Is motorcycling allowed?

[Andymann]

We're plebs.  We just call them Rally Boxes 🤣

[Hairy]

6 hours ago, mazambaan said:

Verily I say unto you, one of the greatest thrills of dirt biking is hammering it on a twisty gravel road (Lesotho etc) in imagined speedway style, even better if you are dicing a mate (until thou becomest the latest of the late brakers). You shall quickly learn that thou shalt not stomp on the rear brake in panic as this stalls the engine and locks the wheel until you add a brain function to pull in thy clutch. Verily also thou shalt not over squeeeeeze thy front brake in panic, particularly in the corner, as this can easily initiate the fun ending crash.  Also thou shalt try and fight off the panic that makes thee stand up the bike and go straight because then the earth, thornbushes, rock face or cliff shall verily smite thee and thou shall taste the copper of fear, maybe blood, as well as grass and dust.

Well, until thou encounterest the taxi, bus, lorry or bakkie coming in the opposite direction. This can end in wailing and gnashing of teeth.

I hear you .... as you say, the skill lies in braking as hard as possible without locking up ... like a human powered ABS system

[Andrew_Smith]

 

Edited May 23, 2022 by Andrew_Smith

[Hairy]

1 hour ago, Andrew_Smith said:

 

that is amazing

[Andrew_Smith]

 

[Headshot]

On 5/20/2022 at 8:27 PM, WaynejG said:

I am the same as you. My MTB brakes are rear on the right and front on the left. When on the MTB my main brake is the rear so my dominant right hand is in control. Same as when on a motorbike. I have gotten so used to it and the muscle memory is so I grained, if I had to swop the brakes on my MTB to match a motorbike, that would totally screw me over.

You guys must both know that same as a moto, your most important brake is your front because the front wheel develops grip as it weights up under braking while the rear loses grip as the front end compresses and weight transfers there. Trail builders must have hated you 🙂 

[sawystertrance]

All well and good but I used my back brake to moderate my speed, not to crash stop and that's why I preferred the control of my dominant hand. I never once locked my back wheel. Of course for a quick stop the front brake is added. 

[WaynejG]

2 minutes ago, sawystertrance said:

All well and good but I used my back brake to moderate my speed, not to crash stop and that's why I preferred the control of my dominant hand. I never once locked my back wheel. Of course for a quick stop the front brake is added. 

Same here. I have never locked up the back wheel and ripped up a trail.

[Spokey]

On 5/25/2022 at 10:40 AM, WaynejG said:

Same here. I have never locked up the back wheel and ripped up a trail.

All the time on my Katoom 690R , but, yes, I try not to on my MTB.
Talking brakes……..I tried to go from George to Oudtshoorn on my FZR1000 without touching the brakes but still riding reasonably hard. I made it until the corner above the 180 hairpin……just slightly too fast and had to dump a bit of brake. 
I do like the challenge of the Outeniqua Pass without using brakes on any of my bikes………of course easier up the gomo than down and when heading down, just sometimes one has to be a tad more enthusiastic toward the bottom left right left right combination to pass the four wheeled traffic!

Edited May 26, 2022 by Spokey

[WaynejG]

8 hours ago, Spokey said:

All the time on my Katoom 690R , but, yes, I try not to on my MTB.
Talking brakes……..I tried to go from George to Oudtshoorn on my FZR1000 without touching the brakes but still riding reasonably hard. I made it until the corner above the 180 hairpin……just slightly too fast and had to dump a bit of brake. 
I do like the challenge of the Outeniqua Pass without using brakes on any of my bikes………of course easier up the gomo than down and when heading down, just sometimes one has to be a tad more enthusiastic toward the bottom left right left right combination to pass the four wheeled traffic!

I could mostly do this when I had my Harley. The engine braking is really good. Would battle to do it with the Rocket.

[Spokey]

1 hour ago, WaynejG said:

I could mostly do this when I had my Harley. The engine braking is really good. Would battle to do it with the Rocket.

I need to test ride a Rocket, it is just such a different machine. Bigger version of what the old V Max was all about I imagine.

[Hairy]

On 5/25/2022 at 8:27 AM, Andrew_Smith said:

 

Is that a South African rider ... his closing "Ah yes" comment certainly has him sounding like on.

Dude is nice and smooth on the bike

[Hairy]

Guess he is going on a long ride

[Hairy]

Starting watching Wheels Through Time recently ... bro knows his stuff, and he learnt it all from his dad who started the museum.

 

[patches]

Was recently browsing the classifieds for a decent condition "plated dirt bike" (for a friend), and it's slim pickings here in NZ.

Ever since they introduced that ABS law (last November), it means no new KTM or Husky enduro bikes can be road registered as they do not have ABS (and yes, although the 690 and 701 do have ABS and hold "enduro" in their title, I'm referring to their 500cc or less more agile little brothers).

Not only are options limited (mostly one or 2 KTM's that snuck in just before the law change, or 2009-ish Yamaha WR450's, all of which seem to be fetching ridiculous prices (like R75,000 equiv for a 2009 WR450, R100,000 equiv for a 2013, or R190,000 for a 2020 KTM EXC 300 TPi, just because it's road registered).

I'd also bet that brand new EXC 450/500's and FE 450/501's sales are going to decline massively in NZ due to that issue. And bikes like my 2016 FE 450 (rally kitted and road registered) will only become more rare (and hopefully appreciate), but what do I replace it with?

Definitely sold my plated 2015 FE350 for too cheap, hahaha!

[Hairy]

11 hours ago, patches said:

Was recently browsing the classifieds for a decent condition "plated dirt bike" (for a friend), and it's slim pickings here in NZ.

Ever since they introduced that ABS law (last November), it means no new KTM or Husky enduro bikes can be road registered as they do not have ABS (and yes, although the 690 and 701 do have ABS and hold "enduro" in their title, I'm referring to their 500cc or less more agile little brothers).

Not only are options limited (mostly one or 2 KTM's that snuck in just before the law change, or 2009-ish Yamaha WR450's, all of which seem to be fetching ridiculous prices (like R75,000 equiv for a 2009 WR450, R100,000 equiv for a 2013, or R190,000 for a 2020 KTM EXC 300 TPi, just because it's road registered).

I'd also bet that brand new EXC 450/500's and FE 450/501's sales are going to decline massively in NZ due to that issue. And bikes like my 2016 FE 450 (rally kitted and road registered) will only become more rare (and hopefully appreciate), but what do I replace it with?

Definitely sold my plated 2015 FE350 for too cheap, hahaha!

Why the insistence on ABS for road use .... are rider's killing themselves because they are not braking in time (or properly) in NZ on a mass scale, or are they just doing the right thing now to make sure that in the coming years all the bikes will have ABS, and thereby make for safer riding, especially for new riders.

I know I answered my own question