Motorcycles

[The NZA]

So one thing i intend to take up way down the road, when ive moved to a smaller city than miami & have the $ to do so, is biking. had this beautfiul 100th anniversary Harely sportster - midnight blue, fuckin wish i had a pic - but i havent really learned how to ride, only did a bit back in the day when my old man had one.

 

Size i am, i lean towards the 600+ cc Sportster-size models, tho i cant think of many things cooler than cruising the countryside on one of those big boy road kings, the 1300+ cc ones.

 

Anyway, due in no small way to American Chopper (been dyin to see this show, keep hearing about the awesome custom jobs those 2 do), the older styles, such as the chopper, are back, and the big names are puttin out a few models i think are really sharp.

 

First, Harely, and the Sportster 1200 Custom:

 

 

theyre also offerin them in a model lower to the ground than usual this year, which is cool, as ive heard more than a few people say this should be an option.

 

Another sharp one is Honda's Valkyrie Rune, which looks not unlike this:

 

 

so, just wanted to see if anyone else on the board dug bikes, too. Its trendy shit right now, which is cool (except for the fact that motorcycle deaths are supposedly up 70% or so since 1997...), but largerly with the older crowd; i remember readin that the average harley owner was late 30's/early 40's, which you would think would bring mroe caution to it, but not always.

 

Oh yeah, those who dig the Kawasaki Ninjas & such can talk bout that here too....i here their new model does something sick like 30-40mph faster than a Ferrari...

[The NZA]

The classic "Captain America" chopper from Easy Rider....

 

[Reverend Jax]

Oh man, a chopper would be slick. I'm getting close to convincing my roommate to buy my moped off me so I could upgrade to something I could take out on the expressways.

 

Nick, you have any idea what type of body for bikes is the safest, as far as least likely to lose control in turns?

[The NZA]

Hmm...that's an interestin question. My first thought is "not a chopper, or a ninja."

 

As far as size/cc goes, its really what youre comfortable with. For instance, if i was a heavier guy, and way more experienced a rider, id want a cruiser, or large bike upwards of 13-1400cc (harley calls them "fatboy" and such); theyre built for travel, not speed. Ideal for long stretches of highway, but the size makes them a bit of a bitch in bumper-to-bumper on a busy highway.

 

The sportster is the smaller of harley's makes, and honda makes a few good models there too. Typically, its about 600-800cc (and upwards) or so, lower to the ground, lighter in weight, and therefore easier to handle. Ive been told the old Honda Rebel was a good first-time bike, because its cheap, parts are easy to come by, and its pretty small too...a guy your height/weight would have no hard time at all, except that you might want something larger (fortunately, theyre cheap too, if you look around). I think its really an issue of what youre comfortable on, but not jumping into the larger bikes until you think youre ready. I also gotta say tho, this isnt the best town for biking as a primary means of transportation....

 

Lemme know what you think, ill look into it too.

[Thelogan]

I've been wanting a nice little motorcycle for years. I was damn close to getting a Cafe Racer over in JZA's little thread, but I talked myself out of it.

 

Of course there's also this...