IntenseDebate - rocketrodeo

13 years ago @ Tanshanomi's Snap... - Honda FT500 Ascot · 0 replies · +1 points

Yes, it was. Not that it did that much better in the market ('83 and '84 models only), but Honda didn't seem to care at that point. Honda and Yamaha were riding huge waves of hubris in the early '80s and had a disastrous sales war that nearly ruined Yamaha, and prompted the infamous Harley tariff because of blatant dumping. I remember a deck of playing cards that was a Honda promotional item, from 1982 or so, that depicted a different model for each card.

13 years ago @ Tanshanomi's Snap... - Honda FT500 Ascot · 2 replies · +1 points

Proportions are just not quite right. Always thought the swingarm on these looked about 4" too short.

I have spent quite a bit of time on a VT500 Ascot, which is a better bike in every way: looks, performance, handling, comfort.

13 years ago @ The New Civil Rights M... - How Do You Get Conserv... · 0 replies · +3 points

I think a few minutes with some select lesbian porn would dispel your ignorance. What do you consider to be "natural" anal sex? That which is confined to a loving heterosexual marriage? Less repulsive to your sensibilities?

13 years ago @ Tanshanomi's Snap... - Harley-Davidson Sports... · 0 replies · +1 points

Happily, the XR1200 has fulfilled the promise made by this bike.

I wonder how many of these still wear their original pipes. Fewer than not, I'd guess.

13 years ago @ Tanshanomi's Snap... - Cagiva 650 Alazzurra GT · 0 replies · +1 points

Parts are becoming scarce possibly because an acquaintance in LA is cornering the market. He had 25 Alazzuras (Alazzurae?) last I heard. Daily riders and racers.

13 years ago @ Tanshanomi's Snap... - Kawasaki W650 · 1 reply · +1 points

I had thought of this primarily as an update to Kawasaki's own W-1. Put it next to one of those and the resemblance is even closer than to any britbike.

13 years ago @ Tanshanomi's Snap... - Harley-Davidson V-Rod · 0 replies · +1 points

The VRSCR Street Rod was a step in the right direction, a true GT machine that fixed many of the VRSCA/B/D's dynamic shortcomings. Predictably, it bombed. I encountered sales staff who were openly hostile to it. Harley's dealer network is the company's own worst enemy.

13 years ago @ Tanshanomi's Snap... - Honda Rebel 250 · 0 replies · +1 points

It's the perfect training bike. Sixteen hp, 300 lbs, and a center of gravity about four inches off the pavement make for a very friendly, unintimidating learning experience. Dynamically it improves on the CB250 Nighthawk despite its less than ideal ergonomics. And bought used it's almost impossible to lose money on one.

13 years ago @ Tanshanomi's Snap... - Honda Hawk GT · 0 replies · +2 points

Out of the box, agreed, the Hawk GT was not an incredibly remarkable bike -- but I (and many, many others) looked at the NT650 as a do-it-yourself sportbike kit. For its time, it was reasonably advanced; besides the early extruded aluminum spar frame, it also had that lovely ELF-derived single-sided swingarm, the first in the US and contemporaneous with the VFR750R elsewhere in the world.

And it was very, very lightweight. Bolt-on improvements, widely available for peanuts, completely transform its character. Popular and cheap mods include a CBR600F2 front end, a CBR900RR rear shock, and a VFR750 rear wheel. And you're completely correct about the seat; much as I hate to do business with Corbin, it was an absolute necessity. Two Brothers Racing campaigned an "RC31" with appropriate bodywork circa 1990; I believe it's still available. And the Hawk GT's cult popularity on and off the track, I am certain, is what made the SV650 possible. Looking at it today, I marvel at how contemporary it has remained, down to the swingarm and stubby low-slung muffler.

It's the one bike that I have sold that I truly miss.

13 years ago @ Tanshanomi's Snap... - Honda Pacific Coast · 0 replies · +1 points

If you derive any sense of your identity from your motorcycle, this is probably not the bike for you. It does have other virtues, which are not immediately apparent to folks who don't use their bikes year-round in four-season climates. The one in my garage has 89,000 miles now and I'm fully expecting 200,000 now that I live where salt trucks aren't so ubiquitous.

The PC does, by the way, have a fairly passionate legion of fans, but I have trouble working up much passion over it myself. I reserve that for some of my more charismatic bikes.

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