aussieblog. no need for separate threads.

[aussieidiot]

I had so much fun today.

after reading Twist of the wrist II thanks to Jeffcoslacker, i went out to practice throttle control in corners and overcome fear mid corner and keeping the throttle on through the corner and out .

this turned onto so much fun and then developed into powersliding. woo f'n hoo. thanks jeffco.


then coming home i came to an intersection behind an Evo 8 and he was behind a Liberty B4. lights go green and all of us boot it hard. through some roundabouts and through suburbia at excessive speeds.

then i get a phone call from a friend to help pick up his new bike. a ZZR250 or ninja to you guys. sorry to the ninja riders out there but this was a shitbox. the rearend was so sloppy i bounced around corners. no power to move quickly and once up to speed, it was hard to corner and stop.
some more saddle time and it became fun in a weird way.


and to top it all off, Casey Stoner wins and kicks Rossi's ass. GO AUSTRALIA,
AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE OI OI OI

[speediva]

Wow, Aussie!

Sounds like you had a BLAST! I remember when my friend had a Ninja 250. I never rode one because I bought a GS500 for my first bike. I never realized just how light and flickable those lil buggers are! I had a GREAT time on that lil thing! As you said... still not high-end handling, but fun nonetheless!

[jeffcoslacker]

It's hard go backwards in bike displacement and capability and be able to appreciate it, but like you said once you put a little time into it, you start to notice more of what it's capable of, rather than dwelling on what it CAN'T do, and then it becomes fun...

I had a friend give me a '73 Honda CB350, the old standard that every new motorcyclst wanted back then, and considered a capable bike at the time... now relagated to ultra-lightweight classification in today's world of two liter cruisers and 150 hp sportbikes....and with all the hallmarks of a 70's bike...lousy brakes, strange ergos and vague suspension.

But it drew comments everywhere I went on it, people coming up to me at gas stations and getting misty-eyed telling me about how that was the first bike they ever bought, back before marriage, kids and mortgages consumed their lives and motorcycles were pushed away as being a youthful exercise in irresponsibility...to them that little bike represented youthful hormonal vigor and rebellion...something I didn't see when I looked at it...

But after a while I got comfortable with it's generous 9500 rpm redline and light weight, along with a new pair tires and some ignorant sounding glasspack bullet mufflers, it was quite fun to ride briskly around town, and became my primary commuter bike for a while...screaming around sounding like some kind of psycho bumble bee or something...and I found it to be the only bike I ever rode in rain without any fear...it was heavy enough for it's size to plant itself well, but still light enough that it felt somehow like riding a bicycle in the rain....and no excessive torque to try to spin the rear tire, etc...

And with plenty of ground clearance and pretty substantial suspension travel for a street bike, it begged to be taken off paved roads and do some exploring (not off-road per se, but down trails and gravel roads)...I found places I would never get to on a modern street bike...

I gave it away when we moved to a smaller house....a choice I still regret from time to time...I still feel the urge to buzz around on it sometimes...

[caddydaddy]

Originally Posted by aussieidiot

then i get a phone call from a friend to help pick up his new bike. a ZZR250 or ninja to you guys. sorry to the ninja riders out there but this was a shitbox. the rearend was so sloppy i bounced around corners. no power to move quickly and once up to speed, it was hard to corner and stop.
some more saddle time and it became fun in a weird way.

What can you expect for $3,000! I still have a ton of fun on mine, I went 123 miles today.

[aussieidiot]

Originally Posted by caddydaddy

What can you expect for $3,000! I still have a ton of fun on mine, I went 123 miles today.

actually it was $2000AUS,

it was fun after some time but initial response was "oh shit. the shocks bottom out under my weight?!?!?!"

and it had over 160,000k'ms on the dial, needs new brake pads, new chain and the oil was as black as. spend about $700 bucks and it'll be fun.