My sister has a '99 Miata. Fun little car, a bit over refined. Doesn't even begin to compare fun wise to the beat up '67 911 I had 25 years ago. Flat out part of the Miata's problem is that it is Asian. The Asians seem very good at building reliable transportation appliances, but they usually tend to be boring. The Miata handles well, and almost anyone can drive it well. The Porsche had all kind of handling quirks, and it took a lot of skill to drive it the right way. Driving it on the edge was way riskier than the Miata, and you had better not mess up. That's where most of the fun came from. The challenge of making it do what you wanted without getting killed. As far as "real" 2 seater convertible sports cars, I consider all the European sports cars to be real, the Triumph Spitfire, TR6, MGB and Midget, Austin Healey, Alpha Romeo, Fiat Spyder, and several others. They were all here FIRST. I can't get over the feeling of Asian vehicles being copies. Yes I know about the Datsun 1600, but it was not first, it was a copy of European models. Now my definition of real does not mean the Asian models are not real, obviously they are. It's more like they are a copy of the Mona Lisa (or some other famous painting) but a little more refined, maybe with the brush strokes smoothed out a bit. Both are real, but only one is the original.
Mazda bought 6 or 7 for study and the executives kept them. Lotus Elan. The reason it happened is the Lotus was, is that good a design. And that is why Mazda took it for their goal.
First? The Spitfire is a side-shoot of the Herald. They just dropped a swoopy body onto the frame. The TR6 showed up in 1969, a late comer. It came from the TR250, which came from the TR4A, which came from the TR4, which came from the TR3, which came from the TR2. The MG B traces its lineage through A and the T types before that. The Porsche 911 traces back to the 356 bathtub of the late 40's. None of the cars you mention came first. By no means were any of them the first convertible, the first sports car, etc. None of them are the first anything. And in their time, many were derided as being too refined, too slow, too ugly, too boring, lacking in character and worth. Only with the patina of time have they come to be regarded as something special and posessing of "soul".
My dad drove me to school in his '52 MG TD in the early 60's... The MGB and TR6 were cool cars, but not even close to being the first.
In August 2012, I got a hair up my butt to get in to adventure riding. I read a ton of ride reports about people riding bikes from tip to tip of this world and I needed to do it. I'd never ridden a motorcycle on a road in my life ( maybe once or twice on a dirt bike in the sand ) and had no idea what to get. I kicked around a bunch of ideas and ended up with a 2003 KLR. <a href="http://s1153.photobucket.com/user/Fushux/media/IMG_7754_zps104f05e4.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1153.photobucket.com/albums/p516/Fushux/IMG_7754_zps104f05e4.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_7754_zps104f05e4.jpg"/></a> Well, as much fun as that sounded. I never cleared it with the wife about going on adventures without her, so I used the bike to commute back and forth to work and let me tell you. It was horrible commuting. At higher speeds, it seemed unstable. And it just wasn't geared for commuting on a So Cal freeway at 70mph so about a month ago I decided to sell it and I bought this. <a href="http://s1153.photobucket.com/user/Fushux/media/IMG_0391_zps6368c242.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1153.photobucket.com/albums/p516/Fushux/IMG_0391_zps6368c242.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_0391_zps6368c242.jpg"/></a> 2004 Honda Shadow Spirit 750 And I love it so far. Have put about 3,000 miles on it and have had a blast. I like the forward foot position and the lower profile. I'm 6'1" 215 and I sometimes had issues touching the ground on the KLR. I can cruise along at 75mph and have no problems. The only dislikes I have is the tank being pretty small. I could use a bigger one. Also, the wind hits me pretty hard. A windshield would probably help but I like the look without one. Any thoughts on this? I'm no expert in motorcycle riding but I like the cruiser a lot better then the KLR. Just a complete different type of ride. I'm sure the KLR is great for what I wanted to do but the Shadow will work out for what I am doing and that's commuting with a few long day trips in between. Andy
Awesome. Congrats on the Shadow. That is about the same reason I sold my KLR last week and picking up my Vulcan 900 Saturday . I chose to get it with the windshield because I know the little woman will enjoy it (so will I), but if I get the itch to take it off I always have that option. I want to post a pic of each like you did when I pick mine up. Can't wait... Again, nice bike ahwarm! (both of them )
I've really enjoyed this thread and believe the forum should have a cruiser section. I agree w Jerry that a cruiser is agreat adventure bike as it opens mc travel to those who prefer comfort. I have a passion for riding and ride just about everyday but don't see Harley as anything but a decent mc. They are nice bikes but prefer my Vulcans. It's all a matter of opinion cuz I don't own a goldwing but don't see how riding one w tremendous reliability anywhere you want to go can be boring. If Harley is character in a bike then I guess I want a bike w little of it. I don't mean that as a dig just illustrating how passionate riders can disagree. I haven't owned a Vulcan 750 but rode a friends and I was very impressed w it. It was nimble yet powerful and fun to ride. I hope cruisers get their own section here and hope to meet you guys on the road
What about one of these, they might have quick release brackets available so you can take it off easily. http://shop.nationalcycle.com/perl/cycle/browse
Windshield will make a big difference for you. Pick the style you like. Only caution I'd give is that those like the Spitfire, that mount on sticks, have a habit of vibrating themselves loose very frequently and regularly while riding.
