Get a decent bike...

[MSTRS:Me]

Thats typical, turn everything in to a sexual experience!

Of course. The after-effects of a good ride are so similar....
....weak in the knees and a silly grin...

[Str8 Jacket]

Sadly I can't have two bikes so I have to resort to playing with a chain saw when I feel the need for a two stroke fix.

hehe, my bike has been called a chainsaw lots! Was at the Featherston pub on evening and one of the locals called it a sewing machine, my poor bike was so offended it stalled al by itself...

[Squeak the Rat]

The person who disses your ride is the last person you should be listening to about what bike you should get.

Keep riding, reading and observing and you'll work out what you want. And then what you want will change anyway....

[Str8 Jacket]

The person who disses your ride is the last person you should be listening to about what bike you should get.

Keep riding, reading and observing and you'll work out what you want. And then what you want will change anyway....

The funniest thing is that the bike before that one was a GN....

I really really really think that I want an SV650. But until I get my full and can test ride a few I dont *really* know.

[Macktheknife]

If it has 2 wheels and it goes reliably, I say its good. I dont care if it is 4 stroke or 2 stroke, as long as it goes when it should, stops when it should, and the rider is enjoying it, that is all that matters.

[Bend-it]

I really really really think that I want an SV650. But until I get my full and can test ride a few I dont *really* know.

Yeah, absolutely!! I've been tyre kicking a fair few times and just can't wait till Dec 8th!! Ohh, also need to set up finances so Mrs It would be favourable too...

Might go out and pick up some gear for her this weekend! Woo hoo!!

[WRT]

I love my two stroke . . . loves it, I tells ya. Not a big fan of the smoke (hence "puff the tragic wagon"), but by using Motul oil at least it smells nice. It also has the added bonus of giving the people following me a way to tell where I've been after leaving them behind in the forest.

[F5 Dave]

Largely immature people “oh you have a Honda & Yamahas are better” Wake up guys, just because it is a particular brand, they make good bikes, budget bikes, all sorts of bikes.

School yard tatter, “my school is better than your school, my Dad could beat up your Dad” is moronic.

So what is a decent bike?

More so who the hell can tell someone to buy one? Heck I’ve been broke many earlier studenty years in my life & if all I could afford was a GS550 while my friends had CBR600s then - Where’s my balaclava? I’ll just go make a withdrawal.

I bought my road RG50 to commute on. After a short while I realised what a hoot it was & decided to get a bigger 2 stroke & sell my considerably bigger 4 stroke. If they made a modern RZ/RG500 I would buy one.

If someone really loves it then it is ‘Decent’. The acid test is if they still love it after it has been replaced some while down the track.

There are of course exceptions, anyone who has ridden a CX custom or an XZ400 will question why Honda or Yamaha respectively put these forsaken bikes on the planet & no amount of Politically Correct biker-brotherhood talk would convince any sane bod otherwise.

[madboy]

Its like morals, everyones are different.

Never a truer word spoken.

[Hawkeye]

I really dislike this nasty habit of being disrespectful of other bikers machines.

Every rider has different requirements. The fact that someone' else's choice of machine does not meet your own criteria does not make their choice invalid .

I do have to say too, that it seems to be mainly the sprotsbike people who do this.

I wish people would not do it. It is senseless, rude, arrogant, and destructive of the communal spirit that should be part of biking. If you cannot compliment a rider on his or her machine, just keep quiet.

I do not mean reasoned discussion, of the "I would not choose such a machine myself, because XXX" variety, or good natures teasing, but rather senseless jeering and denigration.

Fully agree, What you ride depends on a number of factors.
Licence - price - purpose - health.

My current machine is based purely on 3 things.
I'm still on a Learner, the price ($250) and I wanted a cummuter bike.
I know a number of people that would love to ride sports bikes, but due to back problems go for the more upright approach.

[MSTRS:Me]

If someone really loves it then it is ‘Decent’. The acid test is if they still love it after it has been replaced some while down the track.

This is perhaps the truest statement....boiled down, it means that the {insert make/model} you used to own was the best bike and you wish you'd kept it?

[Stevo]

A decent bike is:
Fuel efficient OR
Fast AND
Comfortable (for what it was designed) AND
Reliable OR
Easy to work on AND

LEAVE A FOOKIN BIG SMILE ON YA FACE EVERY TIME YOU RETURN!!!!!!!

[merv]

Its just got to fit you and feel good and give you that smile factor.

In my early years we adored 2 strokes because that was what was the go then. Our family had a number of 2 strokes - Zundapps, Suzukis, a Bultaco and a Benelli. Loved them all, but ...

Once I changed to 4 strokes I didn't miss the fouled plugs and the low gas mileage.

However, times have changed, I'm sure the synthetic oil, improved electronics and all sorts of other trickery means they don't foul plugs like they used to.

In truth I have never ridden a bike that I didn't enjoy the ride on. They are all just a challenge for you to ride to the best of their ability. They all make me smile even if they wobble like a pig or make a weird noise.

Str8 as for sewing machines I reckon my VFR with gear driven cams is the true sewing machine sound and the true chainsaw in my view was the Tas Taka that we have spoken about on this forum before. http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/at...4&d=1119558593

I never diss anyone else's bike and never will, if they chose to buy it for whatever reason that is their choice. I buy mine to fit me and serve my purposes, which are probably weird compared to what others expect.

Like why the hell would anyone in the mid 70's buy a Benelli 180cc monkey bike type bike, but my brother did and I still don't know why except for the laugh factor. That bike would be lethal in the wrong hands - it was like an overpowered pit bike, would wheelie the second you opened the throttle. I would go home from Uni and just enjoy riding it, to the extent I even rode it in club scrambles and mini-TT's just because I could.

So to me all bikes are decent if they make you enjoy yourself.

An in-decent bike in my view is one that doesn't put a smile on your face and that is probably one that breaks down too much and causes you heartache and frustration. One of my mates had that experience buying a Kawasaki Bighorn - that bike was just plain unreliable - so bad that over a year he never went for a ride with me on it.

[Smokin]

I gave up on two strokes because whenever I really started enjoying myself on them they would always make speed holes in the top of the bloody pistons.

[merv]

I gave up on two strokes because whenever I really started enjoying myself on them they would always make speed holes in the top of the bloody pistons.

Using plugs that were too hot mate!