The "Are you thinking of a new bike for 2024?" discussion thread.

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PrivatePilot said:
Do it. Do it. Do it.

Hey, who doesn't like paying 9.99% interest on financing right now?

That but hurt a little. I'll be aiming to pay it off sooner vs later. 😬
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Brian is a secret baller, he’s got an h2, he paying cash baby
 
pecan_choco_hurricane said:
well just impulse bought a 1980 yamaha XJ 650 maxim after watching youtube on them for weeks. it runs but it definitely needs work... anyone know any good mechanics that specialize in 80s jpn cruisers just in case i need help?
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Find an oldschool bike shop and then hope they work on metrics vs just being stuck up Harley guys. They have the skills, but reality is some will just refuse to work on "jap stuff".

Or honestly, just go to YouTube university and DIY. I know YouTube university is a bit of a joke to some, but honestly, there's merit in a lot of the more educational on-point stuff that can be found there, the key is sorting through the wheat from the chaffe.

This will be an incredibly simple bike to work on honestly, so it's a great little fun thing to learn on as well. Carbs are the only thing that's going to be even the slightest bit mysterious if you haven't worked on them before, but even if you take those to a pro for rebuilding (assuming that's part of the issue, as commonly is on older carb'd bikes that have sat), you've still got a great bike to learn on.
 
Check with the CVMG. There's usually people who don't mind helping you out.
 
PrivatePilot said:
It actually has about a half inch more than my Vulcan apparently.

I've actually found that the Vulcan starts hitting the exhaust around the same time as the floorboards however - the pipes on the Star Venture look to be higher, so hopefully they don't do the same. I like to get my lean on often and scraping the floorboard feelers is a lot less puckering than feeling your exhaust touching down and then having to ride that fine line. I've never done it as I got pretty good at riding that line, but of course eventually it would turn into a lowside.

My old VTX would touch down on the boards and then I could feel them folding up if I pushed harder, but it rarely touched the pipes. It felt much more safe to me. Hoping the new ride will be the same.

Taken from another thread for those who missed it there, this is a crop from one of the photos of me on the dragon a few years back.

View attachment 65558

This is usually the point where my sport touring riding buddies tell me in an exasperated voice that I should have bought an FJR or a beemer or something, but yeah, I like the couch on wheels with a big old stupid v-twin in it too much.
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i rode a Vulcan 9er from Huntsville to Parry Sound last spring, not hard to make sparks, I just about lost her on a slow left thru an intersection, the scraping boards lifted the rear off the ground.
 
pecan_choco_hurricane said:
well just impulse bought a 1980 yamaha XJ 650 maxim after watching youtube on them for weeks. it runs but it definitely needs work... anyone know any good mechanics that specialize in 80s jpn cruisers just in case i need help?
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Have a look at the Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Club ( Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Club | Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Club ). I'm sure there's a model expert for the 650 Yamaha 4's. There used to be a Canadian section of the group but I don't know if it still exists.

As someone else said, the CVMG would also be worthwhile to join. I'm certain you'd find a capable mechanic among the membership.

I have a soft spot for those old Yamahas, though my preference would be the Seca 650. One of my fav's that I never owned.
 
I'm in a weird situation where I don't particularly want a new bike, and nothing on the market really jumps out at me, but I'll likely buy one anyway.

My sister lives in Japan but comes back to visit once or twice a year and always wants to ride with me when she's back. I just have my Versys X 300, and since she's a newer rider she usually takes that and we split a rental which I typically ride. But renting is super expensive and just generally a pain in the ass. So she's offering to chip in some money and pay half the yearly insurance costs if I get a second bike that we can ride together while she's here, and I could ride it whenever I wanted the rest of the year if I did all the maintenance.

She's into moto camping and I'd like to do that with her, but I also don't want another ADV that wouldn't get ridden the rest of the year since I have my Versys. Maybe something a bit more off-road oriented then, like a KLX300 or CRF300L?

Or maybe just a fun street bike like an MT-09?

Feels weird to be this ambivalent about getting a new bike, but I like my Versys and it can do everything I need. I also had my first kid last year and barely rode, although hoping to change that this year.

Anyone with any thoughts/ideas?
 
caje said:
I'm in a weird situation where I don't particularly want a new bike, and nothing on the market really jumps out at me, but I'll likely buy one anyway.

My sister lives in Japan but comes back to visit once or twice a year and always wants to ride with me when she's back. I just have my Versys X 300, and since she's a newer rider she usually takes that and we split a rental which I typically ride. But renting is super expensive and just generally a pain in the ass. So she's offering to chip in some money and pay half the yearly insurance costs if I get a second bike that we can ride together while she's here, and I could ride it whenever I wanted the rest of the year if I did all the maintenance.

