Tell me what bike to buy-I wanted something that didnt empower me to be such a dong

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Automotive Insanity > Cycle Asylum > Tell me what bike to buy-I wanted something that didnt empower me to be such a dong

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Supradog: Sep 1, 2004; A POOOST!?!??! YEEAAAAHHHH

I was just browsing used bikes and spotted this on a BMW 650.

What kinda damages is that, salt or something else?

# ¿ Mar 5, 2013 11:58

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# ¿ May 18, 2024 15:40

Supradog: Sep 1, 2004; A POOOST!?!??! YEEAAAAHHHH

1994 Honda Transalp 600v with 81000km ~50000 miles. edit: actually it's a 93, just first time registered in 94.

Bought it yesterday, my dad drove it home, about 40km in - 5-10 c/14-25 f(I love you dad), He says it seems in ok mechanical order, went through all the gear ranges and said it felt good.

Tires are old and will be replaced, front is 2003, back is 2006, thread is okay though.
Chain is okay, but rear sprocket is a little worn as will probably the front be too. will replace them both soonish.

Switch for low/high is not working, high is on all the time and needs to be replaced. Felt like a spring or so had snapped in there.

Front brakepads needs replacement, but previous owner knew about it and included those.

What the not so mechanically inclined PO didn't know was the last time the oil was changed, so that will be first order of business.
Luckily he just bought it in september 2012, so he only used it for 2 months or so.
He did toss in the Haynes manual for it, but it looks unopened, bought it as a project maybe?
He claimed he just wondered how the transalps was in use, but didn't really enjoy them, he was gonna shop for a cruiser this spring.

Supradog fucked around with this message at 13:23 on Mar 16, 2013

# ¿ Mar 16, 2013 12:56

Supradog: Sep 1, 2004; A POOOST!?!??! YEEAAAAHHHH

It's was abit more ragged when we looked more closely on it. It was missing a good 0,8 us quart of engine oil(2.95 total capacity), and the oil that was in there was pretty black. No glimmering stuff or metal shaving as we could see though. I'll run the old oil through a mesh filter or so when I do the proper oil and filter change sometime next week when temps get above freezing.

The spare brake pads was for the back brakes, not the front. I got some proper front pads and a set of chain and back+front sprockets in the mail. 90s transalps used 3 different kinds of front brake pads up over the different year models, sadly the 93 is one of the last years with single disc front brakes.

The back rim had some peeled off paint. I though it was dirt, but it was unpainted aluminium. The spokes are good and the rim seems solid though. I'll give them a good scrubbing with a wire brush to get the loose bits off then some metal sealer and a top coat with gold spray paint. Stock gold rims are pretty bling.

The back brake caliper was a little too loose for my liking, you could wiggle it about a little. Ordered some new rubber boots and will replace them when they get here.

# ¿ Mar 21, 2013 15:03

Supradog: Sep 1, 2004; A POOOST!?!??! YEEAAAAHHHH

Is it wrong of me to like this 90's collection of bad ideas?

Edit: oh poo poo, it even has BMW ABS 1.

Supradog fucked around with this message at 16:45 on Aug 23, 2013

# ¿ Aug 23, 2013 16:35

Supradog: Sep 1, 2004; A POOOST!?!??! YEEAAAAHHHH

I like those, but they only have a 10 liter gas tank? Good luck going anywhere interesting without an extra fuel tank. Having to start looking for the next gas station every 120km is not my kind of fun.

edit: huh, the DRZ-400 also is 10L? How the hell do you use those for any kind of longer travels?

Supradog fucked around with this message at 09:27 on Aug 6, 2014

# ¿ Aug 6, 2014 09:25

Supradog: Sep 1, 2004; A POOOST!?!??! YEEAAAAHHHH

I was more just halfway annoyed about it on my own behalf. You have some really nice valleys and mountain passes with awesome twisties and/or gravel here in norway, perfect for supermoto fun or dual-sports. But, some are kinda unpopulated so if you want to do fun routes a little more tank space by default had made them so much better.

They are pretty rare here too.

# ¿ Aug 6, 2014 16:06

Supradog: Sep 1, 2004; A POOOST!?!??! YEEAAAAHHHH

WildWanderer posted:

I'm thinking about buying a Greek Supermoto.

One thing to think about is how much you want to wrench on it.

