How did you choose your two wheels?

[Big Dog]

My height and width eliminates a lot of choices.
Practical things like the fact I like taking pillions and that it will be a main mode of transport eliminate a lot more.

After that it's what gets my pulse racing that is good value at the price I can afford or con myself in to believing I can afford.

[McJim]

I've wanted a Ducati since I was 14. Any Ducati. I got the only one I could afford. It doesn't piss oil everywhere any more though.

[madmal64]

When I was looking for a replacement ride, I was test riding V Twins and was nearly sold on a brand new SV1000. Kerry Thornton was at that stage working at Motorad and suggested I take the Aprilia out for a ride.
Well that was it! After a decent test ride I was hooked.
Its my 1st V Twin and it took me a while to get used to the different power delivery after ride IL4s for so long.
It suits my type of riding perfectly and having the factory luggage made the choice so much easier.

[STUPY]

I’m curious to know how some of you have gone about choosing your bike. Did your partner or someone else have influence on the brand and model or did you do your own homework and test ride until you found it?

And what kind of things did the bike need to have or not have?

How much did weight, colour and height factor into your decision?

well i choise the hyosung because of the size of it's frame as all the other 250's where like tonka toys in size, colour was a bonus. also did alot of back ground research to make sure that the bike was gonna last. very very happy with this bike and would "RECOMMEND IT TO ANYONE"

[Ocean1]

I do it the same way everyone else does.

I make a list of the features most important for the use I'll be putting it to.

I do a bunch of research, ask people who know their shit, whittle the field down to 3 or 4 and then get as much time test riding as I can.

Then I go buy the one I thought I wanted in the first place.

Not quite true, the principal prospects have to fit me, and they have to perform within the profile I originally specified. But we all have a formidible capacity to rationalise, to bullshit ourselves. If something irrational about a product takes our fancy it doesn't take long for our subconcious to tweek the facts to suit.

All of the above holds true for the Buell. For me the bling, (and the hook) is technical innovation, I love new and elegant design solutions, especially when they work better than the traditional ones. I was lucky though, this time I didn't shoot myself in the foot. The Buell genuinely does do the job bloody near perfectly for me, both on paper and in fact.

[007XX]

I'm so over sportsbikes......they're for "short man" syndrome types...especially the litre ones. I'm starting to get over the Ducati thing very quickly too. Back to a bombproof Jap Adventure bike methinks.

I hear you... Coming back up from the Taupo races, we stopped (incidentally ) to our favourite bike shop, and I saw a Street Triple. It ain't Jap, but gawd, I so love the comfort, sound and looks of it...Next thing: test ride

[MarkDv]

My '89 XV1100 I bought on looks alone, only did one short test ride and it was hosing down so didn't go far. After having it for a couple of years I was keen to look at the new model, wandered into Waikato Yamaha saw the xvs1100 and fell head over heels, didn't even test ride. just sat on it and the fit was too good. Wife jumped on the back to try her seat and i got the approval nod.

2 months later i ordered my bike off Whanagrei Yamaha and have not looked back. Must admit I knew the brochure backwards before I made the decision to buy it, also had a look at the Boulevards, but can't get past the headlight, rest of the bike looks good except the droopy headlight.

So now thinking in terms of the next one, which i might be allowed to buy in 2010 lol

[yungatart]

I blame Yungatart and Mstrs ... they turned up to the track on day with the tart on her bike .. I sat I enjoyed I purchased one off Trade me and its great!!

Me thinks these two have a lot to be blamed for We luff them lots though

Why thank you, I think!
I chose mine cos of the colour..tis red, so I knew it would be fast.
Well, what did you expect, I'm a girl!

Seriously, tho, I chose it because of its riding position, its physical size (I fit on it), and its engine size (500cc). Tho at times it is a bit top heavy, but I am getting there....(just don't know exactly where there is..)

[buellbabe]

Qkchk...yr post was a good read... some excellent points made.

My first bike was a trailbike and it was a case of saw it and had to have it... plus it was affordable and at the age of 16 going on 17 that was a big issue.

With my Harleys too $$ influenced my purchases. I have often wondered why I was attracted to HDs and have decided its simply because I am a redneck/rebel at heart! When I first bucked the trend amongst my bike riding mates (all of them blokes!) and bought an 883 I was told that you can't go round corners on a Harley and they they are pretty much good for nothing.
Well I soon found out what a load of bollocks that was!

