price check on a v-max (really really stupid idea) - Page 2

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[ARCHIVED THREAD] - price check on a v-max (really really stupid idea) (Page 2 of 2)

Posted: 7/16/2008 7:01:40 PM EDT

[#1]

That's a great photoshop Kirk. Everybody knows Hyabusa's don't handle worth a crap !!!

Posted: 7/16/2008 7:04:04 PM EDT

[#2]

Quoted:
I notice your csba sticker. White plate, do you race expert?

Are you kidding? If you go to merriam-webster.com and type in Expert, KirkP will show up and recommend an SV650.

Posted: 7/16/2008 7:31:10 PM EDT

[#3]

Quoted:
That's a great photoshop Kirk. Everybody knows H[a]yabusa's don't handle worth a crap !!!

Yeah, the funny part is, that photo was taken during my second weekend on the race track (ever). They kicked me out of novice after my first weekend and gave me my expert road racing license.

I have had pretty positive experiences with the Hayabusa.

This bike was my first street bike, and I used it to ace the DMV parking lot test when I got my motorcycle endorsement. I guess they're not too cumbersome.

Then my umbrella wife and I did about 2000 miles in one weekned, two-up, on our honeymoon camping trip to Fox Hill at Laguna Seca. She slept on the bike, so it didn't seem like it was too "sporty" for sport-touring.

I also commuted on it (even in the snow), as it was my only means of transportation. It proved to be a very friendly, managable bike.

I even (gasp) drag raced it. With a shorter-than-stock wheelbase, and a taller-than-stock ride height. It worked okay, I guess.

Using it to take my novice road racing school was the real eye opener. I mean, obviously it looked like somebody fired a cruise missle down the front straight alongside the other bikes, but surprisingly, I was able to take 600s on the brakes, and held my own in the corners. The only thing that it didn't do well was to change lines mid-corner, but I still led the first several laps of both of my novice races that weekend, and was catching lappers on my third lap of each race. I had no complaints. The bike was much more competent than I was.

My experiences with the Hayabusa have convinced me that it is a very versatile motorcycle.

Posted: 7/16/2008 9:31:34 PM EDT

[#4]

A real "GASP" is that I aced my road test on a 1985 Shovelhead FXE model. If you thought the handling characteristics of a modern cruiser were like an oil tanker you shoulda rode that tug. I still have it....in about 200 different pieces. Some thing's stay project's a loooong time.

Posted: 7/18/2008 7:16:23 AM EDT

[#5]

Hi, my name is booger-hooker and I have rode my '85 VMax since '88 and I buy my clothes at Goodwill, surplus stores and garage sales...please help!

My first bike was a '74 Honda 550 Super Sport, then a '81 Honda CX 500 Deluxe, '81 Honda SilverWing Interstate and then the VMax. Like anything else you have to know your limitations as well as whatever you're operating and use its attributes to your advantage. I've rode the VMax thru the mountains of Utah when I was stationed out there and felt comfortable doing so even though I knew I could never keep up with "laydown" bikes that flew up and down the twisty roads. I learned to use the torque and shaft drive to help me get thru the corners fairly quickly and most importantly I felt safe doing so. My brother had a Honda 900RR that I rode once and I felt totally out of place and unsafe riding it although it was clearly a superior handling and braking bike compared to my VMax. It's all about what you're used to...the only 12 guage shotgun I've ever shot was a SPAS-12 I owned and although there are clearly better shotguns for shooting thrown clay pigeons I held my own and used it for the Squadron shooting team at Hill AFB. Others would laugh when they seen me take it out of its case with the stock still folded up and having ghost ring sites...I made many others eat crow with their fancy trap only shotguns when the day was over.

In a nut shell everyone is different in their tastes of what they like to ride or can ride safely within their personal abilities or that of the bike. As we have seen so far...YMMV

Posted: 7/18/2008 7:31:09 AM EDT

[#6]

Quoted:

Like anything else you have to know your limitations as well as whatever you're operating and use its attributes to your advantage. It's all about what you're used to.
In a nut shell everyone is different in their tastes of what they like...within their personal abilities...

