Motorcycles

[brokencycle]



Any Harley guys here? I was at the dealership to try some of their bikes.

All the Dyna's too tall for me my legs can hardly touch the ground. The sportster Forty eight with 1200 engine fit me very well and cost about 10k. Also they have a Softtail Slim. Really perfect but that thing is about 17k holy **** I don't want to spend that much.

So right now my only options are Sportster or Softail used. As I will ride it going to school sometimes, a Softail would be "too much" for me? I'm 5'8'' and pretty young.

A friend of mine has a V rod that thing is fast as ****.

I would go used. How much riding have you done? The thing is, Harleys are expensive, and they are very heavy. New riders and heavy bikes don't really mix. I don't think I could pick one up if I dropped it.

 

[Rumpelstiltskin]

The Fonz rode a Triumph

 

[MarioImpemba]

Performance cars need to get back to the mantra of "less is more". The first M5 weighed ~3400lbs. That's less than a 6 banger 3 series today. It's absurd. We need more Ariel Atoms and Factory Five 818s. [/endrant]

Simplify, then add lightness

As stated, I have a ~3k lbs cap. Anything much heavier ruins the experience, IMO. The GT-R is way too heavy. It's ugly, too. I'd take an R34, though. And then you could add a Supra in the mix at that point, too.

I see more Ducati's in Portland than anything. In the burbs (Beaverton) I see Bonneville's and old BMW's, and a ton of Harley's. I've also seen a fair amount of Triumphs cruising Mich Ave in Chicago. From what I've heard, NYC (presumably Brooklyn) is dominated by old CB's done up cafe style. Michigan is all Harley's or Japanese sport bikes.

 

[Fang66]



**** the GT-R. Yes, its competent,

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

fast, even fun to drive... but it is the definition of soulless. Sounds like a vacuum cleaner and is the automotive equivalent of:

[VIDEO][/VIDEO]

Performance cars need to get back to the mantra of "less is more". The first M5 weighed ~3400lbs. That's less than a 6 banger 3 series today. It's absurd. We need more Ariel Atoms and Factory Five 818s. [/endrant]

I totally forgot about the RC51. Def gonna look at those when the opportunity comes. Honda 996

And this is a reasonably attractive woman with quite nice boobs.

 

[Rumpelstiltskin]

Define what character or soul means to you.

Not keen on the CB1100? Upcoming FZ-09?

It's something that is hard to describe, the bike just speaks to you. It doesn't have to be European but it does have to have something that seems odd works out right. I have heard Ducatistas bemoaning the fact that the new Ducs have wet clutches and no timing belts to change every 7k miles. Would you believe that in order to test the tension of the belts, you have to pluck it and measure the harmonic output with a guitar tuner? WTF? That's crazy yet endearing.

It's not just some seemingly backwards technology that gives a bike character or soul. The 1st & 2nd gen Aprilia Tuono had soul...the jury is still out on the current V4 beast. The 883 fakes like it has soul but what it really wants/needs is a lot of loctite. Triumph bikes seem to have it as did the RC51 and the VFR750s. The Honda Pacific Coast was the most soul-less machine ever created. Most air cooled BMW boxers have soul but those K bikes? Nope. Ditto with the S1000RR. The 04 ZX10 was a special beast but the later ones lost something. The original R1s had something as did the original CBR900 with it's lopsided (16" front, 17" rear) wheels.

Not keen on the CB1100? Upcoming FZ-09?

The CB1100 is Honda's version of Kawasaki's ZRX1200 Zephyr.

The big Zephyr tried to bring back the Eddie Lawson glory days by combining new technology with old styling. That **** didn't work for them and I don't think it will work for Honda. Remember the Honda GB500 and how well it did?

 

[brokencycle]



It's something that is hard to describe, the bike just speaks to you.  It doesn't have to be European but it does have to have something that seems odd works out right.  I have heard Ducatistas bemoaning the fact that the new Ducs have wet clutches and no timing belts to change every 7k miles.  Would you believe that in order to test the tension of the belts, you have to pluck it and measure the harmonic output with a guitar tuner?  WTF?  That's crazy yet endearing.

It's not just some seemingly backwards technology that gives a bike character or soul.  The 1st & 2nd gen Aprilia Tuono had soul...the jury is still out on the current V4 beast.  The 883 fakes like it has soul but what it really wants/needs is a lot of loctite.  Triumph bikes seem to have it as did the RC51 and the VFR750s.  The Honda Pacific Coast was the most soul-less machine ever created.  Most air cooled BMW boxers have soul but those K bikes?  Nope.  Ditto with the S1000RR.  The 04 ZX10 was a special beast but the later ones lost something.  The original R1s had something as did the original CBR900 with it's lopsided (16" front, 17" rear) wheels.

I disagree completely. There is nothing endearing about spending time I could be riding doing extra maintenance. If you like working on bikes or if you have something you want to do to it, that's fine, but I rather ride than be changing timing belts or something similar.

 

[Rumpelstiltskin]

I disagree completely. There is nothing endearing about spending time I could be riding doing extra maintenance. If you like working on bikes or if you have something you want to do to it, that's fine, but I rather ride than be changing timing belts or something similar.

I believe that as well yet the sentiment persists. Some older Duc owners look at newer Duc owners as Johnny-Come-Lately poseurs

 

[Rumpelstiltskin]

Speaking of character, time is ticking down til the unveiling of the new 1290 Super Duke

 

[SplasH]

Soul is something you bring, not the bike. Or else it's just what marketing call a soul. The RC51 has a "soul" because it's an HRC machine for the street, won a shitload of titles but like any bike or car for that matters, it's only a piece of scrap metal in the end.

Looking at cars, my hondas were much more fun to drive and to live with than my porsche was, and for some people porsches are the top of the automobile line.

The ZRX is a very good bike. A friend of mine had one, now moved on to a 1100 guzzi corsaro and he still misses the ZRX. Kawasakis really special to drive, impossible to tell why, but they're waaayyy more enjoyable than any other. After two ZX6R, i would never ride a gsxr as far as mid range sportsbike goes.

 

[epb]



The big Zephyr tried to bring back the Eddie Lawson glory days by combining new technology with old styling.  That **** didn't work for them and I don't think it will work for Honda. Remember the Honda GB500 and how well it did? 

The GB500 had the same problem as my NT650 - it pre-dated it's trend. People would scoop them up in droves now, with the retro/cafe craze, and the Hawk GT arrived years before naked bikes came into their own with the Monster. Same thing happened to Kawasaki with the W650 - it missed the wave of retros. My thinking is that Honda may be too late to the game with the CB1100.

 

[Cool The Kid]

ZRX has a cult following... underrated bike...

 

[MarioImpemba]

Re: retro bikes...

The Ducati Sport/GT1000's seemed to do OK.

The Norton 961 is hot, but whoa, what a pricetag.

 

[TRINI]



Re: retro bikes...

The Ducati Sport/GT1000's seemed to do OK.

The Norton 961 is hot, but whoa, what a pricetag.

Not ok enough for Ducati to keep producing them tho...


Those Nortons are pricey as ****. I assume the British labour factor sinto the cost

 

[Tck13]



The Fonz rode a Triumph

As did Marlon Brando...

After doing lots of reading and research, and despite the negativity in this thread, put a deposit on a Cyclewerks Misfit, should be getting it early November.

Going to be my first bike, just completed the MSF course in NY and got my license.

I'll let it be known, a big reason why I chose the bike is because i'm going to be on my fathers insurance, and he wanted me to have a new bike....that and he's putting in $1,200 for it. I'm essentially only paying 2 grand for it.

Why the negativity for that bike? (I've never heard of them)

Any Harley guys here? I was at the dealership to try some of their bikes.

All the Dyna's too tall for me my legs can hardly touch the ground. The sportster Forty eight with 1200 engine fit me very well and cost about 10k. Also they have a Softtail Slim. Really perfect but that thing is about 17k holy **** I don't want to spend that much.

So right now my only options are Sportster or Softail used. As I will ride it going to school sometimes, a Softail would be "too much" for me? I'm 5'8'' and pretty young.

A friend of mine has a V rod that thing is fast as ****.

There are a couple of guys with Harley's here but I don't see them posting much anymore. The Sportster is a fun bike. It's a good price for a fun bike and it's easy to throw around if it fits you.

 

[andrewgreg]

Thank you gent for answering my question. I don't have too much road experience but I learned how to ride when I was young. Only reason I want a Harley is they still make my dream bikes. I tried on a Fat Bob, it's a huge one, the seat is really wide. I know I can adjust it or get a new seat but I want to keep it original as the way it came.

Price is not a big factor here. I am willing to pay 15k max, maybe I should just get a used one or rent a bike for 1 day.

My only concern is, as it will be my commute bike, is it too lousy for someone returning back to graduate B-school.

I am going to go to Ducati and BMW dealer this weekend to see what they have.