Ruttly wrote on Yesterday at 08:33:52:


People said much the same about Japanese bikes when they started selling them.

zipidachimp wrote on Yesterday at 19:34:50:


How do you ride?  Back Roads, City, Interstate, Mountain roads?

My experience with motorcycles has proven that even a little 250 Ninja can cruise down the interstate at 80 mph at and get the job done - but it doesn't do it in a relaxing way.  The little Ninja was turning 9,000 rpm and getting blown around significantly.  The Ninja 250 was also a blast to ride in the mountains - but the exit of every uphill curve required downshifting 2 or 3 gears if you wanted to accelerate out of the corner.  I would often ride the little Ninja on 300 mile days - a few times I made 500 mile days on the little bike.  (One Ninja 250 Forum owner toured on his and got 83,000 miles on it and the cam chain wore out....and he put in a used low mileage motor as it was cheaper than a rebuild).  Our member Oldrider from Florida had a Ninja 300 and rode if from Florida to Tennessee on Friday, rode with us on Saturday, then on Sunday he rode back to Florida!!!!!!

I rode a friends Honda CB500F in the mountains a couple of years ago.  The bike was an absolute blast to ride, it could easily maintain speed on all the roads, and it was smooth and the gauges said it was getting 83mpg!  The engine happily accelerated through the gears and revved quickly!  The little twin did not have an abundance of torque and did require frequent gear changes - you need to be revving a bit to create enough power.  You could ride this bike for years and it would get the job done....however he moved on and bought a bike with an engine nearly twice the size to get a more relaxed riding experience.  Shifting gears repeatedly is fun - but not necessarily enjoyable when on long rides.

What is really important is to consider how you ride.  If you ride local roads, cities, urban areas and get into traffic a lot, then almost any size bike will do.....a 500cc bike will be plenty, and even a 300cc or 400cc twin will make plenty of power.  Even a bit of short interstate travel at 70+ mph will be possible when necessary.  (AND...the Suzuki Savage does a great job with this kind of riding....there are still good low mileage used bikes available).

If you need to commute on the interstate for extended distances, want to pack luggage and take a long trip, you take rides in the mountains and sometimes pack a passenger - you likely want a 650cc or bigger bike.

What I am trying to say in this long winded response - is that the Kawasaki Eliminator 500, the Honda Rebel 500 and any similar modern bike will run great and last for a very long time......if you can live with a little extra weight than a bit larger engine will be able to do the job easier if you can tolerate some extra bulk.

Before you buy - go test ride some bikes and see how they fit!!!!  

Looks to be a fork brace for inverted fork & not attached to fender , idk . But the more I look at it , it looks like they drug a magnet thru a pile of scrap motorcycle parts and then it rolled ! Very cluttered. Dave has a good point too , kind of riding you do helps focus on a smaller group of bikes best suited for you. It’s ok if a CFMoto winds up on that list. I have never seen one on the road and I live less than 20 miles from a dealer. They don’t interest me enough to do any further research on them. I would imagine that they would be less prone to being stolen.