Japanese NEC Turbo Duo

texasphile · « **on:** 4 Dec 2006, 04:17 am »

Hello folks,

I have an NEC Turbo duo (the Turbografx-16 with CD player and extended memory built in) that is a Japanese system (100V). It plays just fine using ordinary US 110V current. It also will play any region CD based games. The question is should I keep it or sell it on an auction website such as the evil eBay? I no longer play it and I never have found Dracula X (CD) at anywhere near a reasonable price. Dracula X is the Holy Grail of Turbografx games. I have played it and it is by far the best looking 16 bit game on any system that I have played (NEO-GEO arcade boards excluded). What would be your recommendation? I don't allow my nephews or niece to play it since it is pretty rare.

Thanks for your opinions,

Chris

bubba966 · « **Reply #1 on:** 4 Dec 2006, 04:43 am »

I forget if you need an adapter card to play US games in the Japanese system?

If you decide to get rid of it I might take it off your hands. My TG16 crapped out on me awhile ago. But I guess I still have my TurboExpress as well as the NEC Laseractive setup. So I wouldn't really need a Duo, though it'd be nice to have...

Can't tell you what to do as far as keeping it or not goes. I've got lots of systems that I don't play anymore (Jag/Jag CD, Genesis/32X/Sega CD, Laseractive deck w/Sega & NEC packs, 3DO, PS1, NES, SNES, N64, Game Gear, Virtual Boy, Nomad, Master System, TurboExpress, Xbox, and a few others). But I'm sure I'd regret it if I sold 'em. I know I reget the one time I sold off most of the stuff I was no longer using. To this day I wish I'd never sold off my Neo Geo...

LordCloud · « **Reply #2 on:** 4 Dec 2006, 11:38 pm »

You sold your Neo Geo?!!! WTF!

texasphile · « **Reply #3 on:** 5 Dec 2006, 05:37 am »

Quote from: bubba966 on 4 Dec 2006, 04:43 am

I forget if you need an adapter card to play US games in the Japanese system?

If you decide to get rid of it I might take it off your hands. My TG16 crapped out on me awhile ago. But I guess I still have my TurboExpress as well as the NEC Laseractive setup. So I wouldn't really need a Duo, though it'd be nice to have...

Can't tell you what to do as far as keeping it or not goes. I've got lots of systems that I don't play anymore (Jag/Jag CD, Genesis/32X/Sega CD, Laseractive deck w/Sega & NEC packs, 3DO, PS1, NES, SNES, N64, Game Gear, Virtual Boy, Nomad, Master System, TurboExpress, Xbox, and a few others). But I'm sure I'd regret it if I sold 'em. I know I regret the one time I sold off most of the stuff I was no longer using. To this day I wish I'd never sold off my Neo Geo...

Ah, the NEO GEO, I almost took the plunge when the NEO GEO gold came out. $500 with one game and 2 controllers. Then I saw the $275-375 cost per game (arcade board), and didn't do it. Looking back, I had the money and should have done it. I have a Sega Saturn with several rare and unopened games (hee, hee, hee!) including the SS Dracula X, a black sports edition Dreamcast with many games (I'm guessing around 30+ with some still in the shrinkwrap), and the Turbo Duo. I gave my NEO GEO pocket, Nintendo Gamecube, and XBox to my brother's kids. They fight over who gets to play the NG pocket, even though both have a DS lite...go figure.

The Duo requires an adapter card to play the US version games, I had a TurboExpress with the TV tuner and the display still looks fantastic even today, although now I don't have one anymore

I used to play my SNES on my TurboExpress using the inputs on the TV tuner. Oh, the difference between the US and Japanese HuCards appears to be that one pin tracing is swapped between the two. The good thing about the Duo is that CD games are universal for the system. If you like shooters, the Turbo Duo is your system. Man, I remember when I had the TurboExpress, I had Blazing Lasers, Ordyne, Dragon Spirit, R-type, and so many other HuCard shooting games, and then the CDs; Gates of Thunder and Lords of Thunder...what a system.

I don't even remember what games I have for the Duo, I'll have to dig around the closet and take the games to one of the Japanese students at work and have him or her translate the text of the title for me. It's great that the actual gameplay is in English. I do remember playing Devil's Crash (Devil's Crush here in US) about six months ago. Fun, fun, stuff. I just have too much of it and not enough room for it.

