I reckon my Bonny was only reborn in its present state of engineering because we have done what the japs did to us in the early 70's, we copied them, so now no oil underneath, no wire/chewing gum or pliers to carry, BUT we are still taking stick, look at the Bentley & the Jag, who's motor is under the bonnet(hood to you guys) now? RR's & Packards used to chase their stuff all over the skies of europe!

road king

I envy you guys that can support 2 bad habits. I can't have my shooting irons and a Harley too.

OK gentlemen, after much research and deliberation, I made a choice. Purists may not agree with it, but I have reasons: I have not ridden in over 30 years, did not care to spend alot and have never owned a bike this big. Anyway, I got a VERY good deal on this Honda VTX-R. Hope you like it too:

motorcycles only need to come in two colors: blacker than sin, and blood red. Nice bike.

Rich

I finished with bikes in the late 60's my last bike was a matchless 500 twin but I still like them This is a BSA Gold star I engraved for a customer onto a 7inch piece of optical crystal

David,

That Goldie engraving is stunning!

I'm a classic car and bike fan/owner myself and that's right up my street!

quote:

Originally posted by shakari:
David,

That Goldie engraving is stunning!

I'm a classic car and bike fan/owner myself and that's right up my street!

I engraved that for a customer in the Isle of Man, have you ever been to the TT races there Steve ? I went once in the 60's

Hi David,

Yup. did the Island in the early 70s and remember mad sunday and all that.

I had a goldstar around 1972 or 3 and still regret selling it!

My two classics at the moment are a 1980 Jeep Wagoneer and a 1982 Honda CB900F and I'm after adding another to the collection. At the moment, I'm trying to decide between a Chevy Apache pick up truck, a Kawa Z900 and a Triton..... gotta find room to lut whatever I buy though!

I sent you a PM but don't know if you got it. - Can I ask you to email me at shakari3@mweb.co.za please?

Get the Triton.

quote:

Originally posted by sharpsguy:
Get the Triton.

I'm very tempted to but the weight forward seating position and heavier clutch really give my arthritic hands a lot of trouble. After I've ridden it for half an hour, I have to take a break..... and it's only ever gonna get worse!

quote:

Originally posted by fla3006:
OK gentlemen, after much research and deliberation, I made a choice. Purists may not agree with it, but I have reasons: I have not ridden in over 30 years, did not care to spend alot and have never owned a bike this big. Anyway, I got a VERY good deal on this Honda VTX-R. Hope you like it too:

I have the same bike in black. You will really enjoy it. For now mine is stuck in the garage with about 2 feet of snow keeping me in. I thought about taking it to town before the snow hit.....oh well. I have a problem from time to time with my right hand cramping. I added a Universal Vista Cruise Control. Easy to install and works great.

Bill, I figured you would like it, and maybe fatcat & Larry. It's a great bike, handles easily for its size & weight, balances well, smooth as glass, powerful, just like Jon Speed's Brno ZKK-602 458 Lott you sold me!

Reverse side:

quote:

Originally posted by fla3006:
Bill, I figured you would like it, and maybe fatcat & Larry. It's a great bike, handles easily for its size & weight, balances well, smooth as glass, powerful, just like Jon Speed's Brno ZKK-602 458 Lott you sold me!

Well, I'll be!!!!! Did not recognize the moniker.....I think about that rifle from time to time. Sure hope it is doing well for you.
Talking about rifles, tonight I am watching the old Jimmy Stewart movie, Winchester 73.
I sure wish you and your family a great Christmas and a wonderful New Year.

Great choice, hard to beat a Honda. Nice looking machine!! I know you will enjoy it a lot, just keep the shiny-side up. Live to Ride, Ride to live.


Regards,
Larry

for those of you not into bikes seriously, these are two fine Moto-Guzzi's 1z or 2?). Fine machines, my accountant rides one.

Me, I'm sticking with my old HD. 1998 Electra-Glide Classic. 113,xxx miles and still runs strong.

Rich

Grenadier, that's a great bike, I looked for a Guzzi (1100 Jackal or California) but couldn't find a low mileage used bike in my area. I buy used everything, save a shitload.

I used to admire a pals Gutsy's, he also had a Laverda Jota in the garage, now that was a nice sound to hear.

As Larry M. says, "Keep the shiny side up" ... and the rubber side down!

Glad to see that there are some happy riders out there-- and congratulations to those of you with new steeds!

