Topic: What Motorcycle Have You Been Obsessing About Today?

[ktm525]

Maybe "obsessing" isn't the right word, but lately I've been thinking I should sell my two bikes and replace them with one of these.

Absolutely you should.  My 300 barely gets out anymore, as the 501 does single track almost as well and so much more...The list is long though. They need to desmogged and uncorked. The cleanest way is to buy a second blank ECU and load a competition fueling map.

Also they are not cheap and in high demand. Fully dressed with the usual do dads + desert tank, aftermarket lighting etc. I am probably close to $17-$18k all in. The ability to hang a hard right off the tarmac and blast up anything? Priceless.

Don't believe the maintenance horror stories. No worse than a 300. My old 520 is at about 800 hours and the motor has never been torn down. The current 501 at 100 hours the valves were spot on (first check). I change oil every 20 hours and filter 40 or seasonally. The big motors don't get stressed as much at the smaller singles. The rest is just usual dirt bike stuff.

 

[Jaeger]

See I don't see the point of that, biking to me is all about freedom, I choose which way to go and when. And if I see something interesting I pull over to take a look. Following other people slowly doesn't sound fun to me.

My last tour in the US I was booking each Air BnB just one day in advance, so I didn't really even know where I wanted to go. Absolutely loved it. Did 5-6 states in a week, mainly twisty roads, amazing stuff.

Each night I would go to the local pub, chat with the locals, look up interesting roads, find a small town at the end, book accommodation, eat/drink/chat, and then off to the next town the next day. I've never felt so free.

This is exactly what appeals to me conceptually about motorcycling.  Not that different from what I like about road cycling.  Ride with one or two buddies from time to time?  Absolutely.  Big group rides?  Not really my thing.  The one I really enjoyed was Cambridge to Paris and back with Quad.  But that wasn't a very large group.

[Jaeger]

Everything I have read about motorcycle safety is consistent with that.  Alcohol apparently also plays a role in motorcycle accidents.

One of the personal questions for potential motorcyclists to consider is whether the focus required to stay safe sucks too much of the joy out of the experience.

Jaeger, you might have cause to be more concerned if she were encouraging the dangerous hobby.  In that event, you would know your past your best before date. The resistance is at some level a compliment.

That's certainly how I am choosing to look at it. 

[ktm525]

In my experience the optimal group is  1-3 riders. Anything more than that and the enjoyment level decreases in direct relationship with every additional rider. Big groups turn into a quilting bee rather than riding and it attracts individuals more interested in the social aspect and jawboning rather than actual riding.

[HeliDriver]

Maybe "obsessing" isn't the right word, but lately I've been thinking I should sell my two bikes and replace them with one of these.

Absolutely you should.  My 300 barely gets out anymore, as the 501 does single track almost as well and so much more...The list is long though. They need to desmogged and uncorked. The cleanest way is to buy a second blank ECU and load a competition fueling map.

Also they are not cheap and in high demand. Fully dressed with the usual do dads + desert tank, aftermarket lighting etc. I am probably close to $17-$18k all in. The ability to hang a hard right off the tarmac and blast up anything? Priceless.

Don't believe the maintenance horror stories. No worse than a 300. My old 520 is at about 800 hours and the motor has never been torn down. The current 501 at 100 hours the valves were spot on (first check). I change oil every 20 hours and filter 40 or seasonally. The big motors don't get stressed as much at the smaller singles. The rest is just usual dirt bike stuff.

 

That was from 8 years ago! 

Anyway, I did sell the 690 but didn’t replace it with anything. Still have the 250 and enjoy riding it when I can. Think I put maybe ten hours on it last year. 

I haven’t been obsessing over any motorcycles recently. The reality of street riding doesn’t even remotely approach the fantasy of it, IMO. Sometimes I think a new FI two-stroke would be nice, but then I come to my senses and realize there’s no way it would be $12k nicer than the old one I already have.

[ktm525]

Maybe "obsessing" isn't the right word, but lately I've been thinking I should sell my two bikes and replace them with one of these.

Absolutely you should.  My 300 barely gets out anymore, as the 501 does single track almost as well and so much more...The list is long though. They need to desmogged and uncorked. The cleanest way is to buy a second blank ECU and load a competition fueling map.

Also they are not cheap and in high demand. Fully dressed with the usual do dads + desert tank, aftermarket lighting etc. I am probably close to $17-$18k all in. The ability to hang a hard right off the tarmac and blast up anything? Priceless.

Don't believe the maintenance horror stories. No worse than a 300. My old 520 is at about 800 hours and the motor has never been torn down. The current 501 at 100 hours the valves were spot on (first check). I change oil every 20 hours and filter 40 or seasonally. The big motors don't get stressed as much at the smaller singles. The rest is just usual dirt bike stuff.

