Crash course in vintage classic motorcycle owning?

[flatbutt]

How vintage? 60s?70s?80's? Anything with OEM Lucas electrics will have him in tears. Airhead Beemers are an acquired taste. Older Ducatis needed SAG wagons to follow them. So yeah the new replicas are probably the best way to go. Or maybe the CanAm?

[wayner]

After stepping away from 15 years of road racing "modern" bikes, I decided to go vintage road racing.

That cured me.

I've now had it with motorcycles

[Jeff Higgins]

Motorcycling was different back when what are now vintage bikes were new bikes. It was a very tough fraternity to earn one's way into, on a number of levels. One of those was the mechanical aptitude element of it. Anyone we saw riding just had to be a mechanic as well. No if's, and's, or but's. It wasn't until one demonstrated an aptitude for for keeping the bike on the road both when riding it and by wrenching on it that one became a "motorcyclist".

Today, the wrenching part of it is all but gone (thank God), and the riding part has become both easier and more difficult. Easier in that bikes handle and stop better, harder in that they have power we could only dream of back in the drum braked flexi-flyer days.

I love Mike's advice - if all he really wants to do is get stranded all the time, with far less risk to life and limb, tell him to buy any vintage British car.

[SpyderMike]

I've had a 2004 Triumph Bonneville since new. I think it is a good starter road bike for back roads (not highway). Fairly light, manueverable, reliable and classic looking. There are tons of bits available to customize it that are simple bolt ons. There are some simple mods to get more performance too. I haven't had an issue with it since owning it. It also got my wife into motorcycling.

Over the years since 2000 or thereabouts the Bonnie variants have gone from 800cc and carburetored to 900cc and EFI to 1200cc w/EFI. Plenty of used ones out there and good support forums.

[Bill Douglas]

How about a Moto Guzzi. Looks vintage but the reliability (but... it is Italian) of a modern bike, looks and sounds great. Not too higher performance.. Moto Guzzi V11 Sport.

[sugarwood]

I think the Triumph Bonneville is the perfect suggestion.

This is what I wrote him:

Did some research.

Vintage bike is going to require you to maintain it.

You’re probably better off getting a modern retro looking bike.
Best of both worlds.

Like a modern Triumph Bonneville.

[Shaun @ Tru6]

Excellent advice from everyone above. I had a 75 Honda CB450 as my first bike. Checked a lot of boxes. Great first bike. Reliable. Cool, retro/vintage look that was easy to modify/tailor to a cafe racer look. Comfy too, drove from Boston to NYC several times and felt good on arrival/return each time

[Yorkie]

Higgins hits it. I grew in the U.K. In a family that lived and breathed classic bikes from flat tankers to Vincent Rapides. Spent far too many hours at the side of the road watching my Dad fix the bike on a VMC run. The day I fixed a bike under the gaze of waxed cotton wearing bikers was the day I became a man in their eyes. These days I ride a modern Triumph Bonnie and I could not be happier. It has the aesthetic I adhore along with Toyota reliability. I know I will get home on this bike.

[RF5BPilot]

There really are a number of options. Since he isn't planning to maintain it himself, consider starting with checking shops that are nearby. Some don't want to work on older bikes. No point in buying a great bike, then finding the local shop is comprised of jerks or folks who simply aren't interested or knowledgeable. They should be able to offer specific suggestions of what to look for. They should also be able to tell him if there's a local riding group...often the best way to find a well maintained example and gain a group of helpful enthusiasts.

[Don Ro]

Originally Posted by RF5BPilot

There really are a number of options. Since he isn't planning to maintain it himself, consider starting with checking shops that are nearby. Some don't want to work on older bikes. No point in buying a great bike, then finding the local shop is comprised of jerks or folks who simply aren't interested or knowledgeable. They should be able to offer specific suggestions of what to look for. They should also be able to tell him if there's a local riding group...often the best way to find a well maintained example and gain a group of helpful enthusiasts.

While reading this thread...and thinking about all of the neg. comments...I didn't consider this point.
Prudent.

[epbrown]

Originally Posted by sugarwood

I think the Triumph Bonneville is the perfect suggestion.

The Bonnie is pretty much the go-to (if, like your friend, someone's averse to Sportsters), but there are a couple of other models to consider - the Kawasaki W650 was sold here from 2000-2001 and is lighter and easier to handle for a newbie, while strongly resembling the Bonneville. There's also the Yamaha SR400, which is almost identical to the SR500 introduced in the late 70s and is also light and easy to handle.

I've seen both these bikes for 3 or 4 grand, and don't expect much more depreciation.

