yeah, i'm thinking i should get one. i'm in a great time in my life, and what better than to get a bad ass motorcycle. what are the most well-engineered and designed bikes these days? does anyone know if its hard to get a license?
I ride a Triumpg Tiger. It's what some call an 'adventure bike'.
Idea is you can go (almost) anywhere. It's a blast.
BMW and Suzuki make similar ones as well.
By the way - the license is easy - insurance is the real issue - new riders should expect extortion rates.
But we're talking about BIKES here! "Best engineered" almost always equates with "really boring."
Ducatis are great bikes, but they are extremely expensive to keep maintained, and aside from their amazing handling, they are known for mechanical problems that just never seem to get addressed by the manufacturer. If you want to actually ride your bike instead of constantly taking it to the bike shop for maintenance and repairs, steer clear of the Ducati line. (I'd kill for one, though....)
In my experience, I've found that Suzuki engines are pretty much bulletproof, and of course, Honda is always a safe bet for reliability.
I've only had my Tiger for 9 months, so I can't make an informed comment yet - but I've heard good things, and enjoyed it so far.
If I were buying new, I'd look hard at the Suzuki and BMW adventure bikes...
its been a good starter bike for me, no mechanical problems, twisted the frame a bit moving cross country. doesn't have the cachet of a bmw/ducati type ride, but i don't think everyone here has the bank to go high-end.
I'm curious though, i rarely see young people on road bikes (i'm 23), did the midlife crisis banker ruin the appeal?
one of the IT guys at a previous employer had a ducati...not only could he afford it, he could afford to get a new one after he almost killed himself going 90 mph down rush street and missing a turn late one night
and...he could ride it to work in the loop and park it at the loading dock for free...probably paid for itself right there
i think motorcycles as an alternative to cars and mass transit are sorely overlooked in this country. they take up way less space in parking lots and on the road, some of them (some) use less gas than even fuel-efficient cars, and maybe it would get some of those jerks on MoPac off their damn cell phones if they had to actively use both hands to keep their mode of transportation on the road
nothing in the world sounds better than a duc...well except for that british girl whispering my name.
anyway...i ride a bmw and love it...150+ mph with loaded saddle bags, great handling, and perfect (for me anyway) ergonomics.
the only real problem with ducatis is the maintenance schedule (twice most bikes) and the cost of that maintenance.
Gotta love the ducs. My gf has a 94 Monster and I am just about to pick up my own 94 monster. Sounds lame, doesn't it? The cool thing about Monsters is that you can mod the crap out of them, so our bikes will have little in common. I currently ride a 99 superhawk which may get converted to a track bike if the Monster works out well as a street bike.
Any archinecters on the DML? There are lots of architects in the California forums.
I brought mine from Ducati Austin, used it to make runs from downtown to Lockhart to sample the delicious bbq there.
Now that I'm out in Santa Monica, I currently habitate the PCH and Malibu mountains on Sundays.
As for mechanical problems? I haven't had any.(knock on wood here)..but again....I'm pretty handy with tools and able to do most of the chores myself therefore saving myself a lot of time, money, and hassle.
I just got my motorcycle license last year, but I still have no bike. When you're 5'3" and have no upper-body strength, it's hard finding a fitting bike that has a top speed of more than 40mph.
The S4 Testastretta is pretty cool, in a dirty naked bike kind of way, just not as refined as a Brutale or Speed Triple.
I don't care for the trellis swingarms or the cats on the newer S*'s. They look amateurish. An SBK SSS looks great on a monster, but it requires quite a bit of work to mount.
Aarrrgh I'm too late! My dream bike: Motoguzzi 1000SP. Now THAT makes a beautiful sound... beats the Ducatis, in my view... aaahh Alternatively, for insane fun, get a supermoto style bike. Everyone's going on about heavy road bikes, but they forget/are ignorant to the dimesions and dynamics of a dirt bike. Now stick on some slick tires and other mods, and you have a supermoto. Best of these is the KTM Duke.
I've been commuting rain/shine on a 2001 ET4 Vespa for a year and a half. It's time for an upgrade, and I've got an order in for the new Ducati Monster 695 dark, which replaces the 620 dark this spring...
I know that Ducati has had a bad rep. about it's maintenance in the past, but my own research is that the newer bikes don't suffer the same problems. The first service on the Ducati 695 is at 12,000 miles...
Beatbox...I'm certain of that, just curious if my you may have been referring to my own mis-deeds as a student...but I'm assuming you are a recent alumn?
Recent alumni? i don't think so....it's been a few years.
Btw...Marcus, Zee, and Myself all send their greetings and wish you luck on your Duck purchase. I still think you should move up a class, especially since you are going to keep the throttle up a lot on the 695.
I currently have a M800 and just put down a deposit last weekend on a S4 Testastretta from Pro Italia in Glendale.
oh...I see...Mr. Marcus and Dr. Zee are well I take it? You could be a number of people, which is a bit freaky. It's likely that I either owe you money, vommited on your shoes, or broke one of your models in school.
The S4 is way too much bike for me yet! I'll stick to a 695 for a while and work my way up...Are you going to race it?
I want another KZ 650 or 1000..had a 1978 650 one summer and rode from montana to new mexico, back to montana, and down to texas...was a blast...all side roads.
I love the old Kawasaki KZ's because you can get parts anywhere(as opposed to BSA, Moto Guzzi, Ducati, Norton) and there are about a million and one mods available for the bike...I want to cafe racer one out in the future.
Typical architects - in love with the Ducati. Believe me, I used to be one of them too... Then I wised up and got a Triumph Speed Triple... It smokes the Ducati Monster in all categories: price, performance, handling, maintenance, etc...
For the fender eliminator find a small piece of stainless and some shorty turn signals, remove the existing and custom cutand bend the stainless as needed. Two bolts later and you'll be done.
The SV is an excellent choice and with little suspension work makes a great track/racing bike. Plenty of available parts if you wad it up too.
Yeah. I'm fairly sure I'm going homegrown on the fender eliminator. I'm tempted to try vacuum forming w/ ABS and paint matching to make it look really nice. Otherwise it'll probably just be bent stainless or aluminum.
SV's suspension def. feels a little splashy for me, especially the front. Know any inexpensive upgrade options?
The speed triple is gorgeous. And have you seen the new street triple? Gorgeous bike:
I am not a suspension guru by ANY means and I don't know what kind of riding you do or plan on doing but my first advice is to set the suspenders up for you. (Get your sag set correctly.) Second, my understnding a cost effective upgrade is that if needed change front srpings to proper for your weight and fork oil with different viscocity (again depending on what is needed for you wieght and conditions) can make a huge difference.
I have promised myself the gift of suspension if I ever manage to get through the ARE's. I have an '03 Kaw Z1000 w/ almost no adjustment capability. Also I am 6'5 240 on a bike setup for little guys that are 5'9 170.
675's make me drool. A friend of mine has one and loves it.
For me though, the KTM RC8 may be my next weapon of choice if I decide to go sportbike. Otherwise I'll stick with the naked that are supercheap on insurance and can run with most superstreets.
bump...here in indy they are having a motogp race today. i didnt realize what a big deal it is...a hundred thousand people are expected to attend. thats almost as many as go to a sarah palin concert!!! tens of thousands of bikes were downtown lassnight.
vado, yes, the moto gp is a big deal! Only two of these races in the country, apparently. Thursday night they closed Broad Ripple Avenue and had stunt cycles doing tricks in the street; it was fun, and my five year old son was perhaps TOO impressed - yikes!
Here is a previous post about architect-turned-moto-gp-designer Michael Csysz.
2003 sportster xl 1200. i did a lot of things to change it up. i wanted it to look more like a triumph or cafe racer without turning it into a piece.
these harley motors are really not bad at all. i have had this bike for over a year and had no problems. it is a lot easier to work on than my old honda. you can take the carb off in seconds, and everything is accessible.
i started my ride on a PW80 when i was 8, moved (down) to a KW100 enduro, always wanted a DR350, ended up Having a BulTaco, a GT1100 (pre-ninja 3 cylinder 2-stroke woah!) and ended up ending my ride on a KLR250 , near death by a left turner. just sold the new motor and unbent frame pieces. now i just ride my E-bike and if i was to ever get a new ride it would be a Diesel so i could do as my TDI does (run 100% veggie waste oil)
motorcycles
yeah, i'm thinking i should get one. i'm in a great time in my life, and what better than to get a bad ass motorcycle. what are the most well-engineered and designed bikes these days? does anyone know if its hard to get a license?
Ducati - hands down
my wife and i are friends with a couple who are retired austin pd motorcycle cops. i think they now ride moto guzzis.
trust motorcycle cops...they should know. i think it's the drive shaft vs chain drive that they advocate. ducatis are of course incredible bikes.
in TX it is not hard to get a license. you take a 3-day weekend course, pass your written and riding tests, and there you go.
we also have a friend who rides a sweet bmw. of course here's my personal favorite:
nobody rides motorcycles? what is wrong with architects?
My boy Hunter's got an old '79 BMW. It's pretty tit mouse. I wanna get an old harley soon enough.
I ride a Triumpg Tiger. It's what some call an 'adventure bike'.
Idea is you can go (almost) anywhere. It's a blast.
BMW and Suzuki make similar ones as well.
By the way - the license is easy - insurance is the real issue - new riders should expect extortion rates.
le bossman, I guess you missed this thread. Apparently a lot of us ride motorcycles....
MOTORCYCLES!
I am planning on getting a motorcycle at some point in my life... I haven't identified that time yet though.
