Nice looking bike ZZR. Do you know the last time the valves were adjusted and have you price out that particular service? Properly cared for that bike will last you a lifetime.
The valves were checked at 70k, so I’m good for a while. I’m not afraid to tackle the check and adjustment myself. I went for a 100+ mile ride on Saturday with some friends on cruisers. I was the only one not complaining about some sort of body ache, and I’m the oldest in the group. The bike is a joy to ride - I had no idea there would be such a difference from my last bike.
Holy shit. Interceptors are awesome. I wish I could find one near me. My search continues. I fucked up and sat on a Diavel, now I may have to have one....at least until I can afford an MV, and the requisite mechanic/butler it takes to keep it running.
I spent 6 hours at a dealership yesterday, only to have them draw up paperwork that "accidentally" omitted the $2k manufacturer's rebate. I walked out of there at like 6:30 p.m. ready to murder. I was after a 2019 Aprilia Shiver 900 as an upgrade to my Streetfighter 848. Also, I learned that every dealership in sight is going gangbusters: 300-400 bikes a month. Since people have had to cancel their vacations, all that extra money is going to toys, apparently.
I'm about finished working over a pw50 for my son. Picked it up for a few hundred dollars. After new wheels and tires, bearings, exhaust, handlebars, grips, throttle and choke cables, off-run-start switch, foot pegs, plastics, decals... I should have just went and bought a new one. That was dumb, buying a bike to fix up when a new version is only $1,500. I only have about half of that in this one I'm fixing, but still consider it a mistake. I've been looking for a Yamaha xt250, so I could follow my kid on the track on practice days. I found a smoking deal on a brand new one and was just about to go get it when it disappeared from cycletrader. I think the guy across the road bought it, their teenage son showed up with one right after it dropped from the site.
I put a set of new tires along with a new chain and sprockets on my old bike. Man it is like riding a brand new bike. I am going to change the oil and clean the air filter tomorrow and she should be good to go for the summer. Yep, I am getting excited.
I am really liking what has been evolving in electric bikes. The arc is bad ass: https://www.arcvehicle.com/the-vector.html
Most vehicles have to go through some testing in order to be allowed to be imported and street legal. A fair number of cars outside of the US don't bother as it's an onerous and expensive process, so I'm just wondering if they would do it for a bike company that is looking to produce a few hundred of them. (They're in the UK, and are saying they're only making 400 of them, which is why I was curious). Kind of like the Porsche 959... go read about what Bill Gates had to do to get his into the US.
Ok. Brand new, Aprilia Shiver 900 for $7k. I'm on my own for taxes, tag, etc. which is about $700. Anyone have any experience with Aprilia?
Aprillia's are like anything Italian, styling is unique, performance is second to no one and reliability is not up to the Japanese brands.
For a 900, it's surprisingly not insane. My Duc 848 was a bit more powerful, just not as comfortable. I'd love a Honda CB1000R, but the new ones look silly and the old ones are absurd. Like $8k for a 6 year old bike, that was $9k new absurd. I hear that about the reliability, but I can't find out anything that people specifically complain about them breaking.
Old coworker had whatever top dog Aprilla from 2014-ish. He's had a ton of bikes over the years and use to race and the Aprilla was his favorite by far. I bought a new CBR1000RR in 2006 and just looked on CL and what. the. fuck. They're going for ~$6000, I think I sold mine in 2008 for ~$7000. That is insane.
The CB1000R's (the naked ones) and the Interceptors hold value incredibly well. It's fucking silly. Honda make some damned bulletproof stuff, and it's the Toyota of bikes, but damn. I signed the Bill of Sale for $7k. For a brand new bike, especially a naked, I'm feeling pretty good. For comparison, the GSX-S 750 was somehow over $8k, and it just felt...cheap and plastic. Same with the MT-07. I wouldn't have minded a Kawi Z900, but...meh. I mean, I may still dream of a Diavel X, but I am not at all near the skill level to ride something that accelerates that fast. The other thought is if this gets dropped, wrecked or stolen, I'm only out $7k. I can live with that risk. I could save a few more $ in quarantine, but I'm already missing half of riding season. Life is for living, and it's a lot better for me when I have a bike.
Well at least in Canada, the 1000's used to go for around 15k, in the last couple of year since they really updated the power and all the new electronic tech they are around 20k now. So some of the used bikes look really attractive. I love my gsxr750 but for some reason i really want a 1000 now. Well it is mostly because there isn't a straight stretch smooth and long enough to get my fat ass up to 300kph. I can hit 200 in a blink of an eye, 250 pretty dam quick, but the power really starts to taper off after that. And with the new 1000's doing 200hp that shouldn't be a problem. But i am cheap and i really don't ride enough to justify a new bike.
If it makes you feel any better, I'm buying a Specialized Roubaix bicycle for $6k. After adding pedals, swapping a couple components, and taxes, etc., the final bill will be close to $7k
....looks cool and all, but...what? Getting this thing loaded and transported was stressful as all hell, but first ride was purely glorious. It's been a long 7 months and I've missed having a bike.
Man, getting this little bike right has spiraled way out of control. Add to the list new cylinder, piston, rings, wrist pin, wrist pin bearing, cylinder head, gaskets, carb and fuel petcock. Got it all back together from the quoted list, it fired right up and sounded beautiful, then the petcock started leaking gas. Grabbed the one off the pressure washer so my son could at least ride it, he was so excited putting it back together. Get it out in the yard for the first test ride and the RPMs start to climb without any throttle input. Air is getting past a gasket somewhere on this engine, causing that. Can't let him ride a bike like that. So I'ma do the whole top end and the bike should be as good as new. Still under $900 with what I'll have in it.