Wildguzzi.com
General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: Cool Runnings on July 15, 2016, 05:16:52 PM
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:popcorn:
GUZZI GRISO SE vs HARLEY XR 1200 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPJPV3qOrL8)
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Well. To me that illustrates everything I've ever said...
About 99.9% of posturing about what bike/brand is better is bupkiss.... Much ado about nothing.
Oh, and crossing center is verboten.
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Looks like a normal ride to me , what am I missing ???
Dusty
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agreed , normal ride ...in Italy on any given sunday.... where cagers do not horn if you pass them and do not call police ...etc...
they just sit tight and mind their business.
I have experienced riding in USA and Italy and the behavior of cagers is like night and day.
thanks for posting..
ah , notice the bikes parked outside of the coffee... nobody will get a ticket. it's a bike why in hell i should park it in a car spot ?????
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Arveno , I live in a lightly populated part of the country , not unusual to ride for miles without encountering any cars , on roads very similar to that .
Dusty
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Really? Crossing over or leaning over the center line is a regular thing? No thanks.
That's a substitute for proper lines , proper techniques, and reasonable road speeds.
Cross over constantly like that and it becomes a matter of habit, eventually you'll make a bad prediction and the lane won't be free.
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Look normal for me when riding in Italy. Especially in the Dolomites. Often times a marked road like that will go into a single lane into a hairpin. A rider has to look at the road going into and above the hairpin. Not unusual to use the whole road.
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Arveno , I live in a lightly populated part of the country , not unusual to ride for miles without encountering any cars , on roads very similar to that .
Dusty
I grew up in Milan , a city where traffic is bad so scooter and moped and motorcycles are driven to cut through traffic.
I cannot drive behind a car, it does not just make sense to me....In NY NJ CT area... if you pass a car.... geeeezzzz they get pissed and start horn at you .... what am i supposed to do ? stay in traffic with a motorcycle ?
Same on mountain roads.... motorcycles take their pace and cagers don't mind it because it is the way it is supposed to be or at least it is the way we grew up.
And crossing over or leaning over the center line...is not a big deal..geeezzzz
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:thumb:
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Not a big deal?
Nah, it's weak technique. It's selfish behavior that assumes a family won't be in a car coming the other direction. At best it's an indulgence that builds bad habits.
The litmus test for morality of an action in a vacuum of no other morality is simple. Ask yoursel if everyone did it would it be a benefit or liability to the human race. If every self important individual ignored the rules of the road that thoroughly the net result would be negative.
I'm not saying the occasional bending of the rule is of itself an issue, but the systematic shunning is problematic. So again, no thanks.
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looks like a normal riding to me.
which one was the Harley and Griso?
vs meaning ?
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The 6 minutes I watched represented about 2 or 3yrs. of stupid behavior by me.
So I won't judge, we've all been there. Admittedly so, or not..
Personally, following someone easing it down the straights and THEN railing a turn
is pure poetry.
Oh, and my money is on the Griso. :evil:
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Geez fellas , I have probably at least 400,000 miles W/O a crash , or even many close calls . No , I don't advise crossing the center line , but on occasion it does happen when the sight lines allow for it. Some of you need to come to the Okie and experience our lightly traveled roads and relatively polite car drivers , of course there is the rare asshat , just part of life . Italians aren't the only decent drivers .
Dusty
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looks like a normal riding to me.
which one was the Harley and Griso?
vs meaning ?
Yep , Hogback Rd , or the Talimena Dr on a quiet day , some buds out on their Guzzis , huh
John :bike-037:
Dusty
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Nah Dusty, it's not fellas, it's just me.
Maybe it's a difference in perspectives because of that stated difference in population. I can accept that might be it.
I just know that in my own many hundreds of thousands of miles I suspect such habits would have ended badly around here.
Which is why I stated in the first post these crossings are verboten, and reacted so surprised the rest of the time, but I'm willing to concede conditions might be so habitually different in the Midwest that it might not apply.
