Down with the Techno-wizardry
03-22-2012, 02:09 PM
#1
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Down with the Techno-wizardry
I have been trying to just let this happen, keep my mouth shut and stand by on the sidelines and let 'The Big Four' do what they want to do and keep my opinions to my self but I cant do it any more.
As most of us know, honda came out with a RC-E concept that looks, IMO... Amazing! the styling, the awesome colors from early RC174 ect. Why? Why electric? Emissions and noise and all that BS? Sure, I can see that people are wanting to go green. I recycle anythign as far as garbage, thats about as green as I get.
I love my Hawk. I love being able to turn the key to the 'On' possision, thumb the 'Start' button, HEAR it crank over and then FEEL her breath and exhale on her own. As I walk around t make my checks I SMELL her perfume of burned 92 octane and it makes mynose tingle and heightens my senses, like flicking a switch in my brain. I Sit on the bike and pull in the CLUTCH and press the gear shift lever down and feel her 'click' into gear. I feather the clutch out and hear and feel those RPMs dropping ever so slightly and a bit more throttle and away we go! On to a busy street I upshift to 4th and back down to 'N' at the light.
I just dont get this dual clutch stuff where you can just take off with no skill other than balancing basically. Thumb shift up? Thumb shift down? OR just put it in auto. The only thing worse are those Can-Am Spyders.
What is going on? Rider aides? TCS used to be up to the rider and his right wrist. Same with ABS: right index and middle finger controlled the front and right big toe for the rear.
Riding to me is somthing to clear your mind of all the crap that has been on your mind since you last got off your bike and wash it all away as you look for apexes shift points, how much brake, how much throttle. Even on a ride to the supermarket to pick up a gallon of milk.
All these rider aids and electric bikes make me scared that we are no longer going to have a choise in what we can get in the future, or my son for that fact. I walked into a Ducati dealership a month a go and I cant even get a 2012 model with out ABS. Wheelie control or Traction Control is next on the list to keep us from having too much fun, we wouldnt want that now will we?
They have already taken the Big Twins off the line up, what next? I am going to have to buy used bikes from here on out becuase there is no hope in sight that there will ever be a good ol' fasion FUN / GREAT bike to ride.
This is when I start hoping History starts repeating its self, Starting with the RC174. Is there anyone else out there who feels the same or am I just drinking the "Hooka water" again?
As most of us know, honda came out with a RC-E concept that looks, IMO... Amazing! the styling, the awesome colors from early RC174 ect. Why? Why electric? Emissions and noise and all that BS? Sure, I can see that people are wanting to go green. I recycle anythign as far as garbage, thats about as green as I get.
I love my Hawk. I love being able to turn the key to the 'On' possision, thumb the 'Start' button, HEAR it crank over and then FEEL her breath and exhale on her own. As I walk around t make my checks I SMELL her perfume of burned 92 octane and it makes mynose tingle and heightens my senses, like flicking a switch in my brain. I Sit on the bike and pull in the CLUTCH and press the gear shift lever down and feel her 'click' into gear. I feather the clutch out and hear and feel those RPMs dropping ever so slightly and a bit more throttle and away we go! On to a busy street I upshift to 4th and back down to 'N' at the light.
I just dont get this dual clutch stuff where you can just take off with no skill other than balancing basically. Thumb shift up? Thumb shift down? OR just put it in auto. The only thing worse are those Can-Am Spyders.
What is going on? Rider aides? TCS used to be up to the rider and his right wrist. Same with ABS: right index and middle finger controlled the front and right big toe for the rear.
Riding to me is somthing to clear your mind of all the crap that has been on your mind since you last got off your bike and wash it all away as you look for apexes shift points, how much brake, how much throttle. Even on a ride to the supermarket to pick up a gallon of milk.
All these rider aids and electric bikes make me scared that we are no longer going to have a choise in what we can get in the future, or my son for that fact. I walked into a Ducati dealership a month a go and I cant even get a 2012 model with out ABS. Wheelie control or Traction Control is next on the list to keep us from having too much fun, we wouldnt want that now will we?
They have already taken the Big Twins off the line up, what next? I am going to have to buy used bikes from here on out becuase there is no hope in sight that there will ever be a good ol' fasion FUN / GREAT bike to ride.
This is when I start hoping History starts repeating its self, Starting with the RC174. Is there anyone else out there who feels the same or am I just drinking the "Hooka water" again?
