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So you want exclusivity?

Joined
Mar 1, 2003
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Location
The end of the road between Sodom and Gomorrah
First Name
Jack
Last Name
Giesecke
Got to thinking about that, just "exclusive" motorcycles. These are bikes you don't see much of on the road and are affordable.

First, I have one Diamo LS200 in my possession that I've been riding. It's a DP bike, 200cc. I bought four, sold three. Thinking about keeping this one cause it's so cool around town. 100 mpg or close, off road capable though it's not a race bike. It's light, weighs 250 lbs, is reliable as the Honda motor it's cloned of. And, I bet you haven't seen one on the street. :lol:

The MuZs I've mentioned, REAL motorcycles in their own right using the 660cc Yamaha five valve thumper. I'd like to have one in either the motard version or the Skorpion Tour and may buy one someday, don't know. They're neat bikes.

Now, how many spanking new Royal Enfield Bullets have you seen on the street? You can have one for around 4K, retro to the max. I would advise you know how to use wrenches if you bought one.. :lol:

Then, there's a bike, or rather a RIG, that I've often thought would be cool, the Ural. I like the sportsman model, the Russian army camo model with the driven sidecar wheel. It would look so cool with a demilled ma duece on a swivel mount in the chair... :lol: They're ALMOST reliable, well, compared to the Enfield. It's still a rig for the guy who can pull it down to the crankshaft, though, and put it back together. From what I've heard, you can rebuild the thing on the side of the road, pretty simple. I know a guy in Florida that's a big Ural buff, rode his rig from Florida to Seattle and back, over 7K miles. He related to me that he took the small roads, not the interstates. It doesn't do well when pushed much over 60 mph. His is an older 650. They have a 750 model now, still no Gixxer... :lol:

Anyone wanna add to the list? Remember, this is CHEAP bikes that you don't see on the street that often and that stand out in a crowd. Compared to an Enfield Bullet or a Ural rig, a Ducati or even a MV Augusta is just down right plain in a crowd of motorcycles. ;-) If all you care about is being different, well, there ya go.
 
Yeah, that's one I left out for the folks still blaming the Japanese for Pearl Harbor and don't figure Hiroshima and Nagasaki were payback enough. LOL I know a couple of retro type guys that have Ws and they love 'em. One of 'em insists it ISN'T a Bonneville look, but a BSA look. I kinda agree, though to me it looks like a W. BOTH of these guys also own Enfield Bullets. They're serious about standing out in a crowd, LOL.
 
I think you nailed it with the Royal Enfield, but in that instance I would exchange "exclusive" for "unique"...

Unique (to me) means you hardly ever see 'em, and readily identifiable. (Royal Enfield, Ural, Harley MT500)

Exclusive (to me) means inaccessible to the overwhelming majority due to either price or limited availability. (99xR, MH900e, Benelli, VOR, TM, CVO Softail Deuce, "custom 'choppers'", maybe ATK...)
 
Parsing words a bit, but yeah, good point. The Enfield isn't exactly "exclusive" in a RUB kinda way. Anyone with 4K that can hunt down a dealer can have one. Who's going to buy a MV Augusta that's on an actual budget???? ROFLMAO!
 
This is as exclusive as you can get. Seen in Camp Wood
3602norton-med.jpg


Eric
Austin
 
Wow, wonder if he gets parts for that thing? I remember a Hercules wankle that raced in CRRC way back when. Don't know how they came up with what class he should be placed it, but it didn't really matter cause the thing was slow. :lol: I remember gawking at the RE5 rotary at the Suzuki shop in Bryan across from lake arsenic on south college. That thing had a spacy dash and TWO carburetors that worked at different RPMs. Seems they had a bear of a time with proper mixture for it. That was its major mechanical woe, though looks kept it from selling. It was just too way out there. EFI would have solved a lot of the problems, but EFI wasn't yet developed. But, from what I understand, those things are worth a bunch of collector money now days. I bet there were more Norton wankels built than RE5s.

Yeah, you can import a non-us bike and it'd be rare. I know a guy that had four Canadian RZ500s. One of them was for sale a while back. That's probably not really fair, though, to include foreign models in this thread.
 
