Who has a motorcycle?

[Headwind]

Paid for my first (Honda) as a mewspaper boy in 1965. First Harley in 1967 (250cc Sprint) Triumph Bonneville in 1969, Sporster in 1970 & 1972, Kawasiki 900 Z1 in 1973. Still riding today (Harley Ultra) and like all brands.

HEADWIND

 

[Herculeus]

Flyin Tony do you ride desert or motocross?

 

[52Vincent]

Any British bike riders out there? Gotta love those leaky Brit. bikes.
This is what I ride.
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[CandlerWun]

I've owned 7 bikes over the past 13 years. I started out with a GPZ550.

I also started with a GPz550. It was a fun bike, and it had no fairing. Anyway, how about a 'standard' or 'naked' bike as opposed to a cruiser or full-on sport bike? These bikes are great, handle well, are generally less expensive, and don't have lots of expensive plastic bodywork to replace when you drop it (you will--it will probably be in a parking lot or at a stop sign, but it'll happen). I currently ride a 1989 Honda Hawk and that thing is a blast, but it's kind of a rare bike and a little hard to find. If I had the money, I'd go for an SV 650 (either the S model or the standard...I like naked bikes but I also like low handlebars). My wife has one.

If you like the looks of airplane engines, how about a Moto Guzzi? I had one that always reminded me of a radial engine. Josh M.

 

[flyguy75000]

Anybody out there riding a Suzuki M109R?

I'm seriously contemplating putting up the Honda on Craigslist and buying one of these. They look pretty sweet and from what the reviews say, this 1800 cc engine will leave a "Hardly" in its dust. I've seen some pictures with 280mm and 300mm rear tires, and the thing looks like amazing. The only thing I dont like is the headlight fairing looks ridiculous. Hopefully there is a way to change it out.

Just wondering if anyone has one, and if they have have any feedback.

Thanks

 

[UndauntedFlyer]

Harleys

90% of all Harleys are still on the road. The remaining 10% made it back.

Buy a Honda. You meet the nicest people on a Honda.

 

[oops!]

I ride a 1999 CBR 900rr... I love it but it was my first street bike and like the others have said "don't get something fast first"
I wrecked it the second day I had it doing wheelies in a big parking lot. helmet saved my life and I walked away with a broken collar bone and one hell of a big bill to fix my bike.. I have much more respect for it now and don't act so stupid while riding but I could never have anything other than a sport bike. being on call all the time doesn't leave me with enough time to go for a long cruise so I prefer the canyons

 

[Flyin Tony]

Flyin Tony do you ride desert or motocross?

Both, it was good times I won some big races but had 1 to many bad crashes

 

[Daytonaflyer]

Double post

 

[Daytonaflyer]

I bought a Suzuki M109R Limited Edition

Anybody out there riding a Suzuki M109R?

I'm seriously contemplating putting up the Honda on Craigslist and buying one of these. They look pretty sweet and from what the reviews say, this 1800 cc engine will leave a "Hardly" in its dust. I've seen some pictures with 280mm and 300mm rear tires, and the thing looks like amazing. The only thing I dont like is the headlight fairing looks ridiculous. Hopefully there is a way to change it out.

Just wondering if anyone has one, and if they have have any feedback.

Thanks

Hey Flyguy75000,
I just bought a brand new Suzuki M109R Limited Edition yesterday. It's an amazing bike; it'll leave a VRod in the dust.
I got the 2007 because of the awesome deep blue color with racing stripe, and I got a pretty good deal too on a brand new one. It's really powerful. The 1800cc engine is more powerful than Suzuki's 2000cc engine on their other bikes.

I've only ridden it a few miles, but so far, it's awesome. It's incredibly smooth and handles bumps and vibration great. It gets warm fast, so your butt will be hot.
Turning radius is a little wide compared to my 650 cruiser, but it rides low, so you don't really notice the 700 lbs much; even pushing it into the garage was pretty easy. Shifting is good, neutral was easy to find. Braking was very good too.

The passenger rear seat is included when you buy...and it changes out easy so you can take a girl riding. There is also a gas gauge, which is nice.

