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So my new job means that I'll have to commute ~45 mins on a highway at 110km/h. Problem is that as much as I love my cb650f, last time I went on a long ride my neck felt like it broke. Is it worth getting a flyscreen, or will that do nothing? Alternatively, I was thinking of selling my car (partner has a nicer one) and upgrading. Bikes I was thinking of trying include the vfr800, ninja 1000, gsx-s 1000f, mt-09 tracer. I need something big-ish (I'm 6'4) and ideally something with a decent pillion seat for the girlfriend. Is there anything obvious that I'm forgetting? Ideally I'd like something that I can at least have fun with on the track or in the twisties.
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Jun 5, 2016 09:24
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Get a litrebike. I do a commute roughly the same on my ZX10R and it's fine. I'm 6'3. As for the neck thing, you'll get used to it. Probably hurt because you were tensing so much, just relax and it doesn't hurt your neck.
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Jun 5, 2016 09:34
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Renaissance Robot posted:Speaking of power, is there anything new in the 80-100hp range? The only things I can see that make that are 600cc i4s from the 80s and 90s (although some were still in production until just a couple of years ago). Bandit 1250 Pr0phecy posted:So I've had my CB500F for a while now and no matter how hard I push it, it doesn't bring out any emotion in me anymore. Bandit 1250
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Jun 5, 2016 11:30
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KARMA! posted:Bandit 1250 I recently bought one and its great. Be aware that its quite heavy to paddle around the driveway, but yeah at all other times its great. Comfortable, fast, good fuel economy so I can actually commute without having to stop at every petrol station. It does sound boring though, when you can hear it at all, and its not quite as able to lane split as some smaller bikes (though you can get away with quite a lot more than you think).
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Jun 5, 2016 11:58
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Barnsy posted:Bikes I was thinking of trying include the vfr800, List done
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Jun 5, 2016 12:39
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ZRX. It's like a Bandit, but fun.
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Jun 5, 2016 19:27
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I'm still fixing to get a TW200 as soon as I move to Austin next week; after years in DC and abroad I have no desire to get a car, I'll just crowdsource that poo poo. On a different tack, my 65yr old father has a 50/50 chance of moving to Austin next year, and is really keen to get some tricycle moto (old dude has to mind his balance and broken bones). If he's a mellow old guy of 5'10" and kinda stocky but not huge fat, what are his main options? I work in green energy so if it's at all possible to get him on an e-bike I'd prefer that (can any Zero offering be converted?) but otherwise should he look at a Can-Am Spyder, or some converted Jap cruiser, or what?
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Jun 5, 2016 20:28
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I'm starting to seriously consider the idea of doing a fly-and-ride, except that the drat bike is in "Lamar," PA. Some dude on the Aprilia forums is selling a V-Twin Tuono Factory for pretty cheap, and it looks like an amazing bike but that it's maybe an hour or so east of Pittsburgh. I don't think I want to ride for 9 hours straight back to Chicago, but I also don't want to drive for 18 hours round trip. Maybe I could rent a minivan one-way in Pitts, or... get someone to bring it back for me. It seems like a huge PITA, but I really like that bike.
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Jun 5, 2016 20:35
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captainOrbital posted:I'm starting to seriously consider the idea of doing a fly-and-ride, except that the drat bike is in "Lamar," PA. Some dude on the Aprilia forums is selling a V-Twin Tuono Factory for pretty cheap, and it looks like an amazing bike but that it's maybe an hour or so east of Pittsburgh. I don't think I want to ride for 9 hours straight back to Chicago, but I also don't want to drive for 18 hours round trip. Maybe I could rent a minivan one-way in Pitts, or... get someone to bring it back for me. Minivan from a a normal rental place might not be the best if you have to take a row of seats out. Plus if you gently caress up the interior bad you could be on the hook for cleanup. Sometimes Enterprise has pickup trucks for rent which would be good, or for probably not much more, you could probably get a one way Uhaul van and not worry about kicking the poo poo out of the inside.
