Kawi2strokes.com Forum

I think the key is at the bottom ........ " All Naked's " !!!!!

" During the technical presentation, this brand showed us journos a graph of the plummeting sales of its sportbike, next to the rising sales of naked motorcycles in general." !!!



http://www.cycleworld.com/rise-and-fall ... -bike-life

Back in the 70's I considered bikes like the Kawasaki triples, KZ's, Suzuki GS', Yamaha RD's and Honda fours to be sport bikes. And they are still my favorites.

I just can't get used to the look of any of the new bikes, guess I'm just weird.

_________________
1969 H1, 1971 G3SSA, 1974 G5, 1973 H2A, 1975 S3A, 1975 H1F, 1973 Z1, 1988 HD FLTC, Captain America chopper, 2000 Excelsior Henderson, 1965 Bridgestone BS90

I know the big ninja bikes are technical marvels and really fast bikes, but I think the problem is, none are unique !!! They all look the same !!! No character, even the H2 ninja is just another plastic Ninja bike !!! I know you need the plastic to go that fast but nobody can really use that power on the street anyway !!! The bike manufactures are beginning to see the light !!! They know where the sales are coming from, the retro market and naked bike categories are doing well as are the scramblers !!! No problem with keeping the Ninja bikes around but bring on some new classic unique bikes !!! Yamaha has started the trend,Kawasaki is totally behind the 8 ball but I have confidence that we will see some naked retro Kawasaki models soon !!!! I just hope they don't screw it up !!!

For years I've believed that sport bikes got out of hand. In the '70s it was fun to have an H2, and know it was probably the fastest thing I was going to encounter on public roads. I occasionally street-raced other vehicles, beat muscle cars like Trans Ams, other bikes, etc., but mostly just enjoyed riding it for transportation.

Now an H2 is by far not the fastest thing on the road, and really could be considered on the slow side. After all, a stock Yamaha FZ-07 will do a quarter mile about as fast as a stock H2. Once motorcycles got engines making over 150hp, it seemed silly to even consider buying one. I would not want to unleash that much power without being on a race track.

I think it's a really great thing that manufacturers are actually starting to offer motorcycles that are reasonable for street riding again. I bet insurance companies and law enforcement organizations don't mind either.

_________________
If it surges, that's normal, upshift.

I just picked up a new KTM Super Duke 1290R and can't wait to get to The Gap this weekend. Couldn't read the article because my computer has some issue with that site but I think people are tired of riding like a Racer. I have a Ducati 1098 and can't stand being on it for any length of time. It's a great bike on roads like around The Gap but I only get there once a year. Sure, I'm a 60 year old Curmudgeon, but who the hell in the real world wants to ride any distance in that crouched position?

I've been keeping my eyes on the used 690 Dukes. They're only a few pounds heavier than a 390, and seem to be reasonably priced if you don't mine the older version. (more vibration, etc.)

_________________
If it surges, that's normal, upshift.

My Stepson got a leftover 690 and the vibration of the older models didn't seem bad at all, it's all relevant. I drove an HVAC Service Van for 30 Years that sounded like a Pot and Pan Salesmen's Wagon, so when we bought my Wife a new car and she said, "Did you hear that creak?" I told her, "No I love this Sirius Radio".

Lets hope KTM,will bring us a F.I. street legal 2 stroke street bike !! They can start small because all we need is one manufacture with some credibly to bring one to market !! The Japanese manufactures are copy cats and they will jump on board !!! I thought the VD was going to that years ago but the screwed it up and stopped the progress !!! Lets hope KTM gets it right, the tech is there so I hope they can get it done !!!

Yeah, I guess having an H2 for 40 years has its benefits.

_________________
If it surges, that's normal, upshift.