Motorbikes

[RED PRED]

I went to the local bike shop toaday (Motts) and can honestly say I think most of the bikes in there were so ugly, there does not seem to be any style other than futuristic lumps of tacky plastic .
I appreciate that beauty is in the eye of the beholder and all that but what happened to the clean lines and graceful beauty of the bikes I grew up with, I know that modern bikes are vastly better than the old ones but they look so ugly .
I dont think there is much to compare to this beauty, in my view one of the most beautiful bikes ever made .

[catmandoes]

Times change RP and you like many of us you are just old.

I dont understand fashion at all, i mean why is it that what was naff to wear 2 years ago is suddenly trendy. My wife says i have absolutley no concept of modern popular culture. If that means watching the Z-factor , then i regard it as a compliment

Styles change with time, we just grow old.

And anyway someone like yourself whos into Abba and James blunt could hardly be regarded as a man with ihs finger on the pulse of tasteful design . NOT

[RED PRED]

Times do change correct, but walking round the bikes did not make me want to buy one like i would have done years ago, some of the exhaust pipes on the bikes were hideously laughable, like dustbins, I know they have to meet emissions which leaves designers struggling to produce anything that looks good .
have a look at this, it looks worse in the flesh IMHO .

[secret solo]

Lmao,, graham thinks that cos his beloved kawasaki has twin shocks its better than a mono... hehe.
the only thing i can see that old bike having over any new one (in your eyes) is looks.
everything else is way below par....
Have you seen "worlds fastest indian" graham? Great film...
get into enduro machines and old ones look horrible, weigh more than a chieftan tank and ,well ,do i need to say anymore. :cool:

[RED PRED]

The only thing I was comparing was the style, and I stated that the modern bikes are `vastly better` in every other way, where did I mention shocks LOL and enduro bikes .
The lines on that Kwak are flowing and graceful, the bikes I looked at are not even streamlined, just bulky lumps of plastic, they look like they are styled on the machines in the Terminator film LOL .
These were the naked bikes, the race type ones look better but they all look the same .
Oh well, times change but not everything is better ;)

[secret solo]

oy you abba and james blunt lover,,, have you seen the film "worlds fastest indian" . If you have not watch it as it is absolutely superb, even non bike lovers will like it..

[RED PRED]

I will put that film at the top of my to watch list .
Here is a picture of my all time fave bike, we all have a time in our lives that stands out above the rest in our memories and this bike was there, this was the hooligans bike in those days, they were soooo mucj fun to ride .
This is the engine that powers the Yamaha Banshee quad .

[secret solo]

I will put that film at the top of my to watch list .
Here is a picture of my all time fave bike, we all have a time in our lives that stands out above the rest in our memories and this bike was there, this was the hooligans bike in those days, they were soooo mucj fun to ride .
This is the engine that powers the Yamaha Banshee quad .

Oh dear mr abba Blunt ;) Still living in the past.... lol
Take a aprilia rs250, not quite double the horses of the rd but getting close,not to mention far superior handling (another 2 stroke..) he he (we need an evil emoticon );)
I guarantee you will love "worlds fastest indian or your money back, for that matter everyone on here will.
It stars antony hopkins,he has a 1920,s indian bike which he hand made all bits for and at 65 did over 200mph on it and to this day holds the world record for the fastest bike under 1000cc. (true story)
:clapping:

[RED PRED]

I know modern stuff is better, it bloody should be, I have great memories of my RD, I really cant see anyone talking about Aprillias in 20 years time no matter how good they are, everything has its moment .
I lost my virginity because of that bike mate, the girls used to love the RD boys, another thing I cant see Aprillias doing .LOL

[secret solo]

I know modern stuff is better, it bloody should be, I have great memories of my RD, I really cant see anyone talking about Aprillias in 20 years time no matter how good they are, everything has its moment .
I lost my virginity because of that bike mate, the girls used to love the RD boys, another thing I cant see Aprillias doing .LOL


I wouldnt be so sure about that graham. Namely the rs125, more famous than the rd,and producing 34hp from a 125,scraping up to 115 mph,it has repeatedly topped all the european sales tables for 125,s for so many years now. the rs125 will probably be sold for a period longer than 20 years,let alone remembered for...(well on its way already)

I owned a rx125 which was the motor-x version.Lovely bike (could hardly touch the ground) but accelerated just as fast as a dr400. At 15 years old it still had marzochi upsidedown forks,brembo brakes, in fact it had lots of top notch kit as standard. Rode it for 3 years until i upgraded to a 4 smoke...(cause i blew it up ..lol)

[upperdeane]

Wow ..that brings back memories.

I had a Yamaha RS 125 as my first bike back in about 1981. I loved it until I had a front tyre blowout at about 80mph and crashed it :(

[secret solo]

what may be in effect here is possibly this-
Remember the programmes you used to watch when you were much younger?
I use to love blakes7, it was the best thing since sliced bread(then) .
It was on again a year or so ago, had a quick look, omfg, how lame and tacky.
Things that were the dogs danglies and probably the best then should remain as memories of how good they were and not resurected as,compared with what is around today, you may be extrememly dissapointed .:cool:

[RED PRED]

Good point there, nostalgia aint what it used to be LOL .
I am looking purely on an aesthetic viewpoint, not the actual mechanics of the things, for example, take the Spitfire, in my view there is no better looking plane, concorde comes close, or the Fender stratocaster guitar, again in my view it has no equal, some things just look right from all angles, it takes flair and an eye for beauty to produce something that looks right, take Harleys, do all those chromed biscuit tins look streamlined, no, they just look cluttered, I like designs that allow the lines to blend and appear streamlined and uncluttered .
Good design does not need to be fashionable and I dont like bikes that look like `Transformers` LOL .

We should do a seperate thread for the technical aspects of bikes .

[WELLZY]

todays bikes are not the best looking, i agree with rp, i prefer the look of the dirt bikes now, like the bmw one that they used on the long way round and long way down.:aikido::cool::cool:

[secret solo]

the bmw is alright if you like riding a battle tank. Ktm machines are much better but they would not supply one for the journey.
Bmw have or are about to take over some enduro manufacturer,no doubt to rob their design/technology like they did with landrover)

[outlander]

Here's some photos of my bike if I have done it right.

[RED PRED]

That is a stunning bike Trevor, what are the details of it, looks very trick .

[upperdeane]

Not that I dont like the bike, but I also like the look of the blue quad in the background ...I dont think i've met that one yet.

Is it the Can-Am Outlander 800 ?

[warriorrider]

i think the bike is awsome and also i think that the quad is green if im not mistaken

[upperdeane]

I think one of us is colour blind, definately looks blue to me....anyhow whatever colour it is it looks nice :)

[secret solo]

i will go with silvery green. warrior rider, sounds like you need to sort your monitor colours out mate...lol

[outlander]

The quads Silver and Grey. Is it our eyes, my camera or your computer screens lol
The bike is a Red and White Yamaha FJ1200.If the colour of the quad confused you try that. Well thats whats in the log book and that is what it was when I got it. I've modified it a bit since then. Honda front, Triumph rear end, Yamaha engine and a Steelheart frame. Not as much fun as the quad though.

[secret solo]

doh, its my brain ,not my monitor that is out of sync,, i meant silvery blue,, got distracted by the green comment...

[RED PRED]

Well it certainly stands out Trevor, the paint job looks great .
Is the back end off a Triumph Speed Triple, that is one hell of a mad bike, I would like a Speed triple .

[RED PRED]

Talking of the Triumph speed triple, I would love one, they are said to be quote `as mad as a box of frogs`, I like the look of it, stripped down and purposeful withount any bulk .