When is it time to move up to a Big Boy Bike?

[dougfreeze]

I have some questions for the motorcycle riders here but I'm looking for input from anyone who has a comment, whether it be nice, mean or sarcastic.

My Main Question (and you can skip the rest of the information below if you want):
If I moved up to a motorcycle from my Forza 300, would the bumpy ride on the freeway go away? I also feel pretty sketchy when riding 75+ MPH on those small wheels. Would a bigger bike with bigger wheels help with that?
Traffic here in Los Angeles routinely goes from 30 MPH to 80 MPH and back again, so I'm caught in a fast lane a lot.

(I've been looking at the Harley Davidson Street 750 http://www.harley-davidson.com/en_US/Mo ... t-750.html because I like the look of it and it seems to be a small, light lane splitter.)

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Background: I started riding as a child on Honda Trail 50, 70 & 90. Moved up to a Honda CBR 600 (Hurricane 600) in High school. Went back to a Honda Elite 80 scooter while I was married and then haven't ridden in 20 years. I got my Honda Forza 300 four months ago and have put 4,800 miles on it since then.

My requirements: I need a narrow Lane Splitter. I drive around Los Angeles making house calls and splitting (sharing) lanes all day long and the Forza has been perfect for that, in fact, I really LOVE this thing. I need someplace to put a tool bag about the size of a full face helmet. Mounting a rack on back wouldn't be a problem for me so just ignore that comment.
I am also concerned about leaving my helmet locked and hanging on a mirror since I have a small Mobius Action Camera mounted inside and don't want the camera to get stolen. Any ideas how to hide the camera from prying eyes?

[davenowherejones]

Top case

The Street 750 banged my knees with all that crap around the engine.

[homie]

There is good use for both scoot and street bike... put more miles on the scoot last season

[chicaboo]

I would always be worried about burning my leg on a Street-X or any V with the headers configured like that.
Last year I burned my ankle very badly on a CB125 (no foot guard over crankcase) and it took 3 moths to heal with another 2 months of infections...
It's my fault for not wearing mid boots that day, but it really is a crap design, and when I see hot things near my leg I run and scream now.
Alternatives to that I like are the Kawasaki Vulcan S and Honda Rebel 500.

[gn2]

The Harley is an unbelievably bad pile of shite.

If you want a good motorbike to move up to from the Forza, look at the Suzuki SV650, Yamaha FZ07 or Yamaha XSR700 and make sure you get one with ABS.

[87112]

Make sure you want to shift gears on a motorcycles. I rode sportbikes for over 10 years and can't bear to shift a thing anymore. I would just hang on to your Forza just a bit longer and wait till the 300 class scooters are more introduced in the States.

[chicaboo]

...or Yamaha XSR700

This!

[dougfreeze]

I'm in Love!
I just went and looked at a bunch of bikes and made the mistake of sitting on a Triumph Bonneville T120.
That thing felt like butter under my butt, it was so comfortable.
But then I got on my Forza to ride home and wondered how I could ever give it up.

Thanks for the input about the Harley. When sitting on it, I never did like the engine and exhaust so close to my legs.
I like the look of the Yamaha XSR700. That's the style I'm looking for.

[gn2]

The new 270 crank Bonneville is too expensive and there have been quality control issues.

[k2apache6.0]

I went backwards. The PCX is my 1st scooter after owning several motorcycles over several decades. Almost any decent modern motorcycle is going to ride nicer than a scooter in regard to bumps and stuff, same for high speed stability.