 

That was from 8 years ago! 

Anyway, I did sell the 690 but didn’t replace it with anything. Still have the 250 and enjoy riding it when I can. Think I put maybe ten hours on it last year. 

I haven’t been obsessing over any motorcycles recently. The reality of street riding doesn’t even remotely approach the fantasy of it, IMO. Sometimes I think a new FI two-stroke would be nice, but then I come to my senses and realize there’s no way it would be $12k nicer than the old one I already have.

Whoops. Keep the 250 and add a 500.  We rarely spend more than 20 minutes on pavement, mostly just transit sections where it is impossible otherwise. There are so many routes in BC it is crazy. Probably 1000 times more trails than pavement. While in the city I mount my "street" wheels and the 500 is a hoot to run errands on.

The newest generation of 500s are even better, especially if you are shorter. The Beta, KTM and Husky are great choices and even the Honda is not too bad (heavy). Getting excited because it looks like Mother nature has pulled the pin on snow biking/skiing and riding season is here.

[HeliDriver]

^^ TBH, I'm much more into cycling these days. Would rather spend $8k on a new mountain bike (but even that isn't going to happen.)

IIRC, you're loading the 500 into your truck Ridgeline (  ) and hauling it to BC to ride there? Yeah, I can see that being loads of fun, but just too much of a time commitment for me.

I put over 10k km on the 690E when I had it, and did have lots of fun with it. Still, I couldn't find any practical reason to keep it: I rode it to work sometimes, but that was about a 5 minute trip and hardly worth it (I'm an ATGATT kind of guy.) Couldn't even use it for running errands around town, because that always involved hauling too much stuff. In the end, I'd get all dressed up to go ride around in circles for an hour. Just seemed silly and pointless. 

I did take it on some great BC trips, though. Some awesome twisty pavement around Nelson/Nakusp, and then some equally awesome fire roads & lookouts to explore as well. But that's like a weekend commitment (at the very least,) while I can hop on my bicycle and go for a great ride from my back door.

[ktm525]

^^ TBH, I'm much more into cycling these days. Would rather spend $8k on a new mountain bike (but even that isn't going to happen.)

IIRC, you're loading the 500 into your truck Ridgeline (  ) and hauling it to BC to ride there? Yeah, I can see that being loads of fun, but just too much of a time commitment for me.

I put over 10k km on the 690E when I had it, and did have lots of fun with it. Still, I couldn't find any practical reason to keep it: I rode it to work sometimes, but that was about a 5 minute trip and hardly worth it (I'm an ATGATT kind of guy.) Couldn't even use it for running errands around town, because that always involved hauling too much stuff. In the end, I'd get all dressed up to go ride around in circles for an hour. Just seemed silly and pointless. 

I did take it on some great BC trips, though. Some awesome twisty pavement around Nelson/Nakusp, and then some equally awesome fire roads & lookouts to explore as well. But that's like a weekend commitment (at the very least,) while I can hop on my bicycle and go for a great ride from my back door.

Yeah it helps if you have a flexible work schedule. Sometimes I throw it in the truck and base out of either Trout Lake, Nakusp, Salmon Arm. Other times ride from my door south over the mountains into BC for a few days of camping/riding (self contained) and now we are setting up a primitive base in Crowsnest area. Will likely concentrate on the Lizard range and Purcells this year. Last year was able to essentially ride from AB through most of southern BC on no pavement. I hear you on a mountain bike. I need one of those too lol.

[blur911]

^^ TBH, I'm much more into cycling these days. Would rather spend $8k on a new mountain bike (but even that isn't going to happen.)

IIRC, you're loading the 500 into your truck Ridgeline (  ) and hauling it to BC to ride there? Yeah, I can see that being loads of fun, but just too much of a time commitment for me.

I put over 10k km on the 690E when I had it, and did have lots of fun with it. Still, I couldn't find any practical reason to keep it: I rode it to work sometimes, but that was about a 5 minute trip and hardly worth it (I'm an ATGATT kind of guy.) Couldn't even use it for running errands around town, because that always involved hauling too much stuff. In the end, I'd get all dressed up to go ride around in circles for an hour. Just seemed silly and pointless. 

I did take it on some great BC trips, though. Some awesome twisty pavement around Nelson/Nakusp, and then some equally awesome fire roads & lookouts to explore as well. But that's like a weekend commitment (at the very least,) while I can hop on my bicycle and go for a great ride from my back door.

