone liked the same team then what would be the point? Don't take it serious unless you're on the field/court/track with them.
I ride the bigger bikes but I like the smaller ones.

[gaffer77]

I like what i like kind of like the high bars on my special ,relaxed summer rides ,think they look good too!! cant stand em on the motorwaytho!! nice to have a fairing!! It just reminds me of the bikes i liked as a kid and its great being a kid again!!

Harley have a stigma here unless you got one and are in the crowd with one

i like everyone and every bike

just some bikes dont do it for me

RD350 one day i want to get one to have a blast with ,been on the back of a couple and they are amazing!!!

just the exhaust note is fantastic in itself !!!

[xs650mike]

Hey Gaffer,

A friend of mine regularly buys Bike and when he's finished reading it he gives it to me. I think it's a pretty good magazine but many of the writers display the same faults as many British journalists...they tend to express what is purely their personal opinion as if it were actually fact.

From reading this mag regularly I have come to feel very sorry for my motorcycling counterparts in the UK what with the camera monitoring, draconian traffic laws and enforcement etcetera. It seems like minute monitoring and regulation of every aspect of life and a huge bureaucracy is the primary national industry. I recently read in Bike that British riders regularly go to France since enforcement is not so heavy there and even if they get caught speeding they just pay a fine and don't lose their licenses. All of this makes me wonder why in 'ell would anyone in Britain buy a 150 mph+ sport bike? My suspicion is that it is purely style. Most of the moto-journalists are of the sportbike persuasion and look down on the cruiser or Harley rider as an ignorant lout. I see the ridiculously high prices that new bikes and riding gear cost in the UK and I get the feeling that most of these British riders must be somewhat deranged to invest that kind of money in something that if used as intended will result in loss of driving privileges, a large chunk of cash and maybe some jail time.

Were I living over there I'd have an old slow bike that wouldn't get me in trouble and I wouldn't much care what some effete snob moto-journalist thinks is hip. On second thought I'd probably be trying to figure out a way to emigrate to a country that's less of a paternalistic police state.

[mro]

gaffer77
_____________________________________
From gaffer77's post.....
everyone critisises everyone which is pathetic to me no matter what bike modern,classic ,vintage everyone's always got something to say ,i say stuff em all and like what you like !!
_____________________________________

I pretty much like all bikes. Do get a little extra thrill making something work/run better.

I think I'm about the only one who stops in Niles who doesn't ride a Harley. Couple places I hang out are Harley bars that I used to hang out as a kid. Get some comments about riding a Yamaha but not really criticism. Only a few of the old bikers left. Most of new Harley riders don't have a clue and calling them week end bikers is being nice. Do get along with em all though.


mro

btw
you gota run fog lamps on your bikes????

[gaffer77]

Yep mag writers all compare the latest rocket to any other bike

i dont like that ,yes things have to move on and things should get better but my bike was good in the 70's and i feel it is still as good now

Theres nothing else quite the same as an xs1100

i class it as a budget monster bike with its own beefy looks ,its affordable,dependable

loads of accessories and add ons and you can turn them into any
style you like and they still look great!!
They got a lovely shaft drive as well ,how can you top these bikes??

I was reading about France in a paper ,they say if your speeding over a certain percentage of the limit you get your license taken till you leave the country,so your bike is abandoned there and then till you get it picked up!!

in the wet in France the speed limit drops as well!!

Cameras everywhere in England there are some un spoilt places

even more reason to have an xs !! cruise enjoy and blast when you can in comfort !!

[xs650mike]

Originally posted by gaffer77


Theres nothing else quite the same as an xs1100

I was reading about France in a paper ,they say if your speeding over a certain percentage of the limit you get your license taken till you leave the country,so your bike is abandoned there and then till you get it picked up!!

in the wet in France the speed limit drops as well!!

Cameras everywhere in England there are some un spoilt places

even more reason to have an xs !! cruise enjoy and blast when you can in comfort !!

I suppose the frogs got tired of Brits coming to their country to speed. Oh well, I guess nothing lasts. When I was in France in the late '70s I found their police to be an overbearing bunch of self-important fools, don't suppose that has changed. I liked the Belgian and German police, the British cops are so-so.

I was just just reading something about an EEC driving license in the works where points accumulated in one country will apply in another...creeping Big Brotherism as I see it. We've got some cameras here in the cities to catch red light runners, I'm not aware of any speed cameras though. Here in California if you're caught at over the ton you are automatically taken to jail but there are still those unspoiled, unpatrolled country roads and lanes just as in England, we just have more of 'em. One does have to watch for cows and their exhaust products, tractors and hay trucks. The thing that creeps me out the most about British traffic laws are the complex rules for lane use and overtaking on the motorways. Here you can pass traffic in any lane on the freeway as long as you do it safely and signal your lane changes.

[pggg]

Speed cameras. Down here years back, the greasy snivelling scheming polititians decided they would copy Oz and bring in cameras - "As a temporary trial only" The current slimy minister of transport at the time stated "They will never be used as a revenue collecting tool" "Road safety is the first concern" 10 years or so later, most motorists are seething with anger and frustration at the blatant disgusting revenue gathering business thriving from the HIDDEN cameras that swiftly appeared and stayed.

[mro]

Join the Party.

From 650Mike "creeping Big Brotherism"

The only people safe from big brother are major political members/relatives and big shot gov. employees. last year some judge got a ride home when found too drunk to drive. Nothing else of consequence happened to her.

The only thing government thinks of its citizens is how to get a few more bucks outa them and how to give less to those who are "productive".

After all, California Government: for the Government, by the Government, all else get in a line.

Golden state moto: anything for a buck!


mro

geese, probably going to be labeled as a subversive and get this site banned by home land screwity, I mean security

[gaffer77]

Our cameras are painted yellow (apart from red light jumping ones) and there are warning signs of thier presence ,some cameras have film some dont some are digital and still they swap and change thier amount of use around the area, they are supposedly situated where an accumilation of accidents have happened ,you can get maps and internet tell you where they are ,you can get electronic boxes to alert you when you are just about on one ,we have mobile police camera patrols with hairdryer guns to get you,they are talking of putting cameras in any roadside equipment as in posts ,cats eyes (lane marking studs) anything and everything!!on about new cars being built with satellite tracking boxes so they can down load exactly where you have been at any point at any given time and what speeds you drove at !!there are cameras that take a speed check between 2 points so you cant go slow up to a camera zoom in the middle to the next one and slow again you get judged by the speed between 2 points !!we got cameras on the motorways,we got $15.00 approx i think it is now ?? conjestion charge to enter London and it is spreading across to other cities soon,we pay loads on petrol/gas tax ,we pay road fund tax say $110.00 for the xs and $250.00 a year for a car
yearly check on a car by a garage now $70.00 which is computerised and sends and receives all info on the car etc to registration office ,speeding fine is around $110 and 3 points (unless really excessive speeding is committed ),12 points and you are banned from driving ,points stay for 4 years from the date of conviction ,points are handed out for bald tyres well 1.6 mm is the lowest tread depth you can have on a car 3 points a tyre ,so 4 low on tread can get you a ban instantly!!
you get points for other offences as well but they are seriouse things you really shouldnt be doing anyway.motorways we drive on the left and overtake on the right at the moment ,there was something i read somewhere they might review this ,sometimes it is a real pain sticking to this law ,but then some people have absolutely no awareness so maybe it is safer like this ??

oh well thats the main things we have to deal with over here ,there are more but if you drive here thats the basics to losing your license easily just midly breaking the law