I'm Buying A Bike And Need Some Help

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Mr NFLfan said:
103 cu.in. (1700cc) The 02 Harley came with the 88 cu in (1450cc) twin cam. The 103 kit is nothing more than a top end kit on the motor. The lower end and transmission have 37k on them.

I began riding again about 5 yrs. ago after 20 yrs. away from it. I started with a used Kawasaki vulcan 800 which cost me $1000. I wanted to make sure it was really something I would really get back into before spending more for a bigger bike. Last year I decided to upgrade and bought a 2005 road star with
17 k on the clock and paid $5500 for it. I looked at Harleys and there wasn't anything that compared to the road star for that kind of money. I'd suggest you shop around and good luck.
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This.

I would suggest not spending very much on this initial purchase. Get something smaller and cheaper for a year or two (like the previously mentioned Shadow 750), make sure you are still into it, then you can take your time and spend the money on something that you decide you really want.

Being out of it for so long, you may not even be sure what the best fit for you now is.

Just a thought.
 
I kind of agree with the above two sentiments but maybe not completely. I had stopped riding for about 10 years while my daughter was a little girl because she was terrified of me being on a bike. When she turned 18, I started to ride again. Wasn't sure I would really want to be back on the bike, but my husband had just died and I needed to do something that I could do alone without really feeling lonely. So I did the smart thing that everyone told me to do, bought an inexpensive Honda. I rode it for three weeks, then went in and bought a Harley, and the Honda sat in my garage for two years. It just didn't do it for me.

Since it's been awhile for you, Chevss, and you're not tied into the Harley mentality, it might be wisest for you to go with another manufacturer. It's all a matter of taste. I like to buy American when I can, so HD is my bike of choice.
 
Mr NFLfan said:
They are at 103 now.
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It's crazy, isn't it? I remember when I first started to ride decades ago, I had a 1000cc sporty. I just don't get the need for the bigger engine or a 6-speed tranny. My 1340 is plenty enough to handle.
 
PatsFanLisa said:
I kind of agree with the above two sentiments but maybe not completely. I had stopped riding for about 10 years while my daughter was a little girl because she was terrified of me being on a bike. When she turned 18, I started to ride again. Wasn't sure I would really want to be back on the bike, but my husband had just died and I needed to do something that I could do alone without really feeling lonely. So I did the smart thing that everyone told me to do, bought an inexpensive Honda. I rode it for three weeks, then went in and bought a Harley, and the Honda sat in my garage for two years. It just didn't do it for me.

Since it's been awhile for you, Chevss, and you're not tied into the Harley mentality, it might be wisest for you to go with another manufacturer. It's all a matter of taste. I like to buy American when I can, so HD is my bike of choice.
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Maybe rent a bike for a bit to see how comfortable you are with it.
 
mikiemo83 said:
Maybe rent a bike for a bit to see how comfortable you are with it.
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That's a really good idea. There's a place in Braintree that rents softtails and touring bikes, I think it's called HD Rider.
 
All of you have had great suggestions and I'm very appreciative of your input.

I think I've found my bike and I'm negotiating with the owner now by phone. I'm waiting for a counter offer.

5597d861b33a22a16aa6678f.jpg


That's the actual bike. It's a 2008 Kawasaki Vulcan 1600 Nomad with 16K miles on it. Owned by a 64 yr old man who bought it new. He has all the records from day 1 including the original sticker and all owner manuals. It's been listed for 24 hrs on Cycletrader.

Good news!
As I was typing he called to say he will accept my offer. The bike is in Milford CT and as it happens my daughter and her bf were in Milford for the day. She & bf were 2 mi from his house and scooted over. Long story short the bike is in mint condition. No dings, no scratches and no sign of oil anywhere. Chrome shows 0 corrosion. (He also has 2 mint Corvettes in storage, 1 is a '67 427 in gray and the other is a '63 split window in red.) Nice. His house, yard, garage and landscaping are all immaculate according to my daughter. Thanks for that tip, Lisa. :hello:

And thanks to you all and especially to Lisa who gave me the confidence to know what to look for and what questions to ask.

YOU ROCK, LISA!

Now, any suggestions how to tell my wife what I just did? JK.

:celebrate:
 
Big/Sky/Fly said:
Beware of the stupid drivers out there too...they're all over the place.
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Yes, this. Gotta keep your head on a swivel at all times. I'm always watching for getting rear ended at intersections. And the most common one is the ones turning left in front of you.
True story. Couple years ago I stopped at a red light and watched mirror like I always do. Noted guy on phone coming up fast and paying no attention. I ran the red light under full power as he looked up and slammed on the brakes. There was a cop on the opposite side of the light and he saw the whole thing. Gratifying to see the dick get pulled over.
Other good practice is always leaving a way to bail out if you're at an intersection and have a car front of you. Just stay to the right a little bit and then you can move out if you have to.
 
chevss454 said:
All of you have had great suggestions and I'm very appreciative of your input.

I think I've found my bike and I'm negotiating with the owner now by phone. I'm waiting for a counter offer.

5597d861b33a22a16aa6678f.jpg


That's the actual bike. It's a 2008 Kawasaki Vulcan 1600 Nomad with 16K miles on it. Owned by a 64 yr old man who bought it new. He has all the records from day 1 including the original sticker and all owner manuals. It's been listed for 24 hrs on Cycletrader.

Good news!
As I was typing he called to say he will accept my offer. The bike is in Milford CT and as it happens my daughter and her bf were in Milford for the day. She & bf were 2 mi from his house and scooted over. Long story short the bike is in mint condition. No dings, no scratches and no sign of oil anywhere. Chrome shows 0 corrosion. (He also has 2 mint Corvettes in storage, 1 is a '67 427 in gray and the other is a '63 split window in red.) Nice. His house, yard, garage and landscaping are all immaculate according to my daughter. Thanks for that tip, Lisa. :hello:

And thanks to you all and especially to Lisa who gave me the confidence to know what to look for and what questions to ask.

