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My New Carving Toy


Guest Randy S.

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Guest Randy S.

Wooohooo! Its a new 2002 VFR800 Interceptor. 62 miles on it since I picked it up this morning. I can't wait for the weekend and really can't wait to get through the 600 mile break-in period.

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Guest Randy S.
Originally posted by Chris Houghton

Hey, you need at least two in the quiver, one for slalom and one for the GS/ Super GS.

Heh. I just signed up for my first school at the track. Something tells me I'm going to want a track bike before long. That means a trailer too. ****, this is going to get more expensive than carving.

There's another TahoeCarver who is a big track ho. I just asked him to go ride with me. He said he can't. No headlight, no signals, no mirrors on his bike at the moment. We'll see how it goes.

Meantime:

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Randy - you are in trouble. Track time is a lot more fun that street riding in many ways. And the VFR is what Freddie Spencer uses in his track school to humble the kids on GSXRs and R1s. It's the rider, not the bike. If you do want a track bike, check the Roadracing World classifieds, there's always a good selection of race bikes for sale. Just watch that if you get a "salvage" that it comes with the proper paperwork, the cops have been known to come to a race day and take 20 bikes away.

You will have fun.

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I'd say the Ducati is the best choice for a first bike of the three you mention. The R6 is a bit peaky and race oriented, and I assume you mean GSXR 600, as they do not make a 650. Anyway, the Suzuki would be my second choice, still a race rep, but better than the R6 (at least this year's version of each). Don't get anything nice for your first bike, because you're going to fall off and bang it up at least a few times.

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Guest wile

Question:

I'm 6'4" and i want a sport bike that will fit. yesterday i sat on a Suzuki TL 1000R, and a honda Superhawk 996. both w/ the beautiful sounding thoaty v-twin. I really liked the suzuki, it's a big bike but it was the best fit i have ever had on any Racing oreinted bike. similar on the honda but not as good.

Whats the history of the TL1000? i know it didn't sell very well and i've heard quite a few differnt views on it (ie. good stability , bad stability, bad entering turns, great leavign turns, heavy to turn at low speeds.)

any one know? I am sure the super hawk is an awsome bike

The bike attached it Similar to my katana, Mine color shifts from blue to red.

And i live in southern NH if any one want to play summer carve with me.

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IIRC, the standard TL for the first few years had rake and trail numbers that didn't work well. The R was better, as was the later TL version. They also used a rotary shock that was part of the engine/trans assembly. The bike was not received well by any of the magazines for these two main reasons. You need to ride one or spend time talking to someone that has one before you jump in. How about an RC51 if you want a twin?

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Guest Randy S.

Well, I got out for my first group ride yesterday. I logged 180 miles and I'm sore. I can't wait to get out again today. Here's an action shot from yesterday on rte 1 down near Santa Cruz:

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Guest Randy S.

So Bob,

I'm out riding Saturday down the coast. Beautiful day. Lots of people out and about. There are amazing roads for both bicycle and motorcycle riding everywhere. I live just south of San Francisco a few miles from the famous Alice's Restaurant on Skyline Blvd. We rode from Alices over to Pescadero and down toward Davenport where we ate lunch. At lunch I'm chatting with a couple of guys on bicycles about gear. They asked me how much my Sidi boots cost. We were both surprised that his cycle shoes cost as much as my boots. Then I looked at his bike. Oooohh. Beautiful smooth Seven. So pretty. $7K for a bicycle. Lots of the guys on our group motorcycle ride were riding bikes that cost them less than this guy's bicycle. I did mention that I've talked on-line with a guy who does design work for them. It was the first Seven I'd seen in the flesh.

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Originally posted by Bob Jenney

Speed, All of the bikes you list are and excruciatingly BAD choice for rider with no road experience.

Actually the Monster 620 wouldn't be a bad choice, neglecting cost of ownership. Not as much power, friendly v-twin manners, perfect handling, light weight. Hmm, still it's a lot of power for a teen. I should rephrase that and say that it's not nearly as horrible a choice as a GSXR600 or R6.

Also, the Ducati is more expensive to buy and own, thanks to the 6000 mile valve adjustment intervals. Better choices among lightweight v-twins would be the Suzuki SV650, or Honda Hawk. Cheaper to buy, cheaper to own, very similar to ride as the M620.

A good choice for a teen would be the Suzuki GS500. That's a parallel twin with similar looks to the naked SV. Although this year there's a fully faired GS500 out, but fairings are expensive to repair/replace <b>when</b> you drop the bike.

The Kawasaki Ninja 250 would probably be the smartest choice. It's fully faired, but you can always get frame sliders. That bike would make your parents the happiest as it has the least power. You'd still be able to get arrested on it, and it looks the biz, but things would happen on that bike at a pace to which you would be able to react, unlike the 600's. And, you'd probably be able to afford a <i>brand new</i> Ninja 250 with a warranty.

You've got your whole life ahead of you to own a garage full of really cool motorcycles - no need to wreck yourself now on a too-big bike, preventing yourself from ever riding another bike (or snowboard) again.

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Have you considered a Multistrada? Not exactly a sportbike per se, (and not exactly cheap) but they reportedly do everything astonishingly well and in relative comfort. I would think it'd be a good bike for a basketball player.

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And here is an article about the bike.

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For the MSF course you must have your permit prior to the class. Just pick up a book at the RMV, the test is pretty much like the drivers test. After that, if you pass the MSF rider test you'll get a certficate that can be validated at the RMV, plus you'll get 10% your insurance.

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Originally posted by Bob Jenney

So Jack,

Are you selling your 1st born to make the payments on that thing?

That's gotta be in the same price range if not waymore than the 999.

Ya, it's my next ride in the parallel universe where I am also FIS champ. Although I'll bet it "only" comes in at a premium of about a grand over the 999. Actually this will really be my next ride: www.need-desire.com - the GT sedan.

I'm partial to the M4 or the Tornado myself.

You mean MV? Yes, another stunning bike. The Tornado is very cool too, but I'm an underseat exhaust guy. Unlike the 999, the Ducati GP bike is inarguably beautiful.

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