But there came a time when I felt that the HDs just weren't enuf of a challenge anymore and that was when a salesman at Shafts (now AMPS) said "you should testride a Buell...I know the way you ride...trust me you will love it".
Well he was right. There are so many things that people consider when buying a bike:height, weight, colour, performance etc...
All I know is that from the moment I got on this bike (and I still own it 104,000kms later) it was as if the bike had been personally made for me. The fact that I could barely get a foot to the ground and that it was pretty out there to look at mattered not one bit.
All that matters to me is that it rides like a dream.

[Maha]

Dont need 23 lines of text to explain this....
I knew what i wanted so went and got it!

[Her_C4]

Dont need 23 lines of text to explain this....

Hmmm I guess I do..

My first bike was a gn. I bought it because I wanted to ride and had no bloody idea about what sort of bike to buy, and no one to ask (I hadn’t found KB at that stage), so I didn’t want to spend a lot of money that might prevent me from purchasing my next steed. I foudn the cheapest one available and rode in the gutters for ages before finding a carpark to practice in – all gud.

Then it shat itself – leaky petrol tank, solenoids, leaky petrol tank, battery and did I mention the tank that sprouted new holes approximately two weeks after it was fixed? EEEEvery time!!!…. So that got me thinking and counting my pennies with the upshot that I decided if I was ever going to have a bike that kept going long enough to actually get my licence – then I would have to upgrade the 250… but nothing expensive mind…. Just a couple of $$k’s, and leave all the REAL dosh for my 400. (You can tell I am really a very practical and well able to manage my fiscal responsibilites can’t you?)

Yeah right.
I went to Lower Hutt motorcycles and test rode every 250 they had – and then promptly bought the most expensive one there (CBR250RR).

When I got my full, I left it a wee while (at LEAST two weeks) and went looking through every bike shop I came across so I could see what was for sale in my price range. I despaired of ever getting a bike that I wanted as I couldn’t touch the ground on anything. Finally one bike shop told me that it was an SV650 lowered or a cruiser – there were no other options!!! I was gutted… truly. I have nothing against either bikes / type but in my searching I had come across a multitude of sportsbikes and really wanted one.

About two or three weeks later I was wandering around another bike shop and espied an early model Honda 600F that I could jjjjuuuuuust about get tips of both toes down on, so I fired back to work and asked a mate to come and have a look at it for me (he has ridden forever), and maybe take it for a test ride. All the way back to the shop I justified the purchase, telling him how I didn’t really like the bike, but I could touch the ground and it was cheap enough – I would just ride it until I found ‘the’ bike… the one you just know is yours when you first set eyes on it.

Well, we got to the bike shop and I never made it inside!

Outside parked in the sun, all glistening and shiney was a 2002 Ducati 748 resplendent in yellow (Thanks V!). I couldn’t focus on anything else – I turned and said to my mate that if I could touch the ground on it , then it was mine – no question, no concern for budget (had no price on it) … he thought I was joking (poor fool). As fate would have it and I spoke to my mate, the salesman came out the door and said “Well, that warms my heart to hear that – give me one day and I will have it lowered enough for you to take it for a test ride” – the rest as they say is history (most of it on here damnit!!)….

My latest acquisition? Well I stalked it really… knew that was what I wanted, pined for a while (or was that ‘whined’ for a while) and hestitated just long enough to pretend to justify the expense to myself… an opportunity came up and I grabbed it with both hands. (Worth pointing out that an astute observer noted that when I first saw it I touched it as though the choice had been made and I owned it already…..)

I guess we all choose things differently – for me to truly ‘own’ something the decision has to come from the heart.

[Xaria]

I had a careful list of things I needed in my first bike:

• fuel gauge (A friend was always running out)
• Rev counter
• Short enough I could fit on
• Had to have a bit of agreement in the Dunedin KB group that I would get from Dunedin to Alexandra (where my parents are) and still have a smile on my face.

Well, I got no fuel gauge, no rev counter, I fit on it beautifully and I have gone for some huge rides and still smile. So 2/4 isn't too bad.

I test rode a couple of bikes, but the consensus at the shop was to try the VTR, I tried it with Nighthawks old helmet, it fell over my eyes and I told him, I think I like it but I cant really tell as I felt too unsafe with the helmet, got a new helmet , tested bike again, stopped and said "I'm smiling; aren't I?" and the rest is history...

Saying that, I am counting down until I can get my full and go for a 400 - 600. More listing, testing, deciding... Hmmm

[dino3310]

i've wanted a Suzuki DR since i sold my last one 19years ago,
other wise i just buy what i can afford which isn't much so i've had the odd crappa but a least i'm still riding.

[Blue Velvet]

Performance and handling. Price. Availability of parts.

It's an ugly bike so it wasn't looks that influenced my purchase. Heh. Tail tidy is going on tonight, I hope getting rid of the 'stinger' will make me like it more...

[jrandom]

Availability of parts.