[gn2]

Me too, traded a Triumph Daytona 900 for my PCX.
Had got bored with the Daytona, it was far more bike than I really needed and was a chore to ride it at legal speeds.
PCX was way more fun, just bimbling along exploring small backroads and enjoying the scenery and the ride.
After moving house and changing jobs the PCX wasn't enough so I traded up to a Forza 300 and it was pretty much ideal for my commuting needs but just didn't provide anything like as much fun factor, that elusive quality you just can't determine from the spec sheets.
Would have been keeping the Forza but for its persistent gremlins.
In two days time I take delivery of a new shiny red SV650 and judging by the test ride I had it has fun factor in spades which hopefully will make up for reduced practicality

[montliz44]

Doug,

A good topbox will solve your helmet storage problem and your grocery hauling problems in one shot. If you don't mind spending a little money you could go with the Givi Monokey system. I have a 47 liter Givi box and it holds my Shoei Full-face helmet and gloves with plenty of room left over. When I get where I'm going I just throw the stuff in there, click the lock, and walk away.

For ride improvement, besides the obvious rear shock replacement, I've found that the Bikerzbits rear shock extenders make a huge difference in ride comfort. I think they're designed mostly to lower the seat height, but the effect of the change in geometry is quite noticeable on rough road surfaces. See "Hello from Thailand" thread in the Forza/general forum.

Buy a large bike for highway use? Sure, but, for what it's worth, my BMW R1100S, which owns the highway and is silky smooth out there on the big road in all conditions, is worse than useless in town. It idles at 40 mph in first gear and you spend all your time between stoplights going from first into neutral so you don't have to go over the handlebars slowing down for every stoplight. Not fun. The Forza's great in town and not bad at all on the big road. (Sez me).

Johnny

[dougfreeze]

I think I'm going to rent a motorcycle for a couple of days. If the constant shifting and the lack of storage bother me enough, I'll try to get this bug out of my system to buy a bigger bike and I'll stick with my little Scarlet (Forza).

[chicaboo]

If it turns out that shifting bothers you, the weird looking Honda NM4 has lots of storage and changes it's own gears.
I can't remember what it's called, but an American company make automatic conversion kits for motorcycles, too.

[Embattle]

Actually the NM4 is rather shit on storage, most of it is impractical.

Storage is one of those things that you find easy to forget about when you have it but once you've been riding for a while without it then it'll probably be rather annoying.

[phantom309]

have you concidered the honda NC750 ? as this is fantastic at lane splitting , has helmet size hole / storage where you would expect the petrol tank ,(that's under the seat) and very nice to ride... plus very good on fuel .

[87112]

I wish they made more automatic motorcycles, I think a lot of riders like myself ( 10 plus years of shifting) desire auto only. But it seems the makers really don't listen to us often.

[gn2]

Honda do a few with DCT, Yamaha have their big 1300 tourer available with auto, Aprilia Mana, I think all the electric bikes are single speed with no gearbox.

[JetPilot]

I have some questions for the motorcycle riders here but I'm looking for input from anyone who has a comment, whether it be nice, mean or sarcastic.

Put a top case on the back of your Forza, and put your helmet, etc there. I did not see any storage at all on any of the motorcycles you listed, did you even think about that ?

You spend very little time above 70 MPH, and 99 % below that speed in LA traffic, get real.... From your post you think you want a motorcycle, and are trying to find reasons to make the change. In all practicality, the Forza is perfect for the way you are riding. Your " change " will get old real quick. Shifting all day in traffic just sucks.

The motorcycles you like are horrible, especially for the type of riding you do. The only thing the Harley is good for is a 10 minute ride on the beach trying to impress people... The Triumph is slightly better, but still one of the worst if you needed to get a motorcycle instead. Looks and style mean nothing when you actually have to ride the bike all day.

Mike

[DanFromVegas]

This question is like asking what is the best cheese, or your favorite color. I have been riding for 50 years, I have owned every kind of bike in every size imaginable. My current rides are the PCX150 that I got this week, a GoldWing and a Burgman 650. The best bike is the one that suits you. It depends what you are looking to do with it. Pretend to be a racer? Get a sportbike. Dualsports like the KLR650 are great for the crap roads of California. The best device for lane splitting is a white helmet. The CHP helmets are blue and gold but something about a white helmet screams COP! to your fellow motorists. If the front of the bike is white, that will help too.

I have commuted in LA traffic on everything from the GoldWing to a SYM Wolf 150. It's not the bike, it's the rider.