Motorcycles BS Thread 2.0

All I'll say is, I went from upright to supersport as my daily commuter, and have no issues or regrets doing so as far as comfort goes.

Sounds like you'll end up with 3 bikes soon enough...

yup that's the one lol

 

Never owned a Harley but my Buell is like the bastard stepchild so I do have some first hand knowledge. That purchase lead to me working for the dealership for almost 16 years on a part time basis. During that time frame I got to ride just about every model of Harley made from 1998 up until about 2014. While they're not for me personally they're not all as horrific as some people make them out to be either.

Reliability: believe it or not most Harley models are actually pretty reliable, provided the owners keep their damned hands off them, stop listening to their friends who don't know shit either, stop buying every bike magazine printed, and stop watching all of those stupid biker build off shows and American Choppers thinking it's real. I know of several HD models with well over 100k miles without major repair, a couple with over 200k miles, and even a Sportster with over 300k miles.

Power: While very few Harleys are known for their performance and even fewer will outrun an average Japanese or European bike the torque of a V-twin provides a lot of usable real world power where the average rider can really have some fun with it.

Handling: My Buell handles nice.......

The 883 Sportster is an absolute turd. No power, horrible suspension with almost no travel, wooden brakes. Can't believe they ever pawned that bike off on the public or that the public was foolish enough to buy it. The V-Rod was a decent powertrain in an otherwise crappy design with too long of a wheelbase, short range with too small of a tank, and near zero ability to add any luggage to carry anything if you wanted to actually travel any further then the nearest bar.

 

I had a '90 Sportster for several years, inherited from dad, he bought it new. 883 with the 1200 kit. Was fast in a straight line, scared the shit out of me in corners. It had over 200k on it. Not built for long distances but did ride it across Colorado a few times.
Currently own a Dyna and absolutely love it. Most comfortable bike I have ever ridden. Owned a Heritage Softail before that and it doesn't compare. Pre EFI Harley's are easy to work on for the most part.
But they are heavy chrome laden things for sure. Riding the Versys is different, lighter, handles way better, goes more places and the seat is a vinyl covered 2x6.
I love 'em both.

 

I have ridden a few harleys. I have never been so insanely disgusted with HOW BAD fly by wire throttle was on their 2016-2017 era bikes. WOT, you let off it kept pulling for another half second before it closed the throttle. WTF. Also managed to throw a check engine light and traction control light in five minutes of riding one around long beach IMS. Brakes sucked, handling meh, but they were comfortable (rode a few different models).

Buddies dyna with a built motor and proper suspension is fun as hell and has TONS of power.

I have never thrown a leg over and had a bike "just fit perfect" as I did on a Buell XB12Scg.... It was amazing... till i rode it and the shitty power plant vibrated the hell out of you and roasted your nuts.


Harley aint my thing but they do make some neat looking bikes. And If someone offered me to ride theirs id ride, im a slut when it comes to 2 wheels.

 

ya i like the position of them personally and the look. i do like naked sport bikes but after sitting on a few some feel good while others feel awkard as all hell? like they want to be more leaned over but also want you to be upright so i get confused on its position lol

yuuup 3 bikes that are mine at least lmao

haha i figured! but i aint doing that one!

so hopefully this dont bug you but i dont get the buell... my cousin road her dads since he mainly only rode harley cruisers (those giant fat things that weight a shit ton) and man it was an ugly sport bike... it was a neat concept that they did but overall to me the bikes are just not attractive so even if i was offered one for free i wouldnt own it... id ride it since well its neater then a cruiser but own no...

so i have a lot of first hand "reliability" from family memebers that own them (btw they are all stock since im the only one that likes to mod things lol) they have been the most unreliable turds out there.. always leaking oil, always broke, something always goes wrong with them... so for me i cant agree that they are reliable since ive seen about 10 of them just not be worth a damn and always need something done to them...

hell my uncle has one that i think the color is pretty. its a 40th? anniversary cruiser thing thats a dark brown very neat color! but i dont get the bike at all.. it might be comfy but it vibrates like a mofo to the point it no longer is comfy..

id imagine so my cousin always said it handled good but for me i cant get past the look lol ill have to look on her facebook profile to find a pic of it. i know her dad still has it since it was gifted to him and he cant get rid of it legally.

ive heard that about the 883 dont know much about the vrod thou

i think this is what it was.

 

Buell comment doesn't bug. I'm not that sensitive and not everyone has good taste.

