My project bike is finally all finished up, thinking about picking up another one. Trying to find a zx14 on the cheap is no easy task
I'm central California, doubt my bike will sit very much this winter, well we don't really get winters here anyway
I have ridden since I was 16. After I sold my first motorcycle I used to dream it was still in the garage, ready to ride. Through the years I have had a cycle of one kind or another from Harleys to Jap bikes. Have one now but don't ride much. When younger, there was something like a feeling of freedom riding. As I get older that has less of a pull and after years of riding, the fact that healing takes much longer and accidents happen with no ability to avoid them makes riding less enthusiastic. I am not sure but it is certain personality types that like them over other. For instance, I used to hang glide until a hang gliding accident changed the direction of my life. When young you feel invincible. When old you feel your limitations. I was more of a risk taker when young. Not as much now but it is that personality difference that determines whether you like one thing or another. Nothing wrong with the difference, it is just there. I knew two brothers that never rode a motorcycle. When I asked why, one told me that they promised their mother before she died that they never would. Got to respect that kind of respect.
Wheaties - breakfast of Super Cross motor cycle champ Ryan Dungey http://www.usatoday.com/story/sport...ngey-wheaties-motorcross-supercross/78504630/ I hope everyone got a chance to watch last night's SX race from Anaheim on tv. It was quite a night.
The fun factor is worth less to me than my safety and my life with all the bad car drivers out there. I love motorcycles though. Maybe I'll find a track someday.
http://www.iomtt.com/ Unfortunately it is not shown live on USA tv or online. While this is possibly the most exciting and demanding sports event in the world, sadly it has the most fatalities of any event. Some view it as much too dangerous or violent to be seen, especially live. I have great admiration for these guys who really put it all on the line for the sport.
Well, finally did it last Saturday: I rode a Harley. Dealer had an open house, my wife was curious, so we went. She wanted to try one, the dealer invited me to ride one. I wound up on a Sportster, largely by default...most of the other people wanted to ride the big touring bikes. Well, worth a try, I suppose. It was a black 2013 with 3300 miles, and I put about 25 miles on it...it's a standard (1200 Custom, I think) model with the regular height seat, black cast wheels...had a solo seat with backrest (the "Signature" seat), a windshield, soft saddlebags, aftermarket foam grips, and Screaming Eagle slip-ons. Impressions follow... First, the single most notable feature: the noise. The racket the pipes made was absolutely obnoxious, right from idle. It was far and away the loudest of the dozen or so bikes (one 883 Super Low and ~10 big twins), most of which had aftermarket pipes. (Even the others seemed surprised how loud it was at idle, one suggesting that whoever put the pipes on it punched out the baffles.) Handling was better than I expected, though I didn't push an unfamiliar bike much. Ride wasn't anything impressive. One odd thing: a bump the front swallowed often sent a jolt through the back. (Rear travel is WAY too short.) Might have been the tires on this particular bike, but it seemed to like to follow grooves. Brakes were...not bad. I was never in danger of doing a "stoppie", but also never felt any urge to pull a Fred Flintstone. (I do not recall if it had ABS.) I'm still not happy with a single front rotor (especially on a 550+lb bike), but it seemed adequate for the weight. Power I'm honestly not sure about. Around-town was fine, but I didn't go much past 1/3 throttle, because that was about where the racket went from obnoxious to intolerable. (I honestly felt bad for anyone behind me.) Engine shook like it had Parkinson's, though it wasn't bad through the bars. Controls were lousy. Mostly: forward controls. Don't understand the appeal, don't like them at all! (The only mid-control bike available had ape hangers.) Also, the forward controls had my knee and the air cleaner trying to occupy the same real estate pretty much the whole ride. Bars were OK, though I wished for a small (~2") pullback. Wind protection was pretty good, though I suspect weather protection in rain would be nil below the waist. Heat from the engine was very noticeable; anytime I stopped, I was bathed in it. Not a problem when moving, but would be brutal in traffic!
