Buell opinions?

[Pete]

Buy the Ultra!

 

[Larry Gude]

I think he'd be more comfortable in a Union Suit, ya know... with the back flap and all.....

Funny you should mention that.

Gas stop, I am in the can, unbuckle and unzip the protective pants, unzip the liner, had to basically open of the jeans and pull them down below my ass or pee all over everything. Whistling to myself. Pissing, ass hanging out, some dude comes in behind me and leaves right away, figure he's one of them that likes their privacy. There were two stalls. No urinals but, two stalls.

So, I get my kit back together, wash my hands and walk out and this woman is waiting for me, I say 'hi' she say, "You know that is the woman's room, right?"



I burst out laughing because she got to see my not all together hideous ass cheeks and tell her I am sorry and that I am embarrassed. She just laughs.

I have a habit of doing this.

Harley bud says to me, totally dead pan "The whole stick figure thing with the dress throw you off?"

 

[itsbob]

OK, 283 miles today. Deep Creek and back. Plus a stop at Twigg for a test ride on the Concours.

The 'busa is OUT. Good lord, the motor is ungodly and it is a pure joy to be riding. For the most part. On short trips. Rock solid stable and as smooth as you want. Suspension is solid, too. However, I simply can not get to the foot controls RIGHT NOW. It is a conscious effort to get to foot break or shifter. I have to unweight the thigh on the side needed. Just no good. Safety issue.

And, I got beat the hell up every last mile. And it does wear your throttle hand out but BIG time. And I got beat the hell UP. Wind buffet is absolutely horrific. Even tucked down, chest laying on the tank. And, damn, did it beat me up.

Everything fell together to do the test ride on the way home, perfect opportunity to compare highway, apples to apples. The Concours is VERY easy to ride, excellent riding position for me. Super easy to get to the foot controls. Bit of a bang with the shaft when I shift that I am sure I'll eliminate with better clutch control. Stable on the highway in this wind. Plenty of power but you have to shift to use it unlike the laughable, exponentially more powerful Hayabusa. The buffeting was not bad at all and, with the electric shield, I could ower it to be nearly as bad as the 'busa. All the way up was comfortable wind wise but the wind hitting my lid was LOUD AS HELL.

When we got to Hagerstown, to Twigg, if my buddy said 'let's go back to Deep Creek" and I had to ride the 'busa, no effing way. I would have left right then and there to go back on the Kawi.

From there, 25 more miles to home, I rode his Ultra Classic, 07. What a fat ####ing tub of metal!!!

The 'busa feels heavy and solid as a rock and the Concours, 100 pounds heavier, feels LIGHTER. The HD felt heavy as HELL. And it is.

Now, on the highway, it was a rock solid ride and, so far, the only bike I'd feel comfortable going 2 up on. It'll go but, it takes awhile and some shifting to get up there. It was QUIET behind the high shield he had on it. The extra pegs, the ones that stick out, were also very comfortable.

So, I enjoyed the HD.

I really like the Kawi but, frankly, it felt like a toy compared to the other two.

I LOVE the 'busa but it is a bad match for me.



I am ####ing beat. Oh, by the way, my HD pal, obviously, riding the Hayabusa home, can't believe I lasted all day on it. His hand got cramped in no time and he took a beating, too. I had assumed, not knowing any better, that he was kicking his ass whipped all day, too. Ha. Far from it!

I deserve a medal "In honor of stupidity..."



Oh, and there were flurries at Deep Creek.


GREAT day!

I think I was up in your hood last week.. If I knew where you lived I would have stopped by and let you take the RT out.

This bike is SMOOOOOOOOTH, full on two up bike, and still sporty enough to drag a knee.

 

[itsbob]

So, I get my kit back together, wash my hands and walk out and this woman is waiting for me, I say 'hi' she say, "You know that is the woman's room, right?"



I burst out laughing because she got to see my not all together hideous ass cheeks and tell her I am sorry and that I am embarrassed. She just laughs.

