Motorcycle Thread

The Dauntless One

The Dauntless One

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Malinatar said:
It seems like most of the people (well the frequent posters) all prefer the more "sporty" bikes rather than a pure cruiser style. All about personal preference, just an observation. I have a Suzuki M50 as my first/starter bike and so far it's been pretty good. Just wish it had a little more zip in accelerating but oh well.
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I'm actually thinking of getting a cruiser as my next bike. They just look so comfortable and relaxing to ride. The Naked twin segment is pretty good right now too though so it depends on cost.

jooka said:
I'm with Hekotat Hekotat when it comes to cruisers, $$$$ keeps me away from something I would want. Some of them tho are down right obnoxious. Was down in Denver one evening, fucking guy is on a Harley thats loud as fuck already blasting a fucking stereo that was even louder.
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Loud pipe saves lives /s
 
Sludig

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The Dauntless One said:
I'm actually thinking of getting a cruiser as my next bike. They just look so comfortable and relaxing to ride. The Naked twin segment is pretty good right now too though so it depends on cost.


Loud pipe saves lives /s
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Depending what you are used to riding and whether you really need the massive looking engine block. Try looking at the Vulcan S. (not vulcan custom) Ninja 650 engine, actually is in the like top 10 fastest cruiser lists. It does putter out around 95-100. For sure I think most people want louder aftermarket exhausts without getting into the asshole pipe territory. Really cheap insurance etc. DO get the extended reach seat even if a short person, that's the comfortable one. (Kawasaki has an ergo fit thingy for it so when buying one they can swap seats/controls for your height)

I'm a speed freak so I went to the liter bike and still almost want more despite having a fuck ton more learning to do. I originally got the vulcan S because how gorgeous the burnt orange is even though I dont like cruisers. There's a fairly rare blue thats hot too.

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Malinatar

Malinatar

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Sludig said:
Depending what you are used to riding and whether you really need the massive looking engine block. Try looking at the Vulcan S. (not vulcan custom) Ninja 650 engine, actually is in the like top 10 fastest cruiser lists. It does putter out around 95-100. For sure I think most people want louder aftermarket exhausts without getting into the asshole pipe territory. Really cheap insurance etc. DO get the extended reach seat even if a short person, that's the comfortable one. (Kawasaki has an ergo fit thingy for it so when buying one they can swap seats/controls for your height)

I'm a speed freak so I went to the liter bike and still almost want more despite having a fuck ton more learning to do. I originally got the vulcan S because how gorgeous the burnt orange is even though I dont like cruisers. There's a fairly rare blue thats hot too.

View attachment 167435
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I'm a straight black person for all my vehicles (cars/SUVs and now my motorcycle), but that burnt orange does look pretty hot...
 
Hekotat

Hekotat

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jooka said:
Pulled the trigger on a 2017 690. Pick her up on the 11th. Wish it could be sooner but the condo I'm getting isn't ready till the 10th. It has some KTM powerparts on it already which is cool. Went in thinking it was going to be the 390, but sitting on the 690 just felt better for me. My feet went exactly to where the pegs are naturally.


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Nice bike, I'm jelly.

That's crazy they charged you for shipping/assembly. They didn't charge me for those.
 
jooka

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Normally I'd haggle with them a bit more but just the crashbar kit is worth $300. Then it's got some anodized CNC covers. So figure I came out ok on it.
 
Leadsalad

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Those anodized covers are a racket. I had a '08 690SMC for a bit and replaced my brake reservoir cover with one because the throttle cables had destroyed the oem cast cover from rubbing and vibration, $30. But the oem part was like $23 or something equally stupid.

I wish that modern mid powered factory SMs were still sold in the US. They just suck for long distance riding/highway stints.
 
Lejina

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God damnit, drove in the parking lot next to the place I was going to thinking both their lots were connected but turns out they were not. No biggie, I'll just jump that 4" step, ride over a bit of grass and drop on the other side. Except the other side was pretty much a foot drop and I realised that too late. Header hit the concrete before my wheel touched ground.

On the upside welds didn't crack or anything, so It's not like I have to fork money for my fuck up. It's my daily driver, so it was bound to have some battle scars at some point but the first one sure is frustrating.


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Lejina

Lejina

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It's a 2015 and the currently sold model is exactly the same, so yeah, there's quite a few headers and complete OEM exhaust pipes on ebay. Frankly, I was thinking of not doing anything about it besides moping for a day or two.

I wrung it pretty much through the entire rev range and I couldn't see any difference in engine torque with my butt dyno. Can't say I care about forking $300 bucks to get back 1hp. Feel free to change my mind if I'm missing something.
 
latheboy

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Change it when you can afford it. it will effect the performance of the engine as the hole is now smaller that the exhaust gases are flowing through.
Time to rip the crap off and fit a TURBO!!!!
You may never notice it but is has changed the back pressure.
 
latheboy

latheboy

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Wait, there are 2 pipes... is that a twin or 4 into 2 into 1.

then you really should change it. half of the engine is breathing just fine where as the side with the bent pipe is working harder to push the gases out.
That's not good for the engine.
 
brekk

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latheboy said:
Wait, there are 2 pipes... is that a twin or 4 into 2 into 1.

then you really should change it. half of the engine is breathing just fine where as the side with the bent pipe is working harder to push the gases out.
That's not good for the engine.
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I'm sure the tolerances for flow are tighter on a modern motorcycle motor, but you'd be surprised how little effect a dented header has.

 
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Lejina

Lejina

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It's a twin. The pinch is just before the two pipes merge into the catalytic converter.

I'm going to keep an eye on the pipes and see if there's differences in coloration when hot, especially at night, and cold. If something looks fishy I'll check into my other options. The OEM pipes sell as a full single piece, the guys selling only the headers only ebay cut it out from the original for a reason or another, so if I buy only a header I'd have to weld it on the back end, at that point I may as well buy the entire thing and spare myself paying a welder.

The problem is where the dent is pretty much takes out the water trick to fix it. It's way too flat in that area and I'd end up filling the cat trying to get water in that area of the pipe. So that pretty much leaves only drilling a hole on the opposite side, banging the dent out with a rod while the pipe is heated and weld the hole shut. It's annoying but not that big of a job. I just can't be bothered doing a fix that may not need doing.
 
Araysar

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The great part about owning a 20 year old bike is just how much you learn about basic mechanics.

My bike stopped turning over and I just get rapid clicking now, until the battery eventually wears down. It will however start if I jump it with cables from the car. Battery is 6 months old. I was gonna take it out on some 2 day tours around California this month but now I gotta figure this shit out first.
 
Leadsalad

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That's a simple one, get a new battery. And get a tender and plug it in.
 
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Araysar

Loser Araysar

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Leadsalad said:
That's a simple one, get a new battery. And get a tender and plug it in.
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battery is brand new and tests fine with my multimeter.

a lot of msg boards saying that issue is typically the starter relay, or the connections in the starter relay getting loose/dirty/worn
 
Leadsalad

Leadsalad

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That doesn't make sense if you start fine with a different battery (car). The clicking is the relay solenoid working but the battery lacks enough voltage to run the starter itself.

What voltage does the battery read when hitting the starter?
 
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