it'd be like insurance... you'd still have those riding with out it... but it would force most to comply.

It would be hard to force people to do this now. We haven't had one forever. There would have to be soooo many people under the grandfather clause, it wouldn't be right to enforce it. It'd be tough to implement a tieredlicense law in the states. Although, I agree that we should have one.

i think i have to disagree with the fast cars wont prepare you for bikes argument a bit here. while its true that the car has a far greater contact patch than the bike, the car also weighs about 7-9 times as much as your average SS bike. also, the camber angle on a cars tires is fixed which means that depending on the setup you are either comprimising your ability to accelerate and brake or the ability to corner. not so on a bike, bike tires are rounded and ought to have the same amount of contact straight up as it would leaned over. another point is that in driving a fast car in corners one has to be very aware of weight shift, let off the throttle mid corner in an FF or RR car and see what happens to you! shits just as important on a bike. and my last little bit here is on concentration, as one who has operated many many different types of vehicles i find the level nessesary to safely operate my bike about the same as what i use in one of my fast cars, or a plane, or when i was driving tanks.

btw, im basing this rant on my Shelby Daytona, and NSX. both of which are manuals and feature no traction control, abs, or any other form of driver assistance whatsoever as i believe that the driver should be what makes a car fast, not some computer

M&M, how tall are you? im assuming this was a newer cbr1000 and not one from the late 80s or 90s? modern litres really arent that much bigger than 600s

Good read maybe I should print it out for the guys at work

It'll take thousands of sheets of paper to print it out.

I believe an '05. And I'm 5'4. It wasn't the height so much as the width of it. I have to spread my legs further to fit around the bike, so there is less leg left to hang over onto the ground.

if you need help splittin your legs i'd be glad to stretch em out for ya. with sex.

real talk.

The fast car & fast bike discussion has more to do with performance and reaction. Honestly, can you say it doesn't take more skill to drive a Corvette ZO6 then a Chevy Cobalt? Maybe not in a straight line at 20 mph. But what about as speed comes into play. What about taking corners? What about a wet road?

As a new driver or rider you are not going to have those skills necessary to handle unexpected situations.

A new driver isn't going to know what to do when they floor it on a wet surface and the ass end of the car starts sliding. A new driver with 500hp under his butt isn't going to know how long it takes to slow down from 80mph to 0mph in a panic situation.

There are more oppertunities for error with a 16 or 17 year old getting a performance car or motorcycle. Just look at the 17 or 18 year old that was killed along with a few friends out hot rodding in his dad's M5 down in Ocala last month. Maturity level and skill level comes into play, with any kind of performance vehicle or motorcycle.

Ummm, have you ever taken an MSF class? Have you ever done any reading on Motorcycle basics or physics? If not, I encourage you to do both asap. When cornering on a motorcycle traction is reduced. Depending on the amount of lean angle, you have a smaller contact patch on the road. Have you ever watched any motorcycle racing? When they are leaned over in a corner, they are using maybe a fraction of the tires contact patch.

In a car, you have more contact path because the tires are turned. You don't turn on a motorcycle. You countersteer. A motorcycle turns nothing like a car.

Please do some research before you start giving people the wrong information.

Not true. I have an older (1990) CBR1000 and the seat height is at least 2 inches shorter than the 1000RR, and the seat padding is five times thicker. And even though it's 200 pounds heavier than an R6, it's a zillion times easier to ride on the street.

But the R1 is a race bike and should place well by a good rider. I'd like to see them take an R1 and make a great sport/tourer (not an FZ1).

Did anyone see the November, 2006 issue of Motorcyclist magazine? They took a mid-80's Kawasaki KZ550 LTD Cruiser and placed eighth in Middleweight Superbike. They paid $400 for the bike and $450 in parts from other old bikes.


Things don't change much. I remember thirty-six years ago when new riders thought they could learn on and ride Kawasaki 500 or 750 triples. Very unforgiving bikes for newies or experienced riders. Wheelies aren't something new. Me? I was on my friend's H1 once. Then I went back to my Hodaka Ace.