Ever buy a bike that isolates you too much from the road?

Hi,

Have you ever bought a bike and discovered that it isolated you from the ride too much? I just recently purchased a used Yamaha Venture Royale. Had the dealer put a bunch of work into it. I put work into it and it's purring and ready for long rides. However, when I ride it I feel like I'm watching the ride, not part of the ride. It's hard to explain but it's more like I'm back in a car rather then merging myself with a bike.

Anybody else ever feel this way with a bike?

Thanks
Chuk

Yes, my ex had an Ultra classic....the ONLY time I preferred that beast for anything was LONG hauls requiring close to a 1000 miles in a day. We could have taken two bikes, but that would be silly tailing an Ultra with a Speed Triple, and there were places that it was going to be sketchy getting a Sportster with a peanut tank between gas stations.

Only plus with that bike is I could wear a modular helmet and smoke behind the fairing (it even had a lighter) which drove her nuts because that mean the gas stops were going to be shorter.

Nothin better than a meandering country road with no traffic, and a silky silent,smooth bike !

Isolation is a GOOD thing !

Big, heavy, fully flaired bikes are wonderful for 500 mile days or getting you and a lot of stuff to the other coast in a hurry but they loose something in the city or on a winding country road. It's not the bike, it's what you are asking it to do. You can drive a nail with a sledge hammer but it's generally not the best tool for the job. Pick up a nice used KLR or CB550 and round out the fleet. This, of course, is how MBS begins........

Hey guys,

I didn't even know it was possible to smoke on a bike (being a non-smoker). Guess you know you have plenty of wind protection when you can light up :}

Low Budget - I had a PC800 years ago (Apple Red). Great bike, comfortable ride, and really appreciated the storage space.

Chuk

I got that feeling on an RT with the windshield all the way up and the cruise control on; but then, with the screen down and on a twisty road, I'll be damned if it isn't a real (capable) motorcycle.

My FZ6 isn't ever disconnected. Hard not to know you're cruising at 7k.

rider,

My other bike is an old royal enfied with sidecar (25 hp, drum brakes). It's great for around town and short trips but I'll back up traffic on anything longer.

You are right, wrong tool for the job. I don't do 500 mile days, just looking for something for weekend afternoon trips, you know 2-3 hour rides.

Guess I should start thinking mid-size bike.

Thanks
Chuk

Too late to tell ya you went a bit to far with the royale. You shoulda stayed with a clean low mile PC.

I had a 1100 Goldwing Aspencade a long time back. Was a superb bike, but, that immense mass and a real disconnected feel for the road was a bit too much for day trips. Especially if the route had nice twisty sections that left you wishing for a sportier machine.

I did the whole sport touring thing for a decade afterwards. VFR's, converted sportbikes, Beemer RS's.............it also was all fine and dandy, but lacked the upright ride position and super relaxed feel for extremely rural quiet roads. I tried all the bar risers and seat combo's and such, but still wasnt what I was after.

I came from a roadracing background, and after decades of trying literally dozens and dozens of different bikes, I still had not found a bike that fit the relaxed touring day trip mold, yet handled and felt light enough to be reasonable in twistys and sweepers..........till I rode a PC !

Sure its a compromise in many catagorys, but, for my money, that bike, a nice sport bike, and a good dualsport cover all the bases except for vintage collector and pure dirt bike.

The full blown Goldwing like touring bikes are awesome in their own element, but, to me seem a bit to massive and detached from the motorcycle "feel" to be interesting to ride in anything less than extended long distance pavement adventures.

I will say after all my years riding the variety of road bikes, having the ability to hear your smooth road tires on the pavement over the mechanical bike noise at a leisurely 45 MPH on a wildlife filled backroad is AMAZING.

Yes, you would find yourself day dreaming and becoming hypnotized by the silent scenery going by, but in comparison to having that ringing in your ears and your eyes all jiggly at the end of a 800 mile day, seems worth it to me.

Think back to your PC and now to your Venture. Decide which qualitys are most important for your CURRENT rideing style, not your past or what you may expect in the future.


Honestly, I think you need two to three roadbikes to cover most pavement bases nicely.

Not buying the "right tool" analogy. So, why not use a car? A motorcycle is an experience that shouts out for interaction with the riding environment. The more muted that interaction, the less motorcycle experience you're having. IMHO.

2005 Yamaha FJR 1300, about as connected with the road and riding experience as a 1973 Buick Park Avenue. I sold it after 8 months, the shortest time I have owned ANY bike.

Not true. Sometime the "Inter action" is too demanding and you are missing the actual ride experience. If the bike has such a ride positioning thats causing discomfort, vibrations that buzz you all day long, and a noise level that hammers your brain numb, you are missing most the scenery and "Experience" with alot of your concentration and effort going to dealing with the pain and misery.


You want interaction ? I dare you to ride my old SFC on a 500 mile backroad tour.

Owned an 82 Aspencaade myself - 1200 and just a bit before the reverse thing came out, but still... I had (literally) ALWAYS wanted a Wing - tried to buy one in Japan in 77, before it even got all that plastic. I think the real kicker was when, years and years later, I was passed by a guy on a nice new Wing - he was sitting back reading a map. I am not kidding. Cruise control on, stable as anything and I don't even think he was looking at the road. I had to have one.

Found one used for a price I could afford (no CC ), rode it for a few years until the oil pump drive line got borked thanks to a botched alternator fix. I sold it for nearly nothing and decided that pretty much, I was done with Hondas in general - it just wasn't "fun".

Years later, I found a Triumph Sprint - first bike of that style I had ever owned. the amount of fun I had on that bike is probably illegal in most Southern states. I am primarily a cruiser kind of guy though, so a few years later, I added a Triumph Speedmaster (I wanted a Rocket, but could not justify a bike that got worse mileage than my car). I reserve the Sprint for after particularly grueling days at work.

I think I could maybe do with a little LESS road connection, but the Speedmaster is nice enough. My desire for the Hondabago satisfied, I've never looked back. Maybe a Thunderbird next.

JC

true that /\ My father in law has an '06 FJR with the electric/clutchless shift. Of all the bikes I've ridden, and I've ridden quite a few different brands and styles, that FJR is the most lifeless excuse for a motorcycle that I've ridden. No buzz, no wind, hardly any sound...He likes it but its not for me.

My 1250S Bandit was like that - very capable but a very dull bike to ride on. The 650 VStrom was much the same. Most of the bikes I've had in the last 20 years have been pretty dull if it comes to that. Nice for comfort, but not much on excitement. I ride a lot, so the simple ability to do large miles in comfort and safety have been nice, but there was always something missing. I grew up with unfaired, vibrating bikes which had to be manhandled around corners, weren't all that fast and had the minimum of technology in them. Some were absolute rubbish (and I've seen a few of those being rebuilt in Old's Cool...), some of them were brilliant, but most were fun of one sort or the other. This year I sold the Strom and the Bandit and went back to scratch - a Kawasaki W800 and an 07 standard Sportster. It's like being 20 years old again; while riding has been a major part of my life for well over 40 years, I'm now getting more of a kick out of it than ever. These two handle well, are reliable, aren't that powerful and despite EFI and electronic ignition are very basic and still have the unsophisticated feel of the old stuff. It requires a bit of a change of attitude - 1000km days on these two would be murder and highway cruising speeds are a tad lower but it's about time I slowed down a bit anyway at my age.

I think the main key is finding a bike that matches both your riding style preference and the type of available riding areas.

When I lived in a excellent low traffic mountain pass area that had a 110 mile section of sweepers and curves, the litre bikes and 600 sportbikes with a set of soft luggage were best. A set of bar risers and I was comfortable for some serious sporty touring 500 mile days.

On the other hand, now I live in a area of little twisty sections, and sand on the apex of most any small backroad curves. Not a good place to be emulating Rossi on a sportbike. A laid back, yet responsive touring bike fits best.

I kept my grey market GP replica, but it serves no real purpose, other than a excellent lightweight track bike. There really isnt hardly any public road that you could use it in its intended mode.

I simply match the best bike for the predominate riding area, and put the majority of the miles on that machine.


Its allways a good laugh when you see a rider on a machine that is in complete contrast with their local riding area. You wonder why they are fighting the terrain, when a wiser choice would make the whole ride experience so much more fun and comfortable.

I went to buy a Wing in Dec of '93, test rode one, and a Voyager. Bought the Voyager because it felt more like the bikes I was used to, just a lot more protection, bells & whistles. Kept it a year and sold it, just too much of the "good" stuff I reckon.



Regretted trading my PC in on it, I really enjoyed that little bike....

Beautiful !

I love how so many people poo poo the PC, yet when it come to the real truth, its one hell of a great bike that when put in its correct element is nearly unbeatable by any other bike, period.

Its most definately not in the league of the full size touring bikes, but yet retains all the pleasant ride characteristics of a upright position full touring bike, but in a better handling, lighter and overall smaller package.

I have ridden so many kinds of road bikes its crazy, but NOTHING has the ride a PC does, its in a very unique combination of riding traits. It does isolate you from some of the harsh elements, and the feedback is dampened compared to a more sport oriented sport tour machine, but thats what it was designed for. Its a small niche market for it, prolly 100 times smaller market than a full size touring bike. A very misunderstood machine that gets compared to alot of catagorys it was never intended for.

I loved alot of my bikes, as diverse as they were, but when in their intended setting they seemed best. Any bike can seem a poor choice when in the wrong ride setting, even if they are rated high amongst their intended catagory.

No one says you have to be into S&M, that's your call. But for the riding you sound like you desire -- just rent a DVD of a road... maybe turn on a fan to blow in your face. No bike needed.

Love the PC800 references.... great bikes.... some day!

Saw some KLR references in this post....

they give you ALL OF THE INFORMATION from the road, every bit of data transmitted to the operator in unedited format.

I kinda feel that way sometimes with my BMW k75. But its not bad. It has good roadfeel, smooth, good sounding (and quiet) engine, etc.

Although I miss my dad and I's Royal Enfield. There's something about listening to the engine going underneath you at 55mph on hwy 1. Just hearing everything. The Valves, the Exhaust (Not loud. Just big sounding). Feeling everything. A big single loping along leisurely at 2000 rpm.

I've got an R75/5 for that duty now. Better brakes, and it can do the freeway.