new electric motorcycle by HONDA

[ecr959]

check out the story
http://www.wired.com/autopia/2012/02/mugen-isle-of-man-tt-zero/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+wired%2Findex+%28Wired%3A+Ind ex+3+%28Top+Stories+2%29%29&utm_content=Google+Feedfetcher

Look at this crazy-looking bike

[JWR]

That would be fun in the twisties.

:tup:

[Rookie Rider]

I like....... how you doin ecr ?

[ecr959]

I like....... how you doin ecr ?

Good. Let me tell you in a PM.

[Water Warrior 2]

I like....... how you doin ecr ?

Good. Let me tell you in a PM.
ecr, update too please.

[blaine]

I also would like to know how you are doing. :) :cool:

[ecr959]

OK. OK.
Hi WW, Hi Blaine.

Well... that good job I got down here only lasted a week. It was training for a phone rep job, and after the first week they gave everybody in class a test, to see if you had absorbed the first week of training. Well, I failed the test, they wanted you to pass with at least an 80, and me and 4 other guys didn't get 80. I got a 2nd chance, and my score was closer to 80 but still not there.
So they let me go, I got paid for that week. I still had some savings, I was surviving on a little bit I had left in the bank. Oh yeah, Citibank doesn't have any locations down here, so I had to close that and start a new acct with a local bank.

I was staying with a friend but he said I had to move out asap (long story) so I found a little furnished room in a mobile home. And I'm still not working steady but I got an application going with AT&T for a cable installation guy job. I already took their skills test and passed, the next step is a face 2 face interview. They said it could be 2 weeks or 2 months, so I signed up at this temp labor place. They send guys out to construction sites, mostly unskilled labor. Some kitchen work too. I told them I can be a busboy, or a dishwasher. I am also getting contacted by other companies for customer phone rep jobs. I'm gonna score a job somewhere.
They might get me something today or tomorrow.
I also got a callback from 2 places I applied to, from ads I saw on Craiglist. I also got a interview over the phone from Home Depot, they liked me, they said the next step is a face 2 face interview. That was 3 weeks ago, I'm still waiting on them. Plus I got 2 resumes on Monster.com and a few other places : one is for skilled work as a repair tech, the other resume is for kitchen help. I can be a dishwasher , or I can slice potatos or mop floors, I just want a fulltime.

About my bike, I'm riding almost every day, the bus system down here is parttime at best. Only a few hours a day, only a few streets, only a few days a week. IT sucks, its almost non-existant. I am glad to ride around on the bike to the Temp Labor place, to interviews, if you don't have wheels down here, its impossible to look for work. I can park the bike right next to my door at this mobile home park I'm in. I am still very much a newbie , I only have about 600 miles experience. I just bought the bike last August, in Staten Island. But you know what ? I am seriously thinking about when I do get a steady job, I wanna get a 650 or a 750. I like the Suzuki Boulevard S40, it has a low seat, as low as a GZ250, its a Suzuki bike, its 650, and it looks really good in candy orange. I have been collecting a few pics and the brochure from Suzuki. I think I might get one from craiglist or a local dealer. I feel like this GZ won't stay at 70 or 75 if I need it. If I have to get on an interstate and get to 70 mph and stay there, I want to make sure I can stay there. Have you guys pushed the bike to 70 mph and kept it there ? I am certainly not gonna do it every day, my riding so far is just city riding, but I know in the summer I'm gonna want to stretch myself a bit.

[Water Warrior 2]

Eddie, a couple thoughts on the S-40. Only 60 lbs heavier than the GZ with a 650 single so basically a bigger GZ. Highway cruising may be somewhat annoying with a big thumper going 70/75 mph. I would suggest looking at the 50 series bikes. 800cc V-twins that will run all day at those speeds with plenty to spare. Comparable seat height too. Maybe a tad more but Lynda fits her M-50 at 5'4" with riding boots on. There are C, S and M series to drool over. The S is a hot rod with carbs rather than FI. The lightest too.

