Rebel a Decent Ride? - Page 4

**notasportster** · 03-09-2010, 02:15 AM

the only reason I say the blast doesn't count is because its not really a sport bike, in my opinion its like a enduro/standard hybrid. sure its an decent bike and it serves is purpose very well, its an excellent beginner bike, commuter. its the closest thing I have seen to the old nighthawks of yesteryear. its very low maintenance with a belt drive, and single cylinder. however they didnt make a small sport bike, and the sport bike was what buell was supposed to be about, I would have loved to see something in the near dead range of displacement 250-500 vtwin. comparable to a ninja with the midrange of a vtwin. that would make an excellent bike.

Its nice to be around like minded people on this forum. Its my opinion that America is going to find out the very hard way that a severe govt deficit and huge trade deficit, are not signs of a healthy economy, or country. I don't think this recession will end till we turn things around and bring jobs back.

edit: just read your post about destroying cars, its really similar to the cash for clunkers. Being paid by tax payers to destroy perfectly good vehicle for no reason is exactly why this country has become a throw away society. Its better environmentally in the long term to keep a older car on the road then to keep manufacturing and throwing away vehicles. besides auto repair means more American jobs.

sorry we are way off topic Greezy, lol

**Shadow Shack** · 03-09-2010, 05:36 PM

The only good thing that came out of Cash for Clunkers was how it took half a million Obama bumper stickers off the road!

**Shadow Shack** · 03-09-2010, 05:48 PM

Of course the problem with small and Buell was Erik was under contract with mother Harley, who had shelled out a pretty penny to absolve his debts. Frankly it was amazing that he was able to secure Rotax motors for his latest machines, but the Blast was something that HD dumped unwillingly into Erik's lap. Harley sure didn't want a small displacement budget bike "tainting" their line up...but they needed something to garner their much coveted MSF endorsement that they had been hell-bent on for many years. Buell was the perfect company to drop that bomb on: here's half a Sportster motor (lots of negotiations went on to boost the minimum displacement up from 250cc for a MSF range bike), now make a bike for it that's under 400 pounds (because we sure as hell can't) and under 30" in seat height so we can (finally) get an OK for MSF/BRC approval.

Now that Buell is no more (not to mention the brazenly bold pre-bye-bye-Buell "here's the 2010 Blast" campaign of feeding bikes to the crusher...yeah, Harley loves it when they can insult their customer base), I imagine once those surviving Blasts at the Riders Edge courses breath their last breath, so goes the MSF stamp of approval for Harley Davidson.

**igjosh** · 03-10-2010, 10:21 AM

Gas prices and my wife's family got me on a bike and I ride it as a commuter sometimes and pleasure especially on the sunday rides we take with her parents.

JunkyardDog · 03-10-2010, 12:21 PM

Not sure where I fit into all this. I have several bikes, and 98% of the time they are ridden for recreation. To me, bikes just don't make practical transportation. I used to ride an old moped to work, they let me park it in the corner of the shop. I would never park a nice bike in a parking lot, and my bikes are the nicest looking vehicles I have. I'm not one of those trying to impress anyone with my Hummer, Excursion, or huge lifted truck. My car is a '64 Ford, and my truck is a '66 Ford. They are both near perfect mechanically, but they aren't what I would call pretty. I have deliberately avoided making any cosmetic improvements to them. I can park them in a parking lot, and not have to worry about door dings or them getting hit with a grocery cart. My truck got rear ended by a late model Cavalier in a parking lot once, no damage to the truck, but the whole front plastic bumper cover broke and fell off the car. The driver was horrified at the damage. The soft plastic didn't even scratch my already scratched bumper. I just laughed and drove off.

I would love to have an expensive bike, especially a new Goldwing, my boss has one, and I have ridden it, there is nothing else like it. But it would be just for recreation, wouldn't be to impress anybody, because I would be wearing a FF helmet anytime I rode it, and it would be kept out of sight in my garage. I don't feel the need to impress anybody with anything. Someone my size probably looks a little silly on a Rebel, but I don't care, I like it, and that is all that matters.

If the price of gas goes way up, I may get a beater bike to use for transportation. I rode my Vulcan 750 to San Diego a couple of weeks ago (same day as that earthquake in Chile), and paid $3.40+ a gallon for gas in El Centro and El Cajone. It's around $2.59 here in the Phoenix area.

As for Buell, I have never liked them, though I admit I've never ridden one. The concept was great, but the quality seemed to leave a lot to be desired. I've never considered top speed or acceleration to be defining factors of a sportbike. As long as it has adequate power, handling is what a sportbike is all about to me, and I'll take torque over high rpm HP anytime. I have considered one of the smaller Ducati Monsters several times. Jerry.

**Shadow Shack** · 03-10-2010, 04:43 PM

Sadly the only Buell I ever got to sample was one of the older steel tube frame bikes, an S-3 Thunderbolt. Even so, it was like night and day from the cruisers I was used to, and even my sport bike riding buddy was impressed with the handling. We had rented a pair late in the evening but never got to really ride them, as it rained the next day (the day we had planned to actually ride) so we just got a small amount of local riding in before turning in to wake up early the next day to disappointment.

The thing a lot of people never comprehended about a Buell: it wasn't supposed to be the fastest thing on the planet, rather it was a sporty bike that would appeal to the everyday rider, much like a Suzuki SV-650. It wasn't until Erik secured the Rotax engines that Buell actually became a fast bike (as defined by podium places in AMA races).

JunkyardDog · 03-11-2010, 04:15 PM

The Suzuki SV650 is a very nice bike, kind of like a Japanese Ducati Monster. But the only one I could ride any distance is the standard version with no fairing and higher bars, and they are downright impossible to find. Again, to me, handling is what a sportbike is, or should be, all about, not absolute top speed or acceleration. I bought a brand new '07 Ninja 250, and it was a great bike, except the bars were a couple of inches too low, and I was unable to ride it any distance. It's handling was great, and it has plenty of power for me. But I was unable to find any way to raise the bars, and wound up selling it. I still don't understand why someone doesn't make a sport bike for us older guys, with more sane ergos. And I do mean "sportbike", not a roadracer with lights.

I considered the Kawasaki KLX250SM (supermotard style), but was turned off by it's tube type tires, no centerstand, and no place to carry anything. The bars were a little low, but were standard style bars that could have been replaced with something a little higher, or raised by the use of risers, like I did with my Yamaha XT225. Jerry.

**Shadow Shack** · 03-11-2010, 06:03 PM

The SV650 naked pops up regularly here in the used market, they seem to be holding their value too what with earlier carbureted versions still fetching $3K and up (IIRC Suzi switched to FI in 2000). I can't say I agree with Suzuki when they claim the Gladius replaces the naked SV though...

As far as a "sportbike for us older guys"...check out Kawi's new Z-1000. While it isn't a fully faired bike (the fairing sort of resembles a modernized EX-500 Ninja if the 500 were ever modernized), it has the more upright ergos. And the handlebar mounts on risers, so that's an easy exchange if you want something different. 75 ft/lb @about 8K RPM and just a hair under 130 peak HP @ 10K all at the rear tire.

**Blueberry** · 03-11-2010, 09:30 PM

I do not need a new motorcycle, but if Honda made a 350-500 cc motorcycle I would buy one. My wife and I love our RE and Rebel but would like a 350-500 cc motorcycle for local 2 up riding and something different to switch to for solo riding. I do not want F.I. or drive by wire or 650 lbs. of junk to push off the road when something fails. IMO if you need a vehicle that parks itself, of stops itself if, as the add says, when you get distracted, you should not be behind the wheel or handlebars of any vehicle.

**Shadow Shack** · 03-11-2010, 10:48 PM

Quote:

IMO if you need a vehicle that parks itself, of stops itself if, as the add says, when you get distracted, you should not be behind the wheel or handlebars of any vehicle.

Technology: making mankind exponentially more ignorant each year.

Folks, it's not Toyota that's causing all these "issues" lately...

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