What am I missing?

I wonder how many x-bikers bought Miatas?

That's the reason I bought one too, had a really big crash, paralysed me
left arm,
I still ride but it's just not the same, because I do not have the same
control as before, I am really nervous, every time I get back im bloody
exhausted from all the concentration, smiling but exhausted.

I found I really missed the bikes, the open out in the air freeness, so I
bought a cabrio, its still not the same but I hate the feeling of being
stuck in a tin box, at least with a cabrio you can feel the wind in your
hair (while I've still got some).
Rode a bike everyday for 6 years, and at least once a week from the age of
15, raced anything I could afford,
Check out some of me bikes on http://www.angelfire.com/ultra/cbr6fs/ it's
about 2 years out of date but I can't be bothered to update it.

I guess when you ride bikes a lot then you perception of comfort and
distance change.

Grant I tried earplugs in me Miata yesterday, out on the motorway and in
town, absolutely crap mate, I did not like it at all, but I never got used
to the on the bike either.

Cheers Mark.


"XS11E" > wrote in message
...
> "Eric Baber" > wrote in
> :
>
>>> I gotta say a Miata really isn't what I want but I can't ride any
>>> more and the Miata is the closet thing I've found to a
>>> motorcycle..
>>
>> Excellent choice. I had to sell my Ducati Monster and got a Miata
>> for the same reason; I haven't regretted it (much). That's to say
>> that I haven't regretted buying the Miata, though I have regretted
>> having to sell the Duc. Oh well.
>
> I've got down to one bike, now, my 1985 Harley-Davidson FLTC, which
> I'll sell eventually but it's got over 100,000 miles of memories on it,
> coast to coast a couple of times, north to Yellowstone Park 5 times and
> back, up the coast to Port Angeles once, dozens of trips to California,
> New Mexico, Colorado, etc. I have trouble thinking about selling it.
>
> I think it's the travelling I'll miss the most. Unfortunately, it's
> running around 100 miles/year for the last nine years and that's just
> plain abuse. Plus, it's getting more and more unsafe to ride, when I
> come to a stop I'm never sure if I'll be able to put a foot down. I
> won't ride double anymore and SWMBO misses the travelling as well.
> That's where Mr. Miata (or whatever I'll call him/her/it) comes in,
> I'll still be able to see scenery by being out in it, not looking at it
> through a frame (If you've read Persig you know what I mean by that.)
> Also, I think the luggage capacity is about the same with the Harley-
> Davidson having a little advantage! <G>
>
>> Enjoy the Miata - and keep your leather jacket or whatever you
>> used to wear on the bike, and the earplugs; they'll come in handy
>> when you're driving with the top down in sub-freezing temperatures
>> :-)
>
> Thanks, could you please explain the unfamiliar term "sub-freezing
> temperatures" for those of us who live in Phoenix, Arizona? <g>

Natman, I think if you concentrate on the word DEDICATED mate you might find
that your dizziness will stop.

There is a major difference between an "open top sports car" and DEDICATED
sports car.

Ded-i-cated adj designed to carry out only one task, or set aside for a
purpose.



Non one would argue that a Miata is a sports car, but in my opinion a
dedicated sports car would be 1 or all of the car I listed.



Cheers Mark.



"Natman" > wrote in message
...
> On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 06:28:50 +0200, "gixer" > wrote:
>
>>Guys its a open top sports car.
>
>>It [the Miata] was designed to be noisy, that's part of the appeal of a
>>sports car.
>
> gixer 2/26/05
>
>>Before we purchased our Miata's we knew that it was an open top sports
>>car,
>
> gixer 2/26/05
>
>>A Miata is not, has not, and never will be a dedicated sports car
>
> gixer 2/26/05
>
> I'm getting dizzy.

Hi Bruce,

Thanks it was, that seat is perfectly moulded to my arse.
I can't say that it was all enjoyable, but 99% of out of town driving has
been fantastic.

We managed to get 2 trips to the UK and back again last year, which was a
good chunk of the enjoyable mileage,
The 1st trip was 6194 miles,
As we went via Bucharest and Gdansk, up to the UK onto Edinburgh and a bit
of a tour of Scotland, then back via Paris then down to the south of France
and along the coats down into Italy and got the ferry from Ancona.
The 2nd trip at the end of October was 5890 Miles,
A fairly straight route to the Uk, but we took the ferry from the Uk to
Bilbao, Down to Madrid, took in the GP at Valencia, Barcelona along the
south coast and through Italy and the ferry from Ancona again.

