Had another encounter with the BBB today. It’s Tuesday and I work in the evening. So I got up early and went into the mountains by myself. Tried crossing the number 7 cross-island road…wasn’t a fun road…pretty…but not fun. Anyway I gave up and headed back towards Da-Xi. I decided to get gas and wait around at the gas station to see if any BBBs would show up. No more than ten minutes later a 1000cc Suzuki GSX-R pulls up. I say hello…he asks where I’m going…I tell him back to Chung-Li…and he invites me to ride with him and his buddies who are up ahead at a convenience store. We ride for a bit…and then later they take some pictures and we exchange name cards…So even on a Tuesday you can find someone to ride with.
[quote=“skylarkpuma”]Good post mordeth…
So, when do you and Kawasaki rider want to come down and have a run with me and “plasmatron”?..we have our secret ride called “the Sun Moon ring”…that involves a circuit of selected roads that end up in one big loop involving sun moon lake…lots of high speed and low speed cornering… 
[/quote]
What’s the minimum displacement requirement to join this party?
How far did you go? Going up from Daxi sucks because there’s far too much agriculture and habitation, so the road is pretty fucked-up in a lot of places, but once you get past Baling its like a different road. I came down there to Ilan by car a month or two ago and rememgber thinking how good it would be to ride.
Did you get up on the 118 going behind the damn and ending up back in Kuanshi? That is a 47km twisty bit of heaven.
I agree with Sandman that since the Typhoons the 7 doesn’t get any fun until well after Baling. Same for the 120. I passed so many big bikes on the way up trying to pick their way through all of the slides while I threw my RZ around like an enduro. Before the typhoon the descent back toward Neiwan from the top of the ridge was one of the best/most exciting section of twisties in northern Taiwan. If it were a ski run, it would have been a black diamond.
I’m pretty sure the 118 is still in good shape though, and it’s popular with the BBB crowd.
[quote=“MJB”][quote=“skylarkpuma”]Good post mordeth…
So, when do you and Kawasaki rider want to come down and have a run with me and “plasmatron”?..we have our secret ride called “the Sun Moon ring”…that involves a circuit of selected roads that end up in one big loop involving sun moon lake…lots of high speed and low speed cornering… [/quote]
What’s the minimum displacement requirement to join this party? [/quote]
listen, we are a discerning bunch, we don’t let just anyone come and join our SunMoonLake TT… in order to be allowed to join our exclusive club you absolutely have to have a bike bigger than 50cc… the limit used to be lower until that joker on a moped showed up last year and it all went to hell in a handbag… 
seriously, if you’re comfortable with it, you’re welcome to come regardless of your machinery, we can just arrange rally points since even if everyone was on big bikes, everyone’s got a different pace that they’re comfortable with… that said we usually do maintain fairly rapid progress… 
also as someone said in very exceptional circumstances and expertly ridden 125cc can be quicker through the very twisty bits than a big bike ridden by a complete idiot…
the argument that big bikes in Taiwan are dumb because the road surfaces are shite is partially true… the road surfaces are shite… all the more to buy a road biased enduro that doesn’t give a toss about the road surfaces and you can also go offroad too… with the licence fee’s being reduced so much (which btw has already been implimented, so if you paid full price for this year, you need to apply for a refund) there’s almost no reason not to…a once off lump sum (or payment plan) is something that almost anyone living and earning in Taiwan can budget around by whatever means necessary… back when you were looking at around 25 grand a year, every year on top on that lump sum in taxes, I could see the logic in holding off, but now…
to be honest in my opinion a large proportion of the local bike “teams” are a bit ignorant of proper riding technique and skills and tend to be overly concerned with having the flashiest new season’s leathers and latest race replica sports bikes they have no idea how to pilot properly… however Mordeth is right about how having a real bike opens doors and allows you to see aspects and areas of Taiwan you’d not be able to experience otherwise…
now if only I was home in Taichung, taking advantage of the great weather, not stuck here in bloody China on business… :s
Anything more than a handfull is a waste.
Having a big bike in taiwan is like having a dog in an appartment.
How many times (this month) have you seen a guy passing on the double solids in a blind corner, be honest?
I love big-bore bikes, though.
[quote=“turkey_dinner”]Anything more than a handfull is a waste.
Having a big bike in Taiwan is like having a dog in an appartment.
How many times (this month) have you seen a guy passing on the double solids in a blind corner, be honest?
