first bike want an '80 yamaha 650 twin, rode it for 21 years in the rainy nw. moved to arizona in 07 and got a new fatboy, traded it in for a 12 ultra limited as I was travelling for work at the time. did a 1000 mile arizona spring tour last week before the weather turns too hot for such things
first bike want an '80 yamaha 650 twin, rode it for 21 years in the rainy nw. moved to arizona in 07 and got a new fatboy, traded it in for a 12 ultra limited as I was travelling for work at the time. did a 1000 mile arizona spring tour last week before the weather turns too hot for such things
You rode the XS650? 21 years is a long life for a Japanese murdersickle. How many miles did she have when you gave up trying to find parts? What kind of trade in did an HD dealer give for a 21 year old Japanese upright twin?
“It has been a source of great pain to me to have met with so many among [my] opponents who had not the liberality to distinguish between political and social opposition; who transferred at once to the person, the hatred they bore to his political opinions.” —Thomas Jefferson (1808)
Those triples have such a smooth cadence when balanced right.
“It has been a source of great pain to me to have met with so many among [my] opponents who had not the liberality to distinguish between political and social opposition; who transferred at once to the person, the hatred they bore to his political opinions.” —Thomas Jefferson (1808)
first bike want an '80 yamaha 650 twin, rode it for 21 years in the rainy nw. moved to arizona in 07 and got a new fatboy, traded it in for a 12 ultra limited as I was travelling for work at the time. did a 1000 mile arizona spring tour last week before the weather turns too hot for such things
You rode the XS650? 21 years is a long life for a Japanese murdersickle. How many miles did she have when you gave up trying to find parts? What kind of trade in did an HD dealer give for a 21 year old Japanese upright twin?
only had 16000 miles, was like new, riding season is quite short in western washington. divorce sale, after 25 years left with what fit in the pickup, think she got close to half of the original $2000 price tag, the guy had been looking for one for years
sometime in the early 80's I got off night shift and thought it would be a great idea to stop at the bar with the boys. well early morning turned to late afternoon when I pull into the driveway with the wife and kids playing in the yard, I was so happy I made it home apparently I forgot to put my feet down and tipped over like the dude on the tricycle on the old laugh in show. I set the bike up, kiss the wife, pat the kids on the head and go take a nap, have to work that night. I go out to go to work that night and the bike is out by the street with a for sale sign on it. I say WTF, she says if you ever do that again I will sell it. I never tipped over again
What do you guys think of a Honda cb300f for my first bike? I expect to outgrow it but I want to learn on something small and then move to the cb500f with abs.
What do you guys think of a Honda cb300f for my first bike? I expect to outgrow it but I want to learn on something small and then move to the cb500f with abs.
I like the way you think. Small is the way to go. Honda squeezes a ton of horses out of small displacement.
But buy your first bike used. That way a) you don't break your heart first time you drop it and scuff it up, and b) you don't lose a quarter of the value of the thing on the way out the dealer's driveway. A used rice burner you can enjoy for a year or two and then sell it for what you paid. Craigslist is jam packed with deals.
Myself, I'd go for a UJM (Universal Japanese Motorcycle) rather than a street fighter. Get a more relaxed upright riding position, feet under you, hands forward. That leaning forward position is better suited to dog anatomy than to human comfort. Plus, riding head first means that when a brain dead cell phoning housewife jerks her SUV out of the Starbucks driveway right into your path you get to shove that $500 helmet with all the rad graphics on it right down your throat. Don't do that. Much rather break an arm than a neck.
Enjoy.
“It has been a source of great pain to me to have met with so many among [my] opponents who had not the liberality to distinguish between political and social opposition; who transferred at once to the person, the hatred they bore to his political opinions.” —Thomas Jefferson (1808)
I plan on short freeway commutes eventually (15 mile/way), small trips, and city/rural riding. I'm 6'2" and about 225.
Webmost,
This is the standard version of the sport bike so it does have the upright position, which lines up pretty close to my mountain bike. I sat the ninja 300, cb300r, and yz1 sportbikes and I don't like the rake and riding position whatsoever.
First bike I wouldn't buy new.. I never dumped my first and had vary little riding (mostly dirt bike) experience before.. I bought it in the winter months for 2grand sold it 2 years later at start of spring for $2,200 and did nothing but service and ride.
It was an OK bike for an 800 but so much happier with 1700.. I'm only 6ft and 180 then (200 now).. 6'2 225 will work a Lil bike pretty hard in my opinion if you take it out on the highway.
