That Ducati Ghost looks incredible. I don't know if it is actually available yet or if it will cost under $100,000, but, damn, it looks wicked.
I am incapable of learning a lesson from a Streetfighter, and I'm going to look at a 2014 Aprilia Tuono V4. $6500, 3k miles....We will see how it goes.
Was the last one the bike you weren't happy with the gear ratios? Or was it the aerodynamics that bugged you? I can't recall what your complaint was. Remember, adding a tooth to the front sprocket or dropping 5-6 on the back usually gives a more satisfying and usable power range. Final drive ratio is something I've changed on about every bike I've ever had.
So, I got the Aprilia for $6k. I need to put the stock exhaust back on it, because holy shit she is loud. The sound is one of the selling points for this bike, but meh...I need to be able to get out of the neighborhood without waking everything up within 3 miles. Also, I need to replace a lever because the previous owner dropped it in the garage and caught it on the corner of something. Shorties going on Thursday, I suppose. This is my first 1000 cc naked, and fucking hell is she powerful and fast. It's been raining and I had to deal with a leak in the basement so my riding time has been limited, but hopefully this week I'll get much more acquainted with her. Unlike the other nakeds, this is pretty comfortable, and didn't beat me up on the highway. So far, the stereotypical shit for all Italian bikes: runs hot, gets about 25 mpg, looks and sounds fantastic, hates low rpm's and being driven timidly. Most of the common issues for this bike are reasonable and cheap to fix. I do a lot of stop and go traffic for my "average" ride to the gym or out to dinner or whatever, and this bike is going to take some adjustments. Running hot, hating low rpm and being a naked means for stop and go, I'm going to be roasting. Depending on how often I can hit the highway or have a 30+ minute round trip will determine if I keep her or move on from her. I mainly got this because for the bike, it's fairly cheap, rare and I think I can find another owner for $6k in a year or so, given the shape and mileage. I wasn't searching for another Aprilia, and my 2019 Shiver 900 was comfy but dramatically underpowered. This one here is NOT underpowered at all, but still pretty comfy.
It's not quite warm enough, but I finally got her on the highway and opened up. What fucking maniac gave this thing 6 gears?? I was doing 90mph with all 235 lbs of me and a full pack on top in 4th. She sat at 6500 rpm, and it felt lazy. She redlines at 15k. The. Fuck. What. Anyone know how to put wings and a parachute on this thing?
Thought I’d freshen up the thread with before and after pics of my 25 year old Honda. I spent some time this winter stripping the black painted wheels in conjunction with replacing the tires. Took longer than I expected but I like how the polished aluminum brightens up the look compared to the black. I also learned that mounting new tires is way more difficult than the guys on the internet make it sound.
It gets easier with experience. Are those tubeless wheels? Most off-road riders are going through 3 or 4 rear tires a year, if they ride regularly. Some that are truly fast might change the rear after every race. I hardly ever bought tires because the fast guys I knew always had tires laying around with really good knobs left, they just didn't have the square edges that really give good traction. I'd get months out of tires a racer thought were done.
Yes, tubeless. Sportbike tires have pretty stiff sidewalls that make it difficult to get the second bead over the rim.
I bet they do. That's a lot of power getting put down by that rear wheel. At least you didn't have to deal with tubes like most of the bikes I have owned. I've probably done nearly 50 tires on my own toys and I still make sure I have a backup tube in hand in case I puncture the tube on the first attempt.
I put the kid's pw50 up for sale on FB marketplace. Just got accused of stealing it. To be fair, it does look very similar to the accuser's bike, stolen in February, in the pictures he sent me. Luckily I had plenty of evidence to convince him I've had this one since early 2020. Told him he could send the police to check serial number, if he even knew what his was, but I guess I was convincing enough.
I wonder how often it actually happens, a wheel comes off a moving vehicle. It happened to my grandpa in his late 70s Monte Carlo, he was pulling a small trailer, too. Although that video is from Brazil, I think, all states should have an annual safety inspection. I've seen videos from Michigan mechanics, looks like anything over 7 years old could be a death trap cause of the rust. Yet they have no safety inspection. Avoid Michigan tags on the road.
This is THE main motivation behind roadside inspections in Ontario and BC. All commercial traffic pulled over and inspected, with a ton of them being towed away. Brakes on dump trucks and wheels coming off are huge problems with a lot of public outcry.
It happened to me in Oklahoma 20yrs ago. A Walmart auto shop over tightened the lugs, cracking several studs. I was doing about 80mph on I-44 when the wheel came off. The truck didn't do anything wild; I was able to a stop on the side of the road, no major issues other than my wheel was gone and the rotor ground flat. Thankfully there wasn't any other traffic. The wheel bounced off the jersey barrier, went down off the highway, through a fence, and came to a stop several hundred yards into a field.