Wigwam Jones
03-31-2019, 12:47 PM
Howdy folks, and Happy New Year a bit late!
When I joined the forum, I was about to plump for a Hawk or Hawk-ish type bike, but I ended up stumbling across a great deal on a 73 Honda SL125 and things changed.
So...my current situation...
I ended up leaving my job of many years at a major Detroit auto manufacturer, due to recent events. I found another one though, so that's good. However, goodbye to those yearly performance bonuses; they sure were nice and I'll miss them.
My current stable is my 1982 Yamaha SR250. A carbon-copy of the one I owned back in 1982 and road all over the country with as a stupid and semi-indestructible young man. And the aforementioned 73 Honda SL125.
The Yamaha needs a camshaft, and I've been putting off opening it up. The Honda is in top nick. I've rebuilt the carb and taught myself how to replace tires and tubes (OK, so the new tube has a few patches on it, I used the 'spoons' backwards).
Michigan insurance is a mighty pain. Every street-registered vehicle has to pay into a catastrophic insurance fund, which is unique to Michigan, and that is paid for through your insurance bill but does not include the insurance itself. For 2019, that's $220 per vehicle. Cars, motorcycles, tanks, it doesn't matter. I've got three cars and two motorcycles. That's $1100 a year not including the actual insurance. All told, we pay $4800 a year in vehicle insurance. Insane.
OK, so I said all that to explain what I'm pondering...
I want to reduce the motorcycle herd to just one bike. I love my Honda but I don't really have a use-case for it. No trails near me and I'm not into trucking my bike hundreds of miles to play in the dirt. Not my thing. So I want to sell it. Now is a good time to get it tidied up and ready to go.
I also don't really want to keep my Yamaha. It's my retro first-love bike, but even in good nick, it doesn't keep up. When I had my original, I weighed quite a bit less and we had a national 55mph speed limit (remember those days?). It will not go 75mph even under the best of circumstances. I am on the fence about selling it as-is at a loss or fixing it up and selling it. But either way, I'm done with it, and I think I may just drop the insurance and plates and let it sit in the garage for me to putter around with or something.
So, time to buy another bike. Here's my requirements:
1) Highway speed-capable, although I'm not that big on riding on Michigan's lousy interstates at 75mph plus. Just want to be able to if I have to.
2) Classic styling. You'll see what I mean in a minute, but think UJM and classic Brit bike and you'll have the general idea.
3) Warranty. I don't mind wrenching bikes, but I have spent more time turning wrenches than riding and at my age, that's not that much fun anymore. I'd like to just be able to get on and ride and do the usual maintenance.
Here is my short list. It was quite a bit shorter, but then some last-minute additions popped up.
1) Royal Enfield Classic 500. The single-thumper from India. We have two dealers here in the Detroit area, prices from $5500 not including the usual dealer prep, taxes, etc. No problems doing highway speeds, but not the ton without some work. Three year warranty. I *love* the look. This bike really does it for me. It was pretty much my choice some new choices popped up.
2) Yamaha SR400. Kind of a bigger version of my SR250. Pretty much straight UJM design. Kick start only kind of sucks, IMHO. Will do highway speeds, if only just.
3) Suzuki TU250X. The Tux is a classic. Side-by-side looks so much like my SR250 it's amazing. Great reviews. Reasonable price. Not for highway use without some serious tweaking, it seems.
New choices:
4) Genuine Motorcycles (ex Genuine Scooters) G400C. I thought this one was never going to show up in reality, but apparently it has finally showed up. Good-looking bike, UJM styling for sure, great price ($4500 plus the usual), 2 year warranty. Will do highway speeds if only just. Reports indicate a bigger front sprocket might get it to the ton. Light bike, so side-winds might keep speeds lower for safety. Made in China by Shineray, sole as the MASH 400 and other brands in the UK and elsewhere. 2 year warranty.
5) Sym CR300i. Made in Taiwan. I was really interested in the SYM Wolf Classic, but after riding my Honda SL125 for a couple years, I realize that's just not big/fast enough for me. I'm not a fan of huge bikes, but the 150 is too small. The CR300i seems like a sorta-kinda older style Honda Rebel, maybe. Sort of a cross between UJM and Cafe design. I don't really dig it all that much, but it's not horrible. I could maybe live with it. Says it will do over 85mph, maybe it will because it's water-cooled? Not sure. This whole thing is a question mark for me, but I understand that SYM is a well-respected Taiwanese maker.
6) CSC. Oh man. The CSC bikes make me happy, but I'm not seeing what I really really want. The SG250 is the design I like, but the RX4 is the kind of displacement and power I'd like. The RX4 is definitely not the look I care for. Even back when I was going to buy a Hawk, I was just going to strip it down and try to make a street bike out of it. I just don't care for the ADV look. I totally appreciate the design for the functionality it requires, it just doesn't get my rpms up, if you know what I mean.
7) Every other kind of used bike. I know I can get all kinds of used Hondas, Yamahas, Kawasakis, Suzukis and even the odd H-D for much less money, but IMHO, I'll have to spend time getting them good for riding and trustworthy, and they'll still break, because they're old. Newer used bikes just don't usually have that style I want. Zero interest in a crotch-rocket.
So that's it. I am really up in the air about what to get. I will have to make some kind of decisions soon - it's nearly riding season here in SE Michigan.
So I'm open to your thoughts. FWIW, I'm looking to spend no more than 5~6K USD tops, I'm 58 years old this year, 5-10 with a 31 inch inseam, 230 lbs, just your regular 2XL kinda guy. Lots of experience riding, but I did take a 25 year hiatus. Been back riding for 3 or 4 years now.
