standard bikes

[jstark47]

I'm skeptical: I want to see someone with an 883 Harley get 51 MPG in real life mixed riding. I've hit 50 MPG on my Bonneville, but that was on an all-highway trip.

If we meet you can - best I've gotten when it was all highway was actually 59, but when I commute I get 52/53 pretty consistently.

If we meet, you'll be coming down here... ......or I'll be on my V-Strom. It's much more comfortable for long rides, and at my age (nevermind!) comfort is a big deal!!

[celt]

And my 45hp Ural will kick the sh*t out of BOTH you guys' bikes...



on any off-road surface.

BULLCHIT!


(while we're eating dirt, you'll still be back at the gas station answering questions like "What the heck is that? What year is that? Is your dog having as much fun as he looks like he's having?")

[roscowgo]

I think we're almost at the point where you can say there's three different types of standards. One could make the argument that there is the:

cruiser-standard
standard
sporty-standard

A true standard (to me) would have a centerstand, have tons of storage potential and allow comfortable acomodations both one or two up on short trips. I'd make the argument that a GS500 (naked) falls into this class

A cruiser-standard has cruiser styling (a la the sportster) with the more upright seating position of a standard. However it's amazingly common to fit forward controls on the bike effectively negating its standard status.

Finally you've got the sporty-standards, which lack the centerstand and borrow heavily from traditional sport bike styling and ergonomics (shameless plug for my bike the 599 here).

All in all they're all standards, but there still seems to be the North American lean towards either side of the cruiser/sportbike "argument."

Sev said what my opinion is....only he said it in a lucid coherent way that i am incapable of copying.

[atom]

My brand of toothepaste gets my teeth whiter and my breath fresher than ANYONE elses!

[celt]

My brand of toothepaste gets my teeth whiter and my breath fresher than ANYONE elses!

yeah, but if you used a windshield or a full-face helmet you wouldn't have to worry about cleaning the bugs out of there as much.

also, how cramped is it when somebody's riding pillion in there?

[Sev]

Oh and if you want to get right down to it, my Instructor owns a 1200 sportster with a stage three dynojet kit and screaming eagle pipes that has been dyno tuned, it puts out about 89 hp. My bike stock from the factory put out 89hp on the same dyno.

And my 45hp Ural will kick the sh*t out of BOTH you guys' bikes...



on any off-road surface.

It's all relative, Sev... to compare a 599 to a Sporty is an apples and oranges kinda thing and hardly fair. Two different bikes with different purposes.

That's the point I'm trying to make here. Throwing out numbers doesn't seem to make a lot of difference in the long run.

[Gummiente]

BULLCHIT!


(while we're eating dirt, you'll still be back at the gas station answering questions like "What the heck is that? What year is that? Is your dog having as much fun as he looks like he's having?")

Yes, I'd forgotten about the UDF.

[Kal]

whats going on in the MC manufacturers world?
nobody makes a real standard bike anymore,it took me almost 6 months to find my 93 nighthawk.
almost everything i saw for sale was a crotch rocket or a harley wannabe.

i'm an old fart for a new rider, 40 YO,and i like the standards from the 70's and 80's and couldn't find anything like those that wasn't a rat or a "collectable"

what's the deal?

It's America. The rest of the World is still getting plenty of standards.

[jstark47]

what's the deal?

It's America. The rest of the World is still getting plenty of standards.

Oh, just rub it in! I almost cry every time I look at Honda's UK website and see the bikes that aren't sold here.....

[celt]

It's America. The rest of the World is still getting plenty of standards.

for a 3-D illustration of this fact,

go to a Triumph dealer and see how they ruin the bonnie in the name of AMERICA.

http://www.motorcyclecruiser.com/roadte ... e_america/