Topic: The Motorcycling Thread

[ktm525]

One of my buddy's has a little 2km flat tack around the edges of his property and around the sloughs and creeks. Normally raced on some sort of dirt bike 300, 500s, 125s and it always starts out gentlemanly and mellow but soon enough it always gets out of hand. Miss a braking point or curve and it is creek/slough time! Monkey would be a blast as the big bikes carry a little too much speed.

[Arthur Dent]

I was talking to someone last month who has a buddy with a lake and set up a motorbike ice track. I said I probably wouldn't do it on ice but sounded like a bit of fun. Apparently shut down fast after one guy came off his bike and his still spinning wheel with metal studded tires ground through his leg. The dude bleed to death on the ice. 

But non-winter is likely much safer.

[ktm525]

Yikes. The numb bum 24 hour had a bad incident and now full rear guards required.

[Jaeger]

One of my buddy's has a little 2km flat tack around the edges of his property and around the sloughs and creeks. Normally raced on some sort of dirt bike 300, 500s, 125s and it always starts out gentlemanly and mellow but soon enough it always gets out of hand. Miss a braking point or curve and it is creek/slough time! Monkey would be a blast as the big bikes carry a little too much speed.

That does sound like a blast.

[Jaeger]

I remember you mentioning that your wife wanted a monkey.  Glad you were finally able to source one.  Does she have a cool retro helmet to match it?  I know she is a recent grad of the bike school and has her licence, but has she ever ridden your bike?  How long until she upgrades to the rebel 300/500?

Cheers. No retro helmet - she has a Shoei Neotec modular. A nice retro with some yellow highlights would be boss, but at the moment she's figuring out accessories. Tail rack, side bag, frame sliders - that's about it. Hopefully she doesn't develop my ridiculous helmet acquisition habbit.   

She's never ridden my bike - she finds it too intimidating. Important to start on something she feels manageable to avoid being scared off early, I think. Given the huge gap in time between the course and getting her bike, I'll probably arrange a couple private lessons for her in the spring, just as a refresher.

I can definitely see a Rebel as a future possibility. But I can also see this just being "it". She has zero interest in high speed highway runs, and the Monkey will more than serve for bopping around town and rides in the country. But of course, we will see.

Nice... 

How many of us started out thinking "Oh, I just want to bop around town", or "just to school and back", or "sundays on the back roads"... only to find ourselves enjoying long road trips on a bike soon thereafter. 

I think the question is, does Jaeger want her to join him on long drives or road trips?  If so, maybe planning some shorter trips to destinations that she would like could expand her desire for biking.  It's very understandable that she is only comfortable with a smaller bike and lower speeds, but there's always the chance that she grows more comfortable and adventurous over the course of a few seasons and choose to get something more suitable for that.

Yep. I really haven't done any long trips to speak of. Maybe 350 to 400km in a day, round trip. Most of the rides I have done with the Oakville MC (lol!) could be done on a Monkey. And I'll be jealous of that cushy seat the whole time. 

[rrocket]

Holy !!

The Kawasaki ZX4R is coming to North America!!

400cc inline 4.....expect around 16-18,000 RPM!!  Maybe 70HP if they really put the screws to it?

[Jaeger]

I'm really digging the old school Honda badge.

[JohnnyMac]

Holy !!

The Kawasaki ZX4R is coming to North America!!

400cc inline 4.....expect around 16-18,000 RPM!!  Maybe 70HP if they really put the screws to it?

With that few cc's, would this still qualify for a decent insurance rate, or do you think they'll adjust because of the performance?

Could be a great bike to get the performance of a bigger cc bike but at the insurance cost of an entry level bike.  I'd be okay paying more up front than say the Ninja 650 because you'd recoup that difference in insurance premiums after a few years.

Plus of course a screaming engine would be a lot of fun.

[DriverJeff]

Holy !!

The Kawasaki ZX4R is coming to North America!!

400cc inline 4.....expect around 16-18,000 RPM!!  Maybe 70HP if they really put the screws to it?

That thing will be incredibly fun!

[dkaz]

I bid $8,999 Bob.

[WP v3.32]

I bid $8,999 Bob.

One dolla

[rrocket]

Holy !!

The Kawasaki ZX4R is coming to North America!!

400cc inline 4.....expect around 16-18,000 RPM!!  Maybe 70HP if they really put the screws to it?

That thing will be incredibly fun!

I'm old, so I've experienced the joys of such machines. Even owned once.

But you haven't! Can't wait to hear your impressions!

[rrocket]

Does the monkey Speedo still smile when you turn it on I wonder?

[Jaeger]

Monkey is being delivered tomorrow - we were waiting on the tail rack to arrive and be installed.  Dealer said that literally everyone who walks into the showroom stops to check out that bike - like, no exceptions.    Half a dozen people offered to buy it on the spot - one of whom had no idea what it was, but decided he had to have it.    If Honda could actually supply these bikes in any kind of numbers, they'd literally sell a boatload.

[PJungnitsch]

So is this bike of Heli's the historical predecessor?

[rrocket]

So is this bike of Heli's the historical predecessor?

Yes.

They've also brought back other classic models...though we currently only get the Monkey,

The SuperCub (best selling motorized vehicle of all time, planet earth.  100+ million.)



And its cousin the Honda Trail

[Jaeger]

So is this bike of Heli's the historical predecessor?

Yup! They are leaning heavily on their own history with their current crop of mini motos.

[ktm525]

They only had one to sell? This is going to sustain Honda?

[blur911]

So is this bike of Heli's the historical predecessor?

The Monkey is a scaled up street legal version.   

[Jaeger]

They only had one to sell? This is going to sustain Honda?

Their total allotment for 2023 is 2 Monkeys. This was the first to arrive. They seemed to have an abundance of Africa Twins and Rebels.