My first rides were all sport bikes and there was just something about the thought of an American sport bike that appealed to me so I bought one of the early ones. The bike in my avatar is number 600 built. Trust me it's been FAR from perfect but, it carried me to Laconia Bike Week and back twice, it's been to Sturgis, and New Orleans and now shows almost 50k miles. It had some early teething issues but when it does run properly it still puts a big grin on my face. Something about that rough around the edges, not a cookie cutter bike that I still enjoy.

Your pic is of a much newer XB series probably the 1200 Lightning. Rode them when they were first introduced and they were compact to the point of being almost tiny. Fun, if you could fit it but def not a long distance ride.

I put a fair amount of miles on V-rods and did the initial break in miles on one of our shop's demo bikes. Felt completely unlike any Harley in terms of power output. I thought it felt similar to a Ducati myself. Not as fast as a Duc but just the power pulses and the way it wanted to rev. Sucked having forward controls and a seat that felt like a giant clam was gnawing on your ass after about 15 minutes. The later Night Rod version with mid controls and inverted forks was a huge improvement.

 

haha thats good since we did loose one from a similar thing i have an acquired taste lmao

ya i think thats right? idk it was an interesting ish bike i guess?

 

All this talk, had to wash off the last 5 months of garage dust. Then a quick ride around town.

 

That Buell came out while I was still working for a dealership, well actually the 900 version of it. Harley Davidson final assembly plant is less than 20 minutes form me and they used to host a huge open house event every September and that year it was held at the York Fairgrounds. The shop owner's oldest son and I were both working during the event but both wanted to ride that new Buell so at close of the event Friday night we managed to talk the demo fleet guys into letting us just take 2 of them and since I grew up in the area I knew the good roads to try them on. It fit me okay but I'm 5'9" on a good day and Joe, the owner's son over 6'. We were given a 30 minute window of opportunity and I took us on some of the best twisty roads in the area that I knew wouldn't have excessive traffic or police in the area. Those things were a treat, lofting the front wheel with just a fast twist of the throttle, brakes that damned near threw you over the bars if you grabbed them too fast yet well-modulated that it was controllable. I was reasonably comfortable for a 30-minute ride but it was not a touring bike. Joe looked like a fitted sheet that had been folded all wrong getting on and off his.

They carried the fuel in the frame and oil in the swingarm so very compact and pretty damned light. I think if Erik Buell hadn't sold so much of his company to Harley but had found other financial backing he could have really developed some cool stuff. In case you didn't know Erik was also involved in the design of the first full suspension mountain bikes for downhill racing for Schwinn-Paramount

 

Washed the Versys, and the battery was weak, just clicks. It was plugged in alongside the Dyna all winter. Just put a new one in it and it started stronger than it did last year, so the old one was on borrowed time anyway. Bring it on summer, I'm ready!

 

Looks like a great day for a ride there!

 

Getting closer to the opportunity of being able to purchase the 2000 vfr800. He sent me a short video of it this afternoon. I am not sure he is really ready to sell but I will be here waiting patiently until he does.

 

I have owned 2 Harleys 98 sportster sport and a 2009 FatBob. They are ok but parts are not cheap. Easy to work on if you have a couple specialty tools. I installed a 106ci big bore kit with cams and head work, throttle body. It wasn’t a lot faster but it was ok. Sold it because it was between my 2012 FZ1 and the Harley. Well the Harley had to go.

 

Tried to see if I could find the listing for the one you're looking at, but found this gem instead. I don't hate the all white, but come on. Built by a NASCAR engine builder to "about 900cc".? What the actual fuck

 

I’ve never ridden a Harley. Not much interest in riding one. Maybe once if I’m offered. And def not owning one. There are much better options for a lot less cost.

 

A friend of mine was/is a Honda collector. Sold most of his machines but kept his favorites. From what I’ve gathered they filled shipping containers. And knowing Bob they were all near showroom condition.

 

I saw that one. Way too many mods.
The ad expired about a week or more ago on the one I am looking at.

 

so been looking around on marketplace and saving any cbr500r thats around 6k with less then 5k miles. and for some reason not a single one in my area minus 1! is the red version... i have 2 2017s that are orange and 3 2022s that are the grey variant but not a single one is the red one from 2022 with lower miles... so annnoying! did nobody get the dang red??

the one i do have saved thats red has been down and has 5k miles for 6500 so a bit more on price for miles and condition of the bike...

 

I saw one near me for 4500. Come up to VA!

 

Also.. my beast emerges