Help me pick a motorcycle

The numbers are simple and scary. The fastest rising demographic for fatal crash victim is an over 40 male riding a bike with an engine that has a liter or better of displacement. Over 40 males generally don't ride Sportbikes, too damn uncomfortable. Most of these guys, who now make bikes as dangerous as airplanes, are midlife noobs with Harleys or Harley knockoffs doing the image thing.

That Kowalski looks like a sweet deal, good luck. I picked my Fireblade up the same way and I've been really happy with it (except for the whole being twisted like a pretzel thing...).
 
There are a couple of things to dramatically improve your safety when riding a bike.

1. DON'T DRINK! - It just drives me nuts to see all these harley riders riding to bars and back. I realize that you dont't have to dringk at a bar, but it is highly likely that you will.

2. Dont be a moron and ride without the proper gear. Decent Helmet and at least a jacket. I get about equally annoyed when I see a sqid in flip flops with this t-shirt off on his sportbike, or some boomer on a harley with a bandana on his head.

When I did my MSF course we looked at the accident stats from WI. The vast majority of the fatal incidents had riders without safety gear and or drunk operators.

Pete
 
jesse said:
Exactly. Notice how the title says Motorcycle? If he was looking for a slow, loud, underpowered, expensive, unreliable, oil leaking, POS that isn't even worthy of the word 'motorcycle' he would have said it. :)
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I see the smiley, and you post makes me chuckle. I remember back when I was a young rider in my mid-20's, and all I could afford was one bike, and of course it was a sportbike. I rode with guys in their late 40's early 50's, and wondered why in the world they would spend soooo much for BMW, Harley, Ducati, and other expensive bikes when all I could afford was one Honda. They just smiled and said, "Patience, grasshopper, you'll be there one day."

Fast forward 20 years, 5 full on sport bikes, 2 sport standards, 1 dual sport, 1 sport tourer, and 2 tourers later, and I am now that late 40's guy.

I like riding my BMW RT and Harley FLHX, and enjoy them. But, I understand the young guy questioning the "old mans bikes", because I was once where you are.

Enjoy the ride, and don't be suprised if you find yourself on a Goldwing/BMW/Harley someday.
 
RogerT said:
It says his wife won't ride and doesn't want him to either. Geez ...
he needs a new wife .. not a fishing boat.
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When I got married, I had three bikes in the garage. It was plainly clear that this was a package deal, you want me, you get the bikes too!! I still ride every day...
 
vontresc said:
1. DON'T DRINK! - It just drives me nuts to see all these harley riders riding to bars and back. I realize that you dont't have to dringk at a bar, but it is highly likely that you will.
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What was the Hurt report statistic, something like 80 or 90% of all fatalities had alcohol involved?
 
Troy, definitely invest in proper gear. About $500 (if you shop around properly) will get you some good textile jacket and pants with armor, leather gloves, a full face helmet, and boots. I go overboard (at least, that's what 99% of other motorcyclists seem to think), but I dress for the crash, not for the ride.

No crashes yet, and I hope to keep it that way.
 
Bill Jennings said:
Enjoy the ride, and don't be suprised if you find yourself on a Goldwing/BMW/Harley someday.
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I wouldn't mind a Goldwing or a BMW. It is the Harley thing I cannot understand.
 
When I bought the Fireblade my wife thought I was nuts (and may have been correct). We quickly discovered that she couldn't ride the thing (and I probably shouldn't). She mentioned one day that she missed riding pillion on the bike. I went looking for a straight up bike and wound up purchasing a Goldwing on Craigslist. I figured she's like all the cases, and I was right. I never thought I would ever ride a Wing, but I can certainly see why guys do, and I doubt I'll ever be without one again. I don't think I would like one as my only bike, I am just not calm enough and lie to tear around.

On the other hand I just saw a comparison of a Harley and a comparable Yarmuka in a cycle mag. Less hp, slower, and less torque for more money. If it floats your boat go for it, but I don't see it for yours truly.
 
Ted DuPuis said:
but I dress for the crash, not for the ride.

No crashes yet, and I hope to keep it that way.
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I've always dressed for the crash, and have been down twice. Once was easy, a low side at Deals Gap, dialed in too much power at the apex of a turn, lit up the rear tire, and the bike slid gently out from under me, and the gear did its job.

The second time sucked, high side at Deals Gap, Superman like flight over the handle bars (nice flight), landing sucked. Big bang followed by what seemed like minutes of tumbling and thrashing. No road rash, but I did splinter the end of my raduis (No gear is going to protect against hard injury). I still have 10 screws and two plates in my left wrist where they put me back together...

ATGATT
 
jesse said:
I wouldn't mind a Goldwing or a BMW. It is the Harley thing I cannot understand.
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Goldwings are nice, but they are just too smooth and refined. OK if you like your motorcycle experience to be a two wheeled Acura, but if you want some character and life in your ride....

