The future of motorcycling

[Cousin Jack]

I concur. I can and do tour on a 500cc bike, admitedly only 1 up.

[KungFooBob]

The reason the smaller bikes exist are to satisfy the Asian markets (India, Thailand, etc..), the fact we get some of them in the UK is just a bonus.

There's obviously a UK market or they wouldn't bother importing them. Maybe it's the UK market 'maturing', I bet the average age of your typical bike buyer is a lot higher than it used to be in the 80/90's.

There's also that it's much easier to get caught being naughty and the penalties are higher, so sensible types might buy bikes that don't go much faster than the national limit.

[Horse]

Bikes (well, scooters) of the future will only have one footrest. That's if the local food delivery riders are anything to go by.

[Bustaspoke]

I agree with him,I've always been of the 'Light is right' school of motorcycling my 675R Street Triple & SV650 are good enough for me,easy enough to manouvre,good mpg & fuel range. I've been on tours with my mate's on GS's & a Hyabussa & I never felt like my bikes were lacking.
I also wonder who's going to buy these big bikes in a few years time when their middle aged owners can't handle the weight any more.

[Rockburner]

It's a 20 minute video, I lasted 2 before the unnecessarily slow intonation sent me to sleep. What's his argument?

[westers151]

It's a 20 minute video, I lasted 2 before the unnecessarily slow intonation sent me to sleep. What's his argument?

It's Stuart Fillingham, the bloke who thinks "they" are trying to control us (whoever "they" are). The guy is a prize cock - you didn't miss anything.

[Skub]

I don't agree with many of his his statements,such as,"in the 80s a 750 was considered a big bike". Kawasaki had the 900 Z1 in 1973,Honda had the 1000cc Goldwing,Yamaha had the XS1100,Suzuki the GS1000. Back then you bought a 750 if your funds didn't stretch to a 'big bike'. The 70s 750s weren't much lighter than a 900 anyway.

The idea that a touring bike had to be a heavy monstrosity arrived in the 70s via Honda's Goldwing. That's not a recent thing.

He also paints a canted picture on speed limits. Wtf buys a bike to obey speed limits? We humans love speed and it's far from uncommon to find bike owners indulging. It's not,as he claims a certainty you will be nollered for exceeding 70mph,that's arrant bollocks. I don't know which roads he missed in Scotland when he says you'll not be out of 1st,2nd,or 3rd gear on a big bike. He must have missed Wull's vids. "The only thing a bike needs to do is safely attain 70mph and be able to hold it there",fuck off pal...more trolling bollocks.

I gave up on the vid around halfway.

He's akin to a typical newspaper columnist,he makes daft statemants to provoke a reaction and thus sell the product,in his case more Tube hits.

I fully agree with him on weight. A light bike with good power is where it's at in the fun stakes. I also agree with him,we don't 'need' a fast litre bike,but we actually don't 'need' a motorcycle at all,it's a leisure vehicle,we buy them because we want them. I'd like to say he's missed the point,but it's deliberate for the reaction.

[Rockburner]

It's a 20 minute video, I lasted 2 before the unnecessarily slow intonation sent me to sleep. What's his argument?

It's Stuart Fillingham, the bloke who thinks "they" are trying to control us (whoever "they" are). The guy is a prize cock - you didn't miss anything.

Who?

[Skub]

I think it depends on your age and the circles you mixed with.

In the late 80s and early 90s we used to scorn anyone with a bigger bike than a 500cc, they were always dirty looking blokes with denim waistcoats over their leathers, or old men that went touring in Derry Boots. We were all hoodlums on two strokes, it was a generational thing.

Most likely. In the 70s there was a definite vibe of being seen to progress through the ranks until you were a proper rider with a flagship model. A 250 stroker was a learner bike and a common saying was,'anything less than a 500 is a toy'.

[Yorick]

In second half of 80s I had 350 racing bike and CB900 road bike.
Both did their job well.

All my pals had big road bikes.

[The Spin Doctor]

Blimey... you can go back to the heady days of aspirational Brough Superiors and Vincent Rapides when the majority of riders were actually tooling around on small BSAs and the like.

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

Most likely. In the 70s there was a definite vibe of being seen to progress through the ranks until you were a proper rider with a flagship model. A 250 stroker was a learner bike and a common saying was,'anything less than a 500 is a toy'.

The 500cc was seen as a pinnacle of motorcycling for us, probably because back then we were all big fans of the GP, I wouldn't have dreamed of anything bigger and I'd have been ostracised for wanting a four stroke

In 1991 I bought a 1985 GSXR750 for £2400, it kicked the arse of my mates RG500, the RG was a sports tourer by comparison.

[Bigjawa]

Definite generation thing.

