lol that's almost twice his budget.
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Time to replace my 'uninspiring' motorcycle...
- Thread starter mimico_polak
- Start date
Unlike you people out in the sticks, us city folk meet at Tims regularly to pose and feel special. In these frequent interactions i hear all too often stories from owners about their temperamental steeds.
I spent some time on the Aprilia forums when i was considering a Tuono. I recall one post about a guy who ordered his own tools from Aprilia to do valve checks/adjustments. Tools arrived and he stripped the engine down and lo and behold, they didn't even fit properly. He called Aprilia and they admitted there was a known 'variance' with the fit and function of their tools. In the end the owner modified the tools (over $250 U.S. iirc) and got the job done.
I had to grimace while reading that one.
In the budget set by the OP, I’d look at a used Bonneville.
It’s nice to look at when it’s parked. It sounds good and smells good.
It brings a smile when you take it out for a toot to pick up some milk.
You can get a tail rack or saddle bags and it still look decent.
Two up is possible if you decide to take the wife for a ride down the the distillery district for a patio beverage.
It can do the highway but wind protection isn’t the greatest.
It’s comfortable under most circumstances.
Fuel injected and air cooled (previous generation) is easy to start, maintain etc.
It’s just a great standard bike.
F07 or even R3 would be great for day trips. F07 can wheelie easy. Gets your heart pumping. Satisfies in many ways.
Sound track isn’t great but, the grins are measured by throttle input and not engine noise.
R3 is entry level performance but, it’s such a fun ride. Again, looks good. Well balanced. Light and flickable.
You don’t have a lot of time to ride but, want something when you see it, tempts you. Begs you to get out there. Make up a reason to get out on the road.
Nothing to plan. Gear up, fuel up. Ride to Bancroft for lunch and come home.
The Bonnie does it for me.
It doesn’t have the looks of the Thruxton but, still looks the business.
Street triple or Daytona are nice as well. Something about a triple....most definitely has character.
Some street trips head light looks can polarize some.
Even if you feel it’s beaten with an ugly stick, after a ride, you will find it somehow attractive.
Save some $$$ for tires. Even just a day a month to ride, you might find yourself needing more than an oil change at the end of the season.
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It’s nice to look at when it’s parked. It sounds good and smells good.
It brings a smile when you take it out for a toot to pick up some milk.
You can get a tail rack or saddle bags and it still look decent.
Two up is possible if you decide to take the wife for a ride down the the distillery district for a patio beverage.
It can do the highway but wind protection isn’t the greatest.
It’s comfortable under most circumstances.
Fuel injected and air cooled (previous generation) is easy to start, maintain etc.
It’s just a great standard bike.
F07 or even R3 would be great for day trips. F07 can wheelie easy. Gets your heart pumping. Satisfies in many ways.
Sound track isn’t great but, the grins are measured by throttle input and not engine noise.
R3 is entry level performance but, it’s such a fun ride. Again, looks good. Well balanced. Light and flickable.
You don’t have a lot of time to ride but, want something when you see it, tempts you. Begs you to get out there. Make up a reason to get out on the road.
Nothing to plan. Gear up, fuel up. Ride to Bancroft for lunch and come home.
The Bonnie does it for me.
It doesn’t have the looks of the Thruxton but, still looks the business.
Street triple or Daytona are nice as well. Something about a triple....most definitely has character.
Some street trips head light looks can polarize some.
Even if you feel it’s beaten with an ugly stick, after a ride, you will find it somehow attractive.
Save some $$$ for tires. Even just a day a month to ride, you might find yourself needing more than an oil change at the end of the season.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Few insurance places i checked last year it was blacklistedMaybe it will "inspire" him to raise his budget
industry is nuts.
J_F
Guest
referring back to MacDoc's post
FZ6 is a good choice and a pretty good all around bike
Yamaha is great at making those Swiss Army bikes
good at most things, not great at anything
that look very nice and have nice motors
and they don't break the bank
I'd avoid the R version of the FZ6 though
NA buyers didn't take to the half faired FZ6 like the rest of the world did
so Yamaha did some de-contenting
took away the aluminum frame and swingarm
put on even cheaper brakes and suspension
wrapped it in plastic with flashy graphics
called it an R and people started to buy them
but it is a far inferior bike
the original non-R version is a good bike
but getting long in the tooth
out of production 10 years ago
I like that little Guzzi
tons of character and a fairly simple bike
FZ6 is a good choice and a pretty good all around bike
Yamaha is great at making those Swiss Army bikes
good at most things, not great at anything
that look very nice and have nice motors
and they don't break the bank
I'd avoid the R version of the FZ6 though
NA buyers didn't take to the half faired FZ6 like the rest of the world did
so Yamaha did some de-contenting
took away the aluminum frame and swingarm
put on even cheaper brakes and suspension
wrapped it in plastic with flashy graphics
called it an R and people started to buy them
but it is a far inferior bike
the original non-R version is a good bike
but getting long in the tooth
out of production 10 years ago
I like that little Guzzi
tons of character and a fairly simple bike
Mad Mike
Well-known member
Or people that have worked on Italian motor vehicles. They are not always harder to work on, but parts are more expensive, less available and access to experienced/qualified techs/dealers is quite restricted.
