speaking of sweet rides ....

Just spotted Mr Pmooney new toy ...

Harley Davidson VRSCDX Special...mid life crisis there Mr mooney :lol:

Anyhow it brought back memories...I too love bikes.

My list of has beens...

2 x Honda CBR 1000's...110km in first gear

Yamaha XTZ 750 Super Tenere..A big 205 kmph Paris Dakar thingy that took me all over AUS.

Suzuki DR 650

Honda XR 600...great for wheelies....

Honda XL 250

Yamaha 250...cannot remember the model now....

Anyone else out there with the bike bug?

NICE!

i had a yamaha r6 that got stolen, then purchased a ducati 748 with the insurance money. had to sell the 748 after getting married, the wife threatened to burn it! she said it was too dangerous yada yada yada.

now i prob spend more money with my new hobby of U/W Photography. go figure.

My list of has beens...

2 x Honda CBR 1000's...110km in first gear  

Yamaha XTZ 750 Super Tenere..A big 205 kmph Paris Dakar thingy that took me all over AUS.

Suzuki DR 650

Honda XR 600...great for wheelies....

Honda XL 250

Yamaha 250...cannot remember the model now....

 

Anyone else out there with the bike bug?

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I rode bikes when I was a kid, then didn't get in the saddle for about 25 years after I got married, but the bug bit me again about 5 years ago. Now I've got a big BMW K1200LT touring bike (see below) for long-distance trips, and an Aprilia ETV 1000 (aka Caponord) for shorter trips (and those wheelies you mentioned!). B)

As they say, only bikers really understand why dogs hang their heads out the car window...

Chris, the Ducati 748 what a nice bike, although no room for the wife They put out a lovely note though....

BMW K1200LT...What a nice bike for touring and you can take the wife while Jack Johnson plays along. Although I love the big bore bikes, for more Aus conditions the big trailes work the best. I messed around with a BMW GS for abit, I must say not a bad machicne for burning up the drit tracks of AUS and alot better than the earlier models.

The Aprilia ETV 1000 looks great as well, might have to take one for a test ride next time we get to the city. It real strange how Australia has the best conditions for these bike tralies but are not very popular. Hows the power and the gearbox on that Aprilia, does it nose dive heaps on heavy front breaking. Do you think it would handle AUS conditions.

One of the funniest things I did was to take a ZZR 1100 for a test ride, nothing like knocking it back to 3 gear doing 140km and rocketing to over 180km then slipping it into 4th with the thing still savagely rocketing well over 200km with 2 gears still to go . Amazing machine, super smooth and super quited but boy nail that throttle and look out.

Cheers

Wags

And of course you did that on a race track Wagsy.... to avoid the 110km/h speed limit!! :lol:

Ha ha...well i did get to test out just how fast those Aus Police pursuit cars could go on one sunny sunday on some 160km foot peg scraping loney sweepers. I had a full tank of gas, new tyres and full leathers on......nope they have no chance against a big bore bike on lonely West Australian country road I think the police guy is still upset to this day that I got away...

The thing about big bikes is that they can get up to crazy speeds and back very very easy and with a radar detector on the police have a very hard time getting a lock on you as they need a few second as you are so small giving you plenty of time to come down from 200km + speeds to 110KM to give them a nice friendly wave as they go by

Another funny thing is on my bikes I use to speed 100% of the time and I never got a speeding ticket. I then sold my bike and brought a slow 4x4 and nearly lost all my points in one year through speeding...yep the bike bugs coming back.....

nice to see some fellow riders...i have a 2006 ducati 749 and an 05 ktm adventure...any fellow rider/divers in the bay area?

You naughty naughty naughty boy Wags! :lol:

I can just see the look on that coppa's face!

...I messed around with a BMW GS for abit, I must say not a bad machicne for burning up the drit tracks of AUS and alot better than the earlier models.

 

The Aprilia ETV 1000 looks great as well, might have to take one for a test ride next time we get to the city.  It real strange how Australia has the best conditions for these bike tralies but are not very popular. Hows the power and the gearbox on that Aprilia, does it nose dive heaps on heavy front breaking. Do you think it would handle AUS conditions...

