Beautiful motorcycles

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder!

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Lovely shade of green there RG. Suits it!!

Me, I thought these were quite attractive when new:

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Then Honda had to up the ante:

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Naturally, both bikes sold like a jar of warm pus, only to rocket in value and never be seen for sale anywhere ever again.

And another we didn't get:

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And another nobody got:

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One last one. I always like the black/green together.

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I do believe I am "over" litre+ sports bikes. Hmmmmm...
 
Wow - those are all truly beautiful motorcycles. I've heard of the Honda GB500 - but never seen one in the flesh. I've never even seen the others.
 
From what I have seen, bimmers are pretty inconsistent.

Some BMW models/years are absolutely rock solid reliable with the capability to accumulate HUGE mileages over decades of hard use, while others are totally rubbish with electrical problems, fuel system leaks, and even wheel and rear-end bearing problems (which are virtually unknown on Japanese bikes). While I am sure it has happened, I personally have never seen or heard of a Gold Wing or Honda ST (or Suzuki GS850G or GS1000G for that matter) with a bad final drive bearing. Two of my vintage bike group friends have done transmission and/or rear end bearings on their bimmers.

One thing about the European brands which is consistent however, is that repair costs are through the roof. Parts are very expensive and often hard to get and finding knowledgeable mechanics for these bikes is too on these bikes. A broken BMW or Ducati is a hole into which you can pour money for a looooonnng time, according to my buddies that own them.

YMMV - but that has been my experience.

Pete

PS - despite all of the above, I STILL want a1978 BMW R100RS!!!!!

Yup. My st1300 is an 03 with 108,000kms and counting with nary a hiccup. Tires...oil, valve clerances lube the rear hub splines. Ride ride ride.


Old brit iron is always the definition of gorgeous.

Mid 90s ducati 900ss are just super looking too.

My 2014 triumph scrambler is a bike i like to look at.
 
I do believe I am "over" litre+ sports bikes. Hmmmmm...
Nah, you are never OVER liter plus sport bikes. As soon as the back pain memories fade you'll be looking again. I lust after an R1, And the FJR is a sweet machine.
I'll define attractive; You ride a bike ALL day, get up in the morning and want to put in another full day. THAT'S an attractive bike!
 
Nah, you are never OVER liter plus sport bikes. As soon as the back pain memories fade you'll be looking again. I lust after an R1, And the FJR is a sweet machine.
I'll define attractive; You ride a bike ALL day, get up in the morning and want to put in another full day. THAT'S an attractive bike!

Dont forget luggage !
Thats how i was trying to explain bikes like the ST, FJR, and C14. It may not be a beauty in the looks dept. But the beauty is in the engineering.
 
Even this is beautiful!
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did 2500 miles in 6 days, tent camping, day 5 was 650 miles, until a flat tire slowed me a bit, I was considering going all the way home to complete the ton.
 
Craters of the Moon National Monument, central Idaho. 99 Royal star venture AKA the Barcalounger. One duffle on the passenger seat and it carries everything for extended camping trips. It's just SO darned heavy, about 900 lbs. With no reverse, I have to be really careful about parking it. Even a slight down hill on dirt or gravel and there's no getting it backed out. Would like to get down to a full featured bike about 600 pounds fully loaded for solo camping, prolly a pipe dream.
 
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My old bones and scrawny butt really like the forward floor boards I modded the shifter to create plenty of room to move my feet around added a great bak-up backrest and longer bar risers, it has cruise control. I use a sheepskin seat cover with a slightly inflated neck pillow inside it. The quiet ride helmet has bluetooth to the GPS and tunes. The windshield screens so well I can ride visor up with no glasses at 80MPH. Hardy can call it motorcycling. I ran 14 hours stopping only for gas, two meals and a DIY flat tire repair/plug.
 
Yeah even my st1300 is less than that...and i am super careful about where i park. I have a sena smh10 so i can talk with my wife and listen to tunes. She rides a bmw. Blue tooth is great.

Yup. We dont take interstate too often....but 85mph is nothing for it or me. No ear plugs needed.

Yeah i can ride pretty long without stopping. I give out before my fuel does. I use a bead buddy seat cover and i added 1.25 up and back bar riser. Bike fits me like a glove now.

I have craters and the beartooth on my short list after this trip. Couldnt hit beartooth last year....it snowed the day i wanted to go.
 
I look at this CTX700 and think good start.
about 500 lbs. wet before...........
Might as well start naked cause the factory bags etc are uselessly small.
Then I think; better to gin up an XS650 custom cruiser and have something to talk about.
Could I get it done before I'm dead or hopelessly enfeebled? The jaws are clamping down.
That CTX gets 70MPG can' t get an XS to do that that short of fuel injection....
Damned 900 lb K1200LT beemer gets 50 mpg, awesome rain protection can be found for $3G in ready to ride condition, has reverse but the footpegs have my knees too bent.
Like my Feeger but too many mods needed for true road comfort.
 
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I always remember how feeble the xs feels much past 60mph and then throw that idea out.

The efi air cooled new triumph bonneville may fit your needs better. I can say my scrambler hauls pretty good ass.
 
There's usually a couple on Kijiji, but too far away to be worth the trip.

Actually, we got the Intruder motor in ours, Europe got one with a 75 degree crank to smooth out the vibes. Apparently we are masochists in North America.

Well, we here ride XS's, so I guess we are in glass houses when it comes to complaining about vibes.
 
I dont think the xs was being shunned.We all know how great they are.We were posting other bikes we thought were beautiful too.I can not narrow down to just 1 bike.Any of these would certainly do If I had to.
 
Nah, you are never OVER liter plus sport bikes. As soon as the back pain memories fade you'll be looking again. I lust after an R1, And the FJR is a sweet machine.
I'll define attractive; You ride a bike ALL day, get up in the morning and want to put in another full day. THAT'S an attractive bike!
Another vote for the FJR, here, for reasons already stated. This bike (mine is an '06 with the sweet analog gauges) is engineered superbly and the most comfortable bike I have ever owned. 10 hours in the seat, and the next day I am ready to rock and roll, again. Love the motorized windscreen.

People routinely exclaim, "Nice bike!"

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