Motorcycles

I'm more of an old school fan when it comes to bikes. Gimme Indian, gimme Harley, and right now I'm riding a Norton Commando (not so big but plenty of glam). Then here comes Ducati with a mean, lean driving machine. The Superbike 848. It's not old school but it's light and has lots of power.

http://www.popsci.com/cars/article/2008-05/ducati-leaner-and-meaner

 

I'd like to make a small effort to drag this topic over to the distance learning forum by asking if anyone here has gone through the Penn Foster motorcycle repair program.

http://www.pennfoster.edu/motorcycle/index.html

It's not very expensive but my money is tight enough that I don't want to throw it away. Comments appreciated.

 

I personally like the Monster but that is one nice bike you pulled up.

I MIGHT just end up getting a Kawasaki Ninja 650R...I dig that exhaust pipe under the frame.

If I were to go old school it would be a Harley Sportster 1200 with drag bars...and the fat tire on the rear bobbed. You gotta dig that look.

 

Are you considering it just as a hobby, or do you hope to work as a motorcycle repair technician? Purely out of curiosity of how the Penn Foster program works, I did the small engine repair course (I skipped the practicals however). I thought it was great course, and feel like I can handle any lawnmower engine trouble that comes my way. They even sent me Craftsman tools to use as I went through the course.

 

I'm a Kymco Agility 125 fan but then again, it is all about the gas mileage for me and I never have to drive above 25 mph on my commute.

 

Personally i find this bike to be pretty cool.....

http://www.killacycle.com/

 

I wouldn't walk away from one of these either.

http://www.triumph.co.uk/usa/Speedmaster_5322.aspx

 

OMG
Look at this and then take away my credit card.

http://gizmodo.com/392816/yamaha-branded-deux-ex-machina-motorcycle-exoskeleton-a-segway-on-steroids

 

Considering the true meaning of Deus ex machina, I think I'll pass.

 

WOW OLD MEMORIES!
My dad use to have a motocycle business back in the 60's & 70's selling mostly European bikes. He sold Norton's ( commados, 750's, 850's etc), Moto Guzzi, Ducati, Triumph's AJS's In fact the last street bike I was on was a Ducati 850 cafe racer. It had so much power it was spooky. From a young age I was immersed in the motocycle/European bike subculture!

Many a returing Vietnam vet who thought of themselves as ten feet tall and bullet proof would ride those European bikes like the Devil!

Then Norton went out of business, It was horrible, It would be like GM going out of business and youself being a chevrolet dealership. My dad then went back to college and earned a BS in Criminal Justice and eventually became a detective.

In fact, while he was in business he was offered several Japanese motorcycle dealerships and flatly turned them down, too many lingering sentiments on his family side from WWII. In fact he was not too keen on German motocycles either, he would take them on a trade, but that was about it. My mom and most of her family endured the London Blitz and everything else the Germans could throw at them.
LONG LIVE THE SNORTIN' NORTON!

 

It's a Ferrari motorcycle concept

http://deviceinn.com/misc/ferrari-motorcycle-concept-with-a-v4-engine-and-f16-hand-controls.html

 

I like Harleys but have a softspot for Exile:

http://www.exilecycles.com/index.php?section=20

would go great with my black truck and my black Mustang GT. The GT is my economy car.

 

I just bought a Harley Sportster about 4 weeks ago. I'm in the process of swapping pipes, seats, etc. now.

 

kevin, friendorfoe - that's deep into the cool.

 

Kizmet, I'm thinking of doing a bob on it. Removing the license plate from the rear fender, using a flat tombstone style tail light, adding a Le Pera bare bones solo, vance and hines short shots, removing the mirrors see where it goes from there, maybe some mini-apes. I may lower it to 9 1/2 inches on the rear but truthfully I'm a heavy guy and when that thing bottoms out it friggin knocks my fillings loose. I like a stiff suspension but not a rigid...I can only be so cool you know.

I've also thought of repainting the 4.5 gallon take and removing the Harley decal. I want it to be gloss black with a white derby style racing decal on the side of the tank but instead of a number putting a black cat with its back hunched up and naming the bike "Jinx" after the Southwestern mascot....of course it's also "Jinx" because of what everyone likes to tell me about riding motorcycles, being an organ donar, etc. So it's kind of tongue in cheek. What do you think?

 

I like everything but the mini-apes. Go with drag or flat bars and french in the license plate in the fender or use a billet plate holder. Black and shiny stuff go well together.

Have you looked at the latest HD factory bikes?

 

Yeah...but factory is factory. I want a personalized score.

I considered the drag bars and very well may end up trying that route first to keep from having to redo all my cables...first things first though, gotta do the pipes and air cleaner, then rejet the carb.

The gloss black is already the stock color otherwise I'd go with a flat black but I don't want to repaint the rear fender. I'm not sure I understand what you mean by french in the LP. Do you have an example?

 

"Frenching" in usually refers to recessing a component.

Look at this rear fender:

http://www.cycleprousa.com/rateabikedetails.cfm?bikeid=164

Kit:

http://www.powersportsnetwork.com/enthusiasts/catalog_item_detail.asp?catalog=3146&levelcode=26902&product=364954&cattype=&ProductCategoryCode=

Shiny Stuff:

http://www.motorcycleproshop.com/acc/paul_yaffe/main.asp

Have Fun!

 

Guys - You're waaay out of my league. I don't know half of what you're talking about. That's why I was thinking about that Penn Foster program. I really haven't got the time to do it but I thought it might be a painless way to learn a few things. I'll let you know if I ever decide to move forward with it.

 

Don't worry Kizmet, hang around enough broke riders and you'll get the hang of it. They have to learn to wrench due to economics, not necessarily because they want to.

Kevin I like the French LP idea but in Texas the LP has to be lit. I didn't see a way to do that there.