| Author | Message | ||
     Dynasport |
I was having a discussion with a friend of mine who just bought his first bike a few months ago, a Honda VTX1800. He is a very tall guy who said he felt like he needed a big bike to not feel cramped. He got the bike, a 2002 with 4500 miles for $6000. He mentioned he also liked the BMW R1200GS. So I told him about the Ulysses. Since I have ridden them both, though admittedly not much, he asked me what I thought about them. It was when I was describing the bikes to him that I came to a realization about myself. I am not into refined motorcycles. I don't really know why, but I like a bike with a bit of a harder edge to it. That is why I prefer the Dyna to the counterbalanced Softails. It is also why I like the Ulysses better than the 1200GS. It doesn't really make sense. You would think that a normal person would prefer smoothness and refinement to rough around the edges. I guess I am not normal. Logically, for the type of riding I like to do, the FJR1300 would seem to be the perfect bike for me. And I do like it. But I would rather buy the XB12XT. Actually, I think the 1125r may be getting a bit refined for me. It's too early for me to say, though, as I have only demo'd one for about five miles, but it seemed very smooth and refined in that short time. I guess something is just wrong with me. I am just not refined. I can pretend to be refined when I have to, but it is just not me. I am guessing others on this board may fit that description as well. | ||
| Xl1200r |
Maybe we are with bikes like girls are with guys - they always go for the grungy unshaven jackass types, lol. I will always remember riding a ZX10R and being in love with the power and seriously considering getting one. And then I got back on my Forebolt and fell in love again with the things shaking all over tha place. | ||
| Sub65chris |
make sense to me. why go with refined and predictable. when you can have innovative and different? | ||
| Slaughter |
I'll help you resolve your conflict and take that 1125R off your hands. Do you take Paypal? | ||
| Dynasport |
Well, I am not sure about most girls, but for some strange reason my wife seems happy enough with me. And I am no more refined than a Buell I can assure you. And Slaughter, I don't normally take PayPal, but for you I'll make an exception. Send me the money and I'll be sure to ship the bike to you within 24 hours.  | ||
| Slaughter |
Dan, You NAILED me on that one! | ||
| Danny_h__jesternut |
Unrefined? Smells like an old tuber, ta me. Cafe Racers Rock! | ||
| Jackbequick |
Confederate Railroad said it all in Trashy Women. Well, I was raised in a sophisticated kind of style. Yeah, my taste in music and women drove my folks half wild. Mom and Dad had a plan for me, It was debutantes and er-symphonies, But I like my music; I like my women wild. Yeah, an' I like my women just a little on the trashy side, When they wear their clothes too tight and their hair is dyed. Too much lipstick an' er too much rouge, Gets me excited, leaves me feeling confused. An' I like my women just a little on the trashy side. Shoulda seen the looks on the faces of my Dad and Mom, When I showed up at the door with a date for the senior prom. They said: "Well, pardon us son, she ain't no kid. "That's a cocktail waitress in a Dolly Parton wig. I said: "I know it dad, ain't she cool, that's the kind I dig." Yeah, an' I like my women just a little on the trashy side, When they wear their clothes too tight and their hair is dyed. Too much lipstick an' er too much rouge, Gets me excited, leaves me feeling confused. An' I like my women just a little on the trashy side. Instrumental break. I like 'em sweet, I like 'em with a heart of gold. Yeah an' I like 'em brassy, I like 'em brazen and bold. Well, they say that opposites attract, well, I don't agree I want a woman just as tacky as me. Yeah, I like my women just a little on the trashy side. Yeah, an' I like my women just a little on the trashy side, When they wear their clothes too tight and their hair is dyed. Too much lipstick an' er too much rouge, Gets me excited, leaves me feeling confused. An' I like my women just a little on the trashy side. Yeah, I like my women an' I like 'em on the trashy side.} | ||
| Jlnance |
You would think that a normal person would prefer smoothness and refinement to rough around the edges. If you refine a motorcycle enough it becomes a car. Compared to a motorcycle, a car is better at almost everything. Yet we still ride bikes. | ||
