The philosophy is sound, however he picked the wrong motorcycle brand; he will never know what it's really like!!!

[p6x]

 

[LowRyter]

I haven't ridden one but they are very light lifting off the kickstand.  110hp, on par with my 937 Duc and Yamaha 900 triple.  Since I haven't ridden, don't know about comfort, handing and power delivery.  (aka "feel")

[footgoose]

Pleasant video. I couldn't tell if he is thinking of downsizing from or to the Zed. Or if his concern is physical size or power. Maybe both.?

I've been downsizing ever since a gust of wind blew over my precariously parked 600lb K1200RS. The Guzzi is now my only remaining weighty vice. Only 450lb or (much) less weight bikes are my future. The new Triumph Scrambler 400 X has my attention. I like the Enfields. My most insanely fun bike was a DRZ 400SM. I thought it might kill me so I sold it.

[gstallons]

No way , why did you get rid of something that perfect ?  I had a K100RS and still regret my decision to let it go ! It was the most neutral bike I ever owned. 

[Pressureangle]

The thing that strikes me about this video, and so many others, is that the notion of 100 horsepower being something less than fast, is ridiculous to the point of being absurd.

My '87 Suzuki GSXR 750 had probably 90 horsepower, and ridden to it's limit *on track* was terrifying. So the remaining 110 horsepower of todays superbikes is simply wishful thinking and posturing under the pants-covered ego of anyone riding them on public roads.

It's not so much about downsizing your bike, it's about downsizing your presentation and focusing on your personal reward from riding.

My Aermacchi 350, at ...um... maybe 35 horsepower, is the most fun to ride in my entire garage. No, it won't go cross-country comfortably. No, it won't handle 90mph sweepers like a locomotive. (yet) No, it won't power wheelie, it has no brakes, and no, it isn't reliable enough that I take it any farther than I want to Uber back to my motorcycle trailer. (Yet) But it is the most smiles per mile, because it *never* cuts into my fun by being too heavy, or too thirsty, or too pretty with impossible to find parts to worry about crashing off of it. This is why it's on my keepers list.

There's a huge fun reward in driving a motorcycle to it's limits, and when those limits are attainable (and exceedable, be careful) on public roads without breaking many if any laws those rewards come with little or no consequences.

[GuzziMoto]

1 hour ago, footgoose said:

Pleasant video. I couldn't tell if he is thinking of downsizing from or to the Zed. Or if his concern is physical size or power. Maybe both.?

I've been downsizing ever since a gust of wind blew over my precariously parked 600lb K1200RS. The Guzzi is now my only remaining weighty vice. Only 450lb or (much) less weight bikes are my future. The new Triumph Scrambler 400 X has my attention. I like the Enfields. My most insanely fun bike was a DRZ 400SM. I thought it might kill me so I sold it.

I still miss my DRZ400SM. I even had a dirt set of wheels / tires for it, along with a big bore kit and card. It was a hoot.

[footgoose]

I was getting to know my K1200rs on my first spirited ride with it and fellow vacationers on the beautiful stream-side roads in North Carolina one fall day. Flat, but pretty twisty, 60ish mph +/- and I was at the tail of a 6 rider line. I thought I was doing pretty well keeping up with more seasoned sport riders. I was surprised when out of nowhere I was passed (with extreme prejudice) by 3 loud single cyl motards with riders standing on the pegs as they swept and in and out and passed us all. I recall thinking "I should re-evaluate my priorities maybe"

Edited Friday at 07:08 PM by footgoose

[Pressureangle]

2 minutes ago, footgoose said:

I was getting to know my K1200rs on my first spirited ride with it and fellow vacationers on the beautiful stream-side roads in North Carolina one fall day. Flat, but pretty twisty, 60ish +/- and I was at the tail of a 6 rider line. I thought I was doing pretty well keeping up with more seasoned sport riders. I was surprised when out of nowhere I was passed (with extreme prejudice) by 3 loud single cyl motards with riders standing on the pegs as they swept and in and out and passed us all. I recall thinking "I should re-evaluate my priorities maybe"

Right? Then, there's this gray area of capability; that of the motorcycle, and that of *me*.  If the motorcycle is easy to go very fast on, and doesn't have any bad habits before it gets to the end of *my* capability, that can be a recipe for trouble. I'd absolutely love to have a hypermotard bike, but I probably never will because the temptation is very high to do things I probably never should have, and probably haven't been able to for decades. 

Truly, my next purchase is probably a good used trials bike. Great fun, slowly. 

[footgoose]

1 minute ago, Pressureangle said:

Right? Then, there's this gray area of capability; that of the motorcycle, and that of *me*.  If the motorcycle is easy to go very fast on, and doesn't have any bad habits before it gets to the end of *my* capability, that can be a recipe for trouble. I'd absolutely love to have a hypermotard bike, but I probably never will because the temptation is very high to do things I probably never should have, and probably haven't been able to for decades. 

Truly, my next purchase is probably a good used trials bike. Great fun, slowly. 

perfectly describes why I sold the DRZ, even though it was the DR 650 that threw me down, jumped on me, and broke my leg. The one I didn't sell. 

I'll never learn.

