For sure even with primitive 1980s bikes, the rider is often the limiting factor to the bike’s performance. So whhich is better and whether A is exciting or boring compared to B becomes largely a matter of taste. As to what sort of functionality you want, plus aesthetics, and that ineffable “feeling” different bikes give off.
That is most definitely true. That’s also true of the trail capabilities of an off-road rig. The driver’s skill is frequently the limiting factor.
Here’s that Harley Low Rider ST that I parked next to last night. You can see my green OBW parked right next to it.
And then here is its sound when the owner started it and rode off:
Nice pix. it runs rough (by design) but at least it was quiet. Loud pipes are a scourge.
One of my pals at the condo where I lived a few years ago had something quite similar. Not my thing, but he was sure happy about it.
Where I am today, both geographically and as a person, I can’t say what I’d want if I was to get back into bikes. It’s implausible enough that it’s not worth too much consideration.
Are Royal Enfields decent bikes? I have to admit my only exposure to them is from the TV show “Death in Paradise”. My current bike is a Kawasaki Vulcan 900 LT and I’ve been considering downsizing.
Preach! I hate loud pipes.
Same here!
This is only my opinion, but any time a rider says that loud pipes help him/her negotiate traffic hazards and other poor drivers, my opinion of their riding skills drops. If you have to rely on loud pipes to announce your presence to other drivers, IMO you’re not a very skilled rider.
I watched a review of the BMW cruiser bike. I’m not a fan mainly because the pegs scrape too easily.
BMW R18 cruiser review
• Pegs scrape too easily
• Handlebars are wide: not good for lane splitting
• Gauges are too simplistic: only the mechanical speedo gauge; has a small digital numerical readout as the tach — is like reading a digital watch
• Torque comes on late, more than halfway through the RPM range
• It has a reverse gear
• In the dirt it handles really poorly
• The seat sucks
I think modern Royal Enfields are fine bikes. I don’t know who actually makes them now, I assume it is somewhere in east Asia where most of the worlds motorcycles get built.
We chose to rent the Royal Enfield Classic 350 because it was about the only reasonable size bike available. Most BMWs and Ducatis are way over powered, to heavy, and to fast. A slow bike driven fast is more fun than a fast bike driven slow.
The bikes we rented had a basic rack on the back and small hard side cases. Worked great for cruising around with our limited luggae and picking up groceries. They looked good too.
Yes, they’re made in India. I’ve thought about getting one for my first bike. The 650 twins are kinda sexy. But really, one of the 300-350CC Japanese-based twins (often made in India, as well) with some rider’s aids is probably what I’ll get.
There’s currently a recall to disable reverse on these because some of the reverse control modules have caught fire. BMW is reimbursing affected customers $1,000 for the inconvenience. I think they’re working on a fix but nothing has been announced yet.
The reviews of it I saw when it first came out were pretty lackluster. Mostly questioning why BMW bothered. Some of that seemed to be not-cruiser people reviewing a cruiser, though.
I miss my old R1150R, but after 8 years I was really sick of having to hop off the seat every time I stopped just to get a foot down. If I were to get a BMW it would probably be a used RnineT.
I’m stuck though, in that right now I’m riding a Triumph Street Twin, which is the right size, but it’s kind of boring. They detuned the engine so the 900 wouldn’t outperform the 1200, which means it has a terrible top end. I don’t want to buy something that uses gas, but electric motorcycles just aren’t there yet, and won’t be until there’s a big step up in battery tech and energy density.
Well that’s not a good sign. So much for BMW quality.
It’s very telling that around here where I live near San Francisco, where we can ride year round, that I’ve never ever seen an R18 on the roads, and they were released over four years ago. And I’m an R bike rider, (or was, that’s all I ever owned), and I would readily spot them if they were out there.
But they’re not. So, that’s very telling.
And then there’s the R1200C cruiser, and I’ve only ever seen maybe 2 or 3 out there. And I’ve never seen any R850C cruisers out in the wild.
I have seen some R nineTs out there and they look interesting. I’d want to check those out.
Part of my problem as I consider my next motorcycle is what kind of bike I will want. I’m all over the place. A KLR 650 or DR 650 or similar interests me. Probably not a 125 thumper dirt bike or a full dress tourer, and probably not a crotch rocket, but just about anything in between interests me. Yes, even Harley.
An electric motorcycle interests me. About 6-7 years ago a good friend of mine owned a basic Zero street bike. I don’t remember the model but it was a basic bike like your basic UJM. I was commuting daily to work, year round, and one winter he leant his bike to me for a few weeks since he wasn’t riding it in the winter. My RT was having some repairs done, so I commuted daily on that Zero for a few weeks.
I have to admit that it took me awhile to get used to riding an electric motorcycle, the no gears so no clutch lever, the regularly plugging it in, but once I got into its regular ‘rhythm’ I realized that, yeah, this can work for me. I definitely liked the quietness about it, and I also enjoyed its stealthiness when ridden at walking speeds near pedestrians.
