[1/2 Ton]

1/2 it sounds like your bout ta buy mama a bigger sled. She's got that fever now

Prolly, I been catching her peeking at the showroom and always asking: "What is the next bigger bike from mine?"
She needs something with more wind protection... and storage space!
It will be a while before she will part with that sporty though! I have a feeling i need a bigger stable...

 

[Mr G]

Yep... Three months after my first time riding a big touring bike I was buying one. Incurable disease

 

[Wooden Rat]

I got a nail gun and a saw when you get ready for that addition 1/2 lol

 

[Kainam]

Prolly, I been catching her peeking at the showroom and always asking: "What is the next bigger bike from mine?"
She needs something with more wind protection... and storage space!
It will be a while before she will part with that sporty though! I have a feeling i need a bigger stable...

I'm thinking a lathe and a mill would come in handy. You know, to make obsolete parts etc to keep 5 bikes roadworthy.... Plan accordingly.

 

[sardonicus87]

Prolly, I been catching her peeking at the showroom and always asking: "What is the next bigger bike from mine?"
She needs something with more wind protection... and storage space!

Sounds like you're looking at a Low Rider ST in your future... more wind protection, more storage space, bigger than a sporty but not as big as a full bagger (which she has now tried).

 

[1/2 Ton]

Sounds like you're looking at a Low Rider ST in your future... more wind protection, more storage space, bigger than a sporty but not as big as a full bagger (which she has now tried).

Last weekend, when we met up with @gtrman66 and his bride, for lunch. I was strongly suggesting a Diablo!
Funny, how she is worried about having a bike with a larger engine than mine...
I told her "If and when the day ever comes that I have a hard time keeping up with her, I get a bigger bike! Until that day comes, I don't have any motor envy or size issue."

She still doesn't realize that her Sporty could walk away from my 103 in the twisties... With a skilled rider on it.
Just like in motor-cross, a Open class 500 two stroke can NOT keep up with a 125cc on a tight track.

 

[Two Cakes]

Rode out to Aust for the monthly meet with the HDRCGB.

 

[English Triker]

As it was Mother's day her in UK our son took his mum out so I managed to get a ride out to Mercia Marina round trip 40 odd miles .

first light the roads were wet but by 10 am what sun we did get dried that up I left the marina when I felt a few spit's of rain luckily no rain fell I got home and put bike away on its tender for another day

 

[slingshot383]

Last weekend, when we met up with @gtrman66 and his bride, for lunch. I was strongly suggesting a Diablo!
Funny, how she is worried about having a bike with a larger engine than mine...
I told her "If and when the day ever comes that I have a hard time keeping up with her, I get a bigger bike! Until that day comes, I don't have any motor envy or size issue."

She still doesn't realize that her Sporty could walk away from my 103 in the twisties... With a skilled rider on it.
Just like in motor-cross, a Open class 500 two stroke can NOT keep up with a 125cc on a tight track.

True enough, but watch that 500 fly on an open 1 1/2 mile Grand National MX track! Indoor Super Cross has made people forget what real Moto Cross looks like, we had a 1 1/2 mile track close to the house growing up, it was a blast to see the best in the world come once a year on the factory bikes!

 

[sardonicus87]

It had been in the 80's for a while, but yesterday and today was a cold snap. High was 51° yesterday, 53° today. Didn't ride yesterday because I didn't feel like dragging out cold weather gear and I had to get some stuff from the store that I could have picked up on the bike but would have been easier with the car. However today, I did decide to bust the cold weather stuff back out and go for a ride.

I think tomorrow's high is projected to be almost 60°, then upper 60's the next day, then back into the 80's after that.

 

[1/2 Ton]

True enough, but watch that 500 fly on an open 1 1/2 mile Grand National MX track! Indoor Super Cross has made people forget what real Moto Cross looks like, we had a 1 1/2 mile track close to the house growing up, it was a blast to see the best in the world come once a year on the factory bikes!

Yep, I rode a CR500 a lot and owned a IT465. Only thing that ever lost a race was fear of the twist grip! 100+ mph in the dirt all day long! Those big boars like room to roam! But put that kinda power in a tight track and all ya hear is idle, burrp,purp idle, idle purp... While the 125 is held WOT and change speed with clutch/gears... Just don't forget to press that kill button every few seconds or, that motor will seize up like a clamshell.

 

[slingshot383]

Our track had 4 jumps on the rear straight that coming out of a 90 degree sweeper in 4th, crank throttle, hit 5th, 6th at base of first jump, land, pin the trhottle, fly, repeat 2 more times, downshift twice, throw the rearend out and a fairly tight left hander to a short chute then up a steep hill over 60' tall, sweep around and back down the hill to an ant hill 15' almost straight up and down. watched a guy on a 125 try to pop over the anthill, got a broken frame for his trouble.

 

[1/2 Ton]

Our local MX tracks are where McGraff grew up. We had one race where the Pros were on 500's against the 125 local kids. The track in Lake Perris Raceway was really tight! The 125's were behind the big bikes only because they didn't have the skills to get past em on the lap. The big bores never stood a chance.

However the table is turned when they have real-estate! That IT, could never keep up on a closed course. However, I had a whole gear over my buddies CR500 in the desert. He would be WOT, i would ride up beside him and wave "by-by"
then hit top gear n peg it! lookin back under my left arm, I could see him punching the tank on the red bike!
However, turning was "optional" with the IT..