Ducati is nice, but only select Ducs appeal to me - monster dark for example.
I am drawn to Nortons for some reason, and Triumphs... British bikes really do it for me for some reason.
I don't really care for Japanese or American motorcycles.
The best-engineered bikes are BMW, hands down.
But we're talking about BIKES here! "Best engineered" almost always equates with "really boring."
Ducatis are great bikes, but they are extremely expensive to keep maintained, and aside from their amazing handling, they are known for mechanical problems that just never seem to get addressed by the manufacturer. If you want to actually ride your bike instead of constantly taking it to the bike shop for maintenance and repairs, steer clear of the Ducati line. (I'd kill for one, though....)
In my experience, I've found that Suzuki engines are pretty much bulletproof, and of course, Honda is always a safe bet for reliability.
I've only had my Tiger for 9 months, so I can't make an informed comment yet - but I've heard good things, and enjoyed it so far.
If I were buying new, I'd look hard at the Suzuki and BMW adventure bikes...
mine- '01 yamaha v-star 650
its been a good starter bike for me, no mechanical problems, twisted the frame a bit moving cross country. doesn't have the cachet of a bmw/ducati type ride, but i don't think everyone here has the bank to go high-end.
I'm curious though, i rarely see young people on road bikes (i'm 23), did the midlife crisis banker ruin the appeal?
and that norton is f'in gorgeous.
oh lord, yes
one of the IT guys at a previous employer had a ducati...not only could he afford it, he could afford to get a new one after he almost killed himself going 90 mph down rush street and missing a turn late one night
and...he could ride it to work in the loop and park it at the loading dock for free...probably paid for itself right there
i think motorcycles as an alternative to cars and mass transit are sorely overlooked in this country. they take up way less space in parking lots and on the road, some of them (some) use less gas than even fuel-efficient cars, and maybe it would get some of those jerks on MoPac off their damn cell phones if they had to actively use both hands to keep their mode of transportation on the road
i think i would just look amazing on a motorcycle. its like, yeah, check this out.
nothing in the world sounds better than a duc...well except for that british girl whispering my name.
anyway...i ride a bmw and love it...150+ mph with loaded saddle bags, great handling, and perfect (for me anyway) ergonomics.
the only real problem with ducatis is the maintenance schedule (twice most bikes) and the cost of that maintenance.
Gotta love the ducs. My gf has a 94 Monster and I am just about to pick up my own 94 monster. Sounds lame, doesn't it? The cool thing about Monsters is that you can mod the crap out of them, so our bikes will have little in common. I currently ride a 99 superhawk which may get converted to a track bike if the Monster works out well as a street bike.
Any archinecters on the DML? There are lots of architects in the California forums.
The Monster rules supreme......
I brought mine from Ducati Austin, used it to make runs from downtown to Lockhart to sample the delicious bbq there.
Now that I'm out in Santa Monica, I currently habitate the PCH and Malibu mountains on Sundays.
As for mechanical problems? I haven't had any.(knock on wood here)..but again....I'm pretty handy with tools and able to do most of the chores myself therefore saving myself a lot of time, money, and hassle.
Anyone like the new S4 Testastretta?
I just got my motorcycle license last year, but I still have no bike. When you're 5'3" and have no upper-body strength, it's hard finding a fitting bike that has a top speed of more than 40mph.
The S4 Testastretta is pretty cool, in a dirty naked bike kind of way, just not as refined as a Brutale or Speed Triple.
I don't care for the trellis swingarms or the cats on the newer S*'s. They look amateurish. An SBK SSS looks great on a monster, but it requires quite a bit of work to mount.
celluloid bikers
is friday's theme
Aarrrgh I'm too late! My dream bike: Motoguzzi 1000SP. Now THAT makes a beautiful sound... beats the Ducatis, in my view... aaahh Alternatively, for insane fun, get a supermoto style bike. Everyone's going on about heavy road bikes, but they forget/are ignorant to the dimesions and dynamics of a dirt bike. Now stick on some slick tires and other mods, and you have a supermoto. Best of these is the KTM Duke.
That's not me by the way...
I've been commuting rain/shine on a 2001 ET4 Vespa for a year and a half. It's time for an upgrade, and I've got an order in for the new Ducati Monster 695 dark, which replaces the 620 dark this spring...
I know that Ducati has had a bad rep. about it's maintenance in the past, but my own research is that the newer bikes don't suffer the same problems. The first service on the Ducati 695 is at 12,000 miles...
The license isn't hard, just take a safety class.
jag you wimp.
go for a S4 instead.
beatbox...I drive a pearl scooter...what do you expect?!!
much better than what you drove around lawrence hall.......
hmmm..I don't remember driving much....I was in a drunken stupor most of the time...
vespa scooter vs. GT Avalanche?
