Old Steve
22nd September 2011, 20:34
Had my 6F for 6 months now, and still love riding GLORIA my 205 Hyosung GV250. She can cruise at 120 km/hr, gets about 350 km on a tank with reserve still in reserve, is great around town - light at 160 kg, not too wide, is a larger bike for her engine size so I feel visible on her, and her seat is low enough for my feet to land flat on the ground - yeah, I'm challenged in the inside leg measurement.
So if I was to consider a replacement, what would it be? I have a chance of picking up a Suzuki Boulevard C50T at a very attractive price. But here's a list of my needs/wishes/preferences:
Cruiser - I'm too old to spend the rest of my riding life with my chest glued to the tank top and my heels jammed up the crack of my bum
Vee Twin (love the sound!)
700 to 900 cc - would go to 950 if the Yamaha V-Star met all my criteria
Range about the same as I get on GLORIA, 350 km before refuelling or need to stretch, that'd probably mean an 18 L plus tank
Shaft drive. Maybe - and I mean maybe - I'd consider belt drive. I've had enough of wiping ScottOiler residue from the rear mudguard and wheel, and I am not an off tarmac rider.
Alloy wheels - that means tubeless tyres
Foot pegs - I'm not old enough to even want to consider foot plates.
Not a Honda Shadow 750 - they've got close to the same power-to-weight ratio as GLORIA, I'd rather keep riding her than change across to a Honda Shadow 750.
Some thoughts on bikes in that size range I've looked at.
Suzuki Boulevard C50 and C50T. Spoke wheels, and I'm not a spoke cleaner and prefer tubeless tyres. Also the 'ducks arse' turn up at the bottom of the mudguards turns me off - if I owned a C50 then the first thing it would get would be a trimming of the bottom of the mudguard.
Suzuki C50C, shaft drive, alloy wheels, 805cc, vee-twin all going for it. Just those aweful ducks arse mudguards and the foot plates. I understand you can just swap M50 pegs for the footplates, the mountings on the frame are the same, you just need to find an M50 owner who wants plates.
Suzuki Boulevard S50. Narrow front tyre and small tank. Otherwise meets all the rest of my criteria. Supposed to be the best handling of the Boulevards.
Kawasaki Vulcan 900 Classic. Spoke wheels and belt drive. I like the wider front tyre, the traditional cruiser look. Seems an attractive bike and meets most of my criteria.
Kawasaki Vulcan 900 Custom. Alloy wheels, but narrow front tyre. Oh well, you can't have everything.
Yamaha V-Star 950. Alloy wheels, wide front tyre, but belt drive.
Hyosung ST-7. Took one for a test ride, liked it very much. Classic looks (after the GV650, Hyosung had to get something right), wide front tyre, alloy wheels, but belt drive.
Honda Shadow 750. Heavy, low powered. Spoke wheels, but wide front tyre. i wouldn't consider a move to a Honda Shadow 750 a move up.
Suzuki Boulevard M50. Guess that's the one I've really been thinking of. Either the previous model with the kicked up rear mudguard, or the new nose cowl model (though buying new isn't really a financial consideration).
So if I was to consider a replacement, what would it be? I have a chance of picking up a Suzuki Boulevard C50T at a very attractive price. But here's a list of my needs/wishes/preferences:
Cruiser - I'm too old to spend the rest of my riding life with my chest glued to the tank top and my heels jammed up the crack of my bum
Vee Twin (love the sound!)
700 to 900 cc - would go to 950 if the Yamaha V-Star met all my criteria
Range about the same as I get on GLORIA, 350 km before refuelling or need to stretch, that'd probably mean an 18 L plus tank
Shaft drive. Maybe - and I mean maybe - I'd consider belt drive. I've had enough of wiping ScottOiler residue from the rear mudguard and wheel, and I am not an off tarmac rider.
Alloy wheels - that means tubeless tyres
Foot pegs - I'm not old enough to even want to consider foot plates.
Not a Honda Shadow 750 - they've got close to the same power-to-weight ratio as GLORIA, I'd rather keep riding her than change across to a Honda Shadow 750.
Some thoughts on bikes in that size range I've looked at.
Suzuki Boulevard C50 and C50T. Spoke wheels, and I'm not a spoke cleaner and prefer tubeless tyres. Also the 'ducks arse' turn up at the bottom of the mudguards turns me off - if I owned a C50 then the first thing it would get would be a trimming of the bottom of the mudguard.
Suzuki C50C, shaft drive, alloy wheels, 805cc, vee-twin all going for it. Just those aweful ducks arse mudguards and the foot plates. I understand you can just swap M50 pegs for the footplates, the mountings on the frame are the same, you just need to find an M50 owner who wants plates.
Suzuki Boulevard S50. Narrow front tyre and small tank. Otherwise meets all the rest of my criteria. Supposed to be the best handling of the Boulevards.
Kawasaki Vulcan 900 Classic. Spoke wheels and belt drive. I like the wider front tyre, the traditional cruiser look. Seems an attractive bike and meets most of my criteria.
Kawasaki Vulcan 900 Custom. Alloy wheels, but narrow front tyre. Oh well, you can't have everything.
Yamaha V-Star 950. Alloy wheels, wide front tyre, but belt drive.
Hyosung ST-7. Took one for a test ride, liked it very much. Classic looks (after the GV650, Hyosung had to get something right), wide front tyre, alloy wheels, but belt drive.
Honda Shadow 750. Heavy, low powered. Spoke wheels, but wide front tyre. i wouldn't consider a move to a Honda Shadow 750 a move up.
Suzuki Boulevard M50. Guess that's the one I've really been thinking of. Either the previous model with the kicked up rear mudguard, or the new nose cowl model (though buying new isn't really a financial consideration).