mdude

Hi Søren. If easy handling is it, look to the BMW 650 Stradas/Funduros. Not to pretty, but durable and incredibly driveable. Quite cheap, goes well and you can get rid of them pretty easily afterwards. My good friend, the driving instructor, swears by them. The Duc 620? That is a SMALL bike for a big lad... And of course you can look at the Aprilia Pegaso, with the same Rotax engine as the BMW, but better looking. For a boy who wants to look bad-ass, there is always the Suzuki DR 400s, with fat street tyres and open exhaust these look and sounds the part, and they have been around forever. I've seen a lot of the Suzuki Bandit 600s around with the restrictor kit, its not bad and looks like real bike. By the way, I probably passed your house on Friday on my way to Louisiana. Four days in Køben. You danes really know how to run a kro EDIT: I forgot. The right bike isnt all that turn ones hopefuls into bikers. One should also master the art of reckless drinking, ungodly language - and start wearing smelly leathers.... explain to mothers that this is strictly necessary steps in the upbringing, and needed in other to become complete humans.

Useless facts: Apparently the size and shape of heads is different from continent to continent. Helmets made in one continent doesnt fit people from another (alas, that is the rule). I read a long article about it some time ago, one can probably "google" it up from somewhere. For me as a "squarehead" from the north, these roundhead-helmets from Schubert/BMW or any of the italians just doesnt fit at all. wrong shape. mostly all japanese helmets fits me well. I've always wanted a Roof, they are evil!, but it fits me like an empty bucket of water. And now that my nose and ears has started growing again with age, I dont know what to buy.... Strongly recommend Shoei, though.

You can still buy an Egli_Vincent today, at a price... 38.000 euro!

NONE more black! its black velvet, its so black it hurts! Its hubblicious!! Its blacker than a rottweilers armpit (do they have armpits?). damn, its plain evil.... wow, those Succura riders must be a sinister bunch... (yep, no coffee yet)

sensitive.... seems that only poets and renaissance-men filled with difficult and storming emotions seems fit to drive the Scruas, I mean Surcas...

Actually I have a Mistral cross, which I took off now, because the guys in the know told me that with the original box, the bike delivers much more torque low down than with an open system. (tested on dyno in Germany by a tuner which name I forgot) and I think they were right. The acceleration from 2000 rpm is very impressive now. I rarely go full throttle, so this works for me. There is still a couple of weeks with driving weather here, even though its damn cold (5-8 C). Loads of fallen leaves makes the roads verrrry slippery...

I just downloaded their catalogue. It doubles up as an excellent Italian Language Course, everything is translated next to the italian phrase. The ordering information is straightforward. And who can resist the history of this shop...

OK, goffredo. Thank you for the history lesson. I have now learnt that I must not write anything on monday mornings before I have had my three pots of coffee. The bike is obviously a photoshop-bird, and even a german one. Since I am one of the few in here that actually likes the look of the Breva, I guess that the real thing will look much better and more refined. The fairing of this one looks a bit like an five years old Suzuki 900. But the Polar fetish is still here, dude

my modernist face is my mothers pride!

sorry, faster throttle reaction goes without saying, but the rest of my question should be: and what about the downside of a lighter flywheel? loss in driveability?

About the flywheel. What benefits do you have by changing to a lighter flywheel?

didnt know that this was an appropriate arena for the intricate debate of the helmet.... harharhar... (nice Helmut, dude...) nuff said. my best mate owns a driving school, out of practical reasons he have to use flipfront helmets (like policemen), but he very strongly advices against them for regular driving. he has seen some bad examples of what happens when you: fumbles with flipfront in traffic; flipfront doesnt lock properly and flips open at 150 kmph. Flipfronts doesnt have the same close fit and strength as a full helmet, and what he also points out is that the only thing that stands between you and a plastic surgeon is a full helmet... call me a sissy (but take the consequences if you do ), but it makes sense to me. so I always drive with a tight, light Shoei racing helmet. but I do live in a country where temperatures seldom rise above fridge levels.

Well, after much fumbling, swearing and scratching of the head i finally got the Titanium kit on (I am a mechanically challenged man) and reasonably well aligned. but whatever I did the left pipe was 2 cms shorter than the right one. But at least it looks ok from the rear. Couldnt get myself to cut the outgoing pipe on the expansion box. And then the test ride: my bike must have had the worst ECU of them all, the change was incredible! now it pulls hard from 1500 rpms, it makes it wheel spin when twisting it from 2500, its smooth, its predictable... Its now much faster than my previous R1150R, in any gear. I am sooo pleased, and the sound is good an' evil. Not to loud, but aggressive. It also starts better, and redlights are no more a fight to avoid stalling. (But the bike still wont idle when luke warm) The kit is expensive, but its worth it for the ECU alone. Recommended! ----- Next is suspension, the bike still is scary round some corners, sometimes it feels like the rear wheel has come loose or something (the tucking of the rear wheel-feel)... I will prepare myself for the task of reading the 120.000 posts on suspension upgrades later this week. I want it to be compliant and trustworthy, not nervous and racy.

