On a normal road, with corners, bumps, manholes covers and leaves. I think the Audi has the edge.

Add is some traffic and the car has no chance!

The BMW rear seat “pack” is for a schnitzel & potato sandwich on sourdough 😆

At least weeksy will go flat chat on the track rather than the roads, this I approve of and I’m sure it’s the best place for such a fabulous machine.

LOL i’ve got a Mondeo for all the list…

THe 1098S is for Silverstone GP, Portimao, Jerez, Donington

This was last year on the 848evo ex-race bike… but i always wished it were a 1098

If this is a bike for the track that’s great. There are so many incidents and fatalities involving big bikes round us that our community council is having having road signs made saying “Ride like you live here – not like you want to die here”. Don’t know whether it will do any good, but it’s some expression of local frustration.

Videos of near misses are all very good, but the reality of police collecting body parts from your front garden not so good.

anagallis_arvensis – Member

Add is some traffic and the car biker has no chance of survival!

FTFY

Guys, we can sit here and debate tonnes about dying on the roads, the simple fact is, plenty of us are still posting here despite being bikers. I know 1 person who’s died through riding bikes… i know 5 who’ve died of cancer…

Sure, it’s dangerous, but many things are.

He’s right ^^ bikes aren’t dangerous, it’s the riders who think and use the roads as race tracks that are.

Despite my angst towards bikers who ride like Morons, there are a small proportion of those who just love riding “sensibly” these folks I like.

Couldn’t agree more with both of you, but how do you get the message across to those whose riding is truly dangerous? Or is it something we just have to accept?

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgP1UkbrfF8[/video]

He’s right ^^ bikes aren’t dangerous.

No a static motorbike isn’t dangerous but I would argue that riding a motorbike on the road (any bike at any speed) is far more dangerous than making the same journey by car.

I have three bike riding friends (people you could class as enthusiastic bikers), sadly one of them was killed in a motorcycle accident five years ago. The second has had his share of scrapes, most recently two broken wrists and a punctured lung. The third has recently sold his three bikes now that he has a child and has bought a tuned Mini Cooper S instead. He even admits that the Mini day to day is more fun and less stress than his bikes ever were.

None of my car driving friends, despite a fair few accidents between them, some (cough ahem) enthusiastic driving and many more miles covered has thankfully suffered a severe injury in the last 20 or so years since we’ve been driving.

If I lived in a remote, sunny part of the world I can see the appeal of a bike, I really can and I’d probably buy one. In the UK, well you’d have to be really dedicated to put up with the rain, traffic, potholes, and lack of courtesy from other road users. May as well be in a nice warm comfy car in those situations.

Bikes are a different world that car drivers just don’t get.

Prepare yourself…Some car drivers ride bikes, and vice versa…

I always preferred the feel of my bike compared to any car, it’s more involving.

Stupid fast too, had a lad in his Mk2 Focus RS try me at the lights once, I wasn’t really trying but it was about as one sided as a Chuck Norris v Heather Mills arse kicking contest.

Not allowed one any more though…

but how do you get the message across to those whose riding is truly dangerous? Or is it something we just have to accept?

Generally we/they eventually grow up… No amount of telling will help. I was that bloke back in the day, i had a Hayabusa pinned in top doing 312km/h indicated speed in a location i shouldn’t have been doing more than 100km/h… But would i listen back then ? Nopes, not me, not at all, not even a little bit.. Now though, i can grasp the insanity of how i used to ride. Hence my latest road bike was a KTM 690 Duke that wouldn’t see the wrong side of 100mph without a fair bit of persuasion.

I lost two best friends to motorbike crashes, both separate incidents, both involving cars.

The first was due to matey overtaking a truck on an open flat A road, between Newport (Shropshire) and Wolverhampton, in the dark.. he over took the truck to hit head on a car with the drivers headlight not working. I guess he thought it was another bike, perhaps he didn’t “see” the only headlight .. we’ll never really know what he thought at the time. Truck driver said the weather was clear, cool and a really nice night for driving.. That was a sad moment.

The other mate slipped on ice going around a bend, he had a friend as passenger who got flung off, my mate hit a car coming the other way whilst sliding off the bike. Speed wasn’t an issue apparently, he was doing less than 30mph in a 60mph zone but riding slow because of the conditions. That was another sad moment.

Yet my cousin loved bikes, he rebuilt a KH250 to pristine condition, rode it like normal guy and continued to buy bigger bikes until he got married.. his biggest being a CB900F.. he loved bikes.

