By now, everyone knows a neighbour’s getting my 2002 Yamaha YZF R1 running; so I have motorcycles on the brain. So here’s a thread for talking motorcycles.
The R1’s tank was completely rusted out. A decent replacement is on its way from England. The neighbour says the front master cylinder needs to be replaced or rebuilt. Waiting for him to dig into it to see what I need to buy.
Once the R1 is back online, it will be time to look at the 1994 XJ600 Seca II. That’s the one that was stolen, trashed, spray-painted, and recovered. The engine ran (after a fashion) when it was recovered, so I’m guessing it won’t take much; but I’m going to have it stripped to the frame and repaint it.
I was just taking the bins out for Trash & Recycling Day, and a neighbour walked by. He has a 1979 Kawasaki KX125 he wants to sell for about a kilobuck. My wife came out and I asked her if she wanted one. She thought about it, then said no. Now if it was a '76 Yamaha 250 Enduro… Well, I don’t think I could resist.
I don’t know why Discourse thought this was a fashion and clothing thread. Got rid of that tag.
Anyway, I have a 1997 Harley Davidson Dyna Wide Glide. I need to adjust the choke on it, and it needs a good washing, but otherwise no issues with it. I’ve been pretty lucky with it. I haven’t had any mechanical issues with it other than wearing out the tires and having a couple of batteries die over the years. Changing the battery is a royal pain in the backside. The battery is inside of a chrome box that is like a Chinese puzzle box to get open.
I also have a 1996 Honda Nighthawk but my youngest son has that at the moment. I’m not sure I really want it back. I used to like it but I haven’t ridden it much in a few years and when I took it for a spin a few weeks ago I found it uncomfortable to ride. Maybe I’ll pick up another Harley and let my son keep the Nighthawk.
I wish I could say the same of the Seca II. I love the bike, but it’s had oil consumption problems since new. It used to belch billows of white smoke; so bad that the owner of the dealership where I bought it yelled at his mechanics for ‘starting a two-stroke’ inside and filling the shop with smoke. They overhauled the engine (slightly boring it out) under warranty. That took care of the smoking, but it still uses oil. I wouldn’t ride it without a container of oil in my backpack, in case the idiot light came on. It’s also a cold-blooded beast. It takes at least 30 seconds to be warm enough to turn off the choke. I wonder if the oil consumption and the too-long choke requirement are related? I plan to have the engine rebuilt (it has over 80,000 miles on it), but picking up a used engine is tempting. My girlfriend (at the time) bought a Seca II soon after I did, and she never had any oil issue. But it would be nice to keep the original engine.
Current bike is a Husqvarna TX300i, 2022. My first injected (oil and gas) 2-stroke. I just finished my first gallon of oil after 170 hours! It uses about half a gallon of gas an hour, so about 80:1 or so. Barely smokes at all. Pretty fun–a 50hp 230# mountain bike! Used to ride superbikes on the street, but no more. You WILL get hurt on dirt, but you’re unlikely to die.
I am currently out of the game, thanks to a persistent shoulder injury that has made riding more than 20-30 minutes a miserable slog. I’m hopeful I’ll get back, but now’s not such a terrible time to be doing other things as this winter’s rain and mudslides have left all my favorite riding roads washed out and closed.
I really miss my supermotard, a KTM 690 SMC-R. That was the most fun bike I’ve ever owned. It was perfectly suited for the tight, technical canyon roads down here. Really hard to keep the front wheel,on the ground. It was just a vicious, xacto-knife of a bike.
My also recently sold Multistrada was a great bike for the twisties, but maybe a little big and heavy for ultimate fun in the narrow, switchback-y roads I favor. It was great for hammering up CA-33 out of Ojai, with its wide, smooth sweepers. 160 horsepower could make short work of anything ahead of me but the most laser focused sport bikes. Great camping partner too, as it had spacious hard luggage and an enduro mode that really softened up the suspension.