Exclusive/Unique

Aprilia RS50 - Because it is very "unique" and mildly "exclusive". It's also street legal in the US of A.

However, I would REALLY prefer the RS250 since it has lights and everything for the road, just not any road in the US of A (THANK YOU EPA).

David
8-)
 
That's probably not really fair, though, to include foreign models in this thread.

Aren't most of the bikes that have been mentioned foreign? :scratch

Exclusive: Honda NSR 750 :dude:

Unique? How can anything mass produced be unique? I have never understood this phobia of not being "different" :shrug: If you are really that concerned about not being one of the herd, go live in the woods and eat grubs :roll: Besides, we could all wear the same clothes, ride the same bikes, blah blah blah and we'd still be unique even though we have so much in common ;-) Unique does not mean nothing in common, only that there is nothing else that is 100% exactly the same. You can share 99.99% of characteristics and still be unique because of that 0.01% :-P That's where the dings and scratches on my bike come in... :lol:

Adios,
 
mmmm... grubs....

I don't necessarily think of it as a "phobia" of not being different, as much as "different" can have a variety of appeals to a variety of people.

As regards mass production vs. uniqueness, I agree, TM, but with the following explanation: I would say there is "perfect" uniqueness, like a space shuttle, a kit chopper, a person, any one of a kind thing. Then there is "relatively" unique, not truly one of a kind, but so uncommon as to be one of a kind (or so) in it's community, like an Enfield Bullet, Lamborghini, or Spam casserole.
 
And what drives this desire to have a relatively unique bike (or any other object of desire)?

Mmm... spam.... :puke:
 
Tourmeister said:
That's probably not really fair, though, to include foreign models in this thread.

Aren't most of the bikes that have been mentioned foreign? :scratch

Exclusive: Honda NSR 750 :dude:

Unique? How can anything mass produced be unique? I have never understood this phobia of not being "different" :shrug: If you are really that concerned about not being one of the herd, go live in the woods and eat grubs :roll: Besides, we could all wear the same clothes, ride the same bikes, blah blah blah and we'd still be unique even though we have so much in common ;-) Unique does not mean nothing in common, only that there is nothing else that is 100% exactly the same. You can share 99.99% of characteristics and still be unique because of that 0.01% :-P That's where the dings and scratches on my bike come in... :lol:

Adios,

Of course they're all foreign built, but I'm talking about models not allowed to be sold in this country or that are not imported for sale into this country for one reason or the other, like the RS250 Aprilias or the new MT01 Yamaha (WHAT is YAMAHA THINKING?)

You have a point about exclusivity and mass produced bikes. This is why people "slam and stretch", "chop", and or otherwise ruin perfectly good designs... :lol: It's what drives the hollywood rich and famous to buy stuff from OCC or Jessie James.

But, you gotta admit, there aren't many Enfield Bullets or Ural Tourists running around on American roads. When you see one, it's unique! Now, if you see one on vacation in New Deli, well, it's not so unique.. :lol:

RS50s are fairly popular bikes in mini racing. They go real well with a little work from AF1. They have had their mechanical issues at the races, but you wouldn't have to get THAT radical to have a fun street bike, a 50cc little rocket that would actually run the speed limit anywhere in America. It's cool looking, too. Don't they make a 125? Ah, probably another target of the EPA. :roll:

I agree with you on the phobia about being "unique". I wasn't the one that proclaimed I had to ride something "different", that you didn't see every day. Heck, I like blending with the crowd. :lol: I like riding a PROVEN motorcycle and if it's popular, there's got to be a reason. But, others wanna stick out in the crowd. I can tell you one way to do that without buying a bike. Get yourself a sidecar and bolt it to ANYTHING with two wheels. People will run off the road doing double takes. :lol: :lol: :lol: I had thought hauling my mini racers on my flat bed behind my Wing to the races would get looks. You'd be surprized how few looks I get. I get a comment now and then at a gas station, but I think Wings hauling huge loads is so common now days, they don't think much about it even if it's a bike hauling a bike. :lol:
 
Jack,
Check out MuZ's website. It's been revised. So has the Baghira, their SM bike (<$6k).
Also check out the 1000cc SF, a naked sport bike.
Both are definitely unique.
One of each would make my garage, and me very happy.

