phaedrus@eneevax.UUCP (Praveen Kumar) (10/06/85)
I want to buy a nice comfortable (read: easy to handle) touring bike. I am about 6' and weigh about 155-165 lbs. I have never ridden bikes before but, I intend to ride across the country next summer/fall and I don't want to have to buy a new bike for that. So, I would like to compromise between handleability, durability, power, and tourability. I recently purchased two magazines which I hoped would help me choose. These are the October issues of "Cycle World" and "Cycle". They have the best bikes of 1985. However, their reviews were for the most part disappointing. Except for the review of the BMW R80RT (I think). Of course, I can't afford that. By the way, I am looking for a bike which will cost about 2500. I will pay as much as 3000 if I have to (I would rather not). I am also willing to buy a used (but not too old) bike. I have been told that this is about the best time to buy a bike (as far as good bargains go). I would like to buy the bike in about 4-6 weeks. I won't have the money 'til then. I would like peoples opinions/ideas etc. on the topic. If anyone can suggest any reading material on choosing a motorcycles, I would appreciate it much if you could send me the names. So far, the bike I like is the Honda 700 Shadow. It is the only bike I have ridden for any length of time. However, I have never ridden it for more than about an hour at a time. So, I really don't know how it will do on a long tour. Thanks in advance for the advice, -- Praveen Kumar Don't bother me! I'm on an emergency third rail power trip. phaedrus@eneevax.arpa or {seismo,allegra}!umcp-cs!eneevax!phaedrus
hsc@mtuxo.UUCP (h.cohen) (10/10/85)
For an excellent solo (passable two-up) turnkey tourer at around $2500 ~ $3000, hunt the Honda shops for a leftover new 1983 GL650I "Silverwing." There are quite a few around the country waiting for smart people to buy them. I am delighted with mine. Harvey S. Cohen mtuxo!hsc
jon@msunix.UUCP (Jonathan Hue) (10/12/85)
In article <379@eneevax.UUCP>, phaedrus@eneevax.UUCP (Praveen Kumar) writes: > I want to buy a nice comfortable (read: easy to handle) touring bike. > > So far, the bike I like is the Honda 700 Shadow. It is the only bike > I have ridden for any length of time. However, I have never ridden > it for more than about an hour at a time. So, I really don't know how > it will do on a long tour. > Isn't a Shadow one of those V-Twin cruiser-style bikes? I wouldn't reccommend a V-Twin cruiser for touring. Sure, they're comfy around town, but I would think the vibration from the V-Twin (even with conterbalancers, if it has them) combined with the effort in holding onto the bars from a leaned-back seating position fighting the wind blast at 65mph would be fatiguing. I've no experience with anything except sport bikes and motocross bikes, but I think something along the lines of a Nighthawk would be a better choice. It's a better seating position and the inline-four is much smoother. It's got the hydralic lifters too, so it's cheaper to maintain than the 16-valves on my miniceptor. Of course, there was my MSF instructor who was an ex-F1 racer, who thought a FJ1100 was a good touring bike and thought a GS1150E was a good beginner bike if you were over 180lbs. A plexiglas windscreen, though not terribly pretty, is a good addition for any unfaired bike used for touring. By the way, were any Bay area people racing on Skyline last weekend? I was up there and I hardly saw anyone (usually there are hundreds). I guess all the canyon crazies finally killed themselves during the summer, and a crop of replacements will arrive next spring. I want an RG500, Jonathan Hue @ LMSC-Mechanisms & Servos (..ucbvax!amdcad!cae780!leadsv!msunix!jon) or something like that
jon@msunix.UUCP (Jonathan Hue) (10/12/85)
Sorry folks, I forgot to add to the last message that if your riding skills are a bit rusty or non-existant, take the MSF beginner or advanced rider class. Here in CA they are every month from March to November, if enough people enroll. Jonathan Hue LMSC-Mechanisms & Servos (..ucbvax!amdcad!cae780!leadsv!msunix!jon) or something like that
roland@inmet.UUCP (10/17/85)
<I want to buy a nice comfortable (read: easy to handle) touring bike. <[one interesting bike is] the BMW R80RT. Of course, I can't afford that. <By the way, I am looking for a bike which will cost about 2500. <I will pay as much as 3000 if I have to (I would rather not). <I am also willing to buy a used (but not too old) bike. I've ridden a BMW (just one, 80K+ miles) for over 10 years and worked on them as a professional mechanic for 5. You should be able to find a 6-10 year old BMW in your price range. I would not hesitate to buy one with 40-60K miles. I personally know one 1971 R60/5 (600cc) with over 200K miles pulling a sidecar that has had three valves and a clutch replaced but has never been overhauled. (I've persuaded the owner to let me autopsy the beast when it does finally pull a one hoss shay.) The usual caveats about buying any used motor vehicle apply.
mazlack@ernie.BERKELEY.EDU (Lawrence J. &) (10/18/85)
> ><I want to buy a nice comfortable (read: easy to handle) touring bike. ><[one interesting bike is] the BMW R80RT. Of course, I can't afford that. ><By the way, I am looking for a bike which will cost about 2500. ><I will pay as much as 3000 if I have to (I would rather not). ><I am also willing to buy a used (but not too old) bike. > >I've ridden a BMW (just one, 80K+ miles) for over 10 years >and worked on them as a professional mechanic for 5. >You should be able to find a 6-10 year old BMW in your price range. >I would not hesitate to buy one with 40-60K miles. >I personally know one 1971 R60/5 (600cc) with over 200K miles >pulling a sidecar that has had three valves and a clutch replaced >but has never been overhauled. (I've persuaded the owner to >let me autopsy the beast when it does finally pull a one hoss shay.) > >The usual caveats about buying any used motor vehicle apply. Agreed. You are better buying a good used machine that may well run over 100K miles (not uncommon at all with a 2 cylinder BMW) than a new, Japanese machine that may not make 25K without a major overhaul.