Motorcycle Questions

[JeffreyLebowski]

Originally posted by: Saga

Originally posted by: angry hampster
$4k is going to get you something with very high miles and not a lot of power.

Or a great low mileage Nighthawk..

Sex on 2 wheels. I love Nighthawks.

 

[Fenixgoon]

Originally posted by: CombatChuk

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

Originally posted by: JLee

Originally posted by: Fenixgoon
the biggest factor affecting insurance rates is engine size. i think progressive quoted me $4-500/year for my 1982 GS650. yeah, it's 27 years old, but its engine is 673cc, so the rates were higher.

I'm paying $75/yr for liability on my 2000 Suzuki SV650..

25yo, clean record.

I pay $30/month for full coverage on my 2008 SV650 naked bike.

I have $90/yr for liability on my 2002 Suzuki Bandit 1200S

guess i picked too many options, or my memory was a little fuzzy

 

[rstrohkirch]

I live in a no-fault state, are you required to have minimum coverage for property/personal liabilities in these other states? Also, there are other options in terms of medical compensation for you or possible passengers. Saying you pay XX amount for this or that doesn't include these items...which to me are far more valuable depending on your health insurance than whether or not your bike is covered in an accident.

 

[EMPshockwave82]

Went to actually look at them in the store today and fell in love with the 883 iron and the 1200 Nightster in black. Probably will get the 883 Iron. Now the battle is convincing the roommate that it's no big deal to fit it in the garage with whatever car is in there. It's a tight fit and may force us to change how we enter the house and how we have to park in the garage since it's going to be a tight fit. Looking into taking the motorcycle safety course in IL possibly in Aurora here in a few weeks. I want to get my full license before I buy the bike so I can ride it home from the dealership.

Edit: So this basically means my 4k price range is out the window and I'm now looking at 8300 out the door with a security system, they pay tax, title and license.

 

[jlee]

Originally posted by: rstrohkirch
hrmmm

please post a screen shot showing your online profile for the sv650

Are you shensing me...?

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: EMPshockwave82
Went to actually look at them in the store today and fell in love with the 883 iron and the 1200 Nightster in black. Probably will get the 883 Iron. Now the battle is convincing the roommate that it's no big deal to fit it in the garage with whatever car is in there. It's a tight fit and may force us to change how we enter the house and how we have to park in the garage since it's going to be a tight fit. Looking into taking the motorcycle safety course in IL possibly in Aurora here in a few weeks. I want to get my full license before I buy the bike so I can ride it home from the dealership.

Edit: So this basically means my 4k price range is out the window and I'm now looking at 8300 out the door with a security system, they pay tax, title and license.

Take the MSF course and get your license before you buy the bike. Seriously, looking at a motorcycle and actually riding it are two different things.

I thought I wanted a Harley once...and then I got my license, started riding, and found that I actually prefer a more performance oriented machine, and that going around corners was fun...you know, the stuff I enjoy about driving cars.

Although, I have to admit that I've never actually ridden a Harley...can't imagine I'm missing much though.

 

[jlee]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

Originally posted by: EMPshockwave82
Went to actually look at them in the store today and fell in love with the 883 iron and the 1200 Nightster in black. Probably will get the 883 Iron. Now the battle is convincing the roommate that it's no big deal to fit it in the garage with whatever car is in there. It's a tight fit and may force us to change how we enter the house and how we have to park in the garage since it's going to be a tight fit. Looking into taking the motorcycle safety course in IL possibly in Aurora here in a few weeks. I want to get my full license before I buy the bike so I can ride it home from the dealership.

Edit: So this basically means my 4k price range is out the window and I'm now looking at 8300 out the door with a security system, they pay tax, title and license.

Take the MSF course and get your license before you buy the bike. Seriously, looking at a motorcycle and actually riding it are two different things.

I thought I wanted a Harley once...and then I got my license, started riding, and found that I actually prefer a more performance oriented machine, and that going around corners was fun...you know, the stuff I enjoy about driving cars.

Although, I have to admit that I've never actually ridden a Harley...can't imagine I'm missing much though.

I've put just over 1000 miles on my bike so far - I definitely wouldn't want anything less nimble. Corners are a blast.

