I was surprised that all the bikes on the list are Japanese, for sure. I do like Honda, but that's because I learned to ride on one. I'd really like to try riding BMW, but I hear that service is kind of a bitch. I'd really like to try some of those Italian bikes too, but it looks like my options for the foreseeable future are learning how to rebuild bikes from the '80's and '90's, which I guess I'm ok with. I don't get why the CBR 1300 isn't available here though. It seems like the styling would be popular here and as far as I know about CBRs, they're very reliable and easy to ride . . . Anyhow, how did you decide on your bike?
Living in Los Angeles has convinced me of one unassailable truism: I will never own a German vehicle. Period. End of line. I just don't want to associate with the flagrant douchebaggery I see every day. As far as the CB1300 (not CBR1300), I would guess it's because Honda knows that market is niche at best and the people who haven't bought a V-max already are probably buying a Diavel or a Thruxton. How I decided on my bike So the KLR cracked its frame somewhere between LA and Taos. This was (and is) a severe Party Foul in my book - I mean, I rebuilt the wiring harness on that piece of shit at least three times, molycoddled its stupid little Keihin, tightened its goddamn elephantine gas tank every six months, changed out its goddamn ignition switch, you name it. But if the fuckin' frame is gonna crack, who knows what's gonna do next? So I set out to see what the hell else I was interested in riding. And the hell and gone out in Simi Valley, there was a thrashed-out '98 Triumph Tiger and a thrashed-out Aprilia Caponord. And I figured what the fuck, I'd go ride out there and give them both a try. So I get there and the Triumph won't start. The Aprilia won't start (and they're ridiculous - you ever been next to one? They're like Goldwings on monster truck suspension) and it's banana yellow besides. And they had a bunch of brand new Teneres for a gajillion dollars, and a bunch of brand new Tigers for a gajillion dollars, and over there, neglected, where nobody could really see it, was a goddamn unicorn. And since I couldn't test-ride the triumph, and since I couldn't test-ride the Caponord (and didn't want to any longer), let's test-ride the unicorn. Because you'll never so much as see one ever again, let alone ride one, and if someone is willing to give you the keys to a Maserati, take 'em, son. And oh my god. Dat bike. One would think that an 1100cc Italian pretend-dualsport would be unholy and frightening. One would think that such an odd and exotic monstrosity would emphasize with its every move just what a radical and dangerous possession it truly is. One would think that a vehicle rarer and less-known than a bloody bimota would have all sorts of characteristics that would make it clear in no uncertain terms why it was sitting, alone and forlorn, at a used bike dealership in Simi Valley with less than 1500 miles on it. HOWEVER: It's a peach. It's stupendously well-behaved. It's the most predictable, stable, benign motorcycle I've ever sat on let alone ridden. And oh god. The sound. It has a sound unlike any other. Aspects of a pure, uninsulated race triple with few concessions to reality. It was kind of terrifying at first - the idle was set too low so it sounded remarkably like a garbage truck at lights, then you'd put your wrist in it and HOLY FUCK I probably spent a solid month in intense research to try and figure out if I actually wanted to be responsible for the care and feeding of a 1-in-7 Italian exotic so far from home. The local Italian bike specialists won't touch it. You have to get parts from a guy named Steve in Philly. But there's a friendly and thriving internet community in the UK (where they're still available) and the same insane shop that tweaks Vyrus and Bimota (maniacmotors.de) tweaks the fuck out of Benellis, too. Best part is that it's got an Athena ECM, the same one Bimota uses… which means you can plug into it with your laptop and change whatever you want. Even better, it's got a big stupid button on the dash labeled "Benelli" that when you press it, flips fuel maps on the fly. So you can have your nice, conservative saves-gas and idles-appropriately map on one setting, and your 15mpg-idles-like-crap-but-holy-fuck-get-it-above-5k-and-it-will-tear-your-face-off on the other and you're in for a treat. It really rewards riding like a jackass. That bike is capable of so much more than I am. But it also rewards riding like a citizen. It's got ridonkulously stupidly big Brembos in the front and it's just a joy in traffic. I was astonished at how much safer I feel on 130HP of italian insanity than I did on 650CC of conservative Kawasaki. I ended up getting it for $200 more than the shop had taken it in on trade six months earlier… and approximately a third the asking price when it was still being sold by dealers. In other words, I paid less for it than I would have for a late-model CBR600. One of my least-regretted decisions of my entire life. Only downside is once you've acclimatized to owning a Benelli you start thinking that things like a Vyrus or a Bimota might not be so crazy. Not gonna lie, seriously thinking of building one of these.