So if a soldier going into combat had tastes involving him liking the .25ACP Raven, and he was used to it and he knew his limitations and the limitations of the weapon and used it attributes to his advantage, then there would be no reason for him to upgrade to an M4 or to develop his skills to be able to use the M4 effectively?

The reason I ask, is that riding a motorcycle on public roads is much more dangerous than being a soldier in combat.

Posted: 7/18/2008 11:14:12 AM EDT

[#7]

Quoted:

The reason I ask, is that riding a motorcycle on public roads is much more dangerous than being a soldier in combat.

Maybe you just shouldn't ride on the street anymore if your that worried about it.

ETA: If it's too late it's too late. At the last second when someone turns in front of you or switches into your lane (this happened to me, yes I got smashed) or insert your favorite here_________________. It doesn't matter if your riding your '77 Sportster or your 2008 superbike your going to get smashed.

Posted: 7/18/2008 12:35:52 PM EDT

[#8]

Quoted:

Quoted:

The reason I ask, is that riding a motorcycle on public roads is much more dangerous than being a soldier in combat.

Maybe you just shouldn't ride on the street anymore if your that worried about it.

ETA: If it's too late it's too late. At the last second when someone turns in front of you or switches into your lane (this happened to me, yes I got smashed) or insert your favorite here_________________. It doesn't matter if your riding your '77 Sportster or your 2008 superbike your going to get smashed.

While I appreciate your point, this is a very silly thing to say. There are many situations where a "2008 superbike" would save your life and a '77 Sportster would get you killed. You are right, there are situations when both would get you killed - but this is a straw man argument, no one is talking about those sorts of situations, only the former.

Posted: 7/18/2008 12:50:57 PM EDT

[#9]

It's not silly it's a very valid point. I completely understand the better steering, braking, handling, acceleration argument but there is another side to the coin and it's a valid one.

A huge majority of riders can't ride to the ability of their bike.

And most of the times it doesn't matter what type of bike you where riding when you got hit.

There are a lot situations in real life that require calculations that can't even be made fast enough to get a bike to react in time to get you out of a jam. I myself was hit and it wouldn't have made any difference what type of bike I was riding. Before my brain could process what was going on it was too late. Of all the motorcycles accidents that I have been called out to or have read about it wouldn't have mattered what type of bike they where riding the results would have been the same.

Posted: 7/18/2008 1:05:19 PM EDT

[#10]

Quoted:

ETA: If it's too late it's too late. At the last second when someone turns in front of you or switches into your lane (this happened to me, yes I got smashed)

Operating what?

It doesn't matter if your riding your '77 Sportster or your 2008 superbike your going to get smashed.

It does matter, because what you are losing sight of is that "too late" on a '08 Road King is a whole heck of a lot earlier than "too late" is for a '93 Monster, and that's true of all situations, not just the narrowly-defined one in your example.

Posted: 7/18/2008 1:06:28 PM EDT

[#11]

Quoted:

While I appreciate your point, this is a very silly thing to say. There are many situations where a "2008 superbike" would save your life and a '77 Sportster would get you killed. You are right, there are situations when both would get you killed - but this is a straw man argument, no one is talking about those sorts of situations, only the former.

Exactly.

Doesn't sound too far removed from ten-ring's near miss, does it?

Posted: 7/18/2008 1:09:39 PM EDT

[#12]

I've always liked the Yamaha V-Max, ever since I had the poster of one on the bedroom wall during my high school years.

As for them being an outdated POS with much better bikes out there today -- it's not about being "better", it's about vintage style. Hell, a '65 Mustang may not be anywhere near as safe as today's cars, but they still catch your eye when you see a mint one cruise past on the highway. Some people just like cars and bikes from the "old" days. Face it.

