If you could only have one accessory what would you get?

[QuietMonkey]

cargo net, is a must for me, one for every bike. After that it was frame savers on the sport touring the rest are standards and as long as they run Im happy.

THAT's HILAROUS! because i love my cargo net! i wrote about it the other day in another post. It saved my butt while riding my bicycle. *giggle*

It's the little things that count when travelling light... those bungee nets are a "godsend"

[QuietMonkey]

I ride a cruiser, and my #1 accessory would be a couple shotgun barrels mounted just above the pipes. Give a potent "backfire" to those damn tailgaters.

Here's your shotgun in a nutshell, courtesy of Bruce Reeve at Cycle Canada. This technique should work well with your average carbureted bike, but the intelligence of current fuel injection systems may circumvent your fun.

1) zooming along... tailgater doing his duty of stupidity

2) click off ignition switch (handlebar switch is easier)

3) blip the throttle quickly a couple times

4) turn ignition switch back on

5) continue merrily on your way, hopefully with a little more room between your rear tire and their front bumper

Maybe add

4b) prepare for a bang -- the driver behind you will not be so lucky.. no spark, means lots of raw fuel ends up in the exhaust and it burns awfully quick. Noise and Flames help your cause. Like a good chef you can experiment a little, as singles, twins, triples and fours of various displacements respond differently to various "fuel loads". I'll bet some of the new fuel injected bikes are not as much fun. Like everything the fun can get neutered out of carburetors like any classic device.

note: the BANG can cause some harm to your exhaust, etc.

alternate option: put down the gun and just accelerate away. that always works well and it's fun too. play nice.

//monkey

[old-n-slow]

A .357 magnum.

[Mag7C]

1) zooming along... tailgater doing his duty of stupidity

2) click off ignition switch (handlebar switch is easier)

3) blip the throttle quickly a couple times

4) turn ignition switch back on

5) continue merrily on your way, hopefully with a little more room between your rear tire and their front bumper

Awesome! I don't think my bike is fuel injected, just because it's an '86, but who knows... Anyway, how much damage does it do to the pipes? I'd like to try this but not at the expense of my bike .

[poppygene]

Anyway, how much damage does it do to the pipes? I'd like to try this but not at the expense of my bike .

If there are any thin, corroded places in the pipes or mufflers the explosion can blow a hole through the thin walls. I had a truck once that backfired and blew the pipe completely in two, just ahead of the muffler.

[poppygene]

I ride a standard and I use my waterproof nylon tailbag a lot when on longer rides. I also rely on a bungee net on occasion.

[BuzZz]

Anyway, how much damage does it do to the pipes? I'd like to try this but not at the expense of my bike .

If there are any thin, corroded places in the pipes or mufflers the explosion can blow a hole through the thin walls. I had a truck once that backfired and blew the pipe completely in two, just ahead of the muffler.

I had an old Suzuki Samari that I was selling. Always fired up great untill I had 3 guys in the driveway looking at it. I flooded the dam thing trying to start it ans was cranking like mad when it backfired. All 3 guys hit the ground, it sounded like I light a stick of TNT.... it opened the muffler up along it's length and puked the rusted contents out onto the ground... and still wasn't running .

THEN????? 2 of these guys start a bidding war over the stupid thing!!!!! I sold it for $500 more than I was asking, and I never did hear it run again..... gotta love morons. I would have told me to shove it up my "O Ring".......

[Toyuzu]

I had an old Suzuki Samari that I was selling. Always fired up great untill I had 3 guys in the driveway looking at it. I flooded the dam thing trying to start it ans was cranking like mad when it backfired. All 3 guys hit the ground, it sounded like I light a stick of TNT.... it opened the muffler up along it's length and puked the rusted contents out onto the ground... and still wasn't running .

THEN????? 2 of these guys start a bidding war over the stupid thing!!!!! I sold it for $500 more than I was asking, and I never did hear it run again..... gotta love morons. I would have told me to shove it up my "O Ring".......

Only you, BuzZz, only you! I had two Samurais, by the way. Pretty capable little off-roaders, but very weak engines. Suzuki puts stronger engines in their 600 CC motorcycles these days.

[Mag7C]

it opened the muffler up along it's length and puked the rusted contents out onto the ground...

Ok, I'm definitely NOT trying this now .

[BuzZz]

Only you, BuzZz, only you! I had two Samurais, by the way. Pretty capable little off-roaders, but very weak engines. Suzuki puts stronger engines in their 600 CC motorcycles these days.

But the tranny's were wonderful shifting things. Good thing too, cause with 900cc of raging hampster power under the hood, you rowed that box constantly.