if you ever make it out to the west coast i will let you try my bike. Forwards, and apes suck ass. If you ever get the chance, try out an fxdx, or fxdxt, hell and old fxr thats set up is bad ass too. You can ride them pretty aggressively
Harleys are not about comfort or performance. They are about image, socialization and self identity. You want cruising comfort? Get a Goldwing. You want performance? Get a rice burner. You want to dart around town reliably? Get a Honda. USED Harleys are CHEAP now. Check out Ebay. There are HUGE pluses in buying used - because generally you get all the custom stuff they did to it for next to nothing. Chrome. The all desirable forward controls (you DO want those). And much more in terms of customization. Literally, people will have often spent more on just parts for customizing than they can sell the whole bike for. A few other comments. Changing wheels is VERY expensive. So LIKE THE WHEELS on it. Forward controls will set you back hundreds of dollars. 883? Don't even think about it. 1200 Sportsters are at least a couple hundred pounds lighter and are 'sportier." Big cruisers are BIG. The $40,000 to $60,000 custom choppers are at give-away prices now, absurdly low and those people are crying. They have $50K plus just in parts, $0 for their labor, and struggle to get 10K. BUT don't even THINK about a rigid frame/hardtail. In anything but Sportsters ideally you want a "softtail." The sleekness of a rigid frame, but with rear suspension. Again, used Harleys are dirt cheap now - and dealers know it (but will instead try to tell you want a used bike cost new plus the price new of the extras. Don't fall for it. We have ALOT of Harleys (literally) and they are unique, special machines. There are 10,000 gorgeous used ones out there at near giveaway prices, so don't fall in love with the first one you see. Also, there has been LITTLE actual changes in Sportsters over they years. So explore (wiki) any model year you might be interested in - as some changes DO matter. If you're at a dealer, negotiate - hard. They'll take it and if not go to another. As for loudness? You can find people selling their stock quiet pipes all over the place. If the bike has good but loud pipes on it those could be sold for as much or more than quiet original exhaust pipes. Over 3/4rds of Harley riders opt for louder or straight pipes. We have those on ALL of ours. Why? Because they're Harleys ,that why. Hey, get with the program and live that latter-life crisis thing, the old rebel with no cause whatsoever. Go hang out at the Harley dealer on weekends. Get a tattoo and a leather vest with patches all over it. Its a buyer's market now for used Harleys. They're everywhere. Do NOT buy ANY grunge bike. There's no point anymore. You can get showroom gorgeous chromed out beauties for under $1OK if you are ok with carbs. Under $13K if you need fuel injection (newer). Less for 1200 Sportsters. Don't buy a used STOCK one. You can get one with a lot of chrome, forward controls and much for the same price (or less). Oh, the OLD Harleys - real old - the big fat boys - are ungodly slow and vibrate like crazy. Don't even THINK about an old kick-start bike. Even Harley mechanics mostly won't do it anymore.
Other comments. Sportsters are a LOT more fun to drive - because they weight 200 to 300 pounds less. They are what they are called "Sporty." They're not race bikes, but a 1200 will do around a 12 second quarter mile et, which is 2 seconds faster than a 1970 stock 426 hemi cuda will do it, which is plenty "sporty" - but a big rice burner will blow it away. They're not race bikes. Nor little cruisers. They're really sporty Harleys, fully capable of highway speeds. BUT they have NO prestige and unless you're young they are a 1 person bike - even though it can carry a passenger. If you're older and it for you and the Mrs, you want a full size Harley with a big, wide cushy seat and a back brace/pad, and even more of a comfortable seat if you're going touring. I figure you won't because you REALLY gotta love biking OR REALLY be into biker clubs to travel on a motorcycle. Sportsters do not have any prestige in Harley circles, which means that while people might pour thousands of dollars into making their Sportster looking REALLY sharp - all chromed out, custom wideboy-like tank, custom seats, pipes, forward controls, wideglide front end, custom wheels and on and on - they would get a nickle on the dollar for that stuff selling it used. IF for you for a bike just to dash around on, well selected and going a bit older for more goodies on a Sportster is the way to go. If just for you. I have an older Sportster for which the fella before me put a custom, all chrome (not covers) wideglide front end, custom wheel, custom lights etc - about $4500 just in the front