Bikes?

Splinter · Post by **Splinter** » Tue May 16, 2006 10:24 pm

Im thinking about getting myself a bike. Gas is somewhere around $5/gallon here, and the legacy is getting about 18mpg

Looking for something nippy and reliable for under 2 grand

Between 400 and 600cc I guess

Suggestions?

I was kinda looking at the Buell Blast

555BCTurbo · Post by **555BCTurbo** » Tue May 16, 2006 11:42 pm

NOOOOO!!!

Stay away from the Harley products...

If you want mileage, get a Jap bike.

dzx · Post by **dzx** » Wed May 17, 2006 2:16 am

the new ninja 636 is a nice bike.

206er · Post by **206er** » Wed May 17, 2006 4:15 am

555BCTurbo wrote:NOOOOO!!!

Stay away from the Harley products...

If you want mileage, get a Jap bike.

that particular bike actually gets ok mileage. but, its not a bike I would ever get. rattly, cheap, slow etc.
anyway, people shouldnt knock harleys until they ride them. just because most you see are some garbage wagon piloted by a lawyer with assless chaps and a fake ponytail doesnt mean they are bad bikes. the reputation is worse than deserved.

a few lightweight, great handling, reasonably priced bikes:
GS500e
SV650
ninja 500
FZR400

for cheap bikes that are a little older:

honda CB400/4(fast for what they are)
yamaha XS650(coolest 4-stroke yamaha of the 70's, killed the brit bikes in the US

great sound, torquey, highly recomended)
but pretty much anything small will get great gas mileage. maybe look into getting a dual sport, they are fun. my bro has a KLR650, I'd definitely recomend it.
FWIW, you dont need a sportbike to have fun and save gas.

sammydafish · Post by **sammydafish** » Wed May 17, 2006 2:43 pm

206er wrote:
555BCTurbo wrote: a few lightweight, great handling, reasonably priced bikes:
GS500e
SV650
ninja 500
FZR400 <--- woot woot!

for cheap bikes that are a little older:

honda CB400/4(fast for what they are)
yamaha XS650(coolest 4-stroke yamaha of the 70's, killed the brit bikes in the US great sound, torquey, highly recomended)
but pretty much anything small will get great gas mileage. maybe look into getting a dual sport, they are fun. my bro has a KLR650, I'd definitely recomend it.
FWIW, you dont need a sportbike to have fun and save gas.

Good advice right there. Sport bikes, the FZR400 is pretty nasty, aluminum frame on an old bike and it handles just as good as a brand new one. Plus YZF600 engine swaps right in if you want more power later on. If you want a jap cruiser, old 80's CBR/Nighthawks are cool. I had a Nighthawk 650 and I might buy something like it again one day to customize. Old Suzuki's are pretty damn cool too, like late 70's through the 80's. You can pick up one of those old Jap sport cruisers for like $500.

Here's my wip, FZR600R, custom tail and pipe. I still need to paint the stripes on the tail. (pardon the cell phone pic)

BTW, it gets about 50-55 mpg and runs 87.

206er · Post by **206er** » Thu May 18, 2006 1:05 am

I nearly bought an fzr600, they are cool bikes. I love the dual round headlights.

here's my xs650, its sort of a street tracker/cafe/brat kinda deal I dunno what to call it. built lots of little crap for it. exhaust is coming, pending a welder. Ive got some cool ideas for it.

next bike will be another XS650, I want to build a bobber.

isotopeman · Post by **isotopeman** » Thu May 18, 2006 4:12 am

What's surprising is how the Japanese scooters of the 400cc + range fair in comparison with bigger motorcycles in terms of fuel economy. The (big) scooters have so much extra poshy crap that they get much worse mileage. The BMW F650CS gets (supposedly) 78 mpg. That's quite a bit more than my old Honda.
Have you looked at Aprilia's line? They have decent bikes and larger scooters that are what they should be as well.

BAC5.2 · Post by **BAC5.2** » Thu May 18, 2006 4:26 pm

My CBR gets around 50mpg and is fast enough for me.

Post by **DLC** » Thu May 18, 2006 5:42 pm

The new Yamaha Roadliner has an 1800cc engine, weighs over 700lbs...and can get 50MPG.

How?

Fuel injection. It's about time they put real fuel management on motorcycles...