I was wondering, do you have a Ducati 996? I drove an Il Mostro 900 and it was great fun for about 20 minutes and then my legs started to go numb since the footpegs were so high on the rear subframe. I had the opportunity to drive a race version 916, got dressed for serious driving, and then got on the bike and had to have help getting off of it since both legs immediately cramped and I couldn't get back off the bike. It would have been a great ride in the North Carolina mountains on the Blue Ridge Parkway traveling about 80 or 90...uh, I mean 45 mph. Yeah, whenever I drove my personal bikes, Honda VFR 750, BMW K75S, Triumph Speed Triple (personal favorite), I ALWAYS did the speed limit, yeah, yeah, that's the ticket!

I personally would like to get a Moto Guzzi California Stone, but there is no one nearby (within 2 hours) who sells the things (evidently, they are reliable...except when they are not). I sat on one, it was very comfortable, and then I started it. Vroom!, it sounded like an American V-8!!! Whoo, hoo! The only other bike that sounded that good was the Yamaha V-Max, which is a bit ugly and not very comfortable, although a Ducati with D&D carbon fiber pipes sounds very nice, just can't bend the legs like I used to.

Chris

Rob Babcock · « **Reply #4 on:** 5 Dec 2006, 05:43 am »

I have a tough time keeping all the old stuff once something new comes out. The last holdouts I have are an old NES and a few games and 20 or 30 old PSOne games. Okay, I also kept my Dreamcast although it just collects dust now.

bubba966 · « **Reply #5 on:** 5 Dec 2006, 05:49 am »

Quote from: LordCloud on 4 Dec 2006, 11:38 pm

You sold your Neo Geo?!!! WTF!

Yeah, I sold it about 13 years ago because of this.

Quote

the $275-375 cost per game

bubba966 · « **Reply #6 on:** 5 Dec 2006, 06:22 am »

Quote from: texasphile on 5 Dec 2006, 05:37 am

Ah, the NEO GEO, I almost took the plunge when the NEO GEO gold came out. $500 with one game and 2 controllers. Then I saw the $275-375 cost per game (arcade board), and didn't do it. Looking back, I had the money and should have done it.

Yeah, I bought a Neo Geo Gold System when they still came with the big joysticks (not the stupid little control pads), and got it with 2 games of my choice for $650 which was the best deal I could find. Waay cheaper than buying a used system locally.

And the local prices on a new system was $400 more than I paid for mine new. I only ever had the 2 games I got with it (Fatal Fury & King Of Monsters) because it cost at least $150 to pick up a new game. And the $150 games weren't worth picking up...

Quote from: texasphile on 5 Dec 2006, 05:37 am

I have a Sega Saturn with several rare and unopened games (hee, hee, hee!) including the SS Dracula X, a black sports edition Dreamcast with many games (I'm guessing around 30+ with some still in the shrinkwrap), and the Turbo Duo. I gave my NEO GEO pocket, Nintendo Gamecube, and XBox to my brother's kids. They fight over who gets to play the NG pocket, even though both have a DS lite...go figure.

Ahh, now how did I forget about my Saturn & Dreamcast?

Never got into the Saturn much. Though the Japanese copy of House Of The Dead & the pair of official Japanese Sega light guns (can't believe that Sega never sold light guns in the US even though they sold light gun games

) I've got were plenty entertaining.

But I did get a bit more use out of the Dreamcast. Rush 2049 was awesome. But what was almost even more fun was Sega Bass Fishing with the Sega Fishing Rod controller. Sure, it was only a one player game. But we used to have bass tournaments all of the time. Who'd have thought bass fishing on a Dreamcast could be so fun (especially when I don't like fishing in real life

). I should dust of the Dreamcast as I picked up Sega Marine Fishing last year for $5, and The Typing Of The Dead w/brand new official Sega keyboard for $8.

