Looking for new Motorbike, your thoughts.

[tigler]

Cagiva Raptors are cheap as chips, lots of bike for the money !!

Or how about a Cagiva Elefant, love those things !!

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/cagiva-elefant-900-/130479686776?pt=UK_Motorcycles&hash=item1e61320478

Not the most appealing colour scheme on that one though, a good Lucky Strike one would be cool !

 

[Normsthename]

I have seen a couple of K1200RS around that budget

I would go for the K1200GT over the RS version, I have ridden both and the RS riding position was too sporty and cramped for me
A BMW F800 will feel like a buzzbox after your BM, way too revvy and not much torque, only owned mine for two months before I got rid.

Andy

 

[Shox Dr]

Cagiva Raptors are cheap as chips, lots of bike for the money !!

Or how about a Cagiva Elefant, love those things !!

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/cagiva-elefant-900-/130479686776?pt=UK_Motorcycles&hash=item1e61320478

Not the most appealing colour scheme on that one though, a good Lucky Strike one would be cool !

I'd check the availability of parts first and then sit down with a stiff drink for the cost

 

[tigler]

Another candidate, Honda CB1300,

For example, http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2004-HONDA-CB-1300-F-3-RED-/120674923964?pt=UK_Motorcycles&hash=item1c18c935bc

 

[chunkolini]

Elefant? ducati engine. Nope. Would be a laugh until it blew up or needed servicing.
CB1300? too big.
There is a shortage of bikes in this range, say 1000-1100, big twin, maybe 4 but not bonkers powerful.
Dear mr Honda make me an 1100 Deauville. I am happy to be part of the test team.
Bandits? scared by their reputation for rusting to death. I will be riding it year round.

Chunko'.

 

[paintpot]

yamaha vmax

 

[tigler]

Elefant? ducati engine. Nope. Would be a laugh until it blew up or needed servicing.
.

Ducati engines blowing up !!! How very dare you ??!!

 

[Scamp]

I know it has the unrequired chain drive, but what about a Suzuki Wee-Strom. 650cc V twin and Japanese reliability.

I am with you on the shaft drive thing even though selling chains and sprockets is what pays the bills. I think that chain drive is such a poor engineering solution for such a complex and expensive piece of machinery but it is cheap. Mind you a swing arm and front forks are not the most elegant or effective of solutions either (That comment is going to open up a can of worms)

 

[chunkolini]

My current bike has neither swinging arm or forks, and I like the way it works.
Vstrom? 650 is a bit on the small size, the 1000 has some appeal. The Honda Varadero looks like a beached whale and looks far too tall for Mrs C.

Chunko'.

 

[Scamp]

My current bike has neither swinging arm or forks, and I like the way it works.
Vstrom? 650 is a bit on the small size.................

70bhp isn't bad for a 650 - but yeah, the litre engine will have more torque as well power.

As for the front end on the BMW - wasn't that designed and developed by Gordon Murray while he still lived South Africa? BMW just waited until his patent expired.

 

[chunkolini]

Not sure about Gordon Murray.
but have a look at the rear end of the BMW thingy, then check out Specialised Mountainbikes rear end.
The Horst linkage near the back of the swingarm, gives a more vertical path for the rear wheel, imitating a longer swing arm, avoiding reaction to having a shaft/pedal driven wheel. Funny that BMW did not go ballistic when Kawasaki copied it on their GTR 1400.

Funny front ends? I have loved that stuff since I didn't even know what it meant.

I hated the BMW thing for about 15 minutes, even thought it was broken. Bang the front brake on at a walking pace and it feels like hitting a kerb, almost no dive at all. Makes it a real pain when you are stuck parked on gravel, on teles you can compress the fork and unload it to roll out backwards. Moral, be careful whee you park. Off topic off topic.

Bikes? like the Bandit thing but dont want a rust bucket in two years.

Aaaargh.

 

[Shox Dr]

Bikes? like the Bandit thing but dont want a rust bucket in two years.

Aaaargh.

That one's an easy question. Look after it.

 

[tigler]

BMW's telelever front suspension was plagiarised from a design by Saxon-Motodd produced in the early '80's and the later Duolever by Norman Hossack, both UK origin and BMW paid neither any royalties.The rear end is just a development of previous parallelogram designs predating BMW by some time. If you want to see a truly wondrous weird suspension bike, google 'nessie' !!!

 

[Shox Dr]

"Nessie Suspension" might be a better idea to search for


Linky to what looks to be an interesting article on suspension and steering by Tony Foale

 

[chunkolini]

Nessie?
The only famous thing ever to come from Hereford. A spectacular lash up that looked as though it had been in a front end smash. But I love the world of FFE specials. Just dont mention David Essex.
Rust bucket? keep it clean is a good idea, but I will be using it on really s****y country roads in winter.
Chunko'.

 

[tigler]

"Nessie Suspension" might be a better idea to search for

Agreed ! There were 2 actually, the original which had Kawasaki Z1 power and a Laverda triple engined job.
Mead & Tomkinson were responsible.

 

[Robotstar5]

Rust bucket? keep it clean is a good idea, but I will be using it on really s****y country roads in winter.

A good treatment of ACF50 should help - some good reports on bike forums.

 

[chunkolini]

Currently erring back towards the Pan thingy.
But should get hold of some ACF50, could be useful as a work thing.
Nessie? there was a fantastic poster of one of them on the wall at M+T's must have been the kwacker, I would have recognised the mega crankcases of the laverda.
Laverda? their importers were based in a tiny shed in deepest Worcestershire, Collington near Bromyard.
Bonkers, late 80's in was on my 250RS, and saw a shed with a load of bikes outside it, pulled in to have a look and it was full of bloody Laverdas. Crazy, this was the Uk HQ.

Life is so complicated.
Chunko'.

 

[edzt]

What do you want this bike to do? Pose, tour, pull wheelies down the high st?
I've got a Pan and a Bm.....the pan is better built and more reliable but it's a big heavy bike
If you want to do long trips it's the best, unless you can run to a 1200RT

Ride mag readers always vote the ST1100 higher than the 1300

Buy a Pan you'll enjoy it

 

[tigler]

Currently erring back towards the Pan thingy.
But should get hold of some ACF50, could be useful as a work thing.
Nessie? there was a fantastic poster of one of them on the wall at M+T's must have been the kwacker, I would have recognised the mega crankcases of the laverda.
Laverda? their importers were based in a tiny shed in deepest Worcestershire, Collington near Bromyard.
Bonkers, late 80's in was on my 250RS, and saw a shed with a load of bikes outside it, pulled in to have a look and it was full of bloody Laverdas. Crazy, this was the Uk HQ.

Life is so complicated.
Chunko'.

Ah, Slater Laverda !! Was a regular haunt of mine !! Bought my first Harley from the then embryonic Motex who shared the same premises. Yes, first Harley and I made the same mistake twice and bought another !! First was a pov spec 883 Sportster then about 4 years later an Electraglide sport but from Moto Vecchia in Surrey.
They certainly didn't live up to the fantasy I'd developed in my head. Build quality was appalling, the power was completely underwhelming, even on the 'glide and that was after carb, cam, ignition and exhaust tweaks !
The only fond recollection I have of Harley's was meeting my then GF in Paris one balmy summer and posing about around the bars and cafes on it for a few weeks.
Will certainly NEVER have another, well, unless maybe if I could find a mint original '66 Sportster for a song......................... as if that will ever happen though !