IMHO the golden era of two strokes (and two stroke GP racing) was 1987-1992 and that influenced us more than anything I think, bikes like the TZR, NSR, KR1-S, the RGV, etc, were all over the magazines and that's what we all wanted.

IMHO I reckon the year we left school and could first get on the road probably influenced us the most, that's when you really started to dream.

I had all the bikes you mentioned there, but I always wanted a GSXR1100 after seeing one rocket off Bellsbridge roundabout on the rear wheel. Funnily enough, I've owned that actual bike for 19 years.

1100 Slabbies aside, I thought of 4 strokes as just work tools, until a mate gave me a go on his new EXUP, after that it was nearly all 750cc+ 4 strokes. Preferably 1000cc up.

[westers151]

It's a 20 minute video, I lasted 2 before the unnecessarily slow intonation sent me to sleep. What's his argument?

It's Stuart Fillingham, the bloke who thinks "they" are trying to control us (whoever "they" are). The guy is a prize cock - you didn't miss anything.

Who?

I don't agree with many of his his statements,such as,"in the 80s a 750 was considered a big bike". Kawasaki had the 900 Z1 in 1973,Honda had the 1000cc Goldwing,Yamaha had the XS1100,Suzuki the GS1000. Back then you bought a 750 if your funds didn't stretch to a 'big bike'. The 70s 750s weren't much lighter than a 900 anyway.

I think it depends on your age and the circles you mixed with.

In the late 80s and early 90s we used to scorn anyone with a bigger bike than a 500cc, they were always dirty looking blokes with denim waistcoats over their leathers, or old men that went touring in Derry Boots. We were all hoodlums on two strokes, it was a generational thing.
I think it was probably the equivalent mods/rockers thing all over again.

I remember my mate announcing that he was buying a GPZ600 and we all thought he'd gone soft - he had, he was buying it because his girlfriend wanted to ride on the back of something more civilised.

Eventually you had no choice, if you wanted anything modern you had to ride a four stroke and as the years went on that meant bigger and bigger bikes, until you either bought a budget bike or accepted that all the latest kit was 1000cc and 150bhp+.

I can't comment on the bloke doing the video, no idea who he is, but he makes some fair points I reckon.
I was hoping that the motorcycle fashion now is back to putting R&D into pocket rockets and smaller bikes.

An ex copper who openly admits to breaking the law on one of his youtube videos. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THGKG026Atg Go to 10 minutes in.

[Bigjawa]

So I took the GS for its MOT yesterday.

In the queue was an old bloke on a 1050 Sprint, a kid on an ER-6 and middle aged me on a big adventure bike.

There wasn't very many bikes out and about for a Saturday in July but they generally seemed to be adventure/trailies and mostly big, newish GS's.

It's a 54 mile round trip to the MOT station, and in that time I saw about a dozen bikes and not a single sportsbike.

[Skub]

So I took the GS for its MOT yesterday.

In the queue was an old bloke on a 1050 Sprint, a kid on an ER-6 and middle aged me on a big adventure bike.

There wasn't very many bikes out and about for a Saturday in July but they generally seemed to be adventure/trailies and mostly big, newish GS's.

It's a 54 mile round trip to the MOT station, and in that time I saw about a dozen bikes and not a single sportsbike.

They hit the roads early on a dry Sunday morning. You'll get gaggles of them doing big numbers from Larne to Ballycastle.

[Bigjawa]

So I took the GS for its MOT yesterday.

In the queue was an old bloke on a 1050 Sprint, a kid on an ER-6 and middle aged me on a big adventure bike.

There wasn't very many bikes out and about for a Saturday in July but they generally seemed to be adventure/trailies and mostly big, newish GS's.

It's a 54 mile round trip to the MOT station, and in that time I saw about a dozen bikes and not a single sportsbike.

They hit the roads early on a dry Sunday morning. You'll get gaggles of them doing big numbers from Larne to Ballycastle.

I avoid that road for that exact reason, too many people whose ambition exceeds their ability.

[MrLongbeard]

An ex copper who openly admits to breaking the law on one of his youtube videos. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THGKG026Atg Go to 10 minutes in.

Lol, just listened to it, he let some blokes tyres down in revenge for him stealing his bike, it's hardly the crime of the century.

Is it even a crime?

[asmethurst99]

An ex copper who openly admits to breaking the law on one of his youtube videos. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THGKG026Atg Go to 10 minutes in.

Lol, just listened to it, he let some blokes tyres down in revenge for him stealing his bike, it's hardly the crime of the century.

And he did it for 2 years !

[Whysub]

As someone who frequently rides around Europe, I would rather spend two weeks of 10 hours a day in the saddle of something comfortable that will hold 140 kph, rather than 10 hours a day for 4 days aboard a 125cc scooter that tops out at about 95 kph.
That was on a ride to Czechia, and something that I won't ever be stupid enough to repeat.