Motorcycle Radio

[SoonerAviator]

My Stratoliner has been updated! The most reliable motorcycles made.

I like the new look. Looks like a cross between the Honda Valkyrie and HD Glides. I didn't look at weights, but that's the biggest thing that keeps me from going to something like the Stratoliner. I want something with similar styling to the ad you posted, just slimmed down a bit, with a VMax engine, and weight not to exceed 650lbs. Basically a modernized VMax with some touring bags/fairing. Unfortunately, there aren't too many of those designs out there; I'd call it a "muscle-tourer" I guess. The Ducati Diavel Strada was sort of an attempt at it, but it's not a great 2-up bike, and isn't really built for much more than the local cruise. If they had extended the tail another 9-10" it might be a great fit for me.

 

[azblackbird]

but a friend who's crashed a lot said that jeans end up protecting you about the same as mesh pants.

Your friend might want to rethink that. I went down at about 65 mph and was wearing my helmet, a long sleeve T-shirt, golfing gloves, First Gear mesh pants, and Sidi riding boots. The T-shirt and golf gloves where shredded. The boots got scuffed up a little bit and I still wear them today. The pants were totally shredded, but do to the padding/armor in the right places I walked away with out a single scratch to my butt and legs, nor did I have a single bruise anywhere on my lower extremities. They did their job! Levis would have been shredded in an instant, along with my legs, and I would have had severe bruising. I would advise wearing ATTGATT. I'm just as guilty as the next guy and don't always follow my creed. I was lucky this time. Next time I may not be.

OK, bird, fess up. How'd it happen? Any lessons we can learn?

Biggest lesson I learned was to wear my armored jacket and armored gloves no matter how hot or humid it may be. 2nd lesson I learned is if you are coming up on a exit and you see it at the very last second, blow on by and take the next one. I crashed right after crossing the MS river bridge in Memphis TN. There's an exit right after the bridge that will take you south to Collierville. The locals called it "malfunction junction" due to the many crashes that have occurred at that particular point. I saw the exit at the last second, braked hard and was about to make the transition to hit the exit and set up to take the curve. I caught a lane stripe with my rear tire during the transition (this is all happening in milliseconds) the rear tire locked up on the stripe and along with the weight of my trailer pushing me I went down so fast it was like being on snot covered ice. I rolled and tumbled about 200 ft. The bike and trailer flipped, rolled, and tumbled about 100 yards.

I never did officially race crotch rockets, but always had one that I did numerous track days with. If you've ever done any sort of high speed spirited riding whether on a track or in the twisties, then you know the pucker factor when you hit any lane stripes, or any of the gore points under hard acceleration. You can hear your revs and feel your bike and rear tire breaking away in that few milliseconds you catch one. My crashing the Goldwing was basically all of that in reverse. In other words I got bit.

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[Bill]

I would advise wearing ATTGATT. I'm just as guilty as the next guy and don't always follow my creed. I was lucky this time. Next time I may not be.

I caught a lane stripe with my rear tire during the transition (this is all happening in milliseconds) the rear tire locked up on the stripe and along with the weight of my trailer pushing me I went down so fast it was like being on snot covered ice.

ATGATT, yes, I wear everything (although mesh in the summer) all the time. Cagers at redlights ask me if I'm hot, and I reply that I'd rather sweat than bleed. Usually shuts them up right quick.

Lane stripes, yup, very slippery. And in the rain, they're almost like ice. Bird, does your wing have ABS? After now having a couple of bikes with ABS, I'm a big believer. Yes, a good rider on a clean track can out brake ABS, but on that rainy morning when the blue hair in the Buick cuts you off, ABS is your friend. Some bikes now even have cornering ABS.

 

[wrbix]

Re ATGATT - wife and I sitting ATGATT at a stop light (each on a bike); typical Jean/T-shirt/fingerless gloved/helmetless "biker" pulls up next to me (now three abreast) and proffers something to the effect of "Y'all must be hot in all that". I turn to Teresa and repeat it to her, to which she replies loud enough for "biker" to hear "he's a wienie". Light changes, we motor away.

