Royal Enfield Bullet? Dual Sport? Harley?

[HardDrive]

I was out on my 748 yesterday. I'm going to sell it. When it comes to bikes, I have terrible wanderlust. More to the point, while the 748 is a kick in the pants to ride, its not exactly the most comfortable bike in the world.....

Seriously considering a Royal Enfield Bullet. Not exactly a thrill ride (27hp), but looks cool, confortable, and with right exhaust, the single 500 makes a nice pop. I would be buying new, so I would be taking a bath on resale later.

I've always wanted a Harley Fat Boy. 50% of me thinks Harleys are cool, the other 50% thinks they are utter douchebag bikes for orthodontists who fancy themselves as bad asses. While the HOG phenomena seems to have subsided a bit, I HATE, and I do mean hate stepping foot in a Harley dealership. The places just scream 'poser heaven'.

What about Dual sports? Would a 650 dual sport have enough power to go down the highway comfortably? Can you take one on the highway out to the mountains, then drive logging roads using the same tires? Are any of them fuel injected?

What say ye 2 wheeled gurus?

Bullet:

[Jared at Pelican Parts]

Bmw 650.

[VINMAN]

Originally Posted by HardDrive

I While the HOG phenomena seems to have subsided a bit, I HATE, and I do mean hate stepping foot in a Harley dealership. The places just scream 'poser heaven'.

I hear ya. As a 30yr Harley Rider, I cringe when a trip to the dealer is neccesary. (Not that the dealer stocks anything for my 20 y/o bike anyway ). A Harley dealership has turned into the male version of a day spa, complete with coffee bars.
Fuchin sad!

If you are lookin for a HD, just scour the local ads for a yuppie who is tired of his 2y/o ride. Many, many good deals out there.

[javadog]

I'd skip the made-in-India replica of an ancient British design that was out of date when it was built. So many reasons why...

I'd skip the Harleys and there's no point in beating that dead horse, either.

The 650 dual sport bike is too slow for the highway and too heavy for off-road riding, so I can tell you it would suck no matter where you ride it. Those folks that have one will disagree (of course) but I have a stable full of street bikes and dirt bikes and I'm telling you the two don't mix, if you have any decent riding ability at all.

My suggestion for an all-around bike would be a used Suzuki Bandit 1200 S. Cheap, reliable, fast enough, can be made to handle well, is comfortable, etc.

JR

[billh1963]

Originally Posted by Jared at Pelican Parts

Bmw 650.

Just sold my BMW F650CS....GREAT bike!

[scottmandue]

I also want an Enfield... just because it is the total anti-squid bike...

And at my age I don't need the fastest, coolest, baddest, thing on the block.

I had a Honda XL500, it was a hoot to ride, could out excelarate anything up to 80mph, but a bit buzzy at freeway speeds... wouldn't want to go more than 100 miles or so on it. Of course it that was 30 years ago and technology has improved.

[Gogar]

+1 the Enfield is a 100% "Looks" bike. Remember, it will comfortably go about 45-50 mph, maybe about 75 uncomfortably.

[jwasbury]

Originally Posted by HardDrive

while the 748 is a kick in the pants to ride, its not exactly the most comfortable bike in the world.....

A rather significant understatement IMO. The 916/748 series has got to be one of the least comfortable machines on the planet. The riding position only makes sense when you are going flat out, which of course you cannot do except on a closed circuit because the bike is too fast on the street.

Originally Posted by HardDrive

When it comes to bikes, I have terrible wanderlust.

This.

How long do you think that Enfield would hold your fancy? Seriously?

If you like the idea of a street thumper, have you considered a KTM duke? Earlier models are not real common, but they are around and trade for 3-4k. Not going to be a good distance machine, but my god are they fun to squirt around town on. I rode my buddy's around San Fran and it put a HUGE smile on my face. I'd seriously consider trading my trusty Duc monster 900 for one.

[Moses]

Originally Posted by HardDrive

I HATE, and I do mean hate stepping foot in a Harley dealership. The places just scream 'poser heaven'.

Agree entirely. But.... I've been VERY happy with this.

[Racerbvd]

Buy an old Indian, one of the coolest bikes ever built..

[nota]

I donot trust india or china metal quality
and would never buy a motorcycle made by them


buell 500 ??

[Jeff Higgins]

You don't have to have anything at all to do with the Harley culture just because you ride one. I don't.

I would avoid the Fat Boy. It's simply their Softail platform, stripped of all useful accessories. A Heritage Softail is the same bike, with a windshield and saddlebags, plus more lighting on the front. You get all that extra stuff on it, and it sells for a couple grand less than the Fat Boy. Go figure.

Even better, take a serious look at their touring bikes. Roughly apples to apples from the Softail line to the touring line would be the Heritage Softail and the Road King. Both have two saddle bags and easily removable windshields, and sell for about the same price. The touring platform is superior to the Softail platform out on the road, however. It is more comfortable, handles better, has much greater cornering clearance, and two front brakes instead of just one.

The Enfield would make a great third or fourth bike, but a terrible only bike. 650 dual sports are neither fish nor fowl; they don't do anything well. A workable compromise, but always a compromise.

[VINMAN]

Jeff, what do you think of the Street Glide? That would be my choice if was gonna buy now.

[Jeff Higgins]

Originally Posted by VINMAN

Jeff, what do you think of the Street Glide? That would be my choice if was gonna buy now.

It's another stripped down, somewhat compromised version of a pretty good motorcycle. The rear suspension's travel has been reduced to lower the rear end, the windshield has been lowered to look cool, the passing lamps have been eliminated, and the touring seating has been replaced with a bar hopping seat. The parent Electra Glide is a far better bike, for far less money to boot.

Harley has a long, proud history of offering serious bikes for serious motorcyclists. Unfortunately, they have almost as long of a not-so-proud history of offering stylized versions of them as well, in the name of "style" to appear to the bad ass wannabe set. It's a pretty good rule of thumb to avoid these models. They cost more, and performance has been compromised for "cool".

[VINMAN]

Yeqah I laugh at some of the "factory custom" bikes they put out now. But you are dead on, they are just stripped down version of a good model.

I still kick myself in the butt all the time for getting rid of my old Sturgis.

[motion]

The newer KLR650s are the best all around, cheapest bikes available. They'll do 70mph all day long, have plenty of farkles available, and are passable off road machines. I went from a BMW 1150 ADV to a KLR and couldn't be happier. Feels like a 125 to me.

[scottmandue]

BTW and FWIW if I were in the market for a bike a edit Buell blast would be high on the list... a SV650 would be at the top of the list.

YMMV

[on2wheels52]

What percent of your riding do you expect will be off highway? Not just talking single-track, but meaning gravel/dirt roads. Pretty much every ride I take (other than commuting) will have at least a fair percentage of dirt. I'm sold on the dualies.
Jim

[nynor]

bmw 800gs.

[wcc]

I had a duc 748 as well and I know what you're talking about. I ended up putting riser bars on and that helped for a year or two. I eventually, regrettably, sold it. Probably not in your plans but I ended up getting a Yamaha TW200 dual purpose and now looking at a different Ducati. For example, the Monster or the Hypermotard would be cool.