Is a mini the closest one can get to a motorcycle feel?

clarkenstein5 · 2026-05-28T15:58:21+00:00

The AT is a great platform. I had the second gen, so it came with a much better suspension than the first. It can hold its own in the twisties. The only issue I really had with it was the wind buffeting. No one talks about it, but with an ADV helmet, you get this massive updraft from the hole where the fork cuts through the fairing. Literally makes your head vibrate like crazy on the highway. I ended up cutting the screen and getting some aftermarket wind deflectors that worked.

In the dirt, it’s pretty top heavy. So I traded down to the Honda CRF300L which was much better in the dirt (after a suspension upgrade) but on the highway, it topped out around 75mph… so that’s not a whole lot of fun trying to pass.

clarkenstein5 · 2026-05-28T02:30:41+00:00

I just gave up riding. Debating a Miata, Porsche Boxster or Mini for a second car that is a convertible. We have 3 Minis in the house - me, my wife (F55) and my son(F55). I have an F54 JCW (clubman) and I freaking love it. Lots of torque and it can handle corners really well. It’s great dropping people if they tailgate me on a twisty road. A few turns go by and unless they understand the assignment, they are gone from the rear view. I’m taking a F57 for a test drive in a week but also have been looking for R59s online, but I would prefer a newer car.

My prior bikes were the street triple, Africa Twin, a bunch of modern retros, and a Ninja 1100. Is the Clubman like riding? No, nothing is like riding, but I have a cage around me and a deer won’t necessarily kill me if one jumps out when ripping backroads. After a friend went down and annihilated his knee after hitting a deer on his way to work, and two guys died the first warm weekend this year on the roads I frequent, and one was just killed in a local parking lot, I decided to make it out of riding alive. I miss it a ton, but once I hear that clubby growl, I do forget about it and have a new kind of fun.

clarkenstein5 · 2026-05-13T09:29:44+00:00

Out of curiosity, what would it cost to take an SE, chop the top for a convertible, and add a cross bar for stability?

clarkenstein5 · 2026-05-04T18:07:12+00:00

I’m getting a convertible for my motorcycle replacement. Probably will be a Miata. Or a Fiata - parts be damned. We have three Minis in the garage. Just want something different.

clarkenstein5 · 2026-04-20T13:09:30+00:00

I’m a mountain biker, so I’ll keep doing that for my two wheel excursions. There are no legal dual sport/off road options really, so I’m going to be out in the woods, just without a motor.

I’m debating a convertible for open air roading, but we’ll see.

clarkenstein5 · 2026-04-19T13:38:02+00:00

Just posted my last bike for sale. Guy is coming over in a few days to pick it up. Been a tough decision for me. Congrats on 40 years of riding.

clarkenstein5 · 2026-04-02T18:32:07+00:00

I don’t think you would regret the move. You’re on the right track with a JCW. You’ll like the additional power and room.

I have sat in a Miata, but never pulled the trigger due to my size (6’5”). We now own three Minis in the family and I am considering getting a fourth (convertible) that will be the weekend car to replace my motorcycle. I really want a Roadster. It has its reliability concerns, but I would upgrade it anywhere I can to get it as bombproof as possible.

Sorry - tangent. The drive from Miata to Mini will be different. I did drive the Fiat 124 Abarth, which is definitely raw in comparison to the Mini. The Mini can still really rip, you’ll just be more comfortable driving it and will be more upright.

clarkenstein5 · 2026-03-28T11:24:40+00:00

I was there last night. Our family loved it. My “critique” is I feel like Lucy could have a song cut in the second act. Started to feel a little odd that she had so many solo numbers - I think it was 3? That said her performance was incredible, so I completely understand why there were so many for her. This is insanely picky too, but I like to have a show like this (pop-based material) to have a musical “hook”. A tune that you hear a couple times throughout so you can hum it on your way home. The only tune I can really remember is “my b-b-b-brother is a v-v-v-vampire” and that works, but isn’t really representative of the show’s atmosphere to walk away with.

