Just Ride.

Should this ride thread be just a.... well, thread? Or should there be a dedicated Forum topic?

  • Yes, it's own topic in the Forums

    Votes: 19 90.5%
  • Nah... threads good enough.

    Votes: 2 9.5%

  • Total voters
    21
  • Poll closed .
Met some retiree friends at the local brewery to tell some lies and talk a little treason. Not a long ride but it was nice to get the 650 out. She was perfectly behaved as usual.
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Last day of our summer vacation today and what a beautiful day it is. My son and I took advantage of the weather to ride further into the Gold Coast hinterland. The Coast is bordered by the Darlington Range - what we call mountains here in Oz. These provide an excellent riding experience with twisting mountain roads, spectacular views of the Coast and quaint little Aussie settlements. Beechmont is the highest point and a circuit through Nerang to Beechmont and back through Canungra takes about 3 hours and covers around 60 miles. On a week day like this, it is an uncluttered ride through old dairy farms with a sprinkling of genuine waterholes for the pursuit of refreshment. An excellent ride even if it was a little hot in my leather jacket - didn't get the "summer" jacket for Xmas as hoped. Oh well....
Here's some pics. Australia is known to be a dry spot but that is moss growing on the shady side of that fence post. The horrible thorns belong to Scotch Thistle - a dirt bike riders nightmare. The building in pic 2 is the Beechmont Community Hall - plenty of local dances held here. The last shot is the view from the same spot but looking to the other side of the road. As I said, spectacular views.The SE ran beautifully but it's time for a little routine maintenance and a change of bars - still buckhorns but straight ones this time thanks to AndersJ.
 

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Hello Bob,
Couldn't agree more!
Haven't heard anything about your fuel tank issue. Last I read, you had rebuilt the top end, (meticulously as per your normal standard). I trust she's all back together and you've managed to sort out a replacement tank. Hope you're putting in some quality time on two wheels - you deserve it. Good luck in 2021 and stay safe.
Cheers mate
 
Hello Bob,
Couldn't agree more!
Haven't heard anything about your fuel tank issue. Last I read, you had rebuilt the top end, (meticulously as per your normal standard). I trust she's all back together and you've managed to sort out a replacement tank. Hope you're putting in some quality time on two wheels - you deserve it. Good luck in 2021 and stay safe.
Cheers mate

Thanks David,
I’m still plodding along with my bike, the motor isn’t back together yet, still waiting on a couple parts. As for the tank? I’ll figure something out. o_O
 
Took a ride around the neighborhood on my new to me play pretty. 2015 R3. I grew up on RD's and both Yamaha and I have been trying to reproduce the magic of the RD350 and this is not bad. Shift at 7000 and she is pretty benign but if you run up to redline she is pretty quick. Very nimble and light. Just prefect for a blast into town on my tristed stretch of road.

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the magic of the RD350
Years ago I had a car where the manual transmission started jamming and I found a transmission shop that rebuilt it or replaced it for $400. Great guy who owned it working there. Several years later I coincidentally moved to a house a couple blocks from the shop. I needed something blown out with compressed air, so I took it over there. The guy was still there, but in a wheelchair with both legs missing from the knees down. He said something about a "Rolling Death 350".

On a positive note, there's no place like Texas...
 
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He said something about a "Rolling Death 350".

Since the second day I owned my RZ350 it has been referred to as the "Yellow Death Machine". I love that bike and I'm collecting parts to get it in roadworthy shape.

I've lived on this road for the past 35 years and first rode a bike on it in 1975 (Old Brown). The two big hazards are Bubbas in big dually trucks most of the way in the other lane and all the crap the Texas Department of Transportation on top of my hill in the name of safety that has only increased the danger for bikes. The best part is the TXDOT blames Obama for all the crap.

When I figure out how to store a camera on the R3 I'll post some pictures of what they done.

http://www.twistypedia.com/roads/usa/texas/the-twisted-sisters-of-the-texas-hill-country/
 
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Took a ride around the neighborhood on my new to me play pretty. 2015 R3.
That is a weapon fer sure.
In my current mindset (keep breathing to keep pension checks coming) I much prefer the older, slower bikes.
Got this 'ol girl going again and have been riding it to break in the rings. I rebuilt the engine in 2017 but could never get it running right. I would work on it and get nowhere and end up pushing it into a corner. Finally figured out a 20 yr old piece of emissions was allowing a massive air leak. Runs like a champ now.
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Took another ride up over the hills today. There's this little cafe above Beechmont that's another biker's flytrap. About 50 motorcycles parked up here today enjoying the view and watching the paraglider boys do their stuff - and we think riding a bike is dangerous! If you blow up the panoramic shots, you can see them hanging out in nothing! Actually, we passed two ambulances attending motorcycle crash sites whilst coming up the hill. Both on corners and both involving sports bikes that failed to take the bend. The sites were well attended by helpers and I pray the riders are OK. We had two riders hospitalised yesterday on the same stretch of road - one critical. It would appear that the "speed that thrills is, certainly, the speed that kills". Why fang it when the view is so beautiful? - guess I'm getting old!!
That TR6 was in immaculate condition. The owner had rebuilt it and was a font of information on Triumphs - cars and bikes.
Cheers
 

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I'd take that Triumph. TR5?

The car is a Triumph TR6.

Which has on occasion caused confusion. I had a Triumph TR6 - a 650 twin, the older sibling of the Bonneville. When I went to Border Engines in Berwick-on-Tweed to ask about having a TR6 crankshaft reground for new big-ends it was several minutes before the gentleman and I both realised he was talking about a car engine and was talking about a motorbike.
 
OK - Britbike & Car people - here is a question. I don't know why this has never occurred to me before, but is the Triumph car manufacturer related to the Triumph bike maker? I had always assumed that the car maker was a part of BL - and the bike company was entirely separate.

I know that is likely a dumb question....but I simply don't know.
 
The Bettman Brothers, German immigrants living in England, formed a bicycle, motorbike and car manufacturing company late in the 19th century. They decided to call the company Triumph to avoid possible confusion or prejudice of a German name. I don't know much about the car manufacturing side, I guess ThatXSGuy is correct about them splitting off in the 1930s. The car side eventually became part of BL during the long consolidation of the British car industry as noble names such as Morris, Austin, Rover, Jaguar, MG and so on all came under government control. Then got sold off to foreign conglomerates. I don't suppose there'a many original, independent car makers anywhere now?

The motorcycle company went through a different consolidation - BSA, AMC, Norton-Villiers. Then the workers work-in in 1974. The name languished for a while before being bought by John Bloor, who started out making bikes under licence to Kawasaki in the 1980s. Big motorcycle manufacturer now but many patriotic buyers don't know or ignore that the bikes are made in Thailand.
 
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