YOU ROCK, LISA!

Now, any suggestions how to tell my wife what I just did? JK.

:celebrate:
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I want that 67 so bad....:bangshead:
Posted via Mobile Device
 
I think you've made a really wise choice, chevss. The bike looks really clean and nice, and I'm sure it was well taken care of.

BTW, have you gone in for your m/c permit or license yet? At least get the permit. You can walk into the registry and take the test right away, but you should get a driver's booklet to read the section on motorcycles. They ask about 15 questions, and some of them you likely wouldn't know off of the top of your head, like what's the max height handlebars can be and certain riding protocols.


They might have it online.

Just checked, and they do. I guess now they have a whole separate manual that's like 60 pages long. It used to be 3-5 pages in the driver's manual. Wow. I'm sure most of it is common sense rules of the road stuff. Here you go:

http://www.massrmv.com/rmv/mcmanual/1_CoverTOCintro.pdf
 
imapig said:
I want that 67 so bad....:banished:
Posted via Mobile Device
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It's a convertible with AC. He said it's the first year Corvette put AC in a convertible. It's actually silver not gray and it has the hood scoop
 
PatsFanLisa said:
I think you've made a really wise choice, chevss. The bike looks really clean and nice, and I'm sure it was well taken care of.

BTW, have you gone in for your m/c permit or license yet? At least get the permit. You can walk into the registry and take the test right away, but you should get a driver's booklet to read the section on motorcycles. They ask about 15 questions, and some of them you likely wouldn't know off of the top of your head, like what's the max height handlebars can be and certain riding protocols.


They might have it online.

Just checked, and they do. I guess now they have a whole separate manual that's like 60 pages long. It used to be 3-5 pages in the driver's manual. Wow. I'm sure most of it is common sense rules of the road stuff. Here you go:

http://www.massrmv.com/rmv/mcmanual/1_CoverTOCintro.pdf
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LOL. You're so thoughtful. Got it last wk & I've already begun reading it.
 
PatsFanLisa said:
It's crazy, isn't it? I remember when I first started to ride decades ago, I had a 1000cc sporty. I just don't get the need for the bigger engine or a 6-speed tranny. My 1340 is plenty enough to handle.
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Once the Japanese entered the American crusier market all hell broke loose in the displacement war. My 05 road star is 102 cu in and at that time Harley was at 88 cu in then they went to 96 and in the last few yrs they went to the 103. I think the new Indians are 110 cu in and then for the truly insatiable there's the boss hoss with a full fledged v-8. Last year while on a ride I stopped at a gas station here in NH and there was a boss hoss there with a 502 cu in big block chevy v-8.....hate to have that fall off the stand and have to get it back up. Crazy indeed
 
Mr NFLfan said:
Once the Japanese entered the American crusier market all hell broke loose in the displacement war. My 05 road star is 102 cu in and at that time Harley was at 88 cu in then they went to 96 and in the last few yrs they went to the 103. I think the new Indians are 110 cu in and then for the truly insatiable there's the boss hoss with a full fledged v-8. Last year while on a ride I stopped at a gas station here in NH and there was a boss hoss there with a 502 cu in big block chevy v-8.....hate to have that fall off the stand and have to get it back up. Crazy indeed
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v-8-choppers-chevy-v-8-powered-motorcycle---image-via-serious-wheels_100327867_l.jpg


v8_chopper_rear_angle-1920x1440-550x412.jpg


520 hp :coffee:
 
PatsFanLisa said:
Yeah, pretty hideous IMO.
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I know, right? People who have ridden Honda Valkyries l o v e them but damn they're ugly for me to look at. Reviews are filled with "smooth as silk" or "rides like a luxury automobile" & "the Rolls Royce of 2 wheelers". I just couldn't.
 
Chev, I ride a Vulcan 800 (when the bike was $1200, can't pass that up for a bike with no problems). Mine is my first bike and I love it. I have ridden Harley's and frankly, I don't like how they were not weight balanced compared to other bikes (like the two Victory's I rode at a demo day). I plan on keeping my bike for 2-3 three years before trying to find a Victory I like.

The one I liked when they made it was the Vegas, they stopped making the normal Vegas and only make the 8 ball version now. I do like this bike if I get new though.
2014-victory-cross-roads-cross-country-8-ball-preview-4.jpg


Not a full bagger, but hard bags for luggage. It has a 1700cc fuel injected motor standard.

This was the Victory I rode in 2010, I loved it, rode smooth.



I also rode a Kingpin at the same event but didn't like the heel/toe shifter.
 
Coltsfan2theend said:
Chev, I ride a Vulcan 800 (when the bike was $1200, can't pass that up for a bike with no problems). Mine is my first bike and I love it. I have ridden Harley's and frankly, I don't like how they were not weight balanced compared to other bikes (like the two Victory's I rode at a demo day). I plan on keeping my bike for 2-3 three years before trying to find a Victory I like.

The one I liked when they made it was the Vegas, they stopped making the normal Vegas and only make the 8 ball version now. I do like this bike if I get new though.

Not a full bagger, but hard bags for luggage. It has a 1700cc fuel injected motor standard.
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I'm not sure what you mean by not weight balanced, but I've ridden about 12 Harleys, all different models, and the only model I found top heavy was the Sportster because the center of gravity is higher. Other than that, they seem to be perfectly balanced, which is important to me since I'm only about 5'3 in riding boots.
 
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