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Motorcycle Show
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November 16, 2009 at 4:56 am #3567EddiepowerfmParticipant
The Motorcycle show was in Dallas this weekend, what a great time. All I did was the free demo rides. I have been riding for 16 months now but the only bikes I’ve experienced are the Honda Rebel at the MSF class, and that is only on a parking lot for two days. And then I have ridden my 2007 Vulcan 500 for 16 months. Kawasaki, Yamaha, and Spyder were all participating in the demo rides and I test rode the folling bikes;
From Kawasaki the 250 and 650 Ninja, and the 900 Vulcan.
The sport version of the Spyder.
From Yamaha the 650 and 950 V-Star, the FZ6R, and the T-Max scooter for fun.
So I got to experience 8 new bikes. On Saturday I rode the Spyder and the Ninja bikes. Allow me to share about each one.
So much talk about the Ninja 250, so I started with it before working my way up. It was great to ride, I did have to shift thru the gears quickly but it got up to 70mph on the freeway pretty easily. I think if I were financially strapped that I could actually buy one of these to commute on. I would just be careful to stay out of the fast lane if traffic were going 80-90mph. Fun little bike.
I then tried the 650 Ninja and I loved it. It’s real fun but more expensive than my Vulcan 500 and worse gas milage.
I also rode the three wheeled Spyder. A lot of fun and confident feeling with the three wheels. It is a little tough to turn and you do feel like you can fall off. The transmition is cool. It is semi-automatic with no clutch. All you do is push a button to upshift and you do this wile still giving it gas. When you slow down or stop it downshifts all by itself. I would feel safe enough to ride this in the rain but starting at around $16,000 is a bit expensive. Oh ya it has a cool little trunk.
Then on Sunday the last bike I rode was the FZ6R. I liked it the best out of the sport bikes. I don’t understand why they call it a starter bike though.
So Eternal and Megaspaz (and others) I can now better understand your love of sport bikes. If I were a younger man I may have one in my garage, really a lot of fun but not a good feeling on my wrist.
Sorry if this is a little long so I will share about the cruisers later.
Thanks for reading and keep rockin.
November 16, 2009 at 7:03 am #23346Gary856ParticipantCool – the CycleWorld International Motorcycle Shows is coming to San Mateo (San Francisco Bay Area) this weekend. I’m hoping they’ll give test rides here too. How did the test rides work? Did you take a number or had to stand in line? How long did you have to wait to ride a particular bike, how long did they let you ride, where did they let you ride, etc.?
November 16, 2009 at 7:35 am #23347eternal05ParticipantYeah, I’m not going to pretend they’re less comfortable than other alternatives, but the specific wrist issue you’re experiencing is probably due to your lack of familiarity with sportbike body positioning. You figure out how to keep weight off your hands very quickly once you start riding.
That said, I’m looking to get a more upright-positioned bike for riding around town myself, so I can absolutely sympathize with your feelings about comfort, etc.
November 16, 2009 at 4:12 pm #23355EddiepowerfmParticipantWe had to go to the company tent and sign up for a time. Depending on how many people wanted to ride that bike meant you had a long or short wait. It could be 15 minutes or two hours. So once you made your appointments you did not have to be stuck standing in a line like at an amusement park.
The rides were guided and were about 20 minutes each. They had two guides with radio communicators. One would lead and the other would follow. If the group got split, the second guide would lead till the group was recombined. They had a planned route which did include some short highway times, but not Spyder. One of the Spyder employees said their insurance did not allow for highway riding. Maybe if you went to a dealer but we were riding in groups of 4-10.
The rides were free but it was really worth the time because it was not just a ride around the block or in a parking lot.
November 16, 2009 at 4:15 pm #23356EddiepowerfmParticipantMonday morning and I am day dreaming of another spin on a FZ6R or Ninja.
