Who owns and rides motorcycles?

[AC_Pilot]

It seems the martial arts attracts a lot of motorcyclist types...

So, what kind(s), how long have you been riding, why do you ride?

I'll start, been riding since I was 8 years, have owned at least 20 bikes, I ride because it's a very liberating and demanding activity, kind of like riding a high speed metal horse :ultracool The wind and fresh air is invigorating, and in the dirt you can go places you cannot access with a 4 wheel vehicle (unless it's a quad, sometimes)

I currently have a customized Yamaha 1200 V-4 VMax power cruiser: www.vmaxoutlaw.com
And what mine is steadily morphing into: www.madmax.com

And Suzuki DR650E enduro dual sport, on off road bike. I use it for local errands and off road use, and it will be great for attaching to the back of a motorhome for travel.

 

[OUMoose]

I'm fairly new to riding. Just got my endorsement last season.

I have a '97 Kawasaki Vulcan 1500A. Not sure what drew me to riding, though peer pressure did have a little to do with it. Can't really see myself doing long trips with it, but puttering around town and short trips is pretty fun.

 

[shane23ss]

I'm a lot like AC_Pilot, been riding a long time. I have had SEVERAL bikes. I currently have a 1200 Custom Harley.

 

[Colin_Linz]

I’ve been riding for about 27 years. I’ve had a number of bikes, mostly sport or dirt bikes. These days I enjoy sports bikes more, although I’ve moved backwards in time. I found the newer sports bikes to be great, but they are only fun to ride on Track Days or well over the speed limits. They started getting expensive too. I would use a front tyre in 2000 kilometres and a back in 3000. My current bikes are a 1978 Ducati 900ss replica, 1987 Yamaha RZ350, RD350LC, and a Kawasaki ZXR250A. I have another Ducati 900 Desmo engine that I’m currently using to construct another bike for Post Classic Racing, but this is taking some time.

 

[psi_radar]

I've been riding for 28 years, started out on a 70 cc Benelli mini bike and have owned a bunch, including a '73 yamaha 360 two-stroke enduro, a tricked-out '74 CB750, some scooters, and now a 2001 Suzuki SV650s which is just a blast to ride. It's a v-twin sportbike with medium displacement, so it trades the high-end horsepower that a lot of the I-4's have for low and mid-range torque. With a few modifications (heavier fork oil and a GSX-R shock) it handles great too.

I believe martial arts, motorcycling, surfing, skiing and a bunch of other sports all hold similar appeal. They're sports that require fast decision-making, coordination, and awareness of your environment and skills--getting into "the zone".

 

[shane23ss]

I believe martial arts, motorcycling, surfing, skiing and a bunch of other sports all hold similar appeal. They're sports that require fast decision-making, coordination, and awareness of your environment and skills--getting into "the zone".

Excellent point sir.:asian:

 

[AC_Pilot]

Great points, PSI.. I bet we see a lot of posts on this thread due to this truth.

Most people do not know it but Bruce Lee owned and enjoyed motorcycles..

 

[Rich Parsons]

Well I rode Mini bilkes and dirt bikes as a kid, but nothing really past 11.

April 2003 I bought a bike and started to ride. I bought a Honda Shadow Sabre 1100. I really like this bike. Lots of fun. I have about 12,000 miles in two years on it, and I hope to put a few thousand more on it this summer.

As to why do I ride, it is a Zen state, of a person being at one with a machine and on the rode. You cannot be a sleep or day dreaming, you have to be paying attention and adjusting for everything coming down the road. Lots of fun to me, and I hope to make a visit this summer to some people in MA community as well.

 

[Cryozombie]

I ride an '03 Vstar 650 Classic, but I am goin to the dealership tomorrow to look for something... "more meaty"

 

[OULobo]

I've been riding for about 9 years and I own a Kawi. 250cc lil' Ninja. It's a fun little bike to tool around town in, and it looks nice for being so small. I figure riding too fast will just get me killed too fast. I'm in the market now for a Suz. SV 650.

 

[OUMoose]

I ride an '03 Vstar 650 Classic, but I am goin to the dealership tomorrow to look for something... "more meaty"

Honda VTX 1800... That's a happy place.

