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Interesting your opinion of the BMW. I've owned 4 of them and have purchased them because they just plain appeal to me. Problem is I can't live with them. Expensive to repair (absolutely stupid money) I've discovered. I also agree about the dive from the solid drive shaft.
We don't need to get into belts, chains and drive shafts but for me I'll take a belt first and a chain second.
You Honda guys, if you get tempted to cross over to the dark side check out Triumph. They are worth the look see. I've owned absolutely everything (well almost) and my favorite of all is the Triumph. I am talking new ones not the old vintage stuff. I have no opinion about the vintage stuff. Honda is great. Likely slightly easier to own maybe more practical for a lot of people.
Triumph looks right too. Honda needs to study Triumph.
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(08-12-2013, 05:01 AM)bubblerboy64_imp Wrote: Interesting your opinion of the BMW. I've owned 4 of them and have purchased them because they just plain appeal to me. Problem is I can't live with them. Expensive to repair (absolutely stupid money) I've discovered. I also agree about the dive from the solid drive shaft.
We don't need to get into belts, chains and drive shafts but for me I'll take a belt first and a chain second.
You Honda guys, if you get tempted to cross over to the dark side check out Triumph. They are worth the look see. I've owned absolutely everything (well almost) and my favorite of all is the Triumph. I am talking new ones not the old vintage stuff. I have no opinion about the vintage stuff. Honda is great. Likely slightly easier to own maybe more practical for a lot of people.
Triumph looks right too. Honda needs to study Triumph.
Many of us have had Bonnevilles or it's siblings, the Scrambler or Thruxton. I can't get past the look on any of the the other Triumphs like the speed triples, street triples, Rocket 3, thunderbird, Bonnie America.
St
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Interesting because I think generally the thing that Honda misses consistently is in the esthetics of the MC. Certainly Harley seems to hit that area well. Triumph's Bonnie, America and Thunderbird look fantastic to me. The rocket 3 looks like it has car engine in a bike frame. I don't follow anything else but to me the Triumph looks right to me. Of course that's pretty subjective. The CB1100 is the only really attractive bike in the Honda line to me.
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(08-08-2013, 09:17 AM)The ferret_imp Wrote: Funny story on how I came to buy the KZ if you care to read it. Since I was a kid I wanted a BMW. My dad rode Indians, then Harleys but I always loved the looks of the opposed twin Beemer. Anyhow at the time I was managing a Kawasaki shop. I had saved up $ 2000 to put down on a BMW R 90S in orange and silver.I was going to put down $ 2000 and finance $ 2000. My wife and I went to the local Beemer shop and took a test ride. I didn't go 2 miles and knew I didn't want the Beemer. In fact, I hated it. The suspension was soft and due to the drive shaft wanted to raise every time you gave it gas and drop every time you let off. It was like riding a horse on a merry go round. I left crushed. Really crushed. I had wanted one so bad for so many years.
Anyhow a few days later our shop got in our first KZ 1000. I had it set up and took it for a test ride. What a motorcycle. it was awesome! I called the store owner ( 4 stores Honda and Kawasaki) and asked what my price on the bike would be. He said he'd call me back. A few minutes later he called and said $ 1887.00 incl tax. Done deal baby. I paid cash for the bike, and had gas money left over.
Probably the best motorcycle I ever owned. Sold it a couple years later to get cash for a down payment on a house.
Funny thing, I still love the way Beemers look. I think the 76-77 R90/ R100s were the most beautiful motorcycles ever made. 3 times since then I have tried to buy R 75 and R 90 Beemers, and each time a test ride has convinced me not to buy one. Too bad, I really love the way they look.
Mickey,
I could have written almost the same post. I've wanted a BMW boxer twin since I was a kid because I thought they looked cool. I just knew I was going to love it when I rode one. I had been building it up in my mind for so long. And then......I rode one. Within a couple miles my desire to own one was extinguished. Oh well.
Chip
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(08-12-2013, 10:35 AM)ChipBeck_imp Wrote: (08-08-2013, 09:17 AM)The ferret_imp Wrote: Funny story on how I came to buy the KZ if you care to read it. Since I was a kid I wanted a BMW. My dad rode Indians, then Harleys but I always loved the looks of the opposed twin Beemer. Anyhow at the time I was managing a Kawasaki shop. I had saved up $ 2000 to put down on a BMW R 90S in orange and silver.I was going to put down $ 2000 and finance $ 2000. My wife and I went to the local Beemer shop and took a test ride. I didn't go 2 miles and knew I didn't want the Beemer. In fact, I hated it. The suspension was soft and due to the drive shaft wanted to raise every time you gave it gas and drop every time you let off. It was like riding a horse on a merry go round. I left crushed. Really crushed. I had wanted one so bad for so many years.
Anyhow a few days later our shop got in our first KZ 1000. I had it set up and took it for a test ride. What a motorcycle. it was awesome! I called the store owner ( 4 stores Honda and Kawasaki) and asked what my price on the bike would be. He said he'd call me back. A few minutes later he called and said $ 1887.00 incl tax. Done deal baby. I paid cash for the bike, and had gas money left over.
Probably the best motorcycle I ever owned. Sold it a couple years later to get cash for a down payment on a house.
