Enough with the politics and public policy, here's a thread that'll get everyone mad

[LoHo]

To save you all the trouble, here's the Falcone:
http://classic-motorcycles.com/guzzi_falcone.html

[Special Ed]

Thanks Loho. That is the most modern Falcone I've seen. I didn't know they were still makeing it. It's probably not available in the U.S. I was thinking of a vintage "50 to '55, when the flywheel and valve springs were still exposed and had the Vincent style front shocks and sort of cantilevered rear suspension. The thing idels so slowly you can almost count the strokes.
E.Liberty

[dogyear58]

LOVE // XS1100 ?????????

Greatings.. gentelmen, ladies all XS lover's A-like.


There are faster bikes.....
There are bikes that handle better... (way better)
Just think about the bike that replaced the famouse XS1100


The legondary V-max


That's right just another drag bike..............
Bad handling. No good stopping pwr.....

But 140 fac. HP..

Think about it that's why your all madly passonly in love with 'em.
kuz' it's a drag bike...........

Heaaa, don't get me wrong I Love them toooooo...


And if you ask me........ harly........... your kidding me
(notice small h)

Both rods on One crank jurnel??? that's allmost humours..


But when pappy died he left me the 31 flat head 1200 UL.

Yaaaaa, What a machine hand shifter foot clutch...What a ride....
stroke the oil every 4 to 5 miles. or toast the valves
seperate..trottle and spark advance..
absolutely no krome on the bike.. that right boys ....just ugly red..

Yaaa you guy's ain't Road till you hop on a bike like that.............

But hay, let's get back to the XS1100

1 gear wow, yah I had 'er hop out of first going around a corner.

All most a horiffic Krash......I'm still alive............

Now I just hold my foot down on the shifter in low.she stays in...

And piss pore electric system.
And if you ask me there's just enough clutch for that big engin...



Well I guess I blew off enough Xcept to tell ya that verago's
'er all junk........ yamaha's big mistake....Thanks to all...

[xs650mike]

Falcone & Vmax

that is a modern Falcone, what happened to the meat slicer open flywheel?

Anyone who says VMAXes don't handle never tried to follow "Biscuits" Verbisco on the Marin Sunday Morning ride. Sideways in every turn...blew off the sportbikes1

[Hammerhead1st]

Road tested on my XS and THEN a Vmax

Took my road test last year for my motorcycle license on my XS and failed miserably because I couldnt do my turns correctly due to too much push in the front end.

This year, I took my road test on a Vmax and not only did the turns, I did them tight enough to only use half of the back street I was on. It was a BREEZE!! Sure, they don't like the tar squigglies and wet weather riding sucks nuts, but the comfort was optimal and it felt very nice on my back and legs.

Got my license with flying colors.

Not a v-twin fan here...the whole thump-thump thing doesnt enthuse me. Vmax's double v-twin design runs smooth and idles smooth. I like the throaty sound and takeoff of the vmax. After all that is said, however, I LOVE my XS. I love long rides and easy cruises. I love leaving town and rolling into it and keeping up with the sportsbikes and Vmax's my friends ride. I love letting my friends climb on it and take off, and come back with that surprised look on their faces because I don't hot dog it enough for them to know how much power it really has. I love that it's customizable and fairly easy to work on. I love the inline 4 design and originality of the entire powerplant. I love that I can fabricate most of the things I need for it.

I guessI just love my XS!!

[SiP]

I tried Virago once - SWMBO loved it! Oh wait, you mean a motorbike?

[ScottsXS]

i had an 87 honda magna 700cc V4 it was no hardley thats for sure

[fredintoon]

It's historical

90º V twins have perfect primary balance which is why the Italians put them in their top of the line bikes. OTOH narrow-angle V twins don't, they vibrate, but they were a neat fit inside single-loop bicycle-type frames, that's why they used them back in the day when engines were low powered and revved slow enough that vibration wasn't a big issue. Using a narrow-angle V twin these days, no matter who does so, is putting style ahead of performance and hate, loathe and despise that as we might, there are those who fall for that.
And those who are stuck with it. What arsehole thought it was a good idea to put that stupid little gas tank on the XS11 Special? Probably the same one as buried the bacon slicer on the Nuevo Falcone. And the muffler on it? I know where I'd shove that thing. And I'd MAKE it fit.

[fredintoon]

Check the Falcone site

Looking around that site and seeing all the various really neat bikes that Ziggy & Lisa have, I noticed that of all the nice machines they could have picked from their collection the one they chose to ride on a 7,000km European tour was their 1987 Duo Glide Heritage Special. Yeah, a Harley.
Was it:-
The bike they liked the least so they didn't care about racking up the miles on it?
The bike they liked the best so they just had to take it?
The only bike in the collection with a decent pillion seat?
Interesting thought, eh?

