Quote:
Originally Posted by ArtCuisin
I I'm afraid of guilt by association with the loud pipes, fringe leather, Barney-Badass cloaked pile of obnoxious dorkdom.
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heh heh heh...
Quote:
Originally Posted by ArtCuisin
I think you are fond of comparing apples to oranges.
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Oh, yeah; I've done that too.
Here's why - my apples-to-oranges thinking happens because I am always looking for a contradictory combination of attributes and components from completely different
types of PTWs; striving to find
one bike that will "do it all" - (in my case) a retro-styled, EFI, disc-braked, liquid-cooled, bench-seated scooter - well-sprung, rack-equipped, with great back support, relaxed riding position, highway-pegged, accomodating change of leg/body position, stable and gust-resistant at high speeds, perfect for slow threading and flicking through traffic in town traffic, under three hundred pounds. With fantastic mileage. and hydraulic valves.
In short, the perfect scoot - for me - would violate inviolable principle of engineering, physics, and manufacturing/market economics.
The closest I ever came was a Honda PS250 Big Ruckus, but only once it was amped with a JCosta variator, upjet, and JDM scoops for extra airflow at high speeds. I will not quote what it could do on the slab - people scoff and bad feelings ensue - but it would perform that way all day long for days on end. The down side was that it was way, way too muscular for the brakes. I didn't mind that it looked like a water heater laid on side.
Some current maxis approach my list of ideal attrubutes...but they all look like the great ocean-going mammals, and I hate that look. Retro-styled maxis - the larger BVs - in urban traffic cannot get out of their own way, are stodgy at low speeds and unhandy at traffic manuvers. The Vespa GTS 300ie Super... I had a 250 - those scoots hate passengers, the seats are intolerable, and no Italian bike can hope to have the box-o-rocks reliability of the Japanese/Taiwanese marques, nor the parts/infrastructure support. It means something that Honda is killing Vespa market share - in Italy.
We all seem to want bikes that combine things in a way that can't be had - wherefore apples-oranges-bananas, pears...