Posted: 7/18/2008 1:27:53 PM EDT

[#13]

Quoted:

Operating what?

It does matter, because what you are losing sight of is that "too late" on a '08 Road King is a whole heck of a lot earlier than "too late" is for a '93 Monster, and that's true of all situations, not just the narrowly-defined one in your example.

'89 GSXR 750. This was in '90.

The point is is that in most situations there isn't enough time to react no matter what type of bike you are riding. Your splitting hairs. How many bike accidents that you know the situation and said to yourself " If only he were riding the latest greatest sportbike he would be alive today".

Posted: 7/18/2008 1:38:16 PM EDT

[#14]

Quoted:
As for them being an outdated POS with much better bikes out there today -- it's not about being "better", it's about vintage style. Hell, a '65 Mustang may not be anywhere near as safe as today's cars, but they still catch your eye when you see a mint one cruise past on the highway. Some people just like cars and bikes from the "old" days. Face it.

Please refer to Sniper Wolfe's signature line.

Posted: 7/18/2008 1:56:47 PM EDT

[#15]

Quoted:

Quoted:

Operating what?

'89 GSXR 750. This was in '90.

First off, I'm thankful that you're still with us.

The short-stroke air-over-oil '89 GSXR750 was not a bad bike. It weighed nearly as much as a Hayabusa and had brakes comparable to an SV650. It's SV650-sized tires were two decades behind what is available now, but all-in-all, not a bad bike. Which means that the situation that put you down was beyond your ability. I wasn't there, it may have been beyond anyone's ability. But more skill and a better tool can never be seen as a bad thing.

The point is is that in most situations there isn't enough time to react no matter what type of bike you are riding.

That's the most wrong thing that you've said so far. I have had enough time to react to every situation that I've been faced with, or I wouldn't be here to try to talk some sense into you.

Your splitting hairs.

I'm talking about the difference between life and death. Sometimes that's a fine line.

How many bike accidents that you know the situation and said to yourself " If only he were riding the latest and greatest sport bike, he would be alive today".

Like I've already said, it comes down to the weakest link. That's either going to be you, or your bike. If you have a weak link in a chain, you don't repair it by replacing the strong links with ones as weak as the weak one. You replace the weak link with a strong one. If a person doesn't have proper skills, the solution isn't to buy a crappy bike- the solution is to develop his skills to a survivable level of competency. Likewise, if you have a crappy bike, the solution isn't to ignore the development of your skills- the solution is to get a competent bike.

Posted: 7/18/2008 2:44:46 PM EDT

[#16]

Quoted:

Quoted:
As for them being an outdated POS with much better bikes out there today -- it's not about being "better", it's about vintage style. Hell, a '65 Mustang may not be anywhere near as safe as today's cars, but they still catch your eye when you see a mint one cruise past on the highway. Some people just like cars and bikes from the "old" days. Face it.

Please refer to Sniper Wolfe's signature line.

Yes, but the flaw in your analogy is that clothing goes out of style (unless you're a preteen wanting to wear what mommy and daddy did in school), but muscle cars and motorcycles do not.

Posted: 7/18/2008 2:46:07 PM EDT

[#17]

Quoted:

Like I've already said, it comes down to the weakest link. That's either going to be you, or your bike. If you have a weak link in a chain, you don't repair it by replacing the strong links with ones as weak as the weak one. You replace the weak link with a strong one. If a person doesn't have proper skills, the solution isn't to buy a crappy bike- the solution is to develop his skills to a survivable level of competency. Likewise, if you have a crappy bike, the solution isn't to ignore the development of your skills- the solution is to get a competent bike.

The weakest link isn't you or your bike. The weakest link is the other people that aren't paying attention. That's my point. The cement truck that took out my Orthopedic surgeon and his wife or the clown that ran the stop sign and broke my buddies femur, 3 ribs and shoulder don't care what kind of bike your riding.