Quote from: texasphile on 5 Dec 2006, 05:37 am

The Duo requires an adapter card to play the US version games, I had a TurboExpress with the TV tuner and the display still looks fantastic even today, although now I don't have one anymore I used to play my SNES on my TurboExpress using the inputs on the TV tuner. Oh, the difference between the US and Japanese HuCards appears to be that one pin tracing is swapped between the two. The good thing about the Duo is that CD games are universal for the system. If you like shooters, the Turbo Duo is your system. Man, I remember when I had the TurboExpress, I had Blazing Lasers, Ordyne, Dragon Spirit, R-type, and so many other HuCard shooting games, and then the CDs; Gates of Thunder and Lords of Thunder...what a system.

I thought that the Duo needed an adapter for the US HuCards, just couldn't remember exactly. Yeah, I was fond of the old TG16 shooters. Still have a few of them. Though I don't have any of the CD games. But I do have 2 of the LD games. If you think finding NEC CD-ROM games try to find the NEC LD-ROM games.

And I've got a TV tuner for my TurboExpress. Found a NIB one about 5 years ago right after I'd found a mint TurboExpress. The TE was well ahead of it's time portable-wise. It had such a beautiful backlit active matrix LCD screen. And obviously had a good deal of power since it used regular TurboGrafx games. I'd always wanted one when they were new, but didn't have the $ back then...

Quote from: texasphile on 5 Dec 2006, 05:37 am

I don't even remember what games I have for the Duo, I'll have to dig around the closet and take the games to one of the Japanese students at work and have him or her translate the text of the title for me. It's great that the actual gameplay is in English. I do remember playing Devil's Crash (Devil's Crush here in US) about six months ago. Fun, fun, stuff. I just have too much of it and not enough room for it.

Well, if you do decide to sell the Duo I'm sure you'd get a ton of $ for it on eBay. Especially if you've got the box, instructions, packing etc. as well. I've not looked for a Duo for 4 or 5 years. But they were expensive then, and I'm sure they're expensive now. The Duo was one of the systems I never did pick up 4 or 5 years ago when I was in a video game collecting mode. I'd not picked up that, another Neo Geo, or a SuperGrafx. Those were all systems I wanted to own, but they were very, very expensive...

Quote from: texasphile on 5 Dec 2006, 05:37 am

I was wondering, do you have a Ducati 996? I drove an Il Mostro 900 and it was great fun for about 20 minutes and then my legs started to go numb since the footpegs were so high on the rear subframe. I had the opportunity to drive a race version 916, got dressed for serious driving, and then got on the bike and had to have help getting off of it since both legs immediately cramped and I couldn't get back off the bike. It would have been a great ride in the North Carolina mountains on the Blue Ridge Parkway traveling about 80 or 90...uh, I mean 45 mph. Yeah, whenever I drove my personal bikes, Honda VFR 750, BMW K75S, Triumph Speed Triple (personal favorite), I ALWAYS did the speed limit, yeah, yeah, that's the ticket!

I personally would like to get a Moto Guzzi California Stone, but there is no one nearby (within 2 hours) who sells the things (evidently, they are reliable...except when they are not). I sat on one, it was very comfortable, and then I started it. Vroom!, it sounded like an American V-8!!! Whoo, hoo! The only other bike that sounded that good was the Yamaha V-Max, which is a bit ugly and not very comfortable, although a Ducati with D&D carbon fiber pipes sounds very nice, just can't bend the legs like I used to.

Chris

Nope I don't have a Ducati 996. No bikes at all as I don't really care for riding, especially in Seattle. Though if I did buy a bike a Ducati 996 would probably be right at the top of the list.

I'm a bit curious about where the Ducati question came from. Best I can guess is you read the 966 in my handle and saw it as 996 since you're a bike guy and associated it with the Ducati. The 966 is a reference to a piece of heavy equipment I used to run, the Caterpillar 966 Front Loader to be exact.

texasphile · « **Reply #7 on:** 5 Dec 2006, 07:06 am »

"Ahh, now how did I forget about my Saturn & Dreamcast? Never got into the Saturn much. Though the Japanese copy of House Of The Dead & the pair of official Japanese Sega light guns (can't believe that Sega never sold light guns in the US even though they sold light gun games ) I've got were plenty entertaining."

The Japanese Sega Saturn games were so much better than the US games it's not even funny. Again, the great thing is that the games used English language inside the game itself. If it weren't for the Japanese games, I never would have kept the SS. I still enjoy the 10 player Bomberman. No company has ever had that many players in a game. It was difficult to see the action after 8 people joined in though. Adding the other 2 players expanded the gamefield and shrunk the players too much. To play a Japanese game on the US systems, all you need is the Game Shark for Saturn. When starting the game you just hold down the "abc" buttons and the Japanese Bios will load and poof!, the Japanese game will work.

