Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire I've got motorcycle fever

I am debating real hard on the new 2016 Indian Cheif DarkHorse

Those Indians are good looking bikes.

650 Burgman. Across town or cross country, Cruises smooth as glass at 80 mph. They're the Goldwings of the new millennium.

If you're looking for an around town bike, I'd take a good look at the Kawasaki KLR650. You ca do almost anything with them, from getting groceries, to loooong road trips. The ergonomicsn are very comfortable. Tons of support a to kl650.net.

My Yamaha 200TW after a bunch of aftermarket parts and some rattle can.

My 2005 Softail Deluxe after a lot of $$$ and thinking

A friend of mine had an 08 Deluxe that he lost in a house fire. That was the best handling Harley I've ever road.

I've got a friend who has a lowered KLR650 for sale right now. I'm 5'8" and have a 32" inseam. He's a couple of inches shorter than me, but was able to handle that bike with it lowered.

How about something like a Triumph Bonneville or a Honda CB500F?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVyRq-D0Xso

Well there you have it. I rode a KLR650 for several years before trading and a nice looking 243 for my current HD Sportster 1200, now much upgraded. Birdwatcher here will hopefully chime in. He has one that rode the ark with Noah, and he has put many thousands of miles on his. For fun plus bulletproof and torquey, hard to go wrong. I put a lowering kit on mine as well even though I am 6'3" tall with a 35 inch inseam. I was getting stoved up with my kidney failure and this made the bike easier to get on and off of for me and it improved the highway handling a whole bunch.

If you don't buy the KLR650 (and i vote for that one) don't forget the new Triumph 850's. I am hearing all good about them and we are considering one soon for asphaltangels next ride.

Good luck, I am anxious to get my bike back soon from the shop that has been finishing the turbocharger install. Got the fever myself

Ironic thread, I pulled mine off the battery tender washed it up, checked fluid levels, tire air pressure and rode it around a bit yesterday evening, few things sound better to me than a 110 c.i. HD through Vance and Hines header pipes.

Motorcycle fever? Had it a few years ago, but after riding from the late 1950's to 1980, I fought the feeling. Rode tens, no hundreds of thousands of miles, in sun and rain, down to the corner store, up to the stable, down to Santa Barbara from the S.F. Peninsula for the horse show. Rode through suicidal traffic, bee swarms, along pleasant country roads perfumed by flower growers, even went tent camping and lake fishing. Broke my left shoulder twice, my right wrist once, fractured and contused ribs, had my right index finger dislocated and shoved into the palm of the hand. Had rear tires go flat at 70mph and managed to stay shiny side up. Had front tires go flat and leave me stranded. Dodged exhaust systems that dropped off vehicles ahead of me on the freeway at night. Hit an ice patch in a dark canyon on a curve, but somehow didn't buy the farm. Had a skunk on that same curve spray my hot exhaust header as I dodged him one night, took my breath away for awhile. Been stung, suffered road rash, torn tendons in the ankle, smacked into by cars running out in front of me, and that older woman that rear-ended me at the stop light - she said she didn't see me atop the Gold Wing waiting for the light to change. Bike fever? Putter around town with all the self-absorbed moron drivers texting and yacking on the phone? Nah, I'll pass, at my age I'd just be another fat old biker looking ridiculous as if he could turn back the clock. Maybe in the next life. Such fun.

Thanks for keeping it real, Wrangler John

The closest Triumph dealerships to where I live are in the Houston area. Might have to head that way while bike shopping. Everytime I've been to one I usually spend a lot of time looking at their full lineup.

Man, I could really like something like that. My biggest worry about a bike with suspension like that is my 30" inseam and gravity at stops.[/quote]

The V-Strom is a bike that is easy to lower for shorter riders. I work at a very large volume dealership where the V-Strom has been a number one seller along with the Yamaha FJR. They change the link on the rear shock to a adjustable link and raise the fork tubes. I rode a 650 for a few years(30" inseam) and they are tall bikes. I traded it for a 1250 Bandit which turned out to be a rear tire eating monster. I miss the 650. The V-Strom is probably the best all around bike out there for the money. I have seen some over 75,000 on them and when the valves were checked they were still in spec. I have never seen one in the shop broke down. Just not a high maintenance bike. The 90* twin is a lot smoother than a twin with a lower degree banking. The wider V makes more power for the engine size also. Gas mileage on mine was usually right at 60mpg. Try one and you will be impressed.