 

[audiomick]

@p6x : regarding having chose the wrong brand, listen (again) carefully at around 5:03 where he says "or my Moto Guzzi Griso"...

 

As far as the philosophy goes, yes, he hit the nail on the head.

I too have experienced the value of  a bike with "no power". My V35 Imola. The handling is good for its age. The motor claims to make about 30 h.p., but probably doesn't really do even that. That bike fits perfectly to what he said about "thrashing the bike without getting too far into illegal". Fantastic. And it is beautiful into the bargain.

I don't need to tell anyone here about the joys of the V11, I expect. Still, it is "too fast" for public roads, actually. It seems to be happy about 140 km/h, and that is 40 more than legal, and definitely fast enough to get into trouble a bit too quickly. Still, even though it has lots of issues to be fixed, I'll be keeping it.

The one that surprised me is the Breva 750 i.e. . I'm still not quite sure about the looks. The seating position is too upright for my taste, and it will get some clip-ons at some point because of that. Despite that, the thing is really good fun to ride. Moderate in all things, but just nice.

[Lucky Phil]

Until you step down the power ladder you don't realise just how unimportant big power really is. I've said for the last 30 years (after I spent 2 days blasting around the streets of Rome Italy on a hired scooter having and absolute ball) that more than 100hp on a road bike is a total waste and in all probability a handicap to most and a burden to some. The Honda CBR600 was just a perfect road sports bike. Plenty fast enough, reliable, light, but a bit characterless and bland I'll admit. I remember the 80's and 90's when manufacturers were driven by the American obsession with 1/4 mile times and I was riding an 85hp Bevel drive Ducati. The 1/4 mile times and HP figures interested me not a jot and thankfully the 1/4 mile time focus has shifted as has ignoring making a bike light weight. 

The scooter memories and education fades over the years but the Enfield 650 has brought the "HP perspective" back again.  

Phil

 

Edited Saturday at 11:22 PM by Lucky Phil

[Scud]

Nice video... you mentioned in your title that he "picked the wrong brand" and I assume you mean he missed Moto Guzzi. But just after 5:00 in the video he says "...or my Moto Guzzi Griso which, of course, I love as well - for the same reasons as the Kawasaki."  Then he reveals that he loves riding his 400cc Husaberg close to the limit, and admires his friends' 650 and 350 Royal Enfields and how much fun they are.

I had a lovely 150 romp on the Stelvio today. Brought back a half case of wine from Doffo in Temecula and about 40 pounds of oranges, grapefruit, and avocado. I rather like the big 1200cc lump in that bike and ability to carry loads of stuff and a passenger, even at extra-legal speeds (aka the flow of traffic). In no way did it make me miss any of my past BMWs (R100CS, K75s, R1100RT). I did wave to a few BMWs today, but the most memorable wave was to the rider of a red Moto Guzzi V85.

You got me thinking back to the 1980s... I was on a 1985 Yamaha FJ1100. That was the fastest damn thing I had ever ridden at the time. I went back to look up the specs. It had *only* 125 horsepower. Maybe memories change things, but those must have been some buff ponies.

[audiomick]

48 minutes ago, Lucky Phil said:

Until you step down the power ladder you don't realise just how unimportant big power really is.

That's it.

About a year ago, in the process of rationalising getting rid of the GTR 1000 to myself, I did a back-to-back ride over a stretch of road heading north out of Leipzig. The GTR 1000 on the one hand (about 91 hp, 290 kg) and the V35 Imola on the other (something less than 30 hp, around 170 kg). I came to the conclusion that I wasn't using the extra 60 hp on the Kawasaki, even taking the extra weight into consideration. A moderately powered bike, as long as it is fairly light, is enough to have immense amounts of fun.

[p6x]

5 hours ago, Scud said:

Nice video... you mentioned in your title that he "picked the wrong brand" and I assume you mean he missed Moto Guzzi. But just after 5:00 in the video he says "...or my Moto Guzzi Griso which, of course, I love as well - for the same reasons as the Kawasaki." 

I know, right? when you have a Guzzi, you can't go riding a Kawasaki. It's a complete different phillosophy.

I think a Guzzi incarnates exactly his thought process. The 900 RS is a modern copy of the Z1, and it does not fit there. I feel it is an anachronism. Now, it is just my personal opinion, and he may not exactly feel the way i do.

 

[Joe]

Having ridden & owned both, Japanese & Italian motorcycles, it boils down to character. Guzzi’s IMO look great and rumble and emit soul every time you ride. My dad bought a 2018 Kawasaki Z900RS in metallic Candy tone Brown/Orange, it sparkled in the sun light. Was set up for torque so only 110HP, making it a very street-able rider. The stainless 4-1 exhaust, wheels, and overall fit and finish was excellent. He traded at the KY Guzzi rally w Carl (Gateway) for a brand new Blue 23 V7 Special. Also beautiful, oozing w Guzzi character that he doesn’t ride due to the transmission, full of um…character, I.e. clunky 1st to 2nd upshifts, which must have been assembled on a Friday. I would own both bikes and be happy, even dad’s V7 with transmission issues, but I think the guy in the video likes the distinctly smooth running, Japanese made, um… character-less Z900RS.