(Reasonably available) bikes you’d like to own!

[swooshdave]

4 hours ago, Nihontochicken said:

Not looking to buy any longer, too old, too tired to wrench a lot (so why do I have a V11?), too little available garage space.  Just look on them with nostalgic fantasy, kinda like the prom queen. 

Location says LA, where abouts are you now?

[po18guy]

On 10/14/2019 at 12:55 PM, Nihontochicken said:

Not likely now to score any of the below, though I do have a 2004 V11 Sport Naked consolation prize in lieu of number three.  My grail bikes in decreasing order of beauty:

 

Always had a special place in my heart for the chrome tank Oily Enfield Interceptor. From the monstrous engine w/massive flywheels, to the jaunty angle of the mufflers to the cheeky little kick up at the tail of the seat...

[swooshdave]

3 hours ago, po18guy said:

Always had a special place in my heart for the chrome tank Oily Enfield Interceptor. From the monstrous engine w/massive flywheels, to the jaunty angle of the mufflers to the cheeky little kick up at the tail of the seat...

The new 650 is pretty close.

[po18guy]

And, with the ever-so-popular 270º crank, it has the classic sound of a...

...Guzzi. I wonder if they engineered some valve clatter into it?

[luhbo]

7 hours ago, swooshdave said:

The new 650 is pretty close.

ahem … no. Not really. Maybe the colour scheme, some black, some chrome. If you see it alone, you could say it's a motorcycle, but below a real one 'disapointing' is the least what comes to my mind. Cringey rather … Sorry if it sounds too negative, must be the confrontation with the original 

[po18guy]

The world is full of critics. I know this because I am one. This bike has been aimed at a cost-sensitive market. Good for business, but bad for the bike. Honestly, in my mind,  to wear he legendary name of Interceptor, it should be a true 750cc and have USD forks and dual floating discs.

[luhbo]

Yes, it's not easy to be objective. The V7/V9 have a similar problem. While I'm looking down on them from my Tontis or from the V11 I think of them as a sort of toy bikes. Do I see them live, through the front screen for instance, I think of them as nice and grown bikes, different but well done nonetheless. I hope they'll sell lots of them, same for the Continental/Interceptor.

But still, this egg shaped cylinders were a grasp in the loo

[stewgnu]

But still- a damn fine looking motorcycle no?  I think they’ve done a fine job of balancing classic design and modern improvements.  I doubt it’ll leak oil.  Should handle well. I hadn’t noticed the eggy case till you mention it! But how sweet is the rest of it?

[Nihontochicken]

21 hours ago, swooshdave said:

Location says LA, where abouts are you now?

Escaped West El Lay after high school in 1967, went to the San Diego area when it was nice.  But then coastal North SD County was trashed by the developers in a metastatic southern migration from Orange County in 1976-80 while I was out of state in the Navy, so I then relocated to SLO Town (San Luis Obispo), at that time relatively unknown to me, but found clean air and low population density charm that had been eradicated in So. Cal.  Been a great 40 years, but the cancerous real estate development feeding frenzy has finally hit here.  Big developments used to be 50 to100 units or so, now the numbers are ten times that large.  Sorry for the unrequested rant, but I'm really pissed off by the current So. Californication of this once beautiful community.  Then again, by the time it's thoroughly effed over, I'll likely be past worrying. 

[Chuck]

2 hours ago, stewgnu said:

But still- a damn fine looking motorcycle no?  I think they’ve done a fine job of balancing classic design and modern improvements.  I doubt it’ll leak oil.  Should handle well. I hadn’t noticed the eggy case till you mention it! But how sweet is the rest of it?

It *is* a damn fine looking motorcycle. I haven't seen one in the flesh, much less ridden one.. but.. if I were in the market for a smaller bike, I'd have a close look.

Oh, I remember the old Royal Enfields well.. and I don't want to revisit them.

[footgoose]

these come up for sale every so often for 3 - 5k (reasonable in my world) I'd like to have one

 

[docc]

23 minutes ago, footgoose said:

these come up for sale every so often for 3 - 5k (reasonable in my world) I'd like to have one

 

Truly! Same for me for the 916 . . . might have missed my window as they cheaped-out . . .

[LowRyter]

916 isn't cheap, even if you get one free.  Think about $2k (or more) for a complete service.  Then add  typical routine service. 

[Lucky Phil]

4 hours ago, LowRyter said:

916 isn't cheap, even if you get one free.  Think about $2k (or more) for a complete service.  Then add  typical routine service. 

Why would you be silly enough to pay someone to service the 916. If you can service a Guzzi V11 you can service a 916. The Desmo system is a bit fiddly but its not rocket surgery. Hell i've been doing them for 35 years so it cant be that hard.

Ciao

[LowRyter]

10 hours ago, Lucky Phil said:

Why would you be silly enough to pay someone to service the 916. If you can service a Guzzi V11 you can service a 916. The Desmo system is a bit fiddly but its not rocket surgery. Hell i've been doing them for 35 years so it cant be that hard.

Ciao

Phil, the 916 is only 25 years old.   So it's doubtful that you've been working on them for 35.  My point wasn't only concerning Desmo Ducs in general, it's what I've been told about the 916 specifically.  For example, the local Duc guy here removes the 916 (996) engine as a first step, then the heads to adjust the valves.  The upgrade for the valve train was $2200 in parts for longer service interval.  It's not unusual for an expensive bill and the service intervals are pretty short, perhaps better with upgraded valve train parts.

I realize that many here are DIY guys but some of us aren't.  So I suppose the 916 would be a great acquisition for you.  These bikes were pretty cheap 10-15 years ago, recently I've seen them come up in price perhaps after the supply of bikes have diminished and the remaining ones have been upgraded.  

For me, I'm not going to tackle my 939 SS for the 18k service.  There are however, kits that can be leased with tools, consumables and instructions for garage DIY-ers.