OT Honda Goldwings

MartinM said:

We have got an international rally of these hippos up the road this
weekend. What exactly is the point of them? I may go along just to see
if anyone has converted one into a motorcaravan (or even a hearse!)

So you can say you're a bad-ass biker when you're actually driving a
two-wheeled car (complete with heater and stereo). Apparently they have
a reverse gear.

MartinM said:

We have got an international rally of these hippos up the road this
weekend. What exactly is the point of them? I may go along just to

see

Quoted message said:

if anyone has converted one into a motorcaravan (or even a hearse!)

I think they're meant to demonstrate how far one can stretch a point.
The two-wheeled equivalent of a limousine, but only two wheels so they
still qualify as motorbikes.

Saw a fantastic customised Goldwing in Matlock once; bespoke Star Trek
TNG-style leather seats, airbrushed artwork of the characters, chrome
grills, etc. Worth looking out for.

Becky

quote='Arellcat'MartinM said:

We have got an international rally of these hippos up the road this
weekend. What exactly is the point of them? I may go along just to

see

Quoted message said:

if anyone has converted one into a motorcaravan (or even a hearse!)

I think they're meant to demonstrate how far one can stretch a point.
The two-wheeled equivalent of a limousine, but only two wheels so they
still qualify as motorbikes.

and built in the US now, anything that reduces the sales of HD's can't be all bad
A lot of them are converted into trikes now.

In article <[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

We have got an international rally of these hippos up the road this
weekend. What exactly is the point of them? I may go along just to see
if anyone has converted one into a motorcaravan (or even a hearse!)

Many moons ago I travelled as a pillion passenger on a Goldwing
from Manchester to Nice. It was very comfortable, much better
for long distances than the Honda CB750 that we used for kicking
around the north of England. The Goldwing is a tourer and as such
it's eminently suited.

Juliette
--

MartinM said:

We have got an international rally of these hippos up the road this
weekend. What exactly is the point of them?

They probably think the same about bicycles.

Tony

Quoted message said:

We have got an international rally of these hippos up the road this
weekend. What exactly is the point of them? I may go along just to see
if anyone has converted one into a motorcaravan (or even a hearse!)

While not my cup of tea, the Gold Wing has evolved into the ultimate touring
motorcycle for those owners who like to lavish attention, time and money on
a two wheeled vehicle whose comfort is unrivalled when covering long
distances. I prefer the 'hardship' of tear-arsing along on unfaired
motorcycles with nowt more than throw over panniers and a ruck sack to carry
my touring junk.

Chaque a son goute

quote='Tony Raven'MartinM said:

We have got an international rally of these hippos up the road this
weekend. What exactly is the point of them?

They probably think the same about bicycles.

Yes but we don't spend the weekend in a muddy field of tents with flags and all go out for rides together to cafes and annoy people in cars and talk about what we have done to our machines to make them go faster ;-)

quote='MartinMM'quote='Tony Raven'MartinM said:

We have got an international rally of these hippos up the road this
weekend. What exactly is the point of them?

They probably think the same about bicycles.

Yes but we don't spend the weekend in a muddy field of tents with flags and all go out for rides together to cafes and annoy people in cars and talk about what we have done to our machines to make them go faster ;-)[/QUOTE]
They are liked by the middle aged and older generation. They are mainly designed for long trips and capable of interglactic mileages whilst providing the rider and pillion a comfortable seating position and some handy features. They do have a reverse gear due to their immense size and weight, the very vast majority of people would not be able to tiptoe one about. Its really the bike quivatlent of a well equipped camper van.

Some people buy them for the attention and for the hell of it as the likes of the BMW K1200 things and the Honda Pan European's are just as vertsatile (excluding the gizmos) for touring whilst being more manageable and manouverable.

Bikers are some of the friendliest and most approachable people (I am a biker myself and ride a sports bike)and the Goldwing owners are just living their life to the full in their own way.

"MartinM" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

We have got an international rally of these hippos up the road this
weekend. What exactly is the point of them?

The point is that the owners enjoy them.
None has ever caused me any problems as a ped, cyclist or motorist and
they're not particularly noisy so if they're legally bought and operated
that's good enough for me.

Pete

MartinMM [email hidden] opined the
following...

Quoted message said:

Yes but we don't spend the weekend in a muddy field of tents with flags
and all go out for rides together to cafes and annoy people in cars and
talk about what we have done to our machines to make them go faster ;-)

Ahem... York Rally? Cycle Fest?

You stand corrected. ;-)

Jon

"MartinM" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

We have got an international rally of these hippos up the road this
weekend. What exactly is the point of them? I may go along just to see
if anyone has converted one into a motorcaravan (or even a hearse!)

They're the Jap answer to the Harley D.

--
Simon M.

[quote="Jon Senior"]MartinMM [email hidden] opined the
following...

Quoted message said:

Yes but we don't spend the weekend in a muddy field of tents with flags
and all go out for rides together to cafes and annoy people in cars and
talk about what we have done to our machines to make them go faster ;-)

MartinMM <[email hidden]> wrote:

:> teensy weensy bit daft, but the owners obviously take pride in owning
:> and riding them

THey are daft, but in a good way. They have always struck me a the
motorcycle equivalent of recumbants 🙂

--
Arthur Clune http://www.clune.org
"Technolibertarians make a philosophy out of a personality defect"
- Paulina Borsook

in message <[email hidden]>, Simon Mason

(') said:

"MartinM" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

We have got an international rally of these hippos up the road this
weekend. What exactly is the point of them? I may go along just to
see if anyone has converted one into a motorcaravan (or even a
hearse!)

They're the Jap answer to the Harley D.

That's unfair. They're the Jap answer to the Electraglide. Harley have
made some much more interesting motorbikes. I'd agree that there's no
earthly purpose to a gold-wing, but all Harley V twins - even the gross
and obese Electraglide - at least have the saving grace that they are
the most magnificent musical instruments.

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/
;; If Python is executable pseudocode,
;; then Perl is executable line noise
-- seen on Slashdot.

Simon Brooke said:

all Harley V twins - even the gross
and obese Electraglide - at least have the saving grace that they are
the most magnificent musical instruments.

Because they have as much polished metal as a sousaphone?

Zog The Undeniable said:

So you can say you're a bad-ass biker when you're actually driving a
two-wheeled car (complete with heater and stereo). Apparently they have
a reverse gear.

Nothing new about reverse gear on motorcycles, H-D Electra Glides had it in
the '60s.
--
mark

Simon Brooke said:

....but all Harley V twins - even the gross
and obese Electraglide - at least have the saving grace that they are
the most magnificent musical instruments.

Then you must be tone deaf.

The only musical V twin is a 90 degree V twin.

Simon Mason said:

They're the Jap answer to the Harley D.

Hence: Honda-Davidson.

Amusing to look at thobut.

--
Guy

On Sat, 28 Aug 2004 21:13:23 +0100, Zog The Undeniable
<[email hidden]> wrote (more or less):

Quoted message said:

MartinM said:

We have got an international rally of these hippos up the road this
weekend. What exactly is the point of them? I may go along just to see
if anyone has converted one into a motorcaravan (or even a hearse!)

So you can say you're a bad-ass biker when you're actually driving a
two-wheeled car (complete with heater and stereo). Apparently they have
a reverse gear.

And they fail to meet the Highway Code braking distances!

--
Cheers,
Euan
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