Motorcycle Riding - what it is like

[ballaratdragons]

As a Biker myself I am always scouring You Tube for good videos about motorcycles, and keeping up to date with new models etc.

Tonight I was missing riding (I have been without a bike for a couple of years now :sadeyes: ) so I went for some 'On Board' videos to get the juices flowing :P

Most of the videos are fairly average, but mainly they don't really show what it is like out ridin'.
They have the camera to the side, or too low, or it shakes too much etc. None of them show the ride from the riders eye view.

BUT! I found a spectacular one. :thumbsup:

To experience the 'almost real' feeling of what it is like riding, set this video to FULL SCREEN and throw on some Headphones (at full volume). The Headphones make it sound more like you actually have a helmet on, makes the sound more 'real' and they add to the feeling of wearing a helmet (only slightly but it helps the illusion). ;)
If you don't use Full Screen the illusion doesn't work either.

Please watch it all the way through (15 minutes).
Sit back and enjoy this ride on a Harley Davidson 1200cc Sportster (note: the speedo on the left is in MILES per hour, not KPH! Watch what he gets it up to sometimes :D ) but watch out for the car that moves across into his lane :mad2:

Enjoy :thumbsup: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCUqB9hak6o

[asimov]

Hmmmm...No word of a lie; I went to bed tonight at 10:30PM but up again at 12:35AM. What woke me was a vivid dream...but the dream consisted of me having a race with someone, & we were both on highpowered late model road bikes thru a gigantic house! That includes up & down stairs, the works!

And then I log in & see this post. All very interesting!:lol::D

I know why I had the dream but: I'm thinking of getting yet another bike.

[Waxing_Gibbous]

Breathtaking. Scary as hell, but breathtaking. Its utterly addictive. My friends and I bought an ex Moto GP Yamaha way back in 1983 and campaigned it in Canada and the States. We were good. Very good.
But compared to others, we were crap! :D
I have the injuries to prove it!
Didn't matter.
I'm sure there's loads of things like it...but there's nothing like it!

[ballaratdragons]

Go for it Asi :thumbsup:
I am waiting for the day I can afford to ride again.

Peter, yep addictive.

As good as that video is, nothing, and I mean NOTHING! comes close to actually really riding.
The exhilaration can't be falsely experienced. :)

But this Video is the closest I have ever found for a Non-Rider to see what it is like. :thumbsup:

[Waxing_Gibbous]

I have a superb video somewhere of me doing the world's most awesome high-side! :lol:
I'm sure it gave rise to the expression "That's gotta hurt!"
Still.
Nothing ventured....

[desler]

Nice Ken,


It's nice and warm to watch from this perspective.

Although riding home at midnight tonight, I must admit, was a little brisk, to say the least!

The scary thing is the speed with which bike production / power and capability increase! When we started riding, things commercially available today, were pipe dreams of the rich and famous.

Exhilaration is one thing, laying on your back staring up at an ambo as they put a collar around your neck is another! safe riding to all!

Darren

[Shawn]

Mines still for sale guys if you ever have a moment of madness..:lol:

[casstony]

I rode dirt bikes for 20 years but stayed away from road bikes for two reasons; I was scared of car drivers and didn't have the self discipline to ride defensively on the road. We pushed the limit on every dirt bike ride and had plenty of spills - you can't do that on a road bike or you end up dead.

[scagman]

Have you seen the videos of "The black Prince" or "ghost Rider".

Here's a couple
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Black+Prince&aq=f

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9FW6iAE35s

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9BofCzc80U

Unfortunatly the Black Prince apparantly died triing to beat his own record.

[peterl]

YIKES!!!!!!!!!!!!!:scared::scared:: scared:

I think I will stick to four wheels and astronomy...

LOL...
peter.

[kitsuna]

personally I'm going to try 2 wheel astronomy. As soon as I can rig up some form of holster to the pillion footpegs for my tripod and a suitable strap/case arrangement for my scope, I will.

Ride somewhere dark through the twisties, set up, look, then ride back. Aww yeah. :thumbsup:

[jenchris]

I love M/Cs - The freedom and the raw energy that you unleash iwth a twist of the handle is amazing.
I've never owned a big bike but I've had a series of small trail bikes like this one

[casstony]

I think maybe he needed to get his thrills another way - skydiving perhaps?

[Ric]

Great video Ken, loved it.

Hope you get back on two wheels soon, as a bike rider who rides everyday I can understand how it feels when your not able to ride.

I think nothing can beat the feeling of cruising up highway with a few mates just enjoying what nature has to offer.

It's all good.

[scagman]

May have been safer.

[blink138]

if you want a real thrill look up joey dunlops fast lap at the isle of man tt race circa early 80s OMG!
passing through the town with an onboard camera while dunlop narrates scraping 15ft walls cranked over on his knees does not compare to a "boat anchor" (harley) lumbering around
pat

[blink138]

sorry further to the dunlop clip if anybody knows about a lap of the isle of man it is 26 miles!
when he is going down one of the straight roads at full throttle in 6th gear 180mph a small hump in the road and suddenly the camera is looking at the clouds above for what seems an eternity
thats what you call an adrenalin rush
pat

[M_Lewis]

As a pilot, I regard riding a bike akin to the closet thing to flying but having 2 wheels on the ground. I sold my road bike a few months back, sorry I did. Hoping to replace it early next year with something fun again.

