• Hi Guest!
    You can help ensure that British Car Forum (BCF) continues to provide a great place to engage in the British car hobby! If you find BCF a beneficial community, please consider supporting our efforts with a subscription.
    There are some perks with a member upgrade!
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Subscribers don't see this gawd-aweful banner
Tips
Tips

Adding a bike

Share this page

[ QUOTE ]
The standout in the above class is the Suzuki DL 650 V-Strom.

[/ QUOTE ]

I've looked at those, and they're on my list, but while I find the specs great, and a friend raves about his DL1000, I just find them really ugly. Not sure I can do that again (first bike was a Kawasaki KLR650, another great ugly bike).

Tony, that's a beautiful bike. I'd still like to go the old Brit bike route some day, but not sure I want to have to rely on one for long tours. There are big distances out here, and I'm not sure I want to put an old Norton through that. Maybe one cantankerous piece of old British machinery is enough for now.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Maybe one cantankerous piece of old British machinery is enough for now.

[/ QUOTE ]

Drew, I see you've met my ex wife.
Jeff
 
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/lol.gif

No, just trying to avoid hobby-ending frustration. Part of the appeal of a bike is to have something to ride when the Tunebug is up for repairs. I don't want to feel rushed when I'm working on the car, but I also don't want to miss a great riding/driving day. A reliable low-maintenance bike gives me a nice alternative.
 
Speaking of Japanese bikes. This one's probably too small for some but it will still do 80 mph if you want... I'll be selling it to help add a room and do some more fix up on my other toys. It's a 1981 Suzuki 250cc twin. It's real beaut and has only 2000 miles.
 

Attachments

  • 202316-Aug05110.jpg
    202316-Aug05110.jpg
    12 KB · Views: 85
If you do sell it, let me know. Might just be interested... shouldn't be, but ya just never know.
 
I got my learner's permit for my dad's '72 Honda CL100. Neat little bike for around town, but pretty scary on the highway. I've never seen another bike like this one though, it was modified by Suitcase Cycle (probably went out of business long ago), so it comes apart without tools and fits into a package the size of a large suitcase. My dad bought it so he could load it in the back of his airplane and have ground transportation.
 
The V-Stroms ugly?? probably /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/yesnod.gif

I'm not so much into looks nowadays, the years have rendered me more utilitarian. Thus, the V-Strom. I also like the 50 MPG the DL650 gets on regular gas.

Now, if I were looking for good looks in a bike, I'd go with the Triumph 675 Triple! Man, that's a gorgeous bike.

I agree with you about the KLR 650, maybe one of the most versatile bikes ever made. Cycle World magazine recently rated it one of the top ten best bikes for the money. Hard to beat. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cheers.gif
 
I agree on the Daytona 675--very pretty bike. Not really looking for a sport bike, though, so it's not in the running. I do miss my KLR--low cost and very functional. A friend once described as having a sort of post-Soviet style. I don't think it was actually styled at all, just built and that's what came out.

I guess right now I'm not as utilitarian as I once was, but that may change before I plunk down the cash for another bike. What I want is the looks of a Bonneville, utility of a DL650, and price of a used KLR!
 
I really enjoy my 2003 RE Bullet, but it might not be the right bike if you dislike cranky old machinery. Even though it's new, it's old in many ways. I don't get to ride it enough, so from time to time, thoughts of selling it go through my head, but then I'll go for a ride, and it's like its lease gets renewed, or something like that. It's fun in the way that only a classic bike can be. If I keep it, I'll do some retro-look stuff to it.

Someone at my office rides a Hyosung Comet. This is a sporty, but not crotch-rocket-y, bike with a 250cc V-twin, full gauges, and a good-sized fuel tank. Around here, they're rebranded Alphasports, so if you look for one, keep that in mind. The 250cc version is available here for around $2000, making it one of the biggest bangs for the biking buck. It's also available with a 650cc V-twin.
 
[ QUOTE ]
When I started the car quest, I sold my bike (a Kawasaki W650 Triumph look alike). Now that I have a smiling little Bugeye in my garage, my thoughts are turning back to motorcycles. My wife even supports this, what a wonderful women. Anyways... since LBC-ers and motorcyclists seem to overlap a bit, I was looking for some comments on my current top choices.