I rode a trials bikes for a short time, a TL250 and I restored a BSA C15 trials, both rode on the road to the trails competitions locally, but only for a year. One really bad winter where the snow was 3-4ft deep I took the TL to a local event (11 miles) and my fingers nearly froze off.. that was the end of bikes for me.
I did own a Vespa 200 in Town a few years ago, but I rode it infrequently and only in the summer and that soon became a right old pain, so I sold it.

Whilst I adore beautiful bikes from afar, I’ll never own another. I know deep down I’m missing out, but I can’t bring myself to jump on another even though every springtime I get a little twinge. But what puts me right off is the crowd down my way that ride the A32 from Fareham to Basingstoke, all through the South Downs. Our roads are used as race tracks for the nobbers on a Sat/Sun gimp fest, I could wax lyrical about the standard (or lack of) riding and the chaos they cause to other road users going about thier own business, but you know what I’m talking about so I need say no more on that.

Education will not work, sadly some people have little regard for others and thier own life on this planet. That’s fine by me, but I really don’t see why we should clear the mess up afterwards or be affected by it.

Bikes are great, some of the people who ride them are nobs.

Bikes are great, some of the people who ride them are nobs.

Just highlighting that there. Just like any identifiable activity, some people are nobs. We have it in mountain bikes, too, as you know.

Choosing the right moment to open up a big bike is what separates the nobs from the ones that will live a bit longer.

Rachel (planning on living a bit longer. Definitely not a nob)

In the UK, well you’d have to be really dedicated to put up with the rain, traffic, potholes, and lack of courtesy from other road users. May as well be in a nice warm comfy car in those situations.

Unfortunately too many people apply that same thought process to cycling, or indeed anything other than driving, and so the Car Is King. Which is all wrong.

Motorbikes are an excellent tool for the purpose they’re designed for, whatever that is. A car is almost always a compromise.

I love bikes, and I would have one in a heartbeat if I was allowed, but I’d want one for commuting so it’d be an ER6n/CBsummat/MT/SV type. That said, I used to see someone who commuted daily into birmingham on a 1098s. Haven’t seen him for a while though, hope he’s ok.

Nice bike, the sound of a Ducati is magnificent.

Motorbikes are an excellent tool for the purpose they’re designed for, whatever that is. A car is almost always a compromise.

Pah, who needs a car!

That dog looks well happy 😆

very nice bike Weeksy!!

always wanted a motorbike but was never allowed one.
my brothesr mate had a kawasaki 750 something or another when i was growing up…he got hit side on by a truck and ended up breaking both legs…2 breaks in one leg and 3 in the other!!
my mum then told me she wouldnt allow me to get on a motorbike. fast forward a few years when i was 17…she busted me with £600 that i was going to use to buy an Aprilia 125cc…i was literally on my way to buy the bike…she asked why i had so much cash on me, what i was planning to do with it and where i got it from.
after explaining i’d saved it i then admitted to wanting a motorbike to her abject horror. she took the cash off me, recounting the horror smash my brothers mate went through and that she never wanted to go through the anguish of hearing something similar or worse happen to me.
she made me promise that i would never ride or own a motorbike.

my father in law on the other hand had always been adamant that i should get one…the wife doesnt mind if i do…but the problem is mentally i’d feel guilty as i would be breaking the promise i made to my mum all those years ago…and she’s no longer around to tell me that its ok to break it now.

if things had been different then i would have had one of these by now…

But what puts me right off is the crowd down my way that ride the A32 from Fareham to Basingstoke, all through the South Downs. Our roads are used as race tracks for the nobbers on a Sat/Sun gimp fest, I could wax lyrical about the standard (or lack of) riding and the chaos they cause to other road users going about thier own business, but you know what I’m talking about so I need say no more on that.

bikebuoy – report them to the Police and get an incident number. I did this when a knobbers mid-week huge ride-out on that very road thought that the Highway Code didn’t apply to them ie pulling out in front of cars forcing me to slam brakes on, overtaking despite there being no space, overtaking when road markings said otherwise, suicidal speeds etc. with a total disregard for other road users.

I told the Police where they’d started from (cafe) as there was definitely cameras. Wouldn’t think twice about reporting this type of incident to the Police again.

Edit: nice bike weeksy, you sound like one of the sensible motorbikerists.

gonzy – Member

she made me promise that i would never ride or own a motorbike.

