From: bradl@tekig5.pen.tek.com (Vladimir Poser)
Newsgroups: rec.motorcycles
Subject: Re: OK, what should I get for the twisties?
Date: 18 Dec 92 01:14:06 GMT
Reply-To: bradl@tekig5.pen.tek.com
Organization: Pokey Folk on Parade

In article <1992Dec17.231918.9391@adobe.com> cjackson@adobe.com (Curtis Jackson) writes:
>I already have an '81 Maxim 650. It has highway pegs, and I've added
>a windscreen and a good-sized trunk, so it is a more-than adequate
>commute bike.
>
>BUT I WANNA HAVE FUN!
>
>So I'm looking for something along the lines of a cafe racer. I want
>something that will be fun in twisties, that simply wants to lean
>into those corners of its own volition. But I don't want to ride
>with my knees directly below or behind my ass; no crotch rockets.
>I want a goodly amount of low-end power, but an absolute top-end of
>about 120 mph would be more than plenty; probably less would do.
>
>Lastly, I'd like to get something for around $3000 or less after it
>has been fixed up in tip-top shape (including tires). And I'd prefer
>that to have < 10000 miles on it.
>

I'm prejudiced, of course, but I think the delectable Honda GB500 fits
the bill (or the curtis, as the case may be).

It is fun in the twisties and the twistier the better; it doesn't have
the raw power that makes sweepers an exercise in vector analysis.

It has a somewhat tucked riding position, and it *is* small (therefore
LIGHT!) but the overall riding position is not obscene.

It has pretty good low-end power for a smallish bike, it's a single and
makes a darn swell exhaust note at full chat. Civilized yet spunky (with
an audacious bouquet and a lingering finish for wine-o's).

In box-stock form I do not believe I am in any danger whatsoever of
encountering Ticket-topia at 120 mph. DoD nominal is about all I have
the patience to wait for on this bike. The GB is tons o' fun at much
slower speeds.

I paid $2650 NEW for mine. I'd buy it again in an instant at $3000 (the
instant you gave me $3000--and don't even think about stealing it or
your surviving relatives will be ver' sad).

So there you have it: a what-the-heck, just-for-fun bike that is simple,
light, sweet-running, light, affordable, and packing a passel of
pulchritude.

On the down side, it is not Italian so you would have to endure the
addle-minded jeering of the bandwagoneers who will claim that nothing
from the land of the rising sun could possibly have the personality and
charm of a chianti-swilling pasta-munching tart-ellini. Pah! Think
wasabi, baby! Also a bummer, you will have to turn down frequent
requests from members of the <appropriate> sex for rides on the bike: it
has a solo saddle. I leave it to your imagination and temerity to make
counter offers to the requestors. (I personally would not take advantage
of a lady <translation: I.M.A. Geek> )

Ok, I now yield the floor to the Italophiles  (actually, as soon as I
figure out how to get a Goose into the garage, I will probably get in
that line, too. Bikes are swell, aren't they? More!)

--
                 	       Earth: Pizza
Bradlee T. LaBroad             Wind: GB_500 / R100GS
brad.labroad@TEK.COM	       Fire: DoD_389
			       Water: Moet et Chandon, White Star
Newsgroups: rec.motorcycles