Kwasaki

It's all just joint military exercises to boost arms sales.

Many in the American government have lost the plot, their paranoid behaviour is pathetic to say the least.

I only wish England speak up against them more about the US Russian conspiracy theory instead of being a US puppet.

On my bike the previous owner bought it new and sold the plate he got with it and then got a new number, so l guess it's possible.

2 hours ago, SABloke said:

I found these guys http://www.grandseatcover.com/ has anyone got experience getting work done by them? Thai reviews seem ok. It looks like I can get my whole car (3 rows) done for under 15k which seems reasonable.

Sounds cheap to me cost 30,000 something baht paid for a Honda City @ Honda's and they got someone from outside.

If it's a lot cheaper l'd check leather quality l think Fred would bear me out on that. 

1 hour ago, thehelmsman said:

My father told stories of the Ariel he rode in Denmark, had a separate set of bars for passenger he told. Single thumper.

Ariel Square four ? ?  my dad wanted on of em.

26 minutes ago, Neilly said:

Came across this the other day...I can imagine the power band on the 2 strokes was about a gnats chuff wide

 

 

I never really got on with 2 stokes l probably wouldn't get on with nitrous on a bike either.

My youngest didn't mind 2 stoke cause he was stuck with small cc while going through the UK motorbike licence procedure, he went 4 stoke as soon as able. 

8 minutes ago, transam said:

For sure there is a lot of unknown to most history out there. We restored a single cylinder bike that was completely copper plated, lovely looking thing from way back, l now wonder why the copper thing...It's on display at the British Motorcycle Museum...

That reminds me,  I am not aware of any bike meet ups in Thailand but there were many at The Cricketers Arms Sarrat Hertfordshire England on Wednesday fortnights.

Once there l saw a motorcycle similar to below that only could be describe as antique,  it had a top & bottom copper made framed square headlight with glass in 3 sides and was a oil lamp light,  beats halogen err. 

Some may like to know how motorbikes started.

Daimler-Maybach Petroleum Reitwagen is considered the world’s first internal combustion petroleum fueled motorcycle,  Reitwagen meaning “ riding car ”. 

Production in 1885..Engine Specifications  264 cc (16.1 cu in) air-cooled four-stroke single.

Crank start......Bore / stroke   58 mm × 100 mm (2.3 in × 3.9 in)…

Top speed  11 km/h  (6.8 mph).  Whow.!!

Power  0.5 horsepower  (0.37 kW) @ 600 rpm……Ignition type…Hot tube.

The first  Transmission…..Single speed, belt drive…

Modification in 1886 a Two speed, belt primary, pinion gear final drive (1886)

Frame…..Wooden beam….Suspension…None… Front Brakes… None. 

Rear Brake…Shoe type.

Wheels…. Wood spokes…Rims Iron over wood……..Rake, trail.  0°, 0 mm.

Dry Weight… 90 kg (200 lb)

If a two-wheeled vehicle with steam propulsion is considered a motorcycle, then the first was the French Michaux-Perreaux steam bicycle of 1868 1868.                             

This was followed by the American Roper steam velocipede of 1868, built by Sylvester Howard Roper of Roxbury, Massachusetts.

I think l know someone whose posted here that might like this,  if he don't already know.

ABC motorcycles established  in 1914 was a English motorcycle manufacturer and in 1918, built a 500 cc transverse-mounted flat-twin engine several years before BMW adapted the design. 

1 hour ago, Henryford said:

Bikes have been a passion for me all my life but after a minor accident here last year i think it's time to hang up my spurs (I'm 64). Another nasty accident at my age could ruin my retirement and is just not worth it. Sad but it's just too risky here.

1 hour ago, bangkokbanjo said:

What happened? Im thinking of just getting a scooter but the stories of death really are oft putting.

 

1 hour ago, transam said:

We have a bike and I don't use it in LOS, or rarely....Sad but stuff is too daft here for me...

I respectfully ask or rather not,  in please don't start off the Health & Safety ignorant mob on this thread it's about motorbikes,  bikers & motorcyclists are already fully aware of the dangers not just in Thailand but everywhere else in the world. 

23 minutes ago, thaiguzzi said:

always like my big Panthers....

OK then seriously I liked it but as said UK at 16 yr had to have a sidecar till l passed my test,  the test was a joke compared to what my youngest son had to do.

My 3rd day out in the wet l skidded into the back of No. 230 bus no damage a bike as tough as they come.

