Anyone have any recommendations on portable tire changers? Portable as in "I can take this down to the garage", not as in "I can take this with me on the bike." #motorcycle
Well, the most portable tire changing set up is a couple pieces of 4x4 to rest your wheel on, a can of silicone spray lube, and 2 or 3 decent tire irons/spoons. Anything like a machine or fixture will need something to hold it in place against the leverage you would need to exert. I've seen a lot of people raving about the Rabaconda, but I'm not sure how it breaks down for portability.
Had a great time at the MSF three-wheeler course I took with my dad yesterday! I even got a perfect score on the skills test (missed 3 questions on the knowledge test) and was one of the faster riders taking the course once I learned how to move on the bike in corners.
Everyone else was cold, but because of my Winter motorcycle experience, I knew to wear an extra sweater layer and was plenty warm the whole time. #motorcycle
did they have any sidecar setups? That was a cool part of my three-wheel course. It was nice having the option to pick a setup as well. I was the only one who tested on a standard rig, everyone else went reverse, my GF ended up buying the trike she tested on she liked it so much.
I dig the color of that off white blacked out HD did last year.
@leerayl Riding a Spyder has similarities to sidecar when cornering fast in that you tend to move around a bit like a racing sidecar passenger to stop the inside front wheel from lifting. If it does lift the 'nanny' kicks in and slows things down.
Of course I'm not sure they'd want to teach you that on that course
Did they have any Spyders or was it just Rykers and the HD trikes?
@pistonblown the weight shifting is really important with the sidecar, on my Freewheeler, I shift weight mostly on grade at highway speeds.
Passes mostly but a few slower mountain roads. I think most modern trikes are more balanced and the Can-Am front end can be magical and forgiving. The ride difference between the Spyder RT Limited and the FLRT are night and day.
I think she wants to put some miles on this season and look at an RG3 now that she is a bit more comfortable. To find a toy hauler for 2 full size trikes!
@leerayl I've never seen a Freelander or RG3 in the flesh and don't think they are available in NZ. The only trikes I've seen sold here new are Canam's and Boom's. You also get the usual assortment of home made ones of course, mainly powered with v8's.
I had an Spyder RS, the 'sports' model, for 9 years but when I wore that out it was covid time so the only replacement I could find was a 2nd hand F3L. A bit tour focused for me but it's been great for the iron butt rides.
When I was attending the press launch of the Harley-Davidson Street Glide and Road Glide recently, I was in an after-hours conversation with a long-time Harley-Davidson employee who was noting — "complaining" is too strong a word for the good-natured comments — that whenever the Motor Company introduces new models, the immediate response from a certain segment of riders is always, "But what about the Bronx?"
It's understandable that some people inside Harley-Davidson are tired of hearing it. We hear it here, too, just about every time Common Tread posts a story on anything related to Harley-Davidson. It even came up in Zack's recent Daily Rider review of the Harley-Davidson Nightster.
I get it. Lots of people want Harley-Davidson to build the Bronx. Here's the deal, though. It's not going to happen. You might as well get over it.
Under Zeitz, Harley-Davidson is selling fewer motorcycles but making more profit on each one. In the financial report recently released, Harley-Davidson shipped 7% fewer motorcycles globally (10% fewer in the main North American market) in 2023 than in 2022, but revenue was down just 1%. Zeitz brags about how many models have been eliminated from the lineup. And what did Zeitz brag about most on the conference call about the financial results? Profitability. He noted that in 2019 Harley-Davidson made a profit of $1,300 per motorcycle sold. In 2023, that figure was $3,700 per motorcycle sold.
This is exactly the kind of competitive, lower margin segment Zeitz dislikes. It's the same reason that a Pan America 975 that some of us half expected to see this year did not materialize. In fact, Harley-Davidson went the other direction. Instead of adding a Pan America 975 at the lower end of the range to the Pan America 1250 and 1250 Special, Harley-Davidson went the opposite direction, eliminating the base 1250 and adding the $28,399 CVO Pan America. So $20,000 is now the starting point for a Harley-Davidson adventure-tourer. That's the prevailing wind in the company: not toward more affordable and more accessible, but toward more premium and more profitable.
Swappable traction batteries are far more practical for motorcycles than cars because of how exposed the power components typically are in the former (outside of sportbikes). #motorcycle #EV #BEV
I was considering getting a sports car for a while, but after driving our RAV4 for a few hours last week, I realized that I don't enjoy driving enough for that.
yah, this is a classic scam; even after a cashiers check clears it can be recalled. They just claim the bike never showed up or whatever, get the money back, then run off with your bike.
Actually, I just noticed the "plus the shipping fee" so they're probably not even going after your bike. In this variation they'll give instructions to wire the shipping fee to their helper in the U.S. so that they can show up and ship the bike. That person will never show up, but you've just wired the scammer the shipping fee which you're now responsible for. A few days later the bank realizes it was a fake check and takes the money out of your account, you're now out the shipping fee.
These old "cashier's cheques" scams were common some years ago. Your bank accepts it and says it looks okay, puts the money in your account, you deliver the goods and then the cheque is refused at the issuing bank weeks later and they return it to your bank, who delete the money from your account and bill you a $35 return fee.