Xt660x has a 10k km oil/filter interval, and 20k km valve check. Any streetized Husaberg TM or husq offroader has oil change in engine running time, as in like every 15 hours. sure you can go longer, but you'll need to watch the oil like a hawk. Thats the price of putting out high hp at from a low cc engine in a bike engineered for constant maintainance.

# ¿ May 22, 2015 09:25

Supradog: Sep 1, 2004; A POOOST!?!??! YEEAAAAHHHH

Bmw G650 Sertao or older variant Dakar(no abs afaik), Yamaha 660z tenere (no abs before 2013 I think), DL650 v-strom (normal version or new XT).

# ¿ Aug 3, 2015 14:41

Supradog: Sep 1, 2004; A POOOST!?!??! YEEAAAAHHHH

Comedy options:

Honda XLV750R

BMW R80G/S

# ¿ Aug 5, 2015 11:49

Supradog: Sep 1, 2004; A POOOST!?!??! YEEAAAAHHHH

Huh, what is this?

Cagiva Canyon 500 2001, 11 370 km, 20 000 nok,

Cheap as hell, I wonder why?

MCN posted:

Not the most reliable, even by Italian standards.

oh.

# ¿ Oct 1, 2015 08:34

Supradog: Sep 1, 2004; A POOOST!?!??! YEEAAAAHHHH

Guni posted:

Hey dudes -
Background: I am doing some research on picking up a bike, because I can only park one car at my unit (boo-hoo) and my fianc� needs to use it as of January. I am looking at a bike like the Kawasaki Z300/Ninja 300/CBR300/CBR500 (you get the idea), to pick up new. I've ridden dirt bikes since I was about 13 (and have had my motorbike licence since I was around 19) so I am not unfamiliar with riding a bike and the basics of riding on the road (don't do it very often).
Question: I basically want to know -
(a) what would be an approximate fuel average (I guess I could google this, but IMO manufacturers claims mean little)
(b) how often would one service a bike like any of the above (I'm only familiar with dirtbikes, which are a whole different ballgame) need to be serviced?
(c) How long would they run for?

TIA!

a) Find your potential model on Fuelly and take an average of the results there. Note that driving style also affects this abit. My 600cc transalp has an average on that site at 47mpg, but as I drive it, it sits at 52mpg.
b) just google "bike model" service interval. most road bikes are atleast 7500 miles for normal service, with valve adjustment or similar bigger items either at 7500/12000/20000. The more horses pr cc/#valves/#cylinders usually either shortens the service interval or makes it a lot more complicated to do yourself. If it's a new bike you'll probably want a shop to do the services anyway to keep the warranty hassle free.
c) It really depends on the model, the maturity of the engine design and proper servicing. Usually the more high strung the engine is with hp pr cc it will last shorter before it has something mayor has to be done to keep it going. With older engines/models that has been on the market for some years the "fun" failures has already been found.

# ¿ Dec 9, 2015 15:57

Supradog: Sep 1, 2004; A POOOST!?!??! YEEAAAAHHHH

I started with bang for the buck cheap gear and upgraded as I found features I wanted. I wouldn't blow a ton on cash on your first set of gear as you'll figure out what works for you.

How much ventilation?
Waterproof, and how is it waterproof, inner liner or bonded to outer shell?
Over or inside boot?
Looks? Dainese space lord, Leather daddy or around the world dentist?

I got some made to order tailored textile top bottom combo from a cheap store, -> zero ventilation, crap built in armor, hated pants inside the boots.

Cheapo summer mesh jacket + jeans with kevlar + shorty boots. -> still have this for summer gear but can only use it for like 2-3 weeks each summer.

Wanted a textile over the boot pants with some ventilation. First klim gear, klim dakar pants. love them for summer pants, but very cold with huge mesh areas. not waterproof.

Got me a matching colored RST enduro jacket, ok ventilation, not waterproof. Then lindstrands taal pants which was warm but not waterproof.

Got loving annoyed with the random rain showers last summer and general cold weather and got me a klim badlands set so I could have all the features I wanted in one set, waterproof, over the boot, with good ventilation when needed and durable.

+ uuh 2 normal riding boots, 5+ different pairs of gloves, summer adventure style helmet, many different types of wool underwear etc etc..

For me motorcycle gear is part of the hobby, I enjoy looking for new poo poo.