I thought that the Duo needed an adapter for the US HuCards, just couldn't remember exactly. Yeah, I was fond of the old TG16 shooters. Still have a few of them. Though I don't have any of the CD games. But I do have 2 of the LD games. If you think finding NEC CD-ROM games try to find the NEC LD-ROM games.

I didn't even know that there was a Laserdisc based system out there besides the Don Bluth drawn one with the Dirk the Daring and the horrible Dragon, or something like that anyway. Dragon Quest?

And I've got a TV tuner for my TurboExpress. Found a NIB one about 5 years ago right after I'd found a mint TurboExpress. The TE was well ahead of it's time portable-wise. It had such a beautiful backlit active matrix LCD screen. And obviously had a good deal of power since it used regular TurboGrafx games. I'd always wanted one when they were new, but didn't have the $ back then...

Did you know that you can still purchase the TurboExpress new in the box for $180 at www.tzd.com? They were the importer of the games and possibly the systems into the US.

Well, if you do decide to sell the Duo I'm sure you'd get a ton of $ for it on eBay. Especially if you've got the box, instructions, packing etc. as well. I've not looked for a Duo for 4 or 5 years. But they were expensive then, and I'm sure they're expensive now. The Duo was one of the systems I never did pick up 4 or 5 years ago when I was in a video game collecting mode. I'd not picked up that, another Neo Geo, or a SuperGrafx. Those were all systems I wanted to own, but they were very, very expensive...

I wanted a Supergrafx system so badly it hurt. And then I purchased the Japanese Diamakumura I and II (Ghouls and Ghosts, and Ghosts and Goblins?) for the Sega Saturn and voila!, I had the game in nearly arcade perfect shape.

I'm a bit curious about where the Ducati question came from. Best I can guess is you read the 966 in my handle and saw it as 996 since you're a bike guy and associated it with the Ducati. The 966 is a reference to a piece of heavy equipment I used to run, the Caterpillar 966 Front Loader to be exact.

Yeah, I thought you were riffing on the Ducati 996. I don't know anything about the Caterpillars, except that my grandfather was a gear inspector for them for many many years. He's 87 now, so I don't know if I could get any information from him about the Caterpillar company. Great pension, from what I understand.

I didn't know if I should sell it on eBay or not. I purchased it from a guy in Japan, back when I had a lot more trust in the eBay population. I got burned by a seller on eBay to the tune of 300+ dollars and eBay's "Safe Harbor" policy (now extinct) promised that a buyer would be out only $25 if a deal went bad. I received an e-mail stating that, 1. Yes I was burned and 2. Too bad for you eBay can't help. I don't use eBay too awful much any more. GRRRRRRRR!!!

Regards,
Chris

texasphile · « **Reply #8 on:** 5 Dec 2006, 07:18 am »

Oh, I wasn't looking to make a huge amount of money, but, if the system is going for big bucks... I was looking for someone who will actually play the thing. My brother's kids and my sister's kids would destroy the Duo in about 5 seconds if I let them use it. Nintendo's systems are the ones that seem to be indestructible. I saw a Tech TV episode (RIP) in which the hostess dropped a Gamecube, PS2, and an Xbox from 15 feet in the air. The Gamecube didn't have anything break off of it, and it still booted up without a problem. The Xbox had pieces break off, but it still worked. The PS2 broke into little bitty pieces and was very dead. She repeated the experiment twice with the same results each time. I don't think the Duo came in the original box. I'll have to go dumpster diving into the closet and dig around all of my ammo and clothes and audio equipment and see what I have with the Duo.

Chris

texasphile · « **Reply #9 on:** 6 Dec 2006, 04:32 am »

In case anyone wanted to see what was available for the NEC Turbografx system, here is a guy selling his nearly complete collection of Turbografx stuff on eBay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/My-Turbografx-16-collection-125-games-Turbo-Grafx-Duo_W0QQitemZ220056654573QQihZ012QQcategoryZ62054QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD7VQQcmdZViewItem

If you notice he doesn't have Dracula-X. Last year it went for approximately $100 on eBay. This year, the cheapest I've seen is $180. Ouch.

