Who has a motorcycle?

[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.