Motorcycle pictures

Post by **AmBraCol** » Thu Apr 07, 2011 9:46 pm

Guys who complain about how "under powered" their 600 cc bike is crack me up. Here's my current rig (see attached picture) - a GN125. It takes me from Pereira to Bogotá in about six hours of riding time - over the Central Range of the Andes mountains, across the Magdalena river valley, up the Eastern Range of the Andes and down into the nasty savana de Bogotá. And more often than not it's carrying me and enough luggage and ??? to last me a week or so, as well as rain gear and tools.

I'm hoping to move it on down the line and pick up something with a bit more oomph to it. Probably a "big" bike like an XL 200 or ??? The Good Lord only knows what's next. It ain't easy coming up with funds for an over priced scooter down here.

Anyway, remember this pic the next time you think YOUR ride is "under powered"...

Grizz · Post by **Grizz** » Thu Apr 07, 2011 9:59 pm

That sounds like an awesome trip Paul. What is the distance between gas stops? Do you carry extra fuel? 6 hours actually sounds like you're making good time for all that mountain riding. Do you have any road fotis to share?

Grizz

CowboyTutt · Post by **CowboyTutt** » Thu Apr 07, 2011 10:20 pm

Paul, that is such a cool photo! Dr. Frasier at Motorcycle USA is a world renowned "Adventure Biker" with many articles and books to his credit. He does most of his international adventures on bikes much smaller than the the "big" 1200 cc motors available from BMW or others. Most of the time, it's on a small 250cc bike from a Jap manufacturer! So yeah, I'm thinking your bike is totally appropriate for what you did with it! -Tutt

Post by **AmBraCol** » Thu Apr 07, 2011 10:22 pm

Grizz wrote:That sounds like an awesome trip Paul. What is the distance between gas stops? Do you carry extra fuel? 6 hours actually sounds like you're making good time for all that mountain riding. Do you have any road fotis to share?

Grizz

Grizz, it carries enough (about 10 liters - roughly 2.5 gallons) to do the whole trip on one tank. I leave with a full tank and fill up at the cheapest pump I can find in Bogotá on my way to my destination. The picture is actually from a trip in which I went on past Bogotá, down the east side of the Eastern Range of the Andes to Villavicencio - another two or three hours added to the trip. There's plenty of pics - on my facebook account...

The trip from here is roughly 300 kilometers to Bogotá. I hit the reserve at around 270-280 kilometers. The roads aren't bad, except over "La Linea". There's quite a bit of four lane over the flatter parts of the valleys and between here and Armenia.

Post by **AmBraCol** » Thu Apr 07, 2011 10:26 pm

CowboyTutt wrote:Paul, that is such a cool photo! Dr. Frasier at Motorcycle USA is a world renowned "Adventure Biker" with many articles and books to his credit. He does most of his international adventures on bikes much smaller than the the "big" 1200 cc motors available from BMW or others. Most of the time, it's on a small 250cc bike from a Jap manufacturer! So yeah, I'm thinking your bike is totally appropriate for what you did with it! -Tutt

Tutt, a 250 would be nice. I'm TRYING to swing a deal on an XL 200. It would give me both more power for climbing La Linea and also be more appropriate for my "gotta get out of town a while before I blow a gasket" rides. Still, the GN125 has taken me places most would only want a dirt bike for and I enjoyed the experience, except for that pushing the bike because the street tires are too slick part.

The 125 is fine around town, but it does lack the guts necessary to climb like I want it to. It's rated at 12 ponies, not sure what the XL is but it's closer to 20 I believe. Tomorrow we'll find out if the guy will deal or not.

Pitchy · Post by **Pitchy** » Fri Apr 08, 2011 8:05 am

Anyway, remember this pic the next time you think YOUR ride is "under powered"...

Wife tells me the same thing

Looks like your a traveling man.

Malamute · Post by **Malamute** » Fri Apr 08, 2011 10:20 am

That sidehack would have been handy once when I was out in the hills and got stuck on muddy roads. Stuck may not be the right word, I got out, but the front wheel would load up with mud and lock up in about hundred yards or so and I'd go down. Then I had to clean the mud out of the fender and forks. Finally ended up taking the fender off and getting covered in mud, but made it back to pavement. Probably shoulda married the gal that was with me, it didnt bother her much, getting stuck in a downpour hunting bunnies, hiding under a tarp to stay dry, riding on mud roads.

