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Message started by engineer on 01/27/18 at 10:05:28

Title: Cleveland mc show
Post by engineer on 01/27/18 at 10:05:28

A fairly large motorcycle show is in progress at the Cleveland IX Center. I went there yesterday afternoon when it first opened and enjoyed meeting lots of senior riders, many older than me and looking for new motorcycles. I’ve been thinking of replacing my Guzzi with a newer bike that has ABS brakes and traction control so I wanted to see some of the new "middle weight" bikes with ABS etc.

Among the bikes I wanted to see were the new Royal Enfields, the 650 twins and that 400cc adventure touring bike. The good news is they expect to sell the twins this summer at a price just under $6500. The new twin engine looked good with nicely polished cases but I was disappointed in some of the chassis details like the chain guard and fenders which were plastic. I know, no big deal but somehow it didn’t seem right and it wasn’t the greatest looking plastic. The rear shocks looked way too light for a 650 but since these were pre-production show bikes maybe the production ones will be better.

The new Yamaha FX-07 that is retro styled to resemble the old XS 650 is light weight but too tall for me with a seat height of 32 ½ inches. I watched an older guy trying out the the seating on the new Versys 300 and he almost dropped it trying to get on. There were lots of old guys in that crowd and one of the salesman said they love seeing the old guys there because they are the buyers. Unfortunately the manufacturers don’t make many bikes for us. Most seem too tall, too heavy or require a cramped up riding position. Maybe it's not the bikes but our old worn out bodies that's the problem. Anyway it was a fairly good show.

Title: Re: Cleveland mc show
Post by Ruttly on 01/27/18 at 22:12:07

What do you do when they don't make a bike you want to buy ?
Build a Savage into what you like !
In the next couple of years we should be seeing a better selection of imports that might better suit our aging grumpy buttts !

Title: Re: Cleveland mc show
Post by jcstokes on 01/28/18 at 00:20:00

With the utmost respect to Ruttly, the stock Savage/LS650/S40, should work ok for most 50 to 80 year old riders. If you want to modify the seat height, do so. If you want longer rear shocks for comfort. you will raise the seat height and your stumpy legs may find it harder to swing over the seat. I recently watched a 90 year old rider mounting some Matchless/Norton/AJS thingy, he mounted ok, but had to have someone push it off the centre stand, once someone had kicked it over and got it running.

Title: Re: Cleveland mc show
Post by antmanbee on 01/28/18 at 04:26:57

Engineer,

What Guzzi do you have? I have had several Guzzi's going back 40 years. They are my favorite.

Title: Re: Cleveland mc show
Post by zipidachimp on 01/28/18 at 09:39:15

the only bike at the Vancouver show, not a cruiser, that didn't hurt my knees was a guzzi v7, and wonder of wonders, only 400 lbs! 8-)

Title: Re: Cleveland mc show
Post by engineer on 01/28/18 at 09:53:26

antmanbee: I have a 750 ie Nevada touring model, basically a smallblock V7 with dual throttle bodies. I built a new higher and softer seat for it that resembles the seats on 60's and 70's bikes and I made offset brackets to lower the pegs by 1 inch to get a little more leg room. I stripped off the chrome plated plastic "air intakes", the metal side brackets on the sides of the rear fender and some other stuff. The rear shocks were hard so I installed Hagons. There are only about 5000 miles on it and it has a windshield so it is my cold weather bike.

I'll keep my Savage as long as I can ride but I do like a twin for highway speeds. My biggest problem with it is locking up those Brembo brakes, I need ABS because I can't break the old habit of grabbing the brakes for everything I'm worth in an emergency stop.

Title: Re: Cleveland mc show
Post by engineer on 01/28/18 at 10:01:21

The sharpest looking bike at that show was the new Kawaski Z900RS with the red and black paint scheme, beautiful bike. Seat height is 31.5 and it weighs about 470 lbs. If I were younger I would want one of those in a bad way.

Title: Re: Cleveland mc show
Post by justin_o_guy2 on 01/28/18 at 10:28:16

There are only about 5000 miles on it and it has a windshield so it is my col

That's when mine stopped using oil.
I'm short, but those stock pegs are Way too high for old knees. I had a center stand, which nearly caused a crash. It got on the asphalt and it went sideways a bit before I got it rounded up.

Title: Re: Cleveland mc show
Post by antmanbee on 01/28/18 at 18:57:25

73717A7178717D67140 wrote:

I can see wanting ABS. Possibly replace the Guzzi with another Guzzi like the V7 III which has the ABS and probably a better peg/handlebar setup than the Nevada. The V7 is just a little bit more heavy (20-30lbs) than the Savage and with an extra 20HP.
You could change your pads on the Nevada to a different material to make it so more force is required to lock them. Most riders are looking to make their brakes more sensitive not less.

Title: Re: Cleveland mc show
Post by Dave on 01/29/18 at 04:46:38

75777C777E777B61120 wrote:

My biggest problem with it is locking up those Brembo brakes, I need ABS because I can't break the old habit of grabbing the brakes for everything I'm worth in an emergency stop.

I am sure ABS would solve that problem - but you might try practicing panic stops so you learn how to "squeeze" the brake lever/pedal and increase pressure as the weight transfer occurs.

You might also try changing to a different compound brake pad. I had tried a EBC X pad (red)....and they required more force to operate and may help to make your brakes less sensitive. (My Honda ST11100 had a horribly touchy rear brake, and it would lock up far too easily).

https://ebcbrakes.com/product/carbon-x-or-tt-brakes/