 

[EMPshockwave82]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

Originally posted by: EMPshockwave82
Went to actually look at them in the store today and fell in love with the 883 iron and the 1200 Nightster in black. Probably will get the 883 Iron. Now the battle is convincing the roommate that it's no big deal to fit it in the garage with whatever car is in there. It's a tight fit and may force us to change how we enter the house and how we have to park in the garage since it's going to be a tight fit. Looking into taking the motorcycle safety course in IL possibly in Aurora here in a few weeks. I want to get my full license before I buy the bike so I can ride it home from the dealership.

Edit: So this basically means my 4k price range is out the window and I'm now looking at 8300 out the door with a security system, they pay tax, title and license.

Take the MSF course and get your license before you buy the bike. Seriously, looking at a motorcycle and actually riding it are two different things.

I thought I wanted a Harley once...and then I got my license, started riding, and found that I actually prefer a more performance oriented machine, and that going around corners was fun...you know, the stuff I enjoy about driving cars.

Although, I have to admit that I've never actually ridden a Harley...can't imagine I'm missing much though.

I will legally be riding my own bike home from the dealership. Taking the course and getting my license before I buy anything. No question about it.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: EMPshockwave82

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

Originally posted by: EMPshockwave82
Went to actually look at them in the store today and fell in love with the 883 iron and the 1200 Nightster in black. Probably will get the 883 Iron. Now the battle is convincing the roommate that it's no big deal to fit it in the garage with whatever car is in there. It's a tight fit and may force us to change how we enter the house and how we have to park in the garage since it's going to be a tight fit. Looking into taking the motorcycle safety course in IL possibly in Aurora here in a few weeks. I want to get my full license before I buy the bike so I can ride it home from the dealership.

Edit: So this basically means my 4k price range is out the window and I'm now looking at 8300 out the door with a security system, they pay tax, title and license.

Take the MSF course and get your license before you buy the bike. Seriously, looking at a motorcycle and actually riding it are two different things.

I thought I wanted a Harley once...and then I got my license, started riding, and found that I actually prefer a more performance oriented machine, and that going around corners was fun...you know, the stuff I enjoy about driving cars.

Although, I have to admit that I've never actually ridden a Harley...can't imagine I'm missing much though.

I will legally be riding my own bike home from the dealership. Taking the course and getting my license before I buy anything. No question about it.

That wasn't my point. You haven't ridden any motorcycle yet...How can you know what you want in a bike?

Trust me, motorcycling isn't an itch you can scratch with just one bike. You will own many, if you really love it...hell, you may not even know that you love it yet. Keep an open mind and explore the sport. I think you may find that what you thought you wanted in a bike may change many times through the course of your life.

I've ridden a number of different bikes and none of them feel the same. They have different riding positions, they handle differently, they have different levels of grip, brake feel, performance characteristics, comfort level over longer rides, different levels of luggage capacity, different looks. Bikes are like people, you need to get to know them to find the ones that you enjoy spending time with.

No bike does everything well...and I may still end up owning a Harley at some point in my life. Who knows? It won't be my only bike though.

 

[DVad3r]

Ahh yes, here comes the Harley bashing. Not even going to comment, the ignorance is strong here, but I will say this. The Sportster is a fun bike, and it can corner more than you need.

People have talked shit about my rod saying it can't corner. So far so good, I haven't dragged a peg yet and I bomb through corners like a whale. My fun factor is a 10/10.

If I were you though I'd seriously invest in the 1200 cc Nightster, it's one bad ass bike, and it looks amazing.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: DVad3r
Ahh yes, here comes the Harley bashing. Not even going to comment, the ignorance is strong here, but I will say this. The Sportster is a fun bike, and it can corner more than you need.

People have talked shit about my rod saying it can't corner. So far so good, I haven't dragged a peg yet and I bomb through corners like a whale. My fun factor is a 10/10.

If I were you though I'd seriously invest in the 1200 cc Nightster, it's one bad ass bike, and it looks amazing.

No Harley bashing here. Just saying that he may not even know what he wants in a motorcycle. Is that so far fetched to say to someone who has never ridden a motorcycle before?

