400 posts in 2-1/2 weeks. Covered just about everything except what oil to use. ...must be cold outside 
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Motorcycle industry is in deep trouble and needs help fast
- Thread starter Lightcycle
- Start date
Riceburner
Well-known member
...but what grade?????
Mad Mike
Well-known member
I use T5 15w40. A 20l pail goes on sale periodically at CTC for around $60, that lasts me the season.
For street bikes, wear reduction is more about the change intervals than the type of oil you run. Small high performance engines contaminate oil long before they wear it out, meaning a $2 bottle of Formula oil contaminates at the same rate as your $15 bottle of Purple. Both will be contaminated long before the oil breaks down.
I change mine once a year or when I can't see clearly through the site glass -- that's 3-5K depending on how hard I'm riding.
HarleyHare
Well-known member
No surprize as to where the motorcycle industry is heading.
Riding a motorcycle is a luxury in Canada. In days long ago you bought a bike because it actually made sense (you couldn't afford a car). But when you factor in two facts; the season is way too short and the ridiculously high insurance premiums, why would anyone but big spenders ride a bike? These two factors are a recipe for death to the industry.
So congratulations all you riders, you are richer than you think.
Riding a motorcycle is a luxury in Canada. In days long ago you bought a bike because it actually made sense (you couldn't afford a car). But when you factor in two facts; the season is way too short and the ridiculously high insurance premiums, why would anyone but big spenders ride a bike? These two factors are a recipe for death to the industry.
So congratulations all you riders, you are richer than you think.
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Riceburner
Well-known member
That's the reason I've stuck to dino oil. Not leaving synth oil in longer as I change the dino stuff more frequently.
Riceburner
Well-known member
Depends on the cost of ins. and the bike. Both relatively low for me. I'm sure I saved a lot in just parking costs riding downtown the last decade.
Don't know what you're talking about, i ride march/april to november most years, that's 7-8 months
It still made more sense to me to get a bike vs getting a 2nd car vs just doing transit, especially since i work downtown.
I kid, i understand that for most of riders it's not the case.
Honestly this was one of the biggest factors that pushed me over to motorbike life... The go train is expensive. I didn't want to drive to work as traffic in the car is boring.
Motorbike hit so many boxes for me:
- not too expensive for 2nd vehicle (purchase price and insurance)
- allows me to get away a few times with some friends
- allows me to park virtually anywhere on the street downtown without paying a cent
- not feeling the need to mod the car to be more fun
- giving wifey a vehicle that's almost always available during summer.
Riceburner
Well-known member
When I lived DT, I got around 10 months of use. Owned a bike before I owned a car. By the time I started owning cars, there was always going to be a bike as well. My car get very little mileage in warmer months.
roadmasterst
Member
What we need is a lobby to pressure insurers to make bike insurance more affordable. Organized clubs and dealers need to get together and try to convince companies to bring in a different way to score owners and their bikes. I'm positive that just because you own an 1800 cc bike doesn't make you more of a risk than someone on a 900 cc. I know for a fact that if it was possible to insure more than one bike lots of riders would own 2-3-or 4 bikes, the bonus in licencing fees for the government and sales at dealerships would be increased. We all know you can't ride more than one bike at a time and if you are a sole rider in a household there is no increased risk to the insurance companies. this is a serious impediment to multiple bike ownership. Too bad.
Mad Mike
Well-known member
That's a tough one as there are no well organized lobbies for motorcyclists in Ontario. Even with a consumer lobby, you're looking at a tough battle -- you have to compete with a strong insurance lobby that will fight anything that reduces their profits, an find someone in govt with enough political will to push the cause. Another option would be to find an insurance company interested in creating a group discount for a large buying block.
The best chance at this would be to quickly assemble a voting block that could have some impact on the upcoming provincial election. There are about 200,000 registered motorcycles in Ontario - it would be tough creating a meaningful sized lobby in such a short time.
Wanny try?
99% of the general public in Ontario couldn't give a rats hind-end about motorcycles, and out of that percentage probably 80% have a negative perception of them anyways thanks to idiots like the "Ride of the 6ix" hooligans who have "raised awareness" by blocking traffic and stunting on the highways.
Like it or not, we are on our own, and thanks to the stupid actions of a small percentage of us, help from the public isn't going to be forthcoming.
T
ummmm...no
You have to vote in your riding ....your influence is diddly squat
Your entire "block" is 2.5% of the total = rounding error......even if they all voted which is unlikely.
The only way is to find a sympathetic MPP of the party in power and work towards a bill and quite frankly .....snowballs chance in hell .....has much better odds.
ummmm...no
You have to vote in your riding ....your influence is diddly squat
Your entire "block" is 2.5% of the total = rounding error......even if they all voted which is unlikely.
The only way is to find a sympathetic MPP of the party in power and work towards a bill and quite frankly .....snowballs chance in hell .....has much better odds.
