Motorbikes

[ceptimus]

Anyone else got one? I've always owned a motorbike since I was 16. I've got a Honda Blackbird right now.

[livius drusus]

I really, really wanted a Vespa when I turned 14 (it's a traditional gift in Italy on account of you can't drive a real vehicle until you're 18) but my parents pretty much laughed in my face. Have you ever seen such cruelty?

So my answer to your question is no, but I betcha warrenly's gonna post soon.

[Dingfod]

I really, really wanted a Vespa when I turned 14 (it's a traditional gift in Italy on account of you can't drive a real vehicle until you're 18) but my parents pretty much laughed in my face. Have you ever seen such cruelty?Yeah, that's evil.

So my answer to your question is no, but I betcha warrenly's gonna post soon.Why would you think that?

Well, okay...

I have a pearl white 1989 Honda Pacific Coast, PC800, I've nicknamed Moby the Great White Frigidaire. I've ridden Moby about 10,000 miles a year. The first part of the nickname "Moby the Great White..." came from one time I that rode over to one of my daughter's horse shows down in Bixby. My wife and she were right behind me in the truck from the last stoplight on. When we arrived at the arena, my daughter said my motorcycle looked big as a whale from the back. "...Frigidaire" came from my arrival at the Pinto World Horse Show at Tulsa Fairgrounds later that same year. I pulled up to where all the people from the stable where my daughter took lessons, got off, opened up the capacious trunk, got out a bottle of water and took a big swig, it was August I believe. One of the ladies seated nearby commented "Look at that, they come with coolers built in the back now." I retorted "Yeah. I heard next year they're coming with ice and water in the door." That got a few laughs. A common name of refrigerator is Frigidaire. So, put it all together and you've got the nick.

The PC800 is a bit unique, all the mechanical bits are completely covered in plastic and it has a large trunk, or built in saddlebags accessed by lifting the whole back end including the passenger seat. I've heard it called a baby Goldwing, but it's too big to be a baby and weighs about 600 pounds. Baby Huey, maybe, but it's no baby motorcycle. A former PC800 owner, now riding a Honda GL1800 Goldwing, says he could fit more in the trunk of his PC with a 33 liter topcase than he can in his Goldwing with it's two saddlebags and built in trunk, that's how utilitarian the PC800 is.

Some say it looks like a scooter. Well, it's not, it's a full-fledged 800cc motorcycle with a 5-speed transmission that can accelerate 0-60 in 5.5 seconds and can cruise at super-extra-legal speeds all day long. It's not a scooter, but I've been known to refer to it as my "scooter on steroids". Also, I almost nicknamed it "Daisyhead" because of one those cellphone commercials where the people were talking nonsense, including on guy who said "Scooter my daisyhead." in the midst of his gibberish.

Also parked in my shop building is a 1988 Yamaha FZ1 and a Yamaha BearTracker 4-wheeler. I love things mechanical. Officially, the FZ1 belongs to a friend and coworker, Francis, but for all intents and purposes I use it as much as he does, which is to say, none. However, possession is 9/10ths of the law, or something like that. The 4-wheeler is more used as a tractor around Rancho Estrogeno than for pleasure. I've hauled firewood, gravel, dirt or horse manure, used it as a platform to stand on when cleaning out the raingutters, as a log skidder, to pull a flex-tine harrow with it to groom the corral, or round pen, and more, it's the handiest thing. It's also quite a bit of fun to ride for pleasure on some trails up in the woods behind the house.

But, we can talk motorcycles if you want. I'd love to have the chance to ride a Honda Blackbird. I met a guy that was riding one of those at the gasoline station one day. We both circled around the other's bike, admiring what we saw. I had the trunk open, which amazed him. He was also amazed when I told him the age of Moby. Well, she does look good for her age.

[pescifish]

Also parked in my shop building is a 1988 Yamaha FZ1I didn't know they were making the FZ1 that long ago. Was it a Fazer then?

[ceptimus]

I really, really wanted a Vespa when I turned 14 (it's a traditional gift in Italy on account of you can't drive a real vehicle until you're 18) but my parents pretty much laughed in my face. Have you ever seen such cruelty?

