what is your fav motorcycle and why?

Question

I am currently looking for a motorcycle. For street use. Something comfortable. I love to ride, but until this point I've never been able to afford one. I like the look of the Harley's but they seem a little pricey... any suggestions? What do you like?

Answer 1

Harleys are notoriously vibration-heavy. And 2 to 4 times the price of a comparable metric. And the metric will live many times longer with far less maintenance.

If you want to ride, get a Japanese bike. If you want to spend a lot of time working on your bike (which can be a lot of fun) get a Harley, or get a Japanese cruiser and spend the difference on all the upgrades you could ever want.

Answer 2

Man there are too many bikes to love. Owned at least 13. I've had an addiction to BMW's and just love the GS, I have a GS1000 and have had some wonderful rides with it. But some of the Japanese sport bikes are just too cool, I have a Honda VFR which I'm thrilled with. But the Ducati and Triumph and Aprilla are like works of art. I like alot of the mid size duel sport bikes and will probably buy a Honda XL650 soon.

I'm pretty anti Harley now days. As a kid they were badass and only badasses road them. Now they are shamelessly old technology. Half the horsepower of a bike half it's size and half it's weight. And mostly posers with alot of phony attitude are riding them, people who have always wanted a bike and when the kids leave the house or they get a divorce they pay the big bucks, buy all the Harley clothes and play pretend biker for a summer or two.

But I guess my favorite bike is a photo I have on the wall. Some guy on a 1930's Harley alongside a big rock covered with pertogryphs on some part of the Oregon trail. I would love to have that era of Indian or Harley in the garage.

I would reccomend a new guy start out with something forgiving, practical and used. Ride for a season or two and decide what you really want. Think about duel sport as you can learn alot about how to handle a bike by riding in the dirt, and it's fun.

Answer 3

My favorite all-round motorcycle without a radiator, is shaft driven, has 2 cylinders, is easy to adjust the valves and has almost no depreciation - the BMW R series. You can ride all day on a Beemer and not feel exhausted because of the perfect counterbalancers. Again, it's not a 6 cylinder GoldWing with a huge radiator. Look out for a 9-10 year older used Beemer to purchase. And of course, before deciding on a Japanese pocket rocket, take a test ride on a Beemer. You'll be amazed.

Good luck!

Answer 4

If you want a HD, but the Ultra Classic used from Craiglist.org.
You can find a great deal there and spend alot less, getting all the extra's for free.

Many people buy a HD, but don't keep them more than 5,000 miles or 1-2 years.

I like mine, but if I did it over again, I would buy the Honda 1300 w/ABS. It's just as nice as the BMW version, because it's a copy of theirs, but less in cost. Just like Yamaha's V star is a copy of the HD's Softail Classic.

If you buy a HD, get a 2007 or newer, due to having the new 96 cu. engine, it's a better motor and proven in the police motorcycles.

If you don't need the sound of a Harley and want a real smooth ride get a Gold Wing, they even have a reverse gear.
They even have an Ipod hook up on the Goldwing.

It really boils down to what makes you happy. What ever you get, you will find having a windshield or fairing makes a big difference when riding in all weather.

Remember, if you bike is really comfortable, there's no reason not to take a trip to Alaska on it. My friend just came back.

Answer 5

I like my sport bike (Suzuki GSX-R). It is comfortable for me to go on rides of up to 250 miles or just riding around local all day long. I rode my friends Victory Eightball and it was pretty nice. I want to get a Suzuki M109R next, it a cruiser with the Hayabusa motor punched out to 1800. I would not buy an overpriced Hardly Movin'son. If HD were priced reasonably they would be good domestic imports (American with foreign parts), but sadly they are to much. And the Sportster where it is cheap, it is well, cheap. You will spend way too much getting it to be a decent bike. My brother has a V-rod (motor by Porsche) and I don't like the way it feels.
Just a side note: I think it's funny when the HD riders are at a red light and reving there motors and when the light turns they just putter off.

Answer 6

Had a Yamaha and Honda Goldwing. Now own a HD Classic and love it. The Goldwing too bulky and the Yamaha service on trips was virtually non-existance. My Classic is a 2006 and with 30,000 miles on it, it still keeps motoring along. I will never go back to any other type cruiser except the HD Classic.

The stability and ride it offers has no match. Even on windy highway rides is easy to control, just know when to ride with your feet planted firmly on foot boards in these conditions will give safe ride. On calm or light breeze days I ride with my feet on my highway pegs.

Answer 7

Honda VTX - if your looking for a first bike particular a cruiser . Look at the Metric bikes Honda Shadow is great for new people starting out , You will never have a problem and if you do the dealers take good care of you , Starting out on a Bike you want something that does not give you Heart ache right away , Harley's a good looking bike but so is all the other bikes and very few people can tell them apart from one another ,Not even the sold out Harley Guys know jap from American .Go to all the different dealers and sit on all of the ones you like the looks of .One of the bikes will have your name on it And buy what you Want and Not what somebody else wants for you

Answer 8

I think anyone who has a true appreciation of motorcycles will have a very hard time picking any single favorite. From the engineering to the power to the sheer creativity used to make it look how it does, I cannot pick a single bike that encompasses all of them. I love the look of the older Harley shovelheads.. late 1970's... granted they were a maintenance nightmare, to ride was was as good as it gets for me. They truly ride smooth given their age, but werent the most comfortable. They turned heads wherever you went. Gorgeous bikes. On the other scale, we see the phenomenal looks of the newage bikes; the sleek look of the newer Triumph Daytona or GSXR or Yamaha R-6. They are meant to look fast, because they are. Or you can go straight for power. Hayabusa, Blackbird, and the Kaw 1400cc monster. I love all of them.

Now, to look at what you are looking for... if you want comfort, you want cruiser, touring bike, something of that nature. Harleys will make your butt numb, unless they have changed.

I am currently sporting two Suzuki gsxr's. They are a lot of fun for me.

Answer 9

BMW

I own a '55 R50/2 and will never sell it.

The art deco design is timeless, the anti-dive front end was accomplished by nothing but clever engineering of simple components (no electronic sensors or hydraulic pumps or rams). The front brake is designed so the force pushes against the "Earles fork" and cancels front end dive.

The horizontally opposed engine has perfect mechanical balance with no need for heavy flywheels or counterbalances.

The magneto fires the points, the generator charges the battery. The bike starts and runs with or without a working alternator and with or without a battery!

The transmission does not share a common sump with the motor. It has 90 wt in it just like a car. So does the sealed drive line and u-joints and differential.

Speaking of the differential, there is no rear-end dip when starting off the line because the lifting force of the pinion against the ring gear cancels all rear end dip out.

I rode a Harley once. I'll never own one of those crude two-cylinder paint mixers. It was like riding a loud, leaky, vibrating rocking-horse on wheels.

If you need to think people are oooooooooooooing and aaaaaaaaaaaaaaawing as you drive down the street, throw down and buy your Harley.

But if you appreciate fine engineering, buy a pre-electronic gizmo BMW.

Answer 10

any motorcycle that's between my legs as i cruise down the road is my favorite. to comment on your question, look at the honda aero or suzuki c50. both these bikes cost about $7000 (us funds), have the look of a harley but have the added benefits of a liquid cooled engine and shaft drive. the one benefit of a harley is they have a better resale value than any other motorcycle.