Motorcycle guys - selling my bike - buying different one

[madryan]

There was no "IMO" statement in the cruisers will get you killed comment. And what can I say, such blatant stupidity pisses me off.

Look up motorcycle accident stats.

Up here where the roads actually curve it's about 70% single vehicle crashes and of those they're mostly harleys.

Folks hit a corner too hot, ground out and slide, or they hit a corner too hot, panic, and grab a bunch of front break and high-side, or they just don't know how to ride period and end up in the ditch.

My mom used to be all down on me for riding till I told her to actually look the shit up. After she did the research (she's a professional grant writer/developer) she wasn't nearly as down on me for riding sportbikes and stuff like my Ducati Monsters and whatnot.

Face it, for anyone who's used to bikes which actually perform, they're deathtraps. If you dig them fine. If you want something that's safe for 2-up riding buy an ST-1300 or something that's designed to go reasonably well with the added weight of a passenger and has a suspension system that can handle it.

[GAS KING]

Jeepers dudes. Pffuuuh!

[nightflameauto]

This'll be it from me:
The local BIG BOY harley shop is right up the road from me. 9/10 of the dudes I see riding Harleys away from the dealership are swerving around the road like a bunch of fucking halfwits that have never ridden a single track vehicle in their lives. Harleys are the status vehicle, not the vehicle purchased by people that have a fucking clue.

You've translated that into Harley's being a deathtrap, therefore all cruisers are deathtraps. Good for you. You've gone full newsstand, using stats to back up a fucking retarded stance. You're so fucking clever.

People that know what they are doing can ride any bike that's built halfway decent. People that don't will fucking die. Harley = status bike for big bucks and no brains. Unfortunately, that also seems to translate straight to cruiser for people that have no brain at all.

I just don't fucking get this shit. Internet talk = HARDCORE SINGLE POSSIBILITY ENDING.

I'm apparently the only person that sees you doing this shit. Clearly, I'm in the wrong. I've said my peace. Good luck to all of you. Hope you find what you're looking for Gas King. For the rest, later. I ain't cut out for arguing this kind of shit anymore.

[madryan]

This'll be it from me:
The local BIG BOY harley shop is right up the road from me. 9/10 of the dudes I see riding Harleys away from the dealership are swerving around the road like a bunch of fucking halfwits that have never ridden a single track vehicle in their lives. Harleys are the status vehicle, not the vehicle purchased by people that have a fucking clue.

You've translated that into Harley's being a deathtrap, therefore all cruisers are deathtraps. Good for you. You've gone full newsstand, using stats to back up a fucking retarded stance. You're so fucking clever.

People that know what they are doing can ride any bike that's built halfway decent. People that don't will fucking die. Harley = status bike for big bucks and no brains. Unfortunately, that also seems to translate straight to cruiser for people that have no brain at all.

I just don't fucking get this shit. Internet talk = HARDCORE SINGLE POSSIBILITY ENDING.

I'm apparently the only person that sees you doing this shit. Clearly, I'm in the wrong. I've said my peace. Good luck to all of you. Hope you find what you're looking for Gas King. For the rest, later. I ain't cut out for arguing this kind of shit anymore.

Oh the irony.

I get it dude. Anyone who's a competent rider can ride a functional bike under normal conditions and do fine.

However if you read what the op wants he wants something that's comfy for his tall, heavy frame and comfy for the wife.

A bloated, underpowered cruiser is great for solo rides up the coast on a nice day, or cruising from bar to bar on a Friday night but for tossing bags, an extra rider, etc and then expecting good performance on hills and in corners the last thing I'd pick is a bike that starts out at almost 850lbs and has much less than 100hp.

I've ridden my sport bikes 1100 miles in a day but obviously a touring bike would have been a better choice.

So again. Doing what he's trying to do on a cruiser which most likely has a single disc brake in front and likely a drum in back and lacks the ground clearance and power to get out of its own way is just asking to get killed.

[GAS KING]

My Boss has a harley, so he's trying to talk me into one of those......street glide, road glide or one other one........I can't keep their models straight.

I rode his and it was pretty sweet.

WI is pretty flat and straight for the most part. Back roads can have some 90 degree wide turns to follow land lines.......
My point being is that I don't need anything huge, but I'd prefer something at least 950cc or more.

