Any street motorcyclists?

[asiafish]

What do you ride? Where?

[JaneL]

I used to ride a small BMW F650 around Upstate SC and in the NC mountains.

[topmahof]

'47 harley knucklehead chopper, i built it in the 70's when i was young and dumb. i still ride it up the river on one side and back the other side. i stay off the back roads anymore, i'm getting a little long in the tooth to be bouncing around on back roads on a hard tail. and yes, i take an x41 with me.

[billp117]

Honda ST1300...I ride it everywhere there is pavement.

[killer]

I had a Triumph Bonneville but sold it some years ago and have only used 4 wheeled vehicles since. Riding the Bonny over the ton was exhilarating and it certainly stays in the memory.

[Norway Pad]

I had a 1990 Suzuki GSX-R 750 some years ago. An awesome ride, and the Vance&Hines SSR exhaust, made this into a (literally) screamin' rocket between 5000 to 12000 rpm. My present ride is a 1999 Buell Lightning X1. A special and slightly oddball bike. Excellent handling capabilities, and a stomping low end torque. But coming from the GSX-R, I felt a little cheated when I hit the rev limiter at 6400 rpm.

Both these bikes are strictly *street only*.

[RealBlackStuff]

Here's a rather nice description of this Harley-derived Buell: http://www.motorcycle.com/manufacturer/ ... 13941.html

[Norway Pad]

Here's a rather nice description of this Harley-derived Buell: http://www.motorcycle.com/manufacturer/ ... 13941.html

Thanks, this was an interesting read. Seems like they pretty much share my opinion of the bike. Funny bike indeed, but not sure if I am going to buy Buell again. Added the fact that they stopped making Buell bikes only weeks after I bought mine. Not sure how that will influence parts availability and prices long term. Btw. back in the days the Performance Bike magazine described it to look like "Something NASA have developed for riding on Mars." He, he.

[pafka99]

Honda CBF600S, on the roads

[asiafish]

1980 Suzuki GS850G for me. Had one almost like it from 85 to 93 when I gave up motorcycling (at the wife's insistence), and now that I have permission again, I found an even older though mechanically better one for my reentry.

I ride any chance I get, and plan a trip from Bakersfield to Seattle in the early fall.

My iPad will be coming along for the ride, no moving parts and all.

[Falcon63]

Thanks, this was an interesting read. Seems like they pretty much share my opinion of the bike. Funny bike indeed, but not sure if I am going to buy Buell again. Added the fact that they stopped making Buell bikes only weeks after I bought mine. Not sure how that will influence parts availability and prices long term. Btw. back in the days the Performance Bike magazine described it to look like "Something NASA have developed for riding on Mars." He, he.

The prices are there, before I lost my job. I was looking at a Buell, I wanted an XB12R Firebolt. But they was sold out and had an black 1125R (I think that' what it' called). They had $5,000 rebate from Harley, trying to eliminate inventory. I really wanted an yellow Firebolt to match my yellow C4 Corvette... So I decided to make the drive to look at one the weekend, but boss that week said sorry but he has to close doors. I think most of the companies went under at the airport, lots of empty hangers.

~Steven

http://www.buellforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=11437

Don't even bother looking used...

[Norway Pad]

Ok, interesting. I realized that the Harley dealers had a huge sale last October, and sold Buell accessories 50% off. A nice Buell leather jacket just slipped my hands, so I was mad I didn't catch the sale in time. But as late as May this year, High Desert Harley (My local dealer) had a couple of Buells left, so I took that as a sign that nobody wanted those bikes. Maybe I was wrong there.

When I go back to Norway sometime next year, I was planning to bring the X1 with. But if these bikes becomes popular, and I can get back the money I paid for it, I will probably sell it in the US before I go.

[Falcon63]

For the prices of them used, more then what they paid new, lol. Well this is just in my area, 300-400 miles. I am leaning toward a Ducati 848 when I get a new job.

~Steven

[Norway Pad]

He, he. No, not more than the price of a new one. Mine was 10 years old when I bought it, but as long as I get back what I paid for it, that's basically a free ride.

[Falcon63]

He, he. No, not more than the price of a new one. Mine was 10 years old when I bought it, but as long as I get back what I paid for it, that's basically a free ride.

That's true, if you break even. Just here, in Florida... It's turning into a play ground for the rich and not so famous. There's a number of Buells that was bought during that rebate. Have less then 50 mile on the bike, they as at MSRP or above...