So my answer to your question is no, but I betcha warrenly's gonna post soon.A friend of mine owns two scooters that he's restored: a 1965 Lambretta and a 1961 (I think) Vespa. The Vespa still has its original paintwork (pretty faded and oxidised) but he's fitted it with modern running gear - electric start, tuned engine, all that stuff. The Lambetta has been repainted and is in pretty much original condition.

I was never very keen on scooters myself. They seem a bit wobbly and unstable compared to a 'proper' motorbike with big wheels.

My first few motorbikes were all two-stoke (two-cycle) engines. Mostly air-cooled Yamaha twins. I had a Suzuki GT500 which was a slow lazy two stroke with poor handling and crap brakes. I rode that down to the South of France a few times - on one trip, I stripped the engine right down and rebuilt it on a campsite near Cannes.

Then I had a Honda 550 four cylinder, and after that an FJ1200.

The Yamaha FJ1200 is a big comfy bike - not as big or as comfy (I guess) as the Pacific Coast, but fast, and good for long distance touring. I rode that one to the most Northerly, Southerly, Easterly and Westerly points of the British mainland, all during one weekend. That was mad. Another time I rode it down to Portugal, going via Andorra. I only made one overnight stop (near Lourdes) for an 1800 mile ride. And I didn't use any Motorways/Auto-Routes either (these are the 'Interstate' type roads of England and France).

The Blackbird is faster than the FJ1200. It does about 190 MPH. But it's not as comfortable. It's impossible to run at those speeds for long anyway, without losing your licence, or your life, but it does mean that it feels pretty relaxed when running about 130.

[Dingfod]

Moby is my first real roadworthy motorbike. I've was riding friend's bikes when I was a teen starting when I was about 14. My first motorized two-wheel ride was on a 5hp Tecumseh powered Tote-Goat, a suspensionless minibike. Back then I rode mostly small bikes, Honda Trail 90, Yamaha YZ-100, Yamaha 350 Enduro, Honda CB100, and Honda 305 Superhawk. The only ones I've actually owned other than the Pacific Coast were a 1971 Yamaha 360 two-stroke powered twin powered dirt bike and a 1978 Kawasaki KZ-650, both purchased on the cheap. The dirt bike hurt me in 1983 so I didn't to anything more than think about motorcycles for more than a decade. In 1996 I bought the Kawasaki with the intention of restoring it for my personal use. I never got around to it, typical of many of my projects like the Ford Fiesta I bought for my daughter Laney, and the ill-fated Mazda RX-7 race car. Three years ago, I had to decide if I wanted to build the race car, buy a very small sailboat to use on the many lakes of Northeast Oklahoma, or buy a motorcycle.

I fell for the Honda Pacific Coast the first time I saw one in the Honda showroom in West Valley City, Utah back in 1989. I had kind of put it in the back of my mind until I was faced with the options I had. Two minutes on cycletrader.com and I found one about 100 miles away. The next day I went down to look at it, rode it, paid the man $3500 cash and brought it home. It has been extremely therapeutic for me, both physically and mentally. I get depressed when I can't ride it. I love riding it. I am a different person after I've had a day-long ride. Isn't that right, inland wave?

[Dingfod]

1989 Honda Pacific Coast

[inland wave]

I encourage him to ride, it does his soul good.
Warrenly is a great guy, but sometimes, he just needs to get away for awhile.
Hell, we all do.

[inland wave]

I am sure that Warrenly has mentioned this at some point, but we spend alot of time together in round-about ways. We work for the same company. We both work shift work, he works 12 hour days and nights and I work 10 hour days and evenings. I would say we work about 30 feet from each other in different rooms. I work with gas nominations and scheduling and he makes sure the gas moves down the pipelines. Lately our days off seem to coincide, but for the most part that is not the case. Our little world can get real crazy sometimes. So you see, a little time away is not only good for him, it is good for me too. :yup:

[Dingfod]

I usually say it's 50 feet, but then again I'm a man and therefore tend to exaggerate length measurements.