[blaine]

Hi,Eddie.I gotta agree with WW on this.I have rode the S40 (savage).I found it very under powered for a 650cc.Also a lot of vibration.There are a lot of bikes in the around the same displacement,that will run circles around the S40.As WW stated the 800's are very good machines.Vulcan 500's are excellent if you can find one.The 750 shadow also comes to mind.IMO all much better bikes than the S40.I hope things look up for you in the job department.
:) :cool:
:cool:

[ecr959]

Thank you for the great answers. Well Blaine ... funny you should mention the Vulcan 500. Before I moved down here , there was a Vulcan 500 at a dealer in Staten Island. I went inside to drool over it a few times. The salesguy said it was a 2009 Only 4K miles. He wanted $4K. I sat on it a few times, it was really nice ( to me most bikes are nice). I just was in the middle of moving and did not have the spare cash to make a deal, even if he would have taken my gz as trade-in. I see the Honda Spirits are nice-looking cruisers. The smallest is a 750.
The smallest Kawasaki Vulcan is a 900 now. I browse craiglist sometimes and see vulcan 750's , sometimes.

Anyway, thats at least a year away for me. I can enjoy the gz for another 6 months or a year.
If I have to, I know I can get on an interstate and just cruise at 60 on the far right lane. Thats OK for now.

[ecr959]

Comparable seat height too. Maybe a tad more but Lynda fits her M-50 at 5'4" with riding boots on.

Good to know, WW. I didn't know the M50 had a low seat. I'm 5'6" only with shoes on. I like the M50, I have seen the pics at the website.

[Water Warrior 2]

On the road near mile "0" of the Alaska Highway.

[Rookie Rider]

Hang in there ecr, it will get better. At least youre trying.

[dieter33]

Hang in there ecr, it will get better. At least youre trying.


But it's really beautiful on that ride :2tup:

[jonathan180iq]

Eddie,

How did the jacket treat you this winter?

-Jonathan

[ecr959]

Eddie,

How did the jacket treat you this winter?

-Jonathan
Hi Jonathan. I've put it on almost as much as my favorite phoney leather jacket. Its warm and it looks cooler than any other jacket I have. Still a little tight around the waist, but less now than back when I got it. I think I AM losing weight but very slow. Here in Raleigh the weather is so crazy, the other night it was 27 degrees, Today its gonna be 70, this weekend it'll be back in the low 50's.

I been riding daily in the last 3 weeks, so I use all my jackets. I think once March comes, it'll begin to be more like 50 - 60 every day.
I can use my favorite denim every day.

[greatmaul]

Hi there. I ride on the freeway a couple of hours each way a couple of times a week, so I know about the freeway thing. I can get up to 55-60 in 5th with no problems, and if I drop it into 4th I can get up to 65mph. That's with open freeway and no help from the wind.

If I latch onto the back of a big rig, I can easily do 65-70 in 5th gear, and once I get to the city, with all the traffic, I can cruise at 70-75mph on the freeway. It seems to me that it's all about the wind. If I've got a lot of wind breaks, then speed is no problem. If I'm all out in the open (like I am most of the ride) then speed is often a problem. I spend a lot of time wishing I could find a big rig to tail.

And, er, I'm always looking for a nice V-Strom or SV650, or maybe even a BMW F650 on cl.

[blaine]

If I latch onto the back of a big rig, I can easily do 65-70 in 5th gear, and once I get to the city, with all the traffic, I can cruise at 70-75mph on the freeway. It seems to me that it's all about the wind. If I've got a lot of wind breaks, then speed is no problem. If I'm all out in the open (like I am most of the ride) then speed is often a problem. I spend a lot of time wishing I could find a big rig to tail.