I think motorcycle engine displacement is so misleading it ought to be done away with. To make a useful comparison, you'd have to combine displacement with RPMs and then factor in compression... cause, really, it's all about how much air/fuel mixture you pump thru the jugs that makes the diff, not how big the jugs are.
For example, my BMW R1200CLC name of Annie displaces 1170cc, achieves max torque at a mere 3k, max horse at 5k, compresses ten to one, and therefore only makes 61 horse. It's not built for speed. It's built to run relaxed forever. Which it excels at.
By contrast, my BMW K75 name of Ocelot, you're looking at 740cc squeezing eleven to one, max torque at 6750, max horse at 8500, makes 75 horse. There's an engine built to spin like a sumbidge. Puts that much more mixture through per minute. Lessee, 740 x 8500 x 11 = 69,190,000 for Ocelot; 1140 x 5000 x 10 = 57,000,000 for Annie. Heck, divide each of those figures by the ponies produced, you get a very comparable number, with Ocelot slightly ahead.
Or here's another comparo ---
My Indian Scout Sopowa makes a hundred horse out of a 30cc less engine than Annie, while squeezing air the same ten to one. Sopowa spins so much quicker, is why. Peak torque on Sopowa doesn't arrive until 5900 rpm. Annie turning 3k is happy as a clam doing 70 on the freeway. Try 3k, for Sopowa, you're not exactly lugging the engine, but she hasn't hit her sweet spot yet, and you can tell she's not her happiest.
Then there's what you design for. The HD twin cam 88 came out the same time as the Beemer CLC, displaced about 1500, and made a fifth less horse and a quarter less torque. Why? Cause they are designed to thump. Noise wastes power. You're shakin paint is what.
Hondas will squeeze one heck of a lot of power out of a tiny engine cause they spin fast, tune right, and run smooth. Like Ocelot... smooth as stone washed silk, invisible to the ear, and a real kick in the pants. Your CB300 there in your picture, you're making 30 horse at 8500. That's more than my KLR650 Biffy gives me with twice the displacement. Yet I've put about 50,000 happy miles on Biffy, mostly with hefty duffle on the rack. Runs the super slab happy as can be.
Just don't try to go lub dub dub dub like an old Harley tractor. Spin her up tight, is all.
Awwww, don't get me started. I can talk murdersickles all day long.
“It has been a source of great pain to me to have met with so many among [my] opponents who had not the liberality to distinguish between political and social opposition; who transferred at once to the person, the hatred they bore to his political opinions.” —Thomas Jefferson (1808)
I realize displacement between classes varies to class to class. My experience is only with 2 stoke dirt bikes, v-twin cruisers and a bit of the touring bikes..
My warrior is still to much bike for me to ride it's full potential but I do good with it just cruising and not getting carried away on the highway..
Guys I ride with usually run around 80mph on hwy. Intruder was stretched pretty tight at 80mph and wind and trucks tossed it around pretty good. If your not familiar with them they are a bit bigger then a 250 rebel with an 800 crammed in them. I've road some 650 to 750 v-twins from kawasaki, Yamaha and Honda on the highway and felt much of the wind fighting and decided no thank you.
My warrior just purrs at 80mph and rock solid in wind (110 is the fastest I've had it and hits it with ease). Plenty power to catch up if fall behind and just a much better ride in my opinion
What do you guys think of a Honda cb300f for my first bike? I expect to outgrow it but I want to learn on something small and then move to the cb500f with abs.
Depending on how much riding you plan on doing, I'd say go with the bigger bike. Neither is gonna pull your arms off, but at least with the 500 you won't be wanting something bigger within the first 500-1000 miles.
I just bought a new Triumph Bonneville and I think it's about perfect for a first bike from a power stand point. I've got almost 2000 miles on it since January and I love it. We are about the same size and the riding position is perfect for me. I test road a few bikes before and the foot peg position on the metric bikes was a little to far back for me and they seemed to pitch me forward to much. Probably more of a perception than reality, but I like the standard riding position the best.
Keep your eye on CL some good deals can be had if you are comfortable with spotting possible problems yourself. I opted for buying a new bike since I didn't know enough mechanically to spot crap when I saw it. Plus a warranty is nice. Depends on how much you wanna spend really. My brother in law just bought a new Harley Dyna for his first bike and he seems to do fine on it, but I ain't got 16K to be spending on bike.
Good luck my man I've found a new love in my 40's and now I'm plotting on how I can afford more than one.
I bought my intruder of CL and had a friend that knows bikes go with me. My warrior I bought from a used bike dealer. Large selection of bikes of most except HD. Called and talked to the owner, told him what I had and kinda what I liked. Guy right away told me he had THE bike for me. Was just a bit out of my price range and he said come on down and look around. Think he had just over 200 bikes at the time, I set on many and rode a few. It was like we was sharing same brain over the phone because the bike he told me about was by far my favorite. Gave it to me under my max and it came with a 1 yr warranty. Took it home and everyone thought it was a new bike that's how clean it was. To this day I have standing offers of $500 more then what I payed for it.
When my previous boss was in the market for a bike I referred him to that shop. Talked to him for like 10 min. and he told him he had 5 bikes that fit his and his wife's needs.. The bike they picked out acquired a fork seal leak from a previous test ride (they go over a bike again before they release it) and refused to sell it until seal was fixed. Boss told me the fluid leaked out would barely cover the tip of a pen.
Not sure I will ever buy a new bike unless he goes out of business.
That's so gorgeous that I am just about tempted to trade in my Scout.
“It has been a source of great pain to me to have met with so many among [my] opponents who had not the liberality to distinguish between political and social opposition; who transferred at once to the person, the hatred they bore to his political opinions.” —Thomas Jefferson (1808)
That's so gorgeous that I am just about tempted to trade in my Scout.
Looks a lot like the Scout. Style departure for the Chief. It wouldn't do everything I'd want, so I'll be hanging on to the RT, but it's quite appealing to say the least.
WARNING: The above post may contain thoughts or ideas known to the State of Caliphornia to cause seething rage, confusion, distemper, nausea, perspiration, sphincter release, or cranial implosion to persons who implicitly trust only one news source, or find themselves at either the left or right political extreme. Proceed at your own risk.
"If you do not read the newspapers you're uninformed. If you do read the newspapers, you're misinformed." -- Mark Twain
@Amos_Umwhat said:
It wouldn't do everything I'd want, ...
See, that's where you go wrong. You can't live with just one bike. You need a speed bike, a camping bike, a styling bike, a traveling bike...
It's like horses. You don't plow with your saddle horse and you don't race your plow horse.
“It has been a source of great pain to me to have met with so many among [my] opponents who had not the liberality to distinguish between political and social opposition; who transferred at once to the person, the hatred they bore to his political opinions.” —Thomas Jefferson (1808)
@Amos_Umwhat said:
It wouldn't do everything I'd want, ...
See, that's where you go wrong. You can't live with just one bike. You nee a speed bike, a camping bike, a styling bike, a traveling bike...
It's like horses. You don't plow with your saddle horse and you don't race your plow horse.
Lol, I get the thinking. But, won't spend the money or time for all of the above.
Meanwhile, the RT will go over 125mph, has great weather protection, supreme adjustability in the suspension, holds more luggage than my Harley Electra Glide, comfortable for girlfriend as well as myself, heated seats and handgrips, windshield adjusts on-the-fly, handles the twisties like a ballerina. Bluetooth compatible for phone etc., if I used those. So, 1st place in the overall compromise category.
But, just like I look at the BOTW thread, it's fun to fantasize.
Unfortunately, I've torn the lower end of my right biceps tendon loose from the bone, go for surgery next week, and doc says about 3 months recovery and rehabilitation after he drills through the bone and "buttons" it back down on the other side.
Sigh...it's going to be like being a teenager again with motorcycle riding only existing in my dreams until I get through this.
WARNING: The above post may contain thoughts or ideas known to the State of Caliphornia to cause seething rage, confusion, distemper, nausea, perspiration, sphincter release, or cranial implosion to persons who implicitly trust only one news source, or find themselves at either the left or right political extreme. Proceed at your own risk.
"If you do not read the newspapers you're uninformed. If you do read the newspapers, you're misinformed." -- Mark Twain
BTW, @webmost , do you still have that KLR? Wasn't that what you did the coast to coast on a couple years back? That was a cool all-around bike.
WARNING: The above post may contain thoughts or ideas known to the State of Caliphornia to cause seething rage, confusion, distemper, nausea, perspiration, sphincter release, or cranial implosion to persons who implicitly trust only one news source, or find themselves at either the left or right political extreme. Proceed at your own risk.
