Google

Friday, February 18, 2005

A new motorcycle?

So I am thinking about replacing my venerable Honda CBR600F4i. It has been a wonderful steed and is still a great running machine. That is where I think I should sell it. I am concerned that it will soon start to fall apart. I have put quite a few miles on her as she is my only form of transportation. I'm sure she has quite a few miles left in her as she has been pampered her whole life. Anyway, this post isn't about my current bike, but about the bike she will be replaced with. I am really leaning towards a 2005 Yamaha R1 in raven black. The black is more expensive, but well worth it. Also under consideration is the Honda 1000RR either in black/silver or the Repsol replica. The Honda would be the ticket hands down, but unfortunately for Perry Honda they moved 45 minutes away (they used to be 3 minute walk from here). I have had good luck with Honda motorcycles (but not thier cars), so this is a logical choice. The one thing I HATE is the swingarm. Why make the whole frame on the bike black, and then leave the swingarm silver? If I buy this bike I would have to get this fixed. The next choice is the Honda VFR800. This is the bike that makes the most sense to my brain. It is a more comfortable touring bike and has optional hard luggage that is painted to match (as opposed to my soft luggage). But it is heavy and underpowered in comparison to the rest of the bikes here (with exception of the Buell). The VFR just doesn't make my heart pitter-patter. On to a bike I would love to own, but may not even be available for several more months. The KTM 990 Super Duke. This is a cool bike, how could it not be when it is orange! Problem is that there is basically no wind protection at all. At least on the R1, the 1000rr, and my current steed, I get some wind protection (this is where the VFR stands ahead of the others). I don't know what the price of the Duke is, but it has a 130hp V-twin, and made in Austria (almost German engineering). Then to the Tuono... This is a cool bike. All of the magazine test riders love this bike. Again it is a "naked" bike, so it offers little to no protection. I know my buddy Dave doesn't care for the naked bike thing, but it offers a sense of raw mechanical prowess that I just can't explain. Again the Tuono is a V-twin with reasonable power (not the 180 offered by the R1 though). V-twin engines have a unique engine sound, and have more torque than your usual inline 4. The R1 has a 15,000 RPM redline whereas the V-twins are in the 8-9,000 range. Last but not least is the Buell Lightning 1200. Even though this bike has the biggest engine here it has the least power. But it has some unique features that I like. Take the belt-drive for example. The chain drive on a regular bike is a messy pain in the butt to maintain. I also like the under-body exhaust that it has. Again it is a naked bike with little to no wind protection so cruising at 85MPH+ would ot be so fun, but truth be told 90% of my riding is to work and back in 35MPH or less zones. I do a couple of 3,000+ mile rides a year though, so the bike needs to be comfy on the long haul. Anyway, I posted a group of pictures of these bikes below. Take a look, and let me know what you think. Right now it is all just a thought, and may not happen, but I'm going to look around...

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home

-->