I love big-bore bikes, though.[/quote]
I have a 150cc two stroke NSR…it’s quick and not big or heavy. It’s one of the fastest and most agile small bikes around. I can lift the front wheel without using the clutch…I can slide it sideways into a parking spot…I can maneuver it through traffic without any bother…and how many times have I ridden it lately? Zero.
Taiwan has tons of great roads for bikes…you just need to know where they are and how to get to them. I could say the same about Canada’s praires…having a sport bike in Canada is a waste…since all the roads are straight. So what country do you need to live in exactly before you can buy a bike? Because I’m sure they all have their ups and downs. You can drive 12 months a year here…there are many twisty roads with little to no traffic…there are some good straight-aways down south and along the east coast…what more do you want? Guys passing on blind corners? I see it pretty regularly…to be honest…wouldn’t do it myself though…but what’s that got to do with anything?
This is not easy to admit…My screen saver is a picture of your toy mordeath.
I’m glad to hear you are enjoying your purchase. Having a big bike is addictive. Once you’ve tasted it, you never loose the craving. It’s a rush. The feeling going 180+ on a quiet highway in the country back home…hearing nothing but wind… sigh…The acceleration too is something pretty amazing. One would not understand unless he’s been on one. Taiwan roads do suck but outside the city down south here, it’s a riders paradise.
Good for you moredeth, now bugger off.
[quote=“plasmatron”]…a large proportion of the local bike “teams” are a bit ignorant of proper riding technique and skills and tend to be overly concerned with having the flashiest new season’s leathers…[/quote]Some people think I’m over the top because I wear my AXO helmet, and sometimes boots and Cordura mesh jacket, whatever I’m riding (including the Dio 50 with the Betty Boop sticker on the front!)
But what I consider over the top is scooter riders who wear those jackets with the aerodynamic humpback. How fast do you need to go before that thing becomes useful? Certainly faster than most 125 scooters can go.
What does it have to do with you??? Well unless you guys are sitting in parking lots comparing pictures on your new visa cards and waxing your tires… you’ll be sharing the roads with those trucks hunting for bikes to wear on their front bumper.
I had a 2001 GSXR 750 in Vancouver. We had a small crew of fast riders rippin through the rockies regularily, that just makes me look at this place like a dangerous toy version. I had a guy in Guan ze Ling (my pinyin sucks) on a Bukaki oops Ducati that had been showin off his bike for a couple hours I bet, big group of dudes, probably that BBB you were talking about… anyway they had killed the battery on the bike and none of them could start it so they tried bump starting it… HAHAHA none of those idiots could do it, I ended up doin it for them ( felt like he owed me a “hot lap” on it after that). That scareed me that they didn’t have even that much knowledge.
I love Taiwan and I never put it down. I love bikes of any sort and I never put them down. I hate waste. And I hate it when I see people using the wrong equipment. I love to hunt down those packs of big bikes up in the mountains and blow through them with my scooter like a fishing lure hoping for some sucker to race me to Dungpu on the #21.
[quote=“plasmatron”][quote=“MJB”][quote=“skylarkpuma”]Good post mordeth…
So, when do you and Kawasaki rider want to come down and have a run with me and “plasmatron”?..we have our secret ride called “the Sun Moon ring”…that involves a circuit of selected roads that end up in one big loop involving sun moon lake…lots of high speed and low speed cornering… [/quote]
What’s the minimum displacement requirement to join this party? [/quote]
listen, we are a discerning bunch, we don’t let just anyone come and join our SunMoonLake TT… in order to be allowed to join our exclusive club you absolutely have to have a bike bigger than 50cc… the limit used to be lower until that joker on a moped showed up last year and it all went to hell in a handbag… seriously, if you’re comfortable with it, you’re welcome to come regardless of your machinery, we can just arrange rally points since even if everyone was on big bikes, everyone’s got a different pace that they’re comfortable with… that said we usually do maintain fairly rapid progress… also as someone said in very exceptional circumstances and expertly ridden 125cc can be quicker through the very twisty bits than a big bike ridden by a complete idiot…
the argument that big bikes in Taiwan are dumb because the road surfaces are shite is partially true… the road surfaces are shite… all the more to buy a road biased enduro that doesn’t give a toss about the road surfaces and you can also go offroad too… with the licence fee’s being reduced so much (which btw has already been implimented, so if you paid full price for this year, you need to apply for a refund) there’s almost no reason not to…a once off lump sum (or payment plan) is something that almost anyone living and earning in Taiwan can budget around by whatever means necessary… back when you were looking at around 25 grand a year, every year on top on that lump sum in taxes, I could see the logic in holding off, but now…
to be honest in my opinion a large proportion of the local bike “teams” are a bit ignorant of proper riding technique and skills and tend to be overly concerned with having the flashiest new season’s leathers and latest race replica sports bikes they have no idea how to pilot properly… however Mordeth is right about how having a real bike opens doors and allows you to see aspects and areas of Taiwan you’d not be able to experience otherwise…
now if only I was home in Taichung, taking advantage of the great weather, not stuck here in bloody China on business… :s[/quote]
I second that!..I rode for a year or so with some usual Taiwanese buddies…It helped me map out and remember the good roads in Taiwan…after that, I wanted to enjoy my own pace and style…so I started riding by myself…and sometimes riding with guys I met on the roads…once you know the roads its all up to you!..now, I ride with dudes that ride with the same mind set as me…and rides are fun as hell!! :fume:
On most roads doing 50km/hr on a big bike…still feels ten times more fun than doing 80km/hr on a scooter. That’s like comparing cruising in a Ferrari…to someone driving their Chevette fast…
To use an over used quote…racing a sports bike with a scooter is like running in the special olympics…You might win (depending on how well you know the road…and how new to the bike the other guy is…) but you’re still a retard.