"If you do not read the newspapers you're uninformed. If you do read the newspapers, you're misinformed." -- Mark Twain
@Amos_Umwhat said:
BTW, @webmost , do you still have that KLR? Wasn't that what you did the coast to coast on a couple years back? That was a cool all-around bike.
Still have the KLR. That's my camping bike. But not the one I rode cross country. That's the Versys. Still have that too. Just now put a custom bucket seat on it.
“It has been a source of great pain to me to have met with so many among [my] opponents who had not the liberality to distinguish between political and social opposition; who transferred at once to the person, the hatred they bore to his political opinions.” —Thomas Jefferson (1808)
Comments
You rode the XS650? 21 years is a long life for a Japanese murdersickle. How many miles did she have when you gave up trying to find parts? What kind of trade in did an HD dealer give for a 21 year old Japanese upright twin?
I never tipped over again
But buy your first bike used. That way a) you don't break your heart first time you drop it and scuff it up, and b) you don't lose a quarter of the value of the thing on the way out the dealer's driveway. A used rice burner you can enjoy for a year or two and then sell it for what you paid. Craigslist is jam packed with deals.
Myself, I'd go for a UJM (Universal Japanese Motorcycle) rather than a street fighter. Get a more relaxed upright riding position, feet under you, hands forward. That leaning forward position is better suited to dog anatomy than to human comfort. Plus, riding head first means that when a brain dead cell phoning housewife jerks her SUV out of the Starbucks driveway right into your path you get to shove that $500 helmet with all the rad graphics on it right down your throat. Don't do that. Much rather break an arm than a neck.
Enjoy.
I plan on short freeway commutes eventually (15 mile/way), small trips, and city/rural riding. I'm 6'2" and about 225.
Webmost,
This is the standard version of the sport bike so it does have the upright position, which lines up pretty close to my mountain bike. I sat the ninja 300, cb300r, and yz1 sportbikes and I don't like the rake and riding position whatsoever.
Thanks for the help guys.
It was an OK bike for an 800 but so much happier with 1700.. I'm only 6ft and 180 then (200 now).. 6'2 225 will work a Lil bike pretty hard in my opinion if you take it out on the highway.
I think motorcycle engine displacement is so misleading it ought to be done away with. To make a useful comparison, you'd have to combine displacement with RPMs and then factor in compression... cause, really, it's all about how much air/fuel mixture you pump thru the jugs that makes the diff, not how big the jugs are.
For example, my BMW R1200CLC name of Annie displaces 1170cc, achieves max torque at a mere 3k, max horse at 5k, compresses ten to one, and therefore only makes 61 horse. It's not built for speed. It's built to run relaxed forever. Which it excels at.
By contrast, my BMW K75 name of Ocelot, you're looking at 740cc squeezing eleven to one, max torque at 6750, max horse at 8500, makes 75 horse. There's an engine built to spin like a sumbidge. Puts that much more mixture through per minute. Lessee, 740 x 8500 x 11 = 69,190,000 for Ocelot; 1140 x 5000 x 10 = 57,000,000 for Annie. Heck, divide each of those figures by the ponies produced, you get a very comparable number, with Ocelot slightly ahead.
Or here's another comparo ---
My Indian Scout Sopowa makes a hundred horse out of a 30cc less engine than Annie, while squeezing air the same ten to one. Sopowa spins so much quicker, is why. Peak torque on Sopowa doesn't arrive until 5900 rpm. Annie turning 3k is happy as a clam doing 70 on the freeway. Try 3k, for Sopowa, you're not exactly lugging the engine, but she hasn't hit her sweet spot yet, and you can tell she's not her happiest.
Then there's what you design for. The HD twin cam 88 came out the same time as the Beemer CLC, displaced about 1500, and made a fifth less horse and a quarter less torque. Why? Cause they are designed to thump. Noise wastes power. You're shakin paint is what.
Hondas will squeeze one heck of a lot of power out of a tiny engine cause they spin fast, tune right, and run smooth. Like Ocelot... smooth as stone washed silk, invisible to the ear, and a real kick in the pants. Your CB300 there in your picture, you're making 30 horse at 8500. That's more than my KLR650 Biffy gives me with twice the displacement. Yet I've put about 50,000 happy miles on Biffy, mostly with hefty duffle on the rack. Runs the super slab happy as can be.
Just don't try to go lub dub dub dub like an old Harley tractor. Spin her up tight, is all.
Awwww, don't get me started. I can talk murdersickles all day long.