 

[DVad3r]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

Originally posted by: DVad3r
Ahh yes, here comes the Harley bashing. Not even going to comment, the ignorance is strong here, but I will say this. The Sportster is a fun bike, and it can corner more than you need.

People have talked shit about my rod saying it can't corner. So far so good, I haven't dragged a peg yet and I bomb through corners like a whale. My fun factor is a 10/10.

If I were you though I'd seriously invest in the 1200 cc Nightster, it's one bad ass bike, and it looks amazing.

No Harley bashing here. Just saying that he may not even know what he wants in a motorcycle. Is that so far fetched to say to someone who has never ridden a motorcycle before?

Actually it is, people know what they want to ride more than you think. Take me for example, never owned a motorcycle, knew that I wanted a V-Rod, got a V-Rod. I don't know of anyone who has carefully considered their motorcycle choices, made a decision, and then regretted it. If there was that person must be a total idiot lol.

It's like buying a car too, most people know what car they are going to get long before they actually test drive them/do research. You sit there, look at commercials, and go, whoaaaa that car looks awesome. 6 months later, 2 auto shows later, 10 test drives later of different cars, you end up with what your gut told you to get.

My only piece of advice to him is to consider and do research on what he wants, but if he made his choice already, that's awesome.

Nightster review:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vQa-Ntq9mM&feature=fvst

 

[Fenixgoon]

Originally posted by: DVad3r

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

Originally posted by: DVad3r
Ahh yes, here comes the Harley bashing. Not even going to comment, the ignorance is strong here, but I will say this. The Sportster is a fun bike, and it can corner more than you need.

People have talked shit about my rod saying it can't corner. So far so good, I haven't dragged a peg yet and I bomb through corners like a whale. My fun factor is a 10/10.

If I were you though I'd seriously invest in the 1200 cc Nightster, it's one bad ass bike, and it looks amazing.

No Harley bashing here. Just saying that he may not even know what he wants in a motorcycle. Is that so far fetched to say to someone who has never ridden a motorcycle before?

Actually it is, people know what they want to ride more than you think. Take me for example, never owned a motorcycle, knew that I wanted a V-Rod, got a V-Rod. I don't know of anyone who has carefully considered their motorcycle choices, made a decision, and then regretted it. If there was that person must be a total idiot lol.

;B'It's like buying a car too, most people know what car they are going to get long before they actually test drive them/do research.[/b] You sit there, look at commercials, and go, whoaaaa that car looks awesome. 6 months later, 2 auto shows later, 10 test drives later of different cars, you end up with what your gut told you to get.

My only piece of advice to him is to consider and do research on what he wants, but if he made his choice already, that's awesome.

Nightster review:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vQa-Ntq9mM&feature=fvst

some posts here on AT would indicate otherwise people who end up with what their gut told them either a) did their research well before hand, and made an educated decision; b) made up their mind before test driving. paper research is no replacement for actually driving the car, though.

and i'll do a little bit of harley bashing just because - they're big, fat, slow, and ugly, relatively speaking (i will give credit to the night rod - that is simply pure sex). i'd take a japanese bike - sportbike or not - any day of the week.

</bash>

 

[jlee]

Originally posted by: rstrohkirch
hrmmm

please post a screen shot showing your online profile for the sv650

insurance.jpg

 

[DVad3r]

Originally posted by: Fenixgoon

Originally posted by: DVad3r

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

Originally posted by: DVad3r
Ahh yes, here comes the Harley bashing. Not even going to comment, the ignorance is strong here, but I will say this. The Sportster is a fun bike, and it can corner more than you need.

People have talked shit about my rod saying it can't corner. So far so good, I haven't dragged a peg yet and I bomb through corners like a whale. My fun factor is a 10/10.

If I were you though I'd seriously invest in the 1200 cc Nightster, it's one bad ass bike, and it looks amazing.

No Harley bashing here. Just saying that he may not even know what he wants in a motorcycle. Is that so far fetched to say to someone who has never ridden a motorcycle before?

Actually it is, people know what they want to ride more than you think. Take me for example, never owned a motorcycle, knew that I wanted a V-Rod, got a V-Rod. I don't know of anyone who has carefully considered their motorcycle choices, made a decision, and then regretted it. If there was that person must be a total idiot lol.

