[Wolfie665]

Your motorcycle - flog it here please, say why you love it and do you use it to shoot pictures?

EDIT: Not sure if this is for General Photography, so please admins feel free to move it. The idea is to have pictures of your bikes.


I've got Yamaha Master of Torque MT09.

I love it because it gives me sense of freedom, beats London congestions, it's faster then Porsche and much more fun to ride.


Too much hassle to have Pentax DSLR on it, hence I use pocket compact Cannon or (purists cover your ears now) cheap Samsung phone

I mean I focus mostly on the ride, although I do have plans for next summer to get K-5ii on a tail bag and do some combined fun around the UK and Europe

Yamaha MT09

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IMG_0033 by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/wolfie665/]

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Henley on Thames ride out

[pres589]

Marking this for later consumption.

[lesmore49]

I have two motorcycles. One is my old 1978 Yamaha SR 500, I bought new in 1978 when the model first came out. It has a 500cc, 4 stroke single cylinder. I like it because an essential motorcycle in my eyes. One cylinder, kickstart only, no electric start, disc brakes, relatively light weight. I like the looks of it, although it's big single cylinder does vibrate. A lot.

My other motorcycle is my even older, 1967 Matchless 750 G 15 CS Scrambler. It has a 750 Norton Atlas vertical twin cylinder engine, skid plate, twin Amal carbs, sports cam,, elongated Norton Atlas forks (more travel), low gearing, aluminum Lyta racing tank, lighter Matchless frame. Just as it came from the Associated Motorcycle Company (AMC) back in 1967. They were factory hybrids.

They were made for desert racing in the southwestern USA, most sent to the USA, some to Canada. The Norton N15 750 CS Scrambler was exactly the same, only diff was the badging..

It vibrates, is kind of rough and ready , looks great. A big English twin.

I've had a few bikes over the years, but I'm getting to the stage where I'm not going to be riding much more. Pretty well just drive a car now.

Our son has a BMW G/S. Before that he had a Yamaha Sportsbike.

[k1man]

My Honda FORZA 300cc, comfortable seat supports my knackered back not too fast tops 135km, an easy ride

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[lesmore49]

Nice bike Wolfie. That model Yamaha of yours does punch above it's weight class I've heard.

Aside from my Yamaha SR 500 'Thumper' I had another Yamaha, but back in the 1960's. It was a '65 Yamaha YDS3 Catalina Super Sports. It had the 250cc twin cylinder 2 stroke, twin Mikuni carbs. I still remember the spec from the manual..28.6 hp @ 8600 rpm...5 speed manual transmission. Doesn't seem like much now, but then it would fly for a 250...had a nice 'Yowl' sound from around 5500 rpm up to redline.

[Wolfie665]

Nice bike Wolfie. That model Yamaha of yours does punch above it's weight class I've heard.

Aside from my Yamaha SR 500 'Thumper' I had another Yamaha, but back in the 1960's. It was a '65 Yamaha YDS3 Catalina Super Sports. It had the 250cc twin cylinder 2 stroke, twin Mikuni carbs. I still remember the spec from the manual..28.6 hp @ 8600 rpm...5 speed manual transmission. Doesn't seem like much now, but then it would fly for a 250...had a nice 'Yowl' sound from around 5500 rpm up to redline.

Two strokes are massive fun and acceleration. I've got in the 70s - 80s several ones Jawa and MZs. And the smell of two stroke mix goes into your clothes so anywhere you go instantly recognised as a biker

MT09 steering is sharp as sport bike, the engine is great, it's light and handles more like push bike. MT09 is just billiant. Means you can be fooled you can do absolutely anything. Well not exactly - I've smashed one to bits 2016 that is my second one, don't do this at home

[lesmore49]

Two strokes are massive fun and acceleration. I've got in the 70s - 80s several ones Jawa and MZs. And the smell of two stroke mix goes into your clothes so anywhere you go instantly recognised as a biker

MT09 steering is sharp as sport bike, the engine is great, it's light and handles more like push bike. MT09 is just billiant. Means you can be fooled you can do absolutely anything. Well not exactly - I've smashed one to bits 2016 that is my second one, don't do this at home

Jawa ! My first motorized 2 wheeler or first motorized vehicle was a ' 65 Jawa 50cc scooter. Three speeds, 3.5 hp in a 2 stroke single, then a '65 CZ 125cc motorcycle, than a '66 CZ 125cc roadster with 19 inch wheels. A large department store sold them out here, another dept. store sold Austrian Puchs and a third dept. store sold first Hondas from around 1965 to '68, then Ducatis from around 1969 through the early '70's, I believe. You could by 250 Ducatis, possibly 450cc singles if memory serves me correctly.