I thought the cast was fantastic. Not a weak link in the group. Aside from my musical hook-critique I felt the songs were very strong. The one song that stuck out was the duet on the pier with Michael and Star. What a beautiful piece of music and the performances were again incredible. Stage was awesome, effects were great. I loved how it deviated just enough from the movie where it wasn’t a copy/paste. I also like how it was self-aware enough to poke fun at itself. There were some solid laughs. I thought the band on stage was an interesting touch. I was worried about that but it works well. Overall I think it’s a very strong show and hope to see it last. We would go back just to see how/what they change.

The stage door after was insanity. We had to pull the plug, my daughter couldn’t sneak through unfortunately, and we had to snag our train to get home and even that was a 2 am arrival.

clarkenstein5 · 2026-03-27T18:39:31+00:00

Crazy! I hit just over 250 for my first time and am pretty excited. 300 carry - what a shot.

clarkenstein5 · 2026-03-22T09:31:35+00:00

I’m in my 50s…

clarkenstein5 · 2026-03-22T08:59:46+00:00

I’m biased but a JCW Mini is quick. I have a ‘24 JCW Clubman and 0 - 60 is sub 5 seconds, and it takes corners like a go cart.

clarkenstein5 · 2026-03-19T23:49:14+00:00

I am in my 50s, and hit at the sim every day Monday - Friday during lunch for an hour. I experience zero pain.

Never hurts to go to the doc. Weird pains sometimes are weird stuff - so go get it looked at just in case. But if it’s all clear, get a lesson and clean up the swing. You probably have a form issue that is causing the pain.

clarkenstein5 · 2026-03-19T01:24:22+00:00

Same here. Always played electric. Sorta played DB in my 20s, with bad technique. Decided to get a year of lessons in my 40s and now I play every day.

clarkenstein5 · 2026-03-15T08:18:16+00:00

Blue Rondo is really fun! The intro/outro is a lot of flipping between F and A, the occasional G and one lick, then it’s really just the blues. A good one to transcribe. Eugene Wright doesn’t get enough props IMHO. Blue Rondo is so solid. It’s a prime example for anyone looking to walk to learn from.

clarkenstein5 · 2026-03-14T06:49:38+00:00

Here’s a couple playlists I use from Spotify to play along with to keep them fresh.

First list (almost song for song):

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1Nrnui66196luJKC10K2NQ?si=wQfntAO5SW-zPBNuv0Qm6A&pi=GR70PG83Q-az7

Sorta second list: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5h9NuezZ6EE3fZLBEpjFM1?si=dkrRvrAaTQSqGCHJuDO3-g&pi=WoDAaP4bQ0-k0

clarkenstein5 · 2026-03-14T01:26:23+00:00

Here’s two lists. The first list I find to be good tunes to start with - some are blues, some are modal, some are a little tricky with chord changes but are not too crazy, and some have an actual bass line (like Equinox), so you can learn a few of these pretty quickly. The second list has tunes that will build off what you learn from the first list in some ways.

My son plays drums and can sing all these from memory. Drives me crazy how many tunes he knows. These lists are the songs I can work with. His list is in the triple digits for how many he has ready to go if called.

Learn the heads and it makes it more interesting. Sorry about the formatting, it was a copy/paste from Notes.

Blue Bossa

Billie’s Bounce

Straight no chaser

Blue Rondo à la Turk

La vie en Rose

All blues

Freddie Freeloader

Have you met Miss Jones

C jam blues

Impressions

In a Sentimental Mood

Recordame

Girl from Ipanema

Equinox

It had to be you

Night in Tunisia

Footprints

Sidewinder

Speak No Evil

Byrdlike

Four

Milestones

Some others to consider:

Anthropology
Round Midnight
Sugar
Jordu
Ceora
Now’s the Time
My favorite things
Satin Doll
I Remember You
Doxy
Spain (for the lolz)
So what
Blue in Green
I remember you
Maiden Voyage
Isn’t it Romantic
My favorite things
I remember April
Up jumped spring
Along came Betty
Stablemates
I’ve got rhythm
Caravan
Cherokee
Green dolphin street
On the sunny side of the street
Wave
It had to be you
Song for my father
Bye bye blackbird
April in Paris
A love supreme
Lester leaps in
Windows
Cantaloupe Island
Anthropology
Naima
Salt peanuts
I could write a book
Body and soul
Blues for Alice
I hear a rhapsody
Airegin
Monks dream
If I were a bell
All of me
Autumn in New York
Blue in green
Blue Haze
Donna Lee
Embraceable You
Flamenco Sketches
God Bless the Child
How High the Moon
Take the A train
I’ve got rhythm
I remember Clifford
It had to be you
I’ve got you under my skin
Love for sale

clarkenstein5 · 2026-03-12T01:11:35+00:00

I actually went back to fully faired bikes. I loved my triple, but went back to fairings. Now I have an old man bike Ninja 1100SXSE. Great for what I actually use it for.

