Motorcycles: I'm in love....and it feels so right

[Skybird]

Originally Posted by HunterICX

Sold my Triumph Tiger 800XC in Feb 2020, then the lockdowns happened and it was overdue to get something new and today picked up my Guzzi V85TT :

^ The forward pointing lance tip above the front wheel is to hunt low flying pigeons for dinner, yes?

[em2nought]

Enduro for on road and off road?

[Onkel Neal]

Nice,

[August]

Originally Posted by HunterICX

Sold my Triumph Tiger 800XC in Feb 2020, then the lockdowns happened and it was overdue to get something new and today picked up my Guzzi V85TT :

Nice!

[Commander Wallace]

Very nice bike. Awesome.

[HunterICX]

Thanks

Originally Posted by Skybird

^ The forward pointing lance tip above the front wheel is to hunt low flying pigeons for dinner, yes?

Instant road trip snacks!

Originally Posted by em2nought

Enduro for on road and off road?

More like Adventure all road, so goes well on as off the road but not the extreme mudding you'd do with a dirtbike or enduro.

Originally Posted by Onkel Neal

Nice,

The bike company I work at changed from Yamaha to the Vespa Group last year so we're now dealing in Piaggio, Vespa, Aprilia and Moto Guzzi bikes

[Jimbuna]

Nice looking bike Wim

[Commander Wallace]

Originally Posted by HunterICX

The bike company I work at changed from Yamaha to the Vespa Group last year so we're now dealing in Piaggio, Vespa, Aprilia and Moto Guzzi bikes

Do you have any preferences with regards to specific manufacturers or types of bikes ? I rode dirt bikes, 2 and 4 strokes when I was young and also enduro's. Today, It's strictly cruisers for me with some creature comforts, for long runs.

[Onkel Neal]

Originally Posted by HunterICX

The bike company I work at changed from Yamaha to the Vespa Group last year so we're now dealing in Piaggio, Vespa, Aprilia and Moto Guzzi bikes

The Guzzi V7 was on my love list a few years back. I just need more than 65HP, though.




Also been in love with the Triumphs and Ducati (needs a rear fender, though) scramblers.


Wish Suzuki would make a bike like this.

[Commander Wallace]

Originally Posted by Onkel Neal

The Guzzi V7 was on my love list a few years back. I just need more than 65HP, though.

65 HP is decent power. You need a good torque rating too, though. It all depends on if you have a shaft, belt or chain drive system though. Rear wheel HP is what matters.

You lose in the area of 25 % of your total power with a shaft drive.
You lose about 10 % with a belt drive.
You lose about 2% with a chain drive.

All of these power conveyance systems have their virtues.

Subtract those percentages from your total power and you have a final power curve. Factor in the weight of the bike and rider and you have what is used in the aircraft industry, a thrust to weight ratio. In this case, a weight to a rear wheel horsepower figure.

I have an old Honda Shadow 700 with 11,000 original miles on the odometer that produces 62 gross horsepower and 45 lb feet of torgue, and is shaft driven. Using the formula I mentioned, it has roughly 45 horsepower at the rear wheel. It easily kept up with Harley's and the others and easily cruised at 75 MPH or better. It also turned in 61 miles per gallon of gas as well while cruising at those speeds and had very low emissions. The carbs were fine tuned, however. What more can you ask for.

[HunterICX]

Originally Posted by Commander Wallace

Do you have any preferences with regards to specific manufacturers or types of bikes ? I rode dirt bikes, 2 and 4 strokes when I was young and also enduro's. Today, It's strictly cruisers for me with some creature comforts, for long runs.

Types of bikes it comes down to Adventure or All-Road bikes.

They're for me comfortable to ride and with how there's sometimes nothing but a gravel road to get where I need to go I can just continue on not needing to worry it can't do the job. Also I'm a sucker on the looks when it comes to Adventure bikes.


What brought me to the Guzzi V85TT was the looks and the comfort of the bike, I tried a test ride in December and I was pretty much sold when I returned to our main office with it.



When it comes to the manufacturers , I've owned a Yamaha, a Triumph and now I got myself a Guzzi so I'm not sticking to a brand. All that matters to me is the looks of the bike and that they have a reliability standard.


Which means HD and BMW can go suck it!

Originally Posted by Onkel Neal

The Guzzi V7 was on my love list a few years back. I just need more than 65HP, though.




Also been in love with the Triumphs and Ducati (needs a rear fender, though) scramblers.


Wish Suzuki would make a bike like this.

Triumph makes really nice looking scramblers, I prefer adventure bikes myself to ride but I do enjoy seeing the classics brought back.

[Commander Wallace]

Originally Posted by HunterICX

Types of bikes it comes down to Adventure or All-Road bikes.