 

[Ted]

Lane stripes, yup, very slippery. And in the rain, they're almost like ice. Bird, does your wing have ABS? After now having a couple of bikes with ABS, I'm a big believer. Yes, a good rider on a clean track can out brake ABS, but on that rainy morning when the blue hair in the Buick cuts you off, ABS is your friend. Some bikes now even have cornering ABS.

I'm a believer in ABS on motorcycles, too. Of course, neither of our bikes have it. I can out-brake ABS in a car or truck any day of the week, but I would never claim to be able to do that on a motorcycle.

 

[steingar]

Sweat wipes off, rash not so much. Too hot for gear, too hot to ride.

What's funny is everybody always poo-poos HD's. Go try to find one in a motorcycle junkyard. .

They all get parted out to fix the ones still running. Did you know that 95% of all Harleys are still on the road?


yeah, the other 5% actually made it home.

 

[Frogs97]

Dad was a firefighter, and did lots of stupid stuff in his youth. So growing up, his mantra was that I could have a bike when I was big enough to whoop him. Then I never really caught the bug again. Though ever since I first saw it, I have wondered about the Triumph Rocket III. I understand Triumphs are temperamental, but that was a great looking and sounding bike.

 

[Ted]

Dad was a firefighter, and did lots of stupid stuff in his youth. So growing up, his mantra was that I could have a bike when I was big enough to whoop him. Then I never really caught the bug again. Though ever since I first saw it, I have wondered about the Triumph Rocket III. I understand Triumphs are temperamental, but that was a great looking and sounding bike.

The newer Triumphs are good bikes. My wife had a Daytona 675 for a while and loved it. I loved it, too. Super light weight, fast and torquey for such a small engine, and a really unique sound. It was a very fun bike to ride, although we sold it when it became obvious we weren't going to have twisties to ride on. It's most fulfilling on twisties. I wouldn't hesitate to buy another one.

Given that my wife and I ride, I can't see us taking that option away from the kids. But we'll make them go about it in a logical way, much like my motorcycle mentor made me do. Start off with an appropriately underpowered, easy to ride, and maneuverable/lightweight bike (in my case it was an '84 KZ 700), make them wear the gear (which we lead by example), make them take the MSF course and go practice with them, etc. To me that makes more sense than just being dead set against it. My mom was, and so I just hid it from her. Granted, there's nothing she would offer besides complaints, whereas my wife and I can actually put in some constructive boundaries. The MSF course is fun anyway, and a good learning experience. Plus going out to an empty parking lot on a Saturday and practicing riding is a good idea.

 

[steingar]

Triumphs used to be awful (so were Harleys back in the 80s). Neither are all that bad now, at least from a build standpoint. I obviously have issues with HDs, but that's from a design standpoint. They're well built bikes.

 

[Ted]

Triumphs used to be awful (so were Harleys back in the 80s). Neither are all that bad now, at least from a build standpoint. I obviously have issues with HDs, but that's from a design standpoint. They're well built bikes.

You also live in Ohio, which has some of the worst drivers I've seen anywhere. We just wouldn't ride in Cincinnati because of how bad the other drivers were.

Not that I think Kansas is immune of bad drivers, but overall they're pretty good here. I do take the quality of surrounding drivers into consideration with the vehicles I drive. In Ohio my preference was to drive a tank.

 

[SoonerAviator]

The Triumph Rocket III gets pitted against the Duc Diavel/Yamaha VMax/HD Vrod frequently in many motorcycle comparisons. Usually comes in last place overall by most accounts, but it's pretty much splitting hairs at that point as it's still a pretty fast bike.

 

[Ted]

The Triumph Rocket III gets pitted against the Duc Diavel/Yamaha VMax/HD Vrod frequently in many motorcycle comparisons. Usually comes in last place overall by most accounts, but it's pretty much splitting hairs at that point as it's still a pretty fast bike.

I don't follow the comparisons, but I personally have often found the vehicles that various magazines place last may be for reasons that I disagree with.

