Depending on what I'm doing yes
The tires are not good, and I wouldn't use them for road course. But they do okay on the street and at the strip and I'm too lazy to set up a set of wheels for drag racing (for now)
I did much of the same thing
It turns out building a better pc and playing cyberpunk has the same effect as walking around a city on acid.
Who would've thought
If you showed up to my local track on that you'd have a line of dudes who have 8 second bikes giving you tips and cheering you on.
Shit I'd be hype to play around with it and see just how fast you could actually get it going lmao
It would 100% make sense
If I wanted to get into the singles I'd at least need a swing arm but I don't want to comprise on the handleing for this specific bike since I make it fill many roles.
However, I've been debating doing a supercharged build on either a 08 gen cbr1000 or an old blackbird. I'm kind of itching to make a properly dumb drag bike now
(Edit) I also think its kinda neat to show what you can do on a stock wheelbase bike. I want to encourage more people to race at the strip and such.
This is my dual duty street/track cbr1000rr. While I far prefer road racing, drag racing offers some cheap practice.
Currently running it stock wheelbase with a strap, pushing Into the 10s @140 mph. While it is running full bazzaz engine management, intake, full yoshi exhaust etc. I will probably move to an mr12 tune here soon and possibly build a long swing arm setup I can swap to as drag racing is quite fun.
Honda managed to make a bike that both scoots in the straights and turns like my other 600s. A fantastic machine!
So I've been riding on the street for 12 years now and racing heavily for 2 and in my biased opinion it's a fantastic way to experience the world.
However if you get on a motorcycke you must accept that at some point you will become very intimate with the asphalt. Now the damage that comes from that is something to be mitigated, as many have said all the gear all the time. And it's important that you get GOOD gear, cheaping out on a helmet is not smart. If I didn't have the helmets I've had I guarantee I would still be here.
I personally never go without a helmet (living is cool) Gloves (hand injuries are the worst)
Riding shoes (the stats on foot Injuries are out there and proper equipment has an insane effect on outcome)
Spine protector (because walking is cool)
Now if I'm being honest I occasionally slip out on a bike in helmet + gloves. This is dumb and I've seen my own bones more than once so do as I say not as I do I suppose.
Some important tips are
Stay away from cars in general, if you have to speed up a bit or slow down a bit it doesn't matter. You're not gonna win against a car.
Get a bike you are comfortable on and is safe to start learning on. 1000cc sports bikes are obviously not the best first choice, but neither are large heavy cruisers with a ton of rake that get out braked by city busses.
Absolutely no alcohol, a huge percentage of motorcycle fatalities involve some level of intoxication.
Now to put it more in perspective, in my 12 years most of my bad wrecks have been on the street. Most involved little gear beyond a helmet and gloves. Several resulted in broken bits
However I still own a motocycle and I still ride as often as I can. I have probably 8-10 friends who still ride consistently, and I by far have the highest rate of accidents. (I am dumb don't be like me).
It's honestly one of the most enjoyable things I do
It's visceral
It's freeing
It's liberating
So my teammate races a zx10r and we have been talking about different bikes to have for street shenanigans etc. Apparently you can build out a z900 with Brocks parts to cut a 10 second quarter mile.
While I'm not a cafe guy, the idea of a cafe bike that can cut up older 1000ccs is kind of entertaining. They also look fantastic in black and gold.
That mentality is 100% part of the reason male suicide rates are higher.
I have plenty of fulfilling emotional relationships with my guy friends. It's a support network. We work together and help each other out. I'd have no problems talking to them about anything and they bring me everything they need to talk about.
As far as insecurities in relationships go, if I can't be honest with my girlfriend/wife about my life then it's a pointless relationship imo. Spending my life with someone I can never be truly open with seems like a living hell. I've made a point in all my relationships to be vulnerable and realistic over the years, and if they don't like it I move on.
Your rant is validated, but if you are in situationships where you can't be yourself I advise you go find the ones where you can