My wife was in her Honda Accord and was t-boned by a woman who ran the stop sign. Would my wife have been better off if she was driving a Ferrari with better handling, braking etc? No. Sometimes, most times, it doesn't matter what your driving your going to get hit. Especially on a motorcycle that most auto drivers ignore.

Posted: 7/18/2008 3:09:22 PM EDT

[#18]

Quoted:

Quoted:

Like I've already said, it comes down to the weakest link. That's either going to be you, or your bike. If you have a weak link in a chain, you don't repair it by replacing the strong links with ones as weak as the weak one. You replace the weak link with a strong one. If a person doesn't have proper skills, the solution isn't to buy a crappy bike- the solution is to develop his skills to a survivable level of competency. Likewise, if you have a crappy bike, the solution isn't to ignore the development of your skills- the solution is to get a competent bike.

The weakest link isn't you or your bike. The weakest link is the other people that aren't paying attention. That's my point. The cement truck that took out my Orthopedic surgeon and his wife or the clown that ran the stop sign and broke my buddies femur, 3 ribs and shoulder don't care what kind of bike your riding.

My wife was in her Honda Accord and was t-boned by a woman who ran the stop sign. Would my wife have been better off if she was driving a Ferrari with better handling, braking etc? No. Sometimes, most times, it doesn't matter what your driving your going to get hit. Especially on a motorcycle that most auto drivers ignore.

Save your breath Engineer5, your talking to yourself on this one. Ive pretty much given up on any motorcycle discussions on this board.

Posted: 7/19/2008 6:34:32 AM EDT

[#19]

One of my former customers sold his Gold Wing to build a V-Max police bike back in '86 or so.

He still waks with a limp...

Posted: 7/20/2008 9:48:36 AM EDT

[#20]

Quoted:

Quoted:

While I appreciate your point, this is a very silly thing to say. There are many situations where a "2008 superbike" would save your life and a '77 Sportster would get you killed. You are right, there are situations when both would get you killed - but this is a straw man argument, no one is talking about those sorts of situations, only the former.

Exactly.

Doesn't sound too far removed from ten-ring's near miss, does it?

Wow, that is freaky. When I made that post I was thinking of EXACTLY the same thing. IIRC correctly I posted something like "Brembo FTW" in the thread.

Edit: Needs more LINK!

KirkP I know you hate on HD's and I've had many. I rode them for years. If I would have been on my RoadKing I would have been toast. It would have probably flipped her convertible though. I'm sure I wouldn't have been able to stop in time. It's their lightest touring framed bike at a thin 775 pounds.

Posted: 7/20/2008 2:57:20 PM EDT

[#21]

Quoted:

Quoted:

While I appreciate your point, this is a very silly thing to say. There are many situations where a "2008 superbike" would save your life and a '77 Sportster would get you killed. You are right, there are situations when both would get you killed - but this is a straw man argument, no one is talking about those sorts of situations, only the former.

Exactly.

Doesn't sound too far removed from ten-ring's near miss, does it?

Wow, that is freaky. When I made that post I was thinking of EXACTLY the same thing. IIRC correctly I posted something like "Brembo FTW" in the thread.

Edit: Needs more LINK!

KirkP I know you hate on HD's and I've had many. I rode them for years. If I would have been on my RoadKing I would have been toast. It would have probably flipped her convertible though. I'm sure I wouldn't have been able to stop in time. It's their lightest touring framed bike at a thin 775 pounds.

Yup.

Posted: 7/21/2008 9:41:35 PM EDT

[#22]

Gosh I will feel so unsafe driving my '66 GTO and riding my '85 VMax with all these newer vehicles out there on the road when I get back home...guess I'll just leave them parked in the garage and go watch all these newer and far more superior vehicles go by on the Interstate and wish I had something that everyone else has.

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - price check on a v-max (really really stupid idea) (Page 2 of 2)

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