Your favorite motorcycles

[Ole]

Agreed, fantastic pictures Ole. And what a ride! And that bear! It looks as though you and the VTX have him bluffed, but I'm damn sure if I saw that critter I'd be on the gas and not look back for a loooong time. The thought of hitting one of those on a bike makes me break out in hysterical laughter. I guess if you survived the collision you wouldn't go back and check on the bear.

My 2000 W650 is the light of my life and the fire of my loins. I'm sad Kawasaki only imported them here for two years, and I wish they'd consider importing the W800.
Kick and electric start, bevel-shaft driven cam (much quieter than a camchain, but also finicky), higher finish than the new Bonneville, and the exhaust system is dual-walled so the pipes stay chrome. I've had a lot of bikes and each one has it's faults and virtues, but the W650 is the sweetest bike I've ever ridden.

They are a lovely bike. I have put about 1600kms on a W400 and own a '61 Bonneville (Sky Blue on silver - pre unit), so you can see my attachment to that look. The W600 and W800 have been good sellers here in Oz and are still selling well. My nephew just bought a nice red example, new. Not so the CB, now discontinued here with no '14 models being considered.

Cheers

THAT was one pissed off grizzly. I saw dozens of bears on that trip but it was 10,000 miles. I was between Tok and Beaver Creek Alaska. There was this wide cleared swath through the bush. A natural gas pipeline. I saw this old bear working down the clearing to the highway. He was an old male my pics dont show it but he was battle-scarred.
anyway

It took him a good half hour to hit the highway. He turned left and just kept watching me from the ditch. I was idling the bike and walking it with him? After about a minute of this nonsense he stated OK enough of this cuss cheesehead. His ears went flat and he started clomping his jaws I could hear his teeth making clicking sounds. I put the cam away when he was about 15 feet from me and he was a coming all pissed. In my mirrors I saw him cross the road and went on his merry way,,,





All this was happening with my low fuel light on. Funny thing was, about 4 to 5 miles down the road, I RAN OUT OF FUEL. Can you imagine running out of fuel when he was a coming with his jaws clenched and ears flat?
uffda
I had a spare gallon of fuel on the bike and used it three times on this wander

[Cormanus]

Didn't know kaw made a W 400. Does it look like the larger ones?

[url=https://www.google.com.au/search?q=W400&oq=W400&aqs=chrome..69i57&sourceid=chrome&espv=210&es_sm=93&ie=UTF-8]https://www.google.com.au/search?q=W400&...3&ie=UTF-8

[Pterodactyl_imp]

Didn't know kaw made a W 400. Does it look like the larger ones?

The following is a "review". Grey import only available in Oz. My original intention was to cafe it but, after serious negotiation with the "Home Office", bless her, I ditched it and bought the CB.

Quote

Kawasaki’s W650 missed out by a whisker from being included in the Learner Approved Motorcycle scheme. It’s a shame because in some ways, with its torquey long-stroke engine, it’s better for learners than the 400 version.
By changing the crankshaft and conrods, Kawasaki converted the 650’s 72 x 83mm bore and stroke to an engine with the same bore but a stroke of just 49mm. Torque dropped from a respectable 57.2Nm (42.2ft-lb) at 5600rpm to a still healthy but lower 29Nm (21.4ft-lb) at 6000rpm.

Surprisingly, you can’t feel much loss of a change in performance when you ride the smaller-engined bike. This is largely because the gearbox ratios have also been changed to lower the gearing overall. The 400 will stay with the 650 up to the legal speed limit but will run out of legs earlier.

The W400, though, isn’t about performance. Kawasaki started making vertical twins in 1967 (earlier, if you include the Meguro versions which Kawasaki acquired). Think about this: Kawasaki has been making vertical twins for longer than Ducati has been making V-twins. The company has a proud heritage and this is reflected in the styling of the W400. Yes, it resembles the look of earlier British vertical twins, but it’s very much its own bike.

With near-identical chassis specifications to the 650 (the seat height on the 400 is slightly lower), the 400 shares the 650s attributes of small dimensions and nimble handling. The upright riding position makes it easy to ride around town and it would be fine for shorter-distance touring. Fuel consumption will range between 20 and 24km/l depending on your throttle use. A tank capacity of 14 litres gives it a range of around 280km.

While production of the W650 started in 1999, the W400 wasn’t introduced in Japan until 2006. The W400s now available in Australia are grey imports – second-hand from Japan but generally with very low kilometres. Our oriental brothers love modifying ‘classic’ bikes and you’ll have a variety of styles from which to select.

