The ATGATT Rat: New Bikes

Showing posts with label New Bikes. Show all posts

My Kind Of Naked Crazy

The folks at Autoblog have an article on the beautiful FGR Midalu V6.

ST1300A Values

Year	Retail Price	Trade-In
2011	17,699
2010	11,500 - 15,000
2009	9700 - 12,800	8300
2008	8600 - 11,300	7500
2007	7600 - 10,000	6500
2006	6800 - 9,000	5900
2005	6300 - 8,500	5200
2004	5400 - 7,000	4500
2003	4800 - 6,400	4200

A good friend of mind says ABS on motorcycles is evil, it encourages a rider to ride outside of his skill level.

Having been mauled in a car accident before (while in a cage myself, long before my motorcycling days...) I'm a big fan of safety equipment.

When I bought my current cage -- a Dodge Intrepid -- I visited more than half-a-dozen used car lots trying to find one with ABS. It was the only real must-have feature I had on my shopping list. More important than leather seats or premium sound.

So, now that I'm in the market for an ST1300, which comes with an available ABS package, why wouldn't I buy one with ABS?

I've read what other riders have written on the subject.

It's a lively debate. But I'm not yet sure where I'll wind up on this topic.

Obviously, safety gear is important, but it's also true that the most important safety precaution is being a prepared rider, with well-honed skills. No technology can replace that.

What's a technical hold and why did Kawasaki impose one?

Perhaps to avoid public humiliation, Kawasaki has termed their recent recall of the "ZX-10R" a "technical hold."

The terms of the "hold" are actually more stringent than any ordinary recall. Rather than recalling the bikes for repair, they are recalling the US-spec ZX-10R for a refund. Owners will be given dibs on a replacement bike once the technical hold is released.

What could be the root cause of this? Something more serious than a faulty starter or failure-prone rectifier. Must be something catastrophic to prompt the manufacturer to issue refunds to the buyers...

Motorcyclenews.com has the details.

Honda Is On A Roll

I love seeing new models of bikes being introduced. Particularly when they are actually, you know, new.

Harley may repackage the same engine and frame into a dozen variations with cool (or lame -- depending on your persuasion) names. HD has a fairly short list of powerplants and frames, and a broad list of "bike names." That doesn't excite me as much as a brand new entry ... a new class of bike for a manufacturer.

Honda is entering the adventure touring space with the recently announced V4 Crosstourer Concept.

Check out the press release at honda.com.

Also, for 2011-- an actual production bike -- Honda announced the V4
Crossrunner.

Visordown.com has the scoop.

Better pics, and better writing, are found at motorcycle.com.

ST1100 Good, ST1300 Bad?

When I declared my intent to buy an ST, I had some feedback from fellow riders that they had heard "vanilla handling" and "excessive engine heat" as complaints about the 1300.

I've not heard these before, from any of the moto press, but I did some research and asked the ST riders that I knew.

"I had an 1100 and now have a 1300. Both wonderful bikes."
"The ST gets a little hot in stop n go traffic, especially when the fuel level is low. It is unbearable? No. would I recommend the machine? Yes. "
"I own and ride daily my 1300. Yes there is heat. No it does not bother me while moving. Keep the Screen low and you have air flow, raise the windshield and you don't."
"Heat has never been an issue and I'm sensitive to heat."
"The ST1300 definitely is not a "vanilla" handling bike. With a much shorter wheelbase and steeper steering angle than the 1100 it begs to be ridden like a sport bike."
"The 1100 is a better touring bike and the 1300 is a better SPORT-touring bike"
"I like my ST1100. It doesn't handle like a sport bike, but it handles curves and twisties without an issue, and can run all day at above legal speed limits"
"Buy either, you won't regret it."

More obvious differences, from the specs:

Model Number	ST1100	ST1300
Displacement	1100	1300
Fuel System	Carburetor	Fuel Injection
Drive	Final Drive	Shaft

The ultimate Brammo fan's first ride - Hell For Leather

What's in it for the fans?

This guy liked the bike so much he launched a Web 2.0 "Social Media" marketing frenzy, and wound up winning a motorcycle as a result.

Full Story...

Suzuki S40 Cafe Conversion

I love cafe racers, and this conversion bike, by Ryca Motors is an outstanding specimen.

I'm amazed at how affordable their bikes are -- a brand new cafe racer conversion, based on a brand Suzuki S40, is still under 10 grand. Or you can bring them your own S40 and have them transform it into an eye-catching work of art for under 6 grand.

Full story at kneeslider.com...

2010 Honda Shadow RS

Cycleworld.com reviews the new 2010 Honda Shadow RS.

For the first time, Big Red takes its styling cues from Harley Davidson's Sportster line, and the result is suprisingly ... appealing.

Full article ...

2011 Sprint GT -- Triumph's New "Touring" Sport Tourer

Triumph adds another beauty to its lineup, with the 2011 Sprint GT. More "touring focused" than the Sprint ST.

Check out the story at motorcycle.com

And a great review at cycleworld.com...

