Motorcycle Porn

[dogboy]

I'm addicted to MotoGP and there is an old cult classic called 'Faster' about 6 years ago that I think is one of the best, badass motorcycle documentaries ever made:
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewMovie?id=273855148&s=143441

Here is the trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEMmKyR11yM

...even if you don't like bikes this is a good documentary.  

[Damian]

>...even if you don't like bikes this is a good documentary.  
I am obsessed by motorcycling but racing is not my thing yet.. I'll check it out anyway.

I ordered two documentaries that fit the same description last week I think.
"One Crazy Ride" and "Riding Solo To The Top Of The World".
They won several prizes at film festivals. Can't wait to watch them in full.
http://www.dirttrackproductions.com/ocr.html
http://www.dirttrackproductions.com/ridingsolo.html

------from site-----
One Crazy Ride
Five motorcyclists dream up an expedition over a route that everyone said didn't exist. Shot without a back-up vehicle or film crew, in parts of India hardly seen, filmed or explored.

Riding Solo To The Top Of The World
Riding Solo... is a film about filmmaker Gaurav Jani's solo motorcycle journey from Mumbai to one of the remotest places in the world, the Changthang Plateau.
------------------------

My wife says in 2012 we can go to India, buy an Enfield there and do something similar

[dogboy]

>My wife says in 2012 we can go to India, buy an Enfield there and do something similar
How outrageous would that be?  I wish I was taller so I could ride one of your dual purpose bikes.  I always wanted one of those Paris/Dakaar BMWs, with the alum saddlebags. But at 5'7" I am lucky I'm so in love with my bike because I don't think there is anything else that I could ride that would fit.

You know the same guy that narrates this movie, (Ewing McGregor) also starred in another documentary, where he basically went around the world, the hard way, on a bike?  Good one, you should be able to find it.


>racing is not my thing
If you watch this movie, I really think it will be.  MotoGP is the highest expression of motorcycling.  The bikes they ride are the true 2M+USD prototypes that eventually get passed down into 'World Superbike', and eventually to the street.  Today, they are are running at about 240bph(?), over 210+mph down the straights, 160+mph into the corners, and have elbow sliders on their leathers because they tip the bikes over so far, dragging your knee isn't always enough to hold the bike up. 

The racing itself can definitely have you on the edge of your seat or jumping up yelling, but points championship is another story, that is just as enjoyable on the longer horizon.  But for me, I don't know of anything more intense than what these guys can do.  Nothing in cars can compare, no Olympic sport, nothing because these guys are literally putting everything on the line for personal, team, and National glory.

[dogboy]

"Long Way Round"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egZrvp_4OdU

[dogboy]

(I just replaced my phone videos of 'Faster' with the the trailer I found on Youtube.  Funny they cropped the the exact same footage, but they got the end of the song section)

[dogboy]

>racing

these were the last 2 laps of a race last year of Rossi and Lorenzo (both Fiat Yamaha) battling it out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HvvnpGgEKg

...This happened over and over again, race after race.  If you like this, then I think you'll love the 2011 season, because this is just raw race footage, not a montage of random crap with music.  You have no idea how bad these guys hate each other:)

[dogboy]

oh, I almost forgot the most dangerous race, the last Great road race: Ilse of Man TT

http://www.facebook.com/rvalli#!/video/video.php?v=10150248555580252

As I said in my comment, I understand how they get those bike to go that fast but I don't know how those guys fit their enormous balls in those tight leather suits.

[Damian]

>these were the last 2 laps of a race last year of Rossi and Lorenzo (both Fiat Yamaha) battling it out:
Fun indeed. Very nice with the onboard cam.

>Long Way Round
Yes seen it. There is also a 'Long Way Down' where they go from Europe to South Africa.
The support team by car does take out a lot of the adventure feel. I liked the Mondo Enduro movie for allroad travel inspiration:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beEXfEdpDrk

>india
Yeah that would be quiet something
Much less of an adventure, but really looking forward to this summer when we'll explore the old military roads in the French/Italian mountains:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjryAqoxt7E&NR=1

>balls
I guess you've seen the Ghost Rider video's as well ?

This one is on the highway around Paris, France.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9BofCzc80U

Uppsala Run, Sweden. There are many more.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShacMAn_HK8

[dogboy]

>the onboard cam
agreed. One of the things I like best about their footage is all different cameras they use.  This year they added the gyroscopic cam so the entire screen didnt turn sideways around every turn.  They have cameras for each hand, so you can see the clutch work, their feet, so you can see them work the gears (note - 1 up/5 down because they dont have the room in the the corners to get their toes under the shifter) plus they have huge boom cranes and cameras right down on the ground in the apexes... I think they do a notable job, actually.