;B'It's like buying a car too, most people know what car they are going to get long before they actually test drive them/do research.[/b] You sit there, look at commercials, and go, whoaaaa that car looks awesome. 6 months later, 2 auto shows later, 10 test drives later of different cars, you end up with what your gut told you to get.

My only piece of advice to him is to consider and do research on what he wants, but if he made his choice already, that's awesome.

Nightster review:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vQa-Ntq9mM&feature=fvst

some posts here on AT would indicate otherwise people who end up with what their gut told them either a) did their research well before hand, and made an educated decision; b) made up their mind before test driving. paper research is no replacement for actually driving the car, though.

and i'll do a little bit of harley bashing just because - they're big, fat, slow, and ugly, relatively speaking (i will give credit to the night rod - that is simply pure sex). i'd take a japanese bike - sportbike or not - any day of the week.

</bash>

Ugly? That's kind of hard to imagine seeing as many people who hate their performance always comment on how good they look at least.

Weight is awesome, you hit a big pothole and can still manage staying on the bike vs something that's way lighter and launches you into the atmosphere.

Plus why do you need all that speed? The fastest I've gone on my night rod is 170 km/h and that's as fast as I'd ever want to go to be honest. Any Harley will reach that speed. Your breaking all the legal limits going that speed and it's not even comfortable for a long peroid of time. Motorcycling is all about enjoyment and watching the scenary, smelling the flowers or fertilizer.

I'd never buy a sportsbike unless I took it to the track on a regular basis. If you want speed/comfort then just get a sports touring bike like a Honda ST 1300, BMW K 1300 etc. If you want to argue that those bikes are better than Harleys then I agree, no arguement there. In fact my 2nd bike will probably be a R1200RT or K1300GT. Or maybe Ill just get a Harley bagger and smoke a cigar while I ride?

Plus sportsbikes are uncomfortable. My buddy who rides with me sometimes on a CBR 600 or whatever dies all the time, and he is pretty fit, 23, worksout etc. Funny because apperently my bike is the one that's supposed to be "uncomfortable".

 

[jlee]

Ugly? That's kind of hard to imagine seeing as many people who hate their performance always comment on how good they look at least.

I've never been a fan of how Harleys look.. I've never ridden one, though.

Motorcycling is all about enjoyment and watching the scenary, smelling the flowers or fertilizer.

To each his own. I'd rather find a nice twisty road, but that's me.

 

[EMPshockwave82]

Originally posted by: JLee

Ugly? That's kind of hard to imagine seeing as many people who hate their performance always comment on how good they look at least.

I've never been a fan of how Harleys look.. I've never ridden one, though.

Motorcycling is all about enjoyment and watching the scenary, smelling the flowers or fertilizer.

To each his own. I'd rather find a nice twisty road, but that's me.

Work for me is very confined and almost militaristic in some ways. I'm looking for a nice relaxing ride after work and on weekends to relax. Going on a nice twisty scenic road sounds pretty great.

I don't want a crotch rocket or sport bike. I've sat on a couple of these and started to laugh at how uncomfortable it was by comparison to the standard / cruiser style of bike.

 

[Fenixgoon]

Originally posted by: DVad3r

Ugly? That's kind of hard to imagine seeing as many people who hate their performance always comment on how good they look at least.

i gave the night rod props. the rest of harleys are just eh IMO. good, but nothing really spectacular.

Weight is awesome, you hit a big pothole and can still manage staying on the bike vs something that's way lighter and launches you into the atmosphere.

weight is great until you want to take a corner. you do go around those, right?

Plus why do you need all that speed? The fastest I've gone on my night rod is 170 km/h and that's as fast as I'd ever want to go to be honest. Any Harley will reach that speed. Your breaking all the legal limits going that speed and it's not even comfortable for a long peroid of time. Motorcycling is all about enjoyment and watching the scenary, smelling the flowers or fertilizer.

more weight = less speed/acceleration

I'd never buy a sportsbike unless I took it to the track on a regular basis. If you want speed/comfort then just get a sports touring bike like a Honda ST 1300, BMW K 1300 etc. If you want to argue that those bikes are better than Harleys then I agree, no arguement there. In fact my 2nd bike will probably be a R1200RT or K1300GT. Or maybe Ill just get a Harley bagger and smoke a cigar while I ride?