Liked the video :) muchly appreciated!

[erick]

I watched him ride through the first two STOP signs and stopped watching after that. Hope he's never riding on any roads I'm travelling on.

[ballaratdragons]

That is not a motorcyclist. That is an absolute idiot.
He puts others lives at risk for his own thrill.
What a Jerk!



Those that don't understand, criticise. :rolleyes:

These days now that I have learnt to use my brain cells better, I choose to Cruise, not bruise.

Don't come on with all that worn out clap-trap 'Harley boat anchor' tripe that so many Speed Freak Jap riding copycat boyracers come out with.
When I owned my Harley business I had Harleys in the shop that scared the daylights out of many a boyracer speed demon!

But these days, I prefer to sit back and cruise and leave suicide to the young and stupid.

This is the type of riding I am into nowdays: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9hQkwrK1L8&feature=related

:thumbsup:

[blink138]

"When I owned my Harley business I had Harleys in the shop that scared the daylights out of many a boyracer speed demon!"

there is a very good reason for that (if indeed it is true) its because harleys cant get round a bloody corner!

"But these days, I prefer to sit back and cruise and leave suicide to the young and stupid."

agreed, my boyracer days have given me two replacement hips, the first in 1986 when i was 23, the second one on the same side in 2001
boat anchors and rice burners will never agree, best to leave sleeping dogs lie
pat

[ballaratdragons]

and you have ridden all the different models around corners have you? :rolleyes:



Absolute crap.

I like both and have owned both (even at the same time), almost all my biking mates like both or own both, and even the diehard Harley meat-heads that I know don't hate all Jap bikes, usually just the peanut sitting on it.

True, there will always be some opposition in loyalty to brands, but it doesn't really help when you come in here and throw your 'boat anchor' statement around to fire it up.

I can imagine the uproar if I posted something like "Your wanky Losmandy boat anchor mount is a toy compared to a Paramount King of the Hill".

Ahhhhh, but that is Astronomy Equipment. Its not right to put down one brand over another.
Pat, it goes for everything.

Just watch the videos (or not), and keep the 'Brand' negatives out of the thread.

other than that, have a good day. :)

and yes, I too have scars and aches and all the associated ailments from the old days of riding too hard and fast and hitting the road (and twice a car) too often :P

but all mine was caused by stupidly riding in outlaw bike clubs pissed as a maggot, too fast, at night with sunglasses on, no helmet, too much attitude, and totally bulletproof

[kitsuna]

I am genuinely amazed you're still alive.

As for the boat anchor vs rice burner argument? I don't see the point. Variety is the spice of life and all that.

Having said that, I don't understand what the harley hype is all about. If you want to cruise? Fine, go for it, but why pay twice as much for something with a Harley badge on it when most of the japanese brands have equally good cruisers at significantly cheaper prices. :confused2:

Its the same problem I have with Ducatis and MV Augustas. Yep; they're a pasta rocket, but Honda Yamaha and Kawasaki all offer equally nuts sportsbikes cheaper (and it's not like they're of a poorer quality than the Dukes or MVs either) :shrug:

[blink138]

"I can imagine the uproar if I posted something like "Your wanky Losmandy boat anchor mount is a toy compared to a Paramount King of the Hill"."

no uproar at all, after all it is only the truth, and when confronted with it there can be no argument, and anyway not a good analogy a paramount is light years ahead in sophistication can the same thing be said of a harley? i think not
i am sure we are both enjoying our rides (or our mounts)
pat
oh and yes i have ridden just about most manufacturers but i didnt make it round some corners and that is why i have replacement hips

[ballaratdragons]

It's not as simple as price. There is a saying that sums it up:
If you haven't ridden a Harley no explanation is possible. If you have ridden a Harley no explanation is needed.

I have owned many brands of bikes and enjoyed them all.

But can we not turn this into a Brand V's Brand thread please.
That is not the point of this thread.

[AdrianF]

I wondered if anyone had noticed the rider riding through 2 Stop signs.
I ride a Yamaha XVS1100 classic but would have a Harley in a flash IF I could afford one. I have a couple of friends who are "outlaw" Harley riders and one also owns a Yamaha 350 2 stroke road bike and one owns a Triumph. I don't know why I ride a bike and probably couldn't explain if I wanted too.
My 2005 XVS1100 and my wife's 1996 XV1100 are for sale only so we can buy a VW powered trike and keep riding in our "old" age

Adrian

[Ric]

Just reading the posts and it reminded of what I was told by an old timer when I was about 18. He rode an old Moto Morini 350cc.

"It doesn't matter what you ride just so long as you ride"

Cheers

[mithrandir]

One thing the video proves is that the Yanks are just as bad at moving out of the overtaking lane as a lot of Aussies.

[ballaratdragons]

But also notice that 80% of the vehicles on the roads are SUV's!

[Glenhuon]

Thanks for that link Ken :thumbsup:. Sold my 750 Suzuki a couple of months ago and downsized to a 250 cruiser (Chinese). Made me wonder why :)

[ballaratdragons]

Onya Bill. At least you are still riding :)

If you have any photos of your bike you can post them in here: http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=27511 :thumbsup: