Tweet
Some reviews: Bikes I've owned in the past.
Most of these bikes aren't available here, but I thought I'd put this up here anyway as a source of "things to think about" with your own bikes. I've owned four models of road bikes in the past, and in two cases, have owned two bikes of that particular model.
First road bike owned: 1987 Honda Magna, often referred to as the "Supermagna". Bought in 1990.
The bike was a "muscle-bike", which is essentially a cruiser with a sportbike engine. The Magna appeared in Honda's lineup in 1982 powered by Honda's now-legendary 90-degree v-4, and there were 750cc and 1100cc versions. it had a relaxed riding position and shaft drive. The 1100 was a monster, and could outrun nearly anything else on the road at the time (sportbikes were almost non-existent, though Honda did make the Interceptor and the Sabre using the same motors), though the 750 was no slouch either, with a motor derived from Honda's road-racing program. By 1987, the Magna had matured, and the motor, Honda's 750cc v-4, had evolved very close to the ultra-reliable motor still in use in the Interceptor today. The bike I owned was actually a 700cc due to some import-tariff games going on at the time. The bike was still very fast, though it had gotten heavier through the years, and therefore not quite as quick as the earlier versions. Mine was red, with several of the more desirable accessories: the passenger backrest, the engine guard, and a windshield (not shown in the pic).
On short rides, the bike was great, and I rode nearly every chance I had. More than once, I was able to absolutely smoke more "performance-oriented" bikes who never suspected the long red bike next to them harbored the heart of a racer. I eventually discovered the bike's main weakness when I did my first long-distance ride. The riding position, which was very similar to sitting in a chair, with your feet slightly ahead of your spine. In that position, all the weight of your body rests on your backside, and your legs are not able to help support you in any way. The wind hitting you in the chest just compounds the problem. Worse, in order to make the motor run smoothly, Honda spaced the crank pins in such a way that the engine sounded like a lawnmower; for all the power it made, it made a flat, uninspiring droning sound out on the highway. The long fork did make the bike exceptionally stable, though it was a bit of a handful at low speeds. I actually owned two of these, though the second time was really more out of nostalgia. Due to the first bike's uncomfortable highway manners, though, I eventually traded it on...
A 1989 Suzuki GSXR1100. Bought in 1992.
The 1989-1990 GSXRs, known as the "Slingshot"-era, were some of the best GSXRs Suzuki built prior to the recent remodel. They used air/oil-cooled motors that are still known for their reliability and ease of modification. The 1989 was actually the worse of the two years, since Suzuki made some bad decisions around the suspension internals and engine internals, but the bike was still capable of impressive performance. I owned two of these bikes as well. The first came to me with a really cheap aftermarket exhaust that I quickly replaced with the very nice stock system. The second bike had been modified with a carb jet kit and an exquisite stainless Yoshimura racing exhaust. The first bike actually had a stronger top end by a slight margin, and I took it up well past 240km/h a few times. The second bike had a MUCH stronger midrange, and the acceleration from 5000-9000rpm was very close to what the race versions of this bike would do (not surprising since the mods to this bike were essentially those done by the racing teams). This bike was much better on the highway in many respects, and the handling was incredible, especially after coming off the loooong Magna. Tires were difficult to do for this bike, because modern sport radials were still playing catch-up to the new tech coming out on the bikes (this, 1992, was the era when the Honda CBR900RR emerged, along with the first "real" Ninjas and the FZRs), so I was never really happy with the way this bike handled, but I liked it enough that I did lots of longer rides, often 300-400km or more, on weekends.
However, this bike too had negatives. The bodywork was expensive. A single lower fairing panel was $150 in 1992 dollars, or about Rs7000, and no doubt that will have gone up due to inflation. Also, the mirrors were works of cast-aluminum art, and cost as much as art would. The "breakaway" hinge was only good for one fold, and then became loose enough that the mirror was unusable, and a replacement was nearly $200 (Rs.9500). I eventually replaced the expensive 1100 mirrors with much cheaper plastic mirrors off the GSXR750, which barely fit, but only cost about $30 to replace if the bike tipped over. The other major downside was vibration. That big motor buzzed like a paintshaker on the highway, and the riding position meant all your weight was on your wrists. The combination of the two meant my hands were asleep after an hour of riding. I eventually moved to a region where I only had 3-4 months of riding time each year, so I sold that bike too (the second one I owned was stolen).
I briefly owned a Honda XL600, which was a big single-cylinder dual-sport somewhat like the Impulse. It didn't run when I bought it, and I had planned to fix it up and get it running, but never had the time.
The final bike I owned was the Kawasaki ZX-11 Ninja, a 1990, in 1997.
This bike was everything the GSXR wasn't. It was far smoother, and had a more comfortable riding position. I even bought luggage for it and was able to do really long-distance riding, like 1000km in a day, at 140km/h. No numb hands, no aching back. The bike did have a noisy aftermarket exhaust, and I countered that by wearing earplugs, which also made long rides more comfortable as well. I did run into a few issues though: The early ZX-11s had a design flaw in the transmission, where the second gear would develop problems. This was an issue with the actual metal of the second gear, and not all bikes had the problem. I never rode the bike like a drag racer, so I never experienced the problem, but the guy who bought the bike from me did abuse it, and complained to me after the fact that it was having problems (sold used, as-is, it was his fault in any case). The only other issue I ever had was that, due to the power of the motor, the cush-drive in the rear wheel (blocks of rubber that cushion the shock from the drivetrain under acceleration) had worn out, and I had to replace it.
So that's a glimpse at some interesting older bikes. I'm hoping to get another big bike soon. I contemplated getting a Duke, but it just didn't "click" for me when I test-rode it, so I'm bypassing it. I'm getting older now, so I can't fold myself onto a sport bike like I used to be able to, so I'm hoping against hope that I can round up the financing for a VMAX.
