The General Motorbikers Discussion Thread

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I do want to try one. I rented the Benelli equivalent (TRK 502) when in Canary islands and I really liked it, so I need a comparison.
 
I know what it is, I am just surprised you got one. For some reason, you were one of the last people I would put in the "motorcyclist" box.
 
I know what it is, I am just surprised you got one. For some reason, you were one of the last people I would put in the "motorcyclist" box.

It's the suits. :p

I have been tinkering with the idea of motorcycle ownership for quite a while now. The turning point was when I noticed I literally waste about 50% of the expected fuel economy of any of my cars not to mention a double-digit percentage of my day sitting about in traffic surrounded by assholes. Also, that I can do like smart women have been doing for decades and just carry my shoes on the bike and change them at my destination (ATGATT, even if my top speed will be about 20.)

Remote work has put an end to that but if I need to get a job locally again (and I hope that I don't need to, places where I can find remote jobs in a DM to me everyone ;) ) I don't want all of the trouble. I also want a motorcycle that can shrug off the many many potholes of my town and that will be comfortable. Ergo, that one. It has fuel injection, its brand is indicative of total reliability, if it's too expensive they make any other number of cheap dual sports with PGM-FI (and the Cub-based Trail 125)...it's the way to go. And thanks to my current employment situation I was indeed very very close to pulling the trigger on one and finally check it off the list...when all of my cars came out unreliable and I also got sick of that shit.
 
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err...sorry to disappoint...I kinda bought the Corolla instead. I was sharing a commute with an elderly woman in the old world. ?
 
Ahh, I follow now. Nah, I'm just ... er ... pre-emptively celebrating! Because soon, right? Maybe? :D
 
err...sorry to disappoint...I kinda bought the Corolla instead. I was sharing a commute with an elderly woman in the old world. ?
gaasc: "I'm going to buy a motorcycle"
Me:
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gaasc: "Never mind, I got a Corolla."
Me:
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Gaasc, I want you to change your title to "Official FG Cocktease." ;)
 
Ahh, I follow now. Nah, I'm just ... er ... pre-emptively celebrating! Because soon, right? Maybe? :D
Indeed. When I no longer have a car payment to deal with.
 
No, that means you just have ... motorcycle payments (if you like the fancy stuff). :D
 
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:p

In all honesty, I have been looking at that Trail 125 with great interest. For someone who has had a total of one lesson on a completely inappropriate bike, it seems easy and inoffensive enough to ride it plateless for a couple of months to learn, cheap enough to be okay and for me to not feel bad when I dump it (I have been reliably informed that is indeed a when.) and should let me find out what biking makes me feel and what I like or not about it before I move to bigger and better bikes (I admit without shame that I feel things I really shouldn't about a bike when I look at a CB1100, but will I actually enjoy riding enough to justify it? or would I prefer bombing around broken pavement and urban exploration on a G310S, or just cruising very slowly in an old PC800...yes, I have been thinking about this for a while...)
 
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In all honesty, I have been looking at that Trail 125 with great interest. For someone who has had a total of one lesson on a completely inappropriate bike, it seems easy and inoffensive enough to ride it plateless for a couple of months to learn, cheap enough to be okay and for me to not feel bad when I dump it (I have been reliably informed that is indeed a when.) and should let me find out what biking makes me feel and what I like or not about it before I move to bigger and better bikes (I admit without shame that I feel things I really shouldn't about a bike when I look at a CB1100, but will I actually enjoy riding enough to justify it? or would I prefer bombing around broken pavement and urban exploration on a G310S, or just cruising very slowly in an old PC800...yes, I have been thinking about this for a while...)
The CB1100 is a whole lot of bike. It's manageable, but not at all what I would recommend as a first or even second bike - especially if you are starting with at 125. I would probably go to a 300-400cc after the 125; this segment is exploding, which means lots of used bikes are out there or will be soon (depending on which model and year you are looking at). Here are some of the options:

KTM 390 Adventure. Fully featured Euro bike in a manageable size and weight.
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Kawasaki Versys-X 300. The Versys is underrated.
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Honda CB300R - "Neo-classical" naked. I love the look of the CB line.
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Yamaha R3 if you want more sporty looks in a standard. The plastics can be fiddly to deal with, @Kiki can speak to this since she has this as her track bike.
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Yamaha MT-03 - Naked version of the R3 (above), great commuter and no plastics to take off for regular maintenance. This would probably be my top pick of the ones on this list. It would be a good starter bike if you wanted to jump to something with plates.
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Aye. Don't feel comfortable going bigger for now, and even if I did, it's the max I could afford.
Also, any motorcycle is better than no motorcycle.
I personally would love a Vitpillen 401, which is pretty much the sister of the KTM 390.
 
Ran into my first thankfully minor issue already. The seat lock wouldn't work. Couldn't turn it. I thought it would have to be checked by the dealer, but it turns out that an electrical connection had gotten lodged between the battery compartment wall and the lock barrel, so the mechanism didn't have the space to rotate. Pried the connection out of that jam and the lock now rotates correctly.

How did I get the seat off to discover this? The pillion seat can be pulled off without working the lock. From a quick google, it seems to be a common issue with new Dukes. Remedies vary from working the mechanism to break it in, to reworking the pin/latch to get it to catch properly. I can hear the latch engage when I push the pillion seat down, but nevertheless I can pull it back off without touching the lock.
 
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