# ¿ Mar 14, 2016 13:10

Supradog: Sep 1, 2004; A POOOST!?!??! YEEAAAAHHHH

Who was it that had the wonderful run down of the tech generations of bikes and good models that got those features right?

# ¿ May 3, 2016 08:02

Supradog: Sep 1, 2004; A POOOST!?!??! YEEAAAAHHHH

Z3n posted:

Alright, settle in, because this is gonna be a long one.

Motorcycle Purchasing by Evolutionary Jump

So, you're looking to buy a new motorcycle. You've got some amount of experience under your belt, you're ready to take the leap and spend a decent chunk of cash on a bike. Or, you've got a motorcycle, and you like it, but you're looking for something different. Setting aside the cosmetic preferences, because those are always deeply individual, it's important to realize that motorcycles are essentially pretty simple machines, and have only had a handful of major evolutionary jumps in the last 4 decades or so. In fact, they're so simple, we can roughly divide the progress of motorcycles in to 3 groups.

The Universal Motorcycles

Starting from the beginning, you can take any motorcycle that was made roughly pre-1985 as having a welded together pile of hot garbage for suspension, frame, and engine. They might have made a reasonable amount of power, and had some scoot for the time, but they didn't handle well, they had tires that no modern bike would be caught dead with, and they can be broadly defined as "terrifying" to ride fast, as they headshake, flex, and wobble their way through the corners without significant assistance. Your UJM fits in this catagory, generally and across the board. These bikes are great if you're into tinkering, you don't care overmuch about speed, reliability, or performance, and you like a motorcycle for the experience of burning oil, learning the tricks of your carbs, getting the starting sequence just right, and a collapsing suspension waveform reminiscent of your grandparent's Caddy every time you hit a bump. These sort of bikes can be rather fun (I, after all, willingly took on a CBX project), but you'll drive yourself crazy trying to make it something it's not. At best, you can push these bikes towards the next evolutionary period, or buy ones that were on the forefront of performance, like the GSX-R1100s.

The Suspension Wars

The Suspension Wars started after Kawasaki gave up on absurd anti dive systems and folks started to understand that targeted rigidity in a motorcycle frame was a very good idea. A number of things combined to raise the bar in these years, which roughly stretch from 1990 up until the late 2000s. This was the start of real cartridge forks, which are notable for having a compliant reaction to large bumps while also being tunable to manage suspension dive at slower speeds. This period also heralded the start of real tire technology, where all of the sudden you could pitch a bike around a corner significantly faster and more aggressively than previous. The characteristics of bikes from this catagory are primarily found in 17 inch wheels, running a 3.5 inch front and at least a 4.5 inch rear. This was also where the horsepower game started to proceed a little slower, and the racing classes started to form into coherent 600 and literbike classes. The early bikes from this age are the Kawasaki ZX-6E, the Honda 929, and the big 4 literbikes and 600s starting in roughly 2000. This tech also started to trickle down to the standards and other bikes, or get robbed from the faster stuff and refitted for use on those bikes, which now had the baseline frame to handle someone throwing significantly stiffer forks and higher quality suspension at it. The humble SV650 fits in this catagory - with aggressive modding, it can take advantage of modern suspension and tires and get itself around a track very quickly. The important thing to realize about all of these bikes, though, is that they have fixed the primary issues with The Universal Motorcycle years, mainly poor suspension and an inability to handle the forces created by cornering, and created an arc of suspension and performance that drove motorcycle performance forward across the board in incredible ways. At this point, any bike from those days, properly setup, could probably do 170mph pretty sanely. Many of them would start to come close to that off the factory floor, and by the later days, would surpass that entirely.

The Electronics Wars

At this point, the big 4 manufacturers were locked in a cut and thrust on who could shave the closest to the limit with suspension and power. And then BMW dropped the bombshell that was the S1000RR, and fired the first shot in The Electronic Wars. BMW had realized that the modern problem with bikes wasn't that their suspension wasn't up to par, it was that there was no way to put that kind of power down that we were moving towards with a squishy human brain via a single analog input, and the future was providing electronic assistance to get the rider around a track faster. This also let them build a staggeringly powerful engine while also being able to keep it from acquiring the same reputation as the ZX10R as a widowmaker. With the power of electronics, it was possible to manage an engine that would have historically been unmanageable. By tuning a fly by wire setup to manage power curves, by modulating the throttle bodies independently from what the rider requested, it is possible to turn a monster of a motorcycle into a completely calm, controlled ride. Turn the electronics off, and things are gonna get legit, real fast, but if you leave everything on, you've just turned your superbike into a scooter, and frankly, a large chunk of the population is looking for superbike looks with scooter performance. The start of The Electronics Wars began with the S1000RR, and now just about everyone is on board with it, even Suzuki, the slowest of the Big 4.