Owned a 98 GL1500A for five years...
 
jesse said:
I wouldn't mind a Goldwing or a BMW. It is the Harley thing I cannot understand.
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I used to think that way until a nice gentleman one day let me take his Harley Fat Boy for a spin. It was his idea. We were at my friend's shop (he'd come in for an inspection, I was there working on my truck) talking about the bike, I was admiring it. He said "Why don't you take it around the block?" I was a bit reluctant at first.

He talked me into it, I took it around the block, and now I'm a believer: "If I have to explain, you wouldn't understand."

I'd love to have a Harley. I still love my Interceptor, but the two are completely different bikes and serve purposes that are only remotely similar. For the time being, though, I'll stick to buying Jap bikes in December and selling them in April...

I'd also love to have some Jap cruiser that is built for long trips, as well, but I don't see that happening any time in the near future.
 
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My Wing was well under 2K. If you can wrench just a bit you can probably afford one.
 
RogerT said:
Geez ... he needs a new wife .. not a fishing boat.
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And I need his bike! Hope to pick it up by this weekend. He sent these pics today:

STP63065.jpg


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STP63066.jpg


STP63072.jpg
 
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RogerT said:
Most of the Harley riders I see down there seem to know what they're
doing. It's the kids on their crotch rockets that are nuts. I can be
cruising up the Turnpike or the Palmetto at 5 or 10 over the speed limit
in the car and some fool will go flying by me and you know he's doing
at least 100 splitting lanes and weaving around traffic.
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I invite you to come on down, and I'll give you a ride down A1A through Boca Raton:D You will see exactly what I mean.
 
jesse said:
I wouldn't mind a Goldwing or a BMW. It is the Harley thing I cannot understand.
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Put Tristan back there on the P-Pad of a hard tail solid mount knucklehead for a couple of hours and pull into a motel, you'll figure it out real quick...:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:
 
Ya know I enjoy smooth riding, fast, and sleek motorcycles. If I wanted to be shaken to death, I'd drive more on oklahoma's back roads!
 
Tristar said:
Ya know I enjoy smooth riding, fast, and sleek motorcycles.
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So do I, but a lot of Harleys, especially the newer models, are actually quite smooth. They're not at the refinement level of a Japanese in-line 4 (or better yet, the flat 6 of a GoldWing), but the "shaken to death" myth I have not found to be the case. Harley has really made great progress in the realm of having motorcycles that maintain the personality and character that their market wants, while still making the things civilized enough for anyone.

You CAN make the things shake you to death, especially if you use solid engine mounts. I worked at a friend's chopper shop for a while, and you had a lot of people who wanted to shake themselves to death. But the factory Harleys and Indians we got in (newer models) were both very civilized. Really, I'd love to have an Indian Chief. I love those bikes, but more money than I want to spend on a motorcycle.

If you want smooth riding and fast, a GoldWing GL1800 would probably surprise you. It may not be all that sleek, but when I rode my friends, I was amazed at how quick and nimble it was. I'll agree that it's a little too refined, but then again if I was going on a 2000 mile trip, that's not necessarily a bad thing.

If I wanted to be shaken to death, I'd drive more on oklahoma's back roads!
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Ain't that the truth! Just driving through Oklahoma down Rt 69 to Rt 75 as you're heading to Dallas from I-44/I-40 probably will give you months worth of dental work.
 
Henning,

I like your taste in bikes. Is that a new Bonneville with clip ons? I had a 78 Bonneville 750 that I converted to what was then known as a "cafe racer". Essentially turning a more upright conventional bike into what today is called a sportbike. I always liked doing that especially to British bikes like Nortons and Triumphs were the term cafe racer originated.

Glad to see Triumph around again BTW. I don't get the Harley thing either. I think they are classic American bikes and have a beauty of their own, but just not my cup of tea.
 
Anthony said:
Henning,

I like your taste in bikes. Is that a new Bonneville with clip ons? I had a 78 Bonneville 750 that I converted to what was then known as a "cafe racer". Essentially turning a more upright conventional bike into what today is called a sportbike. I always liked doing that especially to British bikes like Nortons and Triumphs were the term cafe racer originated.

Glad to see Triumph around again BTW. I don't get the Harley thing either. I think they are classic American bikes and have a beauty of their own, but just not my cup of tea.
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It's called the Thruxston, and basically yes, it's a Bonneville with clip ons and setback pegs. I rather like it, though I think If I bought one, I'd have to put an aftermarket 1/4 fairing on it. I've also been looking at the Ducatti 1000 Sport, but they're another 50% more money.
 
