Someone explain motorcycles to me

Damn, I've always been a sucker for sidecars. I think it dates to watching Rat Patrol when I was a kid.

I'll mark Ural off my consideration list.

 

You can buy a sidecar in the aftermarket.

More information here, probably: http://www.sidecar.com/ and also here: http://www.pashnit.com/bikes/sidecar.htm

Manufacturers I found (others on the second link up there):

http://www.motorvation.com/
http://www.texassidecars.com/

 

Room-Room

 

I'll add yet another vote for taking a riding course. I took one before I started riding and it was spectacular; everyone considering riding should take it. Especially considering that 90-something percent of riders involved in accidents have no training.

Another bike to consider for beginning riders is the Triumph Bonneville. It's an easy-to-handle bike with decent power but not too much power, and they have a cool retro look. I have a Triumph Thunderbird Sport and know a number of other Triumph owners, and the bikes are very reliable and well-built.

And "loud pipes save lives" is a complete myth.

 

My Nightrain is the loudest bike I've ever had and probably one of the loudest around here. With the windows down and radio off, you can't even hear it when I'm behind you, unless I really roll the throttle to pass, or something.

Loud pipes don't save lives. They sound good, but don't save lives.

 

My Triumph has the "off-road" pipes (i.e. louder and make a lot more power). Sounds just like stock unless you really get on it. Makes going through tunnels a pleasure.

 

I had the opportunity to test ride several motorcycles (including some we already talked about) at Daytona International Speedway last weekend (no big accomplishment, that. It was fall bike week in Daytona and most of the big manufacturers had demo rides set up).

The Can-Am Spyder from the previous page is excellent for touring, not so much for sporty riding. Because it uses three wheels and 14-inch car tires, it's a different, easier riding experience than a regular motorcycle. Doesn't lean and you definitely know it's wider than a motorcycle, which takes time to get used to but once you do it's great. Very good power (enough for loud smoky burnouts ... uh, probably), the positive reverse gear (keep the 'R' lever pushed forward to back up) works very well and the new semi-automatic transmission version is dead simple to ride. Steering effort will kill you if the power steering fails; I think I prefer to lean. Price is still an obstacle.

Sporty 650cc bikes: cheap, light and more than fast enough for you. There are lots of 'em, more appear to be coming stateside, they make plenty of power and none of 'em suck. Kawasaki has two entries in the category, the Versys standard and the Ninja 650R low-end sportbike. Actually, the two Kawis are one bike (with the same V-twin engine) but with different fairing and handlebars up top. Good bikes, both of 'em. Suzuki replaced the old 600 and 750 Katana models with the GSX-650F last year, basing it on the Euro-market 650 Bandit UJM but with a fairing based on the previous generation of GSX-R hard-edged sportbikes. Unlike its SV650 and V-STrom 650 stablemates, its engine is not a twin but instead a four-cylinder. Thanks to that bike, I've had to revise my opinion of middleweight sport bikes. Unlike the supersport GSX-R bikes and sporty half-faired SV650S, but like its Kawasaki competition, the GSX-F uses a standard handlebar rather than clip-on bars. Much more upright riding position, even better than the SV650S. I like the GSX-F, if only because I can ride it comfortably and confidently (very much so, in fact) and not folded up like a paper clip as I have to get on the GSX-R models. I like the F so much that I want to buy one; good power, comfortable, not overly buzzy and would do well as a budget sport-touring mount. Damn good bike and would make a good first bike, as would any bike in this overly-long paragraph.

We may be getting the 650 Bandit sooner rather than later. This would be most excellent; the old 600 Bandit was awesome. However, we're already getting a different 650 from Suzuki, called the Gladius. It has the same V-twin engine as Suzuki's 650 V-Strom and SV models but looks vaguely reminiscent of a Buell Blast or Ducati Monster. I'd love to tell you riding impressions of the Gladius, or even sitting-on-the-saddle impressions, but I couldn't get close enough to it to touch it due to the crowd of people constantly milling around it. Anyway, click here to learn as much as I did about it.

Yamaha, while not offering a 650 bike, does offer two middleweights that aren't razor-edge bikes --- the YZF-R6S and the FZ6. Also good bikes; the R6S is not far removed from being Yamaha's frontline middleweight sport bike. At $8,700, its MSRP is rather more than most of the 650s.

(Honda has nothing in the cheap 650 class. In fact, Honda's been getting outmaneuvered by its two-wheeled competitors for a long time. Sad, really.)

Star (Yamaha's cruiser division) has a new 950cc V-Star coming out in answer to Kawasaki's Vulcan 900 cruisers. Mmmm, nice ... except for the part where they put the speedometer way down on the gas tank where it's hard to check while underway. (And can we have a tachometer? Please?) The Kawi 900s are good motorcycles; if not for the "900" on the air filter cover, you wouldn't know the difference (solution: buy an aftermarket cover) ... and of course, they're cheaper than big-twin cruisers of all makes, foreign and domestic. Didn't get to ride the new middleweight Star bikes. Did ride one of the middleweight Vulcans; if not for the speedometer placement, they're winners.

Seen but not ridden: the Ridley. 750cc U.S.-made cruiser with a difference: an automatic transmission (actually a CVT). Very convenient for rookie bikers. Transmission is huge compared to everybody else's, so much so that I think it detracts from the overall look of the bike. Have heard that build quality may be an issue, as well. And they're not cheap.

Speaking both of Honda motorcycles and automatic transmissions, the only thing new they had was the DN-01, and only as a display model. Looks like ... meh. The long fairing reminds me of the "face" of a Cylon raider from the new version of Battlestar Galactica. The big news is that the 680cc V-twin is attached to a fancy continuously-variable transmission. Sets you back at least $15K. More of an image leader than anything else, I think.

 

AKA Donorcycle. If I never witness another person injured by a motorcycle accident, it will be too soon.

 

You can get a 250 2-stroke to go as fast as a 1000 4-stroke sometimes, but generally, the more displacement, the more power.
No 4-stroke bike over 500 CCs is suitable for a beginner. And 600 CC bikes today are every bit as powerful in the real word as 1000 CC superbikes of 20 years ago.

 

OK, I made my first post without reading the whole thread.
Best bikes I've ridden this year (and over any given 3-year period, I ride just about everything) are the Kawasaki Versys and the Moto Guzzi Breva 750.
Caveat with the Versys is it is incredibly tall. If you aren't, forget it.
Caveat with the Guzzi is you need a long-time and reputable dealer nearby. But right now they are knocking $1,000 or more off the 750s.
Got no use for most cruisers, but I test them out. Motorcycles should stop well while changing course. Most cruisers do not.
Loud pipes are an annoyance, not a lifesaver. Full-face helmets should be mandatory, as should armored jackets. Wear boots, even to the corner store.
Get a book called Proficient Motorcycling.
And finally, you will have an accident. Guaranteed. The guy who wrote Proficient Motorcycling was killed when he hit a deer.

 

Oh yeah, beginner motorcycles.
The Kawasaki Ninja 250 is competent in every way possible. Looks good, too.
Among cruisers, the small Star is the winner IMHO. You want something really different and really good? The Buell Blast is just what it says. It's an offshoot of Harley, and you always have that going for you if you pull up to a biker bar.

 

Anybody know a good motorcycle for not dying when someone hits you with their car?