Ride Report!

When I sold my BMW R100RT

formatting link
because I was no longer able to ride it, I figured I was finished with motorcycling but I finally decided I couldn't be without a bike so....

I got a replacement! Today I picked it up, got the title transferred, got the plates, grabbed cap, jacket and cane and took off to Tortilla Flats. It ran perfectly, cruised 75mph and more effortlessly on the freeway and handled the twisties WAY better than I could have ever imagined!

I LOVE IT! It fits, it's comfortable and I'm HAPPY!

Who'd have thought going to a Japanese machine would have worked so well?

Who'd have thought I could get a motorcycle with training wheels to solve the problem of not being able to get a foot down at a stop?

Here's the pictures:

formatting link
Details: 1993, cost just over what I got for the BMW, PS, PB with anti- lock, PW, 5 speed, 1600ccs and better gas mileage than the new Goldwings!

Beautifully maintained, new timing belt and water pump, new brakes and tires, new clutch, new top and new battery all with in the last couple of thousand miles. One or two rock chips in the paint, upholstery perfect, etc. etc.

I haven't enjoyed myself so much since the Beemer went away.

Reply to
XS11E
Loading thread data ...

Who would have thought otherwise - and why?

Anyway, I've commented a few times that my '02 SE with an Enthuza M2 Speeder reminds me of a big-bore Suzuki motorcycle with a Bassani pipe. The JRSC, though, adds enough frenetic whine when provoked to alter the experience.

Cheers, Dana

Reply to
Dana H. Myers

Congrats! And have fun with your new toy. Shame about the colour, though ;-)

Eric

Reply to
Eric Baber

Nice choice mate.

Very clean, I know what your saying about the bike, but if i could still ride as well as before the crash i would still ideally prefer a bike though. The Miata for me is a close 2nd but still second. Why can't you ride a bike anymore?

Reply to
gixer

"Dana H. Myers" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@comcast.com:

I've had quite a few Japanese motorcycles, never liked any of them much except for the XS11 which seemed close to perfect for me!

Reply to
XS11E

"Eric Baber" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@individual.net:

I had problems finding a white one, that's the preferred color in Arizona since it needs washing maybe twice a year as opposed to red or black which need washing at 5 minute intervals.... we have light colored dust, it shows on any dark surface.

Reply to
XS11E

"gixer" wrote in news:d01mso$p7e$ snipped-for-privacy@usenet.otenet.gr:

Arthritis. Hands, knees, hips and the worst, what they call arthritic degeneration of the lumbar spine. It's hard to get on a bike and when I stop there's always a big question as to will I be able to get a foot down? I had surgery, a laminectomy on L5 which removed most of the pressure on the nerves and cured the siatica but didn't help me walk much better.

The Miata seems to fit well but I'll experiment with some lumbar support.

Reply to
XS11E

Must have been a matter of personal preference, nothing to do with quality or functionality, then. It's true that the common Universal Japanese Motorcycle (UJM) of the 1980s could be a little bland, but it wasn't like any of them ever worked poorly.

Dana

Reply to
Dana H. Myers

"Dana H. Myers" wrote in news:YuednZ2 snipped-for-privacy@comcast.com:

OK, keep thinking that until your frame breaks on your new Goldwing or your GW 1500 stops dead in heavy traffic because of a bad lean angle switch or.... well, I don't want to post 46 pages since we're off topic....

Reply to
XS11E

Sounds like Honda has had a problem with a Gold Wing, which almost certainly was built in _Ohio_, and from this you conclude all _Japanese_ motor vehicle products must be of poor quality?

Nah.

My Japanense-built Japanese motorcycles were pretty amazing. I beat the snot out of them and encountered scant few problems. My (1985) VF500F had a problem with the clutch pushrod seal starting to leak oil easily, but that was about the worst problem I ever encountered.

Dana

Reply to
Dana H. Myers

"Dana H. Myers" wrote in news:1_idnTvgA snipped-for-privacy@comcast.com:

Yeah. Read on.

Used to be a dealer, saw all the recalls of every brand, got all the trade magazines, knew all the other dealers (dealers associateion) and knew the problems they were having nationwide for many years.

You've been lucky as have I. I've had few problems with any motorcycle out of the 35 or so I've owned so on a overall data base of hundreds of thousands of motorcycles, our anecdotal evidence is pretty meaningless. Every motorcycle has problems, Honda more than some and less than others.

Reply to
XS11E

It is the preferred color everywhere. It looks better, is easier to maintain, and goes faster because of less photon drag and improved aerodynamics.

Good work, Leon

Reply to
Leon van Dommelen

Have you taken into account the effects of laminar flow encouraged by Titanium-enhanced Grey?

Dana

Reply to
Dana H. Myers

"Dana H. Myers" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@comcast.com:

All I know is it doesn't show the dirt. I considered the photon drag and concluded that doesn't apply since the car will normally be dirty, it just won't LOOK dirty!