I also travel a lot with my work, I was offered either a company car or a
car allowance when I joined, I choose not to take a company car, so I get a
very generous car allowance, which is calculated on mileage, which I am
extremely thankful.
Can you imagine having to be stuck in a van for that mileage?

Don't know if anyone else has to log their miles, or even if anyone is
interested. but I just dug out my travel expense report.
Last year I did 99438 km (61744 miles)
Used 12368 Litres (2720 uk gallons),
Averaged 8.04 km/L (22.7mpg),
Got a top fuel consumption figure of 9.97 km/L (28.16mpg)
A worst of 6.51km/L (18mpg) (track days)

The scariest fact is that the average fuel cost was ?0.86 per litre, which
meant and I spent ?10636.48 on petrol alone.

Ouch thank god for car allowances.

If you are interested more I have pictures on me web site,
http://www.angelfire.com/ultra/cbr6fs/ it's about 2 years out of date, but I
keep promising to up date it,
I think its got our first trip from the UK to Greece, and maybe a couple of
our European bike trips,
It's a project I started while I was in bed after a bad smash, so if it
doesn't make too much sense blame the Morphine not me.

Cheers Mark.


"BRUCE HASKIN" > wrote in message
...
> WOW ! That is a lot of seat time !
>
> Let's see, If you drove 8 hr's a day 5 days a week, that's 2080 hours a
> year and you needed to stop for gas, eat and pee, plus start and stop,
> you needed to average 28.846153 miles per hour. [ it is hard to average
> much faster than that, no matter where you drive ] You must have a good
> paying job on the week-ends to do that ! :-)
>
> Bruce RED '91
>

> I think it's the travelling I'll miss the most. Unfortunately, it's
> running around 100 miles/year for the last nine years and that's just
> plain abuse. Plus, it's getting more and more unsafe to ride, when I
> come to a stop I'm never sure if I'll be able to put a foot down. I
> won't ride double anymore and SWMBO misses the travelling as well.
> That's where Mr. Miata (or whatever I'll call him/her/it) comes in,
> I'll still be able to see scenery by being out in it, not looking at it
> through a frame (If you've read Persig you know what I mean by that.)

Synchronicity?! Am just re-reading the book at the moment. I read it first
15 years ago and that's probably what got me into biking; maybe it's me
missing my motorbike that caused me to read it again. It's better the second
time round since you know the main twist already so can focus on the rest,
and the meaning of the sentences, rather than trying to put the whole puzzle
together.

> Thanks, could you please explain the unfamiliar term "sub-freezing
> temperatures" for those of us who live in Phoenix, Arizona? <g>

Hah, so you'll never experience the joys of trying to make your way into a
cage that's frozen completely shut and needs a few buckets of warm water to
defrost, no? :-) (I refuse to use chemicals - an empty wine bottle filled up
with hot, but not too hot, water poured over the windscreen and the other
windows does the trick just fine. Though you'll need a few of those on
mornings like this morning when the doors and the boot [trunk to you] are
frozen shut as well.)

Eric

> Last year I did 99438 km (61744 miles)
> Used 12368 Litres (2720 uk gallons),
> Averaged 8.04 km/L (22.7mpg),
> Got a top fuel consumption figure of 9.97 km/L (28.16mpg)

Looks like something on your car needs adjusting! The lowest I get is around
25/26mpg, average around 30/31, and best is 35mpg. I get the lowest fuel
consumption when going at a steady 65-70mph. Any idea what's pushing your
consumption up?

Eric

(Leon van Dommelen) wrote in
:

> Scott Hughes > wrote:
>
>>SD, CA to Datona Beach, FL : ~2500mi / 36hr (MS Mappoint estimate)
>>
>>Following the "scenic" route: ~3125mi / 56hr (Mappoint estimate)
>
> Mileage is not really that relevant. Interstates do not have
> all the delays. I invariably find that the scenic routes are
> *much* more time consuming than mileage would indicate.

Granted, I was just listing the actual point-to-point mileages and
drivetimes (caveat: mappoint estimate, not necessarily accurate). My
main purpose was merely to point out that taking the scenic route didn't
require zig-zaging across the country and doubling the miles. Of course,
one should assume that when taking the scenic route, many extra miles
should be added for actually seeing the scenery. And of course any time
taken to stop and/or detour to enjoy the scenery is added to the point-
to-point drive time.