[ceptimus]

This is my bike.

http://www.mround.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/JREF/image/Blackbird.jpg

[Crumb]

I usually say it's 50 feet, but then again I'm a man and therefore tend to exaggerate length measurements.

That's funny, I'm a man who tends to under exaggerate length measurements. :giggles:

[livius drusus]

I thought I'd bump this just in case LivetoRide and Bullet wanted to chime in. :bump:

[LiveToRide]

Well thanks a bunch, livius! Nothing we like better than a motorcycle thread!! We ride a Honda, but people mistake it for a Harley all the time. Going to go through my pics and see if I can post one of Bullet on the bike. (Not real good at this computer stuff...) Wish me luck!!

[LiveToRide]

Let's see if that worked....

[LiveToRide]

Don't know how I got the Betty Boop pic on there too...but it's cute, so I'll leave it.

[livius drusus]

That's a Honda?! Daaaamn... I had no idea they could look like that. Bullet looks like he owns the road straddling that thing, and Betty Boop is adorable. I'm guessing she's been your avatar on occasion.

[Bullet]

Kewl, LTR beat me to the punch. Yup, that's me and my shadow do do do do :singing: she sure is purdy. 1999 Honda Shadow Aero, 1100cc, single pin crank.

[Dingfod]

Kewl, LTR beat me to the punch. Yup, that's me and my shadow do do do do :singing: she sure is purdy. 1999 Honda Shadow Aero, 1100cc, single pin crank.No wonder it's mistaken for a Harley, with the single-pin crank, it probably sounds like one too.

The PC800 I ride has the same engine and drivetrain as the 1988 Honda Shadow 800, the only year that particular model was built. It is a 45 degree liquid cooled V-twin configuration with a split-pin crank, exactly 800cc, with three valves and two sparkplugs per cylinder. It has an elaborate exhaust system that makes it very quiet. The increasingly rare PC800 is a frequently favored motorcycle for carrying photographers during bicycle races or marathons because of its smoothness and whisper of an exhaust note and it's large comfortable passenger seat as well as it's incomparable low speed handling characteristics.

[Bullet]

Yes she sounds rally good, since I gutted the stock pipes of all the baffles. Loud and Proud. :motor: I also put in a K&N air filter to help it breath. The computer adjusted for the free flow changes and no carb changes were needed. I put on a few chrome extras, :biker: It's a V-twin, and also has 2 plugs per cylinder, not sure about the valves though.

[Dingfod]

Yes she sounds rally good, since I gutted the stock pipes of all the baffles. Loud and Proud. :motor: I also put in a K&N air filter to help it breath. The computer adjusted for the free flow changes and no carb changes were needed. I put on a few chrome extras, :biker: It's a V-twin, and also has 2 plugs per cylinder, not sure about the valves though.The Shadow Aero 1100 has 3 valves per cylinder, 2 intake, 1 exhaust, just like the PC800's V-twin cruiser engine. Oddly enough, the 1100 has the same 36mm carburetors as the PC800. The PC800 is rated at a puny* 58 horsepower at 6750 rpm (46 at the rear wheel) and 56 lbs/ft torque at 5500 rpm. I know that sounds a very high rpm for peak torque, perhaps a bit peaky, but it's not, it has over 50 lbs/ft at 2100 rpm and a flat torque curve all the way to max rpm (7500). Now that I've looked at the specs of both bikes, the much slower than the average sportbike PC800 will outrun a stock Shadow Aero 1100 on both the 0-60 and 1/4 mile by over a half second.

What computer is there to adjust if it doesn't have fuel injection?

*Note: The Shadow Aero 1100 only has 52 horsepower at 4500 rpm and 85 lbs/ft torque at 2500 rpm. I'd love to have that motor on my tractor.

