Motorcycle Thread

Hmm, weighing some options here.. maybe someone can share personal experience or knowledge.

I'm currently in the market for a new bike, and eyeballing a 2015 Honda Cbr600rr 13k miles, and 2013 Kawasaki zx-10r 8k miles.

My dream bike has always been either a cafe racer but I just don't have the time to spend on trying to do all of that currently, and an R6 but having sat on a 2019 today compared to the comfort from a 2019 cbr600.. I don't know, plus 2019's and prob 2020's are bit out of my comfort spending range. I just need to move on from my bike, I have a 250 Ninja that I have logged a total of 63k miles on from dealer floor.. and i'm just ready to move on.

R6’s are not comfy street bikes, I find mine hard to enjoy after a 20 minute track session. Are you after the sport bike ‘life’ because they look cool or will you be able to take it to the track?

Just put Woodcraft rearsets on mine

gauze Yeah I agree with Leadsalad .. What do you want it to do?
I'm not a fan of 600cc or lower street bikes, not enough power down low and mid range.. They are screamers..
If you want something nice to ride and will still be fun in the twisties look at some naked bikes, if you want something antisocial look at motards. If you want to crave up the track get a 750 or biker sports bike.. I find sports bike to be uncomfortable on the road unless you get into it. There's always adventure bikes that will go a lot more places than the others.. It really comes down to your type of riding.

jooka said:

interesting helmet. Can preorder now for 799 aud which is $550 us or so. I'm seriously thinking of getting one, price is really good if it is as they say at delivery.

coupon: testpilot2019

Click to expand...

$800 for a helmet, fuck that... I'm a bit of a Jew though... I also get my gear straight from the importers so only pay cost if I don't get freebees .. Not my thing, I don't need more shit distracting me while riding.. I don't even look at my speedo, I'm busy looking at the road.

I don't think I can go back to a sub litre bike. Though I'm a speed demon. If your only experienced on the 250 it might be a shock going to bikes that can be looped just by giving wide open throttle from a stop.


Id look at all the 650 trains out there. Good middle ground. More low end torque, better around town. Just don't hit the screaming high speeds of the 600s i4s. They come in all shapes. From a ninja to a vulcan s cruiser from kawasaki, others have their own flavors.

If going litre and don't like full tuck. Keep in mind stiff like a ninja is a little more upright than a zx10r. Or I loved my versys 1000. All the speed, pretty comfortable upright, and some storage for distance. Though if you are short probably a bit tall and imposing.

Most manufacturers make "naked" 1000s these days. I.e. S1000R, Tuono, Monster, MT10, etc. Much more comfortable all day than a sports bike.

I've always been partial toward the aggressive ride style, I love laying on my tank and just avoiding the overall resistance. My options tend to be limited purely out of being between two big military bases.. sport bikes tend to pop up 9/10 times over most other bikes and generally don't have any sort of twisties around me. If its anything, I commute 100 miles round trip 5 days a week. Majority of it is along a coast line w/ sea breeze and the occasional wall of water for a half mile on a bright and sunny day. I think maybe 4 90 degree turns in that trip. The only tiring/uncomfortable thing I find myself dealing with are fighting winds by leaning my bike trying to maintain lane, and the buzzing feeling in my hands after pushing the 250 rpm's.. but I figure that's prob normal.

The logical had come down to the fact the zx10r has traction control, while the cbr has pretty decently built in regards longevity. They had a gsxr 650 with a sold tag that could have been an instant purchase.. but I usually have suzuki lower on the interests. I'm 5'6, so yeah it was heart breaking how high the r6/r1 sit, but was surprised at how light the zx10r felt when I expected it to feel like many of the 950's and litre bikes being a heavy son of a bitch.

jooka said:

New Instagram photos confirm Long Way Up will be aboard LiveWire electric motorcycles - Adventure Rider

The buzz has been building for a couple of weeks: Supposedly, Charley Boorman and […]

advrider.com

Will be interesting in how that goes.




That is fucking awful range.

Click to expand...

So I wouldn't be able to make it back home from a work commute. Sweet.

Kawasaki has a bunch ofnew announcements including a supered Z of some sort and I guess a fucking side by side oddmobile of some kind? (Gotta compete with goofy Niken?)

All electric motorcycle riders will die a quick painful death obviously. Been told for years that loud pipes save lives lol.

jooka said:

Can't remember where I read it but a rumor is that it will be a naked bike.


EDIT As for the Long Way Up I'm assuming they are 1) getting paid a shit ton from Harley 2)The crew will have 2-4 batteries charged up ready to go the whole way and swapping them out.

Click to expand...

The Z's are all naked, so I knew that. Assumption is a liter but some are hoping for a smaller displacement supered Z.

Seems kinda odd given existing options. Are they trying to dethrone kawasaki with the biggest beginner bike with the 400? A 500 to me is already getting solidly into intermediate territory depending on if it's say a twin vs a 4.

More adventure options that arnt all too heavy to where they can't safely handle much more than a gravel road though would be very nice.

Borzak said:

All electric motorcycle riders will die a quick painful death obviously. Been told for years that loud pipes save lives lol.

Click to expand...

Can't say I have read the article, nor do I care too much. I definitely enjoy the shifting that comes with riding a motorcycle, doesn't matter how fast I am going.. just feels cool as shit; like if I was piloting a ballistic missile..

Anyways, during the purchase/tuning of my bike.. shared some conversations w/ the shop owner about the zero's since hes an authorized retailer.. Apparently the Army Rangers out here are trying to get a budget for it.. they've been abusing them on the reserve and loving them. Great on the shop, none of them ride electric though.. but just interesting thinking about it. I forget the specifics, but my dad had some thought regarding fueled vehicle transport and the dangers.. with the benefit of electric ect.

I think as far as "loud pipes save lives" I think a lot of people are going against that mentality.. I can't say its backed by research, but tends to be the go-to slogan for the harley boys. As far as I looked into it, I think it is pretty much that despite the loudness.. it is essentially white noise to a certain point, in the idea that we're not rev'ing constantly going down the road. I'm sure there is more to it, but its also like the idea of wearing bright colors.. if you're wearing all neon yellow, you're no more visible than wearing all black. It's the disruption of colors, so some black, then white, or some white then green; ect. I could be spouting false info in the end, but it's just shit I hear on the side but never looked into it or cared.

But uhh, I just wanted to ask if anyone has used/using premium helmets and are they worth their weight. I had been rocking the same Icon for the last 10 years, never really cared to change.. but now i'm on a bigger block, aggressive positioning, and the wind buffeting is infinitely more noticeable. I always liked Shoei and Arai for their branding.. and the x-14 just looks so good. Having not just DOT standards is nice, and everything I've read and watched regarding it has been positive.. I'm just wondering if making that dive into premium tier is the best possible investment.