life long harley fan...thinking about getting a sport bike

just something i have been tossing around the past couple of weeks or so.

i grew up around harleys and old school choppers.
my dad was always wrenching on peoples bikes and always had at least 1 harley.
its really all i have ever known.

i had a 97 low rider and now i have a 2015 low rider. pic of it below.

lately i have been thinking about a sport bike just to take out now and again.
you can get them pretty cheap around here. for 3 grand maybe you can pick up a pretty damn nice one.

i will still be on the harley 90% of the time but just for something a little different i think a sport bike might be interesting.

i dont have any makes or models in mind really. i dont know much about them or the differences between them honestly.

i know i probably wouldnt go the route of a ducati. those are one of the few sport bikes that seem to have a high resale value. at least around here.

between yamaha, honda, and kawasaki there are loads on craigslist.

anyone here own one? used to own one? have any experience, good or bad with them?

i would only be riding it to work for the most part here and there so we are talking maybe 10 miles round trip. im not too worried about the comfort of it for that reason.

any opinions/thoughts are welcome

a reply to: Mugly

I like Harleys don't get this wrong.


But you know spring is in the air. When you see a picture of a Harley with a towel underneath it to catch the oil. Lol

If you're a die hard Harley fan, then you should consider a Beull to start.

It will still be familiar to you hardware wise, but will transition you in to the differnt riding style of a sport bike.

originally posted by: Greathouse
a reply to: Mugly

I like Harleys don't get this wrong.


But you know spring is in the air. When you see a picture of a Harley with a towel underneath it to catch the oil. Lol

yeah. those rags were from when i washed the 97 i traded in the day before. thats where i parked the bike the day i brought it home. had 7 miles on it when i parked it there.
no leaks....
just too lazy to move the rags

i know all the jokes about harleys leaking oil and all that and that was somewhat true back in the days of the shove lheads and earlier bikes.
ive heard it all. turn the gas off or it will leak.

this is a fuel injected twin cam. no petcock.
one of the strongest, most well received engines harley has ever made.

a reply to: SgtHamsandwich

im not against a buell. i really have no preference at this time.
like i said, it is going to be for little 10 mile ish trips here and there.

I just got a 2000 Yamaha R6 and I dig it! Get your counter steering down before you ride one fast or you are going off the shoulder fast! The only thing is that it is pretty uncomfortable for long rides, I can do about 70 miles before I have to take a break. It also seems like it wants to kill me every time I take it out, it makes me ride way too effin fast. Also you are making your probability of a crash much much higher on a powerful sport bike IMO, so you better be able to accept that you are probably going to. The newer bikes have more computer controlled traction control and abs which is really nice, but my 2000 R6 has nothing like that and much more feral feel to it. I would recommend getting a 250 or 300 first, I kinda wish I did. Most definitely don't get a liter bike, no fun on the street unless you like going to jail.

Get yourself a Japanese bike. They don't pee all over the driveway and they don't upset the neighborhood.

Also, as long as I run the carbs dry, they start right up in the winter.

I could just never justify the cost of Harleys or other nice bikes (I am really cheap by nature when it comes to transportation), so I pick up used bikes with low miles and ride them into the ground over a ten year period. I am currently riding (year round BTW) a 2005 Suzuki Boulevard 800 (C50) that I picked up from the IT guy at my last job. It had 15K miles on it and it cost me $3K. it is styled after the Old Dressers though it handles a lot smoother. Its a driveshaft which I am now sold on for the lack of mess and reliability. Removing the rear wheel is now a 5 minute job. Good luck in your search!

originally posted by: Restricted
Get yourself a Japanese bike. They don't pee all over the driveway and they don't upset the neighborhood.

Also, as long as I run the carbs dry, they start right up in the winter.

^^more of the oh so hilarious jokes.
bananashooter, im not too worried about the power.

i know they are insane off the dig but i have been riding for years.
im on a 1690 cc almost 900 lb bike.

plus i am not an aggressive rider. not out there to puch the envelope at all.
just want something different for short trips.

ive seen some r6's for sale on craigslist.
might end up with one.

thanks for the input

originally posted by: BennyHavensOh
I could just never justify the cost of Harleys or other nice bikes (I am really cheap by nature when it comes to transportation), so I pick up used bikes with low miles and ride them into the ground over a ten year period. I am currently riding (year round BTW) a 2005 Suzuki Boulevard 800 (C50) that I picked up from the IT guy at my last job. It had 15K miles on it and it cost me $3K. it is styled after the Old Dressers though it handles a lot smoother. Its a driveshaft which I am now sold on for the lack of mess and reliability. Removing the rear wheel is now a 5 minute job. Good luck in your search!