I'd been watching for a BMW K 100 RT and found one in the Dallas paper with 1800 miles on it...

I took delivery on it when a friend was getting married in the Big D in 1986.

I rode it to my home at the time in Houston and have been happy with it since.

-Don't get to do pleasure rides much anymore... but when I do... I recall why this ol' girl still has a place in the garage.

As Steve says, the Jotas are great bikes, except maybe for the electrics.... They went like stink though!

Ever been scared on a motorcycle? I mean, R-E-A-L-L-Y scared. Three years ago I bought a Kawasaki ZX-12, then had a friend (Rob Muzzy) tweak it a little here and there. At Bonneville it ran 193+ with 6'2" 225lb me on it that fall. His midget 5'7 & 130lbs ran it out at 207mph two-way average. It's hard to remember to breathe at speeds like that, and nobody can hold their breath that long.

Rich
that's when I decided I looked a lot better on my Electra Glide Classic...

193 mph...... Fuck that for a game of soldiers as we Brits say!

Don't know about being scared on a bike but I have been scared a few times just as I came off of them.

One of the worst ones for me was back in the 70s when I was racing a sidecar with my brother. I was the chair man and as we went through the S bend, I went from hanging over the bike to across and hanging out of the chair.

As I went across, I grabbed the two handles and the bastards both came away in my hands and I went sliding across the track..... to cut a long story short, I ended up with a dislocated hip (that now has arthritis and is making my hunting difficult) and a shit load of lesser injuries and was in traction for 6 months followed by another 6 months on crutches.

quote:

Originally posted by Idaho Sharpshooter:
Ever been scared on a motorcycle?

If one has not.
One has either not a wealth of experience riding or-

an infinite lack of comprehension of the possibilities.

Ah just knew it, a sidehack monkey!!

Hah!

Rich

Does anyone know the difference between a Harley and a Hoover?


P.S. Before any of you flame me, I'm on Harley #7, and have 2 in the garage.

OK... I give... What is the difference between a Harley Davidson Motorcycle and a Hoover vacuum cleaner?

On a Harley, the dirtbag is on the back.

for me? well, i ain't allowed motorcycles, but if i was, it would be a honda rune ... no desire to go to sturgis, just want a bike to ride, COMFY, that isn't going to break down every 1000 miles ...

I've been down several times, and realize i'd go down again ... scared on a bike? brothers i used to ride IN HOUSTON...

where they are called donarcycles

Forrest,
the bike looks GREAT .. shaft drive is awesome, and "power robbing" you'll never notice ... these crazy things make over 100HP, and losing 5 aint a big thing!

Thanks Jeff. I'd rather have a slight loss of power with less maintainence and cleaning. This is a heavy weight cruiser anyway, not a sportbike. That said, I do wish one of the Jap sportbike makers would offer one with a drive shaft, slightly less but still strong handling and performance, slightly more comfort.

I own a '82 Suzuki GS1100 with shaft drive. Over 100 horsepower ( have had it dynoed ). Very strong, very fast.
Ken

KRyder, does Suzy still make a shaft driven sportbike? Honda made a very fast shaft driven Magna in the early 80s too, also an 1100, cruiser design. Of course there's still the Yamaha V-Max, reputed 200hp in the latest model.

Just went to their website - www.suzukicycles.com - and it looks like their sportbikes are all chain driven and their cruisers are shaft driven. Did not see horsepower figures on the website.
Ken

I got a T-Shirt for Xmas. Black. On the front a small Harley logo....on the back in white lettering.....

"IF YOU CAN READ THIS THE BITCH FELL OFF."

Can't wait for the nicer weather to wear it....

You're wife is gonna love it...or maybe not. Good luck!

You can always tell the guys that let their wives see the shirt ... if you can read it around the bullet holes she put in it

I've been a fan of shaft drives for years and hate all that grovelling on the ground buggering about with drive chains..... and for me, the ultimate shaft driven touring bike are the BMWs. I've had 3 or 4 over the years and other than a bit of corrosion on the last one, never had a problem with any of 'em.

if i ever bought another bike, it would be a honda rune... dunno why

That RUNE is Bad Ass!

-I also have experienced maniacally haulin ass down the Sam Houston Tollway...1997
@ 170+ mph on a CBR900RR @ 2 am. Talk about having your mortality at your finger tips & it can be all over in a split second.

A little work when not hunting.