Cheering up Americans.

[dai bread]

Last night I saw a movie called "The World's Fastest Indian". It's about a New Zealander who goes to Bonneville with his home-tweaked Indian motorbike to try it out in a decent venue, and it's better than that sounds.

Most of the action takes place in the U.S., and the American people the man meets in his travels do you guys proud.

If you get the chance, see the movie. You'll leave the theatre 10 feet tall.

[Shapley]

It doesn't seem to be available in this area. Must be a Kiwi thing. I see it stars the venerable Anthony Hopkins.

Most of us will have to wait for it on DVD, I suppose. Just as well, those theatres aren't really designed for 10 feet tall people.

V/R
Shapley

[barfle]

Sounds like a good premise, but then I'm a sucker for motor sports movies anyway.

Bonneville is just plain awsome! Even if you are there when the cars aren't running, you can't help but be amazed by the expanse.

Now I'll be looking for another item for my rather ridiculous collection of media.

[barfle]

Saw an ad in the paper for it today. Some sort of preview early in Feb, then general release a week or so later. Yeah, I wanna go see it, although since it costs more to see a movie at a theater with a sticky floor and a disgusting bathroom than it would be to purchase the DVD and play it on my home system (which sounds as good as the big theaters at least), I may wait for the hardware.

Thanks for the heads up, dai.

[Nicole Marie]

I saw a TV ad for the movie yesterday. Looks excellent! Unlike Barfle, I will venture through an evil movie theatre to check it out, have to see it on the big screen. My husband and I ride an R1, (1000 cc bike, weight around 340, we dinoed it at 212 and hit 193 this past summer!) we are suckers for anything on two wheels! From the TV ad this movie is all about speed! Right up my alley.

Thanks for the review!

<small>[ 01-26-2006, 10:15 AM: Message edited by: Nicole Marie ]</small>

[OperaTenor]

Hi Y.R.H.,

You have an R1?!!

[Nicole Marie]

I love our R1... it's an 03 with the custom black and red fire paint. Here's a pic of what our bike looks like: http://www.bikepics.com/pictures/043520/

Our mechanic was a test rider for Ducati in Italy. He does all our mods. He put in a computer under the passenger seat. We can hook it up to a computer to work out engine mixture ratios. The R1 comes with a stock exhaust that is extremely quit. But loud pipes save lives so we put on an after market performance exhaust, now you can hear us a few blocks away and it improved the performance. We did a few other mods, new tires, lighten the body weight etc. We are very happy!

It is like an afterburner! It takes off quick and ours shoots flames! When we ride at night with friends they say they see our tailpipe glowing with a nice bluish flame.

The speed on it is amazing, the fastest Bruno got the bike with me on it was a little over 140; I started to slide off the back! It's so powerful I could not hang on! Thankfully we have a walkie talkie system in our helmets; I'd be road kill otherwise.

There are areas in CT where you take off. A few roads have nice straight drags. There are also a few tracks in the area that allow bikes on during open days.

[OperaTenor]

Oh yeah, that's right, you guys have the Nady intercom, right?

Beautiful paint job!

Ask your mechanic if he knows a Guzzi nut by the name of Todd Egan. He's a good friend of mine.

Argh! I meant CT!

I think you get some kind of medal for passengering at that speed............don't you?

[piqaboo]

originally posted by Nicole Marie:
I started to slide off the back! It's so powerful I could not hang on! Thankfully we have a walkie talkie system in our helmets; I'd be road kill otherwise

I dont know how fast OT was going on that desert road*, but I do remember deciding to rubberize the seat-contact parts of my riding pants. I was hanging on with everything I had - all those years of bareback riding came in real handy right then. And that was before he went thru the dip and made me sufficiently airborne that the guys riding behind us commented on it.

* Its probably a good thing I cant see the speedo from my perch.

[Shapley]

What are ya'll in such an all-fired hurry for? Give me a sailboat doing about 6-8 knots, and I'll circle the world!

[Selma in Sandy Eggo]

Sounds like the Highnesses and the Tenores subscribe to the jet (speed is life) jockey school of thought.

