I've sort of kicked around the idea of maybe eventually, possibly moving up to a motorcycle in the far, far distant future. But I can't get a straight answer about a very simple question. Anyway, here is my post from
Actual Riders, feel free to comment:
If you read my intro, you know I may be looking into buying a motorcycle in the somewhat near future. The thing is, trying to get an unbiased opinion is hard to do in the bike shops. Most of what they say is exactly the wrong thing to say to me. It seems that everyone but me wants to go 150mph in 4 seconds, and that is the bike that the shp people point me to.
Anyway, if you don't mind, I'd appreciate some general advice.
If I do move up, I think I'd be more than happy with a 650cc bike, like the Kawasaki KLR or the Versys or the Suzuki 500 or something similar. I think I prefer the naked bike/standard look.
So, my question is:
When is enough power, enough?
I mean, the KLR 650 does 0-60 in six seconds, according to the review I read in one of the magazines I have. I don't want to go faster! Well, I probably do, but I don't really need to go faster. According to the review, top speed on the KLR is 93mph, so it will probably cruise at 80mph with no problems. Does anyone really need more than that? Why?
Some of the reasoning I hear seems crazy to me. Besides the 'Because you can', which you can't argue but is a pretty weak argument. The one that kills me but that I hear a lot is 'Well, at 75 mph sometimes you need that extra power to get out of trouble.'
Ummm, seems to me that you shouldn't be driving that fast if you're in a situation where you can get into trouble. Sure, I completely understand that stuff happens but is that a valid point?
Anyway, thaks for trying to help a new motorcycle enthusiast out and I hope I haven't set off a fame war on my fourth post.
One last thing, if you know of a bike other than the three I listed that will top out around 100 mph and is comfortable but still pretty quick, let me know. I'll add it to my list.
Thanks again!