They're for me comfortable to ride and with how there's sometimes nothing but a gravel road to get where I need to go I can just continue on not needing to worry it can't do the job. Also I'm a sucker on the looks when it comes to Adventure bikes.


What brought me to the Guzzi V85TT was the looks and the comfort of the bike, I tried a test ride in December and I was pretty much sold when I returned to our main office with it.

When it comes to the manufacturers , I've owned a Yamaha, a Triumph and now I got myself a Guzzi so I'm not sticking to a brand. All that matters to me is the looks of the bike and that they have a reliability standard.

Which means HD and BMW can go suck it!

Admittedly, I have never tried the adventure bikes like you have, Then again, I don't have access to them like you do. I think they are styled great. I have no doubt the engineering in them is also sound and you can go anywhere with yours.

For me, riding upright all day on your bike would be problematic. I guess it's all in what you like and are comfortable on. I would never put down Harley's and or their drivers. However, I have the tank off of an Ultra Classic Harley. It is a motorcycle that easily exceeds $ 30,000 dollars. In looking at the tank, the welds stick up 3/8 of an inch.

Not to be rude but the welds look like they were done by blind workers in a third world country. Those welds would have never passed quality control in Japan or on a Triumph Motorcycle and many other manufacturers. Keep in mind, this is on a motorcycle that is better than $ 30,000 dollars. This says nothing of some of the deficiencies in the Harley engines. Most consumers demand better quality.

I was once asked at a motorcycle rally what I thought of Harley's. I responded, they make great expensive t shirts. My comment wasn't well received. However, it's evident Harley is selling a culture, not quality motorcycle. That being said, I have seen some awesome Harley's. A friend of mine has FXR's and Dyna Wide Glides in fantastic shape. They look and ride like they are brand new. The question is, are they worth the exorbitant prices that are being asked for them ?

Only the individual motorcycle rider can answer that question.

[Gorpet]

Originally Posted by Onkel Neal

The Guzzi V7 was on my love list a few years back. I just need more than 65HP, though.




Also been in love with the Triumphs and Ducati (needs a rear fender, though) scramblers.


Wish Suzuki would make a bike like this.

Well,You might as well start traveling and giving us a motolog everyone.Is trying to catch.Itchy Boots this year.

[HunterICX]

Originally Posted by Commander Wallace

Admittedly, I have never tried the adventure bikes like you have, Then again, I don't have access to them like you do. I think they are styled great. I have no doubt the engineering in them is also sound and you can go anywhere with yours.

For me, riding upright all day on your bike would be problematic. I guess it's all in what you like and are comfortable on. I would never put down Harley's and or their drivers. However, I have the tank off of an Ultra Classic Harley. It is a motorcycle that easily exceeds $ 30,000 dollars. In looking at the tank, the welds stick up 3/8 of an inch.

Not to be rude but the welds look like they were done by blind workers in a third world country. Those welds would have never passed quality control in Japan or on a Triumph Motorcycle and many other manufacturers. Keep in mind, this is on a motorcycle that is better than $ 30,000 dollars. This says nothing of some of the deficiencies in the Harley engines. Most consumers demand better quality.

I was once asked at a motorcycle rally what I thought of Harley's. I responded, they make great expensive t shirts. My comment wasn't well received. However, it's evident Harley is selling a culture, not quality motorcycle. That being said, I have seen some awesome Harley's. A friend of mine has FXR's and Dyna Wide Glides in fantastic shape. They look and ride like they are brand new. The question is, are they worth the exorbitant prices that are being asked for them ?

Only the individual motorcycle rider can answer that question.

I've always ridden in a group that's a mixed bag of brands, as expected you can just imagine the trashtalking in a good sense no one is spared of the others opinion when it comes to the other's brand but all in fun spirit.


Got an uncle and aunt which are pretty much HD in every sense of the word untill recently, they changed bikes to something that provides more rider comfort as their age have caught up.


What one spends on a motorcycle is all up to the rider to value it's worth he/she gets out of it. I wouldn't spend 30.000 on something that tends to shake itself apart and requires tons of maintenance and knowledge to keep running but I know there's people out there that love every bit of it.

[Onkel Neal]

Originally Posted by HunterICX

Got an uncle and aunt which are pretty much HD in every sense of the word untill recently, they changed bikes to something that provides more rider comfort as their age have caught up.


What one spends on a motorcycle is all up to the rider to value it's worth he/she gets out of it. I wouldn't spend 30.000 on something that tends to shake itself apart and requires tons of maintenance and knowledge to keep running but I know there's people out there that love every bit of it.

Same here. But you are spot on with "changed bikes to something that provides more rider comfort as their age have caught up." As my age limits my flexibility, balance, and agility, I see a day coming soon where I'll have to retire the tall bikes like my Strom for something with a lower seat height.

I was really looking hard at this,


and this



but I already know my knees will never forgive me if I cram my feet onto those rear-set pegs.