Like you said, it tends to be splitting hairs, and there can be various personal reasons that tip the scales one way or another. Magazines reflect the personal preferences of the writers (as you'd expect), which may not be in line with your own.

 

[SoonerAviator]

I don't follow the comparisons, but I personally have often found the vehicles that various magazines place last may be for reasons that I disagree with.

Like you said, it tends to be splitting hairs, and there can be various personal reasons that tip the scales one way or another. Magazines reflect the personal preferences of the writers (as you'd expect), which may not be in line with your own.

Absolutely correct. I was just saying that the comparison gets used as a frame of reference for the "style" of the bike. The Triumph R3 falls into that "muscle bike/cruiser" category, for what that's worth. I think the comparisons are useful for hearing about some of the idiosyncrasies on different models, but as far as overall enjoyment of the bike from a visceral feel/riding position standpoint, it's all subjective and has too many variables to be applied to all riders. One guy who is 6'1" thinks a bike needs 4" risers, another guy at 5"10" thinks it's perfect.

 

[steingar]

You also live in Ohio, which has some of the worst drivers I've seen anywhere. We just wouldn't ride in Cincinnati because of how bad the other drivers were.

I don't recall anyone in Cincinnati being any worse than anywhere else. Drivers are bad near where I am, but a lot of that comes from strangers to the area being highly distracted. Overall drivers have gotten far, far worse do to the advent of screens. I suspect drivers are no better or worse in Kansas, there are just far fewer of them. Kansas is quite depopulated compared to Ohio.

 

[JimNtexas]

If you can afford to fly, you can afford to buy Motoport Kevlar Mesh with quad armor! You'll look like a dork, but compared to anything else on the market real Kevlar is the closest thing to a suit of armor you'll find, and since it's Mesh you still get airflow through it.

These products are made in Southern California, you can visit the little factory that makes them. They'll even custom make one for you.

Crash tested and approved by me.

 

[Ted]

Absolutely correct. I was just saying that the comparison gets used as a frame of reference for the "style" of the bike. The Triumph R3 falls into that "muscle bike/cruiser" category, for what that's worth. I think the comparisons are useful for hearing about some of the idiosyncrasies on different models, but as far as overall enjoyment of the bike from a visceral feel/riding position standpoint, it's all subjective and has too many variables to be applied to all riders. One guy who is 6'1" thinks a bike needs 4" risers, another guy at 5"10" thinks it's perfect.

Agreed. And if you read between the lines, a lot of times you can gleam that sort of info.

The visceral sensations one is interesting. One thing I find in a lot of magazines is that the writers seem to look for something that operates so silently and smoothly that you can't tell it's on. That's great if that's what you want, but of course it's not for everyone. I remember back around the time I bought my Cummins-powered Dodge (this was 2004 timeframe) I read a review that compared the Duramax, PowerStroke 6.0, and Cummins engines in their appropriate trucks. Well, I suppose it was a diesel truck comparison, but the engines were a big factor in there. The PowerStroke and Duramax won praises for being noticeably quieter than the Cummins, but they did start off by saying that if you told a Cummins driver that his engine was loud, he'd probably smile and say "Thank you." There's some truth to that. One of the things I loved about my Cummins-powered truck was the sound it made.

Of course, it's important, and not to be taken lightly and is important. I like my various performance vehicles having some more vibration and noise to them, but I do like some vehicles being smooth.

I don't recall anyone in Cincinnati being any worse than anywhere else. Drivers are bad near where I am, but a lot of that comes from strangers to the area being highly distracted. Overall drivers have gotten far, far worse do to the advent of screens. I suspect drivers are no better or worse in Kansas, there are just far fewer of them. Kansas is quite depopulated compared to Ohio.

Strangers may have something to do with it, but as you know I've driven all over the country and lived in a lot of different places. I've ridden in NYC and was more comfortable riding there than in Ohio.

The drivers in Kansas are a lot better than in Ohio, or at least a lot more courteous and less prone to do stupid things. Our roads may have something to do with it, they are also better. Point is, it's much nicer riding here than in Ohio.