My youngest son Brian had planned on going Supercross after he won the Nationals at Lake Perris and won his class in the Elsinore Grand Prix. We were at Anaheim Stadium when Bubba Smith won his first SX. Brian, said "Next year, I am going to be right there on that podium". The announcer's next words were: "Bubba, is the last 16 year old to join Supercross, as they have changed the rules to 18 years minimum." My son just sank into his seat in disbelief.
He gave up MX right there. He started riding with "No Fear" in the desert after that.

Those aerial acrobatics that he was pulling off, scared the chit out of me! I could not watch that! How it didn't kill him, i will never know! But the kid was a artist with that bike!

 

[JTJ]

I did a little MX racing and a few Hare Scrambles back in the day.

I was almost killed by MXer Bob Hannah when I was young(er)... Some friends and I went out to Gatorback MX track for the big races (78 or79?) as Hannah was going to be there. On the first lap, the fence around a long wide set of sweeping whoops was lined with folks leaning way out over the fence trying to get a peek. A handlebar suddenly flew by 2 inches from my nose.
It was Bob riding around the curve halfway up the fence like it was the banks at Daytona.
It was a good day of racing and Hannah played for the crowd. He would keep things a little close and then just walk away near the last lap... Cool day.

 

[Convince Me]

Oh my god!
I think I can smell that all the way down here, in Daytona!

I come across this video cuz there has to be a reason stators are failing on Willie. Why I have been reluctant spending 6-7 hundred dollars on new parts. I'm just getting a new stator cuz the regulator is new and the new rotor looks new still. Hell they all have been on there for just 70 miles!

 

[brown986]

Yeah, the helmet is getting wore out though. I've had it for almost a year and a half (September 2021). I already replaced the plastic pieces for the visor ratcheting mechanism, replaced the visor like 4 times, had to take it half apart and tighten the studs that the chin bar latches onto, and about 1/8th of the piece that the chin curtain connects to is broken where it attaches to the helmet...

Though to be fair, I am pretty rough on helmets. Every time I stop, that visor comes up, there's a lot of stops in city riding. That's the main issue with this helmet, the visor ratcheting parts wearing out (on the helmet and the visor). The chin bar (modular helmet) part though as far as the locking mechanism and the attachment to the rest of the helmet where it rotates has held up well, despite my slamming the chin bar down.

I considered other brands but for basically the same/equivalent helmet in other brands, I'd be paying a minimum of 1.5x what an HJC costs. I looked at one of the other major brands, Shoei I think, and the only helmets I would be interested in are all long-oval shaped and I'm an intermediate oval... at least online they're listed as long oval, could be the same shape as the HJC. Unfortunately, nobody anywhere near here sells any other brands where I could try some on for fitment. I'm going to have to stop in somewhere on my way to ES in June that carries other brands so I can try them on. I just don't want to pay extra if it won't last longer though. It's hard to beat the value of an HJC when it fits my head shape so well.

But yeah, that HJC "wine berry" color does match pretty well to the bike.

I really like that new luggage rack, Kyle. Also, amazing color match on your HJC helmet. So you bought the helmet before you bought Diablo, & you picked Diablo's color to match an HJC helmet? Stranger things have happened! I use a white HJC full face very much like yours that I've had for 6 years. Have replaced nothing on it, just apply Plexus regularly to clean off bugs & to protect/preserve the plastics. Other than the liner showing soil & sweat stains, it's good but I've read helmets need to be replaced regularly like every 5 years or so to remain absorbent to impact & therefore effective. Probably time to get a new one & haven't shopped around yet, but am inclined to purchase another HJC based on how well my old one works & how well it's held up.

 

[brown986]

I didn't go for a ride today due to severe weather (wind advisories and tornado watches) and having too much crap to do, but I did swing by the dealer. Taxes came in and I decided screw it, I'm going to buy that overpriced Overwatch Dry Backpack. I also picked up a motorcycle cover (the plain black version) for use on trips to cover my bike when overnight at hotels. I could have gotten a cover for less than at HD but, to hell with it.
View attachment 824599

Riding back from South Carolina to my then home in Middleburg, VA, I was cruising up I-81 & hit massively heavy rain just south of Staunton, VA. Slowed way down & pulled off @ Staunton. Found a motel, checked weather forecast on my phone, & looked bad & of long duration. Called my wife to let her know couldn't make it home & was staying in Staunton overnight. Well, the rain didn't stop for 3 days. That next morning, I tried hitting the road in the rain but made it no further than a couple of exits before I pulled off & headed back to my Staunton Holiday Inn Express. Water had been pooling on the roads & couldn't drain off fast enough so very, very slippery. No visibility, heavy truck traffic as usual on I-81, etc. Scariest short ride I ever took. Anyway, Harley sat out in the downpour w/o a cover & my biggest worry was my leather Corbin solo saddle. I fashioned a makeshift cover for the saddle using a motel plastic laundry bag, which helped but the seat was already wet when I put the cover on. I keep that saddle saturated w/Neats Foot oil, so it came out fine, but I would have appreciated having a cover for sure.

Finally, after my 3rd night in Staunton, I rode home in clear, sunny skies.

 

[brown986]

View attachment 825369
As it was Mother's day her in UK our son took his mum out so I managed to get a ride out to Mercia Marina round trip 40 odd miles .
View attachment 825370
first light the roads were wet but by 10 am what sun we did get dried that up I left the marina when I felt a few spit's of rain luckily no rain fell I got home and put bike away on its tender for another day

There's a lovely city in SE Spain called Murcia that I've visited. Any connection to that city & your Mercia there in England?

 

[priell3]

60 degrees today - I got my first spring ride of 115 miles.

 

[Wooden Rat]

Felt good didn't it?