Motorcycles

[reapergm]

Since I opened up a can of worms in the "Draft" thread, I thought Id move it over. Any bikers on this board? Share the love.

Me.. I have a Gixxer 750. Its old, 89, but it kicks arse. I customized the body paint. Airbrushed with flames (red and black) and a new GSXR symbol on the cowlings. Its got a Yoshi pipe. I started riding about 2 years ago. I originally wanted a cruiser, until my friend sold me this bike with a Shoei helmet for 1250$. I can never ride anything other than a sport now. I want the new Gixxer 750 when I get into the Marines.

As for where I ride... I live North of NYC, so I usually ride in upstate NY. I havent ridden much lately, mostly busy.. but I have some hesitation. Im so close to OCS, I dont want to get hurt. Some kid in my OSOs office got hurt on a bike. Hes out for 187 and 188 now.

Post whatcha got!!

 

[los5041]

Had a 95' GSXR 750 with a Yosh, till my brother in law wrecked it, now I have a 99' GSXR 600 with a D&D pipe.

 

[manny7_99]

2003 GSX-R 750. Black and yellow. Pretty much stock but changes are being planned.

 

[Banjo33]

I'm on a stock silver '03 Kawi ZX-9. I also ride motocross on an '04 CRF450.

 

[Lonestar155]

03' 600RR. Wanna someday get a ducati. I'm out in california so come out to the west and lets do some ridin'. Its actually my first bike and i feel confident enough to say it was a good choice.

 

[manny7_99]

no no no

First was a 94 CBR F2, then a 98 ZX6-R, then a 99 GSXR 600, then a 2000 CBR F4, then an 2001 CBR F4i, and last was a 2001 GSXR 750. Most ended up getting customized at one point or another, only one I ever wrecked was the ZX6-R doing an endo, but no plastics were on it. Other than that, my new ride is a 2001 Roush Mustang Stage II.

Oh he spoke "four wheeler", that should be forbidden in a bke forum. Doom on you mr.

 

[Rainman]

Hey boomer. . u ride on the street like an old lady. . . hahahahaha . . . You need to get out here and ride where there's acutally pavement on the twisties (instead of potholes and dogs). .

also cbr600rr

My advise to reaper is to keep riding and oh yeah. . don't get hurt. Sometimes you just got to live. When you did you riding before OSO involvement, did you go riding thinking you were gonna crash? of course not. Thousands of motorcyclists on sport bikes put thousand of miles on each year and don't dump their bikes. . 6 or 7 of those do it in SOCAL Be careful, be humble, get on the track, do some motocross (def improves street riding right boom?) and be yourself. Plenty of people reading this consult their ORM matrix and opt out of cycling. for others they can't live without it.

There's a fellow on this forum that got in a bad accident, and might have a different perspective, but that's my 87 cents .. .

Oh yeah. .anybody see the June Motor Cyclist with the CO of the Blue Angels lifting the ban on cycling for Angel aircrew. good stuff. Some great pics of my ride (and I ain't talkin about the gixxer).

s/f

 

[squeeze]

Had a 92 (think it was a 92) Yamaha SecaII 600 for my first bike, then got an 02 GSX-R600 in Jan 02. Picked it up from a Canadian dealer so I could 1) get an awesome deal ($7200 shipped) and 2) get the Blue/Silver paint scheme that wasn't available in the US. The only real 'mods' were a K&N, sliders, double-bubble, and a yellowbox - I'd rather be fast on the track then be a straight-line fag.

Man, when I lived in Austin I would ride the wheels off that thing - some of the best roads in the country were only minutes to the west - then, once I started riding on the track, nearly gave up street riding. I rode a little when I went to TBS, but not too much due to lack of riding buddies. Moved to Corpus then Kingsville and saw how crappy it is and decided to sell it. I miss riding a lot, but its not even worth it to have a bike down here when everything is straight, flat, and potholed. The nearest twisties are 2-3 hrs away and the nearest track is 4-5.

I'll most likely get another bike when I get to my first duty station, so long as it isn't Yuma (every other option has good riding choices). I'll probably pick up an '04 RC51... boy do I love those bikes, and there's no substitute for V-twin power.

ok, I'm done reminiscing/rambling.

 

[ben]

There's a fellow on this forum that got in a bad accident, and might have a different perspective, but that's my 87 cents .. .

You're likely referring to me, and yes, I do have a different perspective. I miss riding every time I think about it (had a Victory Vegas - am I the first cruiser guy to post?). Whenever I see a bike rolling down the highway I get this feeling like I'm really missing out on something. And someone mentioned riding in Austin... oh how I wish I could have made that trip at least once before I got out of motorcycling. ROT was last weekend and I would have liked to see that as well.