 

[steingar]

Strangers may have something to do with it, but as you know I've driven all over the country and lived in a lot of different places. I've ridden in NYC and was more comfortable riding there than in Ohio.

Safer driving at 15 mph than 50.

The drivers in Kansas are a lot better than in Ohio, or at least a lot more courteous and less prone to do stupid things. Our roads may have something to do with it, they are also better. Point is, it's much nicer riding here than in Ohio.

I doubt it in the strongest possible terms. In my experience no matter where you go people are people. I think you've gotten the impression you have because there are just fewer drivers in general. Also, the lower the population density the more polite people tend to be. It is perfectly understandable, if there aren't a lot of people around there isn't anyone to honk you off.

 

[Ted]

Safer driving at 15 mph than 50.

I was riding on NYC highways, not just city streets.

I doubt it in the strongest possible terms. In my experience no matter where you go people are people. I think you've gotten the impression you have because there are just fewer drivers in general. Also, the lower the population density the more polite people tend to be. It is perfectly understandable, if there aren't a lot of people around there isn't anyone to honk you off.

That's fine, you can disagree. In my experience there are significant differences in standard personalities and driving characteristics depending on where you are.

 

[azblackbird]

Bird, does your wing have ABS? After now having a couple of bikes with ABS, I'm a big believer. Yes, a good rider on a clean track can out brake ABS, but on that rainy morning when the blue hair in the Buick cuts you off, ABS is your friend. Some bikes now even have cornering ABS.

Wing did not have ABS. HD has ABS.

The tech writer for MCN and WingWorld wrote and published an accident analysis and determined that in my particular accident and knowing my riding ability that ABS would have been no benefit. Reason being is I was already at a lean angle and I had 175 lbs. of force (the trailer) pushing me in a straight line. Once I broke even a minuscule of traction it was a done deal. Cornering ABS may have helped in that situation. I spent several days on a KTM 1190 that had the cornering ABS and put it through its paces. It works very well. When activated I couldn't make the bike lowside. I guess they're billing it as a non-crashable bike. Guess what, I was still able to crash it. Mostly just laying it down nice and easy when I got all cockeyed in the rough stuff. It's not a 300 2st. I was trying to ride it like one.

 

[SoonerAviator]

The PowerStroke and Duramax won praises for being noticeably quieter than the Cummins, but they did start off by saying that if you told a Cummins driver that his engine was loud, he'd probably smile and say "Thank you." There's some truth to that. One of the things I loved about my Cummins-powered truck was the sound it made.

True, but the biggest place where that comes into place is the drive-thru intercom, lol. I remember seeing everyone with the 7.3L/6.0L PowerStroke or Cummins guys automatically shutting off the engine when pulling up to order at a drive thru, because they could never be heard over the engine. The 6.4L PS and DuraMax guys could normally leave 'em running because they idled much more quietly. That is about the only time where engine noise makes any difference, and it'd certainly be last on my list of concerns for buying a diesel truck, lol.

 

[Ted]

Wing did not have ABS. HD has ABS.

The tech writer for MCN and WingWorld wrote and published an accident analysis and determined that in my particular accident and knowing my riding ability that ABS would have been no benefit. Reason being is I was already at a lean angle and I had 175 lbs. of force (the trailer) pushing me in a straight line. Once I broke even a minuscule of traction it was a done deal. Cornering ABS may have helped in that situation. I spent several days on a KTM 1190 that had the cornering ABS and put it through its paces. It works very well. When activated I couldn't make the bike lowside. I guess they're billing it as a non-crashable bike. Guess what, I was still able to crash it. Mostly just laying it down nice and easy when I got all cockeyed in the rough stuff. It's not a 300 2st. I was trying to ride it like one.

I think your point about just going on if you see an exit at the last second is the most valuable takeaway, and one I've been practicing for years in anything I'm driving or riding. Regardless of whether you're on a motorcycle or in a car or truck, last second swerves for exits often end poorly. I save swerves for emergencies to avoid crashing, not for convenience of making the exit I want to make. I figured out early in my driving career that was asking for a crash (fortunately I figured it out before crashing).