For me, my experience suggests that even if so, I'd rather not...
.. Related story, driving the family home from the dojo on a Saturday morning a few weeks ago and my scanning identified a car coming towards us clearly on a collision course... It continued towards us across the double yellow at which point I accelerated and served the Jeep toward the curb while laying on the horn. As he barely missed us I saw him in the rear view jerk back towards his lane just seconds before he hit the curb on my side. I'm not sure if it was the motorcycling skills of scanning identifying threats or the martial arts skills of the same... Just glad I was really watching for situations.
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You can use the whole road in Italy especially in the Dolomite Alps. Lined or not. It's up to the rider. Road rules aren't the same in Italy vs the U.S. Of course if you don't want to ride using the whole road in the Alps then that's your choice too.
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These riders IMHO demonstrated good judgement and technique - hanging back behind cars until full view of road ahead, utilizing judicious portion of road to maximize views thru curves and optimize their lines, etc. Nothing Verbotten here, citizen (of the Alps) - move along!
I yearn to ride in the Alps again after seeing that, thanks! :bow:
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Some of you need to come to the Okie and experience our lightly traveled roads and relatively polite car drivers , of course there is the rare asshat , just part of life . Italians aren't the only decent drivers .
It's very regional. Here in rural NC most drivers are very laid back and you don't see much road rage. Big cities can be unpleasant at best. In areas like western NC, around Deals Gap and the vicinity for example, many car drivers will pull off the road to let motorcycles pass.
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Euro drivers put the right turn signal on, pull to the far right to give room for the riders to pass. They keep a steady pace so that there are less variables for the motorcycle rider.
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Wait a minute. Harleys are not suppose to be able to run like that! Right?
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I don't cross the center line unless I am passing . I consider crossing sloppy and unskilled so unless I screw up I don't do it.
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:copcar: That's nukin futs and IMO uncool riding and what gives riders a bad rap. Passing is not an issue but crossing the line on nearly every corner is pretty stupid. These Riders are obviously not your run of the mill jockeys, and have serious riding skills, but judgement is lacking.
The Harley XR is an amazing ride, not surprised it hung with the crotch rockets and Griso.
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which one was the Griso and XR?
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Wait, courteous Euro drivers pull to the right and hold a steady pace to let others pass? Here, angry drivers speed up when you try to pass in an effort to block you.
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Wait a minute. Harleys are not suppose to be able to run like that! Right?
Not your typical Harley. You wouldn't see that with an Ultra or Road King.
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My observation is that as long as you stay out of other drivers way, they don't really care what you do. While someone coming the other way to meet you head on would be pissed, as long as no one gets pushed out of the way, no one cares.
My friends who ride over there feel that if you can't ride like that, why own a motorcycle? Same is true in the city with scooters. It appears to me to be unnecessarily risky.
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Honestly I would rather see small groups riding in a spirited fashion than encounter the cruiser bike parades doing 15 under running in a tight formation so no one can safely pass .
Dusty
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around here its normal for cruiser types to run a rolling roadblock. this is where a good gob of horsepower and torque come in handy, either in a bike or car. makes it fun!
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If you drive or ride using U.S. rules in Italy, you'll get a ticket for holding up traffic.
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Most solid center lines are engineered for more than two wheels. Yes, anything can happen in a lapsed moment of attention but 40 in front is always better than 70 behind, right? 51 yeas of crossing the center lines safely has provided some wonderfull thrills that continue to this day. There are exceptions to EVERY rule. Beaten paths are for beaten men. (Oh, & women!)
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Most solid center lines are engineered for more than two wheels. Yes, anything can happen in a lapsed moment of attention but 40 in front is always better than 70 behind, right? 51 yeas of crossing the center lines safely has provided some wonderfull thrills that continue to this day. There are exceptions to EVERY rule. Beaten paths are for beaten men. (Oh, & women!)
