The V-max thread got me thinking, we're a bunch of gearheads here, but focused primarily towards cars. So what about motorbikes? Anything in particular you guys like? I personally have zero knowledge of motorbikes (as opposed to my dad when he was my age), but I think I'd want one of these.



It's a Ducati Sportclassic Biposto...and I don't know shit about it. I just like the way it looks.

Hamara Bajaj!

Not a motorcycle guy in the least. I find myself much much more drawn to the control interface that a car offers than that of a bike. Also, I've been conditioned to feel like motorcycles are inevitable death. I knew a kid in high school, a really talented up-and-coming motorcycle racer, who get killed by an unattentive motorist while puttering around town. An old neighbor of mine got run over by a 14 year old kid joy-riding his parent's SUV during rush hour and was in and out of surgeries for months, in and out of wheelchairs and, later, on and off crutches, and he lost a testicle. I find myself having no passion for, and even animosity toward, motorcycles.

IF there were a motorcycle that piqued my interest the most, it would probably be my friend's Ducati 1098. But even that leaves me feeling like I'd rather drive my VW.

I don't know anything about them. I would like to own one but probably never will. I have several friends and family members that ride though.

My dad was pretty hardcore about bikes in his youth, he's owned a couple, and still loves to ride in the summers. I think he's actually kind of bummed that I'm a car guy. My best friend's pretty into bikes too. He's had a couple old Yamahas in between in his XJS and his Crossfire. Now he's thinking about taking up the payments on his brother's Suzuki (GXR, I think?). I'd like to learn to ride at some point.

Last year I drove my friend's moped, which was the first time I had been on a motorized bike, and I loved it.

I went down to the DVLA a few days later and got my self a license and bought a '72 Honda CB350. Not the most technical or fast bike, but it's fun and easy to fix, which is a good thing, considering it needs some TLC. I haven't registered it for this year yet, since it's just sitting and insurance here in Manitoba is stupid.

That being said, I really object to some motorbike culture. Firstly the accountants who are weekend bikers, who buy Harley Davidsons and spend their time dodging in and out of traffic, and secondly the people on the sport bikes who think the speed limit shouldn't apply to them. They really make it difficult to ride a motorcycle here, since they give fuel to the politicians who want to price motorcyclists off of the roads.


Edit: Eventually I would like to get a BMW F650GS Dakar, mainly because I'm a Dakar fanboi, and also because i fantasize about a bike I can drive through the wilderness.

MV Augusta F4-1000 Tamburini

I've been riding motorcycles since I was 16, as has my father. My current ride is a Suzuki SV650, the Miata of motorcycles, which I like quite a lot. For dead sexiness, it's hard to beat a Ducati 1098 or 848. But I'm not a big fan of Ducati torture-rack ergos and high maintenance costs (desmo valve actuation is better than valve springs in theory, but in practice just require more frequent, more expensive maintenance), or the Ducati culture (similar to the Bimmer culture or specifically, the BMW M-car culture in cars). If I got something fancier than my SV, it would likely be a Honda VFR, a BMW R1200R, or a BMW F800S.



Wait. You said you liked the Elise best in the recent Edmunds shootout because:



I can't quite reconcile your positions on motorcycles and on the Elise. Can you clarify?

I used to have a 94 Kawasaki Ninja. 500cc engine the thing could fly when it ran. I bought it from a friend for 1500 had it for a few years and sold it for 1k back in 2005. If I had the money for a brand new bike I'd probably get something like a Suzuki M190r. 1783cc, 4-valve DOHC, V-twin engine. Oh yeah.

^^^

Have you ever ridden a cruiser before? They turn slowly due to their long wheelbases, they have poor ground clearance for cornering, the wide handlebars decrease your ability to precisely steer the front wheel, and worst of all, they're absolutely torture on the lower back in my experience. I owned a couple of Honda cruisers before I got the SV. You'd think they'd be more comfortable from sitting on them in the showroom, but they're actually not once you get out on the road.

I don't like being exposed. The feeling of safety in a cockpit is irreplaceable.

