Here's the new ride
Rocket gone, or has a new brother?
Cliff's Cycles KTM
NETRA enduro B-vet
Close your eyes, look deep in your soul, step outside yourself and let your mind go.
Love it. A classic design
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using Tapatalk
Now that's a motorcycle.
-Christian LRRS/CCS HasBeen ECK Racing
2011 Pit Bike Race CHAMPION!
Rocket gone but I bought it cheap and traded it for basically what I paid for it.
My wife hit the nail on the head when she commented that everything about the rocket just looked like hard work.
By far the best looking of the retro classics. It baffles me to this day why they haven't sold more.
Usual Honda issues, price, not-overwhelming specs. But like Hondas, everything works together to produce a motorcycle that is easy to ride at any pace.Originally Posted by dankatz
I looked at both the Triumph Bonneville T120 and the BMW r-nine t. The BMW was sportier, but cramped and a not really retro. The Triumph, like the Rocket I had, was classic in all the right ways but mechanically rougher. Hondas have always felt finished and tighter to me.
Interesting you mentioned the T120. I rented one from Eagle Rider in Las Vegas for 24 hours. I enjoyed the ease of use, torque and relaxed style. It's good to know the Honda is all of that plus more.
those twins have a lot of appeal, but there’s something (for me) about a Honda i4 running like a Swiss watch that is just unique.
Love it! Dying to know your riding impressions. Five or six speed?
6
Let me get some more miles on it and see how it feels after a little break in.
Saw one being rolled around GBM today when I stopped by to get my VFR800 (5th gen) inspected. Was definitely a handsome beast in the flesh. Your comment about the "sum of parts" outweighing the specs is really spot on for the VFR800 and so many Honda bikes. The VFR sure isn't "fast," but she's got a good chassis, excellent brakes (preferences for linked or de-linked aside, the OE setup works well), smooth engine and the gearbox is absolute perfection... which combined together just leave you with so little things to complain about... you just enjoy riding.
Congrats on the bike! I love my ZRX too much for anything else in that vein, but it sure is a bit of a different beast (at least after all the modding...). I'm gonna leave the Veefer close to stock, and think Honda's do very well when mostly left alone... a lesson I don't always follow... lol
CCS/LRRS #83
That was me, I saw you parking your vFR and stopped to admire it. That exact bike was my first sport bike and yours is in amazing condition
Here is the compare with the 2017 model
Retro Roadster Shootout 2017 - Motorcycle.com
Humans have a basic shape and these accommodate them
Rode Vstrom 2000 miles no problem
Ride 2001 VFR for 1 hr and neck and arms hurts
Retros or for us OLD UJM are for normal human physiology
The calculus of hate
It is not that I should win it is that you should lose
It is not that I succeed it is that you fail
It is not that I should live it is that you should die
I love the update to this Honda. That paint is second to none. Good choice. I picked up a Retro Roadster at the end of last season. What is funny is it seems to be the bike I ride the most this season. I ended up with the BMW RnineT Urban G/S.
Something about the simplicity of the bike appeals to me. The power is surprising in that it wheelies in 2nd gear like a supermoto. The brakes are great for a retro. The motor has character. Yet the ride is so raw. I love it. I find it to be a perfect back road bike and it can blast on the highway without complaint.
We may have to meet up for "The Distinguished Gentleman's Ride" YouTube
Last edited by ducatirdr; 07-19-18 at 06:18 AM.
Send cash... I need a track day
The R9T is a fast bike. I raced against Nate Kern on his 9T last weekend. He blew my doors off. I was on an SV. I think I saw him wheelie it in every gear. LOL
Paul_E_D
In that compare I posted, the 9T is certainly the fastest and “raw-est”. I looked hard at them and it would be choice for a backroad ripper in the retro style.
Nice to see the CB1100 getting some love. I had a 2014 black motor, no ABS but 6 speed, and the “Swiss watch” description is right on. Just ultimately too heavy for my purposes.
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-Jared
ZX-4RR, R1200GSW, 701 E/SM, Hyperstrada 821 (FS!)
good platform for racing
Last edited by nt650hawk; 07-19-18 at 08:42 AM.
Gino
HAWK GT Racer Expert #929
2012 CCS LRRS ULSB Champion
2012 CCS LRRS P89 Champion
2008 CCS ULSB National Champion
ECKRACING Bridgestone Street & Competition Woodcraft MOTUL On Track Media Pine Motorparts Vanson Leathers
Well damn man, wish we'd made the connection in person!! Thank you about my VFR, I've often trolled for 5th gens especially as the prices have come down a bit... found this one with under 11k miles all stock and couldn't say no! After a chain and head-bearings, she feels like a brand new bike!
CCS/LRRS #83
My dad bought a Bonneville T120 last fall and I rode it when I was visiting for Thanksgiving. Really nice bike. They took just about everything that was right about the earlier air-cooled Bonneville and improved on it -- good handling, character, very nice power, great looks. Even the stock suspension is surprisingly decent. The one mistake I think they made was moving from the 360-degree crank Triumph has traditionally used to a 270-degree crank. This delivers a lopier engine feel, more like a V-Twin, and a more irregular exhaust note, presumably to appeal to the V-Twin crowd -- but for long-time Britbike enthusiasts like me, it just doesn't feel or sound like a Bonneville anymore. Terrific bike to be sure, and I'd love to own one, but it would be that little bit better if they'd kept the 360 crank.
That said, I've also never particularly cared for I-4 motors, so the Triumph really appeals to me more than the Honda.
It's nice that the market for "retro" bikes (or what I like to call motorcycle-flavored motorcycles) is growing to the point that it's being addressed by multiple manufacturers. So we've got the Bonneville, the CB, the Ducati Scrambler series, the various Royal Enfields (including an upcoming twin), the BMW R NineT series, and now even Kawasaki is coming out with one, the Z900RS (actually one of the best-looking of the lot, IMO).
I think there's a lot to be said for keeping things simple. My Bonneville (one of the earlier air-cooled ones) is reliable, basic, easy to maintain (valve check takes like half an hour), looks great, and is lots of fun to ride. It has a way of distilling riding down into a very elemental experience, just me, a motor, and the wind. It feels kind of liberating, and completely strips away all the bullshit.
--mark
Last edited by markbvt; 07-27-18 at 08:22 AM.
'20 Triumph Tiger 900 Rally Pro / '19 Triumph Scrambler 1200 XE / '11 Triumph Tiger 800 XC / '01 Triumph Bonneville cafe
My ride reports: Missile silos, Labrador, twisties, and more
Bennington Triumph Bash, Oct 1-3, 2021
That red is the same on that the vfr1200s were painted it. that color was fucking gorgeous.
How are you liking it?
Your park avenue leads to..
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