Chris

texasphile · « **Reply #10 on:** 6 Dec 2006, 04:57 am »

Aha! I located the Duo and all of the games, but I didn't see the power supply in the same box. Hmmmm. I have several games with no English on them whatsoever, but I do have: Far East of Eden Kabuki Den, a ROMRAM HuCard, Volfiev, Bomberman 93, Lodis, Gate of Thunder, Xevious (my favorite Arcade game of the 80s), Rayxanber II and III, Space Harrier, Alien Crash (Alien Crush in the US), Legendary Axe 1, Super Star Soldier, and the two games that are only in Japanese. I just looked through the booklet of one and recognized the pictures as belonging to Puyo Puyo (Dr. Robotniks Mean Bean Machine in the US), and the other's pictures on its booklet looks like a Mario type game.

Chris

texasphile · « **Reply #11 on:** 11 Dec 2006, 01:16 am »

I found the power supply! The two games with Japanese text were Puyo Puyo and Momotaro. Some of the Japanese students are using it right now, so it is getting some use after about 6 months of non-use.

I added a Sony PSP with 2 games and a movie to my sales ad on the Marketplace Trading Post section. It has firmware version 1.5 for those of you who want to play MAME games. I never hacked the system so that would have to done buy you. It's $150, or $135 if you have a youngster who wants one for Christmas and you just can't swing the money.

The US Turbografx Duo with a slew of games that I mentioned before went for $1500 even!

http://cgi.ebay.com/My-Turbografx-16-collection-125-games-Turbo-Grafx-Duo_W0QQitemZ220056654573QQihZ012QQcategoryZ62054QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD7VQQcmdZViewItem

Regards,

Chris

Toka · « **Reply #12 on:** 12 Dec 2006, 04:55 pm »

Man, this thread got me all misty-eyed...I had a Duo (bought it long after its shelf life...1999 or so), and got a ton of NIB games from various sources, some very rare (Beyond Shadowgate, etc.). But, times got tough after college and I had to sell it.

Sold on eBay for about $1,000, for the system and roughly 30 games. All CIB, mint condition, including Double Dragon II (JP). Everytime I boot up my Xbox 360 I kinda think "I'd rather be playing Devil's Crush". Time machine, anyone?

texasphile · « **Reply #13 on:** 12 Dec 2006, 07:45 pm »

Quote

I'd rather be playing Devil's Crush". Time machine, anyone?

Ah, back in the early nineties when I had a US Turbo Duo and a Turboexpress, I had so many games I don't even remember which one's I owned. I loved the shooters and had all of the U.S. ones. I even had Fighting Street, the very first of the Street Fighter series. I had Alien Crush, Time Machine, and my personal favorite, Devil's crush. It was great fun to play those pinball games on the Turboexpress, since I would tend to tilt the machine the way that I would bump a "real" pinball machine.

Right now I have the PC Engine Duo (Japanese Turbo Duo). For side scrolling shooters; I have Rayxanber II (very difficult and good looking) and Rayxanber III (a little less difficult and fantastic looking), plus Xevious and Volfiev, plus a few other shooters and various games listed in a previous post, almost all with that little piece of foam to keep the HuCards from sliding around inside the case. I wished that I could have found a reasonable price on Dracula-X and Blazing Lasers (Japanese version).

If anyone here would like to purchase the system and games, just contact me and I promise to be very reasonable on the price. Even though the PC Engine's power supply is rated for 100V (Japanese standard), it still works fine on the US 110V outlets (same plug arrangement), I've been using it for years. Don't have the original box anymore. I do have a TurboTap and two Controllers. Since I quit playing it about six months ago, due to my hands being unable to hold onto the controller since I am having problems with carpal tunnel, it has been sitting in a box in one of my closets. That is until I let several of the Japanese students at work (in the University where I work) use it for this week. It's finals week and playing hand-drawn animation games are just the ticket for relaxation.

I would just like someone to enjoy the system rather than stick it under plexiglass like a museum piece.

Cheers,

Chris

bubba966 · « **Reply #14 on:** 12 Dec 2006, 08:25 pm »

Let me know what you want for it.

