Ryan... said:

I can't wait to get through the break in period, the 114 feels like it's ready to rip!

It's a Harley, its already doomed just send it.

Bassboy3313 said:

Although I am not a fan of the Road Glide fairing (I prefer the batwing, just personal preference), that's a damn nice looking bike! I have debated selling my Sportster 1200 Forty-Eight and getting a new Fat Bob with the 114 engine. I test rode one and it fucking moves. 

The Road Glide fairing took a long time to grow on me, and truthfully I really only like them in conjunction with the Special/blacked out look.

I can't wait to get through the break in period, the 114 feels like it's ready to rip!

patsbimmer1 said:

Based on what I saw in that race I tend to believe the balance of power was very forgiving lol.  The way the 1st place Indian pulled ahead and then PAST after it had an off there was no chance for anyone else.  The Challengers as a whole looked like those teams spent far more effort prepping them for actual racing than the Harley's.  If it becomes a full blown series with actual regulations I'm sure it'll be a horse a piece once Harley gets serious and puts money behind it.

I believe Harley only showed up with air cooled bikes, whereas that Challenger that was booking it was water cooled.

I do hope it turns into something bigger, watching the guys wrestle those bikes around Laguna Seca was hilarious and impressive

Ryan... said:

My buddy with an Indian Scout and a whopping 320 miles of riding experience was quick to tell me how Indian smoked HD in the races as well 

Based on what I saw in that race I tend to believe the balance of power was very forgiving lol.  The way the 1st place Indian pulled ahead and then PAST after it had an off there was no chance for anyone else.  The Challengers as a whole looked like those teams spent far more effort prepping them for actual racing than the Harley's.  If it becomes a full blown series with actual regulations I'm sure it'll be a horse a piece once Harley gets serious and puts money behind it.

patsbimmer1 said:

You'd be surpised!  In decent condition it's not easy!  They've all be stripped and turned into "stunt bikes" or just beaten to all hell in general because someone bought them for $1000, learned to do wheelies and WOT highway pulls then called it a day.

I guess that shouldn't be surprising, they've all been crashed 7x by now and the fairings are pricey = stunt bikes lol

patsbimmer1 said:

But also I see a future for your bike..

I loved the Battle of the Baggers! Apparently they're hoping to have 4 races in 2021 and may be inviting other brands to compete as well.

My buddy with an Indian Scout and a whopping 320 miles of riding experience was quick to tell me how Indian smoked HD in the races as well 

Ryan... said:

Yes, it absolutely does.

Now you need only find a purple Katana. Shouldn't be hard to find one for about $400

You'd be surpised!  In decent condition it's not easy!  They've all be stripped and turned into "stunt bikes" or just beaten to all hell in general because someone bought them for $1000, learned to do wheelies and WOT highway pulls then called it a day.

patsbimmer1 said:

I had a dream that I bought a motorcycle last night.  It was a purple 95 Katana 600.  Does this count for this thread?

Yes, it absolutely does.

Now you need only find a purple Katana. Shouldn't be hard to find one for about $400

Got stuck behind a train on the ride home, twas a brisk 42* or so if memory serves.

Removed the side reflectors, warning stickers, added black axle nuts, and installed a Predator 3 extended reach seat.

straight6pwr said:

how bout an electric bicycle?

straight6pwr said:

5 minutes? how bout an electric bicycle?

basically no maintenance compared to something with a combustion engine. easy to transport to events like road america weekends. no registration, no insurance. cheaper.

5 mins doing 45+ for most of it.

I also live right on the fringe of town, so I have a lot of open roads right behind me that I would like to tool around on with a bike.

SteelBlue said:

So I might be able to have a comedically short commute(less than 5 mins) for 3 days a week. I've always liked the look and style of supermotos and would love to get one for this commute and other tooling around. Would like a Yamaha WR250 R or X. Light, reliable, easy on maintenance. I want it as a glorified moped.

For getting used to riding a bike with a clutch and everything, should I get a cheap 85cc or 110 cc dirt bike just to ride around on to get an idea and feel for how to ride? Obviously would do a class, but I would like to have some experience before going for the full thing. I know a 250 is considered a beginner bike, which I am more than okay with, I just want some experience before hand.

I've rode a buddies CBR 600 in first gear around the block a couple times and have rode my 50cc moped a fair amount. I do not have motorcycle experience otherwise.

