Motorcycle Recommendation... (1 Viewer)

[Walt N]

That's the charm of British bikes. They throw rods, leak oil, and the electrical system supplier, Lucas, didn't get the nickname "The Prince Of Darkness" for no reason.

Oddly enough, my 1975 Trident was reliable.

Glad to hear you're taking the course, John. Have fun out there.

 

[Philip Hamm]

You're going to have a lot of fun learning to ride with a friend. You'll be able to go on rides together. Be careful!

THen again it is possible that you'll find that you hate motorcycling. Not likely, but poissble. From what I understand there are always a few people in the MSF course who drop out after the first day because they decide that biking is not for them.

It's for me though.

 

[Philip_G]

Still, Philip, it's hard to think of a 750cc machine, even one as pedestrian as the air-cooled Nighthawk, as being a beginner's bike.

I'm not disagreeing, I think it would be a fantastic bike. I don't know how to put this without coming off as an ass, but I think a lot of people starting off really care more about how the bike looks, particularly if they want to get into sportbikes. Maybe something that at least LOOKS like a sportbike is more up a newbies alley. Thats the point I'm trying to get to, if that makes any sense.
I'm not saying anyone here is like that, I just read posts from a lot of new riders that are more into the image than anything else, that's all.

 

[Jin E]

Well I can second the notion of the VF500 interceptor being a GREAT beginner bike. One thing the VF has going for it for beginners it the low end torque... and super flat torque curve. It's very very beginner friendly and you don't have to really work the gear box like you would with a small inline 4. From about 2k up until the redline the torque curve is just about flat. Here is a pic of my VF500 I had before I dropped a valve.

Honda VF500F interceptor

Good thing about the VF's 1/4 fairings is you don't have to worry about damagine expensive plastic if... no... when you drop it I don't care who you are everyone has dropped then bike at least once when they learn. My drop came when I was stopping to return a video and set my foot in a oil slick... once that center of gravity gets over far enough you just can't keep it up.

 

[Jack Briggs]

In case some here are not aware of it, the British company that calls itself Triumph is not the same as the one that went under in the early 1980s. A British entrepreneur, whose name I forget, bought the rights to the name and, in 1991, started making completely modern motorcycles with DOHC three- and four-cylinder liquid-cooled engines. These are not the pushrod-actuated machines of yore by a longshot.

So let's let the Lucas Electrics "prince of darkness" aspersions rest! (I did own a 1971 Triumph T-120R Bonneville 650, and though she handled beautifully, it was hard to live with the crudeness. Within a year of purchasing the machine, I traded her in for a 1972 Honda CB750K2 and never looked back.)

 

[Philip_G]

Bloor, john bloor I believe.
a self made multi millionaire, that has privately funded the "new" triumph.

 

[Philip Hamm]

was it a black daytona with a union jack on it? does he post on cycleforums with the name "bikefromhell"? there's a guy there under similar circumstances.

Nope. It was a different blowing up Daytona. :frowning:

 

[Philip_G]

Oh well. Every mfgr. has it's lemons.
I really do feel triumph is getting better, I hope the daytona 600 will establish them in the middleweight market.