Looking to buy a car and a motorcycle

[KrazyHorse]

The difference is that I got the latest model, which has 30% more torque and a 15% faster 0-60.

[KrazyHorse]

I do have to admit that the style is merely equally as awesome, though.

[MikeH]

Do you have the same colour version as him?

[KrazyHorse]

I got white.

[MikeH]

Racist.

[Provost Harrison]

The difference is that I got the latest model, which has 30% more torque and a 15% faster 0-60.

Bah

Is it the standard one or an S or RS?

[regexcellent]

One of my coworkers has a 1000 cc bike. He removed the catalytic converters and drilled holes in the tailpipes before the mufflers to increase performance. Washington, D.C. apparently has no noise or emissions standards for motorcycles, and due to reciprocity he can get away with it in the various states. On a quarter throttle he can get from 0-60 in something like two seconds.

[N35t0r]

People who do that should be dragged out and shot, preferably in the ears.

[KrazyHorse]

Bah

Is it the standard one or an S or RS?

Base coupe.

[Dinner]

Here you go, guy. Buy a Norton Commando. Sure, they're probably not that reliable but they're very interesting with their parallel twin engine plus they're the larger displacement you know you want even if you know you shouldn't.

http://www.nortonmotorcycles.com/bikes/Norton%20Commando%20961%20Sport/index.php#.T_fumfWqa3E

[N35t0r]

What part of he already got an Audi TT did you miss?

[KrazyHorse]

What part of "and" do you not understand?

[N35t0r]

Duh, I thought he posted a car

My dad just upgraded from a BMW 650 to a 1200. I never was much of a bike fan, but it's impressive. You can feel the difference the two cylinders make.

[Provost Harrison]

Hey MOBIUS...do remind me of your opinion on people who drive white Audis

[ricketyclik]

As a rider of some 28 years experience, I feel it incumbent on me to offer advice here, as no one else has stepped forward to offer advice to a new rider.

As has been noted, riding is a dangerous business. Riders in their first five years on a bike are by far the most likely to die, and I’ve known many who have. If you’re smart (and I know you are) you can swing the odds in your favour.

To me it all boils down to these points:

The majority of fatalities on motorcycles (in Australia, which in my experience isn’t so different to North America in terms of road conditions) are single vehicle accidents. Public roads are not race tracks – surfaces vary considerably, often unexpectedly (as in, you may have been this way the day before and everything was fine) and your ability to see ahead varies. Basic point: always assume there is a hazard just out of your field of vision, and ride accordingly.

The second biggest cause of fatalities for riders is from other motorists who simply didn’t see you. Drivers by and large are looking for rectangular metal boxes to avoid as they drive, and so tend to filter out riders and pedestrians. Motorbikes accelerate at a different rate to cars, further throwing the average motorist’s judgement. Basic point: ride as if you’re invisible, or never assume the other motorist has seen you. Intersections are your enemy.

As your confidence increases, the thrill of riding will tempt you to test your limits. The act of riding requires considerably more coordination than driving, and if you find yourself in a sticky situation you’re likely to tense up, which of course will hinder your technique, often with fatal consequences. Moral: always keep plenty in reserve, or to put it another way, set your limit at 90%, not 99%. If you’re comfortable in an emergency situation you will be more able to coordinate and respond effectively.

I’m glad to hear you’re going on a course – those guys know what they’re talking about. Well worth listening to. No doubt they’ll tell you to practice your emergency stops and emergency swerving among other things. Good advice.

A final thing: riding in the rain turns you from one of the most manoeuvrable vehicles on the road to one of the least. When you’re beginning avoid riding in the rain except in safe circumstances, i.e., open road, little traffic. If you get a chance practice riding in the rain at a track day, with riders of similar experience to yourself and with competent (safety conscious) supervisors, it'd be worth doing.

I’m sorry if this sounds condescending, but it honestly is meant with only the purest of motives: to keep you alive.

Now go out, buy a bike, and get your motor running

I can't resist, one more thing: cornering - start wide and slow, finish tight and fast. You really don't want to have to brake in a corner on a motorbike. The bike is designed (suspension) to have best cornering traction under slight acceleration.