[Chocaholic]

My guess is that those bikes lack the hipster vibe so crucial to this decision.

[Yorkie]

Originally Posted by Chocaholic

My guess is that those bikes lack the hipster vibe so crucial to this decision.

I did the Distinguished Gentlemans Ride here in LA recently which is a predominately hipster crowd. Out of the 700 bikes on the run I reckon we'll over 60% were either modern Bonnie's or Thruxtons. Definitely the preferred mount of the hipster here. Weird thing was the number of young guys riding recreations of the late 60s stretch choppers. These were very well groomed young chaps but the authenticity of their rides was impressive. Lotta hard tails and pan heads.

[Don Ro]

Originally Posted by epbrown

The Bonnie is pretty much the go-to (if, like your friend, someone's averse to Sportsters), but there are a couple of other models to consider - the Kawasaki W650 was sold here from 2000-2001 and is lighter and easier to handle for a newbie, while strongly resembling the Bonneville. There's also the Yamaha SR400, which is almost identical to the SR500 introduced in the late 70s and is also light and easy to handle.

I've seen both these bikes for 3 or 4 grand, and don't expect much more depreciation.

Months past I was looking at adding a Kaw. W650 to my collection.
The clean ones are going up, up, up in price as they're being discovered for what they offer.

[gsxrken]

As a friend, you could steer him to a late '60s Brit bike and check both the street-cred and safety boxes... he'll rarely be on the road.

The romance of roadside repair / MacGuyver mode is only romantic years later.

[Don Ro]

I have only 200+ miles on a new 2014 Royal Enfield Continental GT (FI) that looks jolly good as a retro cafe.
Best to mod the air filter intake, dump the stock heavy muffler, and install a matched Power Commander for smoother running, however.
A low-powered 535, high torque, single but it's a fun bike to ride due to a Harris build frame.
I ordered and installed a +2 alloy rear sprocket from Hitchcock's in the UK as it's a bit too tall geared for me - I just scoot around town, so I don't need to "do the ton". Big improvement.
A great source of info in the US forum >
.
https://forum.classicmotorworks.com/index.php/board,28.0.html?PHPSESSID=of53v3mrtnghihcccdat9g93 72
.
CMW also sells the PC that is mapped to the bike, and a couple of muffler choices that they put on sale now/then >
.
Stage 1 GT Performance Kit
.
Here's a nifty (new - 23 miles) yellow one that a forum member wants to sell >
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2015 Royal Enfield Continental GT Cafe Racer, 23 miles LIKE NEW
~~~~~~~
Mine's red >
.

[wayner]

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2QKTBdigs5M

Although sometimes the IDEA of having a vintage bike is better than actual HAVING a vintage bike...

Of course you could just wait until you are as old as the bike
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IREOSB3Eem8

[javadog]

Your friend is not a motorcyclist, it sounds like he has the wrong attitude to be one, so my advice would be that he takes up a different hobby.

No advice as to which alternate hobby might blow a breeze up his skirt, so I'll leave the rest of the discussion to you boys.

JR

[Shaun @ Tru6]

Originally Posted by javadog

Your friend is not a motorcyclist, it sounds like he has the wrong attitude to be one, so my advice would be that he takes up a different hobby.

Best advice on the thread.

[Jeff Higgins]

Originally Posted by peteremsley

Backlash against the over played café scene? Perhaps the next big thing? I've been keeping my eyes open locally for reasonably priced early iron head sportsters. Probably have more luck if winter ever arrives.

You might remember my old Ironhead; I've posted it here in the past. I've owned it since '79 or '80, back when it was just a bike. It's latest rebuild (three or four years ago) includes S&S flywheels and rods, Andrews R5 cams, Jim's "big axle" lifters, chrome moly pushrods, heads by Dan Baisely (out of Portland) to include his roller tipped rockers, Kibblewhite valves, springs, and keepers. It breathes through an S&S Super E and wears Cycle Shack slip-on mufflers.

This thing will run with pretty much any bike in our local vintage circles. It's a real hoot to ride, as long as I don't do that very often. It goes for short rides with like-minded enthusiasts on similar machines, who are all prepared to help one another when necessary. I won't burden my buddies who ride modern bikes with this thing.

Old Sportsters still seem to be a dime a dozen. Their value has just never gone up; not like old Nortons and Triumphs, or old Pans and Shovels, anyway. They are kind of the forgotten step child of the vintage world. Most have had a very, very rough life, being at the bottom end of the range in so far as how much folks care about them, and the kind of folks who can afford them.

Plenty of nicely restored examples out there, though. They go for far less than their British, Italian, or German cousins.