My own personal feeling is that on a motorcycle you are much more reliant on the good driving habits of the people around you, where in a car you are cocooned in safety structures. I would think that a logical argument could be made that if you are uncomfortable with being exposed to other peoples stupidity, you could enjoy risk taking in a car, and still dislike motorcycles.

Both of the stories Clarkma5 told involved people who were injured or killed by other motorists. Had they been in cars, they would either A ) have been seen by the other motorist, or B ) still been hit, but would most likely have walked away.

edit...sorry, I was typing when Clarkma5 posted his response.

Now you're not making any sense. In the other thread you said you were a sucker for the feeling of danger.

You guys need to stop nitpicking, seriously. He likes a little danger in the mannerisms of his cars, not danger as in being exposed the world.

Its cool to say you like a car that feels scary to drive.

If you're in an Elise and some bloke in a Chevy Tahoe broadsides you or hits you head-on, he's likely going to drive right over the top of you. I'm not convinced you're any better off in a small roadster than you are in a motorcycle, even though it might feel more secure. Obviously, cars like GTIs and STis are a different matter entirely, and offer as much protection as most any car on the road.

I also strongly recommend that other motorcyclists do what I do--assume that nobody on the road can see you. Ride like you're invisible. It really does help manage risk. There's still the possibility that someone could come blowing out of a blind alley so fast that you couldn't avoid them, but assuming that nobody is going to yield to you until they prove otherwise dramatically reduces risk in intersections (which are the most dangerous places in the world for motorcyclists).



Considering the grief I've gotten for discussing safety issues on DS, from clarkma5 and others, I'd just like a bit of clarification. I've basically been called a sissy for worrying about how safe a car is, and now I find out that clarkma has written off motorcycles entirely because he prefers the feeling of safety a car's cockpit provides. Though it's likely not going to get any clearer with further debate, so maybe the issue should just be dropped.

Truth be told, if clarkma5 was to clarify one thing in his previous post, I'd like to understand better why he feels "animosity" toward motorcycles.

Thank you, that's my feeling. I like some excitement in my cars but I don't like being perched on top of something where I'm so at the mercy of other road users. I can be in a car and get into a shunt with a car and it's a fender bender, or I can be on a motorcycle and it can knock me over and break my leg. It's the difference between the car taking the first hit and me taking the first hit.

In terms of my usage of the word "animosity", I just feel like I've seen a lot of pain and suffering at the hands of motorcycles and I consider it all very avoidable. It sorta combines with seeing people saying "oh, I'll be safe, I'm a good motorcyclist". It just all seems too pointless...it doesn't matter how good you are, it puts you at risk. Now, lots of things put you at risk, but when it comes to motorcycles I have to admit I don't get it because I don't find the whole motorcycle thing at all pleasurable. People say they enjoy it and I try to believe it but I just can't internalize that.

I know I've said that people shouldn't be too worried about automotive safety, and it's true, I don't get too hung up on the difference between 3 stars and 5 in a crash rating. But I see motorcycles as being about -2 stars, and I draw the line somewhere between that and cars. It's how I look at things.

I like cars simply because they don't tip over if you lose focus for a second.

And that's why I talk about safety in cars. I've seen a lot of suffering as a result of safety oversights that wouldn't be THAT hard to address. Who draws the line between "unacceptably unsafe" and "good enough so that you don't have to worry about who is better anymore"? In my opinion, that distinction does not occur as soon as you move into cars. In high school a classmate of mine was riding in a Suburban around town when she got T-boned. Despite the Suburban's huge mass, it had jack in the way of side impact safety, and my classmate spent a year in a wheelchair with a crushed pelvis as a result. I consider that injury "very avoidable." If the same thing had happened in a modern Suburban, or a MkV Rabbit for that matter, she would have walked away with a few cuts and scrapes.

Similarly, there's a family we know. The husband was driving at highway speed. He swerved to avoid debris in the road, and the car (not sure the exact model) rolled. The roof collapsed, and his wife is a quadrapelgic as a result. In my opinion, that injury is "very avoidable" because the roof should not have collapsed. A vehicle's roof should not collapse and crush the occupants because it rolls at legal speeds.

