Best Touring Bike | Page 2 | FerrariChat

Best Touring Bike

Discussion in 'Motorcycles & Boats' started by Texas Forever, Sep 11, 2022.

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  1. Rifledriver

    Rifledriver Three Time F1 World Champ

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    #26 Rifledriver, Sep 14, 2022
    Well you certainly would not be alone. Every year at Sturgis at a radius of about 50 miles there is a circle of trucks with MC trailers so they can all pretend they rode there. I understand but I'm with donv. Its an all or nothing deal for me.

    Up in Alaska there were tons of rentals on the road. A group of guys reserve a bunch of bikes and fly up for a ride. Lots of restrictions though. Not a single rental on the haul road to the Arctic Circle or Dead Horse. Also lots of tour companies hook you up with a rental bike to do Yurrip and other places.
     
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  2. BoulderFCar

    BoulderFCar F1 World Champ
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    #27 BoulderFCar, Sep 14, 2022
    I'm not against trailering. Even if you have time some places are tough to get a good ride in on even the backroads. Miami to the border of FLA for example. That said, the trailer and whatever your pulling it with become a hassle and complication which is what I'm trying to get away from on a bike in the first place. Where do I park the rig and so on.

    Nice day today in Western NC. Took the RT out around the Blue Ridge. I hadn't ridden it in a while as I've been hooked on the GS. The RT is very easy to live with. I liked it more than I remember.


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  3. Texas Forever

    Texas Forever Seven Time F1 World Champ
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    #28 Texas Forever, Sep 15, 2022
    **** Harleys.

    This is the sexist motorcycle ever made. If only, the Brits had figured out how to split a crankshaft. If only,

    I can't tell you the number of times I've done the hula on a bike like this.

    I've stopped at biker bars full of Banditos. I don't like one percentagers. But there are a few who are real bikers. They were cool. They really dug the bike.

    Damn, I wish they didn't vibrate.

    https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1970-triumph-bonneville-t120-20/
     
  4. mikesufka

    mikesufka F1 Veteran
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    #29 mikesufka, Sep 16, 2022
    Hey !!! LOL ! I've had almost 100,000 miles of fun on mine :)

    MDS
     
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  5. Rifledriver

    Rifledriver Three Time F1 World Champ

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    #30 Rifledriver, Sep 16, 2022

    Very cool as a piece of history but I could never consider riding one 50 miles from home.
     
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  6. Texas Forever

    Texas Forever Seven Time F1 World Champ
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    #31 Texas Forever, Sep 16, 2022
    I agree. The root problem is vibration. The Brits never figured how to split a crankshaft. Both pistons go up and down and the same time. Over time, everything shakes loose, particularly electrical connections. I've had the headlight rotate inside the shell causing a short. Try figuring that out!

    Drop dead glorious though.
     
  7. Texas Forever

    Texas Forever Seven Time F1 World Champ
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    #32 Texas Forever, Sep 16, 2022
    Harleys are great in a straight line. For better or worse, I don't do straight lines.
     
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  8. Rifledriver

    Rifledriver Three Time F1 World Champ

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    #33 Rifledriver, Sep 16, 2022
    Well that and reliability. I know in the modern age many have redone the entire electrical system. The carbs would have to go too for me. But the vibration is a fact of life. But a friend who was a Brit bike Guru waved me off for a few reasons. Parts availability was one. And he said many of the new parts are truly dreadful. Mike knew me pretty well and assured me it would not be looked back on as a happy part of life. Just too many design and build problems to make acceptable. I have remained an observer.
     
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  9. Texas Forever

    Texas Forever Seven Time F1 World Champ
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    #34 Texas Forever, Sep 16, 2022
    I sold my 70 Bonnie. I didn't enjoy riding it anymore.
     
  10. BoulderFCar

    BoulderFCar F1 World Champ
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    #35 BoulderFCar, Sep 16, 2022
    Buy a new Triumph. Brilliant bikes with all the good look and feel plus great reliability.
     
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  11. BoulderFCar

    BoulderFCar F1 World Champ
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    #36 BoulderFCar, Sep 16, 2022
    This just gave me Amal carb PTSD. My tickler valve always pee'd gas all over.
     
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  12. Texas Forever

    Texas Forever Seven Time F1 World Champ
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    #37 Texas Forever, Sep 16, 2022
    Ah, don’t ya just love the smell of gas in the morning


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  13. Texas Forever

    Texas Forever Seven Time F1 World Champ
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    #38 Texas Forever, Sep 17, 2022
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  14. Rifledriver

    Rifledriver Three Time F1 World Champ

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    #39 Rifledriver, Sep 17, 2022
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  15. Texas Forever

    Texas Forever Seven Time F1 World Champ
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    #40 Texas Forever, Sep 17, 2022
    Ironically the 500s were better bikes because they didn't shake as much as the 650s.
     