Old School Fun

Ural sheds their traditional side-car in an attempt to capture more of the two-wheel market.

This new bike has a classic-bike look and feel. Looks great and looks like fun.

More >>

Trip Report, Lust Confession

I don't care if it's 42 degrees today with gusts to 40 mph, and a chance of rain in the forecast, I needed to ride. Turtle fur and leather and all the usual gear, and a trip to the local Honda dealer, 10 miles north, and a little west of me.

True maggot fashion, my trip north and west begins with a jog south and then east. I mean, the shortest distance between two points is a straight line, but that doesn't appeal to us riders anyway.

The trees were actually quite lovely, bending in the wind. Didn't have any trouble as I wound my way through tree-lined back roads. But when I reached the final stretch of obligatory 6 lane megaslab, it was freaking windy. The gusts wanted to blow me over whenever I was stopped at a light.

The Honda dealer has the NT700V, the VFR1200F, both of which I studied a while. I know the Viffer would suit me fine. The dealer has sticker price and estimated monthly payment posted. Couldn't imagine paying more than a car payment for the Viffer. I think it looks cool, just couldn't swallow that sticker price.

Two full aisle of V-Twin boredom -- God help me. Chrome everything, 4 foot long straight pipes. Fuel injection and shaft drives are about the only thing these polished turds have going for them. No thank you.

The I stumble into the Kawasaki aisle, where previously I've ogled the Versys and ER-6n with envy. And here are two Ninja 500R's. How can I have never noticed this bike before? Nearly naked -- should I say scantily clad? And pretty much a standard seating position. The famous Kawi parallel twin. Snapped a photo on my camera phone, sent it to my Kawi-luving friend and said "what do you know about this bike?" He endorsed it heartily.

The dealer offered a test drive, but it was drizzling, and I didn't really want to ride a new bike in the rain for the first time. I'd rather ride it when I can put it through its paces a little better.

I'm not overly interested in a liter-bike of the sporting variety. Gas mileage for commuting suffers. The temptations are too great for my self control. This is supposed to be fun yet economical....and yet keep me from offing myself.

Back at home, I confessed my bike lust to my understanding wife, who understands my bike-slut ways, and shall we say, we have an "open garage" arrangement. I start negotiating for additional garage space.

"One bike is not enough, dear." I say.

"i *know*," she says, smiling "They're like pairs of shoes."

No fuel injection, and it still has a chain drive, but it might offer a low-budget antidote to the cruiser blahs.

Keep the Magna for road trips? Ride the ninja as my daily commuter? Trade the magna for an ancient Wing (again) as a comfortable mile-eater?

It's just infatuation at this point. Haven't test driven it yet. But, looking ain't a sin.

Erik Buell is back...

Road Racer X has an interview with the iconic Erik Buell, in which he talks about the killing of the Brand by Harley Davidson, and the path he sees from here.

"Say what you will about Erik Buell, but the guy doesn’t know the meaning of the word quit" -- Mark Gardiner

He's looking at other sponsors, other ways to build bikes free from Harley Davidson.

The issue was, they didn’t understand the sport bike industry. -- Erik Buell

What's ahead for Erik?

I’m looking to creating all-new bikes in the long run. They won’t be Buells [H-D retains the trademark—MG], but they’ll be something else.

Meanwhile, he's building track-ready bikes, and will build and install enhancements to existing Buell bikes.

"...if you’ve already got an 1125R, you can bring it to him and have it brought to race spec. That’s pretty amazing, when you think about it; it’s as if you could bring your CBR1000RR to some little shop and have it breathed on by Soichiro Honda himself."

The full story is worth the read, at roadracerx.com

Suddenly, Electric

Electric Motorcycles are suddenly everywhere in the moto press. I've never taken them seriously, thinking of them more as a toy or gadget than a viable option. But the more I see, the more it begins to dawn on me ... these machines are the product of advances in technology. They're not like the electric bikes of even a few years ago. Maybe my garage will one day be home to an electric bike.

Many new bikes have emerged on the market in the past 6 - 9 months, and rumor has it more will be announced in the coming year.

Full Story >>

Harley-Davidson XR1200 Review

Web Bike World reviews that enigma that is the XR1200. Yes, Harley Davidson made a bike that sport riders will ride.

Full Story>>

New Volkswagen Motorcycle?

It may be just a rumor, but it is a delicious and tantalizing rumor. Volkswagen may enter the realm of motorcycle manufacturer, perhaps with a rebirth of the NSU, a brand which the German automaker bought in the 60's.

Full story >>

Unlimited R&D Budget - BMW Motorcycles?

Not only has BMW been on a binge of aggressively introducing new motorcycles the past few eyars, they are also completely revamping engines for a one-off implementation in a single model of bike.

This is the opposite of Harley Davidson's approach, which has a very few number of motors, and these motors find there way into a wide variety of bikes.

I wonder how BMW is doing with their heavy R&D investment. I wonder if it will pay off?

The 2010 BMW R1200GS had the top end of the engine completely redesigned, for about a 5% boost of HP and torque. Was it worth it?

Full Story >>