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Motorcycle Forum / General / Sportbikes / September 2005My coworker passed the test
It's been about 3 weeks since I've even sat on a bike. I had the heebee jeebies. I love the feeling you get after a ride. It definitely makes me feel more alive the rest of the day. Today I got out for a ride with Bannon and a coworker of mine. We did the familiar Highbrige - Ben Howard route that takes you out to Sultan. (right by that little bakery, Saddle.) Bannon and my Coworker met me at my place and we set out. I led and Bannon rode sweep. I guess one of the purposes of this little ride was because we are all planning on attending a trackday together 10-3 in Portland. (Troy wussed out, apparently...fat bastard!) Anyhow my coworker rode pretty well. He was on a YZF600R. He didn't take the bait when I turned it up a little, he kept his head about him, and kept it upright. I talked with Bannon at a stoplight after the coworker had peeled off, and we thought he'd be fine at the trackday. An aside, on our little journey, my coworker and I switched bikes. I love riding 600's. They rev to the moon and you can hold them wide open for eons. They turn like crazy, even the ones a few generations old. I swear I'm gonna buy that Daytona 675 triple.  SignatureAndrew 00 Daytona 00 Speed Triple 71 Kawi H1 [snip] > An aside, on our little journey, my coworker and I switched bikes. I > love riding 600's. They rev to the moon and you can hold them wide open > for eons. They turn like crazy, even the ones a few generations old. > I swear I'm gonna buy that Daytona 675 triple. Yeah, it's looking to be a very interesting bike: http://www.motorcycledaily.com/23september05_triumph675.htm -- Michael My co rider "never" passed the test. When ever I use to take my son out on a ride I would also "pick it up" a bit and hope to see my son hang back and catch up when I slowed down. Unfortunately he was always on my tail and when we came to the next stop and I mentioned to him that he had just "failed", he would smile and say " Dad, I just didn't want to lose you! Dave Pedersen 03 SV1000S 04 Vulcan Mean Streak > My co rider "never" passed the test. When ever I use to take my son out on > a ride I would also "pick it up" a bit and hope to see my son hang back and [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > 03 SV1000S > 04 Vulcan Mean Streak How do you like the Mean Streak? They came out with some spiffy new graphics this year: http://www.kawasaki.com/html/default_frame.asp?strContentURL=/html/motorcycles/c ruiser/vulcan2000_frame.asp and I was considering getting one as my commuter. Easy on the balls, the maintenance, the tires. I rode one several years ago and liked it except that at freeway speeds there wasn't the punch that I expect, but I suppose I can adapt. > How do you like the Mean Streak? I like the "Meany" quite a bit. I don't think it is necessarily a cross between sport bikes and cruisers like some people would claim. Its big and somewhat heavy and to me, its a cruiser with a tachometer. I just love riding the thing around town because there is a fair amount of torque and you can still keep ahead of most cars. I use the bike mainly to take my wife with me on luncheon and breakfast runs and it is perfect for that. She won't even get on the SV. All in all, I would say that if you are just into quick riding and sporty bikes you wouldn't care for the Mean streak, but if your "slowing down" a bit and have any Cruiser blood in your veins, you would probably like it! >>How do you like the Mean Streak? > [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > your "slowing down" a bit and have any Cruiser blood in your veins, you > would probably like it! I don't know about slowing down, cause I never really considered my commute much of a race. I'd keep my Duc for the mountains/track, but wouldn't mind something a little more comfy and low maintenance for the day to day stuff. Thanks for the feedback. > I don't know about slowing down, cause I never really considered my > commute much of a race. I'd keep my Duc for the mountains/track, but > wouldn't mind something a little more comfy and low maintenance for the > day to day stuff. Thanks for the feedback. Well, in that case, the Mean Streak could be for you. I think it handles very well for a cruiser. I believe the valve lashes are adjusted automatically and so with the drive shaft the Mean Streak is very low maintenance. I have put 8,000 miles on mine in the last 5 months in addition to riding my SV and mainly for the reasons you mention about comfort and low maintenance. I just had to put my first set of tires on it and the front tire was very hard to find for some reason. I may switch sizes next change. If you get one, I think you will like it. I know I do. Dave Pedersen >>I don't know about slowing down, cause I never really considered my >>commute much of a race. I'd keep my Duc for the mountains/track, but [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > comfort and low maintenance. I just had to put my first set of tires on it > and the front tire was very hard to find for some reason. Aren't they standard 17" sportbike rims? > Aren't they standard 17" sportbike rims? Well, yes. But for some reason I was told that the only manufacturers that make the front tire in a matched set with the rear were Bridgestone 020 and Dunlop 220 I believe. I went with the Dunlop. The front tire that is hard to find is: 130/70-17 The rear tire is 170/60-17 I could find a 120/70-17 all day long but not the 130/70-17 for some reason. I think next time, I'm going to switch to the 120. >> How do you like the Mean Streak? > [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] >your "slowing down" a bit and have any Cruiser blood in your veins, you >would probably like it! Don't they now make a 2000cc version? I don't follow cruiser happenings closely. Some months back, the owner of the local Kawi shop wouldn't let me take his floor demo to the H-D shop's dyno shootout, just up the road. I thought that a shame, figuring it would clean up those Hogs. Ah well. Who knows, I might have liked it. '----------------------------------------------------- ' Daniel Bannon ' NW WA State, U.S.A. ' 2003 ZX636B Hercusaki, 1999 CBR1100XX '----------------------------------------------------- > Don't they now make a 2000cc version? I don't follow cruiser > happenings closely. [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > ' 2003 ZX636B Hercusaki, 1999 CBR1100XX > '----------------------------------------------------- Yes They do. I think the 2000 has been out several years now. I'm sure it is a very nice bike but it is very large and feels like a tank to me. I'm sure it is very comfortable riding down the road and probably would have done well in that dyno shootout but the Mean Streak is a much more managable size for my kind of riding and actually fairly nimble for a so called "sporty cruiser". >An aside, on our little journey, my coworker and I switched bikes. I >love riding 600's. They rev to the moon and you can hold them wide open >for eons. They turn like crazy, even the ones a few generations old. >I swear I'm gonna buy that Daytona 675 triple. Buy a JPN 600, something you won't mind throwing down the track because you WILL. Pretzel yourself onto the bike. Remember how much fun I had in '03 getting used to an itty bitty bike, to really grasp the fundamentals of cornering quickly. 'Sho 'nuff, it works. '----------------------------------------------------- ' Daniel Bannon ' NW WA State, U.S.A. ' 2003 ZX636B Hercusaki, 1999 CBR1100XX '----------------------------------------------------- |
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