When I come across big bikes in the mountains and I’m on my scooter…yeah, considering most of them just bought the bikes recently and are breaking them in…it takes roughly 4000 km to fully understand a big bike…(rough estimate since most accidents happen under that number)…so here I am on my scooter on a road I’ve been on maybe a hundred times…and here are these inexperienced riders on new bikes that they are getting used to…am I going to race with them? :loco: . No…I’m going to stay behind them and enjoy the view…and the sound of some gorgeous machinery.
You can race me if you want though…you got any money to put down?
turkey_dinner wrote:
“I love Taiwan and I never put it down. I love bikes of any sort and I never put them down. I hate waste. And I hate it when I see people using the wrong equipment. I love to hunt down those packs of big bikes up in the mountains and blow through them with my scooter like a fishing lure hoping for some sucker to race me to Dungpu on the #21.”
You sound like some hotshot foreigner, who has something to prove. We all share the road. Not everyone may ride as well as Rossi or some GP racer, but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t have the right to own a fine piece of machinery. And just because you are familiar with a certain stretch of road, and have some riding experience doesn’t give you the right to judge other riders, or put them endanger. “I love hunting down those packs of big bikes…” You are the kind of rider that causes accidents, crowding, and weaving in and out of peoples riding space. Remember when you were taking driving lessons, and you were nervous behind the wheel. How would you have felt if some guy was crowding you, and cutting in front of you, and pushing you on? Have some consideration for other riders. One of these days you’ll going to piss the wrong group of big bike riders off. Sure you’ll “blow through them” in the twisties, but they’ll catch up with you on the straights no matter how good a scooter rider you are.
I’ve had some close calls because some scooter riders wanting to prove they could out ride me in unfamiliar narrow mountain roads. All I’m saying is that everyone should respect everyone else’s choices of equipment and respect their space on road. There’s nothing to prove, we’ll all out their to enjoy the ride. If you have something to prove, put some down money, and settle it on the track.
[quote=“KawasakiRider”]I’ve had some close calls because some scooter riders wanting to prove they could out ride me in unfamiliar narrow mountain roads. All I’m saying is that everyone should respect everyone else’s choices of equipment and respect their space on road. There’s nothing to prove, we’ll all out their to enjoy the ride.[/quote]Well said. Actually, everyone can outride me – well, nearly everyone. In Thailand my brother was on a knackered Baja 250 dirt bike and I was on a CB400 Super Four. My brother was way out ahead most of the time. (He’s still a safe rider though.)
Doesn’t bother me. I just ride within my limits and enjoy it.
[quote=“KawasakiRider”]If you have something to prove, put some down money, and settle it on the track.[/quote]Agreed. On the track is the right place for racing (doubly so if money’s involved!). Not on public roads.
I don’t crowd people and I’m a safe rider. On my daily schedule I’m a defensive driver. I have an International (car) Racing license, and have learnt to respect others. I’m not a hotshot (I’m not the guy racin through traffic) and I have nothing to prove other than there’s NO NEED for those bikes here other than to show off. But we are talking sport, I’ve been here 4 yearsSomeone needs to shut me down. You’re right. What do you have in mind?
