What motorcycle to buy?

scorpa

Turbo in the gas prices thread you said you were going to possibly buy a Buell Blast. Those things are so tiny! They are for really small beginner riders, even I feel horrendously cramped on them ( I do have rather long legs for my height though [5'8]). They aren't really a dual sporter either. I dunno how happy you will be with that bike in the long run.

turbo

The reason that I'm looking up the Blast is that it is light and cheap and very fuel-efficient, and since they are cheap, I won't mind taking one on gravel roads. I am 5'6" with a 30" inseam (short legs) so I don't feel too cramped on a Blast with a regular-height seat. I haven't ridden one yet (just browsing the showrooms), but a road-test is going to be the next step. If it feels too small, I may go back to the dual-sport idea. I stopped in at my friendly local KTM dealer to see what he had for trade-ins, and I got pretty excited when I saw a Ducati Monster. No dice - it was one he had sold when he was a Ducati dealer and the owner had brought it in to be repaired. :-(

scorpa

I'm currently in love with the Ducati Monster! I think that is a neat bike, I like the naked bikes much more than a full on sportbike. To bad it wasn't for sale.

turbo

Oh, yeah! Rod offered me some great deals on his line-up of Monsters when he was giving up his dealership. I stuck with the Harley line, though now most of my day-tripping buddies are out of commission, I wish I'd bought the 750 Monster instead. Tons of power in a nice package - and yes, it did look a whole lot sexier than the Japanese sport bikes with their plastic shells. I'd consider a used Monster, but the nearest dealer now is at the south end of the state, and Rod told me that he just doesn't want to work on them any more. He's got his line of KTMs and an RV business that keeps him hopping, and he doesn't have the time to take on more work.

wolram

If i were not in love with old Britbikes the Dukes would be my next choise.

mgb_phys

Funny I was just looking at a Blast last week and thinking that would make a nice commuter, especially since the freeways here are 55mph anyway.

ps. Loved the U-Tube video, I used to have a BMW F650. A single cylinder 650cc BMW! Useful if you ever need to pull a Land Rover out of the mud.

turbo

With 69 mpg at highway speeds, the Blast is a really inexpensive ride. I just filled up my truck today and paid $3.619/gal for regular. There are some great trout waters in the state, but the price of gas keeps me conservative. A Blast could change that. My Softail gets almost 50 mpg but I can't bring myself to take it on gravel roads and chip the paint. It still looks new after 3 years. I wouldn't mind dirtying up a Blast.

mgb_phys

1.30/Litre here and I'm looking at a new job with an hour in nose-tail traffic in the morning. So something small that could filter down the inside and you don't mind losing the odd mirror on looks good.

Only problem is going into the Harley Dealership, I'm not a 50 something lawyer/dentist - will they still let me in

turbo

They let ANYBODY in, though most of the old family-owned dealerships in the state are gone - eaten up by chains. When I wanted to buy a Softail, I called the nearest dealership and asked if they had a basic fuel-injected Softail with no extras, and they said yes, so I drove an hour to look it over and they had pulled the old bait-and-switch. The plainest Softail they had was sporting pearl paint, smooth-rimmed wheels and a security system. Even worse, they refused to come down on the price after I pointed out the bait-and-switch and ID'd the salesman who had lied to me. I called them some bad names, whipped out my cell-phone and called a more distant (and still family-owned) HD dealership, and asked if they had a base-model Softail with EFI in stock. They said "yes" and I said "put a hold tag on it - I'm coming down". I smiled "nicely" at the liars as I left their store. I got to the family-owned place, looked at "my" bike, negotiated with one of the owners and got another $600 off the price, and paid for it with a personal check. They never asked to see my ID. I have never been in their shop before, and I was wearing old jeans with oil-stains, a T-shirt, and some old running shoes. Those old guys knew the difference between a poser and the real deal. (Especially when I tried to persuade them to sell me one of the old flat-track bikes on display from their private collection.) They retired the next year and sold their dealership to the big chain that owns the liar's store. Bah!

NateTG

You could consider a Honda Helix or something similar. You can get a used one reasonably cheap, and they get decent mileage (in the 60's).

scorpa

Hey Turbo, just looking for an update. Are you any closer to making a decision on what you want? Any luck selling your harley?

turbo

Hi, Scorpa. The banks around here are VERY gun-shy about bike loans, so I have gotten deluged with offers of 3/4 of what the bike is worth at retail (disregarding the low miles and lots of extras). I'll buy a cheap ride and garage this machine if needed until the credit market in the US pulls its head out of it's @$$.