[Bullet]

Yes she sounds rally good, since I gutted the stock pipes of all the baffles. Loud and Proud. :motor: I also put in a K&N air filter to help it breath. The computer adjusted for the free flow changes and no carb changes were needed. I put on a few chrome extras, :biker: It's a V-twin, and also has 2 plugs per cylinder, not sure about the valves though.The Shadow Aero 1100 has 3 valves per cylinder, 2 intake, 1 exhaust, just like the PC800's V-twin cruiser engine. Oddly enough, the 1100 has the same 36mm carburetors as the PC800. The PC800 is rated at a puny* 58 horsepower at 6750 rpm (46 at the rear wheel) and 56 lbs/ft torque at 5500 rpm. I know that sounds a very high rpm for peak torque, perhaps a bit peaky, but it's not, it has over 50 lbs/ft at 2100 rpm and a flat torque curve all the way to max rpm (7500). Now that I've looked at the specs of both bikes, the much slower than the average sportbike PC800 will outrun a stock Shadow Aero 1100 on both the 0-60 and 1/4 mile by over a half second.

What computer is there to adjust if it doesn't have fuel injection?

*Note: The Shadow Aero 1100 only has 52 horsepower at 4500 rpm and 85 lbs/ft torque at 2500 rpm. I'd love to have that motor on my tractor.Well I never claimed her to be a rocket, but I don't have any problem spankin the stock Harley's over here. Where did you get the info? I am looking for more info on the VT1100 engine. As for the computer, I don't know, I am going off what I was told by the wrench at the dealership. I asked him if I needed to re-jet the carbs after the free flow mods I made and he said no because the comp would adjust, now if he was gonna lie, I'd think he would have said yes to get the money to do nothing, but what do I know. I know that they only made my engine for 1 year, and went to a dual pin crank. I have had alot of offers just for the engine, from other Aero riders.

[LiveToRide]

All this talk of engines is Greek to me, I just know that when I'm on the back and Bullet opens it up, I'm hangin' on for dear life. (Of course, I hang on pretty tight when we're just puttin', too!) Get your ass home, baby! I need somethin' to hang on to!!!

[Crumb]

Damnit LD! I killed this thread but good.

[Dingfod]

Well I never claimed her to be a rocket, but I don't have any problem spankin the stock Harley's over here.No Honda V-twin bigger than 600 cc should have any trouble with any stock Harley except for the V-rod.
Where did you get the info? I am looking for more info on the VT1100 engine.Oh, I just googled the hell out of it, gleaned a few numbers out of online magazine reviews. Here is a site (http://www.motorbikes.be/en/Honda/1999/VT%201100%20C3%20Shadow%20Aero/) with some specs. And because of it, I must make a correction in my previous post: in the power rating of the 1100, I mistook Nm for lbs/ft. The Aero only has 62, not 84. In case you wonder, one 0-60 time for the stock Aero was 5.98 sec. and this site (http://www.motorcyclecruiser.com/roadtests/Aero98/) showed the 1/4 mile time was 15.13. I didn't bother to keep track of all the web addresses I went through, but here's another one. (http://www.motorcycle.com/mo/mchonda/98aero.html)
As for the computer, I don't know, I am going off what I was told by the wrench at the dealership. I asked him if I needed to re-jet the carbs after the free flow mods I made and he said no because the comp would adjust, now if he was gonna lie, I'd think he would have said yes to get the money to do nothing, but what do I know.I don't know, I was asking an honest question. The only computer I know of on non-FI models of Hondas is the ignition computer, and because of the knock-sensor it would adjust timing for the leaner mixture, actually retarding it some because a leaner mixture is more prone to early detonation. I know a PC800 owner that put the K&N and piped up dual exhausts and actually lost 1 horsepower on the dyno, even after rejetting. Honda is getting about as much out of the PC800 engine as it is capable of putting out.
I know that they only made my engine for 1 year, and went to a dual pin crank. I have had alot of offers just for the engine, from other Aero riders.The link below says they made the single-pin crank 1100 from 1998-2000, Honda went to the split-pin, or dual-pin crank engines on the 2001 and 2002 because of vibration problems. The reason they want to swap engines is the noise, the baritone "whumpety-whump-whumpety-whump..." that makes it sound like a Harley. The newer models are even-fire and probably sound more like "lump-lump-lump-lump-lump-lump...." My advice to them, get a 1200 Sportster, it doesn't cost much more and sounds just like a Harley.

