US Street Motorcycle - lack of mid-displacement bikes and standards

This looks like a lot of fun:

Bonneville is a Standard

Bonneville on the right, shadow RS on the left, some HD piece of shit in the middle.





If moving the footpegs back an inch is that big of a deal, ride on the balls of your feet instead of your heels.

Fuck me, this just isn't that complicated or interesting of a debate. The perpetual semantics and shouting, in this thread and the HD ones, is tiresome as hell. Go 'play' in CSM if this is your idea of 'fun'.

Werd.

I don't get it either, Grainbelt.

Here become enlightened. http://cycle-ergo.com/


an inch.

In your own picture. from left to right. Mid, Mid, Standard. (Chair feet ahead/ Chair feet ahead /Feet under)

Nice ignorant HD bashing dig. The more you type the more stupid you appear.

If it is anything like cars, where each body/drivetrain combo has to go through a very expensive EPA certification, including even things like 2 door vs. 4 door vs. wagon of the same car model with the same engine/transmission, then I would definitely understand keeping the number of models & engine combos to a minimum.

It isn't that they wouldn't sell at all, it is just that the wouldn't sell enough to pay for the certification, and would take sales away form other models.

If you don't sell any higher of units TOTAL, by bringing a new model (because the sales of that new model can compete with other models of the same make), then it is a net loss, due to the extra certification costs.

This is unfortunate for the minority that don't want what the mainstream wants -- for example, look at the dwindling availability of car models with an available manual transmission.

Back to mid-displacement engine size. I should have posted it as "mid-weight" bikes. Someone commented about a 650cc model that was sleeved to be a 400 or 450 to sell in a market with drastically higher fees or taxes on the larger displacement bikes. Well, even thought it is a 400 (or 450), it still has the weight of the larger bike. Look at the 883 Sportster. It weighs a porky 530 lbs, only about 30 lbs. shy of the 1200.

I guess I'm saying (and I think I'm not alone), I don't want a 530 + lbs cruiser, or cruiser-styled bike. I also don't want a lay-down on the tank sport bike, or even lots of fairings that are expensive to fix/replace when the bike gets dropped. I like/want a naked standard. I'm glad that Moto Guzzi makes the V7, it is a 430 lb (wet) naked standard with decent power, and I am very happy with it. It would be nice to see more bikes that fit that niche, that is all. I can't be the only person that ones that type of bike, or for that matter wants a non-sport bike that fits somewhere between the 250 "beginner bikes: and 530+ lb 900c and larger class cruiser.

The Suzuki S40 fits the bill form the displacement, hp, and weight standpoint, but it is a cruiser. If they made it in a standard, it'd be a great bike. Look at the following the TU250X is getting on this forum. There is a several hundred page thread on the TU250X. Many of the people there would buy a TU500X or TU650X if Suzuki offered it.

But, alas, as has been hashed out earlier in this thread, the mfgs, have to go for the majority.

It's been a fun thread though, eh :huh

blah blah blah.

Beware the motorcycle forum during winter.

Motard!


400


250


449 or 511


530

Snappy, torquey thumpers, very light weight, sportbike wheels and rubber!
Fantastic street bikes.

Tom in Salem

Cool site -- if they have accurate data.

I could only dream of a TW450, but if it ever happened I would sell my Versys for a loss to acquire. Might as well sell the 'ol homestead too, because all I would ever want to do is be out riding that bike.
I don't mean to disrespect the Versys here, on the highway or a long stretch of two-lane it is seven league boots, but there are too many turns you can't take for it to be the bike of my dreams.
On a related note I was riding my VS this year with a group where I had the smallest displacement, most bikes had twice the displacement of my VS . The two who didn't had highly modified liter bikes. Those two could pull away from me whenever they wanted, but they couldn't stay away. The bigger bikes, mostly cruisers, kept right up, but didn't pull to the front. This is anecdotal, I know, but I do not see what more displacement buys for you.

The big smilie was your clue that I was kidding. Like I said before, you don't appear to be having 'fun'. May be time for a switch to decaf, or maybe toss off a load before you log on.

Here you go.





I am only jesting in part. It seems that almost every bike sold is in need of some modifications. Seats, Suspension, bars,.... I think we should all just accept the fact that whatever we buy we will need to make it our own.

Our funny bones are out of synch.


I use cap instead of bold and you read my posts wrong.
When reading my posts read them as if we were sitting at a beer garden and it is all good natured banter. I assure you were we in such a scenario you would see that I do not take offence nor do I mean to offend.

It's all good.

Yeah, they'd never sell.....


yamaha sr400



Kawasaki W800



Honda CB1100F

To say that an 800 is "mid-size" is pushing it, but an 1100 inline 4 is definitely not a mid size.

The smallest bikes are 250s. The biggest ones are over two liters.
A 250 single makes perhaps 20 hp. The ZX-14 puts out almost 200.

We live in an age where the 100hp, 450lb bike is rather pedestrian.

I would love to see ALL of those for sale here.

The Yamaha might even make a go of it with the Hipster movement.

Sad as it is I agree. There are so many 50hp bikes that are great to ride too... I really like the Moto Guzzi V7's but they are not going to win any performance awards other than a citation from a LEO.

Yes, but isn't this thread about the absence of 300-500 cc standard bikes?

I thought it was about people not realizing that 650 twins and detuned 600 fours are the new middleweights, all while wringing their hands and bemoaning the demise of bikes that were never that great to begin with.

But I could be off on that a bit.