Why why why why why?

**peasea** · 11th June 2009, 00:23

Originally Posted by 98tls

Fwiw if it doesnt have to be a cruiser i know a bloke with a very low km 1200 Bandit thats just been made redundant that needs out of it,04 from memory and pretty much as new.Way less then 10.

10 what? kph?

Bwahaaaaaahhhahhahah

**peasea** · 11th June 2009, 00:24

Originally Posted by NighthawkNZ

V-Twins give good pure low down torque... good for just cruising & touring when the bike is loaded with luggage etc...

Only one way to see if you like a V-Twin is give it a go one day...

Nah, give it a week, at least.

**Ecclesnz** · 11th June 2009, 14:08

Originally Posted by peasea

Nah, give it a week, at least.

I'm wondering who is likely to let me test ride a v twin for a week to see if I like it?

**peasea** · 11th June 2009, 17:55

Originally Posted by Ecclesnz

I'm wondering who is likely to let me test ride a v twin for a week to see if I like it?

Just go for a test ride, say nothing, and go south for a week.

**Ecclesnz** · 11th June 2009, 18:06

Originally Posted by peasea

Just go for a test ride, say nothing, and go south for a week.

ONly if you promise the mighty Scumdog won't be chasing me? His territory is just South of me :S

In all honesty I want to try a few bikes, for me comfort when riding is most important. Fortunately the guys at Advance motorcycles down here are great and usually have heaps of variety available.

**hayd3n** · 11th June 2009, 18:21

bikes are like partners
try a few out before you bring one home to stay,
or be like hugh hef and have a few at home,

**popelli** · 11th June 2009, 18:22

Originally Posted by xwhatsit

Oh I'm not having a poke at such bikes. If I was designing a bike it'd be air-cooled, SOHC, drum-braked and naked. No point in technology for technology's sake, unless you're a racer or a track-day warrior.

Drum braked??? are you serious or do you have a death wish, traffic conditions are markedly different to what they were 30 or 40 years ago, drum brakes are just not up to the job, even a lot of the 70's disc brake setups are not really up to it

I have upgraded the brakes on most of my bikes, money well spent, I had an incident once where I had to stop in anger and if it wasn't for the twin 6 pot harrison calipers I had fitted I would either still be eating hospital food or pushing up daisies

**peasea** · 11th June 2009, 18:45

Originally Posted by popelli

Drum braked??? are you serious or do you have a death wish, traffic conditions are markedly different to what they were 30 or 40 years ago, drum brakes are just not up to the job, even a lot of the 70's disc brake setups are not really up to it

I have upgraded the brakes on most of my bikes, money well spent, I had an incident once where I had to stop in anger and if it wasn't for the twin 6 pot harrison calipers I had fitted I would either still be eating hospital food or pushing up daisies

Agreed.
The FXR I had got the message with a 6-pot and one day it saved my bacon when a stupid gook tourist turned right in front of me. My left shin just brushed her rear bumper. The brakes only have to save you once to make themselves priceless.

**peasea** · 11th June 2009, 18:47

Originally Posted by Ecclesnz

ONly if you promise the mighty Scumdog won't be chasing me?

I wouldn't be able to promise anything with the mighty (?) SD. Talk to his boss and just go through his patch when he's not on duty.

**xwhatsit** · 11th June 2009, 22:02

Originally Posted by popelli

Drum braked??? are you serious or do you have a death wish, traffic conditions are markedly different to what they were 30 or 40 years ago, drum brakes are just not up to the job, even a lot of the 70's disc brake setups are not really up to it

I do have a 70s disc set-up and ride it in traffic every day... peak power might be slightly higher than a twin leading shoe but not by much. Anything over that required to lock the front wheel is wasted. I'd rather have the feel of a drum and not have to worry about f*cking hydraulics and changing the pads all the time and master cylinders and seals... Drum brakes have good feel, too. Linear and progressive.

Only drawback of a drum is that when they overheat they're useless and that the really big ones weigh a touch more than a disc setup (not by much though once you count all the callipers etc.). Given that I'm not on a racetrack, I'd probably only use a good `handful' maybe every fourth or fifth time I commute. On an open-road ride, even less... most times the only brake that ever gets used is the rear drum, and engine braking to get my corner speed right.

Given that I don't need the benefits of a disc brake, I'll take the positives of a decent drum any day. Just as I don't need fairings or a screen to get that extra aerodymanics for top speed, I don't need a ridiculous twin-disc setup where 90% of its power is wasted beyond the ability of the front tyre to grip.

**SDU** · 12th June 2009, 16:28

Originally Posted by Ecclesnz

ONly if you promise the mighty Scumdog won't be chasing me? His territory is just South of me :S

In all honesty I want to try a few bikes, for me comfort when riding is most important. Fortunately the guys at Advance motorcycles down here are great and usually have heaps of variety available.

Good idea to try a few bikes out- you may be supprised @ what you really like- (watch it you might end up with a sprotbike /adventurer

)
If you get to take a Guzzi out make sure you get a good couple off hours test ride as you need the time to come to grips with how they like to be ridden. After that you'll either love it or hate it

Good luck in finding the bike for you--PS -singles are fun but Twins are awesome fun

**peasea** · 12th June 2009, 18:05

Originally Posted by xwhatsit

I do have a 70s disc set-up and ride it in traffic every day... peak power might be slightly higher than a twin leading shoe but not by much. Anything over that required to lock the front wheel is wasted. I'd rather have the feel of a drum and not have to worry about f*cking hydraulics and changing the pads all the time and master cylinders and seals... Drum brakes have good feel, too. Linear and progressive.

Only drawback of a drum is that when they overheat they're useless and that the really big ones weigh a touch more than a disc setup (not by much though once you count all the callipers etc.). Given that I'm not on a racetrack, I'd probably only use a good `handful' maybe every fourth or fifth time I commute. On an open-road ride, even less... most times the only brake that ever gets used is the rear drum, and engine braking to get my corner speed right.

Given that I don't need the benefits of a disc brake, I'll take the positives of a decent drum any day. Just as I don't need fairings or a screen to get that extra aerodymanics for top speed, I don't need a ridiculous twin-disc setup where 90% of its power is wasted beyond the ability of the front tyre to grip.

I'll have to go along with some of what you say. I had a Twin Leader on my old Triumph 650. That was one bloody good brake. When I got the bike, in a million bits, it had new linings etc and I thought I might just run the linings out then switch to a disc, but that never happened, it just wasn't required. I set it up carefully (having a Triumph guru on hand helped) and it was a real eye-opener. Many a time my riding buddies of the day (some still in the frame) commented on me going into corners too fast. Not.

The few occasions I was out-braked with that thing was when I was two-up and had the front brake too hot. Well over 90%, maybe more, of the time that TL was brilliant.

I do agree that Harley brakes were a joke until recently though. I have a six-pot in the shed that I had on my previous ride but the four-pot on the more modern ride seems to be doing things ok. One wet w/e I might swap for the 6-pot just to make a comparison but the single-pot on the older HD machines could well have been out-classed by that TL.

A Fontana was my dream.