Is the difference between a relatively safe car nowadays and a relatively unsafe car nowadays insignificant? Is the least safe car on the market "safe enough" just because it's a car? I wouldn't agree with that. The IIHS side crash test approximates being t-boned at 31 mph (50 kph). Not all that uncommon or severe of an accident. Now, what's the difference in results between a relatively unsafe car (the Mazda3, sans the optional side airbags):



...and a relatively safe car in the same class, the Civic:



Now, that's a lot of very real pain and suffering arising out of a relatively minor accident. Like I said, I've seen a classmate recover from a crushed pelvis, and it's not fun. I think the "likely" "serious skull fracture and/or brain injuries" speaks for itself. And that's completely avoidable in my book, considering that the Civic is neither more expensive nor heavier than the Mazda3.

Really? I'd take your word for it but I would rather wait until I rode one personally but I won't wait until I buy one to find out now that you've said so.

Everybody's back is different. Definitely see for yourself. Just don't buy one assuming it's going to be comfortable; you may be severely disappointed. But think about it--the spine should naturally be an "S" shape. A cruiser forces it in to a "C" shape. The lumbar spine is curving the wrong direction.

Haha, I always found the Honda Rune interesting, would that be a cruiser?

Yes.

I personally think anyone riding a motorcycle with loud pipes is fair game for being run over by a bulldozer. Beyond that where i was growing up motorcycles were coffins with 2 wheels so i never really got into it.

Canuck Defensemen Dies in Motorcycle Crash

Anyone who follows NHL and saw the news knows of this. He died in a motorcycle crash but they believe it was his fault. Apparently he veered into the opposite lane and hit a truck.

I haven't ridden a motorcycle (I want to) but something tells me you can't blame a motorcycle for this kind of death.

What the hell Miltov? What are you trying to say? If the stories you told involved a motorcycle the person on the motorcycle would be completely dead. There is no car that is anywhere near as unsafe as a motorycle.

The question is not whether motorcycling is dangerous. It is. The question is whether people who feel outright animosity about motorcycling because of its danger should turn around and flame people who seek to reduce avoidable danger in other activities, such as driving cars.

In other words: Clarkma5 eliminates certain activities from his life because he considers them an unnessary danger. I'm not criticizing that choice--for him, the inherent dangers of motorcycling (as opposed to the avoidable dangers) outweigh the benefits. What I'm saying that someone who makes a decision like that shouldn't criticize others when they seek to eliminate avoidable dangers within activities that they're going to do. I'm trying to say saying "motorcycling is too dangerous so I feel animosity toward it" is, in my opinion, inconsistent with saying "ANY car is safe enough, to split hairs is just annoying."

Within every activity which you choose to do, I think it's important to eliminate easily-avoidable risk within that activity that causes very real suffering and death. Don't tell people to give up scuba diving entirely because it's an avoidable risk , but tell people to get certified and scuba dive with a buddy. Don't tell people to give up motorcycling entirely, but make sure they wear a helmet and ride like they're invisible. Likewise, in cars, I am frustrated when a car like the Mazda3 crushes right into its occupants in even a 30 mph accident, when the otherwise-comparable Civic doesn't. Likely brain injuries and skull fractures from a 30 mph crash? That's an easily-avoidable danger.

I just don't understand why someone who feels animosity toward an entire activity because it's an easily-avoidable danger rolls their eyes when I even mention crash test safety for cars.

And here we go on another birdwalk...

This is an amazing motorcycle, how much does one of these cost? I am thinking of purchasing a motorcycle since the gas prices are increasing dramatically.

(1) Which one?

(2) If you're buying a bike due to gas prices, avoid high-tuned sportbikes, huge-engined cruisers, and big touring rigs. They're not that great on gas. A single- or twin-cylinder in the 250-650cc range (or just over 1000 ccs if you're talking about a very low-tuned cruiser or a BMW R-series) is the best way to go. I used to own a 250cc Honda that would get over 80 mpg all the time, and once as high as 103 mpg for a tank.

