Motorcycles BS Thread 2.0

For $65ish....it wasn't a huge gamble. Plus, the interwebs swears that the stock pads are shit and need to be replaced with EBC's

 

haha well that works then! i gotta do oil changes on all the stuff soon...

the bolt had one before i bought it so i just let it go until now so gonna do it here soon.. why my bikes so pricey for oil lol

 

It's funny. I was just going to start a post on everyone's preferred brake pads. I want pads that WONT eat the rotors - would much prefer to replace pads more often.

My super tenere is going to need pads front n rear (I chewed through this set of rear tusk pads in like 7k miles - super tenere is hard on rear pads) and fronts are getting close.

 

I bought the ones that were meant for longer life. They had a Carbon-X version but I'd rather have longevity since I'm not really pushing the bike.

 

I've always used Galfer lines, rotors and sintered pads on my bikes with Motul RBF660 fluid.

 

On the FJR forums the consensus seems to be that OEM pads are the way to go. Work and last well enough without chewing up the rotors and prices aren't too crazy. On my 2014 I think I did rear pads at 50k give or take and fronts at 61k when I did a tire change. Thing that sucks is 4 pairs of pads on the front at $40 a set.

 

I just put in EBC HH pads. I want to see if I get more than 24k out of the rear pads this time.

 

Finally finished the valve adjustment on my Super Tenere. At 24k miles all the exhaust valves were out of spec and 2 of the intake valves were on the tighter end. While I was in there I replaced the spark plugs, air filter and coolant. Definitely a big job but it seems to run fine now. I haven't ridden it yet, but it will probably take me ~500-1000 miles to feel comfortable that it's not going to blow up because I took it all apart.





Air filter was rough:



Very crusty:



I pulled out the coolant reservoir to flush it out, and I'm glad I did because there was a lot of dirt in there as well. The entire cooling system got flushed with distilled water till it ran clear.



Anyways, bike does seem to start up easier but the next few days of riding will tell me if it's actually good to go.

 

Suggest me some bikes to test ride?

I still haven’t found a GSX S1000 or GT, and am realizing after riding another XSR900 a while back and an MT09 today that the 1000 is likely more bike than I really need.

I love the low end torque of the Indian Chief Darkhorse.

I’ve found the SV to be lacking, great bike, just not quite enough bike for me.

So somewhere between an old school SV and a brand new liter monster there has to be a Japanese bike with comfortable upright ergonomics and geared more toward low end grunt, or linear power, than high end peakiness.

I’m thinking maybe the new 800ish options, GSX8R or new wee-strom 800?

Zero Suzuki dealers near me to test ride anything. Can’t find my next bike to buy with nothing to sit on!

I haven’t ruled out the GSX S1000 GT, I just can’t find one to test ride or buy and the same will go for alternatives!

The MT09 I rode today was just a little more hooligan than I’m looking for these days and my old dual sports are feeling boring ha.

 

Is there a general vibe you're going for? Sport, sport tourer, adv, adv tourer, naked, cruiser?

From your comments of upright ergos, low end grunt, my mind goes KLR650

But really, I'd say look at the more road oriented ADV's out there.. KTM 790, weestrom 800, BMW f800gs or 900gs, Transalp or CB500X, T7, Norden 901, etc. Parallel twins that are geared towards low end tractorability. Downside to those is they're tall, but I don't know your height and if it'd be an issue or not.

 

Wee-Strom 800, Transalp, and T7 are all viable options.

I’ve read good things about Suzi’s new 776 parallel twin over Yami’s 689 goodness.

The GSX8R that is sort of a successor to the SV650 is okay lookin, man is the GSX8S butt ugly or I’d consider it ha.

Honestly going to see if an acquaintance is still selling his ‘14 CB1100 just to scratch the itch.

I’m weirdly not picky between sporty, cruiser-esque, or dual sport. I’ve had and will have them all.

-Japanese,
-Comfortable / upright

Pretty much it for needs.

-Low end power over high,
-lower seat-ish,
-Mid range power

Pretty much it for wants.

I buy it if it makes me smile and enjoy the ride, forget it’s there, and is reliable.

Have owned all kinds!

 

Dude, I'm 5'6" so I don't like super tall bikes like the T7. Totally hear you there, but everything you're describing is the Super Tenere. Yes, I am biased, but for a comfortable bike that's not about going triple digits I don't know that you'll do better.

It handles like a lighter hike, so ignore the stat sheet. Go ride one. The balance is magic.

Now, if you want better dirt manners something like the V-Strom or the Base Africa Twin would be good choices. So long as you don't mine chain maintenance and sprocket work.

 

Have never minded a chain. I got to ride an XT660 when I was in Jerusalem in 2014 or so. Now that’s a bike! What’s the seat height and how do you like it being 5’6”? I’ve had one plenty of dirt bikes and an old DR650 and I’m not opposed to one legging it on the way to work, it’s just not super ideal for a daily commuter ha I’m not as young as I used to be.

 

I'm hitting 40 soon, 5'6" with a 30-31" inseam, and fat. I am solid on the balls of my feet, so it's not unpleasant at all. Seat shape helps this.



Ignore the cat prints. Lol

I set the seat on it's low setting and with my fat it squishes a bit, too. The way Yamaha balanced it makes it so stable and easy that I can almost do no foot stops on my commute. A better/more experienced rider could probably sit feet up for ages. Get it moving at the bike loses 200lbs.

 

Two daily’s ago was 670 lbs, weight disappears on most bikes. I’ll have to throw a leg over a Tenere if I ever get the chance, kind of ruled it out because of how much I wanted to like the T700. Thanks for the insights!

 

Sure thing. @nd4spdbh is partially to blame too! He's converting all of us over to it. Lol

 

I remember many many years ago traveling through Sturgis and seeing one Super Tenere amongst all the waddlers. I walked over and said, nice to see a real bike here. He smiled pretty big and chuckled haha.

 

Finally got one good day to ride again!

 

I would not mind adding one to my garage. Biggest hurdle is I need to pay off the Tacoma first then figure out garage space. Sadly my Buell has such low resale value and I don't really want to sell the vintage Honda.