What bike do you want today?

Ah yes... mis-que on my part then. I thought you were discussing this pic that you posted back a few pages ago...




But those are completely different animals really. A Street Bob and a Goldwing.

With that said, I'm not knocking HD either. I love my Sporty 48 and find it pretty comfortable. But only after replacing the forwards with mids, and upgrading the crappy stock lowered suspension with full travel versions. The custom seat helped some too, but it was done more because I liked its looks than anything, and once I ditched the forwards the stock seat that everyone complains about wasn't too bad at all. Of course, I'd bet that most that can't stand the stock 48 seat also keep the stock forward controls. That combination didn't work for my bony butt for the reason I alluded to in my post above. Even still, and while it is comfortable for the shorter rides that I have this bike for, ergonomically, IMO, my R1150GS is far superior for any "serious" riding.

you have a 48! How is that front tire ride? I like the 72 but I like the front end and tire on the 48 and the gas tank on my wing. So thats what lead me to the Street bob. No back rest on that I see....wonder if it would be as comfortable as my FXWG used to be. I will never know, I am broke. I stopped by an HD dealer the other day and they had a red SB. Nice. I did not even sit on it for fear of becoming hypnotized into signing the papers. :eek1

Yeah, I have a 48. You can search for my username in the "Go Sportster" thread to see my impressions and modifications so far. So as not to sidetrack this thread too much, you can ask any question you'd like in that thread.

I want one of these:




Perfect size and weight for me, simple, classic styling. This is the only new bike I've been tempted to go out and borrow money to buy in a long time.

guilty as charged and I hate when people do that.
that said,

I can't pick one bike. I am torn between the
2013 NC700X DCT ABS

Red

or a

2013 Zero S Electric Motorcycle with the ZF 11.4 pack

Or one of the HD's I mentioned. (the thread is about want, not actual paying for a bike? )

The zero, with that power upgrade pack will get 130 miles (est) That is impressive and I could go back and forth to work for 11 days on one charge.

Or....

You could spend about 9 bucks for gas and commute on a "real" motorcycle, with real character (oops, did I use that word again? ), for that same 11 days (or about $6 a week) smiling the whole time. Hell, that's less than two packs of smokes (not that I smoke) or a six pack of decent beer!

I hate to hijack but this is something that's been on my mind for a while now... And since this thread is about motorcycles that we want, and often why we want them....

Sorry, I know we all have our own set of priorities and that not everyone "gets" what motivates others, but I really just don't get the fascination that some have with fuel economy on a motorcycle...

I mean just for simple numbers, if an average rider were to ride 10,000 miles a year, the difference between a bike that gets 40 mpg (pretty low nowadays) and one that gets 70 mpg (pretty damn good) cost on average of around $7 a week. Drop that difference down to 45 mpg (pretty typical for a lot of modern bikes) and 65 mpg (? just guessing on a realistic # for a feasible bike MPG) and the difference in operating fuel cost drops to around $4-$5 a week. Hell I spend way more than that on bullshit that I don't even know I've bought and wouldn't really miss if I didn't...

To me, my motorcycling experience is not about saving pennies but is more about passion and adding value to my life. Just a different perspective I suppose, but other than just as an exercise in frugality I just don't "get" the point of sacrificing so much enjoyment simply in the name of saving so little. Not to say that small, efficient bikes can't also be fun in their own right, but fuel efficiency just isn't even on my radar screen when I'm going through my list of things that are important in my motorcycle buying decisions....




And yes, I did dig my flame suit out of the closet before posting this...

you should not even worry about it. If everyone had the same thoughts, ideas and priorities, the world would be a dull place. the idea of going to work for about .05 cents each way is fucking awesome. maybe it is .10 cents each way, still awesome. and the fact that I could plug it in AT work, well, im so happy I don't know whether to shit or go blind.
this thread is about the bike you want, not the bike you hate.

Not really worried about it per say... Just trying to understand the viewpoints of others... And no "hate" intended either way. Like I said in another thread about a totally unrelated subject recently, I fully respect the experiences of others even if I don't "get it" personally.

I suppose that if I could get that excited about the prospect of getting free power from work and saving $0.01 - $0.20 a day, I probably would have either shit myself, or gone blind, or... And I often refer to myself as a cheap ass!

It's worth every penny I pour into my gas tank to get the sounds and feelings that my bikes bring me and for me, since that is one of my greatest joys and true passions in my life, that is money WELL spent! Different strokes for different folks and all that so, Rock ON Brother!

I love the sound of an electric motor, whining out at five digit rpms. The "instant on" power delivery, combined with the near silence at cruise.

Electric bikes have their own character, it's just not what you are used too.

Lots of people care about MPG for different reasons. Us dual sport riders care a great deal because gas=weight and we want to go as far as we can in the middle of nowhere carrying the least gas. Not everyone likes bolting on a 7gallon+ exxon valdez gas tank. :) Also MPG goes down drastically in the dirt so you have to pay attention to that too. Cheers!

I never noticed it before, but at this angle that R1 looks like a very surprised fish about to swallow the front wheel.

So true!!

Here is what I want ever since I saw a nice one on Craigslist two days ago:

FFS.

Man! I remember when I saw my first ever gen 1 GSXR. What was it? 1986 or so? Man, how I lusted after that bike! So, light and so bad-ass for its time! Or so I imagined, since I never owned or even rode one. I'd still love to have a nice one just for the nostalgia of that period.

good post. It got me to thinking. I have been toying with the idea of selling my Nomad and getting something smaller, perhaps a DL650. I ran some numbers, and it looks like I could save over $1000 a year just on my expense for gas. But that assumes 50 weeks of commuting a year, which isn't realistic because the weather will not allow it. Still though, add back in all the pleasure riding I do, weekend rides, road trips, etc. and I am probably still somewhere close to $1000 saved just in gas. Then add in the lower cost of tires, and probably insurance...

so what bike do I want today? The one I used to own... my old V-Strom. Most fun I ever had on two wheels.

forgot about this one...does it count since it has 3 wheels? It might be my next vehicle if it is available at the projected price.

+1 And I would like a Tuono V4R also. It would be funny to have a "car" that gets twice the mileage of your bike!?!

Regarding why people care about MPG, I think especially in the motorcycle world people bring it up more as a function of range and convenience then as a function of cost savings. A low MPG motorcycle has smaller range, motorcycles tend to have small fuel tanks, and the ones with large tanks tend to be 800 pound behemoths. Having a high MPG means more time riding and more ability to enjoy the ride and getting lost, and less time worrying about where to find the next gas station.

One like this built from a Star Bolt.