| Author | Message | ||
     Zac4mac |
Gotta chip in here now... I've busted Alf's ass more than a few times, but I've seen true, BWB style posts from him in the Old School stuff. Even tho he's a friggin lightning rod... kinda like Rocket Sean... like Sean, he seems to be a good guy in the end. Take your meds Alf, I'm 62 and you don't want to know my pile of meds...  really wanted a peace sign.... Z (Message edited by zac4mac on April 03, 2017) | ||
| Figorvonbuellingham |
That's a nice Trumpet. I've got a TT120 engine sitting on my dining room table waiting for the right frame. Someday.... | ||
| Fj1200 |
Has anyone asked Mrs. Hugh what she wants to ride on the back of? Some of those bikes pictured look to small for a pillion let alone the stuff that a lady pillion, redundant?, requires. | ||
| Hughlysses |
Has anyone asked Mrs. Hugh what she wants to ride on the back of? Some of those bikes pictured look too small for a pillion let alone the stuff that a lady pillion, redundant?, requires. Yea, I've been talking to her. It pretty much boils down to this- I'm retired and I'd really like to do some LONG, multi-day, cross-country motorcycle trips with her. She hasn't ridden with me for a couple of years after she broke her ankle in an non-motorcycle-related incident, so she's out of pillion practice, so it's not clear to either of us how much she's willing to ride right now. The Uly I have is a decent long-distance tourer, but not really the optimum bike for these sort of trips due to limited wind protection and I'm a little hesitant to take it cross-country 2-up due to its age and limited dealer support. It would be fine for maybe less than week long trips, and that may turn out to be all we need. So, if we figure out she's really not up for a 2-week long motorcycle trip no matter what bike I have, I may keep the Uly and use it for shorter 2-up trips, and buy an EBR for solo riding. If we figure out she'd totally be into extended motorcycle tours, then something like a Norge or an ST1300 may be in the cards. | ||
| 86129squids |
Scrivo, that's SCHWEEEEET!! I once had an unrestored '68 TR6R, liked to poot around every now and then on it... sold it because I have no Whitworth tools or enough expertise anyway to deal with said machine. I always admire it when someone produces a bike like that, kudos! You and Lemonchili (Graham) should know one another if/when he heads back down under... I know he'd get a big chub looking at that! | ||
| Fj1200 |
"If we figure out she'd totally be into extended motorcycle tours, then something like a Norge or an ST1300 may be in the cards." Makes sense. It seemed like the FJR and the ones you mention were not given much consideration. Good luck either way. I'll be there someday too. | ||
| Scrivo62 |
Hi Squids, yes I used to work with Lemonchili back here Downunder. I bought my 2001 X1 Lightning from his brother in law about 10 years ago. Its still my favourite ride. I tried to catch up with Graham last August whilst I was in NY after a holiday in Alaska, unfortunately our paths never crossed.I am still working out some issues with the Triton but it has been a labour of love. | ||
| Greg_e |
You could always rent a Harley and see how she likes a weekend trip. Most dealers that have rentals will have at least one Ultra (or Limited or whatever they call the big fully faired touring machine) with what should be a decently comfortable passenger seat. Not sure if you can rent a Honda, Yamaha, BWM anywhere near you but might be another choice. If for some reason you decided to go with a Harley, plenty of nice used machines out there so you won't have to spend such a stupidly high amount of money for new. Though I hear the new watercooled Milwaukee 8 is supposed to be pretty nice for a Harley invention. That said, if you want a project, I might suggest an old V-rod converted to full touring body, luggage, and seats. I think I've seen both Road King and Electra Glide front fairing versions and I kind of like it. Probably a lot of work, but might be more reliable than some of the air cooled engines in the big touring bikes. | ||
| Sifo |
One nice thing about a HD would be the support across the country. It would be hard to beat with any other brand. One downside about a HD would be that the take the sport right out of touring. I would imagine that with proper application of cash and brains a HD touring bike could be made much more sporty. Is it worth it though? Hey, I won't judge... | ||
| Steveford |
Alfau posted a helpful photo when I did something idiotic with my X1W. Nobody else did. For touring/Ulysses/S3 replacement, maybe a Triumph Tiger or Sprint? Parts are idiotically expensive and they're not the easiest things to work on but the folks on triumphrat.net are really great to deal with. | ||
| Greg_e |