Consumer reports last bike survey was 12000 motorcyclists. In raw numbers, the study found 11% of new Yamahas will need serious attention in their first four years of life. Suzuki, Honda and Kawasaki ranked close -- all under 15%, then came everyone else. HD owners reported 26% of new bikes needing attention. Ducati and BMW owners must expect problems -- the study found 33% of new Ducatis and 40% of new BMWs require serious repairs.
They also found a four times greater chance that a Ducati or BMW will need repair compared to Yamaha, which is pretty significant, when you consider the cost of servicing a BMW or Ducati runs about 50% higher than Japanese bikes.
They concluded Euro bikes are designed for character, sex appeal and brand exclusivity. Japanese bikes are engineered for reliability.
Don't make me laugh!
Mad Mike
Well-known member
Gotta second the ?. If that were the case there wouldn't be Japanese bikes in the USA or Canada. I
There isn't much mechanical that comes from Italy that is designed for reliability. I mentioned this before, the last Italian made machine I bought was a 2017 hand crank tomato squeezer which ate it's own seals after 3 hours use. Turns out I wasn't the only one with that problem -- several buyers were waiting for replacement seals which arrived about 3 months after tomato season-- I bought 2 spares.
My 2017 Tuono has pretty much been a rock in terms of reliability. It had a recall for a Brembo master cylinder issue -- not really Aprilia's fault.
Owners of 2015 Yamaha R1s can't say that about their transmissions, can they? My 2014 Honda CBR500R left me stranded after its main power relay -- subject of another recall -- took a ****. Honda recalled a bunch of CBR300Rs because their crankshafts were failing. 2016-18 ZX10Rs were subject of a recall ("On certain motorcycles, depending of the shifting manner a gear in the transmission may break. If the gear were to break, it could cause a loss of motive power and/or cause the rear wheel to lock up.")
Let's not make gross generalizations about bike reliability based on hearsay and rumor.
Owners of 2015 Yamaha R1s can't say that about their transmissions, can they? My 2014 Honda CBR500R left me stranded after its main power relay -- subject of another recall -- took a ****. Honda recalled a bunch of CBR300Rs because their crankshafts were failing. 2016-18 ZX10Rs were subject of a recall ("On certain motorcycles, depending of the shifting manner a gear in the transmission may break. If the gear were to break, it could cause a loss of motive power and/or cause the rear wheel to lock up.")
Let's not make gross generalizations about bike reliability based on hearsay and rumor.
blackcamaro
Well-known member
Highly doubt it.
J_F
Guest
excellent example of YMMV
or to each their own etc......
I really wanted to love my FJ09
but after 3 seasons and $$ in trying to make it right
I realized it was just another short term bike (for me)
but that engine!!
Right, every ones out to lambaste euro bikes because:
Before anyone wants to tell me 'but the current gen is!', speak with data. I'll be happy to review and admit i was wrong.
- We're jelly and can't afford the exotics
- We all know a friend of a friend of a friend of a friends 4th cousin thrice removed who heard of someone possibly owning a bike with issues which may or may not have been italian
Before anyone wants to tell me 'but the current gen is!', speak with data. I'll be happy to review and admit i was wrong.
Wow thanks for the replies everyone, definitely gave me something to work with and start. A few bikes I would've never considered came up on this list, and frankly I look forward to shopping around again.
I'll give the Rebel one last shot next rotation I'm home with a ride to Bancroft and back and after that will post it if I don't change my mind. Might try and find a windshield in the meantime.
Hell maybe I should just buy a Ural! LoL Great for the kids in the sidecar and definitely character!
Seriously though...out of list of bikes identified here I'm going to do more research on:
CB500X (I know I know...but it seems like the main 'jack of all trades bike')
Triumph Bonneville
R3 ABS
MT07
Street Triple
If I could afford 2 then I'd buy one of the above and an SS just for the hell of actually trying it before I get old....40 is around the corner so my body won't be able to take it for extended rips much longer!
I'll give the Rebel one last shot next rotation I'm home with a ride to Bancroft and back and after that will post it if I don't change my mind. Might try and find a windshield in the meantime.
Hell maybe I should just buy a Ural! LoL Great for the kids in the sidecar and definitely character!
Seriously though...out of list of bikes identified here I'm going to do more research on:
CB500X (I know I know...but it seems like the main 'jack of all trades bike')
Triumph Bonneville
R3 ABS
MT07
Street Triple
If I could afford 2 then I'd buy one of the above and an SS just for the hell of actually trying it before I get old....40 is around the corner so my body won't be able to take it for extended rips much longer!
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