I realize displacement between classes varies to class to class. My experience is only with 2 stoke dirt bikes, v-twin cruisers and a bit of the touring bikes..
My warrior is still to much bike for me to ride it's full potential but I do good with it just cruising and not getting carried away on the highway..
Guys I ride with usually run around 80mph on hwy. Intruder was stretched pretty tight at 80mph and wind and trucks tossed it around pretty good. If your not familiar with them they are a bit bigger then a 250 rebel with an 800 crammed in them. I've road some 650 to 750 v-twins from kawasaki, Yamaha and Honda on the highway and felt much of the wind fighting and decided no thank you.
My warrior just purrs at 80mph and rock solid in wind (110 is the fastest I've had it and hits it with ease). Plenty power to catch up if fall behind and just a much better ride in my opinion
I just bought a new Triumph Bonneville and I think it's about perfect for a first bike from a power stand point. I've got almost 2000 miles on it since January and I love it. We are about the same size and the riding position is perfect for me. I test road a few bikes before and the foot peg position on the metric bikes was a little to far back for me and they seemed to pitch me forward to much. Probably more of a perception than reality, but I like the standard riding position the best.
Keep your eye on CL some good deals can be had if you are comfortable with spotting possible problems yourself. I opted for buying a new bike since I didn't know enough mechanically to spot crap when I saw it. Plus a warranty is nice. Depends on how much you wanna spend really. My brother in law just bought a new Harley Dyna for his first bike and he seems to do fine on it, but I ain't got 16K to be spending on bike.
Good luck my man I've found a new love in my 40's and now I'm plotting on how I can afford more than one.
My warrior I bought from a used bike dealer. Large selection of bikes of most except HD. Called and talked to the owner, told him what I had and kinda what I liked. Guy right away told me he had THE bike for me. Was just a bit out of my price range and he said come on down and look around. Think he had just over 200 bikes at the time, I set on many and rode a few. It was like we was sharing same brain over the phone because the bike he told me about was by far my favorite. Gave it to me under my max and it came with a 1 yr warranty. Took it home and everyone thought it was a new bike that's how clean it was. To this day I have standing offers of $500 more then what I payed for it.
When my previous boss was in the market for a bike I referred him to that shop. Talked to him for like 10 min. and he told him he had 5 bikes that fit his and his wife's needs.. The bike they picked out acquired a fork seal leak from a previous test ride (they go over a bike again before they release it) and refused to sell it until seal was fixed. Boss told me the fluid leaked out would barely cover the tip of a pen.
Not sure I will ever buy a new bike unless he goes out of business.
The 2022 Chief. Sexy...
That's so gorgeous that I am just about tempted to trade in my Scout.
Looks a lot like the Scout. Style departure for the Chief. It wouldn't do everything I'd want, so I'll be hanging on to the RT, but it's quite appealing to say the least.
"If you do not read the newspapers you're uninformed. If you do read the newspapers, you're misinformed." -- Mark Twain
See, that's where you go wrong. You can't live with just one bike. You need a speed bike, a camping bike, a styling bike, a traveling bike...
It's like horses. You don't plow with your saddle horse and you don't race your plow horse.
Lol, I get the thinking. But, won't spend the money or time for all of the above.
Meanwhile, the RT will go over 125mph, has great weather protection, supreme adjustability in the suspension, holds more luggage than my Harley Electra Glide, comfortable for girlfriend as well as myself, heated seats and handgrips, windshield adjusts on-the-fly, handles the twisties like a ballerina. Bluetooth compatible for phone etc., if I used those. So, 1st place in the overall compromise category.
But, just like I look at the BOTW thread, it's fun to fantasize.
Unfortunately, I've torn the lower end of my right biceps tendon loose from the bone, go for surgery next week, and doc says about 3 months recovery and rehabilitation after he drills through the bone and "buttons" it back down on the other side.
Sigh...it's going to be like being a teenager again with motorcycle riding only existing in my dreams until I get through this.
"If you do not read the newspapers you're uninformed. If you do read the newspapers, you're misinformed." -- Mark Twain
Dang that sux....good luck! Prayers sent for the medical team and you.
BTW, @webmost , do you still have that KLR? Wasn't that what you did the coast to coast on a couple years back? That was a cool all-around bike.
"If you do not read the newspapers you're uninformed. If you do read the newspapers, you're misinformed." -- Mark Twain
Still have the KLR. That's my camping bike. But not the one I rode cross country. That's the Versys. Still have that too. Just now put a custom bucket seat on it.