True, but the biggest place where that comes into place is the drive-thru intercom, lol. I remember seeing everyone with the 7.3L/6.0L PowerStroke or Cummins guys automatically shutting off the engine when pulling up to order at a drive thru, because they could never be heard over the engine. The 6.4L PS and DuraMax guys could normally leave 'em running because they idled much more quietly. That is about the only time where engine noise makes any difference, and it'd certainly be last on my list of concerns for buying a diesel truck, lol.

That's interesting. I never had to turn off my engine on my Cummins (or now on my 6.0 PowerStroke, which is significantly louder than they were new based on my memory) when at a drive-thru. But as you pointed out, that's the last consideration when buying a diesel truck.

The 6.4s, 6.7s, and later generation Duramaxes are way quieter, almost silent. Even the latest Cummins trucks are much quieter, which is one of the reasons why I don't like them as much.

 

[azblackbird]

I think your point about just going on if you see an exit at the last second is the most valuable takeaway, and one I've been practicing for years in anything I'm driving or riding. Regardless of whether you're on a motorcycle or in a car or truck, last second swerves for exits often end poorly. I save swerves for emergencies to avoid crashing, not for convenience of making the exit I want to make. I figured out early in my driving career that was asking for a crash (fortunately I figured it out before crashing).

I don't know if you've ever raced or have done tons of track days, but in my situation (remember this is all happening in milliseconds) I assessed the situation and determined I could easily make the transition and set up to take the curve and bleed off my speed in the curve. Done it millions of times. With that said, all it takes one time to have a wrench thrown into the mess and down you go. But you're right, I should have just blown through the exit and caught the next one.

 

[steingar]

Sportbike comes in handy for this sort of thing. I get so used to doing racing turns for escapes that I suspect its second nature. I think nothing of catching an exit at the last instant, its a maneuver I do all the time (and I've had the back wheel go out on more occasions than I can count). That said, we're talking about a 400lb sport bike vs an 800 lb Goldwing. That said, I doubt I'm in any kind of shape to ride a sport bike interstate.

 

[Ted]

I don't know if you've ever raced or have done tons of track days, but in my situation (remember this is all happening in milliseconds) I assessed the situation and determined I could easily make the transition and set up to take the curve and bleed off my speed in the curve. Done it millions of times. With that said, all it takes one time to have a wrench thrown into the mess and down you go. But you're right, I should have just blown through the exit and caught the next one.

I've done my share of racing and track days. But I've also spent a whole lot of time towing with pickup trucks, which balances it out to some degree. The default for me is to keep following the road, and an evasive maneuver is only taken if necessary to avoid a collision. Even then, in some cases I will accept the collision. For example, I wouldn't swerve my Kenworth to avoid a deer, I'd just hit the deer. I WOULD swerve the Kenworth to avoid running over a person.

I will do evasive maneuvers, of course, and have done so plenty of times, in some cases with a trailer attached. And on a motorcycle evasive maneuvers are more required to avoid cagers, as we all know. I just process it differently for exits and non-safety-critical encounters.

Either way, I'm not trying to criticize your riding ability. You're probably a better rider than I am as I don't ride enough anymore and the roads out here are too straight - I really should spend some time doing parking lot practice. You had made the point that the takeaway was to not make a move like that at the last second, and I was agreeing that it was a good strategy for all riders (and drivers) to employ.

 

[Bill]

The newer Triumphs are good bikes. My wife had a Daytona 675 for a while and loved it.

Given that my wife and I ride, I can't see us taking that option away from the kids. But we'll make them go about it in a logical way

New Triumphs are very good motorcycles, I've owned several and they were all great. I had a Street Triple, same 675 engine, but in an upright standard. Very nice bike.

If the child wants to ride, a definite pre-req in addition to yours will be competent at operating a stick shift car before riding a bike.

 

[Anthony]

Triumphs used to be awful (so were Harleys back in the 80s). Neither are all that bad now, at least from a build standpoint. I obviously have issues with HDs, but that's from a design standpoint. They're well built bikes.