Myself, if I actually wanted a mid-size V-twin cruiser, for about the same money (list price: $8999), I'd get the VTX-1300 (http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/roadtests/vtx1300/):
Corrected 1/4-mile*: 13.72 sec. @ 94.51 mph
0-60 mph*: 5.31 sec.
But, why be a wuss? New VTX1800s are selling for as little as $9400.

[Bullet]

Well since your the expert here, how do you make the VT1100 less anemic?

I also have been drooling :homdrool: on the VTX1800, but I like the NR with the hot rod fenders and integrated tail light. Sweet ride. One of my club brothers is selling an 1800R, with all the options and extras, told me to take it for a few weeks and try it on, but I am afraid I'd like it, and just don't have the coin right now.

[LiveToRide]

told me to take it for a few weeks and try it on, but I am afraid I'd like it, and just don't have the coin right now.
I could sell a kidney...I hear you can get by on just one.... :surgeon:

[Dingfod]

Well since your the expert here, how do you make the VT1100 less anemic?.I'm no expert, in fact, my coworker told me my PC800 had a 45 degree V-twin and I, for some reason, thought it was some weird number like 52 degrees or 72 degrees. As for increasing the power of the VT1100, you're on the right track, rejetting properly will net some increase in power. Outside of changing to 38mm or 40mm carbs, or somehow changing it over to solid lifters and installing a high profile cam, that's about all you can do. Of course, there's always nitrous. heh

BTW, I'm not sold on K&N filters anyway. They breath better because they have bigger holes through them, which allows more dirt to get through. I put them in the snake-oil category with Amsoil and Slick-50.

/me opens can of worms

[ceptimus]

If you want more power, then more cylinders, more valves and more revs is the sure answer.

Sorry but you're gonna have to sell your sweet sounding V-twins, and buy a highly-tuned rev-happy buzz bomb like mine. How does 178 bhp at 10,000 rpm sound?

[Dingfod]

If you want more power, then more cylinders, more valves and more revs is the sure answer.

Sorry but you're gonna have to sell your sweet sounding V-twins, and buy a highly-tuned rev-happy buzz bomb like mine. How does 178 bhp at 10,000 rpm sound?Loud.

Let me guess what has 178 bhp: a Suzuki Hyabusa?

How about 120 bhp at 14,000 rpm out of only 600cc? Ducati makes one. Unfortunately, it's rather exotic, and costs US$22K in the states. Honda's CBR600 ONLY makes 106 bhp but was the quickest of all the midrange sportbikes in Cycle magazine's comparison in this month's issue, with a 1/4 mile time of 10.38 seconds. Of course, being only 600cc, it tops out at a measely 168 mph.

Let me tell you about the other bike in my garage, an antique by today's standards: a 1988 Yamaha FZ1. With 1000cc producing 120 bhp it was one of the fastest motorcycles of 1988 and it is still quite formidible in performance. It is a bit heavy by today's standards, but what's 50 or 60 pounds? Note I didn't say it was MY bike. It has been sitting in my shop building for the last two years, for free. My friend, the owner, spent about $1400 getting it into top running condition last year and hasn't ridden it since. I think I've got him giving serious consideration to selling it to me for what he spent last year.

[Dingfod]

Let me tell you about the other bike in my garage, an antique by today's standards: a 1988 Yamaha FZ1. With 1000cc producing 120 bhp it was one of the fastest motorcycles of 1988 and it is still quite formidible in performance. It is a bit heavy by today's standards, but what's 50 or 60 pounds? Note I didn't say it was MY bike. It has been sitting in my shop building for the last two years, for free. My friend, the owner, spent about $1400 getting it into top running condition last year and hasn't ridden it since. I think I've got him giving serious consideration to selling it to me for what he spent last year.I think I inadvertently talked my friend out of selling his bike to me. I was going on about the fun of riding and the joy of a finding that little known winding road and he starting getting a wistful look in his eye and then decided that he couldn't replace it for what he could get out of selling it. Dammit, I'm going to have to start charging him rent.