Plus sportsbikes are uncomfortable. My buddy who rides with me sometimes on a CBR 600 or whatever dies all the time, and he is pretty fit, 23, worksout etc. Funny because apperently my bike is the one that's supposed to be "uncomfortable".

i wouldn't get a sportbike for comfortable rides either. i have a standard now, but I think I'd be interested in getting a sportbike for tracking/serious riding

 

[DVad3r]

Yea I go around curves. Just came back from a 500 km ride and a full day of sailing. Got sun-burned like a lobster, owww...

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: DVad3r
Yea I go around curves. Just came back from a 500 km ride and a full day of sailing. Got sun-burned like a lobster, owww...

What were you sailing on? I used to crew on a 30' Pearson on Lake Ontario when I lived in Rochester. That was great fun.

 

[DVad3r]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

Originally posted by: DVad3r
Yea I go around curves. Just came back from a 500 km ride and a full day of sailing. Got sun-burned like a lobster, owww...

What were you sailing on? I used to crew on a 30' Pearson on Lake Ontario when I lived in Rochester. That was great fun.

Dad has a 28 foot C&C Viking, pretty fast boat. We keep it on Georgian Bay near Tobermory. Good sailing up there, open water, always windy. It's in Bruce Penisuela (spelling?) which is an awesome region too for riding, tons of bikers everywhere.

Yea I sailed on Lake Ontario too locally around the Toronto area, good times except when you got a splash of water in your mouth and it tasted like shit lol. We were on a smaller Albacore boat though. Sad to see such a nice lake so polluted

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: DVad3r

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

Originally posted by: DVad3r
Yea I go around curves. Just came back from a 500 km ride and a full day of sailing. Got sun-burned like a lobster, owww...

What were you sailing on? I used to crew on a 30' Pearson on Lake Ontario when I lived in Rochester. That was great fun.

Dad has a 28 foot C&C Viking, pretty fast boat. We keep it on Georgian Bay near Tobermory. Good sailing up there, open water, always windy. It's in Bruce Penisuela (spelling?) which is an awesome region too for riding, tons of bikers everywhere.

Yea I sailed on Lake Ontario too locally around the Toronto area, good times except when you got a splash of water in your mouth and it tasted like shit lol. We were on a smaller Albacore boat though. Sad to see such a nice lake so polluted

I sailed out of Sodus Bay which is about halfway between Rochester and Syracuse. We would race on the bay or on Lake Ontario and we nearly always won. We had a great captain and one of the crew was really good at handling the spinnaker.

The Pearson 30 is also a fast boat.

 

[DVad3r]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

Originally posted by: DVad3r

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

Originally posted by: DVad3r
Yea I go around curves. Just came back from a 500 km ride and a full day of sailing. Got sun-burned like a lobster, owww...

What were you sailing on? I used to crew on a 30' Pearson on Lake Ontario when I lived in Rochester. That was great fun.

Dad has a 28 foot C&C Viking, pretty fast boat. We keep it on Georgian Bay near Tobermory. Good sailing up there, open water, always windy. It's in Bruce Penisuela (spelling?) which is an awesome region too for riding, tons of bikers everywhere.

Yea I sailed on Lake Ontario too locally around the Toronto area, good times except when you got a splash of water in your mouth and it tasted like shit lol. We were on a smaller Albacore boat though. Sad to see such a nice lake so polluted

I sailed out of Sodus Bay which is about halfway between Rochester and Syracuse. We would race on the bay or on Lake Ontario and we nearly always won. We had a great captain and one of the crew was really good at handling the spinnaker.

The Pearson 30 is also a fast boat.

Yea? That sounds like fun, I've never raced but my dad has. He's pretty experienced. The boat he has is also pretty decked out, 11 different sails, kevlar sails, spinnakers, etc. He tells me the gear is worth way more than the boat. I just wish it was a little closer so I could sail during the week etc, but then again I do have an excuse to ride my motorcycle there which is fun too

My dream is to do some serious ocean sailing, maybe one day lol