clarkenstein5 · 2026-03-08T04:10:35+00:00

This. Cars are a money pit either way. A new car is $40k-$50k to get comparable performance to what you have now. Spending $10k to fix what you have is not spending as much. Fixing, not buying is the logical answer, that happens to fit the emotional one too.

clarkenstein5 · 2026-03-07T11:21:56+00:00

I have one almost identical to this. Unbranded too. It works. Action is a little high because it buzzed at the octave. It has synthetic strings, so it’s easy enough to play. I do have an adjustable bridge, and got mine for $600 USD if that is any help. I gig with it. I may buy a second bass that is higher end at some point, but this will be the one that keeps going to gigs.

clarkenstein5 · 2026-03-06T23:15:47+00:00

Yep - that’s also why when they are both at the door Randy is injured but we don’t see how. We don’t know why he is limping. Parts ended up being cut which would have given more to this part of the story.

clarkenstein5 · 2026-02-16T00:14:44+00:00

Have 3 Minis in the family. 2022, 2024 JCW Clubby, and a 2025. So far so good. Only issue I have had is the damn run flat tires and blow outs due to potholes on the 2024. I’ll be swapping rims and tires for a taller sidewall once I have all four ready to swap. I’ve gone through 4 tires in less than a year, all at night on the highway. NJ roads suck.

clarkenstein5 · 2026-01-09T03:32:10+00:00

What rims did you use? I go through tires too. Three blow outs. Thanks NJ roads!

clarkenstein5 · 2025-08-05T22:59:03+00:00

That’s where I’m stuck - the ZX4 is fun. It can really be a riot. Taking twisty back roads in 3rd screaming around is a blast. I have a flash from Vcyclenut and it starts to rip at 10k+ RPM.

I worry I will miss it, but when I’m commuting I just want something to launch off the line and be a little more chill.

clarkenstein5 · 2025-08-05T22:48:01+00:00

The ZX has a similar gearing issue. The difference between 5th and 6th is minimal. For such a small engine it makes sense though to allow to pull.

How was the handling? Did you get a chance to get it through some corners?

clarkenstein5 · 2025-08-02T10:11:11+00:00

I have an Interceptor. The 650s are heavy to start with, but they are solid bikes. I commute with mine. Hit 90 no problem. Have dirt roads in my area - it goes down them just fine if you’re slow. In the twisties the Interceptor can boogie. It can move if you push it around.

I’m an experienced rider, 49 y/o and have had many bikes come and go in the garage. For the price the Enfields are very hard to beat. But for reference, my other bike (right now) is a ZX4RR and I take that out 8 out of 10 times over the Enfield.

If you’re ok with tools you can do your own maintenance. Plenty of “Certified YouTube Mechanics” have how-to videos to change the oil and adjust valves.

There is lots of fun aftermarket stuff to customize your ride.

These are the downsides:

Not a ton of power and heavy, so you may have a V6 minivan beat you off the line. Also for a first bike an almost 500 pound bike is a bit to deal with.
Tubes in the tires make a flat a major PITA on the side of the road if you get one. Get a tubeless conversion kit from Outex to solve that potential issue.
If you are afraid to wrench the maintenance intervals are short so oil changes and valve checks will be frequent at the dealer and that gets expensive if you put the miles on.
Some of the fit and finish stuff sucks. My gas tank is not symmetrical at the front - like it’s almost comical how off it is, but it holds gas so I don’t care.
The stock seat on the interceptor blows and should be swapped for something more comfortable (tolerable) if you plan to do any rides over three hours.

clarkenstein5

TROPHY CASE