>'Long Way Down'
yeah, didn't see this one yet.  Heard it's not as good but still good, as the first one.


>Much less of an adventure
I guess I'll have to wait for the pics, but for me, sounds like you are crossing over the line from 'exciting eco-vacation' into a 'proper adventure', and I've really only had a few of those in my life, at least by my own definition.  I hope you do it.  Hell, now you even got me thinking about doing it.  I wish going into central/south America wasn't so damn dangerous (from getting killed by bad guys) because I swear I'd spend a year driving to Patagonia.


>Ghost Rider
yeah:) My bike can go that fast, but I can't:) Honestly, I know you get desensitized to speed, but I couldn't hold my attention for that long.  60-100mph is nothing but a flick of the gears and one head jerk away.  I typically do that when I get on a spot of the highway where I'm clear of cars, and there is a little space before the next ones... then I crack the throttle and let the bike try to pull my arms off.  I love that feeling.  In fact, just about every time I'm on the interstate I go triple digit for a few seconds, just to get my fix.  For me it's like being tickled, but the bike is built for cruising at that speed and is incredible stable.  But I rarely get over 110 (...unless I'm on my way to going supersonic, which is anything above 130, out in the middle of the Everglades = swamps/no one/empty straight roads).  I've been in the 140s a few times, and into the 150s once.  But all I'm doing is driving straight and going through the gears until I chicken out somewhere in 6th, before maxing the bike out.

In some ways, the faster you go, the slower the cars go, at least in my mind.... but in their world, they are going fast, and make turns without using blinkers because a second before you weren't even in their event horizon.   I don't know what to say about that guy.  I think it is insanely cool, but he should be arrested for putting people in that kind of risk, and eventually he will die, along with his bike, in several pieces over a 1/4 mile stretch, and people will make a line shoulder to shoulder to pick up his body parts.


>old military roads in the French/Italian mountains
...now this is more my speed:)

[dogboy]

oooooh, have you seen this?!!!  




Christini's patented mechanical AWD system - "With the front wheel under power, it is nearly impossible to wash out the front end"

Christini's patented mechanical All Wheel Drive system delivers power from the motorcycle transmission to the front wheel through a series of chains and shafts. There is no energy-robbing hydraulics involved.

The lightweight all-mechanical system works similar to that of AWD systems found on four wheeled vehicles. The AWD system (powering the front wheel) is driven at a slightly lower rate than the rear wheel (approximately 80%). Under optimum traction conditions, the rear wheel is actually driving faster than the front AWD system. One-way clutches within the front hub allow the front wheel to freewheel under these conditions. At this point, the AWD system is effectively passive. Though the front AWD system is turning, it is not actually transferring power to the front wheel. When the rear wheel loses traction, the drive ratio, relative to your forward speed, changes. The AWD system engages, transferring power to the front wheel until traction is reestablished at the rear wheel.

The way the front system works is like pedaling a bicycle down hill. You are pedaling, but because of gravity (acting like the rear drive) the bike is traveling faster than you are delivering power. When you get to the bottom of the hill and slow down (similar to what happens when the rear wheel spins), you will begin to power the bike again.

An added benefit of AWD is that the front wheel does not want to wash out. When a front end tucks, the wheel stalls, stops turning, and begins to push. With the AWD system, as soon as the wheel begins to stall, power is delivered to the front wheel, forcing it to turn. With the front wheel under power, it is nearly impossible to wash out the front end.

- http://www.christini.com/awd-technology.php

[Damian]

>Christini
Didn't know this existed ... interesting technology.

>central/south America
I enjoyed reading Lois on the Loose.. a woman doing this trip alone, on a 250 cc.
http://www.amazon.com/Lois-Loose-Motorcycle-Across-Americas/dp/0312352212

>now you even got me thinking about doing it.
Hehe..  I thought you might..
If I could afford it I'd ship my bike to the US and join you for a stretch.

>dangerous (from getting killed by bad guys)
I like the  'motorcyclist lives adventure' genre so I read many similar books.
They all have this one thing in common.. the travelers are often warned for the dangers ahead, but almost all warnings appear to be based on fear of the unknown.
And if it is really bandit invested area you ride in a convoy or with a police escort.
I think the biggest danger is crashing somewhere for the same reasons you might crash near home.. an oil spill, a car on your half of the road .. etc

[Rupert]

Reading the start of the thread, I was saying to myself.... naw, you boys need to see the TT.   