Paul B.
 
MuZ importer is in Daytona, FL and you can ride right up to their place. When I visited they were very friendly, even let us demo all their bikes in the parking lot. We had a 125SM and there was a recall they told us about and had us come back later that week so they could perform the mods. This was 3 years ago and I've heard their main guy we talked to is no longer there.
 
Jack Giesecke said:
if it's popular, there's got to be a reason.

Slammed Escalades running 22's are apparently pretty popular. I'm assuming the reason for that is because 20's are for sissies? :lol:
 
Tourmeister said:
And what drives this desire to have a relatively unique bike (or any other object of desire)?

Mmm... spam.... :puke:

Rambling ideas, purely from my mind, in no way an implication or indictment of anyone:

My guesses:
1. The desire for "unique" is similar to the desire for any superlative. I think people like to be appreciated and recognized for extraordinary facets, feats, or items in ones's life, and uniqueness is an idea, perhaps subconscious, that a person can lay claim to, take pride in, and feel recognized for their association with whatever the item is.

2. We buy (within our budgets) what appeals to us. What appeals to us is based on who we are, what we do, how we view ourselves, and how we wish to be viewed. An adventuresome person (or one who views themselves as such) may buy a Dual sport. A stylish, current, modern person may buy a high end sportbike. A practical person may buy a standard. A person who views themselves as particularly different, either through ego, ideology, or ???, may buy a bike that reflects that.
 
The new MuZ sport V Twin got dished a bit by Roadracing World. They're more track/performance oriented, though, and I'd be much more interested in a naked or near naked Tuono style version. I'll have to check that out.

The thumpers, though, still hold my interest. One of these days I'm gonna bite... :lol: I occasionally visit the MuZ site, but haven't been there in a while. It's not the rarity of the marque that attracts me, just that they are danged nice motorcycles for a reasonable price, practical! I'm really surprised they're not more popular than they are, but then, thumpers never really were popular in street chassis in the US. DPs aren't that big a chunk of the market for that matter. Yamaha tried with the SR500 and SRX and Honda produced the GB500. Those bikes didn't sell well or last long in the US market. It wasn't because they weren't great bikes, just that Americans don't seem to appreciate thumpers.
 
MZ

Man, I think MZ makes one of the best Dual Sports there is. However, the lack of aftermarket support prevents me from seriously considering one. I would like to see a large gas tank, an exhaust, intake parts and suspension upgrades offered through the aftermarket. I suppose I could find a contact in Germany and find parts that way.
 
Tourmeister said:
And what drives this desire to have a relatively unique bike (or any other object of desire)?

Mmm... spam.... :puke:

I do not know about anyone else but do not like blending in with the crowd. I like standing out. I like to see people walk up to a group of bikes and walk directly to mine. Why? not sure. Maybe it is because I am a pretty gregarious person and enjoy meeting and greeting new people.

Anyway, My Valk (the one the pickup wanted more than me) had more BLING than most people knew existed.

Valkb.jpg


Valkc1.jpg




And my Thunderbird Sport comes pretty close to this relative uniqueness. I have seen a Thunderbird or two around town but since I bought the TBS in November (went to Nashville to get it) I have seen only one other TBS in Houston. I am sure there are others but when I pull up to a crowd or a rally or anywhere else where bikes gather, my experience so far is that I am the only TBS there (with the exception of the one other that shows up at the BMOA meetings, but then his is not set up cafe style so mine also stands out from his).

TBSs.jpg



-
 
What! No handlebar tassles on the valk? :roll:

I like performance. The reason I went with my tuono is because I wanted a more sit-up position, but didnt want to sacrifice the performance I was used to with my CBR 929. The fact it is italian, or austrian or whatever doesnt really matter to me.
 
The MuZ distributor in Florida replied to my email first thing this morning. The Baghira SM is in stock and available in the height reduced version. Texas dealers can order them.
Now if I just had a job. : )

Paul B.
 
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