I have a habit of doing this.

Harley bud says to me, totally dead pan "The whole stick figure thing with the dress throw you off?"

Never mind, get the Ultra. .

 

[Larry Gude]

Never mind, get the Ultra. .

Ouch.

 

[desertrat]

Funny you should mention that.

Gas stop, I am in the can, unbuckle and unzip the protective pants, unzip the liner, had to basically open of the jeans and pull them down below my ass or pee all over everything. Whistling to myself. Pissing, ass hanging out, some dude comes in behind me and leaves right away, figure he's one of them that likes their privacy. There were two stalls. No urinals but, two stalls.

So, I get my kit back together, wash my hands and walk out and this woman is waiting for me, I say 'hi' she say, "You know that is the woman's room, right?"



I burst out laughing because she got to see my not all together hideous ass cheeks and tell her I am sorry and that I am embarrassed. She just laughs.

I have a habit of doing this.

Harley bud says to me, totally dead pan "The whole stick figure thing with the dress throw you off?"

 

[Larry Gude]

Never mind, get the Ultra. .

My perfect bike would be the Concours (sport/tour style) with the 'Busa engine and a switch that makes it 200 pounds heavier once on the highway.



And belt drive.

 

[aps45819]

Now you know why there is a BIG selection of aftermarket wind shields.
My stock shield feels like a calypso drummer is doing a solo on my head above 60 mph but $135 got me one that allows me to ride with an open face shield. A little research on model specific forums will let you know wht works and what doesn't. I also made sure the crash bars I added were 1" dia to allow fitting a set of highway pegs (the front foot rests).
I've found the "Adventure touring" models provide a good riding position in the middle between the high knee sport bikes and the weight on your tailbone cruisers.

 

[aps45819]

My perfect bike would be the Concours (sport/tour style) with the 'Busa engine and a switch that makes it 200 pounds heavier once on the highway.



And belt drive.

It's not the weight, it's the rake/trail geometry
Try a Goldwing 1800
better seat then the Ultra, better acceleration than the Concurs
LOTS of aftermarket support

 

[Larry Gude]

It's not the weight, it's the rake/trail geometry
Try a Goldwing 1800
better seat then the Ultra, better acceleration than the Concurs
LOTS of aftermarket support

I have NO interest in the Ultra/Goldwing category anywhere BUT the highway with 2 up.

I TOTALLY enjoyed the Concours. It just felt kinda cheap and I am spoiled rotten with the Hayabusa motor. I had to actually drop down to fifth on the Kawi to scoot around a truck. Of course, the HD, I would had to drop 2 or 3 gears.

I was very comfortable on it, the 14, and it felt more than solid enough in the wind yesterday, just a bit of a cheap feeling I can't put my finger on. It felt lighter than the 'Busa which it is 100#'s heavier than. I imagine that is a rake/trail thing right there, yes?

The HD just flat out weighs 850 pounds and I guess you just can't hide that at some point. Great just cruising, as intended but, around town, going to the store. No likee.

 

[aps45819]

I have NO interest in the Ultra/Goldwing category anywhere BUT the highway with 2 up.

Several of my friends ride wings.
They can embarrass sport bikes in both acceleration and in the corners.
I got passed on Rt.129 (the Dragon) in TN by a guy on a goldwing

He's called Yellow Wolf and has his wing set up with video cameras. For a fee he'll follow you up the mountain and film your ride.

I won't ride one because EVERYBODY I know that has tried one has bought one.

 

[Larry Gude]

Several of my friends ride wings.
They can embarrass sport bikes in both acceleration and in the corners.
I got passed on Rt.129 (the Dragon) in TN by a guy on a goldwing

He's called Yellow Wolf and has his wing set up with video cameras. For a fee he'll follow you up the mountain and film your ride.

I won't ride one because EVERYBODY I know that has tried one has bought one.