Where do you live? A used Honda CB750 Nighthawk is always a good choice. Can be had for about $2000.

Man, I like that. I believe it's calling my name. For sale perhaps?

I wound up buying a CB500X. They had a new 2013 that they cut me a pretty good deal on. For 471cc it's a fun little bike. I had it up to 87 (with more left) on I10 coming home. Took it to a friend's house. He's one of those "if it ain't a Harley, it sucks" guys. He also calls anything under 1000cc a chick bike. He took off on it and came back about 15 minutes later with a big grin on his face.

So far I'm pretty happy with it. It'll definitely do everything I want it to do.

Now, to keep myself from buying a Grom......

Kawasaki W650




Turning old memories into new motorcycles is tough enough on its own. But
reanimating Triumph's venerable Bonneville--the epitome of cool to an entire
generation--is only slightly easier than, say, cloning Marilyn Monroe. Even if
you could, gentlemen these days prefer a different sort of blonde.

Remembrance is kind, but even the most delusional Anglophile knows a
genetically exact copy of a 1966 T120/R could never live up to its own legend.
The thing that thundered past like a Saturn-V rocket with pushrods when you
were 18 years old becomes an obstinate and flimsy little brute with no starter
button when you're 43. The late '60s Bonneville still has the same kind of lean,
focused outline as a .44 Magnum, Winchester Model-94, a P-51 Mustang...or
Ms. Monroe. Filling in the details that make up a modern motorcycle takes
some artistic license. But how much? Kawasaki Heavy Industries and Triumph
Motorcycles Ltd. have two paradoxically different answers: the W650 and the
brand-new Bonneville.



2001 Kawasaki W650
For those bent on getting all Smithsonian about it, the W650 does have its own
genealogy, a short strand of DNA from Kawasaki's first Bonneville
impressionist: the '66 W1. Created prior to the discovery of styling in Japan,
the forgettable, 624cc imitation of a pre-unit British 650 made 47 horsepower
at 6500 rpm--measured at the copywriter's brainstem--and set you back
$912 in the days when a new Bonneville went for $1309 (or approximately
$7200 in 2001 dollars).

Thankfully, the W650 introduced to American roads last year took its visual
cues from the right places. One look tells you the '01 W650 wants to be a '69
Bonneville even more than Triumph's new translation. From its chrome
fenders, real rubber fork gaiters and faux-Smiths gauges to the alloy rims and
peashooter mufflers that let a 360-degree vertical twin (a.k.a. both pistons
rising and falling together) sound like one, the W650 is the more-convincing
Elvis impersonator. There's even an honest-to-Ed-Turner kickstarter. Nearby,
the cam-drive tower and bevel-gear case inject weird chunks of Ducati 350
Sebring into the mix. Beyond that, nobody really has to know about the
W650's modern conveniences such as the eight valves, LCD odometer and
clock hiding in the speedo face, bungee hooks, centerstand, or seat and
integral steering lock. Turn the key, cue the choke and wonder why only
Kawasaki has a handy neutral finder.

One romp on the kickstarter usually lights the air-cooled fire. Meanwhile, all of
Starbucks basks in your Marlon Brandon-ess. Public Humiliation Avoidance Tip
Number One: Kickstarting only works in neutral, and hands off the clutch. A
polite British edge on the exhaust note lets everybody know you're not kidding
while the cold-blooded twin warms up. Anyone over six-feet tall will wish for
a little more room between the wheel-barrow-esque flat-track bar and the
stepped, tuck-and-roll seat. The W650 puts a '66 T120/R-spec 31.5 inches
between your butt and Mother Tarmac--one inch more than the new Bonnie.
Considering the W650 makes less than half the horsepower of a current 600
sportbike and weighs 70-something pounds more, the Kawasaki pulls hard
enough to get your attention up around 7000 rpm. OK, so it's not what we'd
call fast. Take comfort in the fact that 90 mph at the end of a 14.2-second
quarter would beat a '60s Bonneville, but just. True to the original plot,
Kawasaki's 40-inch twin has an admirably flat torque spread to fall back on,
peaking at 37.7 foot-pounds at 4250 rpm. Even amid the silliness of L.A.'s
vehicular excess, the Kawasaki draws more "Is that what I think it is?" double
takes than the typical V-twin-powered Sunset-Strip hot rod. And thanks to its
wide bar and skinny tires, the Kawasaki steers more like an oversized Schwinn
beach cruiser than a 472-pound (wet) motorcycle. That agility is all the more
surprising considering the unsportsmanlike wheelbase and steering geometry.
An archetypal '66 Bonnie is still almost two inches shorter axle-to-axle.