great, an MG called Norge... which is Norway (for all you vocabularly challenged). I guess it comes with 2wheel drive, inbuilt snow plough, and a 30-06 to finish off the moose and mammoths it hits when thundering through the extremely dangerous Norwegian outback. Cant find pictures of it, but I picture something similar to a Leopard Tank, only bigger. Of course its ugly, its supposed to be frightening... A lot of Italians have a strange fetish about Norway, there is even a italian fashion brand that use the Norwegian flag as their logo. For most Italians I think Norway is the most exotic they can think of. I regularly see Italian (and German) tourists in FULL arctic survival gear trundling the streets of Oslo, which are no different to the streets of ...say Copenhagen. but where are the pics!!? EDIT: doh, there it is... the pic.. a cross between a cyclops and a sloth. nice...

rub their crackers... guess these guys are wearing the definitive version of FULL leather garments? to be emptied after race.. was that a bad joke??

good one, goffredo. all this "last real..." stuff is reminding me of my grandmother moaning "it was all sooo much better before the war"....

thanks for advice Rocketman, the rubber gromlet and reverse hanger tips are good'uns. it also keeps the indicators away from being melted by the exhaust outlets. I have seen this happen. I probably didnt look good enough on the outlet pipes, and fitted left on right, and vice versa. loads of good advice, thanks everyone. gonna dive down into the garage tonight and bring a whole bucket of elbow grease with me.

working with white cotton gloves in order not to scratch...yes, I do actually...

Gentlemen Yesterday I had a perfect garage evening, disassembled the old heavy original exhaust, and put on my new Titanium kit. Pretty straightforward, but I have to say that I am not impressed with fit and finish. Especially the steel fastening bands was a poor solution, the ears on them were bent in all directions by some unsensitive gorilla before they were packed. BUT: the right pipe is 2,5-3 cms shorter than the the left one, when looking down from above in relation to the indicators. Anyone encountered this? Dont really know how to fix it since the pipes themselves are equal and the outgoing pipe on the expansion box were the same length. Should I just blame the MG-factor on this, shut my trap and ride on? It was also very difficult to get the pipes aligned viewing from rear, because of the general bentness of the rubber covered bands (which sounds like a record of the Beatles, but is not). They dont actually seem to fit to well. So that is this nights task; aligning and unbending. Got good clues from another thread here with the same name. By the way, the sound was purrfect, and the engine seemed to go smoother with the new ECU, of course I had to start it – at midnight in a garage under my block...

YES Had a moment a couple of years ago, on a nice quiet sunday afternoon. I got stuck behind another car on a normal B-road and decided to overtake him , which I started to do. I suddenly found myself between the car I overtook and another car with a trailer attached to it, which came very fast from behind and overtook also. Seconds before I had checked my mirrors and they were clear. Very distressing. My leg was perhaps 1 inch away from being hooked by the mirrors of the other car. I changed down and floored it, had I braked I would have ended up under the trailer...what I learned? check mirrors AND B-spots, constantly! Always!

i sold my R1150R, and found myself a V11. technically superior that the beemer might be, it is seriously lacking in the charisma department. on shorter runs i found it to be a bit boring. i also found the seat on the 1150r to be veeeery uncomfortable for me on long runs, one hour and my bum needed a bump start... probably because its engineered for someone about 175-180 cms long, and i am 190; to long in the arm led to an uncomfortably upright position. the Rockster is probably better. there is a curious highfrequency vibration in the beemer that wear you out after three-four hours. but it went well, started always, and the brakes was just incredible, and i liked the look of it. and i covered more ground on that one in an hour than on any other bike i tried. its effortless, really. the V11 is different. it makes you feel like a hero even when you're doing 40 mph. its gloriously mechanical, brutal and different. it has interesting flaws, like flaking paint. it makes you think about what you are doing and driving it is verrrry involving indeed. it goes like stink, as long as you rev it. and i actually think its much more comfy than my beemer on long runs, somehow. its kinder on the bum, its stable, and the clipons create a perfect position for long highspeed jaunts. the v11 vibrations is violent when driving slow, but it smoothes out, and you get used to it. the only thing that i dont really like is the flexing in corners, but i have learned that it CAN be dealt with... but its not really finished, so like a HD one should be prepared to tinker with it until it suits you. it is so simple that you actually CAN tinker with it. so if you want effortless hitech transport, you go for beemer, if you want to RIDE a bike you go italian.

this thread is now officially hijacked by the Greenie Bunch!

in norwegian Scura, or "skura" with a k is another word for shaved, as in shaved p.... (or better; kitty) I rest my case, kittycats. Green V11s with flakingly bad surface treatment and popping exhausts rule! By the way, my V11 is yet again running on two cylinders. I applied the Force on it yesterday. The Green Force. Fifteen minutes of relentless staring at the engine, with coffee in hand did the trick. Its strong in me, this Force, and in everyone else brave enough to run Greenies.

yup, I always feel a bit annoyed when überbabes walk up to me, compliment my lovely green bike and asks to sit on it......what was that!?.....doh!

congrat. me think these bikes look great in red/black, they look bigger and meaner