Tell em to bring cash or use Interac e-transfer with automatic deposit enabled on your end, payed in advance.
Rode up to Index to get photos for selling my Ninja 1000SX. It was super cold and I almost gave up when I got to Monroe, but after some hot coffee and putting on my warm winter gloves, it was more or less fine. (Album (10 photos), 6 photos attached) #photography #photog #photos #photo #motorcycle #mywork
If you ride, your brain knows how motorcycles work intuitively, but we bet you'll struggle to explain it accurately. We're trading opinions for science in a pursuit to understand how motorcycles really steer.
These dynamics also apply to #bicycle riding, obviously.
Had an awesome time at the California Superbike Class I went to last weekend! While I was one of the bigger weenies on track as far as speed is concerned, I learned a lot of good handling skills for two wheels. The BMW S1000RR was pretty cool, too, aside from the maintenance alert coming up every time the bike was booted up. #motorcycle (Albums (59 photos total), 14 photos attached)
To get there, my dad and I did a road trip with an overnight stop halfway between home and Willows, CA, where this session was taking place.
Thinking I’m going to get some photos of my Ninja 1000SX on a ride this weekend and list it on Facebook Marketplace so I can start the process of tracking down a CBR650R. #motorcycle
I wonder if the proliferation of e-bikes and the increasing cost of gasoline will encourage more folks to try out #motorcycles or at least motorscooters (electric or otherwise in either case). #motorcycle
In a minor quandary here. I want lower clip-ons/handlebars on my Ninja 1000SX so I can engage my core more (the pegs are don't need to be moved), but the shop I talked to said that there aren't many options for doing so because the bars can't be lowered much before hitting the bike's gas tank.
I don't want to trade it for a different one, though, because that would involve a lot of financial mess and I'd have to get new luggage racks so my top and side cases would fit on whatever bike I'd end up with.
Maybe you can get a shop that does custom metal fabrication to make some “dents” in the gas tank so the bars (and your hands?) don’t hit. You can then get it custom painted as a bonus.
I wish I had that kind of money to spend on a bike. I like Harleys, but the price of their top-end models is hard to justify. Likewise for Indian and the Honda Goldwing.
Thinking I'll sell my Ninja 1000SX someday and get a ZX-6R with some ergo mods. Liter bikes are too powerful and fast to use a fun amount of their abilities on the street, and the lighter ZX-6R will be more flickable. #motorcycle
Interesting. I’m currently riding a Honda NC700X, used only for commuting year round (30km one way). I’m actually thinking of swapping to a 1000sx (or a gsx s1000) because I expect that to be much more fun. I mean, should I ever get time for a non-commuting ride.
Test drove a er6f as well when I picked the nc700, that was also more fun. It was just that the nc was so practical.
Yeah, know that one. Maybe look at it again. Also saw there is a nt1100 now. Felt a bit like a bigger version of my bike and in some reviews it’s described as the next step after nc700. It’s not a racer and that’s probably also fine for me. Need to make sure I stay alive also.
All in all I think it’s super hard to decide on my next bike. Or why I need a next bike, since my nc700 is totally fine actually. So much choice. But prob gsx s1000, kawa ninja 1000 or nt1100. And xl750 indeed.
You know you're an experienced #motorcycle rider when riding superbikes on the road loses its luster. After all, "riding a slow bike fast is more fun than riding a fast bike slow."
What's a good classic street bike with a two-stroke engine? Looking in the sense of one that is easy to work on, find information to do said work, and find parts for, but is also a lot of fun to ride. Modding is definitely welcome. :) #motorcycle
Finally got the Barkbuster hand guards back on my #Triumph. It took me so long to get to it because it involves drilling and slotting the plugs the hand guards mount to. (The stock bars have threaded inserts welded into their ends that the hand guards previously mounted to, but these aftermarket bars don't have those.) #motorcycle
Glad I'm finally comfortable with using the cutting wheel of my #Dremel at full speed. It didn't take very long at all to do the slotting through the aluminum plugs!
I kind of feel like motorcycles aren't as exciting to me as they used to be. I enjoy them as a form of transportation and prefer them to cars, and will still use them to go longer distances more quickly, but I feel comfortable with my skill level on the street so I don't get as excited anymore.
Maybe that dual sport I got is the key to getting me into the sport again. Need to join some novice groups so I can improve my skills with a safety net. 🤔 #motorcycle
Funny enough that's why I've ended up sticking with my Spyder as my main ride when it was originally just going to be temporary while I recovered from an accident.
It was so different from riding a bike that I felt like I was back to being a learner all over again after 30 years. This turned out to be a lot of fun.
In the twisties it's more physically demanding and technically harder to perfect, but because of that more rewarding when you get it just right.
One pedal driving in electric vehicles reminds me of engine braking on motorcycles, which is much more effective than engine braking on ICE-powered cars.
The issue of the brake light not turning on when using the braking functionality, which can result in getting rear-ended, also reminds me of how #motorcycle riders often get rear-ended when engine braking without also at least turning on the brake lights.
The motorcycle case is why I usually at least lightly apply the friction brakes when engine braking, unless it's to maintain speed when going down a steep hill.
Mike In SD
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