It has a slightly forward-leaning seat position that turns out to be incredibly comfortable. If you're less than 6' tall, it will probably be too long of a bike for you. I'm 6'1" and 265lbs, and it fit me perfectly. I didn't notice my rear getting sore at all like my smaller bike.

The only thing I really didn't like was that the ignition is located on the left side of the engine, so you can't turn off the key without releasing the clutch. Therefore you must turn it off using the kill switch if it's parked on a hill and want to leave it in gear. Also the key gets really hot!

I got insured through Progressive for $410/year (about $480 without multi-bike discount). Which includes their mid-level coverage. Interesting thing: when I listed it as the M109R limited edition, insurance quote was $760/year, but when I listed it as the VZR1800, which is what the owner's manual says, and what came up when I typed in the VIN#, the price was only $410.

I'll let ya know more when I ride it longer.

My bike:
http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/nn157/daytonaflyer/IMG00122.jpg

 

[Daytonaflyer]

thanks for all the great info guys.

are kawasaki sport bikes any good?

My roommate just bought his first bike, a 2008 Kawasaki Ninja 650R, two days ago (I decided to buy a new Suzuki M109R when I was helping him look for his first bike, LOL). He's never ridden before, but seemed to catch right on yesterday when we were practicing. He had no problems handling the bike at all.

It's a nice sport bike with enough power to keep you happy for a while, but not so much that you'll get into trouble. It's probably a better starter bike than a GSX-R600 or the CBR600RR.

His bike:
http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/nn157/daytonaflyer/IMG00123.jpg

 

[UndauntedFlyer]

A big problem with Harleys is the image. It just reeks of a rider/owner who lacks intelligence. After all look at it for a minute.

The stereotypical Harley rider:

1. Has a Tattoo,
2. Smokes
3. Drinks and rides his bike from bar to bar, and finally
4. Doesn't wear a helmet.

All of the above show a person who just lacks good judgment and/or is just plain stupid.

On the other side:

No other motorcycle rides and sounds like a Harley. I do like to ride a Harley but for serious riding give me a Goldwing any day.

One time I took a 2,000 mile trip with a friend. He had a Harley Ultra Classic. We traded bikes half way through the ride. Before the ride was over, he wanted to stop at a Honda shop. Before we left that shop he had traded his Ultra for a new Wing. The Wing compared to a Harley is like comparing a B777 to a DC-6. Yes, the 6 is romantic to dream of, but would you really want to fly a transcon in a 6 or a 777?

 

[Daytonaflyer]

The stereotypical Harley rider:

1. Has a Tattoo,
2. Smokes
3. Drinks and rides his bike from bar to bar, and finally
4. Doesn't wear a helmet.

All of the above show a person who just lacks good judgment and/or is just plain stupid.

On the other side:

No other motorcycle rides and sounds like a Harley. I do like to ride a Harley but for serious riding give me a Goldwing any day.

The sad part is that 90% of Harley riders are just guys like you and me who want to look cool. There is absolutely nothing better about a Harley than any other major cruiser on the market. You're basically paying for the name. At least when you buy a BMW and Mercedez car you're getting a nicer car with extra features; with a Harley, you actually pay more to get an inferior bike.

And yes, any bike can sound just like a Harley or even better. There is no hidden secret, you just have to get loud pipes put on. Shouldn't cost more than $500 for most bikes.

 

[UndauntedFlyer]

And yes, any bike can sound just like a Harley or even better. There is no hidden secret, you just have to get loud pipes put on. Shouldn't cost more than $500 for most bikes.

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.

 

[flyguy75000]

Actually, Harley's aren't really that loud either....until Vance n Hines/Screamin Eagle/Kuryakyn, etc. pipes are installed.

Anyone that wants to soccer-mom proof (or at least attempt to) their cruiser is gonna put aftermarkets on their bike. Most, but not all, cruiser-riding types want their machine to sound loud. The real reason stock pipes are quiet in nature is because of the EPA and the noise pollution regs. Remove the baffles or have straight head pipes on a Shadow 600 even and it'll be pretty loud.


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.....