So, I'm again reaching the point of being completely fed up with having a truck I never drive, a GS500 that is cramped for anything longer than 20 min drive, and lots of guitars/amps laying around un-used.
Thus, I post and ask whether I should get a motard or an SV or a Monster of some sort. I'm halfway thru the first 4 years of college, I have covered and underground parking that is locked for my bike, I haven't touched my guitar gear in months, and I only use a motorcycle to commute to work about 8 miles each way or when I am headed out to a friend's house near the beach so we can go party and I won't try to ride my bicycle back home drunk.
SVS vs Monster vs YZF426 motard.
Go with the duck.
Motard, no contest. Do it Tony.
the duck will probably fit you better. teh 'tard will probably only be good for the 8 mile commute, and canyons. I dont think the svs is any more roomier than the gs. You'd have to try it on.
Quote from: aplitz on July 26, 2006, 11:12:13 PM
Motard, no contest. Do it Tony.
yes... the motard is the way to go... the perfect commuter :thumb:
The SVS feels like you're trying to do a colonoscopy with your heels.
I'm leaning towards motard, I see them every once in a while down here in San Diego, and I guess it's a throw-back to my earlier days of racing motocross, but I like standing up while riding, and I hate how I have to hunch over, trying to stand on the GS. Plus, I know the 426 insides like the back of my hand (sort of, I helped rebuild my cousin's 400 once and we checked the valves on my dad's 426), so there is a lot more familiarity there than with either the SV, which I have no experience with, or the Duc.
My dad has owned 2 Duc's, killed an older 900SS SP off with a deer, and now he's got ~17K on an ST2.
He checked it out, and since I'm still at school, he'll continue to pay the insurance on whatever I get next, which makes this whole thing possible (and yes, I understand how much of a lucky SOB I am), and an '03 SV would be 380/yr, an '03 M620 would be 850/yr and I know the motard would be rediculously cheap since we had them insured back while we were racing weekly.
Basically just need to get my truck sold or traded towards a motard now...
Duck all the way! I've owned a 00' M750, and now a 01' M900Sie and they are a great all around bike. Plenty of low-end torque and great handling once you have your suspension dialed in.
The SVS is a torture rack. Kind of why I got rid of mine.
I'd get the Duc (or a Super Hawk).
Well, I am 6'6...so what I remember of the Duc is a smaller feeling bike than the GS is, but that was before I got the GS, so it's been a long time since I've planted my ass on one.
I'll have to see what insurance will be for a motard, and what I find for trades for my truck. Hopefully somebody will just buy it outright.
Hmmmm......
What about a KAwi Z1000?
Quote from: CirclesCenter on July 27, 2006, 11:06:06 PM
Hmmmm......
What about a KAwi Z1000?
I want one of them, but I need more money first. They look super cool.
What about a Suzuki V-Strom (DL650)? It's a twin (same engine as the SV), it's a dual sport that is much more aimed at road riding than off-road, and it's taller than SV or Monster. Seat height is about 33 inches.
I'm 5'10" with a 34 inch inseam and I could barely get my feet down when I sat on one at the dealer. Getting on it was sort of like climbing on a horse too :laugh:.
They have a lot of plastic on them but with you being that tall it may be just the ticket for you.
LQ
Tard it! :laugh: I mean motard it!
I am thinking of DR650SE conversion,it's not comfy for long rides but it's got enough power and speed on highway
and so much fun around town :thumb:
I'm 6'4" and agree with LQ that the DL650 is rather roomy for the vertically gifted. I also found there was a lot of plastic on it, and I'm still not sure it's on the list for me.
I was recently impressed with the Kawasaki Z750S. It's got high bars, lots of wind protection, and I felt rather comfortable on it. Never rode or know anyone who owns one, but that's where on-line forums are for.
Choosing is hell, but with the right choice under you, there are nothing but smiles. :)
(http://www.husqvarnausa.com/2006/images/360x260/sm610_4.jpg)
MSRP $7,499
Link http://www.husqvarnausa.com/2006/06_SM610.html
Big enough for highway work, comfortable enough for commute... :laugh:
DL650 / DL1000 ARE FREAKING HUGE
If you're a tall boy these are the ticket though!