Henning said:
It's called the Thruxston, and basically yes, it's a Bonneville with clip ons and setback pegs. I rather like it, though I think If I bought one, I'd have to put an aftermarket 1/4 fairing on it. I've also been looking at the Ducatti 1000 Sport, but they're another 50% more money.
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Neat bike, they've upped the horsepower on the Thruxton too according to their website. In addition to the fairing, I'd get new pipes that give a bit more ground clearance. I'd love to get the Ducatti though. Never had one, and from the looks/specs of the 1000S its worth the extra 50% $$$. Like to ride one.
 
Anthony said:
Neat bike, they've upped the horsepower on the Thruxton too according to their website. In addition to the fairing, I'd get new pipes that give a bit more ground clearance. I'd love to get the Ducatti though. Never had one, and from the looks/specs of the 1000S its worth the extra 50% $$$. Like to ride one.
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I rode them bothe the other day (the local dealer sells both lines), the Triumph is more comfortable for me, and the Ducatti... well.... it's freakin Italian. Triumphs and Ducattis used to be about equal in the "Broke Down POS" department, but since the Triumph has replaced the old Lucas Poins ignition and electrical system, my bets are it's going to be a heck of a lot more reliable (my suspicions are somewhat confirmed by looking in the dealers shop, a stack of Ducattis and one Triumph). I'm not out to race anymore, but I do require a minimum level of performance to consider safe. The Ducatti exceeded that level (and did handle very nicely) while the Triumph was flirting with the bottom of what I consider adequate. My thoughts though are that I can bring the Triumph performance up to where the Ducatti is, put on the quarter fairing, be in it cheaper than the Ducatti and have the more comfortable (for me YMMV) bike. Anyway, that's my line of thought. Plus I think the Triumph looks better.
 
If you gonn'a fly..... fly in style get the dam BMW ...I did and it screams :hairraise: !!!!

K1200S.jpg
 
FredBedard said:
If you gonn'a fly..... fly in style get the dam BMW ...I did and it screams :hairraise: !!!!
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They are a quality machine, no doubt, but I don't want a whack slash angular machine, and if I wanted to scream, I'd buy a Suzuki.
 
Brent what did I tell you about giving jesse ideas!

Plus, it's not whatcha got, its how you ride it!

;)
 
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K-Bike. The K12-s is the evolution of the old flying Brick bikes. Test rode a K12S at the dealer last year, and that hing is phenomenal! Brochure claims 167Hp iirc. A bit of a step up from my R-65 though.

Pete
 
Bill Jennings said:
What kind of Beemer is that? I don't see any jugs sticking out the sides?
:D
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That's the K line, with the "brick" motor (you'd understand why it's called that if the tupperware was off!) I'm told that it's smoother than bikes with the REAL BMW boxer engine, but I only ever hear that from people who own them:rolleyes:
 
Got the bike home safe on Saturday night!

My friend, Barry (also a pilot) went with me to Conroe to pick it up, Saturday morning. We left from his house at 6am, got back to my house 6:30/7:00pm. It had 299 miles on it when I picked it up from the private owner, and we doubled that mileage driving it back--has 648 on it now. We took the scenic route home from Conroe--to Hwy 6, through College Station, Waco, Meridian, then Hwy 144 to Glen Rose and Granbury, then Hwy 51 to I-20 and home. We took turns riding it home, though Barry did 70% or more of the ride due to his more recent experience. Still, I got highway miles in at 65-70mph, so I know how the bike handles at that speed… rock solid.

Here's the route we took. Left from Point A, drove to Point B, then rode the bike back from B to C: http://tinyurl.com/2dmwe8

Here's some pics, first one is enroute home (that's a full-face helmet, flipped open, and I know I still need to get riding pants and boots. I did buy a nice Olympia riding jacket and gloves):

troyBike.jpg


Home in the garage, with the clan:

familyBike.jpg



Why'd I get a bike? Long and short of it: for $20 in gas I can have a full weekend of adventure, whereas $20 won't get me to the hold short line in an airplane. I'll still fly, but this is something I can do "with the guys", and I think I miss "guy time" with all the ladies in the house. :-)
 
Henning said:
They are a quality machine, no doubt, but I don't want a whack slash angular machine, and if I wanted to scream, I'd buy a Suzuki.
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If or when I am again in the market for a fun ride, this is probably what I'd get. Performance of a Duc for half the price, plus you get Japanese reliability and less expensive parts and maintenance if you ever even need it:
 

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Wow, that is a snazzy bike. Much more improved over my 1996 Vulcan. Mine has 13,000 miles on it. I start it every two weeks and let it run if I cannot ride that week. It has yet to let me down. Recently, I just put new saddle bags on it. It really helped the looks. On the picture, those are not stock pipes. I have 2" straight pipes. I do not recommend them. They blued very quickly and heat shields are hard to find for them.

This would not be a bad ride for you:
http://www.sparksamerica.com/
 

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