Total Motorcycle Community Forums

Gene Frenkle wrote:

chilihed wrote:I just got my bike about a month ago. Boulevard C50 with windshield.

Windshields are for cars, and cars (not bikes) are for the highway. Ditch the windsheld and stick to the back roads.

Just my 2 cents.

Hey look another moto150.

Dude windshields are great for bikes because

1. keeps you warmer on those 20F days
2. keeps the bugs from hitting you cause even through a jacket they hurt sometimes
3.keeps you from blowing around on the highway because backroads are not always an option esp when your on time constraints.
4. if I was retired those bugs might actually break a bone through my jacket.
5. it also reduces drag making your bike run more efficiently because it deflects the wind better.

I could go on if you would like cause there are many more pro's to having a windshield on a bike.

Anything that keeps me riding longer at one time, and also provides more riding days per year is a good thing in my book!

A friend I ride with had a C50 which saw a lot of miles in a short time. He added wind wings which he made himself out of plexiglass, to keep some of the wind off him. I followed him in a car one time while he rode the C50 in the rain on I75 for two hours. His legs were soaked from the knees down, but the bike was surprisingly well suited for this type of riding. Of course, he is an experienced rider.
I was apprehensive about highway riding, and gained experience late at night, when there was little traffic to contend with (compared to bumper to bumper 80mph during the day). The buffeting is something you will learn to tolerate, a stiff jacket and earplugs will help. You might even try to find some wind wings. And most of all, relax your grip, and get some sleep. Fatigue is a variable that can make you intimidated, and impair your judgement. Wind speed and direction can also complicate things. When in doubt about wind, slow down a little.

ZooTech wrote:

Media Weasel wrote:How come folks in Britain can ride two-up for two-week touring vacations on 500cc bikes without problems, but North Americans think 1,200 cc is "too small" for long-distance, single-rider touring?

Just curious.

Well, how come dental and orthodontics aren't a couple of booming industries in Britain?

To answer your question, Brits are used to everything being econobox-sized. Tiny cars, narrow streets, shoe-box flats.....and their licensing laws require starting with small displacement bikes and working their way up over many years. Not to mention the price of petrol which probably has an impact on Boss Hoss sales over there. I mean, come on Man...England is about the size of just one of our states, and they're sharing the little island with Ireland. I make no apology for the size of bike I ride. Gas is currently $1.83/gallon, I have a good job, and there's a highway just south of here that'll run me nearly all the way to the Left Coast of this continent. So it's not that I can't 2-up tour on a moped, it's just....who would want to?

Don't forget that the distance between towns in North America can easily be 150+miles. While in Britain by that time you'd probably have rolled through three different ones. North America is pretty spread out when you get right down to it, some people take this to mean they need a bigger bike to get around. I can understand that.

Personally, I wouldn't buy a bike I couldn't easily roll around a parking lot (this limits my choices a lot right now).

Remember to try to relax as much as possible, a lot of motorcycles accidents happend when the rider gets to nervous and overdoes something, such as turning. I dont mean to freak you out.

you will eventually get use to the wind.

have a nice ride.

dablade wrote: And most of all, relax your grip, and get some sleep.

Hopefully not at the same time

flynrider wrote:

dablade wrote: And most of all, relax your grip, and get some sleep.

Hopefully not at the same time

Ahahaha!

ZooTech wrote:

Media Weasel wrote:How come folks in Britain can ride two-up for two-week touring vacations on 500cc bikes without problems, but North Americans think 1,200 cc is "too small" for long-distance, single-rider touring?

Just curious.

Well, how come dental and orthodontics aren't a couple of booming industries in Britain?

To answer your question, Brits are used to everything being econobox-sized. Tiny cars, narrow streets, shoe-box flats.....and their licensing laws require starting with small displacement bikes and working their way up over many years. Not to mention the price of petrol which probably has an impact on Boss Hoss sales over there. I mean, come on Man...England is about the size of just one of our states, and they're sharing the little island with Ireland. I make no apology for the size of bike I ride. Gas is currently $1.83/gallon, I have a good job, and there's a highway just south of here that'll run me nearly all the way to the Left Coast of this continent. So it's not that I can't 2-up tour on a moped, it's just....who would want to?

I LOL'd at this, then LOL'd again

Fuel prices simply don't determine the bike I get, the if I want a 1400cc bike I'll get one, if I want a 500cc I'll get that too.
The difference is licensing, people have to ride lower capacity bikes here for their bike test(s), and when they do they gat an appreciation of what they have to offer, and that they literally don't need 1200cc immediately

That and the abundance of twisties here and a lot of people realise light bikes are more fun in the curves. Lower displacement bikes tend to be lighter.

Nibblet99 wrote:

ZooTech wrote:

Media Weasel wrote:How come folks in Britain can ride two-up for two-week touring vacations on 500cc bikes without problems, but North Americans think 1,200 cc is "too small" for long-distance, single-rider touring?

Just curious.

Well, how come dental and orthodontics aren't a couple of booming industries in Britain?

To answer your question, Brits are used to everything being econobox-sized. Tiny cars, narrow streets, shoe-box flats.....and their licensing laws require starting with small displacement bikes and working their way up over many years. Not to mention the price of petrol which probably has an impact on Boss Hoss sales over there. I mean, come on Man...England is about the size of just one of our states, and they're sharing the little island with Ireland. I make no apology for the size of bike I ride. Gas is currently $1.83/gallon, I have a good job, and there's a highway just south of here that'll run me nearly all the way to the Left Coast of this continent. So it's not that I can't 2-up tour on a moped, it's just....who would want to?

I LOL'd at this, then LOL'd again

Fuel prices simply don't determine the bike I get, the if I want a 1400cc bike I'll get one, if I want a 500cc I'll get that too.
The difference is licensing, people have to ride lower capacity bikes here for their bike test(s), and when they do they gat an appreciation of what they have to offer, and that they literally don't need 1200cc immediately

That and the abundance of twisties here and a lot of people realise light bikes are more fun in the curves. Lower displacement bikes tend to be lighter.

The main way to get around in the UK is not an Interstate system.

Face it, your entire country is smaller than almost a third of our states. The US is much more spread out and unless you either commute or go out riding specifically on the twisty roads, traveling on the highway at 65-75 mph is the norm. At that speed on a V-twin, you need a decently large displacement engine to have comfort at low RPMs and have enough left to quickly accelerate to pass or avoid danger.

1987 FZ750 Genesis cruise quite happily at 85mph on the motorway for miles and miles, and when someone tried to box me in, a twist of the trottle and a couple of seconds later I was at 110mph with tonnes of power left to use. This is an '87 bike, 20 years old, 750cc WTF is the point in more for motorways, larger displacement just means more torque for accelerating at traffic light challenge , the FZ had enough of that. Why would I need anything larger?