They can embarrass SOME sport bikes.

I should have added; I am not interested in spending 18-22k.

The Kawi is 11k.

 

[ylexot]

They can embarrass SOME sport bikes.

It's more a matter of some riders on Goldwings can embarrass some riders on sport bikes. I would guess that most sport bikes would beat a 'wing if the riders were equally competent.


...and I'm sure that I'll get a 'wing or a BMW LT at some point.

 

[glhs837]

Christ, Gude, you're like a Bridezilla for motorcycles "tune in next week for the continuing adventures of...." No wait, its like Goldilocks......

So, to summarize.

1. Harley - too slow
2. Kawi - feels cheap
3. Busa - torture rack

So, it must be faster than the Harley, feel heavier than the Kawi, and have better ergos than the Busa. Time to test drive some of the Beemer sport tours, if you can find a used one in your range. I cant think of any other machine thats going to meet those criteria.

 

[GWguy]

Christ, Gude, you're like a Bridezilla for motorcycles "tune in next week for the continuing adventures of...." No wait, its like Goldilocks......

So, to summarize.

1. Harley - too slow
2. Kawi - feels cheap
3. Busa - torture rack

So, it must be faster than the Harley, feel heavier than the Kawi, and have better ergos than the Busa. Time to test drive some of the Beemer sport tours, if you can find a used one in your range. I cant think of any other machine thats going to meet those criteria.

:shrug: He likes his dirt bike.... put tags on it.

 

[desertrat]

Christ, Gude, you're like a Bridezilla for motorcycles "tune in next week for the continuing adventures of...." No wait, its like Goldilocks......

So, to summarize.

1. Harley - too slow
2. Kawi - feels cheap
3. Busa - torture rack

So, it must be faster than the Harley, feel heavier than the Kawi, and have better ergos than the Busa. Time to test drive some of the Beemer sport tours, if you can find a used one in your range. I cant think of any other machine thats going to meet those criteria.

Like I and I'm sure many of you have thought before, there just is no one bike good for everything. Shorts trips around town, a day on the Blue Ridge or a long haul out to Texas. The only solution is to own several!

 

[ylexot]

Like I and I'm sure many of you have thought before, there just is no one bike good for everything.

BMW R1200GS :shrug:

 

[aps45819]

Like I and I'm sure many of you have thought before, there just is no one bike good for everything. Shorts trips around town, a day on the Blue Ridge or a long haul out to Texas. The only solution is to own several!

Suzuki V Strom

With just the top case I'm good for commuting, can pack a lunch and make a bread/milk stop stop on the way home.
It's great in the twisites, I haven't been able to scrape a peg yet
On the highway it's got long legs, I need to be doing 70+ to keep 6th gear from bogging.

... and it's half the price of a GS1200

Other Adventuring touring ergonimic style bikes are the Ducati Multistrada and the Truimph Tiger

 

[itsbob]

BMW R1200GS :shrug:

I need to get the RT paid off so I can add the GS to my stable.

I heard the new engine is HOT. Same horsepower, but what I've been told it doesn't act like it. They tried to get me out on the 2010 RT with the new motor in it, and I had to pass.

 

[Larry Gude]

:shrug: He likes his dirt bike.... put tags on it.

That'd make crossing the media in traffic jams less problematic.

Look people, while you have great fun at my expense I sincerely appreciate every one's input. This is truly evolving in an intelligent fashion which I find rather...icky...at first, instead of just acting and be unhappy later but, as this starts to bare fruit, I kinda like this whole process.

I do understand I have a completely unrealistic view of what power is. However, boys and girls, I like it!

HD's and GW's, it seems, are out because, I think, I am not going to be happy running to town for the bank, a few groceries, just to lunch, etc due to the harbor pilot restrictions operating in parking lots. I can only see liking them on the highway. At this point.

I would suppose the Kawi is just fine quality wise and, like my power expectations, have been severely distorted in comparison.

Thank!