Some time later the nearby Zero Motorcycles (they’re about an hour from me) offered test rides and I rode their big DR dual sport. It was quite powerful and I came away very impressed. It was fun to ride. The event took us on a group test ride for about 20 miles through the Santa Cruz mountains. I now have a free hat from them. An electric bike is something I’d consider. That ‘instant on’ torque was definitely fun.
Have any of you considered an electric motorcycle? Ridden one? Owned one? Or just considered one? No valve adjustments, no tune ups, no oil changes, and no major maintenance. They take a little bit to get used to, but what’s not to like? I’d consider getting a second battery to swap into it, for some extended range.
Whatever I get, if I were to get a bike, would be something that my wife and I can ride 2-up on. I’m fortunate to have a wife that enjoys riding with me.
Thank you for bringing up BMW motorcycles. I’ve not looked at them seriously in 30 years. I just hit this page All Models | BMW Motorrad. Holy Frijoles, Batman. Too many to pick from.
That page shows both 2024 and 2025 models which misled me a bit until I noticed. Nevertheless, not counting scooters they’re still selling 11 models of 2024s and 27(!) models for 2025. Color me flabbergasted.
Echoing @Bullitt’s observation, the Big Iron Heritage models (the R18 variants) are the bulk of the 2024s. Are they having trouble clearing that inventory? But they’re still making substantially the same variants in 2025. Why?
In pulling the carburetors last week, I think I broke the vacuum hose petcock off of the fuel pump. Which, while not fun, isn’t the end of the world. Replacing the entire assembly is maybe $30, and I’ve decided to replace all of the rubber tubing, anyway. The fuel line was essentially falling apart as I pulled it off the tank, and I doubt the rest of it is in better shape.
Glad to hear of your adventure travels!
We’re former Ducati riders and bought a RE 411 Himalayan Adventure bike 13 months ago.
I’ve been told it’s great on slower backroads and forest roads. Absolutely too slow for highway commuting tops out at 65mph.
A few or more quirks with some rather amusing fit and finish issues. Reliable yes, spouse has ridden it at least once every month since 12/2023.
I suspect he’s eyeing the 450 next , the off-road riding is a big allure.
Finally got the chance to open up the carburetors from the SV650. They hadn’t ever been touched, and the bolts were STUCK. Inside looks surprisingly clean for how long the bike sat, but I’m replacing most of the internals anyway. I just need a decent weather day to clean everything up, but I’m about ready to just do it in the kitchen sink with the window wide open. It’s been either cold or snowing.
My next decision is changing the color. My first bike got new fairings painted by rattlecan, with the old fairings pulled and saved for when I sold it. The second bike was vinyl wrapped, which is both challenging and…well, just challenging. If I hadn’t been forced to COVID quarantine for a week, I don’t know that I would have ever gotten it done. So I’ll probably wrap the tank and paint the frame while everything is in pieces.
Assuming I haven’t broken the carbs, it’s just tires, brakes, spark plugs, and fluids. An afternoon of glorious wrenching and everything will be ready to go.
Not to ignite a religious war… but.
I used to commute on a bike and lane-splitted as I liked, it is legal in my country.
Until, I found myself between two buses changing lanes, clearly without seeing me. Leaving me no space at all. My girlfriend on the back. No space to manoeuvre. Just hit the brakes hard and decided to never do that again.
ETA, much later, I was driving in a SUV in moderate density, fast traffic on a highway. I saw in my rear-view a bunch of bikers coming up. Traffic was moderate, so I could not move over in time.
Motherfucking lead biker passed, lane-splitting, doing a wheelie. I had my wife and kids in my car.
In all my miles and years of lane splitting, one of the main rules is that you really have to be careful when there’s a vehicle in one lane and also an empty space in the other lane. When that happens the vehicle can change lanes quickly before realizing you’re there.
My .02.
I’m glad you got through that okay. It sounds like you did anyway.
100%
The most dangerous slang splitting situation is not when the traffic is very dense, like stop-and-go, but at the point where it’s either starting to slow down or starting to open up. People will decide to dart into any open spot without warning.
I recommend it. Like you, my previous bike was a R1200RT. A couple of years ago I traded it in for a new R1250RT, and wow, what a bike:
- 23% more power than the early R1200RT bikes
- “shift-cam” variable valve timing (this engine pulls hard all the way across the rev range)
- adaptive cruise control
- single throttle body (no more throttle sync jobs every 6K miles)
- electronic throttle (enables traction control)
- suspension position sensors (enables anti-wheelie and anti-stoppie control)
- liquid cooled engine (no more overtemping in stop-and-go traffic)
It’s certainly not as nimble or narrow as a 600-cc sportbike, but it’s got plenty of power and plenty of lean; I’m very happy with mine.