Then out it popped.  The Long way round then went into the Long Way down through Africa.

A bit naff to watch, I only got bits of it.


Guy Martin is a bit of a hero of mine in a strange way. 

He is completely nuts mind, and like a big cup of tea, (Milk mixed not emulsified), stationary engines, and   is broad Yorkshire. (Sheffield I think)

I will see if I can find an interview.  One day I will go to the TT.

[Rupert]

Ah, wasting my time looking at TT youtube now,


Work to be done.     Dogboy you are a bad influence.

Amazing lines those chaps take, knees right next to the pavement edging.  What the word for it Mick?

[dogboy]

>the TT
Now THAT is a race.  They don't get the money the GP riders do, but they win the badass MFer of the Century awards in my book.  Hell, even Vale and Lorenzo don't want any piece of that course.

>not emulsified
shows how badly we are addicted, but I thought he *liked* the emulsion(?)... ah, doesn't matter... the fact that we both know that he is very particular about his tea, is as bad a giveaway as going blind with hairy palms.  But honestly, I don't know what the hell they are saying 3/4 of the time, I'm going mostly on their expression and tone and assuming they only speak 'motorcycle'...

>knees right next to the pavement
yeah, I even think I know the shot you are thinking about.... bike from rt to left, dude is damn near dragging the knee, but the curb is in his line, so he raises the knee without shifting the bike, and clears the knee shattering curb by about 2 inches, without so much as second thought.  And in the super slow mo, it looks even cooler, and you are sure it was exactly as he planned it.

>Christini
I assume it's because it's dirt technology.  I'm not to technical, but it doesn't look like a limited-slip differential, the same way as in a car with AWD, so I don't think you could get away with it on dry pavement without it lurching like an old pickup with locked hubs.

>If I could afford it I'd ship my bike to the US
I hear you.  Without it, it's like going hunting with someone-else's rifle.  You know, I did ship my old bike from CA to FL for $1200 in steel crate which was shipped by air, which was very surprising.  The bike weighed 390lb empty, so I packed all around it, including heavy (2 man to lift) toolboxes, etc. and I was still grossly underweight.  To be honest, if I were you, I'd consider dismantling the front end, so it fits into a smaller container, and get a quote.

But let's go somewhere else besides Florida.  Actually anywhere else.  Granted you can ride 12 months a year (I ride daily) but there are no curves and it's flat. Great if you have a harley and want to cruise, but it isn't built for superbikes.  I haven't yet got my bike on Miami Homestead track but I now have all the required gear to do that.

The only thing better than Italian leather boots is ARMORED Italian leather goretex boots:) saved my heel in my last crash.


those are vents behind the knuckles... fingers are sewn together to avoid losing your pinky... kevlar reinforced... guantlets go well up beyond the wrist....



The New (Perforated) Corse Jacket in size 'bad ass'


>the travelers are often warned for the dangers ahead, but almost all warnings appear to be based on fear of the unknown.
I agree but only when in 'civilized' places.  And by 'civilized', I mean inhabited by pussies.  However, once I've gotten far off the beaten track, and people warn you, I've found it can be that bad and worse.  For example, I was driving through nowhere Canada (NW Territories) and living out of my ragtop jeep.  Every time I stopped for gas, locals would come by and give me a word of advice: 'there are alot of bears out there'.  That day I took pictures of 3 different bears a hundred miles apart, and if you know bears, it is rare to even see one in the daylight on the road, let alone 3.  I didn't stop:)  Last time I was in country like that, one jumped into my truckbed, through the vinyl cover while I was sleeping.  

My other experience was when I decided I would go to Jamaica, alone, with no where to stay and have a look around.  On 3 occasions I talked myself out of insane trouble down there that could have obviously gone very bad for me... I wouldn't recommend anyone trying that one, alone.  Not saying you can't but it's definitely dangerous if you are a pastey little white guy:)

[dogboy]

...and as long as I'm posting porn pics, this is my latest: totally 'naked' (no fairings) in my living room:)



...and outside catching some rays in the bikini fairing, the first day I got it:)


...you actually have no idea how many times I have gotten off this bike and wanted to just post some random thread about how fucking cool it is to try and hang on to this thing...