Anyway, even though I thoroughly enjoyed riding and miss it a lot, I do not miss it enough to get back on a bike. At least not when I'm competing with 5000 lb cars and trucks. MX looks fun and I might get into that one day, but for now I'm good with 4 wheeled transportation. Back in November there was a girl in a Honda Civic who simply didn't see me as she pulled into the intersection I was approaching. I'll spare you the details (curious ppl can PM me), but let's just say that I still have a temporary NPQ next to my name. If my OCS date were slated for tomorrow, they would not let me go. Not to mention the fact that I've been unable to PT much for the last six months...

I still have friends who ride and know people who have been riding for years. There's plenty of folks who get tons of enjoyment out of it and have been injury-free for a long time. I, however, would not trade the bike for my SNA spot. And right now, my prospective SNA career is temporarily on hold. Not a worthwhile tradeoff in my opinion. So good luck to all of you who ride, stay safe and enjoy the twisties. Maybe I'll see you in the fleet one day. BEN

 

[46Driver]

Hmmmmm, nothing but "Rice Rockets" for the Jet Jocks.

1998 Sinister Blue Pearl Harley Davidson FatBoy - with my wings airbrushed on the fenders and a soon to be "Phrog" painted on the sides of the tank. My bud's a former Cobra Driver with a Heritage Springer, and a number of instructors at South Field have FatBoys, SuperGlides, and WideGlides....

Which shakes more, the Harley or the Phrog?????

 

[reapergm]

I know I will get heat for this... but I think Harleys are way over rated. They were crap for YEARS, built like hell. Then with the yuppie boom, every 30 something stockbroker has to have one. So they ride with their wives up and down the local town... wearing their "West Coast Chopper" shirts (trying to look tough, although they look like posers :icon_rage ). Its a name. Thats all it seems to me. Its got a unique sounding pipe, but does nothing on the road special. Most jap bikes (cruisers) are just as nice, or better. I admit, I like the Fatboy, but not worth the price. It wouldnt have been anything if not for Arnold in T2. Its 99% of the time (nowadays) a poser bike.

I guess I just like the fact that the rice burners are 1/3 or more less the price, they are lighter, faster, more mobile and versitile.

Im not trying to knock any cruiser or Harley riders, but I just know that almost anyday of the week I can outrace, outride any of the yuppie $30,000 custom Harley guys in my town who dont know a damn thing about bikes with my $1500 crotch rocket :sleep_125 .

 

[Lonestar155]

CHECK THESE COOL IMAGES OUT!

http://www.superbikeplanet.com/image/lawson/plane04/

 

[ben]

I know I will get heat for this... but I think Harleys are way over rated. They were crap for YEARS, built like hell. Then with the yuppie boom, every 30 something stockbroker has to have one. So they ride with their wives up and down the local town... wearing their "West Coast Chopper" shirts (trying to look tough, although they look like posers :icon_rage ). Its a name. Thats all it seems to me. Its got a unique sounding pipe, but does nothing on the road special. Most jap bikes (cruisers) are just as nice, or better. I admit, I like the Fatboy, but not worth the price. It wouldnt have been anything if not for Arnold in T2. Its 99% of the time (nowadays) a poser bike.

I guess I just like the fact that the rice burners are 1/3 or more less the price, they are lighter, faster, more mobile and versitile.

Im not trying to knock any cruiser or Harley riders, but I just know that almost anyday of the week I can outrace, outride any of the yuppie $30,000 custom Harley guys in my town who dont know a damn thing about bikes with my $1500 crotch rocket :sleep_125 .

I didn't want to get into this debate on an Aviation forum, but you hit the nail on the head. That is why I bought a Victory. It was an awesome ride and in my experience would have outrun any HD that didn't have some pretty serious mods. You do have a point about the crotch rocket thing, but that's another argument all together. I'm still a cruiser guy, even though I won't own one again for quite some time, and even though I think the sport bikes are pretty cool.

 

[Hudson]

Triumph Thruxton 900. Black, the only color for a bike.
It appeals to my sophisticated NFO heart.

 

[squeeze]

Unfortunatley yes there is.. now anyway. Look at the numbers and you'll see all the liter class bikes are out powering the V-twins. I hate to say that becuase I ride a Superhawk 996... loads of torque, and a badass motor in it's day, but they just can't keep up anymore. I rode a buddies 02 RC51 and was really disappointed... MINE actually made a lot more lower end power. If you're gonna spend that much money, get a new ZX-10R... thats the mother of all 1K's right now.

Till you've ridden a liter twin on a track, I can understand that assertion. The 999, 998, 996, RC51, Superhawk, and RSV-R's that I've ridden on the track drive out of corners like NO OTHER. As far as corner drive is concerned, a Busa, or any liter bike I've ridden can't touch 'em. Drive out of the corners are what win races - not top end. Hell, I've smoked my fair share of liter bikes on the track on my 600...sure they can pass me on a front straight, but anyone with enough top end can do that.

/track junkie

edit - granted, I haven't ridden an 03/04 Liter bike of any brand, so my comparison might be a tad dated.