Buying Smart and Cheap

So, knowing what you know now, you should realize that there are some easy cost to performance optimizations to make here. Buying any literbike supersport made in the last 8 years without electronics, for example, is a terrible idea, because you're buying endgame tech from the Suspension Wars, which was obsoleted immediately by the S1000RR. Lots of people are out there looking at 5 year old supersports, not realize they may as well just buy a 12 year old supersport for 60% of the price, because the actual performance is going to be pretty much the same. You're not going to know that you could have been doing 135 rather than 125 when you hammer the throttle on a, say, 02 CBR929RR, vs a 2012 GSX-R750. In fact, I'd bet there's no difference at all if you took a nice condition 929 with all of the suspension properly set up and placed it against a 2012 GSX-R750 with the same setup. Except that the 929 rider would be willing to throw down faster lap times because the Gixxer rider has another 5k tied up in their bike.

The best value is in finding the bikes that pushed their way through most of their evolutionary period the earliest. For the UJMs, I find that in the oddball, like the CBX, which sells itself on engine absurdity over performance. For the Suspension Wars epoch, you're looking at bikes like the SV650, the Honda 929, the early R1, the early upright sportbikes if you're into upright sporting stuff (94 Honda F2, for example - early cartridge forks). Any supersport from 2005 to around 2011 (excepting the S1000RR) is going to be functionally identical and preferences will be down to idiosyncrasies of the rider. If you're looking to spend in the range of the previous 5 years, you should be looking for the bikes that jumped on the early traction control bandwagon - the S1000RR, ZX10, R1, the 1198. There's also some oddball choices in there like the MV Agusta F4, but Italians always come with some overhead.

So what's the short list for me of bikes that hit this sweet spot?
For The Suspension Wars days:
The torquier, more upright, 4 cylinder 600s - ZX6E, Honda F2/F3/F4, CB600F, YZF600R
The upright twins: SV650, Tuono.
The Supersports: Early 636 ZX6Rs, early CBR600RRs, Honda 929/954, early R1s (pre-dual undertail), early RSV Milles, early ZX10s.
Upright large displacement bikes: ZRX, Bandit 1200, early FZ1s, CBX1100R, ZX11, ZX12.

Spending more than you spend on these bikes is definitely into the point of diminishing returns on performance per dollar spent. If you're looking to score an early contender to the electronics wars, you're looking at the following bikes (in order of personal preference).
RSV4 (TC equipped models, obviously)
R1 (2012+)
ZX10 (2011+)
S1000RR (09+)
1198 (or 1098 models with TC)

There you go. You'll note that nearly all of your bikes fit into the catagory of max spend during Suspension Wars years, which just tweaks me out from a spending money on bikes standpoint.

These are the bikes I'd be looking at:
http://seattle.craigslist.org/tac/mcy/5328010940.html
http://seattle.craigslist.org/skc/mcy/5332057824.html
http://seattle.craigslist.org/kit/mcy/5328858513.html
http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/mcy/5310380956.html
http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/mcy/5304850531.html
http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/mcy/5334645024.html

Spending 8k on something that doesn't have some form of electronics is insanity, IMO.

You could also buy a new 2012 R1 for awhile for ~9.5k. Spending 8.5k on one is crazy.

found it.

# ¿ May 3, 2016 10:57

Supradog: Sep 1, 2004; A POOOST!?!??! YEEAAAAHHHH

How many other motorbikes do you own? It's never "only a carb job". If it's your first, get something that works 100% and isn't 500 pounds wet and 3 decades old. Unless it has been restored recently, but "carb job" kinda rules that out.

You don't want to chase mystery gremlins on an old bike only made for 3 years 30 years ago only for the us market.