~Steven

[Paul Unger]

After growing up with dirtbikes, my first streetbike was a Suzuki GSX-F600 (Katana). Not quite a GSX-R, but plenty of haul for my 60kg! And a capable touring bike as well--not constantly rowing through the gears and not feeling like my hands and feet were going numb from the vibrations. I had a '76 Honda CB-750 for a while as well. It was a classic, but had frightening brakes and a frame that flexed like a wet noodle! Sometimes classic isn't all it's cracked up to be... My latest full street ride was a Suzuki SV 650S--a v-twin sport bike. Man, what a dream. If I ever get another street bike, I'd like one of those (or a Ducati Monster). My current ride (in Solomon Islands, with about 60 km of pavement... ) is a Yamaha TT-250R. It's a dual-purpose, on road / off road bike; a dirt bike with lights, basically. Thanks for the memories. Keep the shiny side up!

Paul

[Big_D]

Currently I have a 2000 Harley Low Rider FXDL and a 1973 BSA 650 Lightning which I've had since 1979. The BSA has been in storage for 10 years now but I'll likely get it back on the road sometime next year if time permits.

In the past I've had a 1972 Harley Sportster XLCH, a mid 70's (forget the year) Triumph Bonnie 750 (god I miss that bike) and a weird little Yammie 175 2 stroke enduro that was a great little street/trail machine.

I mostly ride around the back roads in the farm country around me. I also ride in the Pocono Mountains when I can, which isn't often anymore

[killer]

@Big_D: BSA bikes are real classics. Did you ever get to ride the Rocket 3? When they came out in the late 1960s the top speed was quoted as 'unobtainable' in a motorcycle magazine. That always seemed odd when they could have worked it out using mathematics. Typical journalism?

I miss my Bonnie too. The only thing with them was that oil sprayed out wherever it could. Maybe it was designed to keep our boots waterprooofed?

Harley bikes never impressed me too much; so much raw power, but low top speed and dreadful handling on bends. People love them though. Maybe it's just me?

[RealBlackStuff]

Harley bikes never impressed me too much; so much raw power, but low top speed and dreadful handling on bends. People love them though. Maybe it's just me?

You should see the average person that rides a Harley (at least here in the Poconos)!
These machines really NEED all that power to move those massive bikers and their lady friends through the mountains.
The low top speed is probably due to it's (compared to European and Japanese machines) poor road handling AND the fact that most Harleys are used for cruisin'.
Another reason might be the silly speed limits in this country.
If they would teach people how to drive properly and keep them off the road until they are at least 18, AND build less monstrous gas guzzlers, speed limits could/should be similar to most European standards.
Back in 1977, when I had a Volkswagen Golf GTI, I could already break the speed limit here (65 MPH) while still only in second gear!

PS: I don't want to start a flaming war...

[mediasponge]

I used to ride, back in the days of my misspent youth. I gave it up for my health. In high school, I built a cute little chopper using a Parilla (Italian) frame and front fork, with a BSA 350 1cyl engine, rear wheel and rear fork. The BSA 350 was the smaller version of the 441 Victor, which was popular in the dirt before the 2 strokes took over. Before that, I had a Norton 500 twin, which was the smaller, TT version of the Atlas. At one point, the Dunstall Norton Commando was rated the fastest street motorcycle sold at around 140MPH. The fastest thing I ever rode on was a Kawasaki 3 cylinder 900cc 2-stroke. That thing didn't make your hair stand on end, it ripped it out at the roots. I didn't buy that one. Besides being death on wheels, it was built like junk. Things kept falling off of it. Maybe it was the vibration. The one that "cured" me of motorcycles was a BMW R50. It's a real classic now, but I wouldn't recommend it. The new ones are much better, but I still dispute the layout of an opposed twin in a motorcycle. A motorcycle engine flywheel is supposed to turn the same direction as the wheels, or nasty things can happen. On the BMW, if you squeeze the throttle too hard in a left turn, the precessional forces on the flywheel make it want to lift the rear wheel off the ground. It works well as a sidecar rig, but they have their own handling issues.

Motor safely

[Big_D]

Killer Yeah, I love the old British twins, Triumph, Norton, BSA and let's not forget Vincent, GREAT bikes!!! Although I've never ridden a Rocket 3 I have ridden a Triumph trident which is essentially the same bike and it was very fast. I hear you about the oil, that's why leathers are black, to hide the oil.

Now my Harley is not a traditional big cruiser, it's basically a sportster frame with a big twin engine. It's FAST and handles pretty well, almost as well as a sportster in fact but has more than enough grunt to haul me and the wife without breaking a sweat. RBS is right, in the mountains around here the massive torque of the Harleys makes for an easy day riding as opposed to the constant gear changes needed on the high horsepower bikes.

A dream vacation of mine is to go to England, rent an old Triumph, run the Isle of Man TT course and then hang out for race week. Yeah that would do it

[killer]

I know a few people who have been to the Isle of Man for TT week and have loved it. It is a fairly savage course, though. Quite a few riders get killed every year.

I've never been to the IOM but my mother guarded internees there during the second world war and she said it was beautiful.

[jhonnydeep]

I ride yamaha