I had a 1978 Triumph Bonneville 750 that I bought slightly used with very low mileage in 1980. I had that bike for a long time, and it never stuck me. Normal maintenance, and it never failed to start, or run. It was a beautiful bike. Yes, I've heard the stories also, but I guess I got a good one. I like the new Triumphs a lot.

 

[SoonerAviator]

I think dirt bikes are a better way to get introduced to riding than street bikes. You come across a lot of varied terrain off-road, which forces you to learn to deal with changing conditions constantly. Lighter bikes that are more responsive, and it hurts slightly less when you fall on dirt/grass than it does on pavement.

 

[Ted]

If the child wants to ride, a definite pre-req in addition to yours will be competent at operating a stick shift car before riding a bike.

Agreed with that pre-req. Our kids are going to learn to drive on old farm tractors which helps with the basics of clutch operation. If they're like Laurie and me, they'll want to learn to drive a stick anyway.

I think dirt bikes are a better way to get introduced to riding than street bikes. You come across a lot of varied terrain off-road, which forces you to learn to deal with changing conditions constantly. Lighter bikes that are more responsive, and it hurts slightly less when you fall on dirt/grass than it does on pavement.

We have 11 acres and I expect they'll want to do some level of dirt bike riding, which I agree would be good for them. Right now my son (4.5) is driving his go-kart and does well with it. He also drives the 7000 lb tractor (on my lap, of course) and does well. Sometimes I have to take over when he makes a bad judgement, but really he's mostly pretty good with it.

I figure we'll let the dirt bikes come when ready. The go karts are a good stage at this point. Right now they're very interested in the "vroom vrooms" (motorcycles) but my son needs to get to where he can ride a normal bicycle better first.

 

[azblackbird]

Sportbike comes in handy for this sort of thing. I get so used to doing racing turns for escapes that I suspect its second nature. I think nothing of catching an exit at the last instant, its a maneuver I do all the time (and I've had the back wheel go out on more occasions than I can count). That said, we're talking about a 400lb sport bike vs an 800 lb Goldwing. That said, I doubt I'm in any kind of shape to ride a sport bike interstate.

For s**ts and giggles I'd take the GW every now and then to track days. Naturally the pros would blow me in the weeds, but I held my own with the intermediate riders. I motarded my Honda 650R and on a tight course could just about smoke everybody. On a more open course I'd smoke the pros in the turns but they'd nail me on the straights so it was mostly a wash.

 

[denverpilot]

My Stratoliner has been updated! The most reliable motorcycles made.

Just something I noticed... they didn't put anyone in that commercial who didn't have grey hair! LOL. Not that grey hair is bad or anything but you'd think they would at least give a marketing nod to one younger rider. LOL.

...but they did start off by saying that if you told a Cummins driver that his engine was loud, he'd probably smile and say "Thank you."

Yes. And I was literally multi-quoting that to say...

True, but the biggest place where that comes into place is the drive-thru intercom, lol. I remember seeing everyone with the 7.3L/6.0L PowerStroke or Cummins guys automatically shutting off the engine when pulling up to order at a drive thru, because they could never be heard over the engine. The 6.4L PS and DuraMax guys could normally leave 'em running because they idled much more quietly. That is about the only time where engine noise makes any difference, and it'd certainly be last on my list of concerns for buying a diesel truck, lol.

"If you don't have to shut it off in the drive thru, it's not a diesel worth owning." LOL!

Problem is, my computer has a turbo cool down mode and if I was just pushing the truck hard, you have to override it with a gas pedal tap after about ten seconds with the ignition switch off. And if I forget it's on, it turns into "Hang on a sec! I'm trying to shut it off!" "I can't hear you sir, can you shut off your engine?" "Hang ON...!"

Hahaha. I usually just park and go in. The dually is too wide for most drive thru's anyway.

But my '01 is hellaciously loud. Probably has more to do with the 4" exhaust from front to back than anything but man. It's obnoxious. Which, is fine by me.