# ¿ Jun 13, 2016 18:09

Supradog: Sep 1, 2004; A POOOST!?!??! YEEAAAAHHHH

Get a nx 250

Short enough atleast. They seem to exist in the us, found one at a random craigslist(can you even search that nationwide?, we don't use that site over here) https://tucson.craigslist.org/mcy/5699264874.html

# ¿ Aug 17, 2016 11:58

Supradog: Sep 1, 2004; A POOOST!?!??! YEEAAAAHHHH

I'm looking at at 250--500cc dualsports to get a smaller weekend gravel traveler. I'm usually do around 600-700km - 375/450miles weekend with about 60/40 - 50/50 Gravel-sealed surface. There was some roads that eluded us this year because my transalp was a bit too big and heavy to safely get around the locked road barrier.

What I want is something that can handle my weekend riding, and not having to change oil/check valves each week. 3000+mile oil interval if possible. I ride on-road gravel, not true off road(no small tracks, It's illegal most places here to ride on anything smaller than what a tractor/car can drive on.) I'd like sub 160kg - 350LBS wet if possible. No need for a true hard luggage rack, just something that can handle soft bags. Need to have a little voltage output, but just to power gps and heated grips.
Tank range is not that important but 125 miles before getting on the reserve had been nice. I only run smaller roads so as long as it can keep 65 Mph in uphill with 95kg/210 lbs total for rider+luggage I'm happy.

I'm looking at some models:
Yamaha WR450 (too short service interval?)
Suzuki DRz400 (only avaliable for a few years here, i think 2004 is newest, hard to find unmolested by hooners, but there are some availaible)
Kawa klx250/450( Almost impossible to find, very few get road plates for them)
Honda NX 250 (a little low power, hard to find)
Husq TE610 (not sure about the mantainance interval on these)

I'm mostly looking at getting these used, and limiting me to already road plated bikes. both plating and/or buying new is a bit too rich/hassle.

What I'm wondering, is there any options I've forgot? any I should avoid?

There is alot of 180KGish 650cc bikes, but that is abit to close to my transalp in weight(200KG wet) for me to bother. klr 650, dr650 etc.
And I'm in Norway, you can usually find most eu bikes here.

# ¿ Sep 28, 2016 12:51

Supradog: Sep 1, 2004; A POOOST!?!??! YEEAAAAHHHH

Hm, nice alternatives, i'll add them to the list. The bmw looks good, except for the hilarious stock fuel tank size.

Shame the x-series bmws are reaaaally rare here, I watch the the biggest used bike list here like a hawk and they only appear like 2-3 times a year(that's for the entire country).
WR250 looks interesting, but is pretty rare(there is only 1 listing of one with plates. 750 mile drive home after a fly and ride

)
ktm 530 maintainance looks to be a bit too heavy. pr the ktm manual, 15hour on oil and valve check for hobby use.

# ¿ Sep 28, 2016 13:21

Supradog: Sep 1, 2004; A POOOST!?!??! YEEAAAAHHHH

Found a Drz400 350 miles away, found a xt350 more locally, waiting on the " I gotta move this bike right now before winter because I got no place to store it" deals.

# ¿ Oct 1, 2016 19:28

Supradog: Sep 1, 2004; A POOOST!?!??! YEEAAAAHHHH

Yup, I got the cash, got a car and trailer avaliable + storage/ fix up room. I'll use the mayybe 4 more weeks of riding before the road salt appears to ride what I already got. It does not need to be readily driveable and kitted up until like late April. Before that there's snow and ice on the more interesting roads anyway.

# ¿ Oct 1, 2016 19:43

Supradog: Sep 1, 2004; A POOOST!?!??! YEEAAAAHHHH

DRZ talk, what is the issue with the seat? Bad padding, too narrow or combo?

# ¿ Oct 3, 2016 14:22

Supradog: Sep 1, 2004; A POOOST!?!??! YEEAAAAHHHH

Or if they have a fun manufacture defect rumored to be too much magnesium in the alu blend causing some rims to react to water/roadsalt/general grime if they get it into the raw metal below the paint. (see honda transalp gold rims from 88-96)

# ¿ Oct 27, 2016 13:12

Supradog: Sep 1, 2004; A POOOST!?!??! YEEAAAAHHHH

Honda 750 v4 magna 1984ish, shafts drive version. Anyone know anything special about those? My brother is looking at a winter project and one of those appeared locally for cheap.