Anything from Deus








Or pretty much anything from Ducatti, with the late 90s/early 00's leading the way:


MV F4:


Honda Repsol CBR


Kawasaki Ninja in Bright Green

I hate hate HATE those body-color wheels on the CBR

I'm in the same boat as fiber. I like teasing myself with the idea of a motorcycle, but in reality I'll never own one. My main problem is the bikes I like are way too powerful for my first bike. I see a Triumph Daytona on the way to class on sunny days. That is by far the coolest sports bike I've seen around here.
mmmm...

How's this for ya?





If you really want a faired sportbike, you won't find a better bike to cut your teeth on... (it's the new-generation Kawasaki Ninja 250 if you can't tell).

Wow, the new 250 looks sexy. I think Kawasaki did a great job making it look more like their superbikes. With a price tag of only $3500, that is tempting. Maybe I'll look into getting my motorcycle permit.

It's funny because for a new rider the cheapest parts are going to be the bike, the license fees, and the gear.

The insurance will disembowel you.

NOT really, my buddy got caught by a helicopter doing 160+ about 2 years ago then about a year ago he got caught for speeding again. He almost lost his
license and he only pays 2400$ a year for insurance on his R6....

You don't think $2400 per year is painful? Damn man, I want your trust fund...

$2400 a year is COMPLETE RAPE. Holy shit. Who pays for your insurance? Your parents? Dude, that's $200 a month just for insurance.

I'm absolutely in love with the Ducati 848, but I just can't justify spending as much as a base Lancer on a first bike, when I do that is.

EDIT:
Thanks Mitlov I'm definitely saving up for that 250!

Kawasaki Ninja R250 is the best bike for beginners (Here in the U.S ) . My friend is a professional racer(Used to test race for honda repsol, now races for yamaha). He just bought a Yamaha R1, 1000 CC bike and it is wicked.

Yeah, the new Ninja 250 is by far the coolest 250 on the US market.

That said, I don't recommend either faired bikes or new bikes for a new rider. Get a slightly-used naked bike, 250-650cc twin. Insurance will be far, far less, and you won't ruin that awesome-looking fairing the first time you drop it (which almost every new rider does at least once, even if it's at 5mph in a parking lot).

It's not me, I said a buddy of mine. He pays his own insurance but he has a HORRABAD driving record...

If I had my own car I'd be paying 3400 a year (with a clean record and my G-Full). So for a bike that can do 0-60 in less than 4 seconds and can kill a man in less than, 1 second 2400$ a year aint shit....

And P.S. your paseo aint shit to insure, my parents pay 270$ a month for two cars and 3 drivers, and yes ITS COMPLETE RAPE...

1 car is an 08 Altima 2.5s (29k out the door), the other 07 Maxima 3.5se (45k out the door)....

Why are you being such an ass, weinerich? You don't need to bring his Paseo into it, why does that have anything to do with it?

It doesn't take an economy car driver to know that $2400 a year is a lot of money for car insurance. Consider yourself warned for your needless aggression, as well as pointless bragging about how much mommy and daddy's cars cost...c'mon, grow up.

Furthermore, the Paseo isn't his.

I'm kind of lost here because.... you just said it yourself. $270 a MONTH for TWO cars and THREE drivers is rape... yet $200 a month for a SINGLE motorcycle and a SINGLE rider somehow isn't? Because it can kill you in less than 1 second? Is that your justification?

I would like ot get a bike at some point. Some thing small, good handling, not to powerful and great on gas. Just for tootling around town when a short trip is in order. Anything longer and a car is the way to go.


http://youtube.com/watch?v=uIWxgpTAyrI
(shameless plug)

i really like the triumph speed triple. can't get much sexier than this in my opinion.

That is actually pretty impressive. Is it a one-off? Harley should really go ahead and stick that engine in a Buell.

Sorry, accidentally deleted the post, I'll go ahead and repost it.

The V-Rod is a great engine in search of an appropriate chassis (i.e., something that's not so long and low). Jean Francois Vincente started with this:



and made this:





To answer your questions, (1) he made ten of them at the staggering price of $90,000 per bike. (2) the engine is too long for a sportbike, so Buell isn't interested. However, Buell has finally admitted that Harley Sportster engines aren't good powerplants for sportbikes, and have turned to Rotax (Austrian) for an 1125cc liquid-cooled v-twin for their new sportbike, the 1125R: