"You and me and your motorbike..."..any Bikers around?

[cthulhu]

Any bikers around here...?
After more than 10 years without a drivers licence (a very loooong story...) i finally got my car-licence back in oktober '19, i also made the theoretical test for bikes, but the weather didn't allow for driving and we said that we'd do the bike test in spring this year. And finally i got my licence for motorbikes back.

At first i thought i'm going to buy a cheap used bike, but when i went to a store and sat on that one..i immediately fell in love with it...the brand new Kawasaki Z650.
My first and only motorbike was the Kawasaki ER5 in 2003. It was a long decision process, i searched for used bikes and the price went higher and higher, you don't want accidents-bikes or those who have no ABS or have millions of miles already driven. And a bike just has to look good!;-)

Then i found a shop in Hannover, which is about 300km from here, who had a special offer in cooperation with Kawasaki, which promised new drivers 1€ per ccm. And the main price was also 300€ less then almost every other offer.
So 650€ less because its a Z650 and a cheaper start price made an offer of almost 1000€ less for a brand new bike. So i went there and bought it! Hell yeah!

What i didn't think about was that the bike is brand new, it had 17km driven, and you have to prepare your machine driving carefully the first 1000km, and that meant that i had to drive back home that bike with max. 80km/h for more than 300km...;-)
It was a nice ride, about 4hours, riding behind the trucks..but the sun was shining and i loved every minute of it. well sort of until my butt began to feel weird;-)

Since july i've driven 3500km and i love it.

I had to buy a vehicle, because i found a new job about 20km from my home, but it is almost not reachable with the bus. And i have to be there at 6 in the morning. So i thought about a cheap car, just because i have to have a vehicle, but a bike was what  i really want! It was not the most logical decision, but it was a good decision;-)

I love to drive that bike and i've noticed that i'm kind of morphing into it, becoming one with the machine. Driving a bike is so much different than drivin a car. It's so direct, you feel everything. The power, the street, the air, the physics of cornering, lying in a curve feeling the centrifugal force...

So are there any bikers around here? And if so, what about a magic bike tour next year..;-)

[Bever]

I started with a Vespa PX 125 5 or so years ago:



I wanted to spice it up a tad with a 177cc, and decided to go for my motorbike drivers license (in Belgium you can drive up to 125cc with a normal drivers license). So I upgraded the Vespa, and enjoyed riding a real motorbike so much, that I bought a Triumph Street Twin 3 years ago:



Now that that is payed for, I'm kinda dreaming of a Harley Went to the dealer this weekend to get a quote for the new Low Rider Special. But with the changes I'd make to it, I'm coming in the Road King Special price range which would need little changes. So we'll if and what will happen there

[cthulhu]

Sadly your pictures don't show in my browser. Did you check in your preview of the post if it works?

But i think i know how the triumph looks and i much like that style. I'm also very curious about a lowrider, never have driven one. Hope i will get the chance someday.
So, like me you seem to play around with offers and then in the end just go for the better big thing;-))
How much ps has your triumph?

In germany you now have two licence for motorbikes: A and A2. With the A2 you can only drive machines with max 48ps and after two years you can go to A. Or that's how i remember it.

[Bever]

I fixed the links so you can see them

We have different A licenses as well here. But we get to drive 125cc with a B licence that is older than 2011. It has 55 ps, but enough torque for such a lightweight bike.

I will test ride the LRS, I don't have any cruiser experience.

[cthulhu]

Yeah, now i can see them and both look really good. And the Vespa with the NMA sticker on it..fits perfectly

I always wondered how that lowrider thing with the handlebar being so high would work. It often looks as if those riders have to stretch their arms.

My friend has the Kawasaki Versys and it was a real pleasure to drive that tourer. I think i will need someday another machine, to drive longer distances, with some suitcases on the side and back. He has electric handle warming and of course the bike is more shielded against the wind.

I want to buy a tank back and i need better gloves, it gets cold in the morning. Maybe it will be a back-case, i don't know, but a system to have bags on the side would be too expensive for me.

[jc]

Another biker here, I have a KTM Superduke R for play and a scooter for around town.

Cheers

jc

[fiddlesticks]

Failed my test three times. Thought it was probably a sign. 
 

[cthulhu]

@jc
KTM Superduke for play?!!

Wow, that Bike seems to be a real Monster. Very, very cool..you must be flying around on it. What do you mean by "play"? Do you go to race tracks?

@fiddlesticks
 
sorry, just a little having fun. what was the problem for you, if i may ask? the driving? or just a nervousness while being tested?
in germany you have to do some "stunts", real driving lessons, like slalom, hard breaking and evading, etc..
and i bet it will beeverywhere like this, because you cannot just sit on a bike and go ;-)
 

[fiddlesticks]

  I'm over it now, it was getting on for 20 years ago.

I actually bought a 600cc Yamaha in anticipation of passing, but my driveway was gravel and I dropped the blasted thing on my leg. Had a bruise like you would not believe from foot to thigh for about half a year.

In the end, it was just silly mistakes and inexperience. Foot down on a U-turn, misjudged manoeuvres, that sort of thing. The only thing that went smoothly was selling all the gear. Some things just ain't meant to be.

Nothing's ever wasted though, I always do my lifesavers when driving, and I've drilled them into my kids as I've taught them to drive.

[cthulhu]

Ouch...damn! But understandable, makes sense that you chose to sell the gear. And who knows...after all those years...it's never too late to...

I'm very happy with the weight of my machine, it's about 180kg, but to imagine your accident, i bet your machine was more than 200kg falling on your leg..ouch, ouch.

[Phill]

Used to be upto about 4yrs ago - had an accident and never got back round to getting one.
Had various machines over the years, but last couple were 1200 Bandits.
Good machine - have to be thrown into corners plus plenty of power if needed.

Keep wanting another one - but would need a sidecar to get both kids in, or a trike with a double back seat which you don't seem to see about much now-a-days.

Maybe will again when they finally grow up & leave home

[jc]

@jc
KTM Superduke for play?!!

Wow, that Bike seems to be a real Monster. Very, very cool..you must be flying around on it. What do you mean by "play"? Do you go to race tracks?

@fiddlesticks
 
sorry, just a little having fun. what was the problem for you, if i may ask? the driving? or just a nervousness while being tested?
in germany you have to do some "stunts", real driving lessons, like slalom, hard breaking and evading, etc..
and i bet it will beeverywhere like this, because you cannot just sit on a bike and go ;-)

Hello Klaus, I use the scooter for commuting or any trips in to town to avoid public transport, I use the KTM when I go out for a ride in the countryside. I used to do a lot of track days including MotoGP tracks abroad but they are now a thing of the past due to noise restrictions (I like fruity exhausts) and I don’t bounce as well as I used to.

Cheers

jc

[cthulhu]

@jack
That sounds great and really like a pro-driver. I'm just beginning and i'd really like to do a race track someday. Have driven 3500km in 3 months now and i'm feeling that i'm learning and getting more confidence.

I do think about an accident. It's like everybody tells you, that you will sometime have one, you will fall with your machine, kind of an inevitable thing.
Hm..;-)

@Phill
Hope your accident wasn't too bad for your health and that it hasn't left any permanent harm.

[Pol]

Do my mountain bikes count lol , still have a old giant- still rides excellent,  mainly riding a btwin rockrider,  bit more modern n better looking but prefer the gears on the giant tbh , very much still trying to build up fitness tho

[cthulhu]

I'd say that if your legs have more than 125ccm, we could count it as a motor-bike