Browsing the internet I came across a review of a Yamaha FZ16, and I noticed there was a little cage thing on the left side of the bike under the passenger seat. I assumed it was just something the kid had for some reason, but then I clicked some links for a Yamaha R15 and one other bike, and they also had the same thing, I'm curious what the deal is. My first guess is that it's there to keep your leg from slipping too far in and hitting the tire, but that doesn't explain why there isn't one on the right side. The exhaust is on the right side, but that's below where this thing is anyway. You guys ever seen one before?
(http://bikeadvice.in/wp-content/gallery/fz-16/yamaha-fz16-black-7.jpg)
http://bikeadvice.in/yamaha-fz16-a-second-look/
(http://bikeadvice.in/wp-content/gallery/r15/yamahayzfr15.jpg)
http://bikeadvice.in/yamaha-yzf-r15-150cc-review/
(http://bikeadvice.in/wp-content/gallery/karizma/herohondakarizma02.jpg)
http://bikeadvice.in/hero-honda-new-karizma-r-review/
It might be to keep soft tail/side bags from hitting the tire
It is a "leg/saree guard".....a legal requirement for the Indian home market and for the purpose of ladies who ride pillion......side-saddle
See here.... http://www.tradeindia.com/fp263493/SAREE-GUARD-PIPE-FRAME.html
and here... http://www.sareedreams.com/2008/08/kerala-to-prohibit-women-in-saree-to-ride-vehicle/
Boy, that Honda Karizma looks a lot like a GS 500, doesn't it?
I read the owner review on this bike and the Indian man who owns it loves it after 4 years of riding it. With only 223 cc and 17 HP, most of us would turn our noses up at it, but not in India where most people don't have money to throw around. He thinks it's a high performance bike. For a bike its size, it probably is. Just goes to show how power and speed are relative and how much fun a bike can be even though it doesn't have 100+ HP and can't do 10-second quarter miles. Some of us remember a time when nothing off the showroom floor had that much snot. Has it made street motorcycling better? I don't think so. I think it made riding on the street much more expensive and dangerous, that's why I ride a GS5.
Yeah, I honestly can't say I have more fun on the GS than I did on my old ex250. Plus you don't see many video's of guys doing this on their GS500.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4dgTvkrErY and look how tiny that chainwheel is on the back wheel! I didn't do the actual kph/mph conversion, but it's definitely geared down a bit. The 250 I had went every bit as fast as the GS does, so it didn't feel too strong.
I do enjoy small bikes, but there's just so many bigger bikes around that it's hard to compare. If more people have smaller bikes, you'd definitely see people having more fun on theirs.
I also like how the guy doing the review of the fz16 talks about liking how wide the back tire was when we're all trying to squeeze 160s in our bikes.
"The front seat is separated from the back seat by a step and hence it makes a bad choice for a family man to buy it (when he needs to have 2 kids and 1 wife in the same bike!)." .... yikes!
I guess I should also mention, there's a Suzuki GS150r
(http://technotricks.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/img1.jpg?w=467&h=265)
(http://ducatimonster.files.wordpress.com/2008/11/suzukigs150r-3.jpg?w=540&h=313)