New Triumph Bonneville
1970s BMW airhead (/5 or /6 probably)

I'm more draw to the classic lines of a British twin (LBM?) and really like the new Triumphs. The old airheads are also nice looking, and very long lived. I'm more drawn to the Triumph--it is British after all, but the airheads are neat in their own way and have some technical advantages like larger tanks for touring, and easy maintenance. Just don't know what they'd be like to live with as an everyday bike.

Mostly just thinking summer thoughts on a gloomy Saturday.

[/ QUOTE ]

The Bonnie and the BMW R75 series are great choices. The BMW will be more reliable for long cruises so it would be my choice in that department. You can't beat shaft drive. For around town fun and style pick the Bonnie! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/iagree.gif
 
[ QUOTE ]
I really enjoy my 2003 RE Bullet, but it might not be the right bike if you dislike cranky old machinery.

[/ QUOTE ]

It's not so much that I dislike cranky old machinery (I do have a Bugeye, after all) but more that I'm trying to be realistic with my time commitments. I don't want to wind up with 2 fun vehicles sidelined with needed repairs. The Tunebug needs lots of attention now, so I'd like a bike I can pretty much just ride.

I think a lot about the rebuildability factor as well, which is something that draws me to the BMWs. They can go quite a few miles, and can be rebuilt almost infinitely. For the price of a new Bonnie, I could get a very nicely sorted airhead that would be just as reliable. Of course, the Bonnie is prettier...
 
I've had one of the new Bonnevilles for several years now, having ridden it 23,000 miles with no issues at all. Very comfortable up to about 400 or so miles a day. Fuel is in low to mid 50s, depending on wind and riding. Handling is very good whether on pavement or gravel. Photo taken on a 100 mile gravel road ride.

131012315_5e09551662_m.jpg
 
I'm kinda surprised nobody has said the "D" word yet: Ducati.

Doc's "Bike of Choice". Not that I'd be ~allowed~ anymore...

I even tried a bid for a Norton Commando: "Aww, honey... it's a NORMAL bike. Honestly. Look!"

...nope. No dice. I'm bound heart, hand and foot to her so I'll just sit and *stew*. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif

*grumble-mumble-moan-groan*
 
Way back when, Jerri convinced me to sell my Nrton - as it left the drive, I knew I'd made a mistake....took me about 10 years to find another I liked....told her I was going to Tennessee to look at a bike - brought it home & never looked back....that yellow Norton will be in my garage forever! Now, I need a Triumph to go with it...
 
That's a pretty bike, Paul. Nice to hear you've had a good run with it. For some reason I just keep coming back to that bike...

I've thought about a Ducati, but it's really not quite what I'm looking for right now. Beautiful, but a little more tempermental, expensive, and uncomfortable than I'm after. Sure are pretty, though, and boy do they move!
 
I like the looks of almost all bikes, and the technology in them too - remember the oval pistoned hondas? Awsome stuff. I'd love to have one, but my overactive morbid imagination usually gets the best of me any time I've ever considered it though. I've been told countless times by Bike owners that "it's not if, but when you lay it down" or fall or whatever... I'd love to own one, but just too skeered, I guess. I've owned small ones, and enjoyed them, and never "layed them down". Maybe one day I'll get a nice triumph like the one I didn't buy a few years ago.
 
[ QUOTE ]
I'm kinda surprised nobody has said the "D" word yet: Ducati.

[/ QUOTE ]
I thought about it. Maybe WOT. If I had the space and lower crime rate (had 6 bikes stolen), I’d get one of these.
Ducati916.jpg
 
NAH! When you're 60, those things don't fit.
 
That 916 is probably the most beautiful sporting bike ever made. No real desire to own one, but I'd sure like to ride one some day. Maybe get one and put it in the living room on display...
 
I have another suggestion. If you want something classic, and yet NOT tempermental, search out a Moto Guzzi.They have tons more charecter than BMWs, and are just as reliable. Ambassadors and Eldorados are rising in value, and are stone simple, and slightly later bikes like T3s,have great brakes, and are almost as simple.There are always a few on Ebay.
 
Back
Top