Brett on Bikes

So Which Bike and Why?

Tuesday, March 9. 2010

It's been a while since I bought my new bike, and I've been meaning to do an update on why I picked the Suzuki Bandit 1250 SA, so here it is (be warned though, it's a bit of a long article). As I've mentioned previously, I bought this bike because I had the money at the time and had wanted a new bike forever. As such, it wasn't a 'Crime of Passion', but a planned, thought out purchase. Having said that, no motorcycle purchase is without some amount of emotion.

The Process

Ok, so how to go about finding the bike to buy? It's terribly boring and tedious, yet exciting at the same time. You could just go to a bike shop, find a bike you love and buy it. If I'd gone down this route, I would have ridden home on a Triumph Thruxton, which would have killed me on the commute every day

So my strategy was to first setup my parameters as follows:

1. work out how much I wanted to spend and, more importantly, how much I could stretch to. There is a difference. This gives you your budget and allows you to know what you can look at and what you need to ignore. It also lets you know what you can afford at a stretch if you really love it.

2. Work out what it’s going to be used for. City Commuting? Highway Commuting? Touring? Sunday Rides? Very Fast Sunday Rides? If you want to be real nerdy (and let’s face it, I am), you can allocate a percentage to each so you know what the bias is going to be.

3. Sort out your ‘must haves’, your ‘should haves’ and your ‘must not haves’. May be things like seat height, riding position, good acceleration, etc…

Once you have these things, you widen your search, then you narrow it down. Get the information about as many bikes as possible, and then use the parameters you defined to weed out the unsuitable ones. The reason you start as wide as possible is because there is nothing worse than settling on a bike, riding away on it, then finding out there was a more suitable bike that you love the look of that you just didn’t know about. It will bug the hell out of you. At least if you do your best and this still happens, you can at least tell yourself that you did the best you could with what you had.

My point of reference was the internet, but the best help was the Two Wheels New Bike Guide for 2009. This has a comprehensive list of bikes that I could sift through and identify the bikes that met my criteria. Once you have your short list, then it gets emotional. Get rid of any bike of the list that is too ugly to live. Ie, it wouldn’t matter how well it rode, or how cheap it was, you couldn’t bring yourself to actually sit on it. Then pick out your favourites, and go test riding. From there, it’s really going to be about the ‘vibe’. The one that gives you the best feelings is your bike.

My Choices

So how did this look for me?

1. My budget was in the $10k-12k range with a stretch of $13.5k.

2. Primarily a commuter, but I love weekend rides, and I really wanted something that could handle long rides two up and have plenty left for overtaking. I’m not a speed demon and won’t be dragging the knee anywhere. As far as priorities, I could handle a bigger commuter to give me what I want on the highway.

3. I wanted a 1000cc, but would dip under that if it still had the go that I wanted. Mainly looking for easy power. Had to be comfortable with not too much weight on the hands. No full fairing, love the retro look. Ideally would like something that has been around a while and has a good reputation.

So from these parameters, I managed to narrow down my choices to 4 main bikes I wanted to test ride. I did exclude a couple that fell within the boundaries mainly based on my ‘vibe’ and what I could see myself riding. The short list was:

· Triumph Bonneville (this seemed to be my personal favourite)

· Suzuki Boulevard C50

· Suzuki Bandit 1250

· Suzuki GSX1400

The main bike I excluded was the V-Strom 1000. It really ticked the boxes, but I just couldn’t see myself being happy on a chook-chaser on steroids. This really was a personal choice, and nothing to do with what is otherwise a good bike.

My Decision

Oh Darn, I gave that bit away already. Well, not all of it.

I really went into the test-rides expecting to buy a Bonneville, even though it would be quite a stretch. I love the look of them, but when I test rode it, on the highway it just felt a little under where I wanted it to be. The main indicator of this was that I was reaching for a gear it didn’t have. It also wasn’t as ‘planted’ and solid at 100km/h as I would have liked. Finally, as far as the ‘vibe’ went, it just didn’t feel quite right.

Next I took the C50 out. This was a lot more planted, and quite solid through the streets, and even sat nicely at 100km/h on the highway, but it just didn’t quite get up and go the way I would have liked. Nice comfortable bike though and I was a little sad to walk away from it.