5 minutes? how bout an electric bicycle?

basically no maintenance compared to something with a combustion engine. easy to transport to events like road america weekends. no registration, no insurance. cheaper.

SteelBlue said:

So I might be able to have a comedically short commute(less than 5 mins) for 3 days a week. I've always liked the look and style of supermotos and would love to get one for this commute and other tooling around. Would like a Yamaha WR250 R or X. Light, reliable, easy on maintenance. I want it as a glorified moped.

For getting used to riding a bike with a clutch and everything, should I get a cheap 85cc or 110 cc dirt bike just to ride around on to get an idea and feel for how to ride? Obviously would do a class, but I would like to have some experience before going for the full thing. I know a 250 is considered a beginner bike, which I am more than okay with, I just want some experience before hand.

I've rode a buddies CBR 600 in first gear around the block a couple times and have rode my 50cc moped a fair amount. I do not have motorcycle experience otherwise.

Take spencies advice and rip a grom around. Easiest thing to ride ever. They wheelie well too with some body English lol. I sold mine and don’t miss it at all though. The fun wears off after the first 300 miles  

ive had supermotos and have ridden many a wr. They are all fun bikes. Just be ready to get tickets ‍️‍️‍️  (I had zero self control on mine) 

 sm’s are quite forgiving in the crashing dept. I crashed my drz a bunch and at the end of the day it’s a dirt bike so they hold up pretty well. I looped my grom when it had like 80 miles on it. Blew apart the seat/tail and broke the pegs off the left side. They are made of glass.  

If you have friends with dirtbikes go get acquainted with riding in the dirt. It’s seriously the best place to safely learn bike control.

SteelBlue said:

So I might be able to have a comedically short commute(less than 5 mins) for 3 days a week. I've always liked the look and style of supermotos and would love to get one for this commute and other tooling around. Would like a Yamaha WR250 R or X. Light, reliable, easy on maintenance. I want it as a glorified moped.

For getting used to riding a bike with a clutch and everything, should I get a cheap 85cc or 110 cc dirt bike just to ride around on to get an idea and feel for how to ride? Obviously would do a class, but I would like to have some experience before going for the full thing. I know a 250 is considered a beginner bike, which I am more than okay with, I just want some experience before hand.

I've rode a buddies CBR 600 in first gear around the block a couple times and have rode my 50cc moped a fair amount. I do not have motorcycle experience otherwise.

Find someone with a Grom and ride that around for a day. You'd be surprised how fast you catch on to the clutch/shifting thing. It's much more forgiving than a car.

For getting used to riding a bike with a clutch and everything, should I get a cheap 85cc or 110 cc dirt bike just to ride around on to get an idea and feel for how to ride? Obviously would do a class, but I would like to have some experience before going for the full thing. I know a 250 is considered a beginner bike, which I am more than okay with, I just want some experience before hand.

I've rode a buddies CBR 600 in first gear around the block a couple times and have rode my 50cc moped a fair amount. I do not have motorcycle experience otherwise.

Found a nice, low mileage crf230l on CL that I'm considering. These things are so small:

Price is a little high, but that's why they're called bad decisions....

Edit: Re-posting the sounds, because I think the picture above really clarifies how dumb this idea is. Also, the hassle of modifying the frame and the ugliness of a radiator has me reconsidering whether or not this is really a good idea. But on the 3rd hand going from 18hp to 30hp.... Can't decide whether this is the right amount of stupid, or too much stupid.

KaiserRolls said:

I used to ride. Did too much stupid shit, so I stopped all together lol. 

Please keep posting updates 

You rode supermoto with the W.A.R. guys didn't you?  Not a smart move lol.

I got rid of my bike before that, this is my old bike. '87 VFR700.  After 3 speeding tickets in a month and almost losing my drivers license it had to go...  I loved the sound of the gear drive cams and the V4.

Please keep posting updates 

Given the lack of space to do car stuff, I'm considering going back to bikes, since I could probably pull it off at work/my apartment. Thinking about reviving an old idea I had of taking a 250 "dual-sport" bike, making it into a street-tacker, then strapping a ninja 250 engine to it. Given my fabrication skills, this is something I think I could pull off without a large outlay of cash, and fits within my theme of taking things that no one is really passionate about and turning them into something that is just fast enough and sketchy enough to scare the bejeezus out of you.

Basically a scaled down version of this:

but it sounds like this:

Or maybe I'll just keep cooking/find another hobby...