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Jun 5, 2016 22:48
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captainOrbital posted:I'm starting to seriously consider the idea of doing a fly-and-ride, except that the drat bike is in "Lamar," PA. Some dude on the Aprilia forums is selling a V-Twin Tuono Factory for pretty cheap, and it looks like an amazing bike but that it's maybe an hour or so east of Pittsburgh. I don't think I want to ride for 9 hours straight back to Chicago, but I also don't want to drive for 18 hours round trip. Maybe I could rent a minivan one-way in Pitts, or... get someone to bring it back for me. Lamar is almost three hours east of Pittsburgh, more than with traffic depending on the time of day.
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Jun 5, 2016 23:17
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Z3n posted:Go for the FZ-09. Or buy a Street Triple. He said a torque monster, not a misfiring I4.
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Jun 5, 2016 23:23
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Meetin' the dude tomorrow to pick this up. http://kpr.craigslist.org/mcy/5620711568.html
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Jun 6, 2016 00:49
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N is for Nipples posted:I'm thinking about getting an FZ-07. What are the lovely things about this bike? Tiny gas tank (14 litres/3.7 US gallons) so the range isn't great Sounds like a sewing machine unless you put an aftermarket exhaust on it No ABS if you're in North America Really, really soft suspension That said, it's under 400lbs ready to ride, the engine is truly great and I really really miss mine.
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Jun 6, 2016 02:36
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PCOS Bill posted:Lamar is almost three hours east of Pittsburgh, more than with traffic depending on the time of day. drat that's even worse. I guess I'll have to stick the the midwest.
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Jun 6, 2016 03:05
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Some people had FZ/MT-07 questions. I am a new MT-07 owner so maybe I can answer a few questions about it. I have the euro model with ABS and I would never buy a modern bike without ABS, so maybe the FZ-07 is a no-go for you yanks. The exhaust is of course very quiet and tinny but I'm putting an Akrapovic on it. There are cheaper exhaust alternatives but I'd rather not worry about fuel maps and power commanders. Except for the passenger footpegs and the fender stalk there is nowhere to tie down luggage. That's fixable with aftermarket luggage racks but that requires cutting the plastics. I might make some sort of removable luggage rack. People complain about the suspension but either I'm the same weight as the average japanese rider (64 kg), not pushing the bike hard enough, or just not experienced enough to tell bad suspension from good suspension. I think it handles better than my old FZ-6 and I never pushed that thing to it's limits. The bike has it's advantages also, that's why I bought it. The engine. It's nice coming from an i4 to be able to accelerate quickly without having to drop gears all the time. The torque comes on very early and being in the exact correct gear all the time is not that big of a deal. The weight. Very maneuverable and non-scary when zipping through traffic or doing low-speed stuff. I dropped my old bike a couple of times but I imagine I'd be able to keep this one upright more easily if I ever lost balance. The riding position. This is is different for other people but for me it's perfect. I can sit pretty upright in town and just slide back on the seat as the speed picks up. There is some slack in the control cables so taller/wider handlebars or risers seems to be an option for us with short arms. The fuel efficiency. The tank is considerably smaller than on my FZ-6 but the range is about the same. On average it has consumed 4.4 liters /100km which is about 53mpg since I got it. While cruising it consumes as little as 3.1 liters /100km (76 mpg). That's about the same as my DR350 with less than half the power. I would agree that most P-twins sound very boring (I'm looking at you Ninja 650) but the whole 270 degree crossplane stuff really makes a difference. With a nice exhaust it sounds more italian. Economy. The bike is pretty cheap to buy and the insurance is very inexpensive. I chose the 07 over the 09 mainly because of the insurance rates. The 09 is close to three times more to insure with full coverage. I found it difficult to find a used 07 though, had to buy a brand new one which eats a bit of the savings.
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Jun 6, 2016 08:55
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makka-setan posted:
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Jun 6, 2016 13:59
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Nitrox posted:That depends on torque output and gearing, nothing to do with number of cylinders. My i4 makes 60 lbs of torque at 2200 RPM, I can take off from dead stop in 3rd gear. What did you have before? I had a Yamaha FZ-6, 600cc i4. It's roughly the same size and power but the engine configuration makes it feel very different.
