Motorcycles BS Thread 2.0

It’s only money!

PS or you could just buy a T7 that has the same sounding stock exhaust

https://youtu.be/zCulJPmG_k4

 

If it makes you feel any better I've dropped about $1k on motorcycle tools in the past few weeks

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5y0_srV7Zuw

 

the Arrow is only 550. Much more reasonable

 

The Vstrom 800 is a darn good looking bike!

 

Parking anything in SF is the equivalent of just putting a "Free" sign on your vehicle and leaving it unlocked and somehow expecting it not to be gone when you come back. I avoid that area like it's the plague that Seattle has become. Anytime I need to go down into CA, it's backroads or along 395 through Nevada away from the big Cities.

This is where I see things differently, I live out in the middle of nowhere, away from town, where everyone leaves their vehicles unlocked with the keys in their ignition, or center console. Most of the places I ride, are low crime areas let alone places where people even live.

 

Trust me, I'd love to live in an area like that. For now I'm just thankful I get to ride in a state that has legalized lane splitting and has amazing year round riding weather and spectacular roads. Being able to live away from everyone else would be the cherry on top.

 

I really like the Vstrom! It's kind of tempting, to be honest. I wish it had tubeless tires, though.

 

I’m not really opposed to the tube type tire, tubeless would be cool but that’s always something I can do later.

I kinda wish I had gotten a Vstrom for a first bike and not the KLR but on the flip side the KLR is a great beginner bike and having almost 5500 miles on it since July I would say that I probably ride more than the average “new” rider.
Mainly I want to upgrade to something more comfortable to spend all day on a Saturday on and still be able to go down fire roads and some single track type stuff. And more power would be more fun on the commute.

 

BMW 'S are a financial money pit! Parts are stupid expensive. But hey if you have a bunch of money to spend on an obsession why not. Some people think we are crazy for the money we spend on a new bike only to dump a bunch more into accessories for it.

 

I am waiting for the Transalp to come out (if it even comes to the US) before deciding on Vstrom vs Transalp vs Africa Twin. I am a Honda fanboy so I am leaning towards the Transalp.

 

90% sure it's coming to the States. The guys voice gets to me, but Honda Pro Kevin usually has good info on Honda stuff, and IIRC he said it looks good for a US release. When is the big question.

 

Honda is doing us dirty by not releasing the NT1100 in the US so I'm not holding my breath but I am still hoping it comes here.

I think the power/weight of the Trans Alp will be better than the Africa Twin. 459 lb makes it 48 lb lighter than the Vstrom 800DE as well.

 

I had a second gen (2016) KLR and it was a pretty comfortable riding bike. Took it all over Alaska without problems other than it can’t do much over 75mph and is heavy pretty heavy for the limited power it has.

As for unreliable BMWs - both of mine were flawless. One was ridden all over Alaska on a lot of dirt and the other all over the central US on pavement. If it weren’t for a BMW boxer engine I would have taken some serious leg injuries when I got hit last summer.

 

So boring! Sounds like he likes big bikes with a lot of tech. I want no tech and as light as possible.

 

My trouble with it having the proposed $10k price tag is that it's still heavily road oriented for the market, and the T7 is it's major competition. The T7 has some innovative stuff going on, but the TransAlp... well it's just a slightly larger CB500X. All the complaints from the 500X are still there for the TransAlp. Not enough suspension, weak protection for exposed belly, not huge amounts of power. Now, those aren't my complaints as I'm going to get a CB500X soon, but that's what the critical reviews site.

 

So, I reached out to a couple dealerships over the weekend that showed the CB500X in stock. Only one responded, and this is the response.



I was expecting a major gouge on the setup and document fees, and I know the freight is going to happen anywhere. Setup and doc only being $200, I'm pretty happy. This may be my bike soon.

 

And cheap

sounds like you need an Amazon bike

 

https://www.americanlifan.com/

 

Not a lot of power? 91 hp is significantly more than the T7 and even the V Strom 800DE.

The suspension may not be as good as those other two but for a primarily on road based touring bike I'd be OK with that.