Call me Tasha 'cause I'm posting this reply on Android!
7of9
joined 1 year ago
I can understand the allure, when it feels like you're pushing the envelope of whats possible with WOT on a screaming engine ... FWIW new Aprilia 125s don't make the same power (because 4 stroke, legal power restrictions, and emissions) but they do sound like a Moto GP bike when you keep them above 8K (they make no power below 7K). The local teenagers here love the Supermoto version, which can push the envelope in other ways ... namely backing it in while scraping the pegs. Also, they don't have to strip the bike apart every week just to keep moving like we did, lol
What more could anyone ask for?
Yeah, my local Caprabo (a modestly priced supermarket) used to have a whole aisle dedicated to olives and olive related stuff ... now the locals are getting priced out of it and the aisle is just a little section
Looks comfy, a little bit cruiser and a little bit naked ... how is it to live with?
Only good for masochists, it'll need a new one of everything from rusted-in brake seals to rusted-in swingarm bearings. And when it's all done you'll be left with a bike that's only slightly better than other featherweights, is completely impractical, and cost the same as a new bike to put together even if it was free.
If you already have another one that runs nicely but needs new plastics, then go for it!
I'm well aware of what the European test requires, since I have a European license.
It teaches the bare basics to be on the road and not die on a normal sized bike. It is the starting point from which to learn how to handle a bike properly.
If someone has just taken their test they are not ready to handle a 650 to it's full potential, never mind a tall 750 like the new TransAlp. Getting a smaller bike and finding out how to scrape the pegs at 30kph in Moto Gymkhana is a good start for the road, for adventure riding trials is the best.
You didn't go for a Boss Hoss? That Rocket must feel tiny.
If you're in Europe and passed your A test you're about ready to start learning how to actually handle a small bike.
Get extra instruction, and start doing Moto Gymkhana. Consider getting a cheap small and light bike like a CBF250 or Duke 125, and learn to really master it.
Your instructor probably shrugged when you said you were getting a TransAlp because he knew there was no point in telling you not to. He's seen umpteen people pass their test and then go out and crash right away.
This is a predominantly American Men's thing, as far as I can tell. Many get the biggest bike they can, fail to learn to control it, and then go around chest thumping.
Meanwhile the best rider I know, a professional test rider, spends his weekends teaching Moto Gymkhana on a 125.
The Borg became a metaphor for colonialism, I think, with assimilation being an "improvement" for it's victims.
There's also an episode where Quark undergoes gender reassignment in order to close a deal, which is played for laughs and includes lines about women being sensitive because of their hormones. It sticks out because it's just horrible, while she show is generally good.