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Jun 6, 2016 14:17
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Got my VFR800 running yesterday. Still needs a few little maintenance items, like a new chain and fresh shoes. (okay it doesn't NEEEEEED them, but it should get them) It got me thinking though... This bike is not yellow. That is a problem. I have 2 red VFR's, but 0 yellow ones. Find me a yellow one. 5th gen. This is the closest thing I've found so far https://cnj.craigslist.org/mpo/5560517043.html  edit actually this: http://cnj.craigslist.org/mcy/5583661118.html  If anyone is in the bay area though... http://sfbay.craigslist.org/nby/mcy/5620811839.html GnarlyCharlie4u fucked around with this message at 20:37 on Jun 6, 2016 |
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Jun 6, 2016 14:28
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Post-Africa to Austin TW200 search Arriving in Austin maybe the 18th or so of this month, want to get a bike almost immediately. Been watching CL for TW200s for a couple months to gauge the field, here's what they have this week: - 1989 TW, 2k miles, $1650. Same owner for 20 years, tons of decent-quality accessories and upgrades, "price is firm". Has been up for sale on CL for like two months now. Kinda concerned about the age but he seems an involved owner and claims to be the owner for the last 20+ years. http://austin.craigslist.org/mcy/5623809717.html EDIT: fixed link - 1998 TW, 3k miles, $1896. "Needs carb clean and tune-up" but in running shape, clean title, stored indoors. http://austin.craigslist.org/mcy/5619570004.html - 2013 TW, mileage not given, $2400 "title status: lien", luggage rack added but not much other info. http://sanantonio.craigslist.org/mcy/5584637200.html Any strong thoughts on these options? Is the '89 just too old to look at or if the condition is good should I jump on the low price and all the extras? I might only be keeping this bike for a year or two since I plan to upgrade to an electric in a few years once more options are on the market, I mostly just need a beater as an around-town runaround for this year until I go back to Africa and put it in my garage for half a year or so. TapTheForwardAssist fucked around with this message at 13:55 on Jun 8, 2016 |
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Jun 6, 2016 18:36
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makka-setan posted:Some people had FZ/MT-07 questions. I am a new MT-07 owner so maybe I can answer a few questions about it. All good stuff here. You can get away with the Yoshimura R-77 full system without remapping, too  As for luggage, I had an Oxford cargo net with 6 hooks - 2 hooks would go into the passenger peg mounts, the middle 2 would get hooked together under the seat, and the last 2 hooks would get hooked into the slots where the licence plate bolts go. I guess this only works if you have small licence plates like we do here, though.
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Jun 6, 2016 19:35
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Get a tune, the difference is night and day. Twins feel like dog-loving-poo poo if you stuff an exhaust on it without a tune. i4s you can get away with... but still a huge difference.
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Jun 6, 2016 19:45
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Can confirm a full factory race exhaust + tune makes v-twins fun.
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Jun 7, 2016 00:13
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BlackMK4 posted:Get a tune, the difference is night and day. Sorry for hijacking but this stuff confuses me to no end. People make all sorts of subjective claims to how their bikes run better with after market exhausts with or without baffles and with or without fuel controllers. And other people claim even the slightest modification of any component on the bike will cause it to run like a bag of hammers without a professional re-tune on a dyno. But what is the real world difference? A couple of hp on a dyno chart? Imminent implosion of the valve train? There is a lot of voodoo, placebo and confirmation bias going around and I just don't know anymore. I just want a bike that sounds nice and runs fine.
