Quote from: jserio on May 18, 2008, 12:11:22 AM
yama, is the suspension system and everything the same on these bikes? i've been trying to compare them and they seem close to identical to me. the 1200 actually weighs 2 pounds less than the 883.  of course that's according to the numbers on the harley website. oh, and mileage isn't really a big difference either. but you know, the bike i sat on today, it was so sexy. the paint color. oh,man, i think the seat was wet when i got off!  it was a 1200 Low....Crimson Red Sunglo was the color. now, online, it doesn't look that great but in person......damn. and the sales guy said it's even sexier in the sunlight! 

pretty much teh same. teh engine lower end, is identical, the head is as well. only difference is the cylinder, and piston.. plus they hold their value quite well. no matter what influences that, they hold their value WELL

you know, i hear so many people bashing these machines. i wonder how many of them have actually owned one, or ridden one? every since i was little when anyone mentioned motorcycles, Harley-Davidson always came to mind. maybe it's cuz my uncle bought me my first leather jacket around age 2 and my mum has a pic of me sitting on his harley.  someone mentioned a honda cruiser for a bit cheaper. eh, yeah it's cheaper, but it doesn't have FI. and if i buy a new bike, i want FI. now, i'll probably end up buying an older used bike just to ride and get back in the groove of things before making that nice shiny new bike purchase.  and i've noticed that what you said about them holding their value is true. almost like corvettes. ohhh..speaking of corvettes...wait, better not thread jack, i should just start a 'vette thread. 

i drove a few of tehm at a car auction test track 

  is right. man, i'm reading reports that the '09 zr1 will have around 620hp.... 0-60 in around 3.5....mmmmm...gives me a boner thinkin bout it! 

damned hard to keep the rubber planted  ( i was rolling about 40 ish, and floored it. it lit em up something fierce

but the price tags for most 'vettes in good condition are a bit much to deal with. 

Ok so after all this going back and forth. I went to go to Micheal Andretti Motorsports to look at the Vulcan 500. Because you know its the month of Indy. And if theres anyone that has shown it can fail at Indy repeatedly its Andretti and there closed on Mondays. Go up the street to the Suzuki Dealer. Ive gotten work done by them on my GS. Didn't have bad experiences with them.

Walk over the S40 and talked to Joe-Joe the salesman (no im not making this up, nice older guy raced bikes for 25 years). And I immediately get "Well have you looked at the C50 we have here for $6,000". I have no willpower. Wife was with me. Thats the price range I wanted to be in. Its $900 off list price but thats a Suzuki rebate.

Thoughts on the C50.

Its Fuel Injected
Its Liquid Cooled
its only an 800cc (so basically a girls bike because it has  less then a 2 liter engine)
ITS EFFING HUGE
Did I mention its big
Oh and its GIGAMORMUS
Nice looking dash with LCD fuel gauge an actual clock
Has Flash to Pass and a hazard light!! (what bikes have a hazard?)
Forward controls with floorboards
Heal/toe Shifter
Its a nice looking silver all over same as the 883l was

So I'm going in tomorrow to sign the bill of sale. Got the loan stuff all taken care. Still have my GS500. Should be up on Ebay next week once i give it a proper bath. I want to keep the GS. Have it as my toy around canyon carver. But having a hard time justifying it. Might get another one later to just have one to work on.

Of course they are calling for a lot of rain here in South Central Pa tomorrow. Starting to think I might have to go negotiate on the price as well. Although I'm in a bad position. Its the only one leftover he has. And if what I read online is right there isnt much profit built into it by Suzuki.

The size will take some getting used to. I'm 5'6 and I can flat foot my feet without my knees being straight. Its very comfortable. I love the idea of it being Fuel Injected and the little things like a fuel gauge are nice. Plus it gets good gas mileage, according to reports on the web of 45-50mpg.

But let me ask this of all cruisers. Why don't you get a tach? Is there something thats bad about knowing what RPM your going? This bike has cut costs in a lot of ways. First is a 5 speed (with 5th being meant as a tall highway overdrive) not a 6. It has a drum rear not a disk. Which is a surprise for the size and weight of it. But wheres the tach? And where can I manage to put one aftermarket since the gauges are in the 4 gallon tank.

