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How stupid is it to start on a Moto Guzzi V7 of some flavor? Through some cursory googling, it seems hard to pinpoint the actual reliability/cost-to-own of these things, as opinions seem to swing wildly from "you'll never have to do more than change the oil" to "after 10 miles it will sound the Italian national anthem via the horn then promptly implode". I'm currently operating under the assumption that it's similar to a Sportster, being mostly reliable due to the age of the design, albeit with some "quirks" (due to selfsame age), and am curious how far off the mark that is.
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Mar 7, 2017 21:05
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| # ¿ May 4, 2024 17:15 |
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Fair enough. And yeah, I'm aware they wouldn't be Toyota level reliable (I guess the bike equivalent would be Honda?). I was more wondering if they were more Sportster "mostly gets the job done but make sure to give everything a thorough once-over often and be handy with a wrench", or more Ducati-Desmoduro-oh-god-this-costs-HOW-much territory. I suppose I'm not particularly against the little "sport" bikes like the R3 and the Ninja. I'm just a bit leery of them as I can't so much as drive to the gas station without at least one blundering twuntwumpus taking deep and serious personal offense at my Abarth's very existence and going all clown car to "put me in my place", so the possibility of all of the same morons thinking that my cruising down the road means "that crotchrocket wants to race me!!!" sits in the back of my mind as I look at them.
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Mar 8, 2017 02:41
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Slavvy posted:If you want a car analogy a sportster is like a run-of-the-mill ford or gm product: mostly decent but has the occasional stupid poo poo, poor quality on some of the details and isn't really very good compared to a japanese equivalent, but that's simply because the bar is set so high. Slavvy posted:Also this. Also even a ninja 300 is faster off the line than the majority of cars (or drivers, at least) that will try to race you so really what's the problem here? The bike thing comes in because I watch the same people in traffic around bikes, and they're kind of lovely around "crotchrockets" (sportbikes, modern looking nakeds like the Z650), while acting weirdly timid around "harleys" (any cruiser, most other nakeds with a single roundish headlight like the Bonnie and even the Monster) and giving them a wider berth. Don't really see "adventure" type bikes out here enough to make a call but given the area I imagine it's due to having to state "no officer my 'dirt bike' is perfectly road legal and is made that way from the factory" so much you have it printed on business cards.
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Mar 8, 2017 06:31
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So I found a decent deal on a Yamaha R3, but figured I should check insurance before pulling the trigger. I probably looked like a cartoon character when the quote returned was $381... a month. Went to the field office the next day and asked why, and was told it was partially due to lack of experience, but mostly because since Yamaha calls it a supersport (complete with YZF nomenclature), they rate it as such, upright seating and all of 37hp be damned. In comparison, the Guzzi V7 Stone was $77, a Yamaha Bolt was like $65, and for shits and grins I punched in R6 and got back $509. My question is if this is pretty normal for the US, or is Geico being uniquely terrible with rates? Charging more than the price of the bike just to insure it yearly seems a little over the top to me, but being a new rider means I’m also not sure what “normal” actually is.
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Mar 11, 2018 21:03
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Sounds fair, I suppose that’s why the sales rep pointed me to a local Progressive agent when I asked about what insurance was like on the thing in general. Will have to give them a ring this week. Not sure if this is still the proper thread for it, but are there any gotchas with the R3? I know the 2015s had a recall for something, but I’m curious if there’s something like the Duke 390’s radiator fan just dying outright or such. Local powersportsporium is clearancing 2017s for a goodly chunk ($4000 for an ABS trim, $3700 for base), which strike me as good deals for a model with no real changes with the new model year. And yeah yeah should buy used, but at those prices I figure the extra is worth the convenience and stuff like a warranty, vs trawling craiglist for the rare gem hidden beneath parts bin Harleys, Johnny Pag “customs”, and WE FINANCE ANYONE supersports (especially since Houston has the bonus fun of totally-not-Harvey-salvage to watch for).
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Mar 12, 2018 04:41
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Pulled the trigger on the R3, Vivid White ABS model. Need a helmet now, after finding out most of the more basic models sold locally (Bell Qualifier, HJC CS-R3 / CL-17 / IS-17) don’t fit at all (well the IS “fit” but had two hotspots above the brow that near immediately started triggering a headache, so nope), and the only other options that weren’t glorified novelty hats were Shoeis and Schuberths well out of budget. Ended up going back to the Guzzi shop and found out the AGV K3 SV fit pretty decently, and I guess is a pretty well featured helmet for its $250 price point? So will be darkening their door for one of those once bills get sorted, unless someone reveals it drills holes in your skull or melts in the sun or something.
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Mar 19, 2018 02:38
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Yeah the sunshade was a boon for me too, it gets pretty blinding in Houston in general, and out in the northern exburbs where I am it’s even worse since the copious tree cover sets up a lot of spots for Mr. Sun to laserbeam you right in the eyeballs because an errant breeze moved a tree limb just right. Good to hear it’s a good lid in general, I’m probably going to go for the Scudetto graphic, which I like because it hits that plain-but-not-too-plain sweet spot. They had the Simoncelli graphic on good closeout but I’d rather spend the extra money to not have every red light feature some slackass in a brodozer asking if I really like Thundercats (I’d also rather not invoke the specter of death by having to explain who Simoncelli was to the nice elderly people that would inevitably inquire about the look). ess-vid fucked around with this message at 04:30 on Mar 19, 2018 |
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Mar 19, 2018 04:19
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| # ¿ May 4, 2024 17:15 |
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Progress made, did the BRC this weekend and passed (the only thing I screwed up was wandering slightly outside of THE BOX, clean marks everywhere else). Was a fun weekend all told, wide range of characters in the class, from licenseless veteran to gixxer bro to “don’t want to only be a pillion” lady (who ended up being a B.A.C.A. member which was pretty cool). Bikes were a little weird but I think that was mostly due to me being the odd man out with a slightly cold blooded and apparently ancient Nighthawk (it got amusing how much of the controls overview had call outs that my bike’s controls worked slightly differently). Good instructors too, including a retired CHP motorcycle officer. Definitely recommend it to goons on the fence, it was mostly hands on and between doing the lessons yourself and watching classmates do them it really drives home important stuff like how doing things too slowly can make the bike unstable, how much lizard brain stuff can mess you up (it was hard not to throw a knee out when leaning), how your “look one direction and move another” skill from driving will not transfer at all and you will go EXACTLY where you look, and for me at least how much different low speed clutch/throttle interaction is between a car and a bike. It’s a good indicator of if you really want to ride, too, because you’ll spend hours on the bikes and having instructors pointing out mistakes, sometimes loudly (“FOUR FINGERS”) due to the nature of the course, and if you’re getting frustrated and not enjoying yourself in the course you’ll probably feel like that even more on the street. Personally I had fun despite my hands and arms hurting like hell after the first day (mostly my left due to the Nighthawk locking out neutral while the engine was running, meaning I spent most of the time holding the clutch in). Just have to turn the paperwork into the DMV (the BRC completely replaces testing in Texas for licensure) and get insurance squared away now, will hopefully be able to wobble around after hours parking lots by the weekend.
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Apr 24, 2018 03:55
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