The third bike I rode was the GSX1400. I love the look of this bike, it is ‘the’ retro bike, had a fantastically comfortable seat and where the C50 didn’t quite get up and go, this thing got up and went before I’d blinked. It handled well, rode really comfortably, and had more than enough power for the highway. My problem here was I needed a commuter as well, and this was just too much bike for that. I pulled up next to the guy from the bike shop and told him I may as well throw my license away. I seriously could not commute on this without accidentally going way over the speed limit. I tried to hold it on 60km/h a couple of times, but it just didn’t like to be caged. It REALLY hurt to have to walk away from this one, but I have to admit, it scared me just a little, and that’s not a good thing.

Finally, the Bandit. I have to admit, this wasn’t my emotional favourite, but after riding it, I found it was comfortable, sat well at 60km/h, had more than enough power and acceleration, and was just a smooth, effortless ride. Coming off an old Virago cruiser, I really didn’t expect to be buying something that was this sporty, but when it came down to it, it’s a great bike that had the right ‘vibe’. The fact that it’s slightly sporty makes it a bit quicker in traffic, and the value for money is excellent. Finally, it’s been around quite a while and it’s a very well loved bike from all the reviews I read.

So here we are. 12 months down the track and what do I think of her now we’ve had time to get to know each other??? Well that’s a story for another time….

Stay safe and have fun.
Brett.

Posted by Brett Carter in Brett on Bikes at 12:30 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0)

So how do you choose a new bike?

Thursday, October 1. 2009

So how do you go about buying a new bike? I think there are quite a few ways, but you can probably sum then up into a few categories.

Love at First Sight

Don't need a lot of explaining on this one. The first time you see this bike, you just cannot leave without it, be it at a dealer or for sale elsewhere. It doesn't matter if you can afford it or not, you just have to have it and you do whatever it takes. This one is great if you are single, and if you aren't, it could actually fix that for you. A lot of times, it's not possible and you have to walk away, but for some people, this seems to work. Sometimes, this fuels a long term decision, and will drive you to what it takes so that 6 months or a year down the track, you can still have it.

Premeditated

This method is the complete opposite of the Love at First Site. You need/want a bike, you look at your money, work out what you want, how much you can spend, what is important, then set about finding and buying it. If your parameters are tight, you end up with transport. If you have a bit of flexibility in time/budget, you can still end up with a bike you love, but it's quite a bit more restrained.

Out of the Blue

This could also be called the Let It Be method. You either have no intention of buying a bike, or if you do, you are happy to wait and see what comes up, but either way you aren't really actively looking. Then out of the blue, a bike you love comes up, or a bargain you just can't walk by comes up and WHAM! You just bought a bike.

So these three categories are by no means complete, and sometimes, a purchase can be classed as a combination of more than one. My first bike (Yamaha DT125) was premeditated. I had to have transport, I had a budget, so I started looking, found a bike I could afford and that was ok and bought it. I grew to love it, but it wasn't pretty. My second bike (Suzuki GSX 400) I loved from the start, but belonged to someone else, so I didn't think much about it. Then, they told me they were selling it and offered it too me, so I begged and scraped and got the money togeather. Still love that bike. My third bike (Honda CB 750), I wasn't really looking, but my Cousin offered me the his old bike at a great price so of course I had to say yes and I grew to love it. The fourth bike I owned (Yamaha Virago XV1000) was like the second. I loved it, but someone else owned it, so I just used it as something to aim for in the future. Then they told me they were selling and offered it to me, so off to the bank I went and she was mine.

This process is probably different for people with a lot of money, and different again for people with little, but it's really how I've seen it happen. Buying cars can sometimes be like this, but I think a lot more often, the love and passion are missing and it really becomes a premeditated thing. With Bikes, it's personal.

Brett.

Posted by Brett Carter in Brett on Bikes at 12:22 | Comments (2) | Trackbacks (0)

A new bike! What's wrong with the old one?

Monday, April 6. 2009

Well, it's a terrible problem to have, but I'm facing the prospect of buying a new motorbike. It is truly an exquisite dilemma. I'm not sure about a lot of people, or most people, but for my case, it's not something that happens everyday. Or ever ever... I have been riding motorbikes on the road for just shy of 20 years now. For the first 4 years of this, I didn't have a car, or even a car license, so motorbikes are like a first language for me. Still, even though this is the case, there hasn't been a high turn over of flash new bikes. Or even old shite ones…..