Two up and enough stuff for an extended trip doesn't sound like much opportunity for sport riding. Thats one reason I decided on the Ultra Classic I bought, didn't want to torture my passenger. Especially since that was someone who has really ever riden before. Wanted comfortable and the greatest feeling of safety I could provide. The half wrap around arm rests provide a good feeling of safety. Of course it only has stock power, so the V-rod would be really interesting converted to Ultra level touring machine. | ||
| Fj1200 |
In defense of a Goldwing I've spent some B*time on the back of one a couple of times in the past year plus, relax it was always Uly related; a ride to purchase, a ride from crash, a ride to retrieve repaired Uly from said crash, and the right pilot can whip that thing through the twisties better than me (which isn't saying much). Not that I'll get a GW but my vote is for an FJR with some sort of backrest. | ||
| Ratbuell |
Try a 'wing. I rode an F6B last season and was blown away. Big, fat, comfy, smooth...FAST...and handled like it was on rails. I was extremely impressed. I'm still good on my Uly, but if I start doing more 2-up riding, an F6B would be a serious contender. | ||
| 86129squids |
What Joe said. A few of us were discussing the bikes coming and going from TWoS, and I noticed a rider on a 'Wing rolling in... Matthew and I remarked on how well balanced those bikes seem. The GL1800 platform was influenced by their sportbike engineers in the earliest iterations. The thing about Honda is that they know when and where to cut corners and costs... an F6B properly sorted and farkled, with some $$$ thrown at the suspension, should make a great bike. Please reference some Youtube "Yellow Wolf Goldwing" videos.  Now, my vote for new/kewl! would be a new Moto Guzzi "Flying Fortress"... it has shortcomings, but DANG if it aint sexy! As good as the Hondas might be, they don't have the soul I need. Now, that F6B might prove me wrong, just like the Valkyries... and yes, I once owned and still love the PC800's. | ||
| Court |
I lean toward the "rent a Harley" camp. Frankly, given the mission and parameters you have described . . .even in view of a personal disdain for some of the crap Harley-Davidson has done to Buell. . if I were in your situation . . I'd go with the Harley. I had an FLH and loved it for that "lugging along the highway listening to music in comfort" mission. Of course . . .if you were crazy enough . . . and were going to do long road trips you'd lust buy a Porsche convertible, crank up the music and go. No . . . nobody would do that. :-) The FLH has the ability to melt miles to music. | ||
| Midknyte |
>One nice thing about a HD would be the support across the country... Yes. Just a fact, and quite frankly a selling point. >One downside about a HD would be that the take the sport right out of touring. Uh, the new 1200CX / Roadster has some legs. It's not a touring bike, and the stock seat is not passenger friendly, but you can very oddly turn a corner on the d@mn thing without touching any hard parts. | ||
| Hughlysses |
Please reference some Youtube "Yellow Wolf Goldwing" videos. Yea, I've encountered him on the Dragon at least a couple of times. I've heard that's a case of "it's the Indian not the arrow", but I've also heard he has some really trick suspension components under his Wing. | ||
| Court |
It occurs to me that there are a couple of, to a degree, competing goals here. If you are really taking your beloved wife on extended motorcycle journeys… You want a touring motorcycle. If you intend to take your beloved wife on a screaming, at the edge of the performance envelope, tour of the Dragon… You need a therapist. I can only speak for myself… But I have conceded that my reaction times and physical abilities no longer support that "balls to the wall" riding on public roadways. It seems, based on what you said, that the Harley Davidson FLH, or something similar would be perfect | ||
| Oddball |
Court, Years ago there was someone, on advrider maybe, had a lady that could handle a crazed Dragon run and would still be saying "Faster". I just remember pictures of them all geared up and she would hang off even further and just had the look of "give me the controls so we can go faster". | ||
| Hughlysses |
