The General Motorbikers Discussion Thread

V-Strom 650/1000!

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Based off of the SV650/SV1000, but with softer suspension and more comfy ergos! Fuel injected!
 
Ideally I'd like a bike built within the last 10 years and slightly newer, because I've always wondered what it's like to own something that I don't have to fiddle with myself. (After all, I've already got a bike for that.)

Any other sport touring bikes I should take a look at, ideally for under $5k? Mind you, this would probably replace my need for a car, and I want to be able to drop everything and go on a cross-country trip at a moment's notice.



Meh, I think I'll reject all of those and get this instead. :p

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So much for the whole "newer, under $5k" and something you "don't have to fiddle with", eh? :lol:
 
Blind, the article you posted on the VFR is making me consider getting one myself...what's the difference between these two? There's a lot of examples of the bottom one on eBay, but none of the other ones.

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(I just wanted an excuse to post some pictures of VFRs.)

Quoted since we are on a new page.

Ok, the top VFR is called the 5th Gen. It's a V4 800cc fuel-injected bike with gear-driven cams and a relatively simple valve train. It's one of the longest lasting bikes I've ever encountered and they are good for over 100,000 miles before doing any kind of engine rebuild in most cases. It has a single-sided swingarm, a staple feature of the VFR series. It's big, rather heavy, easy to ride, and tons of fun. By modern standards it is considered underpowered for the weight, but it's also a 13 year old design and I've never felt wanting for power (except that one time trying to keep up with a Ducati 1098, but that bike is the Ferrari of motorcycles).

The red bike is the successor to the 5th Gen and is logically referred to at the 6th Gen. It ditched the gear-driven cams and started using a chain, which drastically changed the sound of the motor. The biggest change, however, was the introduction of the VTEC valve train. As you may know, VTEC works by engaging another cam at a given RPM that opens up more valves. This gives the engine greater fuel economy at low RPM (running on 2 valves per cyl) and more power at high RPM (running on 4 valves per cyl). This was a good idea on paper, but the 6th Gen bike kicks in the second cam at 6,800 RPM, which is right where most people are starting to throttle out of a corner. Many riders have complained that there is a "pause" in the engine as the cam switches in, followed by a burst of power. You can see how this would be unsettling mid-corner. To avoid this you either have to lug the hell out of the motor by running too high a gear or wring the piss out of it to stay above 6,800 RPM.

I have met many riders who owned a 5th Gen and traded it in for a 6th Gen. I have yet to meet one who was happy about it.
 
Yup. Remembering how you got where you are now, without making 'heritage' the only thing you sell FTW.

In other news, I am looking at buying this:

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Rode over to Fort Worth to check it out this evening, actually.
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Discuss.
 
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Many years ago, I started out on bikes, as I wanted to go fast for not much money. First had a GSXR 400 for a few months, then an SV650S at 21(that miraculously survived about 7 spills) and then a GSXR 750 2 years later.

Looking back now, I think I'm extremely lucky to have survived with all my limbs and internal organs intact as the bike was far better than my very limited skills.

I sort of had to give up speed for a while after coming to China (ironic that China may have actually made my life safer...), untill I could afford a sports car.

Then recently did a few track days on an R6. At first I was pretty worried getting back on a bike again, especially since there was no real warm-up, just straight onto the Shanghai F1 track! After some frustration though, it got better and I remembered just how much I loved riding...

Don't think I'll get another bike again though, I just feel so ... vulnerable. Or it could just be a confidence thing. Anybody else had a long break?
 
I was out of riding for about 5-6 years and came back. No big deal, but I didn't quit because I got scared or anything like that...

Then again, I wasn't riding in China. From watching the vids, nobody there can drive and everyone's insane.
 
Spectre, I forgot how common those Hornets/CB919s are in Europe...maybe I'll bring you back one. They're practically cockroaches here.

Here's a good 5th-gen for sale an hour from my house...hopefully it'll still be there when I'm back in March. What's with me and inexplicably owning red motorcycles?

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Yup. Remembering how you got where you are now, without making 'heritage' the only thing you sell FTW.

In other news, I am looking at buying this:
(919)
Discuss.

Is it cheap? What does it need? Apart from the obvious, new tank, mirrors, and a side cover.:p

Is it supposed to replace one of your bikes, or is it supposed to be an addition?


Oh yea, and I have that same balaclava.
 
Spectre, I forgot how common those Hornets/CB919s are in Europe...maybe I'll bring you back one. They're practically cockroaches here.

Here's a good 5th-gen for sale an hour from my house...hopefully it'll still be there when I'm back in March. What's with me and inexplicably owning red motorcycles?

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Oh, it has the high-mount exhaust too! That sure shows off the swingarm better than stock but it makes fitting bags impossible.

I am now really glad I have a custom seat on my bike, the banana seat doesn't look nearly as good.
 
Is it cheap? What does it need? Apart from the obvious, new tank, mirrors, and a side cover.:p

Is it supposed to replace one of your bikes, or is it supposed to be an addition?


Oh yea, and I have that same balaclava.


I am hoping to get it for about $1500. The guy does have the missing side cover, but here's a list of what it needs:

Gas tank
Rear fairing (scraped up)
Passenger footpeg finishers
Headlight ring
Headlight bucket
Gauge/Tach ring mount
Reupholster seat
Mirrors
Clutch cable
Left engine cover and gasket
Right clutch cover and gasket
Clutch lever perch
Battery
Center stand
Throttle pull cable
Throttle push cable
Unmodified exhausts (Someone took the baffles and end plates out of the ones on it - doesn't seem to have made the EFI very happy and since I live near a cop shop, it won't make the police very happy either.)
Bar end weights
Handgrips

This would replace my 700S in daily service. That bike has just gotten too rare for me to be comfortable using it every day with the idiots running around here. I'm not comfortable leaving it outside at night (especially after the earlier vandalism incident, though the likely perp has since moved on) and cosmetic parts are getting both expensive and hard to find. Also, while the carbs have been rebuilt with more ethanol-resistant parts, it doesn't really like the ethanol-laced gas we have today; I am also not certain that the E15 idea is dead yet, and it cannot take E15. This is opposed to the 919's 1.5x fuel economy and greater tolerance for ethanol due to its fuel injection system.

The 919 would become the daily and the 700 would become the weekend bike/alternate/backup. They made enough 919s that I wouldn't care about it being left outside and possibly being damaged.
 
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For $1500? Yes!

Good luck with the bargaining!
 
I have heard nothing but great things about the 919 and I would love to have one myself.

Good luck getting it for the right price!
 
Actually those are flies, but your friends will tell you how "bad to the bone" you look and make you feel special spouting words like "screming eagle" and "stage one kit" and that alone is priceless in a world where you can get a personality from a dealership.

Truer words have never been spoken.
 
Meh, I think I'll reject all of those and get this instead. :p

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That seems like a sound choice. :lmao:

You really can't go wrong with a 4th or 5th gen VFR. Later bikes only became heavier and more complex. Plus the cam gear whine and V4 exhaust note is just goddamn sexy.

If that wasn't eight hours away from me I'd fight you for it. No joke, see, this is my serious face: :|
 
You'd fight Spectre? Brave man!

He'll probably just call his friend, Mr. Saiga to help him out.:lol:
 
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