I got 115 miles worth of bugs on it yesterday!

Reply to
XS11E

Dana 80's bikes Boring? I can't think of many more exciting times in Japanese bike history A few that spring to mind. Honda's NR (many things but not boring), CBX1000 that 6 cylinder monster still give me goose bumps, CX650 Turbo, VF750 (that V4 rumbling howl) and of course how can anyone forget the CBR600 was introduced to us in the 80's, does the Fireblade sneak in or was that the 90's? Suzuki's RGV250, RG500, TZR250, GS1000 Katana Yamaha's RD250lc 350lc 500lc, FZR1000exup Kawasaki's KR1, GPZ's Most if not all of these bikes are now legendary.

XS, sorry mate but you are talking out your arse.

Just a bit of background, Motorbikes have been my life and soul (and I do not choose those words lightly) for well over 20 years. I have raced and ridden anything I can get my hands on, from trials and Enduro to Road racing (TT) and Drag. I have spent ALL my life in and around the trade worked as everything from, sweeping bike shop floors to sales, mechanics and design. Just so you know I am not talking off the top of my head here,

Although it is true that there have been some absolute stinkers come out of Japanese factory's, it is not true that they consistently produce less reliable motorbikes than other origins of Manufacture.

Japanese manufactouers are consistantly pushing the edge of technology and engineering to get the best possible solution for which ever market they aim for. Nearly all the top Japanses manufacturers maintain entire ranges of bikes,Motocross, Enduro, Custom, Sports, Tourer's, Sports Tourer's Hypersports near on each Japanese manufacturer will have a model in the top

5 of each, and in most cases of every class.

Who are you comparing them too?

Italian bikes? Although the Italians have made leaps and bounds over the past few years in quality control and reliability it is a brave person to say they come close to the Japanese. and that's not even mentioning spare parts availability.

Germans? BMW make fantastic bikes, but the ABS faults and oil leaks throughout a lot of the range are almost legendary, plus the only have 2 basic engine architectures, the flat twin, which dates back to WWII, and the fairly new inline used in the K series.

English? Again Triumph have come on leaps and bounds over the last few years, but again they are not really threatening Honda in build quality (yet)

American? My Grandmother always said if you have nothing good to say don't say anything.......

From my experience Honda put together consistantly better bikes, from the quality of fasteners they use to the finish on the panels, there are not many makes that scrub up as well after a winters use. There are faster, better looking, and bikes with loads more character, but for everyday riding it would have to be Honda for me. Btw I have been thinking for a while now, but I cannot think of any Honda that has given anyone I know ANY trouble (on the road) and that is a hell of a lot of people over 20 years or so. Ill let you know if I remember any.

Cheers.

Reply to
gixer

Think of the flood of ubiquitous 4-cylinder, comfortable, well-mannered bikes, sometimes with dodgy brakes that rolled in from 1980 to around 1985 or so.

They worked great, were comfortable, and didn't spit you off easily. They were faultless to a fault...

Now, that's not what I said, is it? The 1980s was an amazing period of time, and it was ironically the result of those boring machines. So we're both right ;-)

Agreed. These were not the UJMs. These were the sport bikes that took over in the mid 1980s as a follow-on to the UJMs. The cruisers also rolled in around then, though I did not find them nearly as exciting.

Among others, I've owned a GPz550, a couple of VF500Fs, GSX-R750, RZ350 (RD350LC) and a few others. All of them fun. I spent almost every weekend at the Rock Store in 1985-1988, raced at Willow Springs, Firebird and even Riverside (RIP) for a couple of years. It was a great time indeed. But those "standard" street bikes were boring - and reliable.

Dana

Reply to
Dana H. Myers

I don't know if you have seen my bit of a web site Dana, but the RD350lc has a very soft spot in my heart, both the RD and the ZXR750 were bikes I used to sit on and drool over in me dads shop as a kid, I've been lucky enough to own both the ZXR and various RD's, the ZXR having

1 of the best front ends of any bike I've ridden, but completely spoiled by that back end, I got to a stage were I would actually wear a errr box to protect my errr crown jewels. Out of all the RD's I owned the best was a yellow Kenny Roberts replica, originally a 350lc the engine was eventually taken out to about the 400cc mark, and a full stage 3 tune, it was mental, wheeling off the throttle in 2nd, Ahhhh crazy days, thanks for the memory jog.

;)

Reply to
gixer

I am not really that familiar with the low speed regime these drive in.

Leon

Reply to
Leon van Dommelen

I have experimental data which indicates that even Titanium Grey M2s operate in the same general velocity region as white M1s.

Dana

Reply to
Dana H. Myers

Just in the laminar flow part of that region.

Leon

Reply to
Leon van Dommelen

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.