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Jun 7, 2016 00:21
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Throwing an aftermarket exhaust on your bike (specifically a full kit, not just swapping the muffler) alters the air/fuel ratio of the engine because the sensors get different readouts (on an EFI bike, anywho). If you go from a standard exhaust kit with a Cat to an open and/or larger pipe, you need to retune the engines fueling or your bike will start to run like poo poo, and at worst case you run the risk of damaging the vehicle. Removing the baffle in your muffler will mostly just make poo poo louder and has little effect on the performance of the engine. E: Toss in the fact that most bikes (and cars for that matter) are sold with sub-optimal fueling configurations to meet emissions standards, it never hurts to have your bike retuned if you make significant changes to the exhaust or intake systems. E2: vvvv Mid-Range lugging on the engine is pretty much a direct result of EFI systems being tuned to meet emissions standards in the RPM ranges they're tested in. If its got an aftermarket exhaust system and was never adjusted, it'll be just as bad if not worse. Digital_Jesus fucked around with this message at 00:35 on Jun 7, 2016 |
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Jun 7, 2016 00:26
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I'm curious if my tuono has any kind of map. Came with arrow pipes and seems like it runs pretty well but kind of lugs between 2-5k, especially on the highway in 6th, but it's never been that big of a deal. Once I hit 12k I'll do the valves, set up the suspension and whatever else needs to happen before I take it to the track. (All the stuff mk4 mentioned earlier basically).
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Jun 7, 2016 00:29
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Could a lot of it be that modern efi bikes are tuned to run very lean at part-throttle applications for emissions purposes and this is what the tunes address?
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Jun 7, 2016 00:37
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In my case I chose the Akra titanium system for the MT-07 since it's supposedly tuned to fit the bike, negating the need to tune the bike to fit the exhaust. It's even sold as a genuine Yamaha accessory. I put slipon mufflers on my FZ6 and I didn't notice any performance changes at all. And my carbed DR350 came with a slipon that I swapped back to stock without any noticeable difference in power. But in a general sense, how would one tell if a fuel controller is needed or not?
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Jun 7, 2016 00:48
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makka-setan posted:Sorry for hijacking but this stuff confuses me to no end. People make all sorts of subjective claims to how their bikes run better with after market exhausts with or without baffles and with or without fuel controllers. And other people claim even the slightest modification of any component on the bike will cause it to run like a bag of hammers without a professional re-tune on a dyno. But what is the real world difference? A couple of hp on a dyno chart? Imminent implosion of the valve train? A few hp across the curve but a big difference in the way the bike reacts to: Lugging at lower RPM (untuned can 'chug') Smoothness of roll-on (untuned can have a bike hole where the bike doesn't really know what to do when you roll on power) Smoothness of power delivery (untuned can have flat spots where the power build comes in and out) Coredump posted:Could a lot of it be that modern efi bikes are tuned to run very lean at part-throttle applications for emissions purposes and this is what the tunes address? That is part of it. They also tend to run lean right in the cruise area which is why some bikes surge at steady highway speed. Some bikes are worse than others, twins don't react well. Ducatis feel like poo poo with open pipes and stock maps. Voltage posted:I'm curious if my tuono has any kind of map. Came with arrow pipes and seems like it runs pretty well but kind of lugs between 2-5k, especially on the highway in 6th, but it's never been that big of a deal. Once I hit 12k I'll do the valves, set up the suspension and whatever else needs to happen before I take it to the track. (All the stuff mk4 mentioned earlier basically). Send yo ECU to AF1 for the Map 2 + o2 disable. https://www.af1racing.com/store/Scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=38285 BlackMK4 fucked around with this message at 01:42 on Jun 7, 2016 |
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Jun 7, 2016 01:37
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Coredump posted:Could a lot of it be that modern efi bikes are tuned to run very lean at part-throttle applications for emissions purposes and this is what the tunes address? Yeah. Funny part is this means you can get the performance increase of the tune, without getting any of the exhaust hardware. It also means you're cheating on emissions like a V-dub engineer! Not that it matters massively, a 55+ MPG bike with a cat is not much of a polluter.
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Jun 7, 2016 09:25
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So, since my CB500X is no longer (see other thread) and I'm in need of a new one, I've been looking seriously at two bikes (selling my house soon I hope, so I'll have the cash, I hope). - Africa Twin. Like an upgrade from my 500, I love the bike, but it's soooooo expensive. - The new Bonneville Street Twin, which I love, but I'm not certain about a water cooled Bonnie and I want to make sure it will hold up doing some dirt work every day. Thoughts?