Agreed. I consider carefully when to do it. First out of safety, and second out of respect for other motorist, usually cages. I don't like to make what might be interpreted as an egregious move by motorist, even if it seems safe. I don't want to make more "biker haters".
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There are ways to ride safely and ways to stay within the lines and they are not always the same.
Have been on many roads out here where it was a simple thing to use the whole road in turns without being a safety hazard.
I don't do it on blind corners, even in very remote locations. Have had too many close calls over the years. One was on a back highway. Had not seen another car for over an hour. Went around a blind corner hugging the centerline, helmet and body hanging into the other lane.....and here comes a TRUCK. BIG dumptruck. Yep, missed that sucker by inches, only because he was hugging the inside line of the corner. Didn't see another vehicle for another 30 min (until the intersection with another highway). Over 100miles and that was the only vehicle I saw. So, blind corners I stay on my own side.
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Just reinforces something I've always said ...
You can tell very little (often nothing) about the "skill level" of a rider, or the level of "performance" of his bike, on the street. The riders aren't doing anything with their bikes that I or most everyone I ride with can't do. The acceleration, speeds, and lean angles aren't incredible, all of us have done it.
The only thing these riders are doing that I won't do is risk their lives on blind curves and narrow roads for a thrill. In quite a few cases there, if there were a rock or gravel wash in the road, a car coming the other way crowding your lane, or a truck stalled in the wrong place, these riders would be badly hurt or dead.
For what? For going 20 mph faster than was safe? To show how big their bollocks are? To "beat" someone? Just for the thrill of "cheating death"?
Again, it's their choice, but it's only a demonstration of dangerous behavior, not a demonstration of skill, motorcycle performance, or bravery. They can show us those last three on a track, and I'll be the first one going "Wow!"
Lannis
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They are pushing it a little hard for road riding for sure. Probably nothing most of us haven't done at one point or another, I know I am guilty. I agree with Kev on the bad habits that can come from repeated runs like these, luck will eventually run out unfortunately. I've had some wake up calls with everything from deer to gravel on blind corners and when you least expect it there it is. I hope these guys don't have to learn the hard way what can happen being a road racer.
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I got to watch LOTS of road racing in 78-82 at Loudon, NH...so when I see this kinda action, I get a quizzical look on my face...
Why risk your ass on the street? Go play on the track, then you'll see how big your kahunas are...on the street has ZERO relevance to a skill level like say, Freddie Spencer, and yet, they WILL risk their lives to look like him.
Go play in the right sandbox. Me, I'd prefer to throttle back and actually see the Dolomites...and chase down Harley's and pass them., but only when ....never mind
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Obviously, the skill level of the riders has a big qualification for the type of riding and venue. No one would force you to ride that way. If you want to ride slower, your choice. The riding style is different in the Italian Alps (Dolomites)
A big difference to explain it is that the first vehicle a person can afford in Europe is a bicycle supplemented by public transportation. If you can afford it then a moped, then a scooter, then a motorcycle, then a car. U.S. drivers can be driving a car after reaching 15yrs. of age. Way different in how the rules of the road are interpreted and applied. For the most part, a motorcycle is transportation in Europe first and recreation 2nd. The U.S. it's mostly recreational.
European licensing is also different. A more graduated and expensive proposition than the U.S..
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They look like skilled riders, but they're leaving little room for error. A patch of gravel or an oil slick is all it would take. For that reason, I wouldn't push it quite that hard.
But yeah, as others have said, the big question here is how did a Harley (the filmer) keep up?
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I watched a few minutes, I get pretty bored with GoPro vid of others riding. Do they ever pick up to a good pace? Going that speed I'd think you could stay on your seat don't 'cha think?
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I've never ridden like this, ever. Guess I'm just Mr. safety.
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You're riding your own ride. :thumb: One caveat though. Riding in the Italian and Austrian Alps will sharpen your motorcycle riding skills.