Biker's Cafe Chatroom

Kreeeee · 14 Mar 2017 at 13:58

Stovepipes said:
I keep having the fantasy of having a nice long motorcycle journey, maybe camp or stay at a hotel see some sights on stunning twisty roads. This is the dream that seems to be sold to all motorcyclists but after just coming back from a quick 30 minute journey on the M25 I don't think that's realistic on my naked NC700s, god at a sustained 65 mph+ it is just horrifying.

I've done 2 week long tours on a street triple without any problems (except falling off...).

Stovepipes · 14 Mar 2017 at 14:05

Kreeeee said:
I've done 2 week long tours on a street triple without any problems (except falling off...).

So you're telling me you're insane?

The noise, the cold, tucking down behind my tiny windscreen and the slight fear of death when passing other vehicles. If I ever do go on a trip I'll do the bulk of the motorway journey in the middle of summer at first light and then get onto the backroads. I also might have to get a bigger Puig screen or move on to a faired sports tourer Kawasaki Z1000SX.

Kreeeee · 14 Mar 2017 at 14:07

I just never found it an issue in the slightest to have no wind protection.

I don't claim to be normal though.

tom_e · 14 Mar 2017 at 14:07

Even poking my head out of my safe place behind my screen and fairings at motorway speeds leads to my neck trying to part way with my shoulders if I forget I'm not just trundling around town, I couldn't think of anything worse than having no fairings and a tiny screen. I like being able to tuck into my little bubble.

Stovepipes · 14 Mar 2017 at 14:13

I used to commute everyday into central London and only did 60mph+ for a tiny proportion of that journey which was fine, but 20 or so minutes of it was just unbearable. It's made reconsider everything lol I'm actually searching for my ear plugs now just in case I need to do a similar journey soon.

tom_e · 14 Mar 2017 at 14:14

I suppose the plus side is you actually get some feel for the speed your doing, although I'm not going to be breaking any ground speed records on the SV it's very easy to look down and think "How did I get to that speed!?"

AndyCr15 · 14 Mar 2017 at 14:15

Kreeeee said:
I just never found it an issue in the slightest to have no wind protection.

I don't claim to be normal though.

I'm with you, but maybe a 19" neck helps? I tend to stay around or below... 90 (on track of course...) and I'm generally okay. When you get up to 150 (on track again) then it's interesting as it feels like someone is trying to pull your helmet off!

Kreeeee · 14 Mar 2017 at 14:16

I never ride without earplugs.

Stovepipes · 14 Mar 2017 at 14:22

Kreeeee said:
I never ride without earplugs.

I've never really felt the need til today plus I always like to listen the radio on my helmet speakers and be able to hear anything big happening around me like emergency vehicles.

tom_e said:
I suppose the plus side is you actually get some feel for the speed your doing, although I'm not going to be breaking any ground speed records on the SV it's very easy to look down and think "How did I get to that speed!?"

Your SV is probably twice as fast as my Honda and I actually feel that it's not got much poke left after 80mph but in the city yeah you easily find yourself doing silly speeds.

tom_e · 14 Mar 2017 at 14:26

Stovepipes said:
I've never really felt the need til today plus I always like to listen the radio on my helmet speakers and be able to hear anything big happening around me like emergency vehicles.

You'll probably find ear plugs will make all of that easier to hear as they just filter out the static for the most part.

When I worked in night clubs I'd always have plugs in and if anyone came up to talk to me they'd wait for me to take one out thinking I wouldn't be able to hear them otherwise but it's the total opposite I could hear them much better with them still in as they filtered out a lot of the background chatter.

Craig321 · 14 Mar 2017 at 14:27

I've done 2 weeks on my Speed Triple. It's surprisingly good at cruising on the motorway as well. The fly screen must be positioned perfectly for my height.

TallPaul_S · 14 Mar 2017 at 14:46

Stovepipes said:
I keep having the fantasy of having a nice long motorcycle journey, maybe camp or stay at a hotel see some sights on stunning twisty roads. This is the dream that seems to be sold to all motorcyclists but after just coming back from a quick 30 minute journey on the M25 I don't think that's realistic on my naked NC700s, god at a sustained 65 mph+ it is just horrifying.