I’ve got a 1999 Kawasaki KLR-650. The previous owner tried to put a digital dash on it, but screwed it up and it didn’t work. He sold me the bike for $1850 as is. I rewired it and got it working no problem, and have had the bike for 11 years now. I’ve done all the maintenance myself, including rebuilding the carb a couple of years ago.
To be honest, I’m thinking of selling it. I don’t ride much these days, my wife doesn’t ride, so it’s pretty much a garage queen right now. The carb is great for field servicing, but a pain otherwise. I used to ride it to work, and probably saved the purchase price in gas over the years. And as I get older, other drivers terrify me, and they seem to be getting worse.
I’m still riding my Triumph Street Twin 900 that I’ve had for about 6 years. It’s reliable, economical, looks good, and the right size, but really pretty boring. It has a cam shaft designed to give lots of low end torque, and not any high end power. That makes it very easy to ride slow, but boring on the highway.
I’m not a fast rider, but on a 900 you expect that when you’re going 65 and roll on some throttle, it will take off. It goes faster, but not in an exciting way.
I’d like to replace it, but there really isn’t anything else I want to buy. There are lots of IC bikes that I like, ranging from a new naked, to a used Diavel or R nineT. But I really don’t want to buy a gas bike. I’d much rather have an electric, but the ones that meet my performance needs are outside my price range.
So that leaves the other option as just sell the bike, and not ride anything. Sometimes I think that is the wise thing to do, but on these mild fall days, it is nice to commute on the bike, where I get to use the HOV for free.
Oh yeah, but with brakes that work, and fuel injection that starts immediately, every time, even with 1.5 year old pandemic gas.
I got it because I wanted a bike with low seat height that wasn’t a 600 pound cruiser. At the time, the Street Twin was getting rave reviews, because it is good. After a few years of ownership the cost cutting gets a bit annoying. The suspension is basic, the brakes are weak, and the engine was de-tuned to not compete with the 1200 in power.
I was looking at a used Street Twin, but I’m leaning more towards the Royal Enfield 650. Similar performance, cheaper, mod-able, and the dealer is closer (though I don’t see visiting either). I’m currently riding a 70s Moto Guzzi and I’d seriously like something with ABS, and fuel injection, that’s lighter. I’ve never been power-mad so the performance won’t bother me; I’d take a Ninja 400 or similar but I’m not a fan of everything looking like a wasp these days. I’d love an R9T Urban but that much bike for the country-road cruising I do now is just silly.
I always wanted a Royal Enfield 500. I looked at their website the other day, and it looks like they don’t make them anymore. I wouldn’t mind getting another '79-'81 Honda CX500. Slower than the Seca II, but kinda neat.
I’m trying to remember a bike that seemed somewhat popular 15 or 20 years ago. It looked like an oversized mini-bike, but it was street legal. Had a ‘cute’ name. ‘Rocky’ or ‘Mountain Goat’ or something. Might’ve been a Honda, but I don’t remember.
Not a Grom. The ones I used to see were more boxy and tubular. I don’t remember any fairings, so it looked like an oversized mini-bike (the kind with the Briggs & Stratton engine with the pull starters – though this one didn’t have a pull starter AFAIK). They were recently out of production the last one I saw one.
Not a biker, just a casual ‘fan’ who has never got around to riding - but I know the R1 is an awesomely fast machine. Will you be taking it to Laguna Seca?
It is. I tell people it’s ‘scary fast’. When it was new, I was going to work one morning. I needed to pass someone so I could get on the next freeway, so I just blipped the throttle. When I looked down, I was going 106 mph. Didn’t even feel it, the bike wasn’t even breathing hard. I gave up trying to see how fast it will accelerate from a stand-still because I can’t keep the front wheel on the ground.
No, but I did ride the Seca II up there once. I was just going for a ride on a three-day weekend. Turned right on PCH, and by night I was in Novato, CA. I figured the bike knew where it was going. Too bad I was only wearing a denim jacket. It was cold coming home the next day!
