Who has a motorcycle?

[MaxTorque]

I highly recommend all new riders take a Motorcycle Safety Foundation course. They offer a basic RiderCourse and their Experienced RiderCourse is a great refresher.

I recently bought a Kawasaki 250 Sportbike for my daughter and it is a blast to ride. 60-70 mpg doesn't hurt either.

I also have an on-off road bike. It is great to ride to and from the trails without having to trailer.


MT

 

[Daytonaflyer]

This part of your post is really not correct. An 1800 Honda VTX V-twin for example will never sould like a Harely no matter the pipe. Only a Harley will really sound like a Harley.

A little clarification...In the 80's, Harley Davidson trademarked (not patented like most Harley owners claim) their V-twin sound. For 6 years the Japanese bike makers fought them in court over the trademark, claiming that most Vtwins sound relatively similar, depending on the exhaust pipes installed. Eventually Harley Davidson caved and admitted defeat. Thus, almost any bike can sound like a Harley. Almost.

Before I bought the Suzuki, I was rolling a 2006 Hyosung GV650 Avitar, a smaller 650cc cruiser from South Korea. It's a nice starter bike, and I put a new pipe on it and it sounded just as good as most Harleys. But of course, a bigger engine usually sounds better.

 

[UndauntedFlyer]

A little clarification...In the 80's, Harley Davidson trademarked (not patented like most Harley owners claim) their V-twin sound. For 6 years the Japanese bike makers fought them in court over the trademark, claiming that most Vtwins sound relatively similar, depending on the exhaust pipes installed. Eventually Harley Davidson caved and admitted defeat. Thus, almost any bike can sound like a Harley. Almost.

Harleys all use a single pin crankshaft but for various reasons Honda with the 1800 VTX uses a split crank that results in a different sound. The Harleys all sound like "potato, potato, potato," whereas the Honda VTX and many other Jap bikes sound different with a less pleasing sound, more of a “bang, bang, bang” sound. Also, even another V-twin that may even have a single pin crank like the Harley will probably sound different because of a different angle of the cylinders. The Harley sound can be imitated but the clones never seem to really sound the same.

Now don’t get me wrong, I still think Harleys are no where as good a motorcycle as any typical Jap bike, and I don’t like the image of the Harley rider as I have previously described, but they do have the right V-twin sound. That sound is often imitated but it is never duplicated exactly.

Would I buy a Harley? No, it’s the hi-tech touring bike for me, like the Honda Goldwing. I like my XM radar, CB, dual GPS's, cruise control, CD, auto-tuning radio, WX channels, reverse gear, anti-lock linked brakes, tubeless tires, hydraulic clutch/brakes, and 2-up rider comfort at 100 MPH.

If Harley made a jet, would anyone fly it? NO way! So there is your answer as to engineering and quality control. The Honda Jet will be flying soon. There is no Harley jet.

Ride safe! Live to ride! Ride to live!

 

[Daytonaflyer]

Daytona......nice choice. There is a dealer up here advertising a new M109R LE for $8,888. Almost 4 grand off the msrp. As soon as I unload my Honda....I'm headed up there with a cashier's check, after I try to get a little more knocked off. As far as being tall, I'm under 6'0 but am planning on getting 2.25" lowering bones and 1"risers for the handlebars. Probably at the same time I put on the Cobra Swept Exhaust and new fuel management. The charts show it dyno'd at over 135 torque and 102 hp. Most Harley's dyno in at around 80-85 hp. I'm dying to get this thing in my garage.

Are you on m109riders.com? Ton's of good info...especially when you start performing the mod's.

PM me with pics when you get a chance.....

Man, that is by far the lowest price I have ever heard of anywhere in the country for a new M109R. The one I bought was on sale for $10,900...down from $13,000, and it's was a brand new 2007 model (I like the 2007's color better).
After sales tax it ran me an extra grand though. They wouldn't budge on price one bit, and I even walked out on them once.

Good luck negotiating, but I'd be really surprised if you can get it out the door for anywhere near $8888. My guess is that's the price that gets you in the door, but they have absolutely no intention of selling it at that unless it's used. Probably closer to $12,000 to take it home. Maybe you'll get lucky.

 

[Daytonaflyer]

Hey flyguy75000,
If you don't like the look of the M109R headlight, you might want to look into the M109R2. It's new for 2008 and is basically identical, without the large headlight fairing. It's the same price too.

Personally, I dig the headlight.

Here's a pic.
http://www.suzukicycles.com/Products/M109R2K8

 

[Say Again Over]

When I was young had the two stroke Kawi someone mentioned, model H-1 500cc, then stepped up to the 750 two stroke, this bike was king until Kawasaki 900 came out, what a fine machine Z1 or R1, now I have the Honda Hornet (naked bike) 919cc, fantastic machine, in the states there's an R-6 in the garage, I love it.

 

[landlover]

http://www.ducati.com/en/bikes/my2008/ModelPage.jhtml?family=Superbike&model=SBK848-08

this is my ride!

 

[UALX727]

Just the other day I mentioned to the wife about "someday" getting a bike again (recalling my "glory years") and she surprised me and said cool....so now I am thinking about a cruiser-type bike, preferably a Honda.

I used to own a 1980 Honda CM-400T in college and sold it at 49,000 miles. That bike made 2 trips across the country, never had any issues at all. This sold me on Honda's.....we now have an Accord and an Odyssey for our family cars.

Anyway, anyone have any ideas on a good Honda cruiser type bike? I'm open to other manufacturers but Honda's I'm partail to. I haven't ridden in 16 years or so, but I'd like to be able to haul someone on the back comfortably. Thx. great thread.

 

[Say Again Over]

Not sure about what model to recommend for a cruiser, depends on your definition of a cruise, I find that one bike isn't enough, I will say that you can't go wrong with Honda, enjoy.

 

[414Flyer]

I am considering getting an early 90s Honda Hawk. Heard its actually a rather good bike

 

[Daytonaflyer]

Yeah, Honda makes a nice bike. Massively underpowered compared to almost every other cruiser manufacturer, but nice and reliable.

 

[waka]

Harleys all use a single pin crankshaft but for various reasons Honda with the 1800 VTX uses a split crank that results in a different sound. The Harleys all sound like "potato, potato, potato," whereas the Honda VTX and many other Jap bikes sound different with a less pleasing sound, more of a “bang, bang, bang” sound. Also, even another V-twin that may even have a single pin crank like the Harley will probably sound different because of a different angle of the cylinders. The Harley sound can be imitated but the clones never seem to really sound the same.

Now don’t get me wrong, I still think Harleys are no where as good a motorcycle as any typical Jap bike, and I don’t like the image of the Harley rider as I have previously described, but they do have the right V-twin sound. That sound is often imitated but it is never duplicated exactly.

Would I buy a Harley? No, it’s the hi-tech touring bike for me, like the Honda Goldwing. I like my XM radar, CB, dual GPS's, cruise control, CD, auto-tuning radio, WX channels, reverse gear, anti-lock linked brakes, tubeless tires, hydraulic clutch/brakes, and 2-up rider comfort at 100 MPH.

If Harley made a jet, would anyone fly it? NO way! So there is your answer as to engineering and quality control. The Honda Jet will be flying soon. There is no Harley jet.

Ride safe! Live to ride! Ride to live!

No No No No. The real difference in sound between a Japanese crotch rocket and a Harley;

Crotch rocket; "Geeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeettt-outtta-mywaaaaaayyyyy"!

Harley's just go;
"F*ck You F*ck You F*ck You F*ck You F*ck You F*ck You"

 

[CFIcare]

I highly recommend all new riders take a Motorcycle Safety Foundation course. They offer a basic RiderCourse and their Experienced RiderCourse is a great refresher.

MT

MaxTorque is right on. I got my first bike at 17 and did their basic rider course. It was an extremely well run program that taught defensive riding and good road strategies. A year and 7,000 miles later, I did the Advanced course which was every bit as good. These courses ought to be required for anyone looking to get a motorcycle endorsement.

Here's a link: http://www.msf-usa.org/

 

[jergar999]

I'm on a Yamaha R6. It's my seventh bike since I started riding. GEAR GEAR GEAR. Helmet and jacket are important (full face helmet that meets both DOT and Snell) but equally important is heavy pant material and boots. Shoes just come off, trust me. Someone recommended a Suzuki SV650 and I couldn't agree more. It's like a miniature Ducati except you don't have leather belts, and valve coatings and all that fun to deal with. It has plenty of power but is still forgiving enough to learn on.

 

[CFIcare]

Ditto that on the gear. Dress for the crash, not for the ride. Gloves come off too so get ones with a wrist strap and knuckle guards. Speaking of good bikes to learn on, the Kawasaki Ninja 500RR is pretty cool for a first bike.

I know a lot of people jump on a 600 to start, but the 600's of today are still high performance machines that are not so forgiving to the newb. It's a good idea to get a starter bike which you WILL drop, ding, and learn on, then trade up after 6 months to a year.