My first bike was a little chook chaser, a Yamaha DT175 that cost all of $350 dollars. About $100 worth of repairs saw it on the road in the good old days of taking it to the department of transport, them looking it over, making sure bits weren't falling off and that the muffler still worked, and handing you the rego. Funny though, she was transport and independence and I loved her as everyone loves their first bike. Given my size at the time, she definitely struggled, but she got me around and would do 80km/hr down hill with a tail wind.

Next in line was an '81 GSX400. If I loved my first bike, I was ready to move in with, and get married to this one. Sporty, quick (compared to a 175 Dirt Bike) and able to actually reach 100km/hr, this one was classic, and at $900, a bargain. First real road trip (see previous comment about 100km/hr) and the ability to finally beat the cars at the lights. Also discovered the fun of riding up Mount Archer, THE bike road around Rockhampton.

Third off the line was the '72 Honda CB750 K2. Old, not so quick and spritely, she cost me $500 and came with a spare bike in parts. She had previously won best 'rat' bike at a rally, the nice way of giving out the 'worst bike and good luck getting home' award. She was unique and infamous around town being gun-metal grey with a King and Queen seat and ape-hanger handlebars. She also introduced me to lovely sound of an inline 4. Now I cannot deny that the sound of a twin, be it Ducati, Moto-Guzzi, Harley or even of (shock horror) Japanese heritage, is a beautiful thing to behold, but there is something to be said about the sound of the 4 as well. If you doubt this, see if you can get ahold of a clip of a classic old MV Augusta on a race track. Pure music.

My most recent purchase 12 years ago was an '84 Yamaha XV1000 Virago. Even though she was no spring chicken at about 10 years old when I bought her, she was the magic litre and so was the most expensive bike at about $4000. All that money!! No wonder I've made her last 12 years, and she is still going strong. When I say going strong, I have to admit she was out of commission for 3 years, and painful for 4 more before that with starter problems. This is, of course, the bane of the early viragos and it had made me give up on her. However, after increasing nights of dreaming of riding bikes (I'm serious, it go to the point where I would dream about riding 2-3 times a week), I made the decision to go balls out and fix the problem or die trying. This was helped by an article I read on early virago's that said once you got the starter sorted out (and got rid of the wrist destroying handlebars) they are great bikes. After reflecting on this, I realized it was true and other than those two aspects (and old seat foam that killed but could easily be replaced), she had been great. I ordered a replacement heavy duty starter motor from the states and went to work. Of course, it wasn't all fun and games as the motor from the states had the wrong teeth on end of the starter shaft, so I had to cannibalize the reduction gears off the start of the old motor and mate these onto the body of the new one, but surprisingly, it went together and the starter has not missed once in the last 3 years. Add to this a new pair of reasonably straight handlebars, and she is a new woman... Err.. Bike....

So with a new lease on life, and handling better than ever before (thanks to the new bars), why is it time to replace this bike with a new one? Well, with a daily commute through silly city traffic, and a desire to do more touring, I've been thinking a while about reliability and safety. Sure, she has been reliable, and I've not had an off despite many fools trying to collect me, so safe and reliable aren't critical issues at present. However, at 25 years old, I'm not sure how long this will be the case. I've been told by two different mechanics that the carbies are beyond balancing, and that I just have to get used to her running more and more rough. And with a new baby on the way, I'm thinking about that safety more and more. I certainly want to be around for her and not necessarily face questions like 'daddy, why is there part of your leg missing' or 'why do you limp when it's cold?' or 'why does your head set off airport metal detectors?'. Not completely avoidable, but I'd like to do my best.

Added to these very good reasons are two other factors. Firstly, I've always wanted to have a nice new bike, and have spent all of the last 20 riding years staring at Two Wheels, Australian Road Rider and Australian Motorcycle News dreaming about the new flash toys they have in every single issue. Secondly, we have managed our finances such that, at the moment, the money is there to do it. So, it's off we go, staring at the magazines with a purpose, and bugging sales people in the motorcycle shops with a valid reason now. I seriously can't wait!!!!