November 16, 2009 at 5:22 pm #23357eternal05Participant…this is how it starts
November 16, 2009 at 10:18 pm #23361EddiepowerfmParticipantOK on Sunday I test rode cruisers. Again I have a Vulcan 500 so I started by test driving the;
V-Star 650 and I really liked it. Okc I really like your bike. I have read that it does not have as many valves per cylinder as the 500 Vulcan but I thought it felt smooth, great, and light. It did not rev as high on the highway as my bike. I would not mind having one of these at all. The only thing I did not like was it was easy to scrape the floor boards wile leaning. The Yamaha employee said i should ride the V-Star 950 instead. And I later would.
But first was the Kawasaki 900. Munch you are so right to have bought this bike, I absolutely loved it. Great smooth power, well balanced. It is teriffic. I want it.
Then back to the Yamaha tent to ride the V-Star 950. Again great power, I liked it but I like the Vulcan 900 better.
Then just for fun I rode the T-Max scooter from Yamaha. It was fun and with the windshield and comfortable seating it felt like I could ride from state to state on it. It is a little pricey though, so I would use the money on a motorcycle.
So I had a great weekend at the Motorcycle show. See if it is coming your way at http://www.motorcycleshows.com
Keep Rockin
November 16, 2009 at 10:23 pm #23362Gary856ParticipantEddie, thanks for the feedback on demo rides. Good to know they have a system worked out and you didn’t have to wait in line for it. I’m still having a hard time picturing how they can accomodate all the riders. I mean, there’s got to be a lot of people, and who wouldn’t want to take a FREE demo ride? I’m surprised that they don’t charge at leat a small fee for the demo ride so only people who are serious about the bike would take it. I mean, I’d be perfectly willing to pay 10 or 20 bucks for a 20 min demo ride, but I’d be more selective on which bike to take if I had to pay for the ride.
November 16, 2009 at 11:02 pm #23364MunchParticipantGlad you agree with it! The 900 is an amazing bike especially being considered as a mid weight tourer. Once you own one, if you haven’t already come to the conclusion, you will be happy that you started on the 500 first.
I absolutely would recommend the 900 to anyone looking for that next step up!November 17, 2009 at 2:10 am #23372okcponyParticipantHey Eddie, thanks for the nice report on all the rides. Not often does one get an opportunity to try such a wide variety of bikes. Thanks for the nice words about my V-Star,too. I had a Rebel first and moved up to this in June, so I hope to keep it for awhile. However, I still look at all the other bikes out here and think about what I might like down the road (pun intended!). Why did the Yamaha guy recommend trying the 950 over the 650 in regard to scraping the floorboards? Those Spyders are neat looking; kind of a reverse trike, I guess.
November 17, 2009 at 3:50 am #23375JtownJJAParticipantAll I can say is consider yourself lucky, man. I get my show in Cleveland during the last week of January… There won’t be any demo rides there, for sure. I’m jealous! I’m always trying to talk my wife into moving to Texas. You just gave me another great reason.
I would have really enjoyed trying out the Ninja 650 and the Yamaha FZ6R. I may have given the TMax a try as well. It looks pretty cool… for a scooter. Especially in the Yellow, but I agree, it is pricey, and it doesn’t get as good mpg as I would like. Thanks for sharing your experience with us!
Oh yes… another big question for you. Did Suzuki have any 2010’s at the show?November 17, 2009 at 3:14 pm #23379AParticipantWhat? no KTM? no BMW test rides?
November 17, 2009 at 4:30 pm #23380briderdtParticipantNo test rides there either.
November 17, 2009 at 7:25 pm #23385EddiepowerfmParticipantWell there were all the brands inside the convention center but out at the demo ride area only Kawasaki, Yamaha, and Spyder were there. I would like to have tried the new Honda NT700 too.
November 18, 2009 at 3:02 am #23391owlieParticipantThat sounds like a blast. I’m with JTown- one more reason to try to convince my sweetie to move back to the lower 48.
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