Anyone want a Blackbird?

Hahaha, there are days when I'd seriously consider that.

 

Precisely my feelings. I had a few hours over the weekend when I
suppose I could've gone out and fought for road space with all the
other Sunday warriors but I just couldn't be arsed.

 

You thick ****. You really need to ride a properly sorted motard
before you describe them as too big/heavy/clumsy.

And heavier than a KTM motard.

I noticed.

 

<vomits at the very thought>

 

WRONG - the LC4SM is 25kg heavier than the XT350 which in turn is around
15kg heavier than a proper KTM dirtbike.

 

Yes, I see where I went wrong.

You're still a completely useless **** who's obviously never ridden a
proper motard.

 

well, yeah - 'cos you want a fucking mass-produced DR-Z400SM, don't
you.

Or are you getting yourself into the confused world of the supermoto/
supermotard bike/rider argument?

 

Not particularly. I toyed with the idea, but I can't see any supermoto
being a particularly useful tool for my commute - the bars are too wide
and high to squeeze through the kind of gaps I have to deal with.

Confused schmonfused.

 

hah - what crap.

I'll lend you mine for a while, if you like.

 

Could do. At the very least it'd keep miles off the thou.

 

It would be quicker through town.

 

the offer's genuine, if you want to try it.

 

How do you work that one out then?

 

I agree, the BMW F800GS was much the same in all manner to many motards &
that fucking rocked at traffic, one of the best ever, get some Acerbis
handgaurds & knock the cunts mirrors Dont try without the handguards or
you'll lose drive or stoppie

--


Nige,

BMW K1200S
Range Rover Vogue
Suzuki GSX-R600 Racebike

 

More nimble.

 

two words: steering lock.

you can't use all of the power of a sportsbike in town anyway - the 50-
odd horsepower of a motard is more than enough.

also, yes, you're right - the bars a bit wider than a sportsbike, and
a good deal higher, but that means they're higher than a normal car's
wingmirrors, so it's transit vans etc. that you need to watch out for.

Ignore Nige's comments[1] about handguards - they're a good thing,
sure, but not a 100% requirement if you know what you're doing.


[1] warning: the rest of this sentence is optional.

 

Rarely an issue, tbh.

The lower gearing means more faffing about though, I'd have thought. I
could do my entire commute in first if I felt so inclined, and second is
usually plenty, but tall gearing makes a massive difference at the
Battersea Park Traffic Light Grand Prix.

I may well take you up on the offer though, if I can clear enough space
in the garage.

 

really? When I used to have to travel between Windsor and the British
Library, I found the ability to make low-speed sharp turns in and out
of traffic lanes a big advantage on my R30, as opposed when I did it
on the 'blade.

the offer's open - borrow it for a couple of weeks and see how you get
on.

 

Maybe I'm just the king of forward-planning, but as I'm trundling down a
queue of traffic I can pretty much always spot and use a suitable gap
without having to make sharp turns.

Go me.

 

perhaps our definitions of riding in "traffic" are not the same.

I'm pretty much talking about when 4-wheeled vehicles are either
gridlocked or not moving faster than 5mph.