03-22-2012, 02:31 PM
#2
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One thing Harely's are great for: not advancing technology!
Clearly the government officials who dictate ABS and safety regulations know more about motorcycles than you do and know what's better for you.
Clearly the government officials who dictate ABS and safety regulations know more about motorcycles than you do and know what's better for you.
03-22-2012, 06:25 PM
#4
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Yeah you cant stop technology, just ask John Henry. I love that the hawk is a real mans bike that makes wimps tremble when it barks to life. Women and children cry, cats and dogs living together, human sacrafice.
Oops.
Truck U (tv show) did a breakdown of how keeping your old vehicle is way better for the environment than the awful battery waste AND that you would have to drive an electric like 70 yrs to recoup the money. (batteries are $3K).
No one likes electric bikes and the electricity is made from REALLY unfriendly burning of fossil fuels elsewhere and losing a ton of juice sending it down wires. The actual footprint is terrible.
Oops.
Truck U (tv show) did a breakdown of how keeping your old vehicle is way better for the environment than the awful battery waste AND that you would have to drive an electric like 70 yrs to recoup the money. (batteries are $3K).
No one likes electric bikes and the electricity is made from REALLY unfriendly burning of fossil fuels elsewhere and losing a ton of juice sending it down wires. The actual footprint is terrible.
03-22-2012, 08:06 PM
#5
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I have read the same things. It all started with the Prius. I am just worried when my son and I get older that newest base line bike will have TC, ABS, an DTC. last year my worry was that I was not going to be able to buy a new 1000cc V-Twin from Honda, but now this... Come on. lol
03-22-2012, 08:29 PM
#6
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I wouldnt worry about that, the cafe racer craze is still alive and well and those things are from the 60s and 70s. You can always get vintage metal. The big trend in England is away from sport(s)bikes and towards standards.
I feel like this lame new generation doesnt do anything but text, so bikes need to ride themselves (or have thumb activated controls)
I feel like this lame new generation doesnt do anything but text, so bikes need to ride themselves (or have thumb activated controls)
03-22-2012, 09:08 PM
#7
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LoL, Good point. I would just like there to be som hope of showroom model bike to my liking. Like the CB1100R that a concept about 3-4 years ago, maybe more... Yeah it was an in-line 4 but it was air cooled and had an advanced frame and suspenders. I would ride the crap out of that bike, but it was a concept. Oh well, times a changin' right?
03-23-2012, 09:48 AM
#8
Out of my mind, back in 5
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I wouldnt worry about that, the cafe racer craze is still alive and well and those things are from the 60s and 70s. You can always get vintage metal. The big trend in England is away from sport(s)bikes and towards standards.
I feel like this lame new generation doesnt do anything but text, so bikes need to ride themselves (or have thumb activated controls)
I feel like this lame new generation doesnt do anything but text, so bikes need to ride themselves (or have thumb activated controls)
Sorry... I'm a bit cranky after having a brush with a "teeny bopper" on my way from work...
If I'm lucky she's still in the bushes somewhere looking for her car keys and cellphone... I threw them pretty far...
It's not a great strategy to approach me with the cellphone still glued to your head saying "I gotta hang up now sweetie, the rude guy that kicked my car door is here..." And then keep yammering on a good half minute more, not after you have tried merging into my lane without looking and ended up with my size 11 making a fair sized dent in the door... I tend to visualize what you are supposed to do with the cellphone when driving, with a hands on approach... Like "She'll call back... eventually..." And then swisch goes the cellphone into the bushes...
So when she started berating me for the dent, telling me how "rude" it was to kick her car, I informed her that rude or not, talking on the phone, and not looking before you merge is illegal, rude, stupid and a good way to kill someone, so I figured we where even on that... She didn't... She wanted me to pay the damages, since my bike wasn't damaged... I told her that I was willing to do that as long as she stopped yelling and waving her car keys in my face, and appologised for nearly running me over... She evidently preffered to keep yelling, since she did just that...
So I simply took the car key out of her hand and let it follow the phone, before saying something that was most definetly rude and then leaving... She has a good mile to walk to the next off ramp, so unless she finds the keys she'll be walking a while...
Oh, just FYI, I was in stop-n-go traffic, with roadworks, so no lanesplitting allowed, and I was more or less stationary when she merged into my lane, so it wasn't too hard to keep upright...
Last edited by Tweety; 03-23-2012 at 09:51 AM.