Might look at the DL closer, but that new of a bike would be pretty spendy on insurance and I'd like to keep it cheaper. Z1K is a cool bike, but too much money for insurance for me...I'm only 21...and too big for lanesplitting/thrashing around San Diego's beach roads.
No way I'll have the cash for a Husqy, and I'd go DRZ400SM before a Husqy too...
Couple of motards on the SD CL now as well, we'll see...Dad said we could throw the GS towards a trade of some sort as well, so I've got ~2K more to work with than I thought previously.
d4
Quote from: Mk1inCali on July 28, 2006, 11:56:20 PM
Might look at the DL closer, but that new of a bike would be pretty spendy on insurance and I'd like to keep it cheaper. Z1K is a cool bike, but too much money for insurance for me...I'm only 21...and too big for lanesplitting/thrashing around San Diego's beach roads.
No way I'll have the cash for a Husqy, and I'd go DRZ400SM before a Husqy too...
I'm 19. Insurance for the Z1000 for me is $243/year, minimum liability.
Good for you, I live in San Diego, and an '03 SV would be 580 for full, and an '03 Monster 620 would run 853/year.
I don't/won't run just liability.
Quote from: Mk1inCali on August 03, 2006, 11:09:03 PM
Good for you, I live in San Diego, and an '03 SV would be 580 for full, and an '03 Monster 620 would run 853/year.
I don't/won't run just liability.
Good point. Different areas have different threat levels.
If I got the Z1k it'd be full covereage. Don't know how much that would be though. Might rocket upwards.
Comfort and Motard do not work in the same sentence if you thought 20min on a GS was bad just wait, go the SV or Duc :thumb: :cheers:
That's the thing, Wilson, I know they are comfortable for me...Back before my whole DVT thing popped up, I would go riding all day with my dad/cousin/little brother/2 friends, and we'd swap bikes. Dad had a YZ426F, cousin had a YZ400F, I had a YZ125, and my two friends ran a 125 and a YZ250F. My dad now owns a YZ250F, but I've ridden it more than he has, and a lot of that riding was done on a road to get to the trailhead back in rural Minnesota.
The motards/dirtbikes fit me better because I can get waaay back on the seat and stretch out/stand up and ride comfortably. Standing on the true streetbikes is just asking for something to happen with the controls being angled wrong/low bars/skinny pegs.
In other news, I got the Yosh bolted down on the GS, and popped the front end up on accident...been surprising how much it is waking up after throwing away the stock (original) filter and that crap pipe they supply you with from the factory. The yosh sounds MUCH much better.
Husky would be too expensive to buy and maintain.
Your selection really has been narrowed down to the Duc and the motard.
Be aware of the maintenance and cost of maintenance on the Duc, if you are going with a more reliable air-cooled two-valver (valve adjustments every 3000 miles), which you should.
You are familiar with the comfort on a motocross bike, but have you sat on one for more than five minutes straight (that's a question I would pose to any buyer (as well as myself), when I used to be a m/c salesman)?
With the information you have provided, I'd go with the motard.
Quote from: scratch on August 04, 2006, 09:49:59 AM
Be aware of the maintenance and cost of maintenance on the Duc, if you are going with a more reliable air-cooled two-valver (valve adjustments every 3000 miles), which you should.
They aren't necessarily valve
adjustments, but like the GS they are only valve
checks. They also need to be done every 6400 miles, not every 3000 miles.
I definitely would be going with an air 2 valve Duc if I were to pick one up, and from talking with my dad who follows the ST2 group pretty closely on Yahoo, one of the guys that wrenches for one of the teams that races Ducs in SoCal (some big name team, but it's not the factory guys), has been pushing people to extend the valve checks, and my dad has put 12K on his ST2 with no change in his valves at all, only checked them once, and the racer dude said go to 20K before checking them again.
To answer your very good question of sitting vs standing on a MX bike, I have, we used to have to ride on the roads about 5-8 miles, depending on which trail system we were going to tear up that day from my friend's house. With short motocross gearing, I'd guess we were running out of RPM at ~50mph, so it wasn't a quick blast down the road by any means. In short, yes, I have sat on one for a good length of time and still feel it'd be more comfortable than a Duc. I need to sit on a Monster again and see how small it feels, and that'll basically make up my mind.