Modern Vespa

Just for shits & giggles, while I'm out later today getting the Ford's tires rotated and balanced, I think I might stop in over at my all-too-friendly Kwak-a-saki dealership and have them casually crunch some numbers on possibly trading in the Rocket for that magnificent (and wonderfully non-black) ZX14 cruise missile.

I'll let you know how it goes, I wouldn't want the suspense to cause anyone to pop a vein or anything.

And I will go and look at a K1600.

We looked at those back around 2018, rode one, and of course they're very nice machines, but bought a new, 2018, GL1800 instead, being a bit intimidated by the thought of having to take out a second mortgage on the house when it eventually came time to have the dealership perform a valve clearance check on that wonderful inline six.

I know you're being facetious, but the latest generation Goldwing, though certainly considered excessive by many riders, turns out to be disappointingly useful and even practical at times.

No I'm not. I just think that some manufacturers are making motorcycles with engines that are so big you can't actually/practically use them.

As an example the R18 is ridiculously heavy and it only has 91 HP plus it rides like shit.

The K1600 is so big unless you are King Kong you look like a pea on a drum.

The Triumph Rocket will never use anything less than half of it's power, unless of course you're a stunt man.

The Honda Goldwing is less practical than a car and no one mortal can ride a Hayabusa or a Blackbird to it's limit so is it just a case of Top Trumps with no practicality ?

You gotta love that Kawasaki green!

You can't be over 20 years old to ride one of those Kawasakis because nobody over 20 can bend their neck back far enough to see where they're going...

What an utterly pointless motorcycle.

"No I'm not. I just think that some manufacturers are making motorcycles with engines that are so big you can't actually/practically use them."


Undeniably, but that's been going on for many decades. I can recall people saying that the 1978 XS-11 shouldn't be allowed on public roads for the same reason, and it's unlikely that it was the first to be considered as such...probably a Brough Superior or Vincent. It's all relative.


"As an example the R18 is ridiculously heavy and it only has 91 HP plus it rides like shit."


I never felt that my R18 was particularly underpowered, but it was ridiculously heavy, and I can attest to it's shitty, and often literally painful ride. Even though I owned one, BMW's reasoning behind this model remains a mystery to me.


"The K1600 is so big unless you are King Kong you look like a pea on a drum."


No argument from me there.


"The Triumph Rocket will never use anything less than half of it's power, unless of course you're a stunt man."


My #1 riding 'stunt' with my Rocket is the same as with any motorbike, staying alive, and I'm damn good at it (so far), my #2 riding stunt with the Rocket is keeping 91 octane gasoline in it. It's registration card reads: 'Exxon Bloor'.


"The Honda Goldwing is less practical than a car and no one mortal can ride a Hayabusa or a Blackbird to it's limit so is it just a case of Top Trumps with no practicality"


I'm sure that you know that one doesn't need to ride ride any high-performance machine to it's limit to appreciate it or enjoy it.


In the case of the Triumph Rocket, the fun is to be found in it's tremendous mid-range power and torque, not in any triple-digit speed potential. With proper Avon tires (own), it's also a surprisingly good handling bike.


PLEASE keep it in mind during these kinds of conversations, that although I own, and have owned many very powerful motorcycles, and do defend them to a degree, that the majority of my riding experiences have been on small and mid-sized machines that I dearly loved and appreciated, and were/are excellent and highly satisfying bikes to own, and will continue to own for as long as I can ride them.

I bought a new Hayabusa at 50, rode it three years and 36,000 miles.

I'm 23 years older now, and still full of enough, as my grandfather used to say, 'Piss & Vinegar' to consider another.

I just can't see the point of owning a motorcycle that so oversized that you can't actually use all of it.

Engine sizes are just getting stupid.

Which is exactly why I'm going back to a 125cc

That's understandable.

The Rocket engine IS stupid-large in displacement, though it's power output isn't particularly remarkable in hp numbers, and is something of a farm tractor in relative terms to a comparatively featherweight, one-liter, sportbike of 200 hp, a machine of even more inherent uselessness on a public road or highway than the Rocket.

Undeniably, the most 'fun' I ever had with a motorbike was on my 8 hp, 90cc,1966 Honda, though at sixteen years old, it didn't take much to open up a kid's world...and take girls on those warm summer night rides. It's a magic that can't be recaptured.

Both of them are as pointless as each other.

It's a bit like owning a GS and taking it to the Coffee Shop.

Still, at least I got a GS.

I'm sure there are coffee shops where a GS would be comfortably appropriate.

This ^^^

I want it to be fun again

Thus, my GTS300.

It at least partially recaptures the casual, simple, and yes, carefree pleasures of riding a motorbike that hasn't been mired in a foggy haze of ever-encroaching technical intervention and ever-increasing expense, etc.

It weighs lightly on my mind. (Sayeth the Triumph Rocket 3 owner, ).

My bestest motorcycle was a 1970 Bonneville that I bought in Vancouver and promptly rode back to the UK. Maybe it was homesick? Bought new, 50 thundering horsepower, drum brakes, Dunstall mufflers and an Avon fairing. Lovely.

ps That's not me!

I think I'd much rather have the DS that's parked behind the bike.

Many years ago I owned a Kawasaki Z1300 and in a straight line it was just fine but in the corners it was just terrible because of its enormous weight and power.

You couldn't actually ride it without it spinning it's rear wheel or it wagging it's head, plus its brakes were a joke.

Sold it.

As an attention seeking device it worked perfectly and the Rocket is exactly the same.

It's bought by people who don't actually understand motorcycles.

I'd marked this thread as a favorite and then it got all crotch-rockety. Or anti crotch-rockety? Super cool for somebody maybe I hope. How does one go about un-favoriting?

^^^^^^^^
This

I don't mind a lively conversation with you about motorcycles, but I really don't appreciate the personal insults, Bill.

I've had enough.

I'll just leave, that should take care of it.

Have a nice day.

If anyone wants to know, I'll be in my 'safe space' for a while. I need to catch up on my reading.

You must be new here. Thats Bill being Bill, don't take it personally.

Anyway...
Look over there, it's a kitten on a scooter wearing a hat!

Far from new. I was here from 2007 until 2012, then again starting in August 2022.

I got nothing against you JBacklund. I always appreciate your contributions. I got nothing against Bill Dog either. But you gotta know the dude's gonna bait you. That's sorta his function here.

Full disclosure: I'm a high school dropout. But would I need to be Amerigo Vespucci to question this statement?

How the hell did you end up being Americans and not Vespuccians?

I feel WAY more Vespuccian personally.

Is Vespuccia a planet in the same solar system as Vulcan?

It's called Un-Cooling.

Donkey Kong anyone?

Bless you Pepy,

I do like people who don't take themselves too seriously.

I can understand why that might even be a requirement for you.

Pepy, got any more images like the ones you'd been posting?

Here's a few more as requested

On Saturday i test rode the following;

2024 Moto Guzzi V7 Stone

So much grunt for a small bike but size and an agricultural feel and a total inability to find N ruled that out.

2024 Moto Guzzi V100s Mandello