end - which is what I bought the whole bike for from him - though it also has thousands of other extras. But, then, I've added thousands more - knowing if I sell it I won't get an extra dollar for all that. We bought another one, also with a lot of extras, but not AS many, maybe $3k in extras and pristine, for that $3K. Both times the bike was basically free or less than free if I value the extras. This mostly, but not entirely, applies to big Harley too. If they can get a dime for every dollar in customization, decking it out, they spent they're lucky. ANY STOCK Harley more than a couple years old even if perfect condition should be well less than 50% the new price, more around 35% to 40%. Harleys radically depreciate the instant you drive a new one out of the dealership - at least 25 to 30%. Othewise go for a full size Harley with the best seat you can find on it. Again, don't touch a grungy bike or older 100% stock bike. The average new Harley buyer average income is just under $100K and most take METICULOUS care of their bikes. Keep them PERFECT at all times. PERFECTION is the norm, not the exception. That means a PRISTINE Harley is not really a premium bike. Rather, it is the typical bike. The PRISTINE BIKE is the PERFECT BIKE with thousands of dollars in custom controls, fairing, stereo, $600 seat, and a couple thousand in chrome. Those are not rare either. Oh, one other thing. Harley, particularly big Harleys, are death traps suitable for safe usage only on the open highway and NOT in URBAN areas. If you lock up the brakes you'll wipe out. They are terrible for manuevering. A car pulls out in front of you and its over for you and worse for the passenger usually. There is a reason skulls and death are such popular a motif for Harleys. And remember, no matter how much money and attention you pay to your bike, $10K or $100K - there will always be someone with a better one. People having $50K, $60K, more in customization, motor, more, in a $20K paint job etc - none of that is rare. Saw a trike last weekend with a $25K paint job - gorgeous. Probably has $80K in the bike. He'd be lucky to get $25K if he sold it. So you want it to be clean, shiny and comfortable. That's enough. Beyond that it is only about yourself to yourself. Still put two of my bikes in a row of the 100 best around here, and they'll still turn quite a few heads. Eye candy is nice, but it ain't cheap. Yet you can shop well. My most beautiful Harley was the love of life of an old fella, no expense spared, 1 year year production model only - top of the Harley line - and there was no chrome, no extra, no perfecting, he had not done. But years took their toll - growing to feeble and too much growing dementia so his wife decided it had to go before he tries to ride it again. Absolute perfection. A show stopper. For all of $7000. What I'm saying is there is a bike out there for you. Watch Ebay. Cruise the dealers. Watch for them parked along the street. Try low ball offers. There is that perfect one just waiting for you at a price so you it'll shock you that you can not resist.
My husband didn't wear a helmet until he went under a viaduct just as a peice of metal broke off and he hit it at 75 miles per hour. Luckily it didn't hit his forehead straight on, but glanced off and he was able to pull over and gain his wits....but wore a helmet there after. Which saved his life a year later when he slid on wet roads and laid his bike down on the highway. At some point many bikers learn a lesson--and sometimes it ends deadly.
No, I really DON'T want forward controls. They are very unnatural, uncomfortable, and borderline dangerous. Yeah, both inches of travel! Not on a bet. Big change was the rubber-mount engine in 2004. Motorcycles should be legally required to run unaltered factory exhaust systems, no exceptions. The noiseboxes should be seized and destroyed. No planning to buy a Harley anytime soon.
Don't ride 2-up...my wife has her own bike! She road a big tourer and hated it: called it an ungainly, top-heavy pig with terrible handling, a lousy gearbox, and (in her words) "scary" brakes. She couldn't wait to get back on her PC. Not if you gave it to me. Don't care. A modified bike is worth, to me, low book value, less what is would cost to have a rebuilt engine and gearbox installed. Wouldn't own a Twin Cam if you gave it to me. Won't touch a modified bike under any circumstances. I'd rather have a pink Rebel. The new Sportster Roadster is pretty close...most others would require spending a bunch of money to un-butcher it. Minimum, most Sportsters (won't own any Twin Cam Harley) would need 13" rear shocks (Ironhead shocks will work), side cases, windshield, mid controls, a set of stock pipes, crash bars with highway pegs, the Signature solo seat with backrest, and a rear rack.