A sissybar behind the passenger seat might help with the sliding and all; the rubberized FRS pants sound like a good idea, too. Velcro seats? But a sailboat? No way, man! Those things are dangerous!

[BigJon@Work]

Sheesh, and I thought I had a serious speed jones. Oh, BTW, I repeat that anyone who races motorcycles has a screw loose. You'll never convince me otherwise.

<small>[ 01-26-2006, 08:56 PM: Message edited by: BigJon@Work ]</small>

[OperaTenor]

Originally posted by BigJon@Work:
Sheesh, and I thought I had a serious speed jones. Oh, BTW, I repeat that anyone who races motorcycles has a screw loose. You'll never convince me otherwise.

Spoken like someone whose concept of a motorcycle is a Harley-Davidson, aka Hardly Runinnsome.....

:p

[Trumpetmaster]

If you put training wheels on then maybe I would get on a motorcycle again...

Otherwise... I'll stick with 4 wheels.

[Nicole Marie]

Originally posted by Selma in Sandy Eggo:
A sissybar behind the passenger seat might help with the sliding and all; Those things are dangerous!

Hi Selma-

A Sissy bar is a great idea but you can't put a sissy bar on a sport bike, the bikes are not made for them and it kills the look too.

Bikes are not dangerous. The majority of accidents with bikes are the fault of car drivers. People in cars just do not keep a safe distance or pay attention. That's why I say loud pipes save lives. Car drivers hear my bike and pay attention. Plus I carry quarters...

OT - I call Harleys "Hardly-moving-sons". They are just jealous b/c they paid so much for an "American" bike made with Japanese parts.

[Selma in Sandy Eggo]

Originally posted by Nicole Marie:

Originally posted by Selma in Sandy Eggo:
[b] A sissybar behind the passenger seat might help with the sliding and all; Those things are dangerous!

Hi Selma-

Bikes are not dangerous. The majority of accidents with bikes are the fault of car drivers. [/b]

NM: you took too much out of the quote. I said sailboats are dangerous. All that water and seagulls and all.

Bikes are perfectly safe until you have the accident. I don't feel like debating whose fault the accident is - OT's latest accident was not his fault but he was still the one in the hospital. Seatbelts annoy me, but I use them and I'm quite fond of airbags.

[Selma in Sandy Eggo]

Originally posted by BigJon@Work:
Oh, BTW, I repeat that anyone who races motorcycles has a screw loose. You'll never convince me otherwise.

Agreed. My nephews have screws loose. My sister worries.

[OperaTenor]

Actually, sissy bars/back rests are quite dangerous for a passenger to rely on. The safest position for the passenger to be in is snuggled up against the back of the rider. This accomplishes two things:

1) Keeps both the rider aware of where the passenger's weight is shifted and keeps the passenger more aware of what the rider is going to do. A passenger leaning away from the rider when the rider is leaning into a turn is extremely destabilizing, and a passenger jerking and twisting in the back seat will cause the bike to jerk around and wobble. The rider and passenger should work together so their combined mass is in concert somewhat, and not opposing each other's movements.

2) The passenger, by leaning forward into the rider, moves their weight closer to the bike's center of gravity, and therefore increase the overall stability. Leaning back on a back rest accomplishes just the opposite, making the bike harder to handle.

Additionally, it's important for the passenger to hold onto the rider, not the bike. The bike's COG is static, the rider's dynamic, so that is what the passenger should be attuned to. Besides, if the passenger has their arms wrapped snugly around the rider, there's no way they're going to get pulled off the back, no matter how much the sensation.

It's all about physics.

I've had to coach/scold many a passenger in my experience.

(I paid attention in the MSF courses.)

<small>[ 01-27-2006, 12:12 PM: Message edited by: OperaTenor ]</small>

[BigJon@Work]

Originally posted by OperaTenor:
Spoken like someone whose concept of a motorcycle is a Harley-Davidson, aka Hardly Runinnsome.....

Huh!? My concept of a motorcycle is a dirt bike that sits a mile high or a formula USA bike, both raced by loonies. Hardleys hardly race.

[OperaTenor]

FWIW, the rise in the level of insanity/obliviousness in the local car driver population in recent years has motivated me to pretty much stop commuting by bike.