That is a very bad habit.Most big rig trailers have retread tires on them,that can & do come apart frequently.If you are close when one of these tires disintegrate,you don't have any time to get out of harms way.
:cry:

[Water Warrior 2]

Tire treads are just too scary for me. Followed a truck at a safe distance in my car in 2007 and a trailer tire let go. Almost hit the ditch avoiding the chunks.
As for drafting a truck..............don't do it. What if the truck passes over something and you have no chance to avoid it. All it takes is a piece of fire wood from the back of a pick-up to suddenly appear.
Another thought. This happened to me. Have you ever seen a fist sized rock stuck between the dual tires get fired out at highway speeds. Just like a cannon ball to say the least. I survived but my cage was a little worse for wear after the impact.

[ecr959]

Hi there. I ride on the freeway a couple of hours each way a couple of times a week, so I know about the freeway thing. I can get up to 55-60 in 5th with no problems, and if I drop it into 4th I can get up to 65mph. That's with open freeway and no help from the wind.

I was afraid to do highway riding, but especially in the last 2 weeks, I've also done 55-60 in 5th gear on a few local highways. Only for short distances. I don't understand what you said , about if you drop to 4th, you can get 65. wouldn't that be straining the engine too much ? As I ride more and more, I understand that this gz is a perfect city bike. The engine is adecuate for that job. Thats what I want /need right now, but I know that I will want to do some distance riding eventually. I got a good friend in Virginia, another very good friend in Huntsville, AL. I also got Jonathan and Mole from this forum who live not too far from me, I might want to visit and say hello to those guys.

The gz250 engine might not have the endurance to handle hrs of 60 mph in 5th.
I will definitely move up to a bigger bike, because the engine has to be adecuate for the job. But this is on my "wish list" for the moment.

[Water Warrior 2]

Eddie, the GZ has the stamina to go for hours at 60mph but it is very fatiguing for the rider. As Lynda found out, you have to always be thinking far up the road to anticipate any curve, slight uphill grade or a change in the wind direction. There is little extra power to compensate for certain factors. Having a handful of extra horsepower is worth the cost if you are planning a lot of touring. A 2 hour ride on the GZ is plenty doable but multiple 6 or 8 hour days are very tiring.
Most 500 - 800 engines will work well for touring and still be nimble enough for around town riding. 2 cylinder 500s will be smoother than a single 500. A 90 degree V-twin such as the Vstrom and it's 650 brothers are nearly perfectly balanced and quite powerful enough for almost any riding. But you are a bit short in the inseam for the Vstrom-sorry bout that. Still lots of smaller to mid size cruisers out there for us folks to drool over.

[ecr959]

the GZ has the stamina to go for hours at 60mph but it is very fatiguing for the rider.
A 2 hour ride on the GZ is plenty doable but multiple 6 or 8 hour days are very tiring.

WW, I didn't know that. Now I feel a little bit better. If I do have to ride a bit farther away, now I have a bit more confidence about it. I will hang on to the GZ a bit longer, but I do want a 650 , or a 750. Even when I do get one, I don't think I can handle a ride longer than 4 or 5 hrs. I remember a few yrs ago, I had to drive a car 3.5 hrs, for visiting a customer, and I really needed to rest and stretch after 2 hrs. If I ever plan an 8hr ride, like from here to NYC for example, I would need to bring a sleeping bag and plan to sleep somewhere.

BTW, about my height, yeah 5'6" is short I know. Maybe if my next bike is a taller one, I can get riding boots with thicker soles, taller heels. Like you said Lynda has.

[blaine]

I rode my G.Z. at 60 to 65 MPH for 3 top 4 hours at a time.I rode my G.Z. for 3 years putting on over 30 thousand KM before I sold it with 46 thousand KM on the clock.
:roll: :)

[Water Warrior 2]

A common comment from long distance riders is to stop every 1 to 1.5 hours for a stretch and to get the circulation running into all the body parts. This coincides with a gas stop/pit stop for many riders. You will arrived less fatigued and with a wider grin. You will also find a road with a variety of curves and different elevations promotes well being as opposed to a flat road which is mind and body numbing.
A little body english and practice setting up for a curve promotes fine skills and tunes the mind and body. Ride more, ride smart and live longer.