-Scott

>>Unfortunately, since the OP didn't specify wether he had the option to
>>take some extra time to enjoy the trip, the discussion has digressed
>>into arguing about wether that's feasable. I think the point is, if
>>you have to get to point B in 48hrs, shipping is probably your best
>>option.
>
> To go San Diego to Daytona Beach in 48 hours may get you into
> trouble with law enforcement, if you drive and live.
>
>> Otoh,
>>IF YOU HAVE TIME, take it, enjoy it.
>>
>>Adding just an extra 600mi, this sounds like a pretty colorfull road-
>>trip. Of course, the gap between the Painted Desert and Houston is
>>1300mi (roughly 22hrs). Probably would need another point of interest
>>for that section. One option would be Carlsbad Caverns (adding
>>another ~ 100mi), otherwise, I'm sure there's something worth looking
>>at going thru Albuquerque and Amarillo on your way to Dallas, where
>>you could tour Kennedy assasination tourist stuff. The other long
>>stretch along the FL panhandle could be prettied up a bit by detouring
>>on HWY 98 to run along the Gulf coast for a bit.
>
> Yes, 98 is very pretty. It is my favorite route if I have to be
> in Panama City. However, it does triple the 2 hour drive time.
> And that two hours includes imbecilic cops who think the posted
> speed limit is the speed *limit*.
>
>> -Scott
>> -94 Black
>> (and drooling over a friends 04 Ti MS)
>
> Leon, needs to get a MS.
>

"Eric Baber" > wrote in
:

>> I'll still be able to see scenery by being out in it, not looking at
>> it through a frame (If you've read Persig you know what I mean by
>> that.)
>
> Synchronicity?! Am just re-reading the book at the moment. I read
> it first 15 years ago and that's probably what got me into biking;
> maybe it's me missing my motorbike that caused me to read it
> again. It's better the second time round since you know the main
> twist already so can focus on the rest, and the meaning of the
> sentences, rather than trying to put the whole puzzle together.

I read it several times, once I went through it with maps and just
followed the route.... it's not a quick read.

NOTE: To those who don't know to what we're referring, it's "Zen and
the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" by Robert Persig. Don't be put off,
it's got very little to do with Zen or with motorcycle maintenance.
You may find the book in the philosophy section of your bookstore if
that gives you a hint?

Hi Eric, I think it's a few things,

1/ Mine is an Automatic, which eats a lot of power and fuel
2/ I live in Athens, it's not uncommon for it to take 2 hours for the 30km
journey to the office.
3/ It's Greece, my air-con is on nearly every drive during the summer, and a
fair bit in winter (de-fogging)
4/ I do tend to be a bit heavy with the right foot, those averages also
included track days.
5/ On all the trips the car is pretty much fully loaded, suitcase on a boat
rack , the area between the windstopper and boot was chock bang full, as was
the boot.
6/ I very rarely put my top up, unless it's raining.
I don't know if anyone has every tested the wind coefficeancy difference
between top up and top down, but I know I can consistently pull higher revs
in top gear with the top down, than with it up.

Other than that I don't know mate, I have a Goodwin racing carbon filter
kit, a custom exhaust, but I don't think they are going to affect the mpg
either way.
I roughly getting about 300km per tank.

Is yours an Auto?

"Eric Baber" > wrote in message
...
>> Last year I did 99438 km (61744 miles)
>> Used 12368 Litres (2720 uk gallons),
>> Averaged 8.04 km/L (22.7mpg),
>> Got a top fuel consumption figure of 9.97 km/L (28.16mpg)
>
> Looks like something on your car needs adjusting! The lowest I get is
> around
> 25/26mpg, average around 30/31, and best is 35mpg. I get the lowest fuel
> consumption when going at a steady 65-70mph. Any idea what's pushing your
> consumption up?
>
> Eric
>
>

On 2005-02-28, gixer > wrote:

> Grant I tried earplugs in me Miata yesterday, out on the motorway and in
> town, absolutely crap mate, I did not like it at all, but I never got used
> to the on the bike either.

They do take some getting used to, and I rarely wear earplugs
in town. But, when driving all day on the freeway, I find I get
much less tired and "numb".

--
Grant Edwards grante Yow! Did we bring enough
at BEEF JERKY?
visi.com

On Mon, 28 Feb 2005 03:18:05 -0700, XS11E >
wrote:


>
>> Enjoy the Miata - and keep your leather jacket or whatever you
>> used to wear on the bike, and the earplugs; they'll come in handy
>> when you're driving with the top down in sub-freezing temperatures
>> :-)
>
>Thanks, could you please explain the unfamiliar term "sub-freezing
>temperatures" for those of us who live in Phoenix, Arizona? <g>

During subfreezing temperatures, water (you know, the stuff that comes
out of the faucet and disappears when you go outside) actually turns
in to a solid substance, similar to the cubes you put in a drink!