^ There are definitely competing goals, they're just not quite that extreme. I'd like to be able to ride ~500+ mile days, 2 up, and not be worn out at the end of the day. The main thing on the Uly that seems to fail in that regard is wind protection. Engine heat is also something of an issue. I'd like to be able to ride at a reasonably brisk pace in the twisties 2-up on this bike, but I'm not talking dragging knees. The Uly excelled in this regard. A new sport tourer could fulfill both these goals. Several bikes in this category are ruled out due to seat height (I have a 30" inseam). So far, the M-G Norge seems to be the most appealing thing to me. Much better wind protection than the Uly, reasonably low seat height, and holy crap, an air-cooled lump of a V-Twin for power. The only significant downside I can see is a limited dealer network. Now there's a significant possibility that I buy said bike, and after the first 2-week trip, my wife says "You know, this isn't nearly as much fun as I thought it'd be. I don't want to do this any more." While it's not very close to the same bike, the suggestion of renting a Harley for the first try at this might be a good test. If the HD doesn't work out, the M-G damn sure won't. If it turns out that 2-week long motorcycle tours are not in my future, then the Uly is sufficient for the shorter 2-up rides I will do, and the EBR becomes a potential purchase for pure twisty riding. Yea, it's gobs more bike than I'll ever need, but for the price, it's absolutely unbeatable. Maybe we'll take 2 week cross country trips with the truck (or car with a trailer) and I'll unload and do solo twisty rides along the way. The future's wide open... | ||
| 86129squids |
" I've heard that's a case of "it's the Indian not the arrow", but I've also heard he has some really trick suspension components under his Wing." I heard that he'd taken the bike to Computrack in Atlanta and threw a wad of $$$ at them... he also had a serious custom DVR setup to record forward and rear! Wonder how much $$$ he made, $20ish a pop, to record all the squids running the Gap...? When I was at SMHD here in Mur-vil, they typically had a good range of models to choose from in their rental fleet. The newer FLH's seem to have benefited from some good upgrades. Whenever I took a rental out for a day or 2, I did enjoy the machines, pretty much all of them. The Heritage Softail was the most surprising, I liked it more than I expected. If I was a buyer, it'd have to be a Roadglide, because of the frame-mounted fairing. | ||
| Greg_e |
There's a nice looking 1980 FLT with all the boxes that just popped up on craigslist near me for $6000. A little cheaper and I would consider going to buy it. | ||
| Ducley |
I can verify that my wife, who requires a throne behind me when she rides, has approved of the Ultra Glide. She didn't like the Sportster and wont get on the Buell. I have thought of switching to the FXRT but now she is not sure of how much she wants to ride. So now its looking like own the hot rod and rent the 2 wheeled throne. | ||
| Ratbuell |
Careful on the '80. The earlier chassis' were VERY prone to flex and wobble...to the point of tank-slap. I had a '96 FLHP, and even a moderate-speed off-ramp would set it a-swayin enough to pucker me up. Rodeos and low speed stuff? Better than my Buells, honestly. Anything over 50 mph though? wobble-wobble, pucker-up! Honestly, the more current FLH frame is light years ahead of the old stuff as far as actual handling. Stuff still sticks out too far down low for any real cornering, but at least you don't end up following a spaghetti-noodle line through turns because of chassis flex. | ||
| Greg_e |
My 05 did the wobble thing too, hopefully have that fixed with better swingarm bushings. | ||
| Aesquire |
http://lanesplitter.jalopnik.com/its-cheaper-to-ma intain-a-ducati-than-you-think-1793896003 Valve adjustment, we don't need your stinking valve adjustment! | ||
| Aesquire |
I'm sticking with my Cyclone as the bike I ride until I can't. I'm sublimating my desire for a Duke into the lust for one of these. http://silentfamily.de/silent-glider.html Simply, I can't afford all the toys I want, and while the ATOS with pod won't break any highway speed limits, it also lacks highway limits. No way to park one at the Dinosaur, though. | ||
| Ratbuell |
They made some major frame changes in...'10? I think? | ||
| Greg_e |
Frame was 09 and (I think) again 14 and this year. | ||
| Daddio |
May I humbly suggest an alternative American V-Twin? Victory Cross Countries and CC Tours can be had for low dollars right now. They out-handle the HDs, and $1500-2000 in motor upgrades and tuning will net about 115 hp and 120 ft/lbs, and really don't need a dealer in every town. Mama has put about 1/2 of the 71K+ miles on the back of mine, she likes it waaay better than the UlyXT for distance, and better than my previous FLHTC for passenger space and suspension. If you want to easily do 500+ mile days on a regular basis, and not fear needing a dealer in every town, look for a left over. Outside of the drive belt and fuel filter, there aren't many other proprietary parts. Polaris has committed to a 10-year supply of parts, too. Swapping the drive belt, while a bit more work than on an XB, doesn't entail pulling the primary side off, like on an HD. |