[madmax-im]

I've never been particularly impressed with the Virago...although Yamaha was the 1st japanese manufacturer to copy the v-twin concept from H-D.However the way the engine is layed out on the Yam....it looks oddly placed.As for styling ..I'd give the H-D higher marks.My rationale is..If you wannna look like an H-D just buy a H-D...everything else is just a clone or copycat wannabe.When I was a little boy...I remmy the big H-Ds' of the '50s and '60s' and I thought how much i liked them...but as an adult motorcyclist...I think the v-twin clones are an adbomination...Yesterday while riding my '81 XS1100 SH Streetfighter I pulled up to a light where 2 H-D riders were sitting.They looked over at me and the XS and gave me the thumbs up...it seems they had this bike yrs ago and were familiar with it.After seeing my 27 yr old machine they were amazed that it was still a viable rocket and had outlasted their newer H-D's and that it looks just as Pristine as the day it rolled off the factory floor.To me there is NO OTHER BIKE that has the COOL factor that the XS and XJ1100s' have...call me biased...you'd be correct in that analysis.

[madmax-im]

Cool factor

An interesting thing happened at the XS East rally this Past Sunday.We all rode to Hancock NY.We parked at the McD's.Adjaecent to Mickey D's was Subways.In that parking lot were a group of maybe 8-10 Yamaha Venture(the new ones)riders.Most of these guys were older and former US Marines...when they saw us pull into the parking lot next door they all came over to look at the vintage Yamahas.At first these guys looked alittle rough so I thought maybe they'd give us some b.s. but when I saw their Yamaha t-shirts i knew all was good...they thoroughly enjoyed looking and talking with us as we did...just another factor of COOL.....XSive 4 ever

[olebiker]

I just love to ride. All bikes have different pros and cons (kinda like the ladies). I have never met a bike I didn't like. I have however some preferences both to ride and to work on. I have never owned an Italian bike or a BMW. I think I have had at one time or another most other makes. I wish that I still had them all. I would need a very big garage. And three versions of tools. On a long slow ride in the fall it is hard to beat a thumper. On a fast interstate ride hard to beat an in line bagger. In the dirt I am partial to green. In a tractor pull I miss my FLHS. I have never understood the kind of attitude that even one of my brothers has. It goes kind of like this if I couldn't have a (fill in the blank) I would walk. Horse**** I would still ride one of my old Jawa 250's if I had it. I remember one on my fellow riders that had a vespa with a sidecar. He had a ball with that thing. Who cares what you ride I care that you ride.

[LoHo]

The popularity of the Virago, and the "chick-bike" image it has, is due to the low seat height. A big guy on a smaller Virago conjures up the monkey/football analogy. My wife is 5'7" and has to tippie-toe on my XS when stopped and won't drive it because of that. She loves being up back, though...

FWIW, I think more of a guy who's keeping an old bike on the road than a guy who plunked down $30K for a showroom model, although I understand the curb appeal of a big custom chopper to sweet young thangs who might want a ride...just saying'...

[Crazcnuk]

I have no issue with V-twins or any other engines. As for 'copying' or 'cloning' HD's V-twins, none of the Japanese ever did that.

No one is dumb enough to copy the HD piece of crap. Every other company actually made 'modern' v-twins, that which Harely aspires to be, but can't get the guts to do.

Harley should be doomed in the next 10-20 years, after the biker mystique is forgotten and it becomes known as the bike for small girls and geezers.

I've owned two Viragos, and both, so far have beat my XS in reliability, although I don't blame that on the XS.

Best bike I've ever owned, so far was the '85 Shadow 1100.

14 years, 92,000kms and I never did anything to it except replace wear items, and the oil. THEN I traded it for a 12x58' mobile home complete with appliances, and the other guy threw in an '82 Virago as well.

I have no issue with Harley's styling, but the drivetrain only improved when they went to Japan to see how better bikes are made, but they still produce less power, less performance for much higher cost than anyone else.

[Bigfoot]

A good friend of mine is responsible for peaking my interest in bikes. His opinion was "ride what you got". He was a Harley rider but did not have a bad attitude towards other makes. The only ones he seemed to despise were the guys he referred to as "Harley owners" not Harley riders. You know the type, the ones that pay 18k for a bike, immediately drop another 10k into chrome and accessories, trailer it to Sturgis and maybe put 200 miles on it per year. I do like the Harley's looks but I wouldn't trade my bike for one.