The General Motorbikers Discussion Thread

Any thoughts on the Yamaha XT600 here?

They are usually bulletproof.. A friend of mine was a "Motobike-delivery guy" and he said that the xt600 was the only bike that could take anything they threw at it..
 
Time for a new bike for me. I was going to get my large bike licence and get a full-sized bike (I have it in my home country but in Japan they'll only give you one to 400cc, you have to take a riding test for the big bike class), but I want to get a bike in the next few weeks and it'll take 2 weeks to get a booking for the test :(.

So my shortlist includes, VFR400 and Ducati Monster (bid on auctions for both but chickened out).
Also considering a cheaper option, like an older CB400, GSX, XJR or Inazuma.
And I'm tempted by the D-Tracker, 250cc bikes don't need a shaken (roadworthy) and tax is lower so they're cheaper to keep on the road.

In other words, I'm all over the place and don't really know what I want. I even put a Bimota YB7 on my watchlist!
 
Never was that keen on the looks of the Bandit, and surprisingly, there aren't many 400's, mostly 250's. I prefer the Hornet (had one before).

I'm almost decided on a Monster Dark. I wish I had more time to lurk the auction site - and now I'm regretting not bidding a little further on the VFR.

To make up for my boring thinking-out-loud, here's a nutty scooter I saw while browsing...

rottasan2003_img600x450_1224894155we0ew656100.jpg


rottasan2003_img600x450_12248941558thbfw56100.jpg


rottasan2003_img600x450_12248941560g56zv56100.jpg
 
what the hell is that? Looks like a heavily modified Suzuki Burgman (my dad used to own one, 400ccs of comfort)
 
I can?t decide if this scooter is awful or awesome.

Sorry for being useless about giving advice.
 
Never was that keen on the looks of the Bandit, and surprisingly, there aren't many 400's, mostly 250's. I prefer the Hornet (had one before).

I'm almost decided on a Monster Dark. I wish I had more time to lurk the auction site - and now I'm regretting not bidding a little further on the VFR.

To make up for my boring thinking-out-loud, here's a nutty scooter I saw while browsing...

VFR = Awesome.
 
They are usually bulletproof.. A friend of mine was a "Motobike-delivery guy" and he said that the xt600 was the only bike that could take anything they threw at it..

Sounds good :D
Also matches what I found out so far, the engine seems to be supremely reliable, only complaint about the XT a lot of reviews and reports mention is that the bench is a bit hard for long distance touring... I think I could live with that.

http://suchen.mobile.de/fahrzeuge/details.html?id=113455820
Mhh, only 15 minitues from where I live, I think I might go there and give it a proper look in person. :)
 
Wow that's cheap. Bikes used to be really cheap here too, but now I find myself looking at the same bikes I had over 5 years ago and they're more expensive. Prices should fall over time, what's going on?!


Edit: Went to buy a Monster Dark today but didn't end up getting it due to finance technicalities. But they had a VFR400 there so I had a sit on it to check the riding position and it's pretty much all business. I don't think I'd be able to handle it for much more than a short trip.
 
Last edited:
Had the pleasure of riding this beauty today:

DSCF7327.jpg


Kawasaki 454 LTD. It's more of a cruiser, not really my kind of bike but it's still an awesome ride. One of my father's friends bought it, he's in his mid thirties and this is the first bike he's ever operated. It just got serviced today so I got to ride it for a few hours. :mrgreen:

DSCF7329.jpg

DSCF7331.jpg

(Don't mind the temp. plate)
DSCF7332.jpg

DSCF7333.jpg
 
For a moment, I thought about a 454 V8 in that bike :lol:
 
For a moment, I thought about a 454 V8 in that bike :lol:

That would make it interesting.

Here is an awesome bike...

Royal Enfield V-Twin custom called The Musket.

Unusual project. What's the engine from? (I didn't check the links)


I bought a bike today. CB400SF VTEC (yo!). Not a particularly exciting bike, but it was relatively cheap (private sale which is very rare in Japan) and it felt like it had some pep when I took it up the street. Will post more info and pics when I get hold of it. :)
 
A CB400SF? Nice! It reminds me how much I want a CB400 Four. I love how they sound!
 
hansvonaxion: What are the motorbike laws like in Japan? Particularly for those new to the country. I'm considering getting along with just a bike while I'm there since the weather seems to be nice year-round and I figure it will be a bit too congested to want to drive a car around all the time.

You mentioned the bikes were getting more expensive. What sort of prices are they going for and how do they compare with used cars?
 
Need a bit more info;
How long are you staying?
What kind of licence do you have now - fully unrestricted for over a year?
What size/type bike do you want and how much do you want to spend? (I'll do a search and post a link)

Traffic isn't congested in Okinawa, we drove a rent-a-car around and it was fine. Here's a link to a car search site that's in English...

http://www.goo-net.com/used/eng/
 
That would make it interesting.



Unusual project. What's the engine from? (I didn't check the links)


I bought a bike today. CB400SF VTEC (yo!). Not a particularly exciting bike, but it was relatively cheap (private sale which is very rare in Japan) and it felt like it had some pep when I took it up the street. Will post more info and pics when I get hold of it. :)

He made the engine from two stock 350 CC singles that the Royal Enfield Bullet comes with and made 45 degree V-Twin out of it. Or at least I think it is 45 degrees never saw a statement of that particular spec.

Very, very cool bike with lots of custom machining to get the engine to work and tasteful frame mods to make it fit in the frame.
 
He made the engine from two stock 350 CC singles that the Royal Enfield Bullet comes with and made 45 degree V-Twin out of it. Or at least I think it is 45 degrees never saw a statement of that particular spec.

Very, very cool bike with lots of custom machining to get the engine to work and tasteful frame mods to make it fit in the frame.

Wow, interesting. I was trying to think of a 700cc V-twin and was having trouble (I'm sure there are heaps), and it didn't look familiar.

Oi, everyone on here! I have a thread on motorbikes and would like your help!

http://forums.finalgear.com/general-automotive/advice-motorbikes-35188/

In other news, your friend George in Nigeria sent you an email.:p

Sorry, I've never been to the US or UK so I can't really help. But if you're not too fussed about looks, an old CB250 (or any CB really) should be dirt cheap, reasonably reliable and easy to work on. Otherwise any old Japanese bike.
 
Top