Nearly ended up in a shop front on the opposite side of the road taking a left corner too fast with sidecar well off the ground. 

1 minute ago, smotherb said:

Audi is owned by VW group and VW group owns Ducati

 

http://www.investopedia.com/articles/company-insights/090816/top-7-companies-owned-volkswagen-vw.asp?lgl=rira-baseline-vertical

OK you don't like the business history aspect, no worries. 

Get a bicycle or a scooter. 

Anyone here alive that remember this. 

l think some guys here would this  

F' ing ell a 48 cylinder Kwacka  .

Also the Moto-guzzi W4 l think was and Norton Nemesis were V8's.

Don't start me off l'll bore you all to death.  

This was first V8 motorcycle in records and set the land speed record 219 khm in 1907.

56 minutes ago, sebastion said:

Harley Davidson will do what Ford did to car companies like Volvo. Buy it, strip all the patents and ip and dump the brand.
It's the American way to innovate.

Let's hope HD don't get their hands on it.

Yeah Buell comes to mind,  l guess MV were lucky sort of. 

15 hours ago, smotherb said:

Ducati is owned by VW and VW is willing to sell; Harley has shown interest,no deals confirmed

Precision in motorbikes is essential,  you are indirectly correct.  

Ducati has always been in a mess the 916 and passion saved it IMO and is owned by German automotive manufacturer Audi through its Italian subsidiary Lamborghini, which is owned by Volkswagen Group a public company.

As most things giant business corporations either save the day or kill em,  let's not go into UK motorcycle history    the previous Ducati owner was Investindustrial,  it's had 7 owners since 1985. 

Ducati is the only motorcycle company Audi owns but it did grab a bit of Suzuki at one time but had to give it back. .

I'm Interested in motorcycle history.  This is a good read. 

https://www.wired.com/2012/04/audi-buys-ducati/

1 hour ago, BMW Overlander said:

 

I did ride quite few of theam, easy peasy. If and when HD or any other brand comes with top safety features and upstages the rest I will buy one for sure. Aesthetically pleasing was a deal-breaker when I was 17-22, these days performance, practicality and safety features is what matters. Hope this makes sense to you.

Who's being keyboard warrior now    did you ever ride a Night Rod heavy but cool,.

I think this thread is for people in Thailand who like bikes getting an HD they like at a reasonable cost, HD & GS are bloody expensive here.

l built a nice big kitchen for her does that count.  

6 minutes ago, transam said:

 

Is the guy a salesman another extract from qualified engineer and talking about oils can be an immortal subject. 

Mixing the same API grades of synthetic passenger car motor oil and mineral oil-based engine oil won't damage the engine, but you will lose the performance features you expect from the synthetic. ... If the mixture is cloudy, the oils are not compatible.

15 hours ago, ktm jeff said:

Or you can buy 1 can of FS oil and mix it with 5 cans of mineral oil. Same same.

Extract from qualified engineers.

Yes, you can safely mix synthetic and conventional oil but barring an emergency,  it's not a great idea.

All motor oil, whether synthetic or conventional, is a combination of base oils and additives.

2 hours ago, thehelmsman said:

Mini bike age 10, Honda 90 scrambler age 12, Honda 350 age 15, Honda 750 age 16, had a Virago, a Vulcan. Here in Thailand, nothing big yet. Sort of think I deserve a Harley, but the Triumph Bobber looks bad ass.

Lucky guy in UK l was skint on 16th birthday mine was a 600 Panther with sidecar & ' L ' plates.

19 hours ago, transam said:

Yep chain driven overhead  cams...Even back then we could buy  tuning stuff for them, had carb ram pipes (manifolds) made up for mine...

This is how l remember the use of the RC name from Honda going into the international world Superbike & MotoGP to the present day,  the prefix RC has also been applied to a few production motorcycles available to the public, not the RC166.

I read motorcycle history most of the time from the beginning,  here's an extract of the latest RC in 2016 available to the public,  here's hoping to win lottery.  

Honda has a rich history of World Championship-winning technical achievement.

It has also periodically offered the very best of its race-derived innovation for public consumption.

Take the oval piston NR750 and exotic V-4 RC30 and RC45 models.

They have fueled the aspirations of many if only fulfilling the fancy of the financially affluent few.

It’s been quite some time since we’ve witnessed such a collaborative flagship machine from Big Red and its Honda Racing Corporation, but the $184,000 RC213V-S street-legal MotoGP replica has brought an end to this dry spell with all the subtlety of a major tsunami.