Young GIs, Cash and Fast Motorcycles

[Hellgate]

At drill last month as I was gearing up on Sunday afternoon I was talking to a young Sergeant E5 who was gearing up to ride home. He had a new Honda CBR600, the one with the flat black paint. I asked him how he liked it. He said it was his first bike and only had 300 miles on it. Next to it was a new R6 with a bit of raod rash on the fairing. He said that bike belong to a friend of his and she had never ridden on the interstate so he rode with her to drill. I was thinking to myself that this was an accident waiting to happen. Fast forward one month. After first formation I hear on of the Platoon Sergeant say, "Hey roadrash, how ya doin'?" Right there I knew it had to be the SGT I met the month prior. So I asked him if he went down. Sheepishly he says, "Yeah..." What happened? He said as they were riding home last month his friend signaled that she needed fuel. He signals to exit. As they are exiting the highway he doesn't slow dwon enough, realizes he can't make the turn, decides to "hop" the curb and ride it out on the grass. He makes it to the grass okay, see a bar-ditch with a drainage colvert. He decides to low side and then proceeds to go ass over tea kettle. The body work is shot and he ended up tearing the legiments in his right ankle. 4 weeks later he is still limping around and could just get a boot over his foot today. I just rolled my eyes. Granted he would have done the same thing on a mo-ped, but is amazes me that a brand new rider with enough cash can buy a race bike.

Land of the free and home of the brave...with freedom comes the impled task of responsibility.

Oh well....I'm just glad he wasn't hurt worse.

 

[Nelly]

Lucky guy,

You must pay your SGT very well indeed. Is he going to fix it and carry on?

 

[reiobard]

good to know there are people like you protecting our country that take the time to prepare and think things through.

 

[grommit]

At least both he and she are okish.

A bike is not like a car, it is easy to drive a car fast but a bike needs experience and work to understand it. Riding with somebody is also another skill to be learnt.

 

[Hellgate]

Lucky guy,

You must pay your SGT very well indeed. Is he going to fix it and carry on?

Well he had been in Iraq for 15 months with nothing to spend his money on so he bought the bike when he got back. He a really nice kid I just hope that he takes the time to learn to ride safely.

There was a story in the Killeen local paper about the retail booms that occur when a unit returns from deployment. Many of the kids will have $20k to $40K saved up and blow all their money once they get back.

I had one Soldier who came home with $53,000 in his bank account, he saved every penny. Now he is using his monye to go to school. Needless to say he is very smart about it.

He is going to get the bike repaired, the problem they are having is getting the special body work to make the repairs.

 

[wrightme43]

Ask him if he would be interested in practicing with you. More experinced riders would be well served to mentor to newer riders. Tell him about the books and drills to become a more able rider. I am very lucky to of met experinced riders on the internet when I was first learning to ride that took the time to point out how I could improve.
Tell him the story of the bags.
One is full of luck, one is empty called experince.
Fill up the experince bag, before you empty the luck bag.
IF he agrees to practice with you, you will benifit more from it than he does.
Just my thoughts on the matter.
Steve

 

[Hellgate]

Ask him if he would be interested in practicing with you. More experinced riders would be well served to mentor to newer riders. Tell him about the books and drills to become a more able rider. I am very lucky to of met experinced riders on the internet when I was first learning to ride that took the time to point out how I could improve.
Tell him the story of the bags.
One is full of luck, one is empty called experince.
Fill up the experince bag, before you empty the luck bag.
IF he agrees to practice with you, you will benifit more from it than he does.
Just my thoughts on the matter.
Steve

Steve - Great idea! Thank you. He probably won't get the bike back for another month or two, however he lives about 75 miles away. I'll at least get him a book tonight for some reading as he heals. :Flash:

 

[Hellgate]

Ask him if he would be interested in practicing with you. More experinced riders would be well served to mentor to newer riders. Tell him about the books and drills to become a more able rider. I am very lucky to of met experinced riders on the internet when I was first learning to ride that took the time to point out how I could improve.
Tell him the story of the bags.
One is full of luck, one is empty called experince.
Fill up the experince bag, before you empty the luck bag.
IF he agrees to practice with you, you will benifit more from it than he does.
Just my thoughts on the matter.
Steve

I gave my NCO a book called, "Ride Hard, Ride Safe". It covers the basics and finished with sport riding. It looks very good, lots of detail and photos. He was very grateful and had a chance to look at it a bit this drill. I told him we could go ridding and I'd be glad to help coach him. Hopefully we can get a few rides in.

 

[madmanmaigret]

One team, one fight, Top! keep that guy up on the rubber side so my brother medics don't have to spend their time fixin him up!

 

[armystrong]

Good post. I'm not a young soldier anymore (I'm an older one), but I've seen this scenario play out again and again. When I got back from Iraq I had the strong urge to buy a bike and just jump on it. I didnt. I took the safety course and eased my way into riding. I'm enjoying it so far and I continue to warn the younger soldiers in my unit to take things slow. A buddy of mine is urging me onto the highway...but I'm taking it at my own pace. Thanks for posting.

 

[madmanmaigret]

Luckily, when I was in, I was content to spend all of my money on alcohol!


















and maybe a stripper or two.

 

[Hellgate]

Good post. I'm not a young soldier anymore (I'm an older one), but I've seen this scenario play out again and again. When I got back from Iraq I had the strong urge to buy a bike and just jump on it. I didnt. I took the safety course and eased my way into riding. I'm enjoying it so far and I continue to warn the younger soldiers in my unit to take things slow. A buddy of mine is urging me onto the highway...but I'm taking it at my own pace. Thanks for posting.