Since the A/C decided to go out and I have not yet bothered to get it to the shop to look for the leak and get that dealt with, and I had someone ask if I could bring it to the office to help him get some stuff home a couple of days ago, I drove it old skool with the windows down. I quickly wished I had brought my Zulu 2s along. Hahahaha.

That's interesting. I never had to turn off my engine on my Cummins (or now on my 6.0 PowerStroke, which is significantly louder than they were new based on my memory) when at a drive-thru. But as you pointed out, that's the last consideration when buying a diesel truck.

The 6.4s, 6.7s, and later generation Duramaxes are way quieter, almost silent. Even the latest Cummins trucks are much quieter, which is one of the reasons why I don't like them as much.

I'm really surprised your Cummins was that quiet.

I think dirt bikes are a better way to get introduced to riding than street bikes. You come across a lot of varied terrain off-road, which forces you to learn to deal with changing conditions constantly. Lighter bikes that are more responsive, and it hurts slightly less when you fall on dirt/grass than it does on pavement.

That's how I learned. I ended up not being a street rider for long because the city is just insane. So I never really got into the culture and kept up on buying and riding bikes, but I loved riding in the dirt as a kid. Only time it ever ****ed me off was when I did an aggressive gear shift in really soft sand when unloaded on torque on some crappy 250 my dad had and locked the transmission up solid. Tossed me off at slow speed (was fine) and took a half hour of kicking the holy hell out of the shift peg to get that PoS out of second gear. No tools, middle of nowhere, and didn't weigh enough to do it. Haha. I was hot, angry, and didn't want to get on another dirt bike again for a long time after that day. Haha. Dad just chuckled that he wondered what was taking me so long. It was a big party weekend and we were out somewhere with friends who had a ski boat and plenty of dirt bike trails around and three or four bikes. But I had wandered off around 2PM to do a quick bike run solo around the trails and wasn't missed for a while. Hahahaha. Soooo mad. I forget what was wrong with that thing when we finally tore it down at home but I was young enough I was just handing dad tools back then.

Agreed with that pre-req. Our kids are going to learn to drive on old farm tractors which helps with the basics of clutch operation. If they're like Laurie and me, they'll want to learn to drive a stick anyway.

If they can even buy one.

The go kart commentary mixed with the Briggs and Stratton thread remind me of my youth. We all wanted a nice big Briggs and we'd find someone's dad to weld stuff together to make a buggy.

We all just had to save our money for a Briggs. Then we'd all tweak stuff on those buggies for hours. Then ride the hell out of them until the brakes failed.

Nothing else would do back then. But now Briggs sucks. Times change... sigh.

 

[Ted]

But my '01 is hellaciously loud. Probably has more to do with the 4" exhaust from front to back than anything but man. It's obnoxious. Which, is fine by me.

[snip]

I'm really surprised your Cummins was that quiet.

In 2003 they really quieted the engine down with the common rail direct injection. Your 24-valve '01 is the loudest generation of that engine by far. They were stupidly loud from the factory, and only got louder when modified as you did.

Personally I felt that my 2004.5 was just an excellent truck that got the combination of features right. It was comfortable, it had a crew cab unlike previous generations (although admittedly Ford and GM had better crew cabs with more space), the engine was loud but not too loud, it came factory with 4" exhaust and a big intercooler so it made 325 HP and 600 lb-ft torque. You had enough power to tow a 28' enclosed trailer down the highway going 98 (did that once getting away from tornadoes) and it was loud enough to know it was a Cummins, but not so loud that you suffered hearing loss.

Of course, there were negatives, and who knows what the long-term longevity would have been if I'd kept it. Part of my reason for selling it was concerns about long-term durability with the electronics. And then I go and buy a 6.0. :banghead:

I think if I can get the 6.0 running properly then it'll be alright, but I also think what I've determined is I really hate automatics, and it may drive me nuts enough to try to resell this one and get something with a manual like I wanted in the first place. The automatic on my Mercedes is about as not-completely-****ing-me-off as automatics come, but I still don't like it.

If they can even buy one.