When I joined the forum, I was about to plump for a Hawk or Hawk-ish type bike, but I ended up stumbling across a great deal on a 73 Honda SL125 and things changed.
So...my current situation...
I ended up leaving my job of many years at a major Detroit auto manufacturer, due to recent events. I found another one though, so that's good. However, goodbye to those yearly performance bonuses; they sure were nice and I'll miss them.
My current stable is my 1982 Yamaha SR250. A carbon-copy of the one I owned back in 1982 and road all over the country with as a stupid and semi-indestructible young man. And the aforementioned 73 Honda SL125.
The Yamaha needs a camshaft, and I've been putting off opening it up. The Honda is in top nick. I've rebuilt the carb and taught myself how to replace tires and tubes (OK, so the new tube has a few patches on it, I used the 'spoons' backwards).
Michigan insurance is a mighty pain. Every street-registered vehicle has to pay into a catastrophic insurance fund, which is unique to Michigan, and that is paid for through your insurance bill but does not include the insurance itself. For 2019, that's $220 per vehicle. Cars, motorcycles, tanks, it doesn't matter. I've got three cars and two motorcycles. That's $1100 a year not including the actual insurance. All told, we pay $4800 a year in vehicle insurance. Insane.
OK, so I said all that to explain what I'm pondering...
I want to reduce the motorcycle herd to just one bike. I love my Honda but I don't really have a use-case for it. No trails near me and I'm not into trucking my bike hundreds of miles to play in the dirt. Not my thing. So I want to sell it. Now is a good time to get it tidied up and ready to go.
I also don't really want to keep my Yamaha. It's my retro first-love bike, but even in good nick, it doesn't keep up. When I had my original, I weighed quite a bit less and we had a national 55mph speed limit (remember those days?). It will not go 75mph even under the best of circumstances. I am on the fence about selling it as-is at a loss or fixing it up and selling it. But either way, I'm done with it, and I think I may just drop the insurance and plates and let it sit in the garage for me to putter around with or something.
So, time to buy another bike. Here's my requirements:
1) Highway speed-capable, although I'm not that big on riding on Michigan's lousy interstates at 75mph plus. Just want to be able to if I have to.
2) Classic styling. You'll see what I mean in a minute, but think UJM and classic Brit bike and you'll have the general idea.
3) Warranty. I don't mind wrenching bikes, but I have spent more time turning wrenches than riding and at my age, that's not that much fun anymore. I'd like to just be able to get on and ride and do the usual maintenance.
Here is my short list. It was quite a bit shorter, but then some last-minute additions popped up.
1) Royal Enfield Classic 500. The single-thumper from India. We have two dealers here in the Detroit area, prices from $5500 not including the usual dealer prep, taxes, etc. No problems doing highway speeds, but not the ton without some work. Three year warranty. I *love* the look. This bike really does it for me. It was pretty much my choice some new choices popped up.
2) Yamaha SR400. Kind of a bigger version of my SR250. Pretty much straight UJM design. Kick start only kind of sucks, IMHO. Will do highway speeds, if only just.
3) Suzuki TU250X. The Tux is a classic. Side-by-side looks so much like my SR250 it's amazing. Great reviews. Reasonable price. Not for highway use without some serious tweaking, it seems.
New choices:
4) Genuine Motorcycles (ex Genuine Scooters) G400C. I thought this one was never going to show up in reality, but apparently it has finally showed up. Good-looking bike, UJM styling for sure, great price ($4500 plus the usual), 2 year warranty. Will do highway speeds if only just. Reports indicate a bigger front sprocket might get it to the ton. Light bike, so side-winds might keep speeds lower for safety. Made in China by Shineray, sole as the MASH 400 and other brands in the UK and elsewhere. 2 year warranty.
5) Sym CR300i. Made in Taiwan. I was really interested in the SYM Wolf Classic, but after riding my Honda SL125 for a couple years, I realize that's just not big/fast enough for me. I'm not a fan of huge bikes, but the 150 is too small. The CR300i seems like a sorta-kinda older style Honda Rebel, maybe. Sort of a cross between UJM and Cafe design. I don't really dig it all that much, but it's not horrible. I could maybe live with it. Says it will do over 85mph, maybe it will because it's water-cooled? Not sure. This whole thing is a question mark for me, but I understand that SYM is a well-respected Taiwanese maker.
6) CSC. Oh man. The CSC bikes make me happy, but I'm not seeing what I really really want. The SG250 is the design I like, but the RX4 is the kind of displacement and power I'd like. The RX4 is definitely not the look I care for. Even back when I was going to buy a Hawk, I was just going to strip it down and try to make a street bike out of it. I just don't care for the ADV look. I totally appreciate the design for the functionality it requires, it just doesn't get my rpms up, if you know what I mean.
7) Every other kind of used bike. I know I can get all kinds of used Hondas, Yamahas, Kawasakis, Suzukis and even the odd H-D for much less money, but IMHO, I'll have to spend time getting them good for riding and trustworthy, and they'll still break, because they're old. Newer used bikes just don't usually have that style I want. Zero interest in a crotch-rocket.
So that's it. I am really up in the air about what to get. I will have to make some kind of decisions soon - it's nearly riding season here in SE Michigan.
So I'm open to your thoughts. FWIW, I'm looking to spend no more than 5~6K USD tops, I'm 58 years old this year, 5-10 with a 31 inch inseam, 230 lbs, just your regular 2XL kinda guy. Lots of experience riding, but I did take a 25 year hiatus. Been back riding for 3 or 4 years now.