motorcycle forums?

[WS6]

does anyone happen to know of a motorcycle forum that is not brand specific? im looking into a naked bike, as they are called, and im torn between the susuki SV 650/1000 and the Honda 919. so i was hoping to do some research on the two or others but i only know of brand specific forums and i do not foresee them being too helpful for a comparison basis. thanks

[Matt@RFR]

c-c.com has a new motorcycle section if you wanna try there.

[elcamino80]

And why settle with a 919 when You could have a CB1300??

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif

That ugly exhaust is coming off this winter btw

[WS6]

oh wow thats really nice looking. i dont think we can get the 1300 over here yet. remember the Hornet/919 was in europe a couple years before here. the 599 was just released last year over here. the 599 would be on my list if it wasnt so new. i cant afford that price tag. im looking at 02 and 03 919s because they are in my price range.

thanks Christer and thanks Matt ill check that out.

[elcamino80]

I had a Hornet (599) before this one and I can say that it was very light and agile. I have never ridden a SV650 so I can't really compare the two.

But I like the smoothness(sp?) of a straight four anyway so for me the decision was pretty easy :)

Do you have a chance to take a testride at a dealer? That way you could make up your own mind.

[WS6]

well honestly i do not buy from dealers. i can do much better with the price and avoiding taxes by buying privately. with that said im not too keen on taking anyones bike out unless i know them. as luck would have it though my friend has an SV1000. ive sat on it and it feels really good. ive sat on a 599 and it felt good too. the 919 is a little bigger than the 599 so im sure it wont be a problem. my biggest problem and it really my not be a problem at all is the fact that the SV sits much higher than either of the hornets.

the power that any of the bikes make really isnt an issue either. i ride for the freedom and the way it feels. the power is only a secondary thing. besides even with the 599 your faster than almost anything else on the road. i guess im just looking for feedback on reliability and in general how well the bike is liked. so far ive really only heard good things about all of them. so its looking like its going to come down to whatever preference i may have and what i can find/afford. however im always interested in what others have to say, especially someone who is an enthusiast or experienced on the bikes.

oh and yes smoothness is correct.

[vanzuuk1]

If you are looking for a used bike then look in the local paper and see what comes up.
Clean used bikes are a bargain, you may want to see whats available and go from there. Most newer bikes are reliable, just see what you find , if its clean and reasonably priced jump on it.
Also , a lightly wrecked sportbike make a great custom naked bike.

[elcamino80]

Well you could always go take a ride at the dealer just to get a feel of the different bikes and then buy privately.

Vanzuuk is right also. Streetfighters as we call them over here are pretty cool if you do them the right way :)

Like this Hayabusa:

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif

[vanzuuk1]

streetfighter?

[WS6]

Buell thunderbolt 1200 right? if so then yes a very good streetfighter at that.

we do call them streetfighters but i didnt want to confuse anyone with slang.

that Busa is the first good looking one ive seen. to me the busa has nothing to offer. im not interested in straightline performance and thats really all the bike was built for. its also butt ugly i think. i am not a fan of stacking motorcycle headlights on top of each other. the CBR XX looked pretty good, but i liked the lesser CBRs of the same years better.

the problem with getting a cheap sportbike and removing any damaged peices is the insurance. it would still be very high as i only have full coverage on any bike i own. my 1996 shadow 600 was less than $500 a year full coverage. so far the 919 should be about $11-1200 for full coverage. a sportbike is closer to $18-2000 and thats too much for me to justify for an uncomfortable bike. i do need to do some more shopping around on insurance though.

id feel bad about test driving a bike at a dealership knowing i would not buy from them. thier time is money and i dont want to waste it.

thanks for the replies guys. im still listening if anyone else wants to chime in. thanks

[Munch69ProTour]

does anyone happen to know of a motorcycle forum that is not brand specific? im looking into a naked bike, as they are called, and im torn between the susuki SV 650/1000 and the Honda 919. so i was hoping to do some research on the two or others but i only know of brand specific forums and i do not foresee them being too helpful for a comparison basis. thanks

try Cycle World, last time I checked they had good forums, also S2ki.com has a good motorcycle forum. Good luck!

[6'9"Witha69]

And any sportbike would not feel as good to ride. Monsters (term I have always for them) sit a little more upright and seeing as how power is not the issue, insurance is . . . stay away from sportbikes. Laid down my R1 on the freeway once, eesshh. Speed kills. Not me. Not yet . . . only time will tell. I will agree on the Busa thing and that inlines are MUCH smoother. Better on the gas too from what I see so the decision SEEMS easy to me.

Just my .02 as a former rider.