First road bike owned: 1987 Honda Magna, often referred to as the "Supermagna". Bought in 1990.
The bike was a "muscle-bike", which is essentially a cruiser with a sportbike engine. The Magna appeared in Honda's lineup in 1982 powered by Honda's now-legendary 90-degree v-4, and there were 750cc and 1100cc versions. it had a relaxed riding position and shaft drive. The 1100 was a monster, and could outrun nearly anything else on the road at the time (sportbikes were almost non-existent, though Honda did make the Interceptor and the Sabre using the same motors), though the 750 was no slouch either, with a motor derived from Honda's road-racing program. By 1987, the Magna had matured, and the motor, Honda's 750cc v-4, had evolved very close to the ultra-reliable motor still in use in the Interceptor today. The bike I owned was actually a 700cc due to some import-tariff games going on at the time. The bike was still very fast, though it had gotten heavier through the years, and therefore not quite as quick as the earlier versions. Mine was red, with several of the more desirable accessories: the passenger backrest, the engine guard, and a windshield (not shown in the pic).
On short rides, the bike was great, and I rode nearly every chance I had. More than once, I was able to absolutely smoke more "performance-oriented" bikes who never suspected the long red bike next to them harbored the heart of a racer. I eventually discovered the bike's main weakness when I did my first long-distance ride. The riding position, which was very similar to sitting in a chair, with your feet slightly ahead of your spine. In that position, all the weight of your body rests on your backside, and your legs are not able to help support you in any way. The wind hitting you in the chest just compounds the problem. Worse, in order to make the motor run smoothly, Honda spaced the crank pins in such a way that the engine sounded like a lawnmower; for all the power it made, it made a flat, uninspiring droning sound out on the highway. The long fork did make the bike exceptionally stable, though it was a bit of a handful at low speeds. I actually owned two of these, though the second time was really more out of nostalgia. Due to the first bike's uncomfortable highway manners, though, I eventually traded it on...
A 1989 Suzuki GSXR1100. Bought in 1992.
The 1989-1990 GSXRs, known as the "Slingshot"-era, were some of the best GSXRs Suzuki built prior to the recent remodel. They used air/oil-cooled motors that are still known for their reliability and ease of modification. The 1989 was actually the worse of the two years, since Suzuki made some bad decisions around the suspension internals and engine internals, but the bike was still capable of impressive performance. I owned two of these bikes as well. The first came to me with a really cheap aftermarket exhaust that I quickly replaced with the very nice stock system. The second bike had been modified with a carb jet kit and an exquisite stainless Yoshimura racing exhaust. The first bike actually had a stronger top end by a slight margin, and I took it up well past 240km/h a few times. The second bike had a MUCH stronger midrange, and the acceleration from 5000-9000rpm was very close to what the race versions of this bike would do (not surprising since the mods to this bike were essentially those done by the racing teams). This bike was much better on the highway in many respects, and the handling was incredible, especially after coming off the loooong Magna. Tires were difficult to do for this bike, because modern sport radials were still playing catch-up to the new tech coming out on the bikes (this, 1992, was the era when the Honda CBR900RR emerged, along with the first "real" Ninjas and the FZRs), so I was never really happy with the way this bike handled, but I liked it enough that I did lots of longer rides, often 300-400km or more, on weekends.
However, this bike too had negatives. The bodywork was expensive. A single lower fairing panel was $150 in 1992 dollars, or about Rs7000, and no doubt that will have gone up due to inflation. Also, the mirrors were works of cast-aluminum art, and cost as much as art would. The "breakaway" hinge was only good for one fold, and then became loose enough that the mirror was unusable, and a replacement was nearly $200 (Rs.9500). I eventually replaced the expensive 1100 mirrors with much cheaper plastic mirrors off the GSXR750, which barely fit, but only cost about $30 to replace if the bike tipped over. The other major downside was vibration. That big motor buzzed like a paintshaker on the highway, and the riding position meant all your weight was on your wrists. The combination of the two meant my hands were asleep after an hour of riding. I eventually moved to a region where I only had 3-4 months of riding time each year, so I sold that bike too (the second one I owned was stolen).
I briefly owned a Honda XL600, which was a big single-cylinder dual-sport somewhat like the Impulse. It didn't run when I bought it, and I had planned to fix it up and get it running, but never had the time.
The final bike I owned was the Kawasaki ZX-11 Ninja, a 1990, in 1997.
This bike was everything the GSXR wasn't. It was far smoother, and had a more comfortable riding position. I even bought luggage for it and was able to do really long-distance riding, like 1000km in a day, at 140km/h. No numb hands, no aching back. The bike did have a noisy aftermarket exhaust, and I countered that by wearing earplugs, which also made long rides more comfortable as well. I did run into a few issues though: The early ZX-11s had a design flaw in the transmission, where the second gear would develop problems. This was an issue with the actual metal of the second gear, and not all bikes had the problem. I never rode the bike like a drag racer, so I never experienced the problem, but the guy who bought the bike from me did abuse it, and complained to me after the fact that it was having problems (sold used, as-is, it was his fault in any case). The only other issue I ever had was that, due to the power of the motor, the cush-drive in the rear wheel (blocks of rubber that cushion the shock from the drivetrain under acceleration) had worn out, and I had to replace it.
So that's a glimpse at some interesting older bikes. I'm hoping to get another big bike soon. I contemplated getting a Duke, but it just didn't "click" for me when I test-rode it, so I'm bypassing it. I'm getting older now, so I can't fold myself onto a sport bike like I used to be able to, so I'm hoping against hope that I can round up the financing for a VMAX.
, however here is a write up on the 1990 GSXR 750 with power jets:
Comment