There's a guy in the NW that does sidecar adventure trips in the mountains, they stay in tipis at night. Saw pictures of it.

Ji in Hawaii · Post by **Ji in Hawaii** » Fri Apr 08, 2011 11:19 am

Malamute wrote:
There's a guy in the NW that does sidecar adventure trips in the mountains, they stay in tipis at night. Saw pictures of it.

My dream bike for several years has been a Ural with side car, 2WD, and reverse gear which makes for a very trail worthy vehicle at least jeep trail worthy with room for equipment and game.

gamekeeper · Post by **gamekeeper** » Fri Apr 08, 2011 11:39 am

Ji, that is SO COOL...

Leverdude · Post by **Leverdude** » Fri Apr 08, 2011 5:02 pm

Couple pics of my 02 Yamaha V-Star I picked up last August.

I swapped seats & got a backrest & saddle bags. No good pics with the bags yet but heres a pic with the seat & rest from a couple weeks back. I'll probably escape on it for awhile tomorrow.

Pitchy · Post by **Pitchy** » Fri Apr 08, 2011 6:27 pm

Nice bike Leverdude

have a couple friends that ride them.

TravisM · Post by **TravisM** » Fri Apr 08, 2011 8:22 pm

I can only look on with envy.

My wife is so scared of them that she has not only begged me not to get one, but swears that I can get any gun I want as long as I can pay for it.

(I have a BIG list.

)

Warhawk · Post by **Warhawk** » Fri Apr 08, 2011 10:14 pm

Current bike, 2004 Screamin' Eagle Electra Glide.

CowboyTutt · Post by **CowboyTutt** » Fri Apr 08, 2011 10:21 pm

Nice!!!! -Tutt

oldguy · Post by **oldguy** » Fri Apr 08, 2011 10:33 pm

am i right ? dose the ural with sidecar have earls/leading link front suspension ?
if so that is very nice. takes me back. oldguy

Ji in Hawaii · Post by **Ji in Hawaii** » Fri Apr 08, 2011 10:56 pm

oldguy wrote:am i right ? dose the ural with sidecar have earls/leading link front suspension ?
if so that is very nice. takes me back. oldguy

Yes sir! : http://bmwdean.com/earles-fork.htm

With gas prices headed up and up this bike makes more and more sense compared to a 4x4 at least for me.

Post by **AmBraCol** » Fri Apr 08, 2011 10:58 pm

TravisM wrote:I can only look on with envy.

My wife is so scared of them that she has not only begged me not to get one, but swears that I can get any gun I want as long as I can pay for it.

(I have a BIG list. )

I bought my GN125 from the widow of a man who's wife told him "I'd rather you get a mistress than a motorcycle." (And she was dead set against that too - using the comparison for emphasis). He didn't listen, bought the bike although he'd never even learned to ride a bicycle. I don't know how he did it but he managed to pile it up in only 60 kilometers of riding. Broke his ankle - and his neck. I bought it from her after they got the estate settled. Many's the time I've ridden past where he fell. Even at close to 100 k per hour I've not managed to destabilize the bike. ???

Anyway, either you're a biker or you're not. I'm not "hard core" but do ride anywhere I can and whenever I can. In college I rode year round, except for that cold snap when I couldn't crank it over even with the kick starter. My wife rides daily but is not a biker. It's just a means of transportation to her.

oldguy · Post by **oldguy** » Fri Apr 08, 2011 11:08 pm

ji. thank you for the picture of the front end.
once again it is good to have you posting again.
do you still have your dory ? oldguy

txpete · Post by **txpete** » Sat Apr 09, 2011 8:09 am

Friends Call Me Ji wrote:
oldguy wrote:am i right ? dose the ural with sidecar have earls/leading link front suspension ?
if so that is very nice. takes me back. oldguy
Yes sir! : http://bmwdean.com/earles-fork.htm
With gas prices headed up and up this bike makes more and more sense compared to a 4x4 at least for me.

our kawasaki dealer picked up these(ural dealer) for a couple of years.I went down with a friend to look at them.new on the floor leaking oil and they forgot to turn the petcock off and a puddle of gas under the bike

.I wasn't impressed and they couldn't sell them at a loss.
I say a pass buy a honda ect.

hayabusa · Post by **hayabusa** » Wed Apr 13, 2011 2:36 pm

This is what I have been riding since 2004. '04 Suzuki Hayabusa GSX 1300R. I call it... The Time Machine

r80rt · Post by **r80rt** » Thu Apr 14, 2011 3:01 pm

My current ride.

wecsoger · Post by **wecsoger** » Thu Apr 14, 2011 5:55 pm

Anyone running a Kawasaki KLR650? Always wanted a bike, did a little dirt riding a long time ago. Figured I'd better get one now that regret not doing it later.

Ji in Hawaii · Post by **Ji in Hawaii** » Thu Apr 14, 2011 6:22 pm

txpete wrote: our kawasaki dealer picked up these(ural dealer) for a couple of years.I went down with a friend to look at them.new on the floor leaking oil and they forgot to turn the petcock off and a puddle of gas under the bike .I wasn't impressed and they couldn't sell them at a loss.
I say a pass buy a honda ect.

I saw one at a local dealer and though utilitarian in design seemed very Soviet tough like a AK-47. There are a couple on island I see occasionally. I find them retro cool especially the 2wd concept. Here's a couple interesting videos:

http://www.imz-ural.com/downloads/movies/eleven.mov
http://www.imz-ural.com/downloads/movie ... valley.mov

Ji in Hawaii · Post by **Ji in Hawaii** » Thu Apr 14, 2011 7:07 pm

oldguy wrote:ji. thank you for the picture of the front end.
once again it is good to have you posting again.
do you still have your dory ? oldguy

Thank you sir. Yes I do still have my dory which I inherited from my Dad almost 4 years ago (rest in peace), and which I named in his honor. Recently A friend gave me a dory he was not using he being the 3rd owner, and not being a rower let sit neglected for 3 years. It was still in decent shape in spite of the neglect so needed very little restoration. In the restoration process I decided to make this dory outboard motor compatible since my bum back keeps me from rowing as much as I like but still love being on the water. I cut a hole in the transom for the propeller to fit through and added a teak wood motor block inboard thus keeping the dory lines and no sacrificing her rowability. I also added a skeg to making her track straighter especially in strong winds and swells, and a scupper hole in transom to let rain water drain out. This was a home made boat but built very well with foam core instead of plywood, and with foam flotation built into the floor so unsinkable. I named her in honor of my mom (rest in peace). Here's a couple pictures (sorry for the motorcycle thread hijack

) .

Before

After

My Dad's dory

Ji in Hawaii · Post by **Ji in Hawaii** » Thu Apr 14, 2011 7:17 pm

To get back on the motorcycle track here's another classic style bike which I think is pure awesomeness the Royal Enfield!

http://www.enfieldmotorcycles.com/

Booger Bill · Post by **Booger Bill** » Sat Apr 16, 2011 5:43 pm

I owned a 1965 royal enfield 750 cc intercepter. After that I bought another, a 1958 INDIAN that really was a 700 cc single carb royal enfield made for indian. I belive there was only like 11 of them imported I later read. Mine might well have been the last indian produced for the old indian company. Another time I bought a basket case 1967 royal enfield 750 intercepter. They were considered about the hottest production bike you could buy according to the magazines of the era. I know mine would do about 120 mph. Somewhere I have some old pictures of mine. They were a "tempermental" bike. They had a heel lever on the tranny that you could hit that would find neutral without going through the gears if it was conveniant at the time. It was called a neutral finder. I got a lot of memories and storys about that bike!

Pitchy · Post by **Pitchy** » Sat Apr 16, 2011 6:52 pm

Cool bikes guys

Found a few more pics of my 73 Shovel with a hack, and two other time period set ups.
All over 20 years ago.

Old Ironsights · Post by **Old Ironsights** » Sat Apr 16, 2011 7:00 pm

Friends Call Me Ji wrote:To get back on the motorcycle track here's another classic style bike which I think is pure awesomeness the Royal Enfield!

http://www.enfieldmotorcycles.com/

Those are neat. I like the 499 the have on their main page. But then, I need a Truck for the same money...

Old Ironsights · Post by **Old Ironsights** » Sat Apr 16, 2011 7:00 pm

Friends Call Me Ji wrote:To get back on the motorcycle track here's another classic style bike which I think is pure awesomeness the Royal Enfield!

http://www.enfieldmotorcycles.com/

Those are neat. I like the 499 the have on their main page. But then, I need a Truck for the same money...

Booger Bill · Post by **Booger Bill** » Sat Apr 16, 2011 7:09 pm

I see that now the biggest enfields are 500 cc single lungers. Years back they were 750 cc twin clyinders. Whats up with that? They do look a lot like my 50 year old ones though!

CowboyTutt · Post by **CowboyTutt** » Sat Apr 16, 2011 9:49 pm

Instead of being made for Indian, they are MADE in India! Neat looking bikes though. -Tutt

Malamute · Post by **Malamute** » Sun Apr 17, 2011 12:14 am

Like the fishtails and solo seat and p-pad on the shovel Pitchy. I ran a seat setup like that on my knuckle for a while, and had dual and a single fishtail on it at different times.

futura · Post by **futura** » Sun Apr 17, 2011 12:33 am

Here's my '82 Yamaha XT550.
It's good on the highway, can run fast on logging roads and can still do single track. I love this bike.

Pitchy · Post by **Pitchy** » Sun Apr 17, 2011 5:06 am

Malamute wrote:Like the fishtails and solo seat and p-pad on the shovel Pitchy. I ran a seat setup like that on my knuckle for a while, and had dual and a single fishtail on it at different times.

Thanks bro, a guy sure made a lot of changes didn`t he, heck we thought nothing about cutting the neck and raking it out to where we wanted.
It was fun.

Grizz · Post by **Grizz** » Sun Apr 17, 2011 9:34 am

Here's a borrowed picture of my '79 airhead:

Out of service right now with every good intention of working on it....

My only Harley was a hardtail 45 inch flathead with side shift that I built out of parts. Bought a frame from one guy and most of an engine somewhere else and springer front end somewhere else. I must have had the huge sum of, O, maybe $200 bucks in it.

It was a hoot to ride though.

Kinda sort-of looked like this borrowed image, WITHOUT the chrome. It was considered a rat bike at the time, but I was grinning all the way up and down Route 1

At the time I had a delivery job driving a side-hack connected to a 74 with reverse, geared low enough to be doing 60 mph between the San Francisco stoplights. Worked a split shift so I had lots of time to troll for the parts to build the parts bike.

I rode a BMW R50 across country a couple of times. Had it for several years when I lived in NYC. After that I had an R60 that a friend had set up with a ceriani (sp?) front end that would cruise at a steady 100 mph according to the CHP.

Then I moved to Alaska where there are no roads.....

Grizz

Jarhead · Post by **Jarhead** » Wed Apr 20, 2011 11:43 am

A pic of my 1975 Norton....I restore classic British Scoots for a hobby. Also, have a 03 FXDX Glide, 70 BSA, and a 73 750 Tiger Triumph....

Ji in Hawaii · Post by **Ji in Hawaii** » Wed Apr 20, 2011 12:09 pm

WOW awesome Norton! I have always loved vertical twins like Nortons, and Triumphs. As a teen one of my dream bikes was a Yamaha XS650, loved the engine design, British style, and Japanese reliability, and ease of maintenance.

Later on fell in love with the Kawasaki W650 for the same reasons.

Post by **AmBraCol** » Wed Apr 20, 2011 1:56 pm

Attached is a pic of the bike that replaces the GN125 - which I sold yesterday in order to buy this one. It's a "big" bike down here. Shucks, it's twice the displacement or more of most of the bikes on the road down here. That front rim/tire has got to go. the plan is to return it to near factory specs. As is the kickstand almost doesn't keep it vertical and the angle is weird. Someone tried to make a "motard" out of it, but all they did was install a smaller rim and tires. At least it's fairly easy to undo.

Jarhead · Post by **Jarhead** » Wed Apr 20, 2011 6:05 pm

Friends Call Me Ji wrote:WOW awesome Norton! I have always loved vertical twins like Nortons, and Triumphs. As a teen one of my dream bikes was a Yamaha XS650, loved the engine design, British style, and Japanese reliability, and ease of maintenance.

Later on fell in love with the Kawasaki W650 for the same reasons.

Nice scooters and more reliable than the British Iron. That's what put the British Motorcycle Industry under in the 70s...

CowboyTutt · Post by **CowboyTutt** » Wed Apr 20, 2011 6:07 pm

Paul, what is the displacement of your new XT? I can't tell from the photo! Inquiring minds want to know! -Tutt

txpete · Post by **txpete** » Wed Apr 20, 2011 7:36 pm

the yamaha 650 was a great bike.mine 1972 XS-2 heading home on leave 1974.

Post by **AmBraCol** » Wed Apr 20, 2011 11:04 pm

CowboyTutt wrote:Paul, what is the displacement of your new XT? I can't tell from the photo! Inquiring minds want to know! -Tutt

It's a 2006 Honda XL 200. Made in Brazil. Am having fits trying to find data on it. XL in the US was back in the 80's, for two years. They are still made in Brazil, I believe, but am not finding much online. So far, I like it. Have only put about five miles on it so far, but it's got noticeably more punch to it than the GN125 did. Am not sure when I'll get the chance to try it up La Linea, that's the true test, as far as I'm concerned. That road's closed due to the current rain system that's settled into the country, causing landslides and flooding.

cshold · Post by **cshold** » Thu Apr 21, 2011 4:32 pm

Pictures taken this morning before heading off to work on my
09 Vespa GTV.

Ben_Rumson · Post by **Ben_Rumson** » Fri May 06, 2011 10:25 pm

Finaly found this thread again ....I found a couple of MC pics I said I'd post whenever I found them..
My HD 47 WL before and after..The WL is the Flathead 45 ci /750cc model

Before pic taken 1978... Guess what I got for Christmas?

After pic 1986

Prolly about time to re do it...

Pitchy · Post by **Pitchy** » Sat May 07, 2011 6:47 am

Nice restore Ben_Rumson

great bike pics by all thanks for posting.

hightime · Post by **hightime** » Sat May 07, 2011 7:52 am

The club of forum members is realy impressive. Real active people with interesting lives.
I don't have much for bikes anymore, but over the last fifteen years or so I've had a half dozen Goldwings and one Valkyre Interstate. One of the Goldwings had a Daytona two person sidecar. Deer have spoiled our evening rides so I've cut back on road bikes. I do enjoy my TW 200 Yamaha. I can ride that along side the grandsons and their little dirt bikes

Owen

txpete · Post by **txpete** » Sat May 07, 2011 8:23 am

http://www.flickr.com/photos/76004694@N ... hotostream

Old Time Hunter · Post by **Old Time Hunter** » Sat May 07, 2011 9:31 am

After many, many scooters, the last was this one which my wife sent down the road about three years ago. My ten year old daughter hated to see it go...

Nath · Post by **Nath** » Sat May 07, 2011 1:06 pm

test rode these today!

Give me the Monster anyday

N.

cshold · Post by **cshold** » Sat May 07, 2011 1:11 pm

hightime wrote:The club of forum members is realy impressive. Real active people with interesting lives.
I don't have much for bikes anymore, but over the last fifteen years or so I've had a half dozen Goldwings and one Valkyre Interstate. One of the Goldwings had a Daytona two person sidecar. Deer have spoiled our evening rides so I've cut back on road bikes. I do enjoy my TW 200 Yamaha. I can ride that along side the grandsons and their little dirt bikes

Owen

Always had an "I want one" for one of these,(TW 200 Yamaha)

If they would have made it in a 350cc or 400cc, I probably would have picked one up.
I had a Kaw'e KLR 250 that was a flat out blast on the woods trails.
It was one of those "man I should have kept that one" bikes