[WS6]

thanks you two. i did find one forum www.sportbikes.net ill see if cycleworld has one also.

the one thing that really draws me to a Vtwin is the sound. they sound soooo good. my shadow was a Vtwin and it vibrated pretty good even at speeds. would a naked Vtwin vibrate the same or ,since they can turn higher RPMs than a cruisers vtwin, would it not be as bad?

[elcamino80]

yeah I knew you had that one vanzuuk :cool:

I can't really comment if the sv vibrates or not because I have never ridden one. The only Vtwin I have had a testdrive with is the Yamaha MT-01 and that sounded awesome but was horrible to drive because of the vibration. But that one is a 1600+cc engine so...

[AAW]

saw the bike thread & had to post ours... not exactly along the same lines as the ones in this thread, but i thought maybe I'd show you the bike anyhow...

Theresa

[MrAngry]

Naked bike... Aprilia Tuono - hands down the best factory naked bike out there...

[chevymike]

Here is one for the SV line. http://www.svrider.com/

I test rode one as I was looking to buy one to replace my DRZ400S for daily duty. I liked it but the wife didn't want me on another bike. I like the Honda's but had not riden one.

Good luck.

[WS6]

thanks for all the replies and good information guys. im still very up int he air over what i want and will do. ive got some more research to do especially along the liens of insurance. so far as it stands no matter how much i may like a Honda SuperHawk i can not afford the insurance. so before i get to far ahead of myself on which bike to get i have to make sure i can afford it.

thanks everyone

[79_GBody]

www.sportbikerider.us has forums and also and links pages with over 19 pages of links.

[ProTeal55]

Pic of my 1972 Honda CB750 K2
Naked Bike / Street Fighter / Bobber project.

The thing is a blast to ride , keeps up with most smaller rockets on the road , and I have a total investment of a whopping $1,100 into it...

[vanzuuk1]

750 four cylinder, "the bike that started it all".

[WS6]

yeah the 750s were the frist. the first naked bikes in the modern sense were started by honda. in 87 or 88 they made the Hawk GT and in 89-90 they had the CB-1. cool bikes that dont look as old as they are.

[ProTeal55]

The CB750 is a blast to ride , and parts are still being manf. from Honda. Springtime plans call for a 4'' Extended swingarm , and a new "cafe" style seat.

I had a 2003 BigDog Pitbull rigid bike before , and I have had more fun wrenching on the Honda , than I did riding my $30,000 custom bike.

[elcamino80]

saw the bike thread & had to post ours...

Is that you in the second pic?



Pic of my 1972 Honda CB750 K2

I think your bike is my bikes grandfather :rotfl:

[ProTeal55]

The old CB bikes kinda started the whole sportbike thing , atleast that is what I have always been told..

[AAW]

[QUOTE=elcamino80] Is that you in the second pic?

Hi.
No that's not me. My hubby peeled her off some pole for the photo shoot. :evil:

[WS6]

yes the CB line of bikes from Honda were the first sport bikes. thats why you have the CB600f aka the 599 Hornet. CB900f aka the 919 hornet. then of course there is the CBR

[vanzuuk1]

Pro teal, why the swingarm? You may hate the way the bike handles with the long swingarm. It goes against the cafe racer theme if thats what your after.

[Munch69ProTour]

My understanding of the first modern Japanese sport bike was the 1984 Kawasaki zx900ai (had one, great bike) First liquid cooled inline four UJM. The Kawi 3 cylinder 2 strokes from the 70's were wicked fast but handled very poorly.

First 4 cylinder UJM was the Honda 400/4 from the early 70's with 500/4 and 750/4 being outgrowths of that template.

Of course I could be just a little popped right now and be wrong lol

[WS6]

i think in the modern sense with all the fairing and plastic is actually the honda interceptor hurricane in 1986. that later became the CBR and they dropped hurricane. i could be wrong too as i really only know hondas.

[vanzuuk1]

The intercepter came before the hurricane by a few years. The first cb1100f's had a small fairing that evolved to the frame mounted style.

This could go on and on but the cb750 led to the kz900, to the gpz900(NINJA), to the first gsxr1100, to the r1, to the gsxr1000.

I have owned a few rd400's , a few gpz1100's, and my gsxr which is now the katana motored streetfighter in the photo.

[ProTeal55]

vanzuuk1--> I am not 100% sure I am actually gonna do the extended swingarm yet , it is still "in the works" so to speak. The CB is going more after the "Bobber" look , than a cafe , so I am not trying to stay within a certain mold. I like the fact that a longer arm will make the bike look bigger than it actually is...

I had a Dinosaur GSXR 1000 for a brief time , which had a 10'' over swingarm on it , So I fully know what to expect if I do extend the arm on the CB.

We shall see....