How would you know?
quite a few oregon alumni on these boards jag..........
Beatbox...I'm certain of that, just curious if my you may have been referring to my own mis-deeds as a student...but I'm assuming you are a recent alumn?
Recent alumni? i don't think so....it's been a few years.
Btw...Marcus, Zee, and Myself all send their greetings and wish you luck on your Duck purchase. I still think you should move up a class, especially since you are going to keep the throttle up a lot on the 695.
I currently have a M800 and just put down a deposit last weekend on a S4 Testastretta from Pro Italia in Glendale.
oh...I see...Mr. Marcus and Dr. Zee are well I take it? You could be a number of people, which is a bit freaky. It's likely that I either owe you money, vommited on your shoes, or broke one of your models in school.
The S4 is way too much bike for me yet! I'll stick to a 695 for a while and work my way up...Are you going to race it?
I want another KZ 650 or 1000..had a 1978 650 one summer and rode from montana to new mexico, back to montana, and down to texas...was a blast...all side roads.
I love the old Kawasaki KZ's because you can get parts anywhere(as opposed to BSA, Moto Guzzi, Ducati, Norton) and there are about a million and one mods available for the bike...I want to cafe racer one out in the future.
just joined the club:
got rid of:
and picked up:
sv650 2003.
looking at putting a leo vince titanium can on it.
might be vacuum forming myself a custom fender eliminator too...
here goes nothin'....
Typical architects - in love with the Ducati. Believe me, I used to be one of them too... Then I wised up and got a Triumph Speed Triple... It smokes the Ducati Monster in all categories: price, performance, handling, maintenance, etc...
For the fender eliminator find a small piece of stainless and some shorty turn signals, remove the existing and custom cutand bend the stainless as needed. Two bolts later and you'll be done.
The SV is an excellent choice and with little suspension work makes a great track/racing bike. Plenty of available parts if you wad it up too.
Yeah. I'm fairly sure I'm going homegrown on the fender eliminator. I'm tempted to try vacuum forming w/ ABS and paint matching to make it look really nice. Otherwise it'll probably just be bent stainless or aluminum.
SV's suspension def. feels a little splashy for me, especially the front. Know any inexpensive upgrade options?
The speed triple is gorgeous. And have you seen the new street triple? Gorgeous bike:
i want a Triumph 675 so badly its not even funny.
I got this one a year ago
Ants,
I am not a suspension guru by ANY means and I don't know what kind of riding you do or plan on doing but my first advice is to set the suspenders up for you. (Get your sag set correctly.) Second, my understnding a cost effective upgrade is that if needed change front srpings to proper for your weight and fork oil with different viscocity (again depending on what is needed for you wieght and conditions) can make a huge difference.
I have promised myself the gift of suspension if I ever manage to get through the ARE's. I have an '03 Kaw Z1000 w/ almost no adjustment capability. Also I am 6'5 240 on a bike setup for little guys that are 5'9 170.
Stay safe and ride on....
Apurimac,
675's make me drool. A friend of mine has one and loves it.
For me though, the KTM RC8 may be my next weapon of choice if I decide to go sportbike. Otherwise I'll stick with the naked that are supercheap on insurance and can run with most superstreets.
bump...here in indy they are having a motogp race today. i didnt realize what a big deal it is...a hundred thousand people are expected to attend. thats almost as many as go to a sarah palin concert!!! tens of thousands of bikes were downtown lassnight.
<<< perfect!
vado, yes, the moto gp is a big deal! Only two of these races in the country, apparently. Thursday night they closed Broad Ripple Avenue and had stunt cycles doing tricks in the street; it was fun, and my five year old son was perhaps TOO impressed - yikes!
Here is a previous post about architect-turned-moto-gp-designer Michael Csysz.
that italian rider, or as sarah p prolly prounances I-Talian, makes like 30million a year!!! get him a bike now lb and a bb gun!
here is my motorcycle:
2003 sportster xl 1200. i did a lot of things to change it up. i wanted it to look more like a triumph or cafe racer without turning it into a piece.
these harley motors are really not bad at all. i have had this bike for over a year and had no problems. it is a lot easier to work on than my old honda. you can take the carb off in seconds, and everything is accessible.
i started my ride on a PW80 when i was 8, moved (down) to a KW100 enduro, always wanted a DR350, ended up Having a BulTaco, a GT1100 (pre-ninja 3 cylinder 2-stroke woah!) and ended up ending my ride on a KLR250 , near death by a left turner. just sold the new motor and unbent frame pieces. now i just ride my E-bike and if i was to ever get a new ride it would be a Diesel so i could do as my TDI does (run 100% veggie waste oil)
Anti, E-bike or BikeE?
Electric Bike
machine X burro ?
like so:
but i have modified it, internal 14 speed rear hub, 61 tooth front chain wheel, 34 tooth motor chain wheel.
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