03-23-2012, 10:08 AM
#10
Out of my mind, back in 5
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Eh, nope... Jardine RT-One Race Core, so it's plenty loud enough... I doubt it would matter much, I revved, and honked... But she didn't react until I put my boot into the doorpanel... And she would probably just been upset that I drowned out her yammering friend...
The level of self absorbtion is frightening... Nearly running someone over is just a minor detail... But the dent on the car is a big deal... Sheesh... And when I threw her phone away she looked like she would have a brain anuerism (sp?) right then... THAT mattered to her... Running me down/over, not so much...
The level of self absorbtion is frightening... Nearly running someone over is just a minor detail... But the dent on the car is a big deal... Sheesh... And when I threw her phone away she looked like she would have a brain anuerism (sp?) right then... THAT mattered to her... Running me down/over, not so much...
03-23-2012, 10:44 AM
#11
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Tweety, Im glad it wasnt any worse than that. But look on the bright side, when you threw her keys and especially her phone you gave her an near death experiance! Right now her life is still probably lost in the bushes.
03-23-2012, 11:12 AM
#12
Old and dangerous
SuperSport
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lol, I was joking of course. I knew you had the Jardines. It just goes to show sometimes we can't get out of the way of the ****-storm. We have to always be on alert. Around cars, or on our own, you never know what's coming at you next. You did a good job avoiding an accident. Sounds like you both got lucky she didn't hit you. Let's hope she took something away from all this besides motorcyclists should be hated, but I doubt it. It's not the technology, it's the morons that misuse it.
03-23-2012, 02:43 PM
#13
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It's funny, my boss has a 07 zx6 and is a highly skilled rider, street and track. On a ride a few weeks ago we switched bikes and the zx didn't do it for me. It handled great, but it didn't rumble and it didn't sound like a raped ape and the throttle response was mushy at best. We switched back and he told me my vtr scared the **** out of him and he's never ridden a bike with that much torque or power.
Idk, maybe I'm old school (yet young) and prefer a raw feeling bike. I like to feel my engine, I like to know that I am in complete control and don't have to factor in tcs or abs trying to take over while riding. An all electric superbike is a great idea for something to tinker with, but production of one seems futile.
Idk, maybe I'm old school (yet young) and prefer a raw feeling bike. I like to feel my engine, I like to know that I am in complete control and don't have to factor in tcs or abs trying to take over while riding. An all electric superbike is a great idea for something to tinker with, but production of one seems futile.
03-23-2012, 03:30 PM
#14
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It's more than that; it's outright hostility and those like her want to afflict someone like us with pain. Here's another example that I have every day. Stopped at a red light that then turns green and I proceed across while watching the car facing me who is about to turn left. The driver will invariably initiate the left turn and try to brush my rear tire with his bumper as I cross. Intimidation and hostility, it is a way of life.
03-23-2012, 06:49 PM
#15
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I personally don't care what will power my future 2 wheeler. If gasoline rises to $20 a gallon and I can charge my electric RC-E for free w/ a few solar panels guess what? I won't bitch about it. You will still be able to carve apex's and have fun doing it. And damn, I think it looks good...
Don't be scared of change, embrace it. Check out some of the vids of that electric drag bike (killacycle). Fast is fast, I don't care what's under the tank!!
03-23-2012, 11:05 PM
#18
Out of my mind, back in 5
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Not when the brainsurgeons they use for roadworks around here put bloddy cones along the lane markers every now and then at random intervalls... Getting caught between lanes behind a cone is much scarier than sitting and waiting in a lane... The chance of someone letting you into the lane is about as high as winning the lottery... So I do sit an wait a while, sneak through here and there, but mostly no lane splitting...
03-24-2012, 09:48 AM
#19
Remember stock is BAD!
SuperSport
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Agreed. No one seems to care what is around them, they are too focused on the phone that is in front of them.
There should be an app that does not allow you to text or surf the internet while driving. It would save thousands of lives.
There should be an app that does not allow you to text or surf the internet while driving. It would save thousands of lives.
03-24-2012, 10:40 AM
#20
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Like all those old sci fi movies that show machines taking over. Mission accomplished, everyone bows to their hand held masters.
Funny thing is, all this crap actually makes life worse rather than better. Wouldn't you rather have a moment that you weren't in touch with everyone?
Funny thing is, all this crap actually makes life worse rather than better. Wouldn't you rather have a moment that you weren't in touch with everyone?
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