Motorcycle?

[Kamal]

So how many on here own / ride motorcycles? I bought an SUV a couple of years back but with me now entering a single life (and to save some gas), I am seriously considering getting a bike, at least for inner-city riding and maybe venture onto inter-city / highway riding when I'm comfortable with it.

At first I was thinking of getting the all-electric Zero SR

2015_zero-s_product-page_sr-image_13444[1].jpg

It's obviously got a lot of perks being an electric bike i.e. no gas / oil / service expenses, charges overnight on a 110 Volt line, and it's quick AF (110 F/lbs of Torque iirc).

Downside? It's not got the classic motorcycle sound, no gears (so no gear control, which I miss from my younger days riding bikes), and of course range-anxiety. Another significant negative is the price, this one stickers at $15,990 (almost $16K) and after adding options like quick charge and bigger battery, it tops out at nearly $19K, which then means I would need to ride it for close to 10 years to recover any part of my investment.

I then started looking at gas alternatives and ran into this little number - the Yamaha FZ-07



It's light (barely $397 lbs), giving it excellent power-to-weight ratio, great on gas being light (56 MPG), made by Yamaha (which makes even more reliable bikes than Honda and Suzuki) which means less long-term maintenance expenses, and the biggest benefit? It's under $7K.

With Winter nearly upon us, I will wait until next Spring to pick it up but I'm pretty excited. Anyone else into riding?

[diegoff]

Re: Motorcycle?

I love motorcycles, but I donīt own one.
A co-worker has the Yamaha FZ, itīs a beautiful machine and runs like hell

[floridaorange]

Re: Motorcycle?

Maybe start out with one of these (not joking), you don't have to have a license or anything, only goes about 30 mph or so, but could be perfect for around town. And you can carry it inside when you are done, or take it with your car on road trips. Gets 140 mpgs. Otherwise, you could just get a used Ninja or something for a lot less. Not sure why you would need electric, the mpgs are already low enough on motorcycles aren't they? Lower speeds are obviously more safe, have you considered a scooter, or you want a motorcycle? Have you ridden many motorcycles before?

[Garrick]

Re: Motorcycle?

I was gonna say the same thing as florida... motorcycles already get really good gas mileage so I don't see the point of an electric one at a retail price like that, but to each their own!

[floridaorange]

Re: Motorcycle?

go with the yamaha, I glossed over the part about it being under $7k - that's a good price! I would point out that Orlando is a terrible city for driving, lots of accidents, rain, tourists, old people, the perpetual humidity and heat, it's a perfect storm for chaos on the road. While on vacation last year we got a phone call that my neighbor and good friend of my uncles son was killed in a moto accident... he used to drive by our old house almost everyday. He left 3 kids behind, very sad. But hopefully things are a little less dangerous on the roads you drive on. There's also no state tax here, so the roads in general are crap, and everyone seems to have road rage.

[feather]

Re: Motorcycle?

Mid-life crisis? J/k

My ex colleague just got himself a cafe racer.

[trick12]

Re: Motorcycle?

harley 48 rider…forget electric, get something proper or no need to risk it at all

[Michael^Heaven]

Re:

I like motorcycles but I wouldn't own/ride one unless I lived in the middle of nowhere. People drive bad enough!

[Kamal]

Re: Motorcycle?

Mid-life crisis? J/k

Not a mid-life crisis but you could call it a form of non-vocalized rebellion.

harley 48 rider…forget electric, get something proper or no need to risk it at all

I've looked into Harley's, they're about as reliable as a politician. They have consistently scored at the bottom of the charts for long-term use and I like keeping my things for the long haul. I always believe in buying one good thing but then it's with me for as long as I can keep it (phones are an exception because technology runs at an entirely different scale these days)

I like motorcycles but I wouldn't own/ride one unless I lived in the middle of nowhere. People drive bad enough!

Believe me, I'm not in the middle of anywhere, more like the corner of no where, kinda like the arm-pit of the country. The only reason people know this town is because there's a damn highway nearby, otherwise no one would even know where the heck this is.

[lockedgroove]

Re: Motorcycle?

my contribution to the thread.

[DIDI]

Re: Motorcycle?

Possibly because i have been around awhile , but I just know too many people who have died on them.;( I used to love being pillion once upon a time.

[Jenks]

Re: Motorcycle?

big fan of vintage:

[dusk]

Re: Motorcycle?

Get yourself a Royal Enfield - Bullet Falcon




Joking aside... you should pm fabric8... he's a professional motorcycle racer.... or atleast used to be one.

[Kamal]

Re: Motorcycle?

They still sell the Royal Enfield in India. I had a ton of buddies who had them, if you didn't kick start them correctly, the "kick-back" could snap your ankle, Enfields were notorious for them (at least back in the day). I used to be a fan of their "pounding drum" firing but not anymore. That and the fact that their gear and brake foot pedals are reversed used to make it very confusing for me to ride.

[Hoff]

Re: Motorcycle?

Get yourself a Royal Enfield - Bullet Falcon

far divine shit, had a friend with one of this, a vintage one i mean




i love the one dennis hopper has on easy rider, that one is in far far mode in terms of design,
at least for my tastes .. those short straight handlebars








my brother had this suzuki intruder 800 when i was like 22, now I am 34, ..... and my brother was in far mode so he gave me that beast a looooot of times, i even didnīt had permission to drive motorcycles, but the only important thing is that i knew how to drive it





I'll look for the pictures because my brother intervened the original design of that intruder, and left it mega powerful .. in less is more mode