Any riders gone vintage? | GTAMotorcycle.com

Any riders gone vintage?

Kuro

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I've been riding supersport after supersport for the past 6 years and I want a change.
I almost pulled the trigger on a 1981 CB750, but the condition of the bike was quite poor. It was also carbed. I'm not new to carbs but I've recently read about older bikes taking several minutes to warm up before you can start your ride. My current fuel injected 636 starts on first attempt and I'm riding within seconds.

I sat on the CB750 and it felt quite heavy. Heavier than when I had a CBR1K. I can only imagine how much less nimble this UJM is.

Any riders here ever changed their ride from a modern super sport to vintage?

Did you love the switch or was it hard to get used to?
I love the style of the CB750 and I'm even considering now a 1981 CB900C, but there seem to a quite a few hassles to deal with. I even read that the CB900 is top heavy and not to lean it too far while at a stop. I have absolutely zero concern about that with my current SS.

So is it worth it?

I mean, they're pretty cheap too. They're usually about $2000 to $3000 for a decent condition one.
I know that Honda recently released a 2014 CB1100 in Canada which tries to replicate the feel of the old CB750, but they're about $13k.

Please let me hear about your experiences and opinions. Thanks
 
carbs aren't all too bad to deal with. IMO just run an ethanol free fuel and you should be good to go. Also plenty of DIY youtube video on sync carbs as well.

The routine with my bike is start it and put on gear. this way the bike is warming up and I can adjust the amount of choke and the slight carb adjustment to get the idle rpm prefect.
 
Enjoyed my 1993 ST1100 in Aus - bullet proof. This has the touring screen on. Shorter sports screen looks better



So quiet at 150kph with the tall screen
 
I ride a cb550 and i warm it up for 30 seconds and start riding. I do, however, stay below 4k for a minute to warm her up after which i proceed to my normal riding. These old bikes, although they are heavy, are very nimble. Make sure you get an old bike that is running properly. That means no smoke, all 4 headers are in the same temp range, and idles below 1400 rpm tops when she's warm.
 
there is a difference between vintage and just old. '90's bike are just old. Carb'd is fine, and really no worse than starting any other power equipment or older car.
Like anything, handling and stopping and reliability tend to evolve over time and bikes have gotten better brakes, smoother power and better electrical, and generally better balance and handling. So the "ride" is not better or worse on vintage stuff, its just different. I've had and still have some bikes from the 40's through to the 70's and have modern machinery in the shed. They are fun, mostly reliable and entertaining, but if you expect anything close to a current Japanese bike's characteristics you'll come up short.
 
there is a difference between vintage and just old. '90's bike are just old. Carb'd is fine, and really no worse than starting any other power equipment or older car.
Like anything, handling and stopping and reliability tend to evolve over time and bikes have gotten better brakes, smoother power and better electrical, and generally better balance and handling. So the "ride" is not better or worse on vintage stuff, its just different. I've had and still have some bikes from the 40's through to the 70's and have modern machinery in the shed. They are fun, mostly reliable and entertaining, but if you expect anything close to a current Japanese bike's characteristics you'll come up short.

Well it comes to things over than the engine you can upgrade brakes and some stuff to modern equivalency but its a huge expense. Its much cheaper to make sure you OEM equip is working as it should. Japanes classics still have great build quality...its just thats its 70's and 80's build quality. Reliability is still present in the CB and GS lines but the bike are 30 years old at that point so a rebuild will be required to get it even a fraction of the out of the crate feel.
 
Newer bikes are better in every way. That's almost the definition of new. Only reason (besides nostalgia, collectibility etc) to ride vintage is because they're "good enough" at legal road speeds and in exchange for all the missing performance you'll gain a degree of design and mechanical simplicity. By design I mean you don't have to remove ten items to work on a defective component or to service.
 
Vintage bikes can be modified to hold their own against any modern bike performance wise.
Of course the refinement won't be there but that's part of the experience if you are into old bikes.
 
Newer bikes are better in every way. That's almost the definition of new. Only reason (besides nostalgia, collectibility etc) to ride vintage is because they're "good enough" at legal road speeds and in exchange for all the missing performance you'll gain a degree of design and mechanical simplicity. By design I mean you don't have to remove ten items to work on a defective component or to service.

New bikes are better in every way... that's why for some they are not as good.
 
Vintage bikes can be modified to hold their own against any modern bike performance wise.

Rather than parse this I'll just go with a blanket no.
 
Rather than parse this I'll just go with a blanket no.

Would keep up pretty good ;)

1504145_447715892030649_7346934560701071043_n.jpg
 
In terms of performance I'm not looking for something that'll match a modern bike. I just want to use it to cruise around leisurely with style and comfort but not want it to be a pain to start up every time I want to ride or maintain and break down on the side of the road.

Are there more modern bikes with kind of that vintage CB look? (like the '14 CB1100 but not that new)

I also just discovered the existence of the Yamaha bolt which also looks nice.
 
Would keep up pretty good ;)

1504145_447715892030649_7346934560701071043_n.jpg

Cool bike for track days, but there's no place to race a turbo bike or a "vintage" bike with upside down forks. (... and I bet that bike is not REALLY any faster than a "Cooley fridge" or a done ELR, even with the GSXR oil-cooled motor).

If "vintage" bikes are so slow, how come I can pass so many moderns on my 40 year old 400cc bike?
Check out the Vintage Road Racing Assn. lap records
http://www.vrra.ca/board/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=14811
Dave Roper did a 1:38 at Mosport on a 50 year old 500cc bike with a 120 rear tire and drum brakes front and rear. How many of you can do that on a modern?

I haven't "GONE" vintage.
I never left.
I am almost finished a '89 RZ350 (former Leitner and Bush RZ cup bike). Stroked 4mm, over bored 4mm, Banshee quad top end, 40mm TMX carbs, custom pipes, modified frame to mimic the geometry of 2006 CBR600RR, RaceTech suspension from a '89 GSXR750RR endurance racer. 300 lbs and about 100hp, better power to weight ratio than a modern 600.
 
Are there more modern bikes with kind of that vintage CB look? (like the '14 CB1100 but not that new)

I also just discovered the existence of the Yamaha bolt which also looks nice.

For a cruiser the Bolt is nice. What about the Retro line of Triumph bikes? Very much lacking, performance wise, compared to a proper modern bike but way ahead of heavy cruisers in a dynamic sense. Bonuses are very easy to service, tons of aftermarket and long production run assuring large used parts supply and proven reliability.
 
I recently picked up a '84 Suzuki GS550EF that I couldn't pass up for the price. Took a lot of work and a few new parts to get her back on the road (mostly electrical) but thankfully the engine wasn't abused. Have been riding it daily for a couple of months now and am quite happy with how much power and agility it has for being a <500 lb, 30 year old bike.

Only issue I have is commuting during traffic. The engine, being air-cooled can get very very hot. I haven't had to pull over to let it cool down yet but as the temperature rises, I fear the day(s) I might have to. The full fairings covering the engine doesn't help much either. It keeps my left leg pretty toasty though.

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