My scoot SMax 155cc loved it! Have 13 two wheelers from 5hp mini bike..
65cc,100cc, 3 -125cc motocross 1 of which was a dual purpose ,250cc motocross, 400cc dual purpose,650cc dual purpose, 700cc tourer, 2- 150cc scooters , And NOW my FAVORITE of all these bikes "THE HONDA CB500F"
The Yamaha SMax 155cc favorite scooter , able to reach speeds over 70mph even with my weight & Gear. Only reason I traded the SMax is because of valve adjustments every 2500 miles, but I really loved that Scooter!
The kz1000 is fantastic.
Unfortunately I have nearly no pictures of my bikes. Just one old one of me with my Elsinore dirt bike which I had posted up here somewhere. I have more recent pics so those don't count.
:frown:
I wish I still had the Z1R, That bike right now, about one of the most expensive of the Jap bikes to buy in good condition. They had a turbo model of that bike, those are very rare. They were set up with the Turbo in California someplace.
When I own that thing it was the most powerful bike on the market for about a year, and then Suzuki came out with something, then that Honda CBX came out. That was the muscle time frame for motorcycles, they all wanted to have the bad boy on the block.
That bike had an incredible top end speed at the time. Something in the 130 something range. I never got it up that high, maybe 115 one time. It held the top end speed record for a long time. I've seen claims in the 140 something range for those bikes. Think that could be a stretch. I could get the front tire to skip getting on the freeway up a ramp at about 80 mph in third gear. 2nd and 3rd gears pulled like a freight train.
The frame on those a little bit better then the original Z1's. They had a kit to beef it up. Difficult to keep chains and tires on that bike.
The 45 Honda was a horrible bike. Vibration on that bike to the point of ridiculous.
the only bike i owned previously, i never even got to ride... my ex at the time was violently opposed to me getting into motorcycling, so i returned it before i could go through training and get my motorcycle license. it was a 2002 sv650s, bought in 2007. this is the only pic i have of it parked behind my car:
Most have been hacked up. They never did produce all that many, because it hit the market during a recession. They sat on the showroom floors, they had to scale back production. Nobody knows how many actually made it into the states. I think it only had a two year run if memory serves right. Most people don't even know about the performance of that bike. It was unlike any other of the Z bikes. IF you go on line the HP claims are all over the place. Probably someplace between 90 and 100 HP. Some people think it the first bike to break the 100 HP mark.
Ye ol 2012 CBR250R ABS at my first track day in May 2015. I had a Suzuki 1990/91 GS500E back in the 90's, you can google that, it was red/white/blue I think
Here is another one with that KZ550. This was not an early form of stunting; I was just bored on a long section of freeway. I don't recommend this style of riding.
Started out on an old CB250 in the nineties (no idea what year model it was), owned a GPZ750 for a time and then bought an RGV 250R (late nineties model). I only have this one blurry picture of the RGV.
Here is my 68 Bonneville that I just sold a few months ago. I had it in my living room for 20 years and then did another restoration to make it a rider.......electronic ignition, new tires, stainless steel spokes, etc.
Then I decided I didn't like riding it. Couldn't get used to the right foot shift and didn't enjoy kick starting it, so it was time to go to a new caretaker. Still think it is the best looking bike ever made.
I had a 97 KTM dual sport that had oil in frame. I didn't like it for the reasons mentioned above though it never gave me trouble. I just imagine condensation happening and frame rusting. I got a big imagination sometimes.
It had both OIF and liquid cooling. It was the 620 single cylinder.
I thought I was going to re-live my glory days on the dirt. Not that I was ever glorious. I just went as fast as I could until I crashed LOL. Which happened a lot but when you're young (and dumb) and flexible you recover.
The first time I took the KTM on the dirt it was like riding a Cadillac with the big power four stroke motor and WP suspension. But the first big whoopty-do I hit I was unprepared as to how heavy it was compared to my old Elsinore. It was like a bus coming up at me. 308 pounds but smooth.
I cut the ride short while I was still in one piece. It seemed I forgot what little off roads skills I had.
I believe the tall seat height was also a complaint with the OIF Triumphs.
That new Bonneville is a sweetheart. I test rode one last year, and I could certainly live with it, but still not enough better than my CBR to make the switch. Not sure the EFI technology existed in the early 70's to have made a modern Bonneville back then.
I've got a 2007 Bonneville right now. It's heavy, especially top heavy. The suspension not that good at all. I've done a little work on the front suspension, with progressive springs and dampening pre sets. They are built like a freaking WW2 tank and hold up well, bullet proof as a Honda.
Overall I enjoy riding the CB much more. The CB handle better, lighter, and if you use the gear box you can get it going pretty good, especially in 3rd and 4th gear on back roads. Plus the MPG on the Honda so much better averaging 62 mpg compared to the 39 on the Bonneville.
One thing about the Bonneville, they hold value pretty well, selling fast when the time come to get rid of one. They are a very popular bike in my area.
I've been thinking about selling it (Bonneville) since the Honda can do everything I want out of a dedicated street bike these days.
I have not taken a ride on that new one, looks like a real winner for Triumph. They are using a 270 degree crank on that bike which give it good roll on throttle, and great low down torque factor. Looks like the only thing they didn't address, all that weight.
Another bike worth looking at, that new Street Cup looks good with the 270 crank in the new 900 cc motor, smaller version of that 1200 motor.
They are building really good bikes, looks like they are on the right track with what they produce.
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