Most reliable bikes

I think kick starts have a bad rap for some undeserved reason.

( They should put a splined stubby on every bike someplace, and a kick start
thingy in the tool kit. Probably the couple more parts it takes scares the
bean counters, the additional <50 bucks a unit would throw them into
convulsions... ) )

Although I do carry some mini-ATV jumper cables in my standard kit.

I had a couple of kick start Brit bikes, basically if they didn't start
before the 3rd kick.... it wasn't starting that day ). But 99% of the time
they would.

Also true with an RD 350 I had... a Jap example...

If a bike can get by without electric start, there are great weight savings
in battery, starter, plus the electrical system is less complex and doesn't
have to be as robust...

But I have to admit, I have also an off road bike and short legs.... lots of
times just pulling in the clutch and hitting the start button saves the day,
being in an awkward place and having to find neutral and kick the thing
would not be fun.

But a bike which started reliably before the 3rd kick, and this should not
be a problem in this day and age, considering the weight savings etc... I'd
be tempted. My main reservation would be.. the thing probably wouldn't have
much resale value! )

P.

 

Albrecht via MotorcycleKB.com wrote:

but I wonder what the

Until the GS750ET, how many plain bearing, Japanese multis got by without a jackshaft?

 

How would you equate this with, say, the need for a decent battery and
electrical system on a modern fuel-injected bike?

How quickly do you think your right leg could spin over, say, a modern
1100cc engine?

 

It sounds like I should be looking for a cherry KZ....or a recent
Z750. I always admired their appearance. They look like they would
carry a passenger well.
Thanks, Folks!

 

Who says a shaft drive motorcycle cannot use rubber dampers in the rear
hub? The designer may elect not to, but by no means are shaft drive
bikes excluded from using cush drives in their rear hubs.

My GL1200 and my ZG1000 both have rubber dampers (of remarkably different
designs) in their rear hubs. The cush drive on the ZG1000 is very similar
to those on the chain driven bikes I've owned, where the Wing's cush drive
has an unusual design with individual rubber cylinders in the wheel hub and
dowel pegs engaging them from the driven part of the hub that is connected
to the ring gear.

 

Not because I didn't read your question and think about it, but simply
because I don't know the answer. And I suspect the same could be said
about many other readers of the newsgroup. I've wondered the same thing
about the rubber bits that perform a similar function on the balancer
shaft of my ZG1000. I would have thought that Kawasaki might have
thought about the durability of those rubber parts and specified a very
high quality synthetic "rubber" that would last for many years exposed
to hot oil.

It should go without saying, but I'll say it explicitly-- you shouldn't.

 

The early Z650s were stunningly styled. I sold mine only a few weeks
ago.

 

Well, who *cares*? I've just sold my 1977 Z650, and that had survived 30
years quite happily.

See above.

Most motorcycles *are* reliable. It's when owners start messing with
them, abusing them, or treating them like a wristwatch and expecting
them to run for years without being touched, that they give trouble.

You've had the charter quoted to you before. It's as good an indication
as any.

 

Some of us respond by doing the following:

-acknowledging the exception and moving on
-thinking before writing and limiting our use of generalizations.

You, on the other hand....

[irrelevance snipped]

-change the subject
-change your posting name (gleefully, AFAICT)
-whine about all the internet trolls who hate you and force you
therefore (somehow) to change your posting name

I _have_ see you, EXACTLY ONCE admit that you were wrong on a subject
without doing these things. This is, I think, an improvement.

btw, can I expect you to keep on changing your name so that my killfile
won't work, or will you eventually settle on something so that we can
continue to ignore each other for more than 2-3 weeks at a time? I
sorta' care, but mostly it's idle curiosity.

--
Later,
John



'indiana' is a 'nolnn' and 'hoosier' is a 'solkk'. Indiana doesn't solkk.

 

<snip the rest>

This lead is gonna end in the pure basic: 'What can be left out,
should be left out, because what is left in can get defective".