| Not_purple_s2 |
If gas and $$ were not an issue I'd still be driving something from the 60's with a V8, stick shift and power nothing. In fact it was only until recently that I made a semi-sensible car purchase. My 03 Eclipse is luxury compared to my past cars and truck. The Buells satisfy my need for speed, noise, and raw muscle without breaking my wallet in maintenance and fuel. | ||
| Lemonchili_x1 |
From dictionary.com "nor•mal [nawr-muh l] –adjective 1. conforming to the standard or the common type; usual; not abnormal; regular; natural." Most people I've met with Buells seem to be happy not being "normal", and many seem to be proud of it  . And having something a little unrefined appeals in a few ways - It makes it unusual, it gives it character, it makes it stand out from the ordinary. I love my X1, and a lot of it's appeal is in it's unrefined character - it's loud, it shakes, it rumbles, but it does what it was designed to do (go around corners!). For example I would call a VTR1000F a "refined" motorcycle, and it does everything my X1 does, but I find them an incredibly bland motorcycle. I even find the XB's a little refined, they don't shake as much! I am really curious to ride an 1125r though... I bought a 2002 Ford Falcon XR6 ute (I guess you guys would call it a sport-truck or mini-truck?) last year. Lovely car, fast, quiet inside, great brakes, great handling and grip, air-conditioned, power windows etc etc, but I never really loved it... so I sold it and bought a '74 F100!!! And I love it BTW My other half thinks there could be something to the girls and guys analogy... | ||
| Igneroid |
Very interesting thread. My theory on this is as follows. When a machine/person/whatever does exactly what another wants it to do without complaint or fault, that machine/person/whatever becomes somewhat of a fixture, a plumbing fixture so to speak, and is taken for granted. Now if that plumbing fixture needs to be woo'ed a little or you have to hold your mouth a certain way and cuss at it a little, but when you do it right, it delivers the clean hot water in spades, well you have developed a relationship with that plumbing fixture and as you become better at operating it, you either develope an affection or a dislike for it... Im gonna write a book about this shit some day. Ill call it "PERCY'S Psyco Psycology". You'll find a whole chapeter of this subject somewheres near the back....heh | ||
| Dynasport |
To clarify something, while I like unrefined, I don't like unreliable. I don't think the two need to go together. | ||
| Tx05xb12s |
I think the brand does attract the type that doesn't want to do what everyone else is doing. I bought my XB because it was a hard right off the normal path. I love that it's still a sportbike, more streetable than most, and though performance is flawless, has a rawness to it unlike any other sportbike I've seen out there thus far. I didn't want girly girl pretty; I wanted rough and ready in your face sexiness. If I ever change my mind, I'll go buy a Honda and settle for commuting with the masses. | ||
| Danger_dave |
I've just done 1000km on a C109R - same thing as the Honda but a bit more real world. I'm more comfortable on the Uly. Not to mention the cornering, 'chuckability' and the errrr...stunting. | ||
| Rubberdown |
Never thought of the GS as refined but I've only used them off-road with knobbies. The things are like jeeps. My Hp2 is totally raw. | ||
| Danger_dave |
I like the Megamoto as much as the Ulysses - as an urban weapon. Maybe even slightly more - but it costs 30% more than a Uly and can't tour or carry a passenger. I still maintain that the Ulysses is the most versatile big bike there is. | ||
| Rubberdown |
OT ... DD, My HP2 is the enduro but I have 4 wheelsets and two sets of forks so I set it up many ways. I've done two-up touring with the optional passenger pegs and a caribo topcase on the back; it's a lot of fun. It has a really long seat so theres plenty of room. The Megamoto basically the same bike with shorter suspension, road brakes .... I submit that the HP2 Enduro is the most vesatile big bike around. Mine carried me to the podium in a deep sand off-road Rally Moto event; Toured off-road in the Colorado rockies as well as many other areas; was great knee down fun at several track days at various tracks; and, just did some great two-up riding in the South Virginia mountains last weekend (paved and dirt roads). The longest road day was 500 miles back from Daytona this year. I paid $17k for mine, new OTD and now have 17,000 miles on it. A buck a mile fun. Should get cheaper from here on. Gets 50+ mpg. Is it the most comfortable bike for all purposes,?? I just tell myself HTFU.  | ||