I found that after my Mustang was beaten by a few old Mazda rotaries I had to change my way of thinking. Now I’m like them reatarded and there’s nothing better than takin down Goliath. I hope that ferrari is an automatic with little paddles close to the wheel bud.
turkey_dinner wrote:
“…there’s NO NEED for those bikes here other than to show off.”
Well that might be the case for some who buy big bikes here. But for the rest of us, we actually like riding them, and the only thing we are showing off is our skills. I would think owning a Mustang is not needed even in Canada with its big roads. Why not just get a Fiesta, it would be more practical and economical. Owning a Mustang to some might seem a bit like showing off. Owning a big bike in Taiwan seems more parctical than one in Canada. Here we can ride it all year long, unlike Canada where your bike is garaged from November - April because of the long winter. Go to Japan, traffic is just as busy, but bike bikes are so common that Pizza Hut drivers ride CB1300s. I think in a few more years big bikes will seem less extravagant, and with improved roads and infastructure big bikes will seem more practical.
Blowing through a pack of big bikes on a scooter is for PUSSIES. If you were a REAL man you’d buy a Matiz and go out hunting psychopath blue truck drivers on the twisties. Then you’d get some respect.
I think I know what you mean about some bikes being overkill for the roads of Taiwan… but I don’t agree that they are the “wrong equipment” for Taiwan… are you seriously suggesting a 125c scooter is the “right equipment” for this island?.. no way… sure sportsbikes are overkill, but not just for Taiwan, and in the world of liter class sportsbikes, overkill is kind of the point…
fully faired sportsbikes both 600’s and liter class bikes get more track focussed and race biased every season… why?.. because innovation, technical advances, new R&D offshoots come from the world of racing, WSB, BSB and MotoGP are the cutting edge of bike technology and these advances trickle down into the flagship sportsbikes of the major manufacturers… the MotoGP efforts of all the major manufacturers are aimed at one thing, selling production road bikes and the perceived shared DNA that flagship sportsbikes have with GP racers sells bikes, even though in reality it’s 95% marketing… every single 1000cc sports bike from all the major Japanese and Italian manufacturers will destroy the national highway speed limit in first gear, in any country in the world, not just Taiwan… modern sportsbikes don’t even begin to produce peak torque or power until about 2/3 of their rev range, which on the road in anything past 3rd gear will get you dead or arrested… the track is the only place you can get a liter class sportsbike to begin to function at the level it was designed to optimally operate at, and even sports 600’s will outperform the road and rider in 90% of situations regardless of what country you’re in…
does that make sportsbikes irrelevant for road riding?.. absolutely not, they are hugely involving, sometimes terrifying but always a fantastically fun to ride, even on the roads of Taiwan… and whilst we’re on the topic of Taiwan’s roads, sure the surfaces sometimes leave a lot to be desired, and the other road users are more often than not inconsiderate assholes… but in many ways Taiwan is a motorcycling paradise… the East coast has wide, open well surfaced, fast, sweeping, diving, flowing roads that are almost empty most of the time… the mountains are full of fantastic technical twisties and swooping medium speed roads that are a joy to ride with jaw dropping views every time you care to stop… sure the cities suck for riding, but what cities anywhere in the world don’t… you can ride all year round on a ridiculous variety of roads that are fantastic fun, and more than do justice to almost any machinery you care to attack them on…
big bikes are absolutely not a waste on Taiwan… scooters are fun for pottering around and there’s nothing better for practical city commuting, but honestly on a scooter on any non city road in Taiwan the only thing you’d have a hope in hell of even half keeping up with is an absolute newbie who is still breaking in the bike and/or has just moved up from riding a 125cc scooter all their life, and even then if there was even the slightest hint of a straight longer than 50m the scooter would be toast… to claim anything else is just wishful thinking…
Yeah that’s what I’m talking about! Big Bikes Rule (in any country)! On the topic of roads, anybody ever ridden in England? Their mountain roads aren’t much better than those in Taiwan. Pot holes, wet leaves, having to drive on the opposite side (read wrong) of the road in England makes Taiwanese roads pretty tame. And the weather there is almost always overcast or soggy. If people can manage having big bikes in England, then people sure as hell can handle having big bikes in Taiwan.
Up where I’m from in the Cairngorms of Scotland is paradise for big bikes – in our 2-week summer – hundreds of miles of deserted twisty roads, open sky, stunning views. In winter it’s another story! Its got even better since I left. Used to be you had to take your own food and drink with you because every cafe and pub would have “no leathers” signs up. These days, the bikers are all venture capitalists and dentists and the signs say “bikers welcome.”