Rubbish!!

If i can do 1200 miles over 5 days on a CB400 with no wind protection which does 9000rpm sitting at 130kph then you can do the same on an nc700. Just limit your time on the motorway. Belgium and the Ardennes are less than 2 hours away on the motorway. 2 hours is easy on any bike.

Edit: no earplugs at 70mph?? :Eek: yeah that will **** up your hearing. Btw my cb400 has 50bhp, less than your nc700. Not saying it's enjoyable but it's tolerable.

IC3 · 14 Mar 2017 at 14:47

I did 300 miles back in December on my SV, 2x 120 and 1x 80 same night.

chris4652009 · 14 Mar 2017 at 14:51

Me and a load of mates (plus girlfriends on pillion seats) all did a camping extended weekend in Fort William years back..before the internet and the "you can't do that on one of those types tried to ruin everything" on our bikes, My gf and I were on my old naked Suzuki 600, other bikes were a mix of 80s-90s 500-1000cc mostly nakeds.

We did Just under 2000 miles in five days , plus horizontal rain all the way home

We lived it, it was awesome

Stovepipes · 14 Mar 2017 at 15:01

You people are absolutely bonkers. My arse aches at the mere thought of 2 hours on the road let alone the hell that was the motorway. If I tried a trip the way I felt today I'd have given up 40 minutes in and come back home. You people are hardcore, I'm just not.

Nah I'm too old & grumpy to be that uncomfortable. I'm gonna see if anyone is selling a second hand screen. I might mould some more earplugs this weekend, maybe try a comfort seat pad and have a look at the prices of old Honda Goldwings lol

chris4652009 · 14 Mar 2017 at 15:04

I Did 28k in two years on that 600. so many awesome experiences many of them two-up all over the country

TallPaul_S · 14 Mar 2017 at 15:20

Stovepipes said:
You people are absolutely bonkers. My arse aches at the mere thought of 2 hours on the road let alone the hell that was the motorway. If I tried a trip the way I felt today I'd have given up 40 minutes in and come back home. You people are hardcore, I'm just not.

Nah I'm too old & grumpy to be that uncomfortable. I'm gonna see if anyone is selling a second hand screen. I might mould some more earplugs this weekend, maybe try a comfort seat pad and have a look at the prices of old Honda Goldwings lol

I've done 400 mile, 12 hours days on the bike, granted it seems I'm a bit younger than you but I'm not 21 anymore!!

Some of the best things about biking is the cheap holidays on some of the best roads in Europe, if you just limit yourself to local uk roads you're seriously missing out.

In August I've got a 3700 mile, 15 day trip down to the Alps and I cannot bloody wait!!

Kreeeee · 14 Mar 2017 at 15:29

Stovepipes said:
I've never really felt the need til today plus I always like to listen the radio on my helmet speakers and be able to hear anything big happening around me like emergency vehicles.

Ear plugs make it much easier to hear emergency vehicles.

Stovepipes · 14 Mar 2017 at 15:33

TallPaul_S said:
I've done 400 mile, 12 hours days on the bike, granted it seems I'm a bit younger than you but I'm not 21 anymore!!

Some of the best things about biking is the cheap holidays on some of the best roads in Europe, if you just limit yourself to local uk roads you're seriously missing out.

In August I've got a 3700 mile, 15 day trip down to the Alps and I cannot bloody wait!!

12 hours ouch

I need one of these to do that.

Oh yeah look at the seat on that.

Kreeeee said:
Ear plugs make it much easier to hear emergency vehicles.

Really, I always assumed they just blocked out all sound. I never used the ones I made last year but I'll give them a go.

TallPaul_S · 14 Mar 2017 at 15:48

Earplugs just cut out the wind noise, I can hear sirens way before they're in sight, probably better than most car drivers in their soundproof box. On my cheap Bluetooth headset music is audible up to 65mph too, with a quieter helmet, and a decent Bluetooth system on my Tuono it'll be boring but easy miles on the motorway on the east down to the Alps.