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Wags,

The new 1200GS is a HUGE improvement over previous models -- a totally different bike actually. I chose the Aprilia specifically over the old 1150GS - far smoother engine and transmission - but that was before the 1200GS came out. If I was looking for a new "dual sport/adventure touring" bike (or "trailie" as you call them) today, and if money was no object, then there's no question I'd choose the 1200GS. If I needed something a bit more oriented to off-pavement, I'd get the GS Adventure model (or consider a KTM). But for mostly paved riding, with some off-road, the stock 1200GS is the optimal ticket IMHO.

OTOH, the Aprilia Caponord is a great bike -- tons of power, and a "bulletproof" engine and transmission (actually a tuned down version of one of their time-proven racier bikes' engines). I'd rank it right up there with the GS as far as power train. It can certainly serve as a great "trailie" (although a lighter-weight bike like a KTM is better if you're going to be in lots of sand -- you do have sand their in Oz don't you? ), and significantly cheaper than the GS. But you also have to consider whether or not there is an Aprilia dealer nearby. It will almost surely be harder to get service and parts for the Aprilia than the BMW...

Wags,

I must have started the mid-life crisis a little early as I I have a shed full of them.

This is my favourite.

Not to shabbby for a for an 18 year old tractor.....

Peter, cool tractor there. Don't know much about the Harleys, just that they make a loud noise Have you any Jap bikes or other brands in your shed.?

Yes I rode the old GS and hated the rattly thing but the new GS1200 is as you said a completly different bike, slick with heaps of grunt. Fanging down gravel roads it felt real good. Sounds like you are happy with the Aprilia. I think we can get the Triumph Tiger over here as well, another big trailie beast...Honda and Yamaha make them as well but don't bring them into the county.

Yes we do have sand in fact I remember cutting up the Broome beach on my 750 twin Super Tenere which at the the time had a huge full nobbie trye on and boy did it throw up some cool rooster tails

Hey had a pic of me Tenere all loaded up for my trip all over AUS..

some pics:

r6 before:

r6 after:

r6 n duc748:

duc 748: after installing new pipes, marchesini wheels:

the guy who stole the r6 wiped out trying to outrun the cops, although he ended up escaping them in the hospital. bummer.

the duc sang with these loud pipes! nothing like a vtwin motor.

nothing like a vtwin motor.

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You got THAT right!

Although my own bike for many, many years was a meager Harley UL (80 cu in flathead) from 1945, I was the crew chief for a top fuel Harley drag racing team for a while in the early 90's.

270km/h on first gear. Come to think about it, it only had one gear. Wroomm...

timo

...The Aprilia ETV 1000 looks great as well, might have to take one for a test ride next time we get to the city...does it nose dive heaps on heavy front breaking. Do you think it would handle AUS conditions...

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Wags,

I just realized I didn't answer one of your questions. The Aprilia Caponord is a bit divey as it comes from the factory, but that's easily solved with stiffer after-market fork springs and tweaking the oil in the forks. There's also a more "off-road" version of the Caponord called a Rally Raid (see Aprilia Caponord Rally Raid ) that is designed to compete more directly with the GS Adventure. Either bike is definitely suitable for AUS conditions, but again it depends on how much emphasis you place on off-road vs. paved (for serious off-road, you've gotta look at KTM, too). The Triumph Tiger is in the same class as the GS and Caponord, but I don't think has nearly as smooth an engine and tranny as the Caponord, and isn't as good in almost any respect (except price, which is comparable to the Aprilia) as the 1200GS.

I sold my Aprilia Pegaso a few years back to pay for my last trip to Fiji. I miss it

you lot...

-just not content with disregarding speed limits

-ignoring traffic queues

-disturbing innocent ramblers out on their Sunday walks

-moaning everytime some Volvo driver pulls out in front of you (how could he see you anyway - you all wear black?)

....but now you have to pollute the good pages of wetpixel with your grease ridden banter

Rock On!!

Steve CBR600

All my neurosurgeon friends call all you guys donors, just wear your helmets so we can get mostly living kidneys and pancreata.

Bill

Well, I like my 1150GS!

Having said that, I've not ridden the 1200GS yet; but it seems to me to have lost the 'quirkyness' of the 1150 - which was part of it's initial appeal for me. As a 'go anywhere' it takes some beating esp. when you consider it's touring ability.

Now it's not a fast bike by any means; 120mph is about the top speed, but if I want to go fast I've got this.....

Ralphy, I just spat my coffee all over my keyboard

nice one.....