# ¿ Nov 5, 2016 22:55

Supradog: Sep 1, 2004; A POOOST!?!??! YEEAAAAHHHH

Yeah, we looked more into it and passed. PO apperantly had it imported as a bike for his wife but something or another made him flip it. Current owner had no service info and hadn't used it at all, and was just pricing it to sell before he moves. It had over 30k miles so it's due for a timing chain change as that was a weakness on them, new oem timing chains are not avaliable. There was at least 3 different kinds of fixes avaliable for the oiling problems, but all 3 are a good bit of work with adding outside the engine oil lines either routed from a high pressure area or a collar you put between the engine and the oil filter and drilling input holes in the upper area of the engine. Yeah, no thanks.

# ¿ Nov 7, 2016 23:20

Supradog: Sep 1, 2004; A POOOST!?!??! YEEAAAAHHHH

I had the pleasure to have 5 days on a Mash 400(also sold as Shineray kougar 400R / WK 400trail adventure) on tenerife just last month. Me and my brother both had one.

Good points:
The engine has ok torque for 400cc.
It 's a small bike so it's easy to toss around in narrow corners.

Bad
The fit and finish of the bikes was cheap / least effort.
cheap switchgear and controls. button for the indicator felt like it would break off.
cheap metal( the peg connecting the spring to the sidestand randomly broke off on my brothers bike), got booger welded on by the rental shop mechanic
On one of them and the 500cc scrambler also from mash we had in our group you sometimes had to push the gear lever 4 times to get it to go from 1st to 2nd, a reaal pain when accelerating out on a highway etc.
Fuel mapping didn't correct for when the bike got warm, it would die on idle unless you manually gave it some throttle.
Front dampers was laughable, like riding a pogo stick over 80kmh / 50 mph.
These where all 2015 models. the scrambler had 24000km on it, the adventures 2200 and 2800 km. basically almost brand new.

if I had bought one of them new I'd be so loving disappointed. i'd take a used japanese something for the same price anyday.

Supradog fucked around with this message at 22:53 on Mar 7, 2017

# ¿ Mar 7, 2017 22:50

Supradog: Sep 1, 2004; A POOOST!?!??! YEEAAAAHHHH

i looked a little closer at that bike, why would you want a 300cc mini GS china copy that weighs 415 lbs wet?
That 84 MPH top speed is in free fall, reported normal max speed is 70 blank according to the adv forums.

# ¿ Mar 8, 2017 08:59

Supradog: Sep 1, 2004; A POOOST!?!??! YEEAAAAHHHH

Nono, I get that. I mean with that weight ratio/speed it's rapidly approaching unsafe because it can't keep up with highway traffic limiting you to where you can ride safely or where you feel like you can ride safely.
It is so very nice to be able to effortlessly keep up with traffic/ accelerate away from a blind spot, overtake a distracted mobile user without halv a minute of run-up. If you don't have to worry about that you can ride safer, not having to focus on those annoyances.

# ¿ Mar 8, 2017 12:11

Supradog: Sep 1, 2004; A POOOST!?!??! YEEAAAAHHHH

going to look at/ possibly buy a new bike today

# ¿ May 2, 2017 12:32

Supradog: Sep 1, 2004; A POOOST!?!??! YEEAAAAHHHH

You can actually buy full ax1 faring sets from Ali-express(and headlamps for dual round light goodness).

Bought it. Got a nice 20 point list of things to check, but seemed solid enough. Actually owned by an old lady who used it for fishing trips locally. She was cool.

Supradog fucked around with this message at 23:31 on May 2, 2017

# ¿ May 2, 2017 23:29

Supradog: Sep 1, 2004; A POOOST!?!??! YEEAAAAHHHH

Got it back home last night, no pictures as it was dark out. I'll take pictures of it in stock form.

Engine sounded good, gears changed nicely, engine oil was at a good level and still clear, battery was a new unit.

Things to do before this weekend:
* Wash it
* Lube up the chain to see if the rings are hosed. it was pretty bone dry.
* Change fork oil, probably never done, and does wonders for old suspensions.
* 3 inches mud flap front tire, the radiator gets packed with mud with stock front mud guard.
* 5 inch stiff mud flap rear, or else you get mud all over your back
* Move over a tomtom gps holder, and order a second one.
* Drop in my old 3600 lumen cyclops H4 bulb
* Change brake fluid front
* Check / adjust travel on rear drum brake.
* Lube up the hi/lo beam switch with PTFE
* Lube throttle and clutch cables where accessible and check wear on them.
* Swap over new handle bars I didn't need for the transalp + install 1 1/2 inch risers. The stock bars are hilariusly low.
* Check coolant level/clarity (oil and filter is good, changed less than 3k km ago)
* Glue and reinforce left front fairing as it has a small crack.

