I'm curious to hear some opinions from people who have gone from a naked bike to a bike with a full fairing. Either if you went from a normal GS500 to a GS500-F, or whether you went from a gs500 to any other 600-1000cc sportbike, sv650 to something else. Pretty much any naked sportbike to a faired sportbike.
The only faster(as opposed to an 83 dual sport and a ninja 250) bikes I've had are the GS and my old Triumph speed four, both of which don't have a fairing. I'd really like to stick with naked bikes, but this country has a serious lack of nice naked bikes, and we just get a bunch of budget commuters with 10 year old engines and budget parts. I feel like it'd be easier to move to Europe than it would be to track down a good naked bike here.
I'm not so much curious about the quality of the one bike compared to the other, how fast one was to the other, or how much wind hit you, because all of that stuff is a given. I'd like to know how it feels to ride a bike with a full fairing(gsxr/6r/etc) after being used to naked bikes. I really feel like if I got one, I'd feel like I was riding on a toy instead of a motorcycle. It just seems a little excessive to me. Anyone else felt the same way until they actually got on one, and had a change of opinion?
I don't know why you would feel like you were riding a toy... but you can always remove the fairings. In my experience the GS500F fairing isn't really comparable to a full supersport fairing due to the riding position, the wind tends to blow right over you on the SS and you don't really get cold. I did ride around with just the top quarter fairing for a few miles and there is a lot less wind overall with any fairing. (Mid post edit: I just realized you don't care about the wind) As to the riding experience... well the position is obviously different with clip-ons, but they feel extremely solid and the speed is really a rush. There is really no comparison to actually being on one. Incredible :icon_twisted:
Humm well only because I have both a GSE and GSF and I ride both about 50/50 I can only tell you how I feel. I've had the "E" model for almost 20 years and I love it. I like the openess while riding and the simplicity of design I feel free.
However I like the "F" model which I have had for almost 6 months now for different reasons. It rides a little heavier and doesn't buffet as much at highway speeds when it is windy. I never ride the "E" in rain but have no qualms about riding the "F" in rain. It offers minimal protection but it just seems so much more tolerable.
I don't know I'd say I love them both for different reasons but I am partial to the "E" I guess because it seems like I have had it for ever and it has always treated me nice and never let me down. I like the "F" because it is more modern and is more of an everyday riding bike where the "E" is more of my classic weekend cruising bike.
I probably didn't answer you question in the context you were looking for but I have to say going from an "E" to and "F" is natural and if you are really a GS lover you will love them both.
While moving on from my '82 maxim (unfaired, cruiser-ish - less cruiserish after I bent the original bar and replaced with a more UJM bar) I test rode a Concours - I was making a 4-hour trek on a pretty regular basis and wanted something faired, and the luggage seemed attractive. Aside form being tall and topheavy, the heat thrown off by the watercooled design with the radiator at the front of the fairing, and the fairing throwing all the hot air at the rider seemed like it would be lovely at the "too cold" ends of the riding season, and unpleasant the rest of the time. I ended up with the seca turbo, basically the maxim with a sport twist and some extra plumbing, plus a full fairing - but still air-cooled.
OTOH, I never thought it would be a toy due to having a fairing, so I can't really answer your basic question. I wanted more wind coverage, and I got it. It handled fundamentally the same, but with less wind on me, as best I recall.
You can always take fairings off. You can usually sell them for good money, too, or buy a bike with trashed fairings for cheap.
My favorite bike had a fairing, '96 CBR600 F3. Have an old Katana at the moment. Not sure I understand your basic question though about "feeling like a toy." The thing I notice about switching from naked to a faired is it feels like a lot more "bike" to me. It's still 2 wheels and a frame but there is a lot more going on in front of the handle bars. I'm probably not putting it into words well but I can't think of a good way to describe it.
-Jessie
Yeah, I definitely had a hard time describing my question. I think I'm probably about 90% on just getting a sportbike, pulling off the fairings and putting on a standard headlight, and possibly some riser bars. I'd like to put some effort into it so it actually looks like a clean bike, and not just a stuntbike, but at the same time I'm pretty impatient, and I'm just going to want to ride it, as opposed to having it pulled apart for weeks. Even if I get a fully faired bike, that's probably how it'll stay the whole first season, and then I'll make it a project for next winter. There area a couple fully faired bikes I have a soft spot for, and would have a really hard time tearing into if I ended up with one of them.