Funny thing, I still love the way Beemers look. I think the 76-77 R90/ R100s were the most beautiful motorcycles ever made. 3 times since then I have tried to buy R 75 and R 90 Beemers, and each time a test ride has convinced me not to buy one. Too bad, I really love the way they look.
Mickey,
I could have written almost the same post. I've wanted a BMW boxer twin since I was a kid because I thought they looked cool. I just knew I was going to love it when I rode one. I had been building it up in my mind for so long. And then......I rode one. Within a couple miles my desire to own one was extinguished. Oh well.
Chip
Mickey,
I could have written almost the same post. I've wanted a BMW boxer twin since I was a kid because I thought they looked cool. I just knew I was going to love it when I rode one. I had been building it up in my mind for so long. And then......I rode one. Within a couple miles my desire to own one was extinguished. Oh well.
Chip Motorcycle like cars are sold for any number of reasons. Every sense is involved. I am admittedly more of a collector then a rider. There are times when I just have to have it (like the CB). I would guess there are lots of other who experience the same. But once it's home and ridden sometimes there is a certain amount of buyers remorse. Another obvious point is that what is the cats meow for one is not necessarily so for the other guy. Harley makes a nice machine but why it sells so well as compared to other makes has nothing much to do with the machine but more to do with the "image" and the "esthetics". And I am not condemning that at all. A fellow should have what he likes and why he likes it should not be analyzed to a fault. More often then not for me it's the "esthetics". An example is my CB1100. I just fell in love with it at first glance. It's a nice riding bike but it's no better then others. When you combine the esthetics with the functionality it's a winner. But it's not a Harley and it's not going to appeal to a real large contingency. That's OK.
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Harley has really never appealed to me aesthetically. When I got my first one in 1965 they were basically the only game in town unless you wanted an oil leaker from Britain (had one of those too eventually) or a high strung Italian ( had one, my brother had one, my dad had two and my son has one now) The Japanese were unproven in the early 60s and everyone thought theyd be like cheap transistor radios. I had 6 Harleys altogether, but never really liked any of them, asthetically or functionally. I always thought the Beemers were better looking. Then in 68 I got a Honda and it was a great bike. Basically been with Japanese brands ever since. To me functionality beats aesthetics but I think with Japanese bikes I get both. I like the way they look and I like how they function. Probably why I drive Honda cars and a Honda truck as well. Everytime I try something built here, I get stung by unreliability.
To me it's not very good looking, sitting on the side of the road waiting for a trailer or a tow.
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[quote='The ferret' pid='10943' dateline='1376401702']
Harley has really never appealed to me aesthetically. When I got my first one in 1965 they were basically the only game in town unless you wanted an oil leaker from Britain (had one of those too eventually) or a high strung Italian ( had one, my brother had one, my dad had two and my son has one now) The Japanese were unproven in the early 60s and everyone thought theyd be like cheap transistor radios. I had 6 Harleys altogether, but never really liked any of them, asthetically or functionally. I always thought the Beemers were better looking. Then in 68 I got a Honda and it was a great bike. Basically been with Japanese brands ever since. To me functionality beats aesthetics but I think with Japanese bikes I get both. I like the way they look and I like how they function. Probably why I drive Honda cars and a Honda truck as well. Everytime I try something built here, I get stung by unreliability.
To me it's not very good looking, sitting on the side of the road waiting for a trailer or a tow.
Agree with all said. I have noticed that many of the others have closed the gap considerably if not completely in the last ten years or so. I've been driving chevy trucks and SUV's because they are bigger then the Honda products and I have not had a lick of trouble with them. Years ago like in the seventies and eighties not so.
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Hey ferret,
Judging by that picture, I guess the ATGATT thing hadn't really kicked in yet, huh? 
Whats spooky is that looks like me on that bike (when I was that age)!
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To be totally honest popgun, I will still ride dressed like that ocassionally (only not with the red and white "Waldo" shirt as someone called it lol. )
On any given day I will wear:
an open face, 3/4, full face or modular helmet
A vented textile jacket, solid textile jacket, solid 3/4 textile jacket, vented leather jacket or solid leather jacket, a long sleeve denim shirt, or a long or short sleeve T-shirt
A pair of textile riding pants or denim jeans
A pair of lightweight touring leather boots, a pair of heavyweight touring leather boots, lace up work boots or gym shoes
Solid leather gloves, vented leather gloves, solid textile gloves, vented textile gloves, solid deerskin gloves or no gloves at all
All depends on temperature, forcast weather, ride length, or my mood.
I am not a slave to ATGATT and being a 63 year old adult, and having been around the block a few times on my motorcycles in the last 46 years, I know the risks and take my chances with full appreciation for the dangers involved. I am SOTGMOTT (some of the gear most of the time). Been doing it that way since 1965. Will most likely continue that way until I am no longer.
I never ride without some kind of helmet and I never ride in shorts or flip flops ( don't own any) but those are the only common things about my rides. I can fully appreciate those who wear everything on every ride, it's just not my style.
If I was in that much fear about riding, I would sell the bike and go everywhere in my car which has like 10 air bags and pray an out of control cement truck or semi doesn't run over me because in that scenario the air bags would probably be useless.
YMMV
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