I don't like forward controls. I rode my brother in law's shadow a couple years ago. I didn't feel as in control as I do with my bikes. I also like to be able to stand up while riding, which isn't do-able with the forward controls.
Nice bike. Much more comfortable and faster than the KLR isn't it. I also tried a KLR. To tall and to heavy to be any good off road, to uncomfortable and to slow for the highway. A cruiser will take you anywhere but off road in comfort. I love the feet forward pegs/controls. I have issues with my legs that does not allow me to ride with my legs all scrunched up under me. I need at least a 90 degree bend in my knees, and less than that is even better, to a point. I can't use those highway pegs that are so far forward that your legs are straight. I do need some bend in my knees for support. If you have back problems due to the "cruiser slouch" a riders backrest will take care of that. Makes it feel like a recliner on wheels, sort of the same principal as a recumbent bicycle. I have a Memphis Shades "Shooter" windshield on my Vulcan 750, and it works fine. I had a Memphis Shades Slim, and it did not work at all. Helmet buffeting was awful, it actually blew the face shield off my full face helmet once. And it caused severe high speed instability. I believe the reason for this was it was at the wrong angle. A windshield should have about the same angle as the forks on most cruisers, and this one was nearly vertical, and had no adjustment. I sold it cheap to a Harley rider. It was a universal fit type with bike specific hardware.
Somethings not working out here. You need at LEAST a 90, but less is better to a point. 90 is a right angle, I'd say like a mid controlled bike, whereas a standard is a lesser angle(acute <90), and a forward controlled bike is more angled (obtuse >90). According to what you're saying, it sounds like a standard would suit you better.
Actually I got it backwards, depending on how you look at it. I need at least 90 degrees, but MORE feet forward is better to a point, as long as I have some bend in my knees. Completely straight hurts too. I've seen bikes with highway pegs where your legs were completely straight. I've also seen a lot of bikes with ape hangers that came about to the riders ears. That's just as bad as low bars, and far more dangerous. On the cycle ergo site, it shows a knee angle of 97 degrees for someone 6' with a 34" inseam on the Vulcan 750. But according to the picture, I would have less knee bend than that, because I sit farther back on the seat, right against the step. The Vulcan 750 has the best riding position of any bike I've ever had. That's probably why I've bought 2 brand new ones, and have a total of 160,000 miles on them.
Well I got it. Vulcan 900 LT to replace the KLR and provide comfortable 2 up riding. First off, my fiance doesn't like the studs so I will be replacing those parts soon. I went for a short 20 minute (cold) ride when I got home and it was very nice to have the windshield. The V twin has much more power than the KLR did and was soooo smooth (engine, ride, transmission...). I want to check the stator and the fuel guage (common problems) and change the oil, then ride ride ride... I'm rambling, but still really excited.... I think we are really going to enjoy this bike and I will post some "Adventure Pics" when it warms up.
Really cool bike. It will not be cheap to get rid of the studs, the parts they are on are really expensive. Have you gotten used to the heel and toe shifter yet? I bought a used Goldwing with floorboards and a heel and toe shifter, and didn't like it at all. I soon found and bought a set of stock pegs and a stock shifter from eBay. Made the whole bike feel about 300 pounds lighter, and handle much better. On the other hand, many like that setup. Here's a picture of my '02 Vulcan 750. It is a 1985 design, and has not changed. It has 78,000 miles on it, and is definitely the most comfortable bike I've ever owned. I can ride all day with no pain. It has a centerstand, tubeless tires, shaft drive, and hydraulic lifters. It has never broken down. Kawasaki makes good bikes.
Nice bike. The Vulcans sure do look good. I was looking at one on CL but the guy wouldn't e mail me back. Andy
Thanks JerryH. I found the seat and backrest pad on ebay already. I should be able to do those for under $200. The bags will have to wait until I find a better deal. Thanks Andy. I found this one on CL. A couple of them were somewhat local and good price, but most of them were solid black. I really wanted two tone and I liked the silver/blue. Drove a little over 3 hrs away for it (I was nervous to go that far as it was a CL deal and sometimes those deals aren't what they seem).
Your fiance is right. Studs are awful. You could probably take it to an upholstery place to have the seat / sissy bar recovered?