NEC shooters were some of the best there ever was. Can't tell you how many hours I've spent on Xeviuos, though that was all arcade or NES. All this talk of them is making me try to remember which ones I've got. Might have to dig out my TE and slap a 'card in it...

I can't believe that eBay auction only ended at $1,500. When I was looking for a Turbo Duo 5 or 6 years ago that auction would have ended much higher. I seem to recall CIB Turbo Duos go for $250-$350. And ones without box/manuals etc. for about half that price. Didn't see too many Japanese decks for sale back then, but they didn't quite go for the same prices the US decks did. Mostly for the reasons that the US Duo was much more rare than the Japanese one, the 100v "issue", and that you'd need an adapter for playing US games.

Might be a good thing that I've not gotten rid of my huge stepdown transformer. I'd not thought that I'd need to have a 100v power source any more, but had been lazy about trying to sell it. Figured there wouldn't be too many people that would have a need to drop a 120v line down to 100v for running Japanese hardware in the US.

texasphile · « **Reply #15 on:** 12 Dec 2006, 08:54 pm »

Hello Mr. "I don't drive Ducatis" 966,

I do admit that until you get onto a road with some curves on it, the Ducati 916/996 is a bear and somewhat painful on the ole legs.

The NEC version of Xevious is the closest game console version to the arcade version of all the different consoles out there. It even sounds the same (emulated programs always mess up the sound).

You've got mail.

Chris

bubba966 · « **Reply #16 on:** 12 Dec 2006, 09:20 pm »

Quote from: texasphile on 12 Dec 2006, 08:54 pm

You've got mail.

Right back at 'ya.

No, I don't drive a Duck or any other bike. Can't say I've ever really been into them. My dad had an old Honda Trail 110 that was kinda fun to play around with in the yard. But a 916 or 996 would certainly be at the top of this list should I go for a nice bike someday.

Currently recalling seeing a guy dump his 996 in front of me on 405 one morning. Saw him get on the freeway right in front of me and thought to myself "that's a damn nice bike" He had color matched hard saddle bags on it which fit the look rather nicely. About a mile later we're in a curve and he's looking at moving over a lane. As we got a little farther around the curve we caught up to traffic which was at a complete stop. As the guy on the bike, myself and everyone around us was still doing 60 that was a big surprise. And since the bike was in the middle of changing lanes when he hit the brakes to try to not hit the car 150-200' or so in front of him his wheel turned sideways rather quick from the braking and promptly flipped the bike on it's side. Rather startling to watch happen right in front of you. Stressful as well as I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to avoid running him over.

Luckily I was able to not run him over. And once he and his bike stopped sliding down the freeway I pulled over and helped him out. He screwed up the side of his hand rather well as the concrete wore right through his thick leather gloves. Also wore holes through his leather pants at the hip & ankle doing some minor damage to both places.

The whole side of his 996 was trashed. He figured it would cost a minimum of $6k to fix. And I was surprised when he said he'd just turned 5,000 miles on it as it looked like it was brand new.

So bewteen the crap ass traffic we have around Seattle, and the frequent constant rain/sogginess we have around here I've not been motiviated to go out and pick up a bike. Especially since picking up a Duck or Beemer isn't cheap...

texasphile · « **Reply #17 on:** 12 Dec 2006, 10:40 pm »

A lot of motorcyclists have no idea that a 600cc and up motorcycle (except the Harleys and other cruisers) accelerates nearly as fast or faster than the fastest supercars in the world. Unfortunately, and more importantly, the vast majority of motorcyclists haven't a clue that even though a motorcycle will stop much quicker than a car below about 30mph, after 30ish, a motorcycle stops much, much slower than a car doing an equivalent speed.

The reason is the tire surface area contacting the road. Each motorcycle tire contacts the road about the size of 4 quarters (arranged in a diamond) sized patch of rubber. Instead of diamond shaped the patch is oval-shaped the size is pretty close to what I described though. When a motorcyclist is doing some sharp turning around a corner, that contact patch can drop down to the size of a Benjamin Franklin Half Dollar. Add Seattle's infamous drizzle and you have a recipe for disaster. The driver who wrecked his Ducati, should have been doing what is called "looking forward." When I drove, I would always be looking down the road ahead of me seeing if there were problems brewing in the distance. It still comes in handy today, I can spot a wreck or construction work about 1 mile before I get to the scene. Also, as a helpful tip from my motorcycle riding days, when you are at a stoplight and someone is already at the intersection perpendicular to you (i.e. you can see only the sides of the car) watch the wheels/hubcaps. If they are still turning, anticipate that the person is going to pull out in front of you. It kept me safe for years. I never had a wreck on a road. Off-Road was a different matter entirely.

