2016 or 2019 model

[the Ferret]

Duh right? :rofl:

You have to do what makes you happy, that's the bottom line. If the Miata does it for you, thats all that matters. Ive been having some fun driving my wifes Mustang convertible, but "for now" it won't replace my motorcycles, which I still love to ride, even if not fast.

Yea the NT 1100 in a DCT would be a fabulous sport touring bike I think. As far as US bound sport tourers, the Suzuki GSX 1000 GT might make a decent mount, or the Yamaha 900 Triple GT I suppose.

Hard to beat a SV 650 or Versys 650 for good cheap fun entertainment though.

I am enjoying my Honda NC 750X DCT, and its very versatile with manual paddle shifters or automatic with modes. All your left foot has to do is sit on the peg, or help hold you up at a stop. Not exciting, but still satisfying if you get my drift.

 

[Nachodaddy]

mickey, yep, I've done the sell everything/buy it all back again gambit a few times with guitar gear, and I vowed to stop doing that following the last round.

So far, so good, guitar-wise. Haven't sold anything in a decent while. Anything I sell or give away now, I won't replace.

I vowed not to do that with the bikes, especially the gear. No way I was going to replace all my various suits, jackets, Arai helmets, cold weather electronics, gloves, linings, etc. That'd be crazy, even for me.

Also, nothing has come out recently that has really lit my fire. The NT1100 looked interesting, in a solid, steady, reliable, kinda boring way, but it never arrived on our shores. That was the only large bike that caught my eye. The only new sport-tourer, anyway. Otherwise, it would have been a Speed Twin, or one of its cheaper, simpler, slower Bonneville siblings, or one of the new middleweight P-Twins from Honda or Suzuki. Or, most likely, an old SV650, the obvious choice in a cheap used ride.

If all I had to buy was the bike, I probably would have done so by now, and it probably would have been a $2-3K used SV650. The boot thing, though, I don't know how to get around that one. Any motorcycle boot will rip the back of my reconstructed heel right open.

In the end, I suppose the answer I always come up with is the same answer I always have to ask, which is...why? Why bother with the hassles and expense, just to put around again on the same backroads I've ridden a million times, that I can still have decent fun on with the MX-5?

Putzing around slowly on a sporty bike wouldn't be all that much fun, and I have zero interest in going fast again, so that's out.

My red CB1100 would have been the one.

Duh, right?

Man, you really connected with me on this one. I am recovering very nicely from having my right shoulder replaced. They cut out the bone and muscles and insert a new metal and plastic joint, which is better than the torn muscle and bone, but is fragile. Any damage to that arm/shoulder and you basically have an arm that hangs limp and useless. I could probably ride in a few more weeks, but I just can't get past that fear of going down and losing that arm. I am hanging on to my CB and the last thread of hope at this point.
Meanwhile, a picture of my MX5 which was rear-ended, not once, but four times by a 20 ton gravel truck in September, 2019. Pushed the rear clear up to the axle and totalled it. It was a beauty and a lot of fun, but maybe too small for the idiots on these roads.

 

[VLJ_imp]

I can't see ever getting a DCT if a manual is offered, unless it's on something like a Gold Wing, but that's just me. I enjoy shifting. That's a big part of the satisfaction for me, that mechanical feeling...operating the vehicle. In terms of a DCT helping me with my foot situation, it's the wrong foot. I'd need one of those thumb-switch rear brakes, since it's my right foot that's the problem, assuming I could get a boot on in the first place.

There was absolutely zero chance that I would accept an automatic in the MX-5. Maybe in a 911 GT3, if I'm chasing lap times, but if it's simply for fun I want a manual every time, and even more so on a motorcycle. To me, motorcycling was always a sport, not just a leisurely sightseeing activity. An automatic is almost anathema to the motorcycling experience, even if it has paddle shifters or whatever the "manual" option is with the DCT.

I don't know why I just thought of it, but something about this topic made me think of the one other bike that interested me of late, which is that green and silver Moto Guzzi V100 Mandello. That thing is gorgeous, and I've never owned an Italian bike. That would have been a cool first Italian for me.
Nachodaddy, it's crazy that you mention that, about your Miata. My red 2020 MX-5 got rear-ended at a stoplight, twice. The second time was literally thirty seconds after leaving the body shop, after getting it repaired following the first episode. I had just pulled out of their shop, onto the street. A hundred yards later I'm sitting at a stop light...bam!

"You gotta be sh**ting me..." I thought, in utter disbelief.

The woman who hit me was nearly apoplectic with apologies, but still, two in a row like that? It's an eyeballs-searing bright red car, in broad daylight, and the sun was high in the sky. The sun wasn't in her eyes. How does someone miss a bright red car with its brakelights illuminated like that?

And yet it happened twice in one month. Jeez.

That's why I now have the white 2023 instead of that red 2020.

 

[pdedse]

I can't see ever getting a DCT if a manual is offered, unless it's on something like a Gold Wing, but that's just me. I enjoy shifting. That's a big part of the satisfaction for me, that mechanical feeling...operating the vehicle. In terms of a DCT helping me with my foot situation, it's the wrong foot. I'd need one of those thumb-switch rear brakes, since it's my right foot that's the problem, assuming I could get a boot on in the first place.

There was absolutely zero chance that I would accept an automatic in the MX-5. Maybe in a 911 GT3, if I'm chasing lap times, but if it's simply for fun I want a manual every time, and even more so on a motorcycle. To me, motorcycling was always a sport, not just a leisurely sightseeing activity. An automatic is almost anathema to the motorcycling experience, even if it has paddle shifters or whatever the "manual" option is with the DCT.