Yeah, that part about modern cars drives me nuts. Even BMW has gotten to where they don't make any new cars with manual transmissions, which really angers me.

The one thing I don't like about my daily driver (the 2003 Mercedes E55 AMG) is that it's an automatic. I am halfway considering changing it to a manual when I finally blow up the transmission in it, although that ends up being a ton of work. We may have to build a car with a manual transmission for them to learn on. Well, I've always wanted to build a Cobra replica...

 

[SoonerAviator]

. . . We may have to build a car with a manual transmission for them to learn on. Well, I've always wanted to build a Cobra replica...

Nothing like "learning to drive a stick" in a vehicle with 300HP+ weighing less than 2,500lbs.

 

[Ted]

Nothing like "learning to drive a stick" in a vehicle with 300HP+ weighing less than 2,500lbs.

Who said that I'd let them have one with 300+ HP?

Plenty of 5.0s out there that make well under 200 HP.

 

[Anthony]

Nothing like "learning to drive a stick" in a vehicle with 300HP+ weighing less than 2,500lbs.

Ha! Yeah. It is interesting how things change. I was recently "made fun of" by a friend because I drive a stick shift. The insinuation was that it was old fashioned. From what I see younger people largely do not know how to drive a manual transmission, and many auto makers either don't offer manual tranny at all, or they are very limited.

 

[Ted]

Ha! Yeah. It is interesting how things change. I was recently "made fun of" by a friend because I drive a stick shift. The insinuation was that it was old fashioned. From what I see younger people largely do not know how to drive a manual transmission, and many auto makers either don't offer manual tranny at all, or they are very limited.

When I was learning to drive this was still true (circa 2000). You're seeing fewer true car enthusiasts anymore. Most kids are more concerned with the looks and the stereo rather than what's under the hood.

'course, I remember when I was in college there was the kid who had the Ford Probe with about $5k worth of stereo equipment in it. Car was probably worth $1k.

 

[SoonerAviator]

Ha! Yeah. It is interesting how things change. I was recently "made fun of" by a friend because I drive a stick shift. The insinuation was that it was old fashioned. From what I see younger people largely do not know how to drive a manual transmission, and many auto makers either don't offer manual tranny at all, or they are very limited.

EPA-mandated fuel mileage drives a lot of that, in addition to younger generations not having a love affair with vehicles/transportation. I don't like manual trannies in anything but sports cars/muscle cars, personally.

 

[Anthony]

EPA-mandated fuel mileage drives a lot of that, in addition to younger generations not having a love affair with vehicles/transportation. I don't like manual trannies in anything but sports cars/muscle cars, personally.

That's pretty much it, but I like them in Jeeps too. I don't know if I'd like my Jeep without shifting.

 

[SoonerAviator]

Who said that I'd let them have one with 300+ HP?

Plenty of 5.0s out there that make well under 200 HP.

Lol, true, but getting a Mk4 roadster and putting an unmodified 5.0 from a 1990 F-150 kind of defeats the purpose. Personally, I'd either go with the Coyote 5.0 (420HP), or a stroked aluminum 351w (408 cu in). I'm not sure I'd ever bother with a big block like the 427.

 

[SoonerAviator]

That's pretty much it, but I like them in Jeeps too. I don't know if I'd like my Jeep without shifting.

Well, I've used the FILs junky Jeep Wrangler to launch/retrieve his boat a time or two, and I'm not much of a fan of relying on the parking brake (even leaving in gear) to keep it out of the drink, lol.

 

[denverpilot]

When I was learning to drive this was still true (circa 2000). You're seeing fewer true car enthusiasts anymore. Most kids are more concerned with the looks and the stereo rather than what's under the hood.

'course, I remember when I was in college there was the kid who had the Ford Probe with about $5k worth of stereo equipment in it. Car was probably worth $1k.

EPA-mandated fuel mileage drives a lot of that, in addition to younger generations not having a love affair with vehicles/transportation. I don't like manual trannies in anything but sports cars/muscle cars, personally.

Honest question: Who watches the Fast and Furious movies? I don't. But they're up to like twelve of them. What demographic is that?