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Jun 7, 2016 20:47
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Can you wait a bit? FJ-07 is going to come out in the States, hopefully, and it seems like a CB500X with almost twice the HP for only a little bit more money. Other options in the realm are Versys, which I thought felt big compared to the CB500X, or the FJ-09 which I thought felt HUGE compared to the CB500X.
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Jun 7, 2016 21:07
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I never really liked the Versys, I don't know, just didn't feel right. I'll check out this FJ-07 if it gets here quick enough. I do wonder about that Triumph, though...
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Jun 7, 2016 21:32
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Something in my gut tells me all the dirt cred on the bonnie is marketing bullshit. Like I'm sure you could take it up a broad dirt path or Steve McQueen it around some open hills if you avoided any ditches/rocks/roots/real obstacles, but that's true of basically any non fat bike that's got reasonable power and moderate ground clearance. e/ it's possible I'm being unfairly cynical because I dislike Triumph's apparent over reliance on nostalgia to shift units. Shrug. If earth roads are all you're doing, by all means give it a look. e2/ vv, fair enough, ignore me! Renaissance Robot fucked around with this message at 22:19 on Jun 7, 2016 |
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Jun 7, 2016 22:02
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Any standard with dirt tires will be as well-suited to dirt as a bike can be without actually being a dirt bike. Scramblers were an early attempt at making a dual-sport, not a dirt bike, and they had the minimal modifications required to do so (tires, geared down, fork gaiters, high pipes). A modern scrambler doesn't deviate from that pattern.
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Jun 7, 2016 22:14
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What I like about the Triumph is what I liked about my CB500X - low seat height (I'm short), easy to get a skid plate (important), able to keep up in traffic, but able stand up on the pegs while I skitter around washboard. Also it's cheap. I like cheap a whole lot.
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Jun 7, 2016 22:38
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Mr. Wiggles posted:So, since my CB500X is no longer (see other thread) and I'm in need of a new one, I've been looking seriously at two bikes (selling my house soon I hope, so I'll have the cash, I hope). Get the Africa Twin so I can live through you.
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Jun 7, 2016 23:29
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Sagebrush posted:Any standard with dirt tires will be as well-suited to dirt as a bike can be without actually being a dirt bike. It depends a lot on what you mean by dirt. If you just mean flat gravel roads then yeah. But if you start talking about stuff that needs suspension or bigger tires for rocks or other obstacles then you're going to start caring a lot more about those things. Here's what a couple of scramblers look like through some terrain in the Rockies. http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rwtWRc5ikMs Get two bikes! One cb500 and a small two stroke.
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Jun 8, 2016 00:46
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Mr. Wiggles posted:So, since my CB500X is no longer (see other thread) and I'm in need of a new one, I've been looking seriously at two bikes (selling my house soon I hope, so I'll have the cash, I hope). I think the question you should ask yourself is "do I want a motorcycle that is surviveable off-road, or one that actually handles it reasonably well". If the answer is #1, gearing up any rando street bike with a radiator guard, something to handle dust and rocks thrown up by the bike is going to be fine. If you want something good off-road and on road, you should buy the Africa twin, no question. I think for your use case it sounds like you like the idea or the aesthetic of the Street Twin, but the Africa twin is a much better bike match for your use case. Still expect to have to invest in a little protection for it, but it's going to be designed to handle it and the first time you nail a pothole and it's not even uncomfortable or noticeable, you'll be real happy. Your 500 was an entry level standard bike and the Africa Twin will be a huge step forward in off-road manners and on road manners thanks to significantly higher spec running gear all around.
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Jun 8, 2016 06:48
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https://nh.craigslist.org/mcd/5593199290.html Do the big V-Stroms generally make pretty good tourers? I've never paid much attention to them, but I want to start exploring the national parks of Canada (on paved roads or hard trails, no serious offroading) and want something cheap that can handle 500-600 mile days without complaining. As much as I like the big adventure BMWs, I don't think I would use the bike enough to justify their higher price tags.
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Jun 8, 2016 13:22
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Yes the big stroms eat miles like candy and that one comes with some nice extras and a good price
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Jun 8, 2016 16:57
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