You are welcome, very smart move. I made a similar mistake, I ordered a Buell 1125R when I was in Ali Al Saleem, when I was coming home in September. Lucky for me my order got pushed out until this May, so I canceled it and bought the FZ. The 92 hp we have is plenty, 146 would be way too much!

 

[madmanmaigret]

You are welcome, very smart move. I made a similar mistake, I ordered a Buell 1125R when I was in Ali Al Saleem, when I was coming home in September. Lucky for me my order got pushed out until this May, so I canceled it and bought the FZ. The 92 hp we have is plenty, 146 would be way too much!

Lucky for you is right, Top. not only the hp but you would have been on a Buell too! :Flip:

 

[madmanmaigret]

somehow I posted that ^ twice. sorry.

 

[Hellgate]

Lucky for you is right, Top. not only the hp but you would have been on a Buell too! :Flip:

Oh but I think the new 1125R is so cool. No Harely parts at all. The engine is made by Rotax in Austria. It has a mild state of tune and makes 146hp. I can hardly wait to see how they do at Daytona. Give it a year and I be the race teams are making 165hp or so out of it.

 

[wolfc70]

Oh but I think the new 1125R is so cool. No Harely parts at all. The engine is made by Rotax in Austria. It has a mild state of tune and makes 146hp. I can hardly wait to see how they do at Daytona. Give it a year and I be the race teams are making 165hp or so out of it.

I have always admired the engineering and problem solving skills Erik Buell posesses. But always felt that the Harley derived engine held it back, although the Thunderstorm engines produced good power and amazing fuel economy.(65+ MPG HWY) The 1125R changed that, here was a Buell I lusted over, and after seeing it up close at the Minneapolis motorcycle show, I was very impressed. That engine is an absolute marvel. I really liked the finger followers on the valvetrain, helps simplify valve adjustments (cam does not have to come out).

I think the Buell low CofG design and mass centralization will make these bikes super competitive on the track. After talking with some Buell employees at the show, 146hp is just the beginning, from the way they were talking, racing output would be closer to 180hp. Erik also like longevity, and wants his bikes to reach 100,000 miles.

If i had unlimited funds, there would be a 1125R along with a Ducati Desmosedici RR in my garage. One can keep dreaming!

 

[madmanmaigret]

Oh but I think the new 1125R is so cool. No Harely parts at all. The engine is made by Rotax in Austria. It has a mild state of tune and makes 146hp. I can hardly wait to see how they do at Daytona. Give it a year and I be the race teams are making 165hp or so out of it.

it is a good lookin bike and i have admired how they made the frame the fuel tank / oil resivior. But I like my bike made by japs because they are the best at it
well at least getting power and reliability into a cost effective package.

dont get me wrong I would rock a duc or many other bikes but the lotto hasn't hit me yet!

 

[Hellgate]

I have always admired the engineering and problem solving skills Erik Buell posesses. But always felt that the Harley derived engine held it back, although the Thunderstorm engines produced good power and amazing fuel economy.(65+ MPG HWY) The 1125R changed that, here was a Buell I lusted over, and after seeing it up close at the Minneapolis motorcycle show, I was very impressed. That engine is an absolute marvel. I really liked the finger followers on the valvetrain, helps simplify valve adjustments (cam does not have to come out).

I think the Buell low CofG design and mass centralization will make these bikes super competitive on the track. After talking with some Buell employees at the show, 146hp is just the beginning, from the way they were talking, racing output would be closer to 180hp. Erik also like longevity, and wants his bikes to reach 100,000 miles.

If i had unlimited funds, there would be a 1125R along with a Ducati Desmosedici RR in my garage. One can keep dreaming!

There is a vehicle purchase plan for Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen who are overseas. It is a great deal, about 10 to 15% off of retail and no tax. The 1125R was going to cost me about $11,500 with everything. All I had to do was pick it up. This is for a bike that people are currently paying a premium to buy in some locations.

I really like Eric's ideas too and I agee the Harely motor held the FireBolts back. However without that lump of a motor Eric would not have been forced to create the amazing engineering that he has.

Maybe in a couple of years I'll be ready but for now the FZ is more that enough. Besides with the FZ I can go two up, I think that would be hard to do with the Buell. On the flip side, everyone who has ridden it has raved about the ergos. It is the most comfortable Superbike out there.

 

[wolfc70]

I always found Buell's to be comfy, especially the Ulysses. The Lightning I rode also was tollerable despite the clip on's. For the amazing price of $11,500, I would have most likely maybe possibly bought the 1125R, even if it meant selling some other things (everything else I own). It is so cool that the 1125R is the first real competitive (in the sportbike arena) AMERICAN motorcycle.
Congrats Mr. Buell, you made me a dedicated Japan and Ducati nut, take notice of your latest achivement.

I am not knocking the FZ6, I think it is one of the best bargains out there, and I do not regret my decision to purchase one. Now just got to wait for the temps to reach a sane level (mid 40's) to actually pick mine up!

 

[CdnMedic]

See it here too, alot of guys haven't had money and been under their parents roof, then they get out and we have the military basically giving you a home and $, but nobody telling you what to do with it. Some guys just drink it away.
Myself, I now have a new truck, a dirt bike and the FZ, amongst alot of other toys and I've just entered my 3rd year. Alot of people at work wonder how I obtain all my toys but I just say "when was the last time I went drinking with you?" and they understand how I do it.
We are just getting set up now for our brigade to come home from Afghanistan, as such the housing market is going to be insane, and there will be alot of new cars and bikes on base.
My plans after tour (in a year! wooohooo!!!) are to put a down payment on a house and furnish it... And to buy a new dirt bike. I'll have 40grand or so, depending on the length of deployment.
A few guys go out and buy bikes that are too fast, in the summer there are alot of rockets on base and I know of a few guys last summer that got seriously hurt, one of them in a 50km zone in town, all by himself...