The W650 holds an even four gallons of unleaded, enough for approximately
140 miles of uninterrupted freeway travel. (Although the Editorial Cheeks were
never good for more than 100. Maybe it's just us.) Indicating 80 mph on its
new/old speedo, the single balance-shaft and rubber-mounted engine keep
life fairly placid, but it can be bloody drafty. That wide bar deploys the
leather-jacketed human torso like an America's-Cup spinnaker, turning a stiff
headwind into a succession of unsolicited steering inputs. Add the ribbed
Bridgestone front tire's fondness for rain grooves, and simply going straight
becomes harder than it should be. Cornering at a sporty clip, however, is
almost too easy. The wide bar, skinny tires and soft suspension make steering
so light it borders on numb. Some grinding begins before sport-bike
aficionados expect it, but this Kawasaki proves retro needn't be a polite way to
say watermelon truck. The phenomenon currently known as "brisk
acceleration" occurs only from 5000 to 7000 rpm, and requires frequent trips
to the gearbox. Wicked up thusly on a twisty road, the steel-tube chassis, soft
suspension and a fade-prone front brake amount to a reasonable degree of
grinding and wallowing. Despite stiffer springs and new damping entrails in
the 39mm fork for '01, the W650 is much happier at an easy trot.



1969 Triumph Bonneville T-120
Let your eyes swallow it whole and the Bonneville couldn't be anything else.
That's exactly why emeritus members of the Saturday Morning Style Council
pick it apart. It's bigger than a '66. The Kawasaki's pipes say T120/R, but the
bow-legged mufflers diverging from either side of the Bonneville's box-
section swingarm say...well, nothing. There's no tach or centerstand. There are
no pukka rubber kneepads on the fleshy tank, and what about that Japanese-
looking seam visible underneath? And the thing weighs 499 pounds wet--
nearly 100 more than its ancestors.

The verdict? Guilty-as-charged, with mitigating circumstances. Triumph's brain
trust knew the Bonneville had to be a solid motorcycle first and an icon maybe
fourth or fifth. To whine about the historical accuracy of this or the absence of
that misses the point. Which is this: Everything that makes the '01 bike a less-
faithful Bonneville makes it a better day-in-and-day-out motorcycle, and one
commoners can afford.

The heart and bones are all right there. Triumph's 790cc interpretation of the
360-degree vertical-twin is a genuinely functional interpretation of kith and
kin. The 86mm bore makes for a reasonably roomy four-valve head, while a
68mm stroke makes the connecting rod long enough to cut secondary
vibration. Driven by a gear on the right side of the four main-bearing
crankshaft, dual balancers in the upper half of the horizontally split cases
filter out objectionable shaking. That lets the wet-sump lump bolt solidly in its
steel-tube frame. A central chain and idler gear drive two cams and eight
valves. That makes the head compact enough to let a chrome, oil return line
between the cylinders impersonate a pushrod tube. An unobtrusive, 12-row
oil-cooler between the front down tubes keeps the beast from overheating.
Flopping the five-speed gearbox (essentially a Triumph Triple's six-speeder
with the fifth cog missing) moves the clutch to the left side, allowing the final
drive and compulsory triangular engine cover to live on the right.

With all those bits in motion, the Bonneville's character favors the present over
the past. It just takes awhile. For riders with an abbreviated inseam, the
Triumph's seat is an inch closer to the street than the Kawasaki's. Then there's
the history quiz called "Finding the Ignition Switch." Pray once for whoever
decided to leave it on the left headlight mount, and again for the mastermind
who gave the fork lock a key of its own. Fortunately, such irritants are few.
The Bonneville does insist its choke knob be fully deployed for at least a
minute. Once warm, electronic communication between the carbs and the
Triumph's digital- ignition box makes power delivery as good, or better, than
anybody's fuel injection. The driveline is just as smooth. A workmanlike clutch
and smooth-shifting transmission come as close to perfection as anything in
the business. OK, so it sounds to some like a twin-cam blender. Triumph's
"off-road" pipes and carb jets should arrive any day now. Besides, everything
the Bonneville engine gives up in character it gets back in convenience. A
56.8-horsepower, 790cc mill is underwhelming around a bunch of 100-horse
600s, but write this down: The Bonneville engine peaks at 42.1 foot-pounds
of torque at 7000 rpm, but 90 percent of that is on-line at 2750 revs. When
top gear is good from 30 mph to the naughty side of 100 mph, you needn't
shift much unless you're in a hurry. Consider the missing tachometer a
cosmetic hardship--a concession to that magic $6999 price tag--just like the
optional center stand and the pair of 5mm Allen bolts you unscrew to remove
the seat, only to discover the tool kit is optional, too. Maybe you should hope
the archetypal urbane boor won't notice.