When I decided to get mine, my mum hit the roof. Helpful comments like “How could you do this to us!”. End of the world…

Until my grandma, who was in the late stages of alzheimers and generally couldn’t remember who she was never mind what day it was, just quietly said “That’s how I felt when you got yours”

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgyZN7vg1Vg[/video]

My mum was fairly calm when I told her I had bought a motorbike. Mind you, of all the anguish I have put her though over the last few years, maybe it didn’t seem all that bad by then 😉

Rachel

Mine hates bikes, always has always will.

I’ve smashed the hell out of myself on track on them, i’ve had a few minor offs on the roads but nothing broken.

I’ve smashed myself up MTBing too..

But i can’t live my life for her, i have to live my life for me. I’m aware of the consequences, i’m aware of the dangers, i’ve got a wife and child to look after… So nowdays i’m not quite as daft. It’s not a certainty i won’t die… but it’s not a certainty i will (soon) either.

It’s here 🙂

Drive and garden need tidying up.

Nice bike though, no idea why you were posting on here and not out riding it 😀

that is bloody huuuuge weeksy! 🙂

Lovely day here, went out on my paltry little NC700 an hour ago in the sunshine. Nice pootle…

I’m not sure about the car vs bike thing, there are some seriously fast ‘affordable’ cars around. A few weeks ago I caught a tasty looking Focus ST on my Tiger 800 going into a bend. On the exit, I accelerated to pass him and he put his foot down at the same time. We were neck and neck up to about 100 mph at which point I backed off. Maybe it was chipped, but even so ….
Also, some years ago, a Bentley Continental GT comprehensively out-dragged my TT600 (I know, I know. But I am a Triumph Fanboi).

Nice, it’s even got Holly from red dwarf installed on the dash.
I am more than a little bit jealous.

Looks tidy mate, the TerryWogan pipes sound ace too don’t they?

colp – Member

Looks tidy mate, the TerryWogan pipes sound ace too don’t they?

They’re daft… i can see the baffles being needed for most trackdays really. But for me… they’re LOVELY !

The only car that ever caused concern was a fiddled with Skyline, as I pulled onto the M25 he saw me and accelerated, I had to cog down to third to catch him up and at errrr telephone numbers we both backed off……

Bikes are naughty.

Cleaning has begun as it’s a quiet day and no plans for anything else. It’s far from terrible, pretty decent really.

Need to crack on this afternoon with getting the radiator and oil cooler a bit prettier…

Mrs Weeksy decided to cook a roast, which gave me another hour of spanner time.
Stripped calipers out to check pads, pistons, movement and give them a clean.
Under some circumstances I’d completely stop them, but these were pretty good, pistons nice, so they were just pushed out, cleaned, turned and given red rubber grease. Everything all cleaned, grease on bolts and stuck back together

Before

After

Strictly come dancing, so that means garage time.

Removed front mudguard and polished, obviously cleaning fork legs too. Not done brake discs yet though as still no paddock stand

I put a Shorai lithium battery on mine, starts up really quickly and about 3000000kg lighter. You do need their charger though.

It’s not the charge/current that’s the issue, it’s the fuel amounts on the 07 1098’s, it doesn’t get enough juice so needs richenning at the startup. My friendly mechanic at Luigigmoto gave me a load of info that went mostly right over my head on it… But was quite interesting

I can see it going either as the whole bike or just the ECU over to him and CJS racing for a re-flash they have for it.

Thought i’d put a small update on this…

It ended up going the same way as Krytons RS4, it’s history !

Couldn’t get it working at all.. it ended up having the dealer come over to see it again, then it going back in the van to his place and it’s never coming back, never darkening my door again.

So we’ve got our 2007 Kawasaki ZX6R back in the garage.

If you had told me a month ago I’d be properly excited to see this, I’d have laughed at you. But I’ve never been so relieved to see a Japanese bike in my garage.

Bit of minor entertainment for you though on a cold and dreary day.

Bummer. Still green ones are always faster.

Sure it was only Kryton’s RS4 it destroyed as something’s had a proper go at his road bike too.

Must be something about nice bikes round your neck of the woods weeksy, saw a lovely Bimota parked up while riding through East Ilsley earlier this week.

I’ve got a 2014 multistrada at the min, it’s a very, very, very silly bike! 😈

Hoping it holds up well over winter, it’s the first ducati I’ve had and am a bit worried how it will handle the salt!