Sorry for highjacking my own thread. I was just giving pointers on how to do well at Excitebike and Hang On and the other motorcycle games at the arcades and on the home game consoles. Yeah, that's the ticket!

Have a great week,

Chris

bubba966 · « **Reply #18 on:** 13 Dec 2006, 12:29 am »

Quote from: texasphile on 12 Dec 2006, 10:40 pm

A lot of motorcyclists have no idea that a 600cc and up motorcycle (except the Harleys and other cruisers) accelerates nearly as fast or faster than the fastest supercars in the world. Unfortunately, and more importantly, the vast majority of motorcyclists haven't a clue that even though a motorcycle will stop much quicker than a car below about 30mph, after 30ish, a motorcycle stops much, much slower than a car doing an equivalent speed.

I'm fully aware of those points, and why that's how it is. I also drive like a biker should be driving. I'm sure I'd do just fine on a bike. But I've not been very interested in picking one up. Though if I ever became a multi-millionaire I'm sure I'd get into a bike if I could pick up a Y2K (those still being made?).

And honestly the guy that wreked his Ducati in my face couldn't have really done much to not throw the bike over in that situation. About the only option to him to have kept the bike up would have been to have straightened it out and braked off onto the shoulder. But braking while turning as he did just slapped the wheel perpendicular to the frame immediately and dumped it.

He had been looking ahead plenty. But with the curve as sharp as it was you can't look ahead too far.

He really shouldn't have been changing lanes in that stretch of road as the traffic frequently gets backed up right after that curve. He knew that and that was the whole reason why he was moving over 2 lanes to the HOV/Bike lane. It's just too bad that he didn't have an opportunity to move over before the curve and that he decided to try to do it in the curve.

I'll have to remember not to do that next time I play Excitebike...

texasphile · « **Reply #19 on:** 13 Dec 2006, 01:25 am »

To enhance everyones understanding of motorcycle physics, especially when playing interactive motorcycle arcade games, I present the following: The formerly named Y2K motorcycle.

http://www.bikez.com/motorcycles/marine_turbine_technologies_superbike_2006.php
and
http://www.marineturbine.com/motorsports.asp

There is a typographical error on one of the pages. The text should read 320 SAE horsepower at 5,200 rpm and 425 ft/lbs of torque at 2,000 rpm. The powerplant is a Rolls Royce turbine which spins at 54,000 rpm. Top speed has been officially recorded at 227 mph, or faster than a CART or Indy Racing League (IRL) race car, they top out at 223-ish. The cost is a "mere" $150,000. Compare that to a CART race car: the body is $450,000 (in 2003, latest figure available), the engine cost is not mentioned even though it is not part of the body's cost and you can only have it rebuilt every 1200 miles, wheels are $60,000 a year, the tires for the wheels are $150,000 a year, spare parts are normally around $500,000 a year. That equals close to $1.2 million, I didn't include the dashboard (not kidding, it's sold separately), 2-way radios, onboard computers, etcetera. See, the Y2K is very cheap in that esoteric world of unobtanium!

Under the downloads section, there is a picture of the Y2K keeping up with a Jet Airplane which is flying over the tarmac of an airport!

Yes, it has the typical turbine sound. If you watched Jay Leno back in August or September, he had a trivia question as to how long it would take his stone cold Y2K's engine and exhaust to melt (vaporize) a frozen popcicle. I think it was 19 seconds from initial startup of the turbine until the very dry wooden popcicle sticks began to start smoking. There was no popcicle residue.

Anyway, so in order to become a better videogame player you absolutely must set aside $150,000 for the purchase of the Marine Turbine Technologies superbike (the Y2K moniker was dropped this year in favor of the much more exciting, "superbike"), in order to become more of a "real gamer." Now get those Wii controllers out, start saying Vroom, Vroom, and play pretend!

Chris