I don't know why I just thought of it, but something about this topic made me think of the one other bike that interested me of late, which is that green and silver Moto Guzzi V100 Mandello. That thing is gorgeous, and I've never owned an Italian bike. That would have been a cool first Italian for me.
Nachodaddy, it's crazy that you mention that, about your Miata. My red 2020 MX-5 got rear-ended at a stoplight, twice. The second time was literally thirty seconds after leaving the body shop, after getting it repaired following the first episode. I had just pulled out of their shop, onto the street. A hundred yards later I'm sitting at a stop light...bam!

"You gotta be sh**ting me..." I thought, in utter disbelief.

The woman who hit me was nearly apoplectic with apologies, but still, two in a row like that? It's an eyeballs-searing bright red car, in broad daylight, and the sun was high in the sky. The sun wasn't in her eyes. How does someone miss a bright red car with its brakelights illuminated like that?

And yet it happened twice in one month. Jeez.

That's why I now have the white 2023 instead of that red 2020.

Maybe red set her off subconsciously...like a bull with a cape.

I know, I know...bulls are color-blind. Don't ruin the comment!

 

[Nachodaddy]

VLJ, I guess we can be glad we weren't on a motorcycle in front of those people.
:beerchug::biker:

 

[SportsterDoc]

VLJ: A Miata / MX-5 is a lot of fun I had a 2003 model, purchased new in 2004.
At that time I lived in SoCal and enjoyed the canyons.

 

[GoldOxide_imp]

The V100 is indeed a full-breed motorcycle VLJ. Beware: It is not a lightweight.


Miata: A great alternative. Only if I could stop hitting my forehead on the windshield frame (doh!) when loading into the convertible.

 

[the Ferret]

My wife and I had trouble getting in and out of a Miata, hence the Mustang. My brother has a 2012 (?) hard top convertible Miata

 

[GoldOxide_imp]

My wife and I had trouble getting in and out of a Miata, hence the Mustang. My brother has a 2012 (?) hard top convertible Miata

It is indeed snug, arguably perfect for aggressive cornering.

Thought, I would hate to get a Charlie Horse while crammed in it.

 

[VLJ_imp]

It's certainly not for big people, tall people, achy people, lotsa luggage people, Costco people, silence-seeking people, dragracing people, family outings people, cross-country people, camping people, tech gadgets people, sleep-in-your-car people, giant display screens people, offroad people, boat-trailering people, sneak-people-into-the-drive-in-movie people, autonamous driving people, wheelchair people, Harley people, or tuba players.

I definitely missed a few.

 

[the Ferret]

:rofl:

that narrows it down some

actually the Mustang, which has a rear seat but no room for the rear passenger's legs, would fit into many of those categories as well. It's just taller and roomier than a Miata for the front seat people.

boy, we sure hijacked this thread lol...sorry Lars

 

[VLJ_imp]

I've considered a Mustang quite a few times, but the high sticker cost and ungodly bad MPG of the V8 always puts paid to that idea, and if I'm getting a Mustang, it has to be the V8. Oh, and now they've ruined the interior of the new Mustang, with all the Gen Z focus group pandering. Stupid giant screens for days, no real switches or buttons, and for what? At the new Mustang's pricepoint, the very people to whom they're marketing the thing won't buy it, because they can't afford it...assuming they would even want a pony car in the first place, which is highly doubtful.

I'd much rather have your red one there, in a V8.

Anyway, the 'Stang is certainly a more accommodating daily driver than the MX-5, but it doesn't handle or feel anywhere near the same. It's simply nowhere near as light, pure, or fun. Fortunately for me, I fit in a Miata. I know a lot of people don't.

In fact, I'm taking off tomorrow in the new Miata to do a reprise of that road trip through Lake Berryessa and up the coast that I chonicled in one of my initial reviews here of my CB1100, the one with the '60s-'70s cultural musings, and all the pretty pictures.

 

[the Ferret]

Our Mustang with the 2.3L turbocharged 4 cyl eco boost engine is the highest gas mileage car we own lol, better than my Ridgeline or my wife's daily driver a Toyota Highlander. Our son's father-in-law has the 5 liter and it gets good (relatively speaking) gas mileage as well, better than his wife's Pilot or his Tundra. We chose not to get the 5.0 liter because a) we just tootle around and didn't need it. B) the 2.4L turbo 4 is plenty fast enough for us C) my wife didn't like all the exhaust noise from the 5.0 liter.

The Stang as we bought it was thousands less than the Highlander and just slightly more than my brothers Miata 11 years ago and my Ridgeline 13 years ago.

I agree about the stupid touch screen stuff and lack of knobs

 

[GoldOxide_imp]

(+1) 202x Honda Africa Twin owners tend to gripe about the TFT screen all the time for a broad range of reasons from: Appearance, long boot time, interface failures, ... to: I want more features!


"So, tell me how you feel about the ride?"

"The what?"

 

[Cormanus]

There’s that GO, but there’s also the inherent danger in the touch controls. You have to look hard to find them and to press them whereas good old knobs can be found and operated by touch. I drove a Tesla for a week or so and, yes, I did like the ride, and I liked the power, but I did not like the lack of knobs.

And, VLJ, stick to your guns. I doubt it’s worth tracking your foot just to get on a motorcycle again.

 

[GoldOxide_imp]

There’s that GO, but there’s also the inherent danger in the touch controls. You have to look hard to find them and to press them whereas good old knobs can be found and operated by touch. I drove a Tesla for a week or so and, yes, I did like the ride, and I liked the power, but I did not like the lack of knobs.

And, VLJ, stick to your guns. I doubt it’s worth tracking your foot just to get on a motorcycle again.

Agreed.

Even with external handlebar mounted controls, owners still gripe about the TFT screen Disneyland options. In addition, the handlebar controls have also become a sort of "747 cockpit" of complexity. Sometimes they fail mechanically or electrically. The trend is a mess.