I'm more of a Japanese bike guy so far.......Yamaha or Kawasaki......maybe honda.

Never wanted a Harley........but they are made here and they're affordable used, but so are the Yamahas and Kawasakis.

I do like Harleys, but never really pictured myself on one.

[madryan]

My Boss has a harley, so he's trying to talk me into one of those......street glide, road glide or one other one........I can't keep their models straight.

I rode his and it was pretty sweet.

WI is pretty flat and straight for the most part. Back roads can have some 90 degree wide turns to follow land lines.......
My point being is that I don't need anything huge, but I'd prefer something at least 950cc or more.

I'm more of a Japanese bike guy so far.......Yamaha or Kawasaki......maybe honda.

Never wanted a Harley........but they are made here and they're affordable used, but so are the Yamahas and Kawasakis.

I do like Harleys, but never really pictured myself on one.

IMO, it's tough to beat the concours/ST-Series/FJ-Series from the Japanese manufacturers. Cheaper new than a used Harley in many cases and they handle like a sport bike. Comfy, great power, great breaks, hang bags on them or whatever.

Edit: I will say that once you own and ride a Ducati you'll never ride anything else.

[GAS KING]

The problem is that I don't like the look of any of those.

A nicer Harley with touring type package........model year 2000 or so, with 20k miles is about $7k here.

I'm not sold on the idea of a harley.

I'm trying to stay away from 4 cyl bikes too......since that's all I've had so far.......while I like them......4 fucking carbs and all that is a pain in the ass.

[madryan]

The problem is that I don't like the look of any of those.

A nicer Harley with touring type package........model year 2000 or so, with 20k miles is about $7k here.

I'm not sold on the idea of a harley.

I'm trying to stay away from 4 cyl bikes too......since that's all I've had so far.......while I like them......4 fucking carbs and all that is a pain in the ass.

Just keep in mind that Harley had some serious problems with their gear driven cams and a few other things along the way. Your market is probably much different because you're in WI but out here everything Harley is retardedly overpriced. They tend to break down alot compared to other bikes too. It's cool, every bike needs maintaining, but I've run track bikes for 30k miles where most of my riding was ticking off the rev limiter and they held up fine. Then you hear all sorts of crazy stories from owners of Harleys about weird electrical gremlins, their top ends grenading because of the cam problem, etc. My boss had a Road King that would just randomly shut off while riding, then, because he was moving it would restart (like being pushstarted) and nobody could figure out what was wrong with it. You'd see it happen because this little puff of smoke would come out the pipe and the rear tire would chirp. Scary as hell in a corner I'd bet.

Ya know what makes an incredible sporty-tourer? An older Busa. They're ugly and big but they're comfy and fast and fairly cheap. Lots of guys are buying them and using them for touring rigs now because they handle, and they go when loaded down.

Buy what you want man. If you want a Harley I'd get one with low miles and a warranty personally, but ultimately, get what makes your soul happy.

Edit: To clarify, I'd love to some day own the right Harley, something along the lines of the Fat Boy or whatever. Just a nice low profile, black, simple looking ride for putting around town. I'd just look elsewhere for loaded touring or riding 2-up alot. That's just my opinion.

[GAS KING]

I agree. My first choice is not Harley.
I don't know if my Boss has owned one long enough for it to cause problems before he got his next one. lol
I was certainly surprised when I sat on his and took it for a spin. It was pretty cool actually. felt good.
They're still fairly expensive here.....for what they are......and compared to similar japanese cruisers.

I like the look of a Harley....that vintage cruiser look.....simple. not a bunch of shit all crammed into a frame.

I'm pretty stuck on a cruiser of some sort right now.....but I have a ton of time.

The ZRX hasn't sold yet. It has to sell before I can move on something else anyway.

I like the look of the Yamaha Stratoliner.....though I have yet to sit on one.

[Harvest]

The Electra glide is the biggest one. Just steer clear of the free lobotomy they seem to give away with every purchase.

Edit: Along the lines of the old 'busa, there's the Honda CB1100xx and maybe an early ZX-14 that are kinda along the same lines. Not that many people liked the ZX-12R because it was tuned like a race bike... not that much torque down low.

