- Joined
- Mar 1, 2003
- Messages
- 13,454
- Reaction score
- 18
- First Name
- Jack
- Last Name
- Giesecke
tazbatgirl said:Nice Buell hand guards there.
Must say as a self professed ultimate Bueller, I REALLY like that Duc. It is pretty darn sweet.
By the way Jack, ever bother to look into the ACTUAL price of Ducatis? They are not ALL so expensive, in fact, I believe I paid more for my Buell than a Monster costs......
I looked at a 620 (along with other bikes) and the SV and the SV won, more for less. Oh, yeah, and the XB9 had just come out before I bought the SV. I also liked a LOT, the FZ1, the Bandit, the ZRX, and the 919 Honda. I wanted handling and new the SV would do that. I didn't care that much for excessive horsepower. The FZ1 reports I'd seen said it was quite slow to turn in, but otherwise a decent handling bike. The Bandit, well, it's somewhat old school. The ZRX is AWESOME, but not the handling bike an SV is. The SV's weakness is simple suspension, but at $5800, what I gave for it, I figured a few suspension goodies wouldn't be a big deal. I bought springs for the forks, set the sag at 30 mm, put 20 wt in the forks, kept the rear stock so far. Might not stay that way, though.
The one Buell I like is the Ulysses. Looked it over real close at the bike show. It's almost 12K and I can get a V Strom 650 for $6500. There's not $5500 difference in the bikes to me. I like the Buell's 17" wheels, the Strom runs a 19 on the front. I like the Ulysses' size. I'm six foot tall and the SV cramps me bad enough. That's one reason I didn't like the XB9. I like the motor in the strom a lot better than any sportster style V twin. The transmission is much slicker on the Strom. I like the Buell's suspension and running gear better, prefer a belt drive. If they were the same price, or maybe a couple thou more, I might go Buell, if I could learn to trust 'em. Can't afford to get stuck with a possible lemon. I hear they've gotten better, but I need more proof before MY hard earned money goes for one. I keep going back and reading http://www.mybuell.com . Not inspiring there. But at 12K, it's still too steep considering the competition. It's a very nice looking bike, though. Then, too, if I want parts for my Suzuki, I have shops here I can get 'em. We have a HD/Buell, Suzuki, Victory, Honda, Kawasaki, and Yamaha shop here. We have no Ducati shop. We have no Triumph shop. We have no BMW shop. I can always order parts and do a lot, but it's nice to have a shop close by, or at least within 40 miles.
That's how I shop and compare. If you have other priorities in a bike, that's why they make different bikes. I don't plan on having sex with the bike. I just want it to take trips and ride to work. I love a quick, stable handling bike and enough motor to easily distance 99% of the four wheelers I have to pass on the highway. SV has that covered. I never was enamored by power. Every time I got something powerful, in a few years there was something faster. Besides, I'm a road racer, not a drag racer. I've always loved racing GP stuff, TZ250 Yamahas, RS125 Hondas. No street bike on earth no matter who makes it can HOPE to handle as well as the GP stuff. That's what they're made to do and I've come to love that ideal handling and like to approach that as much as I can on my budget in a sporty street bike. Now days you can. That's the cool part of bikes in the 21st century. In the 60s and through the 70s, the bikes I rode handled like crap, but I knew no better. On the street, Euro bikes had a definite edge in handling back then, but no longer. It wasn't until I got a TZ250 in 1980 and went AMA racing with it that I learned what handling really was. It was unreal neat not to wobble through every turn.
But, that's my background where handling is concerned. I CAN tell the difference in the high dollar suspension. I'd love to have a Tuono R, but it'd be a lot cheaper to buy an Ohlins for my $5800 SV and put a Jixxer fork on the front, I mean, if I were THAT into it. That's what a lot of racers do. Race Tech will fix the front a lot easier, though. And, I hear a ZX636 shock fits and raises the rear for quicker handling to boot and you can ebay one cheap! I may go that route, but I'll want a steering damper if I raise the rear for safety's sake.
Coming up on the first valve check, 16K, on the SV. I'll do 'em myself, of course. I've found one problem with the bike so far, the turn signal stalks keep braking off. I'm in my 39th year of riding motorcycles, started in 1966. I'm pretty set in what I like. The racing has shaped my tastes, but my pocket book has always been thin. The most exotic motorcycles I've ever owned were GP racers.
Through all the years I've been riding, the street bikes have just gotten better and better. Every year I see the latest and greatest get faster, better handling, lighter, more powerful. I've come to the conclusion that having something that works well on my budget is easier than buying the latest and greatest every year. And, I've never been a Europhile because in 38 years, they've rarely topped the Japanese in pure performance and even when they do, it's on a rich man's budget! Sorry, but no, a 999 is not cheap and the latest GSXR1000 or ZX10R will stomp it at $11K! The 999 is about $30K I believe? Sure, I coulda got a 620 monster, but why? It's 10 hp down on the SV and don't have a tenth the aftermarket support, handles no better, no dealer here, and even if you think the valves are easy (guess you never owned a XL600 Honda), even underbucket shimmed DOHC SVs are easier and only get checked every 16K by the book.