Wow, that's some serendipity right there. Ever find out why it got sold in the first place? Your story made me realize that maybe another reason I appreciate Honda is that I don't know the first thing about mechanical engineering. I'm at about the level of Lego Technics/Erector Set. Break something on a Honda? No problem. I've heard people say this kind of thing in a lot of scenarios, kind of a "you don't know how good things can be until you've had a taste of what good really is". I can see that. Anything in particular that's stopping you from building that thing? I bet that building it would be tons of fun, especially if one had some idea of what one was doing! I would like to learn more about mechanical engineering for the sake of riding and knowing how shit works in general. I was talking to a lady not long ago about whatever and she mentioned that her son was attending MMI which is much more full on than what would suit my needs, but it's cool that it's out there and that the graduates are well-regarded. I guess I could ask various friends who are engineers to give me a hand if I run into problems at some future time, but then again, my friends with engineering backgrounds seem to think they can take just about anything apart and put it back together the right way, whether or not that's really the case.Only downside is once you've acclimatized to owning a Benelli you start thinking that things like a Vyrus or a Bimota might not be so crazy.
Fear. There's a certain amount of "oh shit if it breaks I'm fucked" that I, too, suffer from. The beastie did 5,000 miles in three months back and forth from work so when I was done with that gig, I parked it and vowed not to ride it again until it'd had its oil changed, its chain tensioned and its fuel injection rebalanced. Then, of course, I also changed out the pipe, put crash bobbins on and gave it heated grips so right now it's suffering from some serious I-don't-have-time-to-finishism. Benelli, in their infinite kindness, put up the shop manuals as PDFs. I printed mine full color using my wife's discount. It's an impressive document - a 3" binder of tweaky Italian Engrish. But it also gives you the fortitude to do obnoxious things like exchange the fuel injectors for Densos. The 25,000 Euro price tag (without engine)? The lack of a garage to build it in? Lots of things. Besides, I can't ride more than one motorcycle at once and the one I have is a peach. Engineers, as a general rule of thumb, know fuckall about taking things apart. I was stunned to learn that of the entire UW department of Mechanical Engineering, I was the only person in my graduating class that had ever repaired a vehicle large enough to ride in. In my opinion, the best way to learn how to wrench is to own a VW Bug. The parts cost nothing, you can take the whole thing apart with a Leatherman and there are enough gotchas in the design that it will not instill you with a sense of awe for "superior German engineering." Build a dune buggy or sand rail. You'll learn. ALL HAIL CHENOWTHEver find out why it got sold in the first place?
I'm at about the level of Lego Technics/Erector Set. Break something on a Honda? No problem.
Anything in particular that's stopping you from building that thing?
I guess I could ask various friends who are engineers to give me a hand if I run into problems at some future time, but then again, my friends with engineering backgrounds seem to think they can take just about anything apart and put it back together the right way, whether or not that's really the case.
That is seriously shocking. Was that unusual at the time? I wonder what it's like now across the US . . . Now there's an idea. My car is just about to die on me and this "cold-spell" isn't helping things at all. I really, really hope I can sell it to some parents looking for a first car for their kid, come spring. I really, really, really hope I can sell it for close to what I spent on getting it to pass inspection.Engineers, as a general rule of thumb, know fuckall about taking things apart. I was stunned to learn that of the entire UW department of Mechanical Engineering, I was the only person in my graduating class that had ever repaired a vehicle large enough to ride in.
In my opinion, the best way to learn how to wrench is to own a VW Bug. The parts cost nothing, you can take the whole thing apart with a Leatherman and there are enough gotchas in the design that it will not instill you with a sense of awe for "superior German engineering." Build a dune buggy or sand rail. You'll learn.
Dunno. Gotta keep in mind: when I started in college, "fuel injection" was something that you didn't mess with. You could chip a modern car and make it go faster but a 350 with TPI was pretty much the shit. Fast forward 20 years and a buddy of mine is reliving his Landcruiser fetish and he's got yet another with a 327. Lo and behold, a 350 with TPI is still the shit. It's like car culture hit 1992 and just sorta stopped. I mean, even the ricers don't really go for modern rides anymore. The stupid stereo twits will buy something new and put eleventy seven LCD screens in it, but if you're actually dealing with the mechanicals you're probably working on a '98 Prelude. Presuming you're working on it at all. The kids aren't buying cars, and they aren't driving anywhere, so why would they give a shit?That is seriously shocking. Was that unusual at the time? I wonder what it's like now across the US . . .
I have noticed that I meet more and more people who say they don't drive, though I've wondered if that was merely an effect of meeting people in large cities. The concept of the self-driven car is appealing, especially if it could work as a kind of modular public transit, but I've got a feeling that such cars are a bit further off than the articles suggest.
I don't think it's the "driving" aspect so much as the "$20,000 and $400/mo in insurance just to be allowed to legally put the keys in" aspect. That and it's so much less of a tribulation to be stuck at home. Backintheday we found new bands by reading about them in magazines, then driving an hour to the music store to make a deposit, then driving back two weeks later to pick up our CD. Youtube is a definite improvement.
The laws are not so strict where I'm from, but I take your point. I love Youtube, but it bums me out that there are so many things that get in the way of frequent social interaction between people here. Plus, I always enjoyed going to the record store and just digging for whatever. I guess I don't have to deal with "holier-than-thou" record store employees anymore, just those bonkers comments sections.