Speaking of the gas tank. What is up with it being a 4 gallon? its a huge tank it looks like it is much larger. Or is the matter of having the airbox where the tank would be?

Congrats Man!  That will probably be a good bike.  I don't think you can go wrong with any metric cruiser now-a-days.  Wish you had gone back to look at the Yamaha V-Star, though.  Even if it is 'just' 650 cc's. 

This isn't meant to be an insult AT ALL, but it has been sounding like you were soooo anxuious for a new bike that we all knew you were probably going to buy the very next bike you saw...no matter how many you had planned to look at!  That's ok... I'm a lot like that too at times!     I hope it gives you many thousands of miles of joy!

Don't really know about the tach question.  Maybe it's because a cruiser is going to develope most of its power down low, and not much risk of red-line with it.  A crotch-rocket, on the other hand, will hit that redline PDQ, so it helps to have that visual aide.  Someone much more knowledgable will probably have the real answer for you soon.

Again, Congrats on the bike, my friend!  Wear your gear, and RIDE SAFE!!!

Hey didnt buy the first I saw. If I had Id be a Harley Sportster rider. I also didnt get hung up on the Vulcan and trust me 650 would have been plenty. Check out my name the 650 is because of my first bike an 1980 CB650C. Which was plenty fast for me.

So tomorrow i go do the bill of sale. Bike is $900 off of list. Went to search to see if there was a Suzuki rebate adding to part of that. Couldnt find one so thats from the dealer.

As with any bike the majority of your stopping power is up front. No need for more than a rear drum. My rear and my wifes rear brake are both deliberately spongy. Almost impossible to slide the rear on brakes alone.

Dunno about the tach though my shadow and my uncles vtx both had them. Not necessary anyway fi will have an ecu controlled rev limiter.

Sport bikes Have rev limiters as well but the tach is a tool for keeping the bike in the peak power band, not so necessary on a vtwin cruiser.

Quote from: jserio on May 18, 2008, 11:39:51 PM
is right. man, i'm reading reports that the '09 zr1 will have around 620hp.... 0-60 in around 3.5....mmmmm...gives me a boner thinkin bout it! 

from what I've heard, the powerplant still has some pretty major bugs to be smoothed out before it can even think about production, we won't even discuss the fact that 'vettes have the overall prowess of a retarded pregnant hippo.
You want a stunning car?  2008 GT2.  3.6 0-60, 530rwhp and an exhaust note that could make the mightiest of lions piss themselves in terror.

at what 5 times the price? like comparing apples to oranges, or cruisers to rockets 

that GT2 has a tag of $190k......the '09 vette i believe will be around $100k. final details though aren't out yet. should be soon. couple months i'm told. 

Meh id still get a vette. any vette. porsche costs to own are  HIGH, however, if one can afford the aforementioned costs, then one can USUALLY aford its upkeep. ill still wait and get a late 70,s or early 80's ferrari 308 ( magnum style), plenty of experience working on and rebuilding these machines

although i WOULD LOVE to get my hands on a GT2 for a few minutes

See if i was going to do a toy car it would be a British car like a Triumph Spitfire. Sure its 0-60 time is "What it hits 60?" . And you have to invest in a ton of kitty litter for placing under the car when its parked. But these are real cars.

Agriculutral motors that are nice and easy to work on. Ground clearance thats... whose kidding theres no ground clearance. And in the case of the Lotus Seven a car that keep up with the bikes in the Dragon

Quote from: yamahonkawazuki on May 19, 2008, 11:15:22 PM
at what 5 times the price? like comparing apples to oranges, or cruisers to rockets 

Actually, most people would compare a GT2 to the 'new' vette.  They are quite commonly lumped into the same category.  Word on an '09 or '10 remake of the GT2 tends to indicate almost 700hp expected and 0-60 at 3.0, of course this could be overcast by Ferrari's highly-anticipated yet highly-secretive F60

harley as sexy....that i just can't get my head around.  i suppose it would make you look more attractive sitting around with all those fat old guys in bandanna's at the coffee shop

Todays lesson in bike shopping. Get that loan before you go bike shopping.  Find out what you can afford
Heres a lesson i wont have to learn twice

Sportsters with the Storz kit look cool!!
http://thekneeslider.com/archives/2006/05/10/storz-xr1200-conversion-kit/