A few examples:
4 valves per cilinder is 4 too many. Get a two-stroke. You'll
never get worn out cams too. And no broken distributer chain.
Electric starter, kick starter? Use a jump-starter.
4 cilinders? That is 3 too many.
Water cooling? Of course that is too much.

We all can imagine what the bike would look like.
And then find that nobody wants to be seen on
a bike like that.

Rob.

 

No, it most certainly does not, as you constantly remind us. You also,
oddly enough, were the guy bemoaning the fact that you can't make
generalizations without getting corrected. Seems to me like a guy who
wants it his way and **** anyone else. But hey, that's Usenet.

Just wondering. I mean, if you don't want me to distract the entire
group from your "serious" and "on-topic" posts with irrelevant and
mean-spirited (trollish, even?) posts, well it's a lot easier for
everyone if you don't change your name all the time, or at least provide
_something_ constant on which I can filter.

But since you enjoy the argument, the defense of your upright and honest
nature, your vast sea of knowledge, (carefully gleaned from Uncle Sam's
weapons-of-mass-destruction training shops and years of motorcycle
riding and racing) your care for newbies (who appreciate you and not
us...whoever "us" might be at any given moment), well I guess I'll just
keep on changing my killfile.

Seems a bit of a waste for everyone to have to spend the effort, but if
you insist on it (yes I know you do, and this is Usenet so I need to
tough it out) well here we go again.

*plonk*

btw, I'll filter on the word "Albrecht" for now; you should be able to
change that pretty easily to break my filter.

--
Later,
John



'indiana' is a 'nolnn' and 'hoosier' is a 'solkk'. Indiana doesn't solkk.

 

message

Well, a 1+L thumper might be a problem! I recall some ~+\- 500cc dirt bikes
had a compression release on them.

But it seemed the more cyls, the easier it was to kick. A 4cyl 1100 might
not be too bad.

The Norton I had wasn't a problem, more technique than anything. You'd find
some resistance and then straighten your leg and stand on it and let your
weight do the work... you couldn't do it comfortably just using leg muscles.

I've seen lots of Harleys kicked over, they didn't always have electric
start...

They also used to hank crank cars at one time!

Good point about the FI, hadn't thought of that, although I have no idea
what kind of current they draw...

BTW, I heard of a method of jumping a bike off another once... could be a
myth don't know... but you back another bike up to it so the back wheels are
in contact, both bikes blocked up so the back wheels are off the
ground...then put the running "doner" bike in gear and Bobs your uncle!

Don't try this at home folks!

P.

 

Early Gold Wings did too, azzitappens.

And BMW offered it as an option on airhead boxers.

 

They tend not to positively encourage its changing every few weeks,
mind.

 

Well, if you put the valves back on it, it'd look a lot like my SR500 .

I don't know about that. I started riding (a very long time ago) on a 2 cycle
single cylinder bike (HD 165) and remember having an awful lot of fun on
it .

 

Hey Greg,

You know my rec for a reliable street bike. You can ride it anytime you
want You look GOOD on it too. Sorry to hear the VF isn't treating you
well. All I can say is... not all Japanese things are bad. What can I
possibly do to help you come to agreement on that?

Mike


--
Mike W.
96 XR400
99 KZ1000P
70 CT70
71 KG 100 (Hodaka-powered)

 

They were made as recently as May, 2005 if you can adjust to that
particular look I think it's hot, but most find it less so. I know where
there's one with 14000 miles on it not far from here.

Mike


--
Mike W.
96 XR400
99 KZ1000P
70 CT70
71 KG 100 (Hodaka-powered)

 

Z1 Enterprises in NY has very good prices on all the usual things. For
Kawasaki stuff, I think Ron Ayers has about the best prices.

Mike


--
Mike W.
96 XR400
99 KZ1000P
70 CT70
71 KG 100 (Hodaka-powered)

 

How much, Mike?