I've always been a fan of Yamaha motorcycles. Reliable bikes, excellent technology , speed and value for money.

BTW, what type (model + engine size) of Jawa and MZ motorcycles did you have ? I've only seen one MZ in western Canada and that was back in the '60's. Of course Walter Kaaden the great engineer of MZ revolutionized power output of the 2 stroke engine through expansion chambers, radical porting and his development of the 2 stroke engine particularly in road racing. The Japanese firms of Suzuki and Yamaha...and I might add... 2 stroke performance engineering in general...owe an awful lot to Mr. Kaaden's engineering ideas at MZ.

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Last edited by lesmore49; 12-20-2018 at 08:15 PM.

[wibbly]

i'm bike obsessed. have had 9 of them, all sport bikes except for the super motard

1996 kawasaki zx7r
2003 honda rc51
2003 honda gsxr 600 race bike
2010 ktm rc8r
2010 ktm 690 SMC
2008 honda cbr 600rr
2005 honda rc51
2015 honda grom
2015 honda cbr 300f (parts bike to supply the grom project)

the crown jewel is my 2005 rc51 though. this bike has been my most serious project, where i've used some very very hard to find parts, and have also designed and produced a lot of one-of-a kind parts as well. i've done the 3d modeling and my good friend machinist has produced the parts. there's simply too much going on to mention it all, but the flickr gallery link at the bottom will take you to a photo break down of it. and yes, i do ride it. did two track days last year on it, will do more this year i hope.

i take a lot of photos at the track, and if i'm going out there i usually pack my camera back pack and ride out.


















full album here

Rc51 Project | Flickr

[theskonesdad]

i'm bike obsessed. have had 9 of them, all sport bikes except for the super motard

1996 kawasaki zx7r
2003 honda rc51
2003 honda gsxr 600 race bike
2010 ktm rc8r
2010 ktm 690 SMC
2008 honda cbr 600rr
2005 honda rc51
2015 honda grom
2015 honda cbr 300f (parts bike to supply the grom project)

the crown jewel is my 2005 rc51 though. this bike has been my most serious project, where i've used some very very hard to find parts, and have also designed and produced a lot of one-of-a kind parts as well. i've done the 3d modeling and my good friend machinist has produced the parts. there's simply too much going on to mention it all, but the flickr gallery link at the bottom will take you to a photo break down of it. and yes, i do ride it. did two track days last year on it, will do more this year i hope.

i take a lot of photos at the track, and if i'm going out there i usually pack my camera back pack and ride out.


















full album here

Rc51 Project | Flickr

I can't imagine the time you have invested! Very nice.

[Wolfie665]

Jawa ! My first motorized 2 wheeler or first motorized vehicle was a ' 65 Jawa 50cc scooter. Three speeds, 3.5 hp in a 2 stroke single, then a '65 CZ 125cc motorcycle, than a '66 CZ 125cc roadster with 19 inch wheels. A large department store sold them out here, another dept. store sold Austrian Puchs and a third dept. store sold first Hondas from around 1965 to '68, then Ducatis from around 1969 through the early '70's, I believe. You could by 250 Ducatis, possibly 450cc singles if memory serves me correctly.

I've always been a fan of Yamaha motorcycles. Reliable bikes, excellent technology , speed and value for money.

BTW, what type (model + engine size) of Jawa and MZ motorcycles did you have ? I've only seen one MZ in western Canada and that was back in the '60's. Of course Walter Kaaden the great engineer of MZ revolutionized power output of the 2 stroke engine through expansion chambers, radical porting and his development of the 2 stroke engine particularly in road racing. The Japanese firms of Suzuki and Yamaha...and I might add... 2 stroke performance engineering in general...owe an awful lot to Mr. Kaaden's engineering ideas at MZ.