| Danger_dave |
Yeah - I've ridden a HP2 and road tested the megamoto. Megamoto is where i ride. Uly price here is $20K Megamoto is $32K - no rear pegs. If I spent 13K on the Uly....but then I don't need to spend anything. The Uly does everything the HP2 does this side of needing knobby tyres - and it has wonderful (Copilot rates it as the best) passeger comfort, capacious luggage and consideration to 'ongoing cost of ownership'. Thus I disagree ;-P | ||
| Bigdaddy |
This is a very good thread. I've been through a number of motorcycles over the past few years. FLSTF, RK, VRSC, M2, and Uly are the last 5. The vrod left the barn early because it just didn't speak to me (or whatever I'm trying to say.) I sold the RK because it just sat there and I was watching the pricing on them continue to soften up --sold. The Uly does everything well and the wife can do 500 mile days on it with no complaints. The M2 doesn't do any one thing as well as the Uly, but I'd pick it over the Uly but if I'm going by myself I'll pick it every time. It stays regardless. I like raw. My everyday cage is a 1977 Chevy truck. No A/C, power nothing, currently no radio/CD/sound (and there's no real need for it because of the sweet sound of a very free-flowing exhaust .) The truck will wear you out on the $4.00 per gallon gas, but I forget all about that between fill-ups. My wife always has a nice car with all the bells & whistles if I need that | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
I believe Buells attract the same type of person who appreciates vintage timepieces, classic cars, old electronics, etc. It is the anachronistic nature of Buells that make them so attractive. You can have a digital watch that tells the time more accurately than a mechanical watch, but I would take the mechanical watch over a digital any day. You can have a car that handles better, is more comfortable, and is more powerful than a '69 Chevelle, but I'd pick the Chevelle over an Accord. It isn't enough THAT something performs a function. It's knowing how and why it is performing that function that counts. I'm convinced that there are those who ride who really don't care how their bike actually works. It's not that they aren't mechanically inclined. It's that they simply don't see the beauty in the mechanics. Beyond ticking off the performance mods list that all their buddies do, these folks don't give their rides of choice another thought. Or if they do think about their bikes, it's when something is broken. I grin when I hear the lifters working. I smile when I hear and feel that reassuring clunk as I shift through the gears. I enjoy it as much as the "TICK, TICK, TICK, TICK" of my vintage 1973 Breitling Super Ocean. | ||
| Rubberdown |
I also very much enjoy my rawboned race kitted XB12R. It may not the best bike or most capable, but it's highly entertaining and I like that very much in a bike. Having ridden the 1125 on the track, it didn't impress me as being overly refined .... just a lot of fun and very capable. (Message edited by rubberdown on April 27, 2008) | ||
| Danger_dave |
Nah - I HATE loud ticking clocks and watches and get those old sh*tter cars out of my way while you are at it. :-P | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
Who you kiddin', Dave? You know you can't tell time.  | ||
| Danger_dave |
I have a woman comes in for that trivial stuff. | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
A very expensive swiss timepiece would be cheaper. A lot cheaper. | ||
| Bigdaddy |
D-d & Ft_b, Extortion documents should be mailed out tomorrow -- pay up, quickly, or your women get copies of your transgressions  | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
Extortion? Ha! You should see some of the things I have done for sex. | ||
| Danger_dave |
You should see some of the things he's had sex with! | ||
| Jlnance |
You should see some of the things I have done for sex. Given your proclivity for picture posting, I fear we might. |