  16. Rifledriver

    Rifledriver Three Time F1 World Champ

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    #41 Rifledriver, Sep 17, 2022
    You could always get one of those Yamaha 650s that looked like a Bonneville and put Triumph badges on the tank. Had a friend with one. Good MC and before they were trying to look like Harley they tried to look like Triumph. Do it up Cafe style.
     

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  17. BoulderFCar

    BoulderFCar F1 World Champ
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    #42 BoulderFCar, Sep 17, 2022
    A 1977 Yamaha XS650 was my first road bike. Really a good bike. I always wanted to do a cafe or flat track version like the one above.

    sensational riding days right now in Western North Carolina. I’m riding my bike more than driving the car at the moment.
     
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  18. BoulderFCar

    BoulderFCar F1 World Champ
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    #43 BoulderFCar, Sep 17, 2022
    I like it but to me it just doesn’t do it. The carbs and electrical changes have patched some of the issues. That said, if you go down that road why not buy a new version in the first place?
     
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  19. Texas Forever

    Texas Forever Seven Time F1 World Champ
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    #44 Texas Forever, Sep 17, 2022
    Oh, don't be so damn practical. :eek:

    My old bike days are gone. My new bike days might be too!
     
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  20. Texas Forever

    Texas Forever Seven Time F1 World Champ
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    #45 Texas Forever, Sep 18, 2022
    Let me try and explain. I rode my first two wheeler when I was 12 or so. It was a POS Vespa. But I loved it. I didn’t have to pedal it.

    I soon graduated to a Honda 90. I was in heaven. Me and my buddies would ride 200 miles in a day, just because we could. It was freedom.

    Then a buddy let me ride his Honda 160. Scared the **** out of me. That was a big motorcycle.

    And then, my best friend got a Triumph 500. That was the biggest motorcycle in the world. I still remember the first time I road it. The smells. The feelings. The looks. We didn’t know how bikes were supposed to feel. That came later with the Honda 750. I feel in love. There is no love like your first one. To this day, when I see a 70 Triumph, my heart skips a beat.

    I know, I know, I sold my perfect 70 Bonnie to the guy I brought it from. But still, old memories die hard.


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  21. Texas Forever

    Texas Forever Seven Time F1 World Champ
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    #46 Texas Forever, Sep 18, 2022
    How about a pivot? What is the best handling, not the most powerful, standard motorcycle made today? What motorcycle would you buy if this was going to be your last motorcycle. Money is no object, but no crouch rockets.


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  22. donv

    donv Two Time F1 World Champ
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    #47 donv, Sep 18, 2022
    What do you want to do with it? Just ride it within 50 miles of your home, in Houston? For that you need a GS just to clear the potholes.

    Or are you going to take it to the track or something? I'd probably get this:

    https://www.triumphmotorcycles.com/motorcycles/roadsters/daytona-moto2-765

    However, as you have made clear, what you actually want is this:

    https://www.triumphmotorcycles.com/motorcycles/classic/thruxton-rs

     
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  23. BoulderFCar

    BoulderFCar F1 World Champ
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    #48 BoulderFCar, Sep 19, 2022
    Ok, I think this helps me understand. You're rooted in the nostalgia of it. I'm a "you can't go home again" type that thinks the memories are usually much better than the reality. I bought two muscle cars I dreamed of, a 396/375 Chevelle and a '66 Mustang. Awful steering and brakes. Smelled like gas all the time too.

    I get nostalgic for the experience of the simplicity not the vehicle itself.

    I'd sit down and let the urge for a vintage bike pass unless you want it as a hobby.

    So many to buy new that look vintage. Too many to chose from.
     
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  24. Texas Forever

    Texas Forever Seven Time F1 World Champ
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    #49 Texas Forever, Sep 19, 2022
    Thruxton looks cool, so does the standard Bonnie.
     
  25. Texas Forever

    Texas Forever Seven Time F1 World Champ
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    #50 Texas Forever, Sep 19, 2022
    Nostalgia is a powerful drug. However, I've already gone down that road. I used to restore old Triumphs. Then when Triumph came back to the US in 1995, I brought a brand new Trident. I was stunned. I didn't realize how good modern motorcycles had gotten, particularly with real brakes and big fat tires. The newer bikes are so much easier to ride and much more fun. Don't worry. Number one, I will never buy a motorcycle that doesn't have electric start (unless I got one of those power wheels). Number two, a bike has to have electronic everything.
     
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