Chuffing faster than 70 mph, he or she will pick up a little tingle through the
Bonnie's grips and pegs. The payoff is gobs more passing power. Enough to
push the Bonnie from 60 to 80 mph in just less than seven seconds vs. almost
eight seconds for the Kawasaki. The Bonneville's 4.3-gallon tank puts fuel
stops just a bit farther apart than those on the four-gallon Kawasaki, also.
Despite barely enough legroom for a 35-inch inseam, the narrower handlebar
(less of a drag in a headwind) and wider seat (less of a pain in the aspiration)
make an 800-mile lost weekend sound almost rational. Accurate steering,
fluid power and tolerable cornering clearance: For anyone old enough to know
Gary Nixon had nothing to do with Watergate, this Bonneville has the juice to
put regular Saturday-morning scrapes back on the calendar. Cheesy price-
point shocks and a semiflaccid front brake are the only deterrents to twisty-
road happiness. Triumph's firmer, 41mm fork conveys more feedback with
less flex than the W650 unit. Bridgestone's tube-type BT45 tires stick well
enough to carry out the Bonneville's broadband mission, but like the
Kawasaki's more chronologically correct Bridgestone Accolades they have
tubes inside.

Retro Reckoning
Unlike other instances of Britannia and Japan in pursuit of the same
demographic, everybody wins in this story. Clear thinking, modern
manufacturing and a corporate credit line really can cast faded memories into
something besides a big Vee. And, depending on your priorities, there's more
than one way to go about it. Kawasaki isn't betting the farm on the W650, so it
can afford to be a more- convincing Bonneville--even if that means it's a less-
capable motorcycle. But for the corporation John Bloor raised from the dead in
'91, this Bonneville had to be more than some picturesque homage to a fallen
empire. It had to work well enough to justify building a new one--which is just
what it does.



Name: Matthew Davis, a.k.a. Matt the Ratt
Age: 38
Home: Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Occupation: Bass Player, The Uptown Savages

'I've owned and ridden several hundred motorcycles over the last 37 years. In
the past three years I've cut my fleet from 20 bikes to one: the W650. I had
two of them for a couple years; my first was a silver-and-blue 2000 model I
bought on eBay, which I eventually sold to my teenage daughter.After a string
of sportbikes she was ready for something a little less intimidating, expensive,
diffi cult to keep running, costly to fix and less likely to get her a ticket.

"Her logic is the same that keeps me riding my W650. I paid $2800 for it two
years ago, buying it from the first owner who painted it black and tan to look
like a vintage Triumph. It had about 3000 miles on the clock, and looked new.

"It is a pure, basic motorcycle, and that's what I want. There's no pretense
about it. It may be a copy of a copy (the original '60s Kawasaki W1 was a copy
of a period BSA), but it's all about function and reliability. The last ride I took
on my Norton 850 Roadster resulted in it jettisoning a piece of its side stand
and almost losing a float bowl. That would never happen on the Kawasaki.

"The W650 is lightweight, smooth, doesn't leak fluids, full of character and
plenty fast enough for street riding. I like its painted front fender and the
contrasting seat piping. Everything on it works well. It's narrow. The pipes
don't have that annoying kink in them that the newer Bonnevilles have. And it
even has ribbed alloy rims-how cool is that?

"Every so often I think about throwing on some aftermarket scrambler pipes
and trials tires so I can do some fire-roading. Maybe even some steel pegs, a
skid plate and a cross-braced handlebar. But then rationality prevails:I am not
going dirt riding on this bike, and there's no need to screw it up. On the other
hand, it would look darn good with clip-ons, rear-sets and some Dunstall
mufflers..."

Good choice on the Honda CB500.

I've got a TW 200 in the garage. It is a fun little ride.