it was hard for me to drop this much cash.
i had a 97 dyna that i paid 5 grand for and up to that point it was the most expensive bike i had ever owned.

my buddy had a shaft drive suzuki and it was pretty smooth.

those boulevards are nice bikes. the guy that lives down the street from me has one and it is all chromed out. he has been up my ass to trade me for one of my cars but im not into the trade.

harley is definitely expensive. i dont really do anything oem when it comes to it.
i put an after market vance and hines muffler on it.

im going to change to some mini ape bars and it will definitely not be harley parts.

hell man even for oem harley oil(yeah right) they charge 13 bucks a quart.
kind of ridiculous

Most fun bike I ever owned was a 1975 Kawasaki Z650. Looks good, sounds good and just enough grunt to get you into trouble...only cost me 600 bucks as well. Bit hard on the kidneys on a long ride but easy to handle. Only gripe I ever had was those stupid bloody shims they use for valve clearance..takes forever to get them just right.

a reply to: Flatcoat

ive never ridden on of them but the mid 70's metric bikes are known for being notoriously awesome machines.

the 70's honda cb series is still a very popular bike.

when i was 18 i bought a cb750e basket case for 75 bucks. i put it together by myself over the winter and in the spring i sold it for 850 bucks. i rode it like 15 miles and thats it.
it was a cool bike.

there is a huge following for those and those mid 70's kaws you mentioned....people love them

Yeah also, the guy I bought my bike from gave me a really good deal because he said he would never ride again. He and his cousin were riding the day before, his cousin had a passenger. A car pulled out in front of his cousin and he collided with it at about 75 mph, the cousin died on the scene and the passenger lost her leg. Is that messed up or what, do you think my bike is cursed, I hope not.

a reply to: bananashooter

nah. i dont believe in bikes having curses. i do have a gremlin bell on mine but only cause i got it as a gift.

people ride and some people that ride die man. thats the sad truth to it.

i say be as careful as you can and enjoy your bike. wear a helmet. protect the noodle.

Get a Buell.

Period.

Kawasaki, Honda or Suzuki cant go wrong, I keep it in the 650cc category.

Imagine turning into a corner without having to worry about scratching chrome, slipping through the middle of traffic with ease and the aggressive riding style where you have to ride face down.

Maybe go a naked first, they have a propish riding style but have the sports look
Kawa Z or er6
Honda CB or NC, Fazer
yamaha YZF xjr
Suzi gsf bandit or sv, gsr
Triumph triple

Have fun

a reply to: Mugly

One Jap bike that most Harley drivers don't seem to mind in their coral is the Yamaha VMax . Worth checking out .They remained pretty much the same from 1986 until recently . They have won muscle bike of the year quite a few times . My 1986 had 145 hp .Going by what the guy in the vid was saying they must have d=tuned them in some countries . You would be getting the full powered version in the US or Canada .

a reply to: the2ofusr1

those are one of the sickest bikes out there.
i only want to spend a few grand though.
a v max cant be had around here for 3 grand or less or i would be all over it

a reply to: Mugly

I bought mine in Lewiston Main over 10 years ago at a Harley dealer for $3500.00 . Not sure how the prices are now . One thing that the bike had but that most older ones had fixed was 2nd gear .It wasn't a big fix and it cured it completely .If you check one out pay attention going into 2nd as they would have a tendency to jump out . They are pretty well bullet proof .The V=boost works like this ...At 7000 rpm there is a flap valve that diverts 2 carbs to each cylinder making it like having 8 carbs . BIG power boost and will scare the crap out of you .Make sure you are going in a strait line lol

ps .. They have a cult following and there is a ton of changes you can make on them . Just to give you a idea as to how some of them are customized

11 weeks ago I traded it my Kawasaki Concours 14, it's a sport tourer. I bought it new in 2008 for 15k. I put 69,000 trouble free miles on that bike. I decided I needed to slow down. Every time I got on that bike I did 100 mph and I'd hit 130 on occasion. I live in an area where I can do this without endangering anyone else, it only endangered me and any animal that decided to venture out of the woods. Anyhow, they handle great, they're bullet proof, an I-4 is way different than a v-twin. All of your power is in the higher RPM's. I now have a Yamaha Raider and I love that immediate grunt the torque gives me. It's the first air cooled bike I've ever owned. Rockets tend to be top heavy as well, their seat heights are just higher than your average cruiser. You won't be disappointed, take your time learning the power curve, keep both tires on the ground and learn to get your knees down to the ground. Here's a few videos to show you what I mean.
vimeo.com...
vimeo.com...
vimeo.com...
Oh, I only got my knee down a couple of times, I'm too old and too fat for that crap but the technique does work.