Yeah it helps if you have a flexible work schedule. Sometimes I throw it in the truck and base out of either Trout Lake, Nakusp, Salmon Arm. Other times ride from my door south over the mountains into BC for a few days of camping/riding (self contained) and now we are setting up a primitive base in Crowsnest area. Will likely concentrate on the Lizard range and Purcells this year. Last year was able to essentially ride from AB through most of southern BC on no pavement. I hear you on a mountain bike. I need one of those too lol.

So can a vintage FWD GMC motorhome towing a trailer full of dirtbikes make it to any of these places you mention?

Stuff like that is in my plans in the next few years if things go well.

[ktm525]

^^ TBH, I'm much more into cycling these days. Would rather spend $8k on a new mountain bike (but even that isn't going to happen.)

IIRC, you're loading the 500 into your truck Ridgeline (  ) and hauling it to BC to ride there? Yeah, I can see that being loads of fun, but just too much of a time commitment for me.

I put over 10k km on the 690E when I had it, and did have lots of fun with it. Still, I couldn't find any practical reason to keep it: I rode it to work sometimes, but that was about a 5 minute trip and hardly worth it (I'm an ATGATT kind of guy.) Couldn't even use it for running errands around town, because that always involved hauling too much stuff. In the end, I'd get all dressed up to go ride around in circles for an hour. Just seemed silly and pointless. 

I did take it on some great BC trips, though. Some awesome twisty pavement around Nelson/Nakusp, and then some equally awesome fire roads & lookouts to explore as well. But that's like a weekend commitment (at the very least,) while I can hop on my bicycle and go for a great ride from my back door.

Yeah it helps if you have a flexible work schedule. Sometimes I throw it in the truck and base out of either Trout Lake, Nakusp, Salmon Arm. Other times ride from my door south over the mountains into BC for a few days of camping/riding (self contained) and now we are setting up a primitive base in Crowsnest area. Will likely concentrate on the Lizard range and Purcells this year. Last year was able to essentially ride from AB through most of southern BC on no pavement. I hear you on a mountain bike. I need one of those too lol.

So can a vintage FWD GMC motorhome towing a trailer full of dirtbikes make it to any of these places you mention?

Stuff like that is in my plans in the next few years if things go well.

Absolutely. We will make it a jamboree. 

[dirtyjeffer]

What's the story on these bikes??

https://www.kijiji.ca/v-street-cruisers-choppers/calgary/yamaha-gts-1000-super-rare-collector-motorcycle/1555068285

Edit:. Took the bike out today and went for a ride.. super nice..

i don't think i've ever seen one of those.

[HeliDriver]

What's the story on these bikes??

https://www.kijiji.ca/v-street-cruisers-choppers/calgary/yamaha-gts-1000-super-rare-collector-motorcycle/1555068285

Edit:. Took the bike out today and went for a ride.. super nice..

Neat. I’ve never seen one either, but remember reading about them back when they came out. Was kind of a big deal, IIRC.

Might be a neat bike to own, but scary from a maintenance point of view. I’d be surprised if parts are easy to get.

[rrocket]

What's the story on these bikes??

https://www.kijiji.ca/v-street-cruisers-choppers/calgary/yamaha-gts-1000-super-rare-collector-motorcycle/1555068285

Edit:. Took the bike out today and went for a ride.. super nice..

Neat. I’ve never seen one either, but remember reading about them back when they came out. Was kind of a big deal, IIRC.

Might be a neat bike to own, but scary from a maintenance point of view. I’d be surprised if parts are easy to get.

These were very cool with their forkless front end. Was basically a swing arm on both ends. Apparently rode wonderfully.

Goldwing switched to forkless most recently..though not the same type as the Yamaha

[ktm525]

What's the story on these bikes??

https://www.kijiji.ca/v-street-cruisers-choppers/calgary/yamaha-gts-1000-super-rare-collector-motorcycle/1555068285

Edit:. Took the bike out today and went for a ride.. super nice..

The old swing arm front Yamahas. Only rode once when they first came out, super stable but heavy if I recall. As a 4th or 5th bike in a collection these may be neat but I wouldn't want to put miles on them since parts must be a nightmare.

[Triple Bob]

If you've got the money, and want to go that route, I'd get the new tesi instead.

https://www.cycleworld.com/story/buyers-guide/2020-bimota-tesi-h2/

[Fobroader]

There is a Royal Enfield dealer in Calgary....its half the cost of the Triumph I like and the reviews on it are all beyond positive.

[ktm525]

That's real nice. Buy it.

[Triple Bob]

Their bikes are getting better all the time. The Himalayan is amazing value. $6.7K for a very capable bike.

[Arthur Dent]

I love the Royal Enfield twins.

[Jaeger]

There is a Royal Enfield dealer in Calgary....its half the cost of the Triumph I like and the reviews on it are all beyond positive.

I seem to see a lot of comments slagging RE, but not much detail as to why.