She's into moto camping and I'd like to do that with her, but I also don't want another ADV that wouldn't get ridden the rest of the year since I have my Versys. Maybe something a bit more off-road oriented then, like a KLX300 or CRF300L?

Or maybe just a fun street bike like an MT-09?

Feels weird to be this ambivalent about getting a new bike, but I like my Versys and it can do everything I need. I also had my first kid last year and barely rode, although hoping to change that this year.

Anyone with any thoughts/ideas?
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imo get a fun naked bike, and since it’s mostly for her, maybe split the msrp with her?
 
bigpoppa said:
imo get a fun naked bike, and since it’s mostly for her, maybe split the msrp with her?
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Her offer was $3k towards the price of the bike, and if I ever sell it I'd pay her back $2k. Plus half of the yearly insurance/registration fees. Pretty tempting.

I agree, I'm leaning towards a 2nd gen MT-09 right now, but will likely wait to see what the deals are in the spring. If I can get one for $6-8k or so, I'd be pretty happy I think.
 
I would also suggest looking at a used street triple
Or Ktm duke. The earlier gen mt09s had weird handling, not sure how much of that has been remedied.

Lots of understeering etc.
caje said:
Her offer was $3k towards the price of the bike, and if I ever sell it I'd pay her back $2k. Plus half of the yearly insurance/registration fees. Pretty tempting.

I agree, I'm leaning towards a 2nd gen MT-09 right now, but will likely wait to see what the deals are in the spring. If I can get one for $6-8k or so, I'd be pretty happy I think
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Dealer called, my bike is ready.

I guess this weekend is going to consist of another major garage cleaning and reorganizing, because holy hell I've no idea where the heck it's going to go in there right now if I want to have a shred of space left over for getting the snowblower through, the garbage to and from the can, etc.

Hate to say it, but the Vulcan may be evicted and be forced to live outside in front of the garage door on my side, under a cover. Guess I'll get more aggressive with selling it now as well.

I guess I could just put it in the free space in there right now and pull it out as needed. It has reverse so it'll be less of a PITA to get back into the garage afterwards at least - our driveway has a very slight slope that makes pushing a 900# bike backwards into the garage a not fun process. Won't be any issue anymore now however I guess.
 
pecan_choco_hurricane said:
well just impulse bought a 1980 yamaha XJ 650 maxim after watching youtube on them for weeks. it runs but it definitely needs work... anyone know any good mechanics that specialize in 80s jpn cruisers just in case i need help?
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Congrats! I have a number of vintage bikes. Some times it's hard to convince the nanny state fan bois here but there is nothing wrong with vintage rides.
As others have noted it will be a pretty easy bike to work on. As long as you a good manual and a pulse you should be fine.
 
PrivatePilot said:
Dealer called, my bike is ready.

I guess this weekend is going to consist of another major garage cleaning and reorganizing, because holy hell I've no idea where the heck it's going to go in there right now if I want to have a shred of space left over for getting the snowblower through, the garbage to and from the can, etc.

Hate to say it, but the Vulcan may be evicted and be forced to live outside in front of the garage door on my side, under a cover. Guess I'll get more aggressive with selling it now as well.

I guess I could just put it in the free space in there right now and pull it out as needed. It has reverse so it'll be less of a PITA to get back into the garage afterwards at least - our driveway has a very slight slope that makes pushing a 900# bike backwards into the garage a not fun process. Won't be any issue anymore now however I guess.
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That's the way you do it. Buy first, think later. The corollary to the "Law of Vacuum" (the universe expands to fill empty space) is that you will always be able to reorganize your garage to fit another bike.

Oh, and congrats!
 
timtune said:
Congrats! I have a number of vintage bikes. Some times it's hard to convince the nanny state fan bois here but there is nothing wrong with vintage rides.
As others have noted it will be a pretty easy bike to work on. As long as you a good manual and a pulse you should be fine.
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When do bikes become vintage?
 
sburns said:
When do bikes become vintage?
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The CVMG (Canadian Vintage Motorcycle group) has various specific classes for different ages of bikes. They used to recognize a bike that was at least 15 years old. I'm not sure where the cut off is today. Myself I consider anything from the 80s vintage.
 
Relax said:
That's the way you do it. Buy first, think later. The corollary to the "Law of Vacuum" (the universe expands to fill empty space) is that you will always be able to reorganize your garage to fit another bike.

Oh, and congrats!
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That is getting harder to do with each addition. Played a small game of tetris to get my sled close to the door.
 
Side mounted garage door openers are very handy when you want to maximize on ceiling storage.

First upgrade I did when I moved into the current house. Double car garage with 2 single doors.

It gave me 25 inches of storage above the garage doors. I can climb in there if really needed.
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