Nice to have soon:
* Reindeer fur sit plate for cold days
* Mesh seat cover for warm days
* Led indicators to replace the self-smoked with black rattlecan spray some PO has done(not the old lady).
* Short windscreen (need to order from ali or similar, think a french shop had them)
* Soft baggage solution, some kinda side rack to keep bags off the exhaust.
* Grippyer metal fotpegs.
* Iridium spark plug.
* Bark busters or similar (need to clear with shorty wind-screen)
* Usb power or similar power output
* better duckfoot on the side stand, stock is horrible on softer terrain
* Double take mirrors.

Nice to have someday:
* 17" rear wheel (drop in from some 85-89 offroaders) to get more than Dunlop k460 and Bridgestone TW40 to choose from.
* Led extra light pods (those seen on CA)
* Engine crash bars ( some dude in adv forum from germany makes them)
* Fab up a metal bottom engine guard

Supradog fucked around with this message at 08:13 on May 3, 2017

# ¿ May 3, 2017 08:00

Supradog: Sep 1, 2004; A POOOST!?!??! YEEAAAAHHHH

Supradog posted:

Got it back home last night, no pictures as it was dark out. I'll take pictures of it in stock form.

Engine sounded good, gears changed nicely, engine oil was at a good level and still clear, battery was a new unit.

Things to do before this weekend:
* Wash it
* Lube up the chain to see if the rings are hosed. it was pretty bone dry.
* Change fork oil, probably never done, and does wonders for old suspensions.
* 3 inches mud flap front tire, the radiator gets packed with mud with stock front mud guard.
* 5 inch stiff mud flap rear, or else you get mud all over your back
* Move over a tomtom gps holder, and order a second one. -ordered
* Drop in my old 3600 lumen cyclops H4 bulb
* Change brake fluid front
* Check / adjust travel on rear drum brake.
* Lube up the hi/lo beam switch with PTFE
* Lube throttle and clutch cables where accessible and check wear on them.
* Swap over new handle bars I didn't need for the transalp + ~~install 1 1/2 inch risers.~~ The stock bars are hilariusly low. - saw no need to install new handle bars after raising old and angling them
* Check coolant level/clarity (oil and filter is good, changed less than 3k km ago)
* Glue and reinforce left front fairing as it has a small crack.

Nice to have soon:
* Reindeer fur sit plate for cold days
* Mesh seat cover for warm days
* Led indicators to replace the self-smoked with black rattlecan spray some PO has done(not the old lady). rear bought, front and led compatible relay ordered
* Short windscreen (need to order from ali or similar, think a french shop had them)-ordered but they're is only made to order, 4 weeks delivery time
* Soft baggage solution, some kinda side rack to keep bags off the exhaust.
* Grippyer metal fotpegs.
* Iridium spark plug.
* Bark busters or similar (need to clear with shorty wind-screen)
* Usb power or similar power output
* better duckfoot on the side stand, stock is horrible on softer terrain suitable stock found, will bribe bother to weld
* Double take mirrors. - ordered

Nice to have someday:
* 17" rear wheel (drop in from some 85-89 offroaders) to get more than Dunlop k460 and Bridgestone TW40 to choose from.
* Led extra light pods (those seen on CA)
* Engine crash bars ( some dude in adv forum from germany makes them)
* Fab up a metal bottom engine guard

A productive day.

Supradog fucked around with this message at 23:51 on May 3, 2017

# ¿ May 3, 2017 23:47

Supradog: Sep 1, 2004; A POOOST!?!??! YEEAAAAHHHH

I've had my 2004 Fz6n for about a month now. Any observations I make here is totally useless since it's my first 50hp+ street oriented bike, and my first inline-4.

For me it's been a nice upgrade from my 600cc 50hp transalp as a street bike. But any more modern street oriented bike would be miles better as a pure street bike than a 93 transalp.