Roadliner Midnight

sammydafish · Post by **sammydafish** » Thu May 18, 2006 6:21 pm

DLC wrote:The new Yamaha Roadliner has an 1800cc engine, weighs over 700lbs...and can get 50MPG.

How?

Fuel injection. It's about time they put real fuel management on motorcycles...

Roadliner Midnight

that bike is fuckin sexy

BAC5.2 · Post by **BAC5.2** » Thu May 18, 2006 7:02 pm

Dave - They've used FI on lots of bikes lately. Busa's get in the high 40's, and that's a 200mph 1300cc sport bike!

My CBR get's near 50 and it's carbed.

Next, I'm gonna get a GSX-R 750. I think that'd suit me just fine. Maybe I'll look at the new R6's, but I don't want a bike with no guts below 8000RPM though 17,000 RPM would be a hell of a ride.

sammydafish · Post by **sammydafish** » Thu May 18, 2006 7:54 pm

Almost every bike is fuel injected now, even Harleys are. Bikes need to pass emissions too.

555BCTurbo · Post by **555BCTurbo** » Thu May 18, 2006 8:04 pm

Harleys may not be so bad, but they are still GAY!!!

My first bike will most likely be a SV650...and then graduate up to a Triumph Speed Triple...sexiest sport bike imho

Splinter · Post by **Splinter** » Thu May 18, 2006 8:19 pm

Im diggin this right now

Yamaha TDR

Post by **DLC** » Thu May 18, 2006 9:20 pm

sammydafish wrote:Almost every bike is fuel injected now, even Harleys are. Bikes need to pass emissions too.

Many cruiser bikes 1100CC and smaller remain carbuereted for one reason or other, but probably simplicity and cost. Yamaha has been making the VMax for over 20 years, and hasn't really changed the design significantly in that span.

Here's a rundown of the 2006 Honda cruisers:

Rune - FI
VTX1800 - FI
VTX1300C/R/S - Carb
Shadow Sabre - Carb
Shadow Spirit - Carb
Shadow Spirit 750 - Carb
Shadow Aero - Carb
Shadow VLX/VLX Deluxe - Carb
Rebel - Carb
Nighthawk - Carb

and now the 2006 Honda sportbikes:

RC51 - FI
CBR1000RR - FI
Super Hawk - Carb
919 - FI
Interceptor/Interceptor ABS - FI
599 - Carb
CBR600F4i - FI
CBR600RR - FI

Not surprising there. On the cruiser side, HP isn't as important, and engine size keeps growing. It's actually hard to find HP numbers on many cruiser models because engine size is linked with power more than the actual numbers. Sport bikes are marketed by HP, weight and speed numbers, so FI makes much more sense. Keep in mind that Honda does sell more motorcycles than any other company in the US.

BAC5.2 · Post by **BAC5.2** » Fri May 19, 2006 1:13 am

Junior - Really? I haven't gotten an emissions notice for my CBR yet, and I've had it more than a year.

206er · Post by **206er** » Fri May 19, 2006 1:20 am

fuel injection on bikes isnt new though... remember the GPZ turbos?

Richard · Post by **Richard** » Fri May 19, 2006 4:28 am

I had a guy offer to trade me his GPZ +500 bucks for my Suzuki VX 800 when I was selling it. I took a look at what he had and told him I'd rather trade it for a Tyco BigWheel. PS - don't knock the Harleys/Buells. The new V-rod is quite a bike. So is the Night Rod. That thing looks totally awesome. And they fucking haul ass! If I was looking for a new bike, it would be between a Night Rod/CBR 600RR/Ducati 999R.

sammydafish · Post by **sammydafish** » Fri May 19, 2006 2:40 pm

BAC5.2 wrote:Junior - Really? I haven't gotten an emissions notice for my CBR yet, and I've had it more than a year.

I don't know of any states that test them, but they need to pass EPA specifications when they are sold. Up until only a few years ago there were no emissions requirements for engines under something like 1.3liters (forget the actual amount) Now just about every petrol engine needs to meet EPA specifications before they are sold, even lawnmowers and tractors.

206er · Post by **206er** » Sat May 20, 2006 1:36 am

there have been emissions laws on bikes for a while, the last 2 strokes were the RZ350's here.
my bike had the crankcase vent routed into the airbox, which I guess was a sort of emissions control.

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Bikes?

Bikes?