Unfortunately I haven't got any pictures of my old bikes I've lost all my film photos archive before digital era

Anyhow my Jawa was old 350/634 model and I've got two MZs the same model ETZ250 in black and blue. MZ was supposed to have better brakes, but stopping was real long term planning job especially in wet

Stock photos:

[dsmithhfx]

My motorcycle is all-terrain and all-season, stops on a dime and goes from 0-60 (inches, or about four steps) in two seconds. Best off all, it doesn't need insurance, and if I run into something or fall off, I generally do not need hospitalization or a casket. It's the perfect platform for perambulatin' photography.

[lesmore49]

Unfortunately I haven't got any pictures of my old bikes I've lost all my film photos archive before digital era

Anyhow my Jawa was old 350/634 model and I've got two MZs the same model ETZ250 in black and blue. MZ was supposed to have better brakes, but stopping was real long term planning job especially in wet

Stock photos:

The Jawa 350 twin, 2 stroke was quite a motorcycle. It was around for decades and was quite a good machine. Not extremely powerful, but still a solid performer, very durable, reliable. I never did get one, but I was interested in them when I was a young motorcyclist in the 1960's. A buddy...not a very big guy , had one and I was always surprised how well it accelerated. It wasn't a high horsepower job, around 18-21 hp, but it did have plenty of bottom end and mid range torque for it's 350cc displacement. Like many street CZ and Jawa motorcycles revving it to the redline didn't make much difference, it made more sense to shift it when it plateaued...guessing (no tacho) that would be around 5-5500 rpm.

In contrast my Yamaha YDS3...was a high horsepower 2 stroke, 250cc twin....28.6 @ 8600 rpm or so. Not much power at low rpm's but when you revved it over 5-6000 rpm (it, unlike the Jawa/CZ's...had a tachometer) it would come on strong right through to the redline, from my recollection of 50 years or so ago.

When I think about 1960's high performance 2 stroke twins , I automatically think about the Yamaha and Suzuki engines of the time. My understanding is that although their high performance abilities were developed by their engineering, there was obviously, IMO, a strong contribution in 2 stroke twin design from the Adler250 and Jawa 350 twin cylinder 2 strokers. Engine layout seems to share some design points, in my non engineering, eyes .

Also MZ , as mentioned before made significant inroads in 2 stroke engine exhaust timing and exhaust pipe performance design, etc...which upped performance potential in 2 strokes significantly/performance.

I think there is a lot of credit that is due to the Eastern and Central European motorcycle engineers and factories...that is not generally acknowledged.

The MZ in your picture has unusual barrel/head finning. Quite a bit when you think about it, but I would think that those relatively massive fins would dissipate heat away from the engine quite well, keep it from overheating and therefore contribute to reliability/durability.

Thanks for posting those photos...they brought back a lot of memories for me, particularly the Jawa twin.

[reeftool]

In all the hectic stuff going on, somehow I missed this thread. I've been riding motorcycles for decades. My current ride is a 2012 Harley Davidson Sportster which doesn't look too much like a traditional Sporty with the 4 1/2 gallon tank, windshield, and saddlebags but it's light enough and low enough that I can still park it easily at my age and physical condition. Here's a phone snapshot I took on New Years Day after the temperature hit the low 40'sF in the afternoon. I was actually re-arranging my garage that day because I needed to get some stuff inside due to a large impending snowstorm and while it was out, I just had to take a quick ride.

[ryanM]

I used to ride street bikes and have owned cruisers and sport bikes in the past, I still have a Suzuki Bandit in the garage that does not run. I don't really like to ride on the road all that much anymore.


Now I have a '15 Yamaha XT250 that I ride all over the woods, and we have hundreds of miles of gravel roads, jeep trails, and single track to have fun on too. My bike is the blue one in the picture. I generally take one camera and one lens, which is usually a film camera (Pentax MX or K2) and a 50mm f1.4 to document the rides. I don't want to strap a tripod and bunch of gear to the bike because I've been known to fall over on it while going through muddy ruts and stuff, but the minimal gear has worked well. This shot is from my iPhone though. The other bike is my friend's Suzuki DRZ 400.

[ZombieArmy]

I want to get into bikes but would be nervous about riding here in central florida where you constantly hear of old people killing motorcyclists. If I wanted to do the trails what would be a good cheap starting point?