When I say toy, I don't mean to make it sounds like I wouldn't take the bike seriously. When you look at a naked motorcycle, it's just the frame, engine, and some parts, so that's how you know it. Sport bikes are so covered in plastic that you seem to forget they're a machine, and just think they some how wrapped way too much power in some brightly colored plastic. I could appreciate it when I was 20, and still wouldn't have a huge problem riding one now, but I'm looking for something to keep around long term, and I think I'd really rather have something I thought was more business.
As far as riding better, my Triumph had clip-ons, and was dead on stable at speed. I'm sure it seemed a little more peaceful with the windscreen to tuck behind, but I rather enjoy the wind. I'm probably going to try some risers this time around, but I'll definitely keep my clip-ons in case I want to go back. I had also put risers on my triumph at one point, and took them back off after about 2-3 days, but i feel like I probably didn't give them a fair chance.
Maybe it's just the bad reputation people on sportbikes give themselves, which is sad that I'd say that given that I've ridden primarily with nothing but guys on sportbikes, but when I think of owning another one I feel like I should be speeding everywhere and doing wheelies on the highway, and when I think of the same bike with riser bars and no fairing, I feel like I should just be having a nice ride on some back roads, which is what I'll be doing. I'll just have to wait until spring and see what I find.
My sister picked up a 97-98 zx6r a month or two ago. I'd really like to give that a ride before I pick something up, but she lives in DC now, and there's a good chance she won't have it up in Pittsburgh again before I find something for myself. It would be a really good bike to compare to since it has pretty much identical power and weight as my Triumph did, so I wouldn't have those factors throwing me off.
Quote from: tt_four on October 14, 2009, 07:36:43 PM
I'll just have to wait until spring and see what I find.
My sister picked up a 97-98 zx6r a month or two ago. I'd really like to give that a ride before I pick something up, but she lives in DC now, and there's a good chance she won't have it up in Pittsburgh again before I find something for myself.
Now is the time to shop, frankly. Spring is the time to sell, not to buy.
Go visit your sister. Well, check first that she'll let you play with her new toy if you do. 8)
The crotch-rocket look has never appealed to me (even when I was 20) but I don't find that plastic makes me forget there's bike under there. I damn near bought a PC800, and that is a plasticated bike if ever there were one. 95% of the fugly with the crotch rockets can be lost by giving them a decent 1 or 2-tone paint job, with no decals, graphics or other advertising. Which is also where my GS is heading...
tt_four-
you know there is a EU spec headlight kit for the fz6/fz1, right ? they look pretty badass with it too, not to mention it's an awesome machine to start with :D
I love the naked FZ1, I'm sure I've seen a naked FZ6 too but I can't picture it in my head. I think the FZ1 would definitely be too much bike for me. My ideal bike is a Z1000, but at 5'8, 140lbs I just can't justify it, and that FZ6 is definitely a step down from my old Triumph too, less power and more weight. I'm not looking for anything crazy, but I figure I'd like something with more power than what I used to have, even if it's not much. All those bikes are still recycling old engines, which is really unfortunate. The 2010 Z1000 is getting it's own engine, but other than that Triumph is really the only one that's still using the same engine in their street bikes as they are in their sportbikes, I just can't bring myself to own another European bike, otherwise I'd buy one in a heartbeat.
I'm hoping I'll come across a good deal on a gsxr750, otherwise I'd definitely consider any of the 600s that have come out in the past 10 years.
I know spring is the worst time to shop, but I just don't have the money to pick one up now. Most of mine and my wife's hobbies revolve around summer, so I have a much easier time saving in fall/winter. I'll see what I can save by then, plus January is a 3 pay month, so I'm going to plan ahead so I can save all of that extra pay check, and I'm going to sell the GS in spring too, so that's money I'm looking to put towards it. The plus side is I've been planning on buying something since this past spring, so that overwhelming need to buy something has passed, and I've settled on being patient. If I can't find any good deals when spring comes around, I'm fine with waiting until summer, or even fall for the right bike. All that means is I'll have more money to put towards something.