 

[psi_radar]

I've been riding for about 9 years and I own a Kawi. 250cc lil' Ninja. It's a fun little bike to tool around town in, and it looks nice for being so small. I figure riding too fast will just get me killed too fast. I'm in the market now for a Suz. SV 650.

You won't regret an SV650. Love, love, love mine.

 

[Rich Parsons]

I ride an '03 Vstar 650 Classic, but I am goin to the dealership tomorrow to look for something... "more meaty"

Not trying to get you away from the Vstar Family, but check out the VTX 1300 and 1800 form Honda

 

[Drac]

Been riding since I was 16...Started with a Honda 50. Remember them? Currently riding a Harley Ultra Classic

 

[AC_Pilot]

My first bike was a "Tote Goat" my dad owned, which was a off road forestry type bike with, basically, a lawnmower motor..remember this was the 1960s :uhyeah:


Then my brother's Honda 70

Then my own Honda 90 2 speed rear gear bike.

 

[Colin_Linz]

I ride an '03 Vstar 650 Classic, but I am goin to the dealership tomorrow to look for something... "more meaty"

Ever thought about a Triumph Rocket or a Yamaha Warrior. The Yamaha is a great handler for this type of bike, it also stops well. It has mostly R1 brakes and suspension.

 

[psi_radar]

Techno:

The Yamaha Warrior's a really good recommendation. Gotta replace that exhaust though--ugly and constrictive.

If you're set on cruisers and want high performance, the v-max is a great choice.

If you're not set on cruisers, there's tons of options, naked and faired. Triumph has some great retro bikes as well as the Speed Triple.

 

[psi_radar]

If I won the lottery, I'd buy this Norton...

 

[AC_Pilot]

The V-Max is faster than the Triumph Rocket or the Yamaha Warrior, by a good margin. it outhandles them too, stock. For most people the Max is in the very scary zone as far as power. It will wheelie at low speeds if you roll it on all the way. If you get one you had better be experienced, very experienced. And be careful, it takes time to dail in your riding skills on this beast. It's not called Mr Max for nothing. Respect it or die. The price is very appealing but the current anniversary edition is no doubt sold out, so you'll have to look at the next year, or a used Max.

About the only negatives to the stock V-Max are:

The very uncomfortable seat. You can buy after market or do like I did and have a custom leather gel insert seat made.

And the forks are old technology.. you will need to change the soft springs to Progressive types, use a heavier fork oil, and possibly change your rear shocks at some point.. I went with air shocks. There's also a thing called a "Furber fix" which is simply replacing the rubber fork triple tree washer with a steel washer.

It's a whole different animal now, and can run with the very fastest 600 sport bikes, and indeed even the fastest bikes are not more than 1 second faster in the 1/4 mile. And the sportbikes are way uncomfortable for longer hauls.
I also have a mini fairing, padded upholstered sissy bar and sport rack, changed the jets and the exhaust, (sounds mean now, like a loud Maserati) and I am planning a Mad Max motor install with about 180 rear wheel HP, vs the stock 120. The usual way to get this is a 2400 cc built-up Max engine. And a new front slightly raked fork and frame braces and the swap to radial tires to fix any remaining handling problems. The only reason the Max cannot use radials is it's 15 inch rear rim, no radials are made for this size.

Here's more on the Max
http://www.vmaxoutlaw.com/tech/magazines/index.html

I also want a sport tourer in the future, something like the 4 cylinder BMW or the Yamaha FJ1300, for longer rides. With no fairing the Max is about a 2 to 3 hour ride.

 

[psi_radar]

I've ridden a Hayabusa set up as a sport-tourer with Heli-bars, corbin hard bags that screamed. I'd be tempted by one of those, too.

Any motorcycle I've had has been made better with a few modifications. Typically factory seats stink, too hard with oversized, poorly angled foam. You can go to an upholstery shop and get 1" high density foam, cut it to size and reinstall it under the same cover for a cheap, sensible fix. Factory exhausts also tend to be constrictive, and full or slip-on upgrades enhance sound and performance noticably. Bargain bikes like the SV650 usually suffer from more primitive suspensions, but with a little research and help from ebay, most of these problems are easily rectified.

+1 AC Pilot on matching experience level with the bike. The Vmax is quite a bike even for the experienced. And except for some racers, the typical out-of-the-crate 600 sport bike has more performance than any rider can make practical use of.