Our W400 testbike came from Sumoto in North Melbourne (Vic) and prices there range from $9000 – $10,000. There’s a lot of competition in this bracket from LAMS bikes which are both new and faster, but nothing else available - other than perhaps the Enfield Bullet - has the classic style and class of the W400. Ride with pride.

Cheers

[the Ferret]

Huh, very cool. Thanks for the links and descriptions fellas.

[the Ferret]

Bringing this to the top so maybe others can contribute.....

But let me add this, in post number 1, I said it was too early to tell if the CB 1100 was going to make my favorites list. I think when you like a particular motorcycle enough to buy 2 of them (like the 01 and 04 FZ-s on my list and a couple others who have bought 2 VTX 1300s) that the bike probably qualifies as a personal favorite, and I believe it does for me, now that I've bought another CB1100. Although basically having the same heart, the 13 and 14 are so different, they may end of occupying two different spots on my list. One may end up ranking higher than the other ( whereas the FZ-1s share the same spot since they were identical other than year). But which will rank higher, the sporty original, or the refined replacement?

As a self professed ( and my wife would say obsessed) motorcycle nut, life is interesting, that's for sure.

[thessler3_imp]

Good topic! I am sitting here reminiscing about all the bikes I have owned - more than 30 from US, Europe & Japan. Of all the bikes I have owned the three that put the biggest smile on my face: '73 Ducati 750GT, '95 Ducati Monster and 2001 Triumph Speed Triple. Of course these bikes are out of date now, but the characteristics that made them loveable are still valid. All were reasonably light, handled great, had torque laden power bands, minimal vibration, comfortable riding position, simple to work on and all made great sounds.

I also had a '76 BMW R90S that was a great all-around sport tourer. All of today's so called sport tourers are too big, too tall or two complicated to match up to the R90S. BMW should wise up and make a retro R90S. Take an RnineT, add a decent seat, side cases and mini-fairing and you have it. Oh, put mag wheels on it. I am tired of truing spoked wheels.

I still have the Ducati 750GT, but it is no longer an everyday rider and reminds me that brakes, electronics, tires, fueling, etcetera have improved greatly since 1973. Still sounds and handles great though.

[StackMan_imp]

Fun reading all your experiences and different ways of looking at what makes a favorite. I started pretty young on a Honda 50, then a 70 but when I got the XR75 I really started to love riding. I had a buddy down the street that had the same bike and we were constantly racing each other (he usually won) didn't matter how bad the whether was either, the muddier the better. I swear I rode that bike every day for 3 or 4 years. later I got myself around town, to and from collage on a CB100 and a little 50cc road bike (cant remember the model but it would turn 10k rpm and do 54mph and get 100mpg) Trail 90, Kawasaki 238 green streak, and a 650 nighthawk.
Fun remembering...

[Copiche_imp]

MV Agusta F3 675 . Sex on wheels.

[Elipten_imp]

Yea but hard to get parts in a few years!


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[the Ferret]

I only have 288 miles on my 14 DLX but unless something catastrophic happens it will be #1 among my favorite bikes, moving ahead of the 77 Kawasaki KZ1000B, which will place above the 13 CB 1100 which will be number 3 on my list. In fourth will be the two FZ-1s. I think the Honda ST 1300 has come up on the list to place ahead of the GS850G Suzuki, followed by the GS1100E Suzuki. Number 8 would be the GT 750 Suzuki, I think my BSA Rocket 3 will make # 9 on my list, just because it was the fastest british bike available when it came out, it had an awesome sound, and it's 3 cylinder engine was unique at the time, as were it's exhaust. I think final placing on my personal top 10 would be... Uhhh...can't make up my mind between my 750 Nighthawk, my 305 Honda Scrambler, my 73 TX 650 Yamaha or my 2003 Triumph Bonneville. Will have to ponder that awhile. I did buy (3) 650 Yamahas over the years. The only bike I have bought 3 of, but the Bonnie was a much much better motorcycle.The 750 Nighthawk was a reliable as an anvil workhorse but needed more hp and better brakes (just like the Bonneville). The 305 Scrambler was my first big bike and opened up the world to me. I guess if one were to ask of those 4 bikes, which one would I like to walk out and see in my garage right now, it would be the 305 Scrambler, so the venerable Honda CL 77 takes the last spot in my personal top 10 favorite motorcycles that I have owned.