200,000 motorcycles registered in Ontario. I'd bet that less than 70% of those are actually on the road every year, if that - maybe half.
Mad Mike
Well-known member
I'm not totally disagreeing with you, it's an impossibly difficult task to organize a citizens lobby. But don't underestimate what a "block" can do, organized groups punch way above their weight in elections.
Using your argument, politicians wouldn't give a damn about Ontario teachers and their 125000 voting members. Using your math Teachers come in far behind motorcyclists at 1.5% -- imagine if we got that much pandering?
As for a sympathetic MP, not likely. These things require political capital, it's not the kind of pet project that would do anything for a single MP, they would just get laughed to the back bench.
Making this type of change requires support from voters and industry. If something got rolling, I'm sure powersports manufacturers would contribute some.
But I have an even better idea - take a block of riders to an Insurance company and have them design a package. Uber & Intact recently did a deal with to provide free "for hire" coverage to all Uber drivers that have policies with their insurance brands. Intact rammed this through provincial approval in no time. Think about it, a couple of thousand drivers is all it took for Uber and Intact to get a deal done.
BigEvilDoer
Well-known member
Did precisely that earlier today. I work for a safety course - unfortunately, the company I work for doesn't have the required numbers of people on the roster to achieve a group rate. So, I asked, "what if we get several schools together and apply jointly?" - the agent thought that since we're different companies it wouldn't work, even though we are all certified by the MTO. But, she said she would look into it.
To reach a group rate, you need a minimum of 100 people to apply, and that will likely get you a 5% discount. Get more riders, and you're up to 10%.
If someone wants to pick up the baton and start a group, with a paid membership (can be $1 per year), and then approach an insurance company, it would be very interesting to see the end result. The whole problem is separating people from their $1 to see if it will work or not.
Winales_2017
Well-known member
I'm a millennial, I've owned 4 bikes; 1 bought at a dealership (used and the worst experience ever buying anything!) and the others off websites or contacts. And the truth is had I not been into motorsports (cars) I likely wouldn't care too much about them. My insurance on a liter bike is $5 more on my current policy, and I only kept the race bikes, because street riding is the most pointless affair imaginable if you want to actually get a feel for what a bike can do. Its not fun if you've ever gone down because of somebody's incompetence or negligence.
These machines do not respond to your input unless you're going 85+mph, and below that they just seem like bloated heavy death contraptions sitting between your legs. I don't get the appeal to them unless its on a track at all, where as a car as have more multi-purpose utility and can be a justified expense. Something sensible like a modified sedan (think GTS-t Skyline) can easily lower the boost and be just as calm to drive as its stock counterpart.
I'm not sure the West will matter in terms of sales to the Major manufactures, if it even has in the last 10-15 years, but Asia will take over; sadly that means less used stock for us, my race bikes all have less than 10k miles and are from the early 2000s, but I'm prepared to jump on a 2011 Fireblade instead of a 2021.
Car/bike culture was never that wide spread, we watch racing and go to track days and think sold-out venues and crowds of people clamoring for Rossi's autograph and picture must mean everyone cares about it like we do... they don't, they never did.
Giants like Honda and Yamaha make too much in Asia to just stop, Suzuki/Kawasaki/BMW/Ducati etc... may have to eventually cut their losses, though, as it does seem like a race to the bottom in terms of sales in the N. America.
These machines do not respond to your input unless you're going 85+mph, and below that they just seem like bloated heavy death contraptions sitting between your legs. I don't get the appeal to them unless its on a track at all, where as a car as have more multi-purpose utility and can be a justified expense. Something sensible like a modified sedan (think GTS-t Skyline) can easily lower the boost and be just as calm to drive as its stock counterpart.
I'm not sure the West will matter in terms of sales to the Major manufactures, if it even has in the last 10-15 years, but Asia will take over; sadly that means less used stock for us, my race bikes all have less than 10k miles and are from the early 2000s, but I'm prepared to jump on a 2011 Fireblade instead of a 2021.
Car/bike culture was never that wide spread, we watch racing and go to track days and think sold-out venues and crowds of people clamoring for Rossi's autograph and picture must mean everyone cares about it like we do... they don't, they never did.
Giants like Honda and Yamaha make too much in Asia to just stop, Suzuki/Kawasaki/BMW/Ducati etc... may have to eventually cut their losses, though, as it does seem like a race to the bottom in terms of sales in the N. America.
J_F
Guest
5W40 T6 full synth
don't wanna argue
but for my thinking
15 cold weight is too thick for a cold start
the advantage with synth
is not with contam properties
it's got to do with the base oil being less susceptible to shear down
ie: viscosity breakdown during high revs/heat
dino oil is more dependent on the polymer package for this
synth is pretty stable right up to change out
as for maint intervals
yeah I agree extending it on a bike
even with synth in there is not a good idea
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