The engine is smooth as hell, you only start to get any vibrations over 7k rpm with 14k red line. If you want you can stay below 6k rpm while still breaking all posted speed limits. Power delivery is predictable, and you have more rpm range to play with than you know what to do with if you're used to thumpers or v-twins. Turning radius isn't super as the tank is a little wide. Fuel ecomony is about 47 mpg. range is about 230 miles, but reserve warning is super early at 140 miles. Stock seat is okay, but aftermarket seats are better. There is a million different model specific accessories you can farkle it up with. With new fork oil and 2.5 /2.9 bar tire pressure it feels planted and solid. I've read about people saying the front suspension is a bit soft, and maybe it is, but new fork oil did wonders for me.

Reminder, this is just "new bike" butterflies talking.

# ¿ May 16, 2018 09:08

Supradog: Sep 1, 2004; A POOOST!?!??! YEEAAAAHHHH

Yamaha fz6n(2008+ for abs) , honda hornet 600 (2007+ with new frame + abs), Suzuki GSR600(2007+ with abs) all are around 200KG wet and 90-100 hp

# ¿ Jul 22, 2018 15:31

Supradog: Sep 1, 2004; A POOOST!?!??! YEEAAAAHHHH

I've noted the same thing with general low milage on those, but I think it's more a function of the type of bike they are. They're not normal first bikes of choice for touring or 2 up riding. Which means people use them for shorter trips or move on to other bikes. They're also not "special" enough to be the rare awesome second bike you keep for kicks.

# ¿ Jul 23, 2018 11:18

Supradog: Sep 1, 2004; A POOOST!?!??! YEEAAAAHHHH

Models that may fall under the travel enduro moniker that may or may not be available in your country.

Honda transalp 700
Yamaha super tenere 1200 2013+ models
Versys 650 / 1000

Super comedy option
Honda x-adventure

# ¿ Dec 15, 2018 20:47

Supradog: Sep 1, 2004; A POOOST!?!??! YEEAAAAHHHH

My dad has a 94? that I've ridden on a couple of times. Pretty vibey engine, but not box of hammers noisy as the duke 690. Pretty tall seat height. Way too heavy for any serious loose surface offroad, normal gravel is okay. If it has a one of those tall windscreens check if it's stable during actual riding. The one that some PO had set up was not solid enough vs size to withstand normal riding wind pressure, which lead to mad buffeting. Good fuel economy, not had any problems mechanically.

# ¿ Feb 3, 2019 18:51

Supradog: Sep 1, 2004; A POOOST!?!??! YEEAAAAHHHH

Yeah, no. I'll take one "soul less appliance" modern bike please.

# ¿ Mar 8, 2019 23:16

Supradog: Sep 1, 2004; A POOOST!?!??! YEEAAAAHHHH

I think you might want one of the bicycle threads. I think most are over in the YLLS subforum. https://forums.somethingawful.com/forumdisplay.php?forumid=179

# ¿ Apr 20, 2019 08:21

Supradog: Sep 1, 2004; A POOOST!?!??! YEEAAAAHHHH

Expand into use cases.
I've gone for a small gravel brappo that still can handle luggage and has normal service interval in my nx250 and my fz6n as the big street bike. So get anywhere gravel fun, and street naked. I was thinking about getting a late 90s crotch rocket but changed my mind after getting allergic to fairings and feeling that the 100ish horses from my fz6 is more than enough. I'll more likely just sit on some cash, see what gets posted as autumn sales and grab something then, maybe something silly, maybe an more modern upgrade to my 2 bike types. It really helps to have enough space for any number of bikes for winter storage. + you got the winter to farkle it up/do all the deferred maintenance the PO didn't do.

# ¿ Jun 28, 2019 08:08

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# ¿ May 18, 2024 15:40

Supradog: Sep 1, 2004; A POOOST!?!??! YEEAAAAHHHH

We, as in me, my big brother and father tried 3 mash bikes as rentals a couple of years ago. The controls felt cheap. 2 of the 3 had issues with getting into 2nd gear. one fotpeg rest snapped off. So they can't handle rental abuse at least. i think all 3 was with the 400cc engine, 2 dualsports + classic.

As in would not recommend over a Japanese manufactured bike.

# ¿ Apr 15, 2020 08:16

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Automotive Insanity > Cycle Asylum > Tell me what bike to buy-I wanted something that didnt empower me to be such a dong

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