The other nice thing with the Japanese bikes since 2005 or so (and the newer Harleys I guess) is that everything is EFI now so you don't have to muck around with carbs anymore.

[GAS KING]

The Electra glide is the biggest one. Just steer clear of the free lobotomy they seem to give away with every purchase.

lol

I can only imagine how it is in other states.

It's sort of a mainstream culture here.....most bad/idiot riders here, ride crotch rockets.

[Harvest]

There are a lot of bad riders, period. One group just rides from bar to bar or Harley dealership to Harley dealership :P

[GAS KING]

jeez

[GAS KING]

My old ZRX...

I missed this one. I remember you posting this before. super sweet.

I wish I had the money, space and time to keep my ZRX AND get a different bike.........but I can't.

[madryan]

Honestly, if you ride a ZRX well you'll do fine on whatever. They're fun bikes but I never found them particularly easy to ride. I've owned bikes that were much, much faster like my '08 ZX-10R that was all tuned up and modded and had the suspension worked over and all that and it had gobs more power than any ZRX ever built and still was much easier to ride.

My favorite bike of all time was my little mid size Ducati Monster. Thing was just a gas to ride. The trellis frame they use is amazing and you can't go wrong with the old air cooled DS motor. They sound like pure sex through a set of race pipes too.

The ZRX, with a Corbin seat is pretty good for 2-up riding. You need to get appropriate shocks for the rear as the stock ones blow. I ended up with a set of Works Performance that were pretty nice and worked well. Ultimately, I opted for a more modern platform for my daily flogger and got a ZX-9R to replace my old ZRX.

[GAS KING]

I'm really starting to look into a Victory. (although, I don't have much interest in the ZRX)

Classy as hell, and affordable. Does anyone know anything about them?
I'm just starting to research them....

[madryan]

I'm really starting to look into a Victory. (although, I don't have much interest in the ZRX)

Classy as hell, and affordable. Does anyone know anything about them?
I'm just starting to research them....

Polaris builds them IIRC. Supposedly well made.

[GAS KING]

I read they had some issues in '99 with trannies, but have been pretty solid since.

Seem like nice bikes. Especially for taller people. Me.

It looks like I'll be riding the ZRX for now, unless some one ups and buys it soon.

[madryan]

The ZRX's are great bikes. Niche bike for sure tho. Too bad Kawi didn't make them a bit more modern instead of using all their leftover shit from the ZX-11's. That bike with a ZX-9 motor and stiffer chassis and suspension would have been awesome.

[Harvest]

Kawi did do that... with the Z1000. Only a mother could love the looks of 'em but it's the successor to the KZ/GPz/Zephyr series with the ZX9 motor (1st gen 2003-2009) and a modernized chassis.

[madryan]

Kawi did do that... with the Z1000. Only a mother could love the looks of 'em but it's the successor to the KZ/GPz/Zephyr series with the ZX9 motor (1st gen 2003-2009) and a modernized chassis.

Kinda...

Cylinder head was all different, carbs were different, compression ratio was lower, etc.

My ZX-9 had gobs of power all over. Would have been a great powerplant for a naked bike.

[GAS KING]

Just got an offer for $3500. He'll pick it up Sunday if I take the offer.

I should probably counter offer $3750? or just take it?

[madryan]

Take it. Resale on those is shit.

[GAS KING]

I'm noticing.

Tempted to keep it and get a more affordable cruiser. lol

[GAS KING]

Well.......got to ride a newer HD RoadKing for a nice country ride. It was pretty cool, I have to admit.
It was a bit like driving a big heavy howitzer around on two wheels. lol....but the ride was nice.
My boss was trying to show me how much of a better ride the Harley is to Japanese bikes.

That said, I've got my eye on a 1998 Honda Shadow ACE Tourer. It's a solid bike with very few known issues. Many ride them into the 100k without more than regular maintenance.
For $3100 (I hope to talk them down to $2800), I don't think it can be beat........AND I can keep the ZRX.
Even the wife is on board. She told me "Why don't you just get both? I remember how excited you were when you got the ZRX. One bike for you, and one bike for us."

Alright!

I'm going to test ride the bike tonight, and if all goes well offer $2800 and hope they accept.
Then probably go buy it tomorrow.