Tpoppa

I've had reservations about these since they came out, but curiosity got the better of me. It also helped that I found a smoking deal on a used VFR1200 (normal gearbox) with hard bags. I like it a lot more than I expected. What's good about these just doesn't stand out on a spec sheet. The chassis is the high light. It's uber stable in high speed sweepers. Handling is totally neutral with predictable steering. It's capable of knee dragging.Build quality is through the roof. Even better than other Honda'sYou can throw a leg over it for the first time and feel immediately comfortable after just a mile or 2.The 1237cc V4 is deceptively fast. I found myself doing 110 in the highway without trying. It was effortless and just felt like cruising speed. 170hp at the crank. 145-150 rwhp and loads of torque.IMO, It doesn't need to weigh 590lbs (wet), but the weight doesn't affect the handling as much as you would think.If your body doesn't agree with a RR anymore and you can't wrap your brain around a ST1300 yet...you should test ride a VFR12.

No. A Norge is only 1150cc. I tried to buy one of those in June, but the seller kinda flaked out on me.

I bought a new/used bike. It has a "V" engine and it's bigger than 1200cc.

Someday, I want to keep a bike long enough to reach 100k. The furthest I made it was 40k on my Buell XB9S. It still ran like new.

I prefer a bike that's been ridden and maintained to one that's been sitting unused.

Depends on the particular bike and ho w well it was maintained.

Without reading this, is it the the swing arm bushing?

Pretty much any 650 twin is a good starter bike that you won't outgrow anytime soon. Spend as much as you are comfortable knowing that a lot of 1st bikes wind up on their side at least once. But that's what insurance is for.

I've gotten trade offers of boats, old shitty RVs, all kinds of weird crap. Craigslist is free and you get what you pay for

I've sat on a few FZ9s but haven't ridden one. It feels under damped and under sprung, pretty common for budget suspension. The reviews I've read say the suspension is pretty consistent with some bikes I have ridden, though. The springs and damping rates felt really close to the Suzuki Gladius I used to have. It was good for 6-7/10 pace with stock suspension. It was good for 9/10 pace after I modded the suspension. On less than perfect Ohio roads I can live budget brakes, not suspension though. I'd love to see Yamaha release an "R" version of the FZ9.

I could live with the stock suspension on the fz1 or z1000, but not on the fz9.

I rode through a flock of Turkey Vultures last year. 1 was eating roadkill on the road, 6-8 more were a few feet off the road behind bushes hidden from view. They all flew right into my lane when I got close. There were feathers and flapping all around me. I hit 2 or 3 wth my helmet.

nice price on a 2012 Z1000 http://cleveland.craigslist.org/mcy/4555361201.html

Shops that make money selling you a new tire may tell you not to use a plug. Again, I'll take donations of nearly new tires that need to be plugged.

A plug won't work if the puncture is larger then the reamer in the kit. The plug should not go in the hole easily. I needs to be a tight fit to seal properly. I'll gladly accept donations of nearly new tires with small punctires

Why? Have you ever actually seen one fail? I've ridden aggressively on plugged tires for thousands of miles without losing any pressure or giving it a second thought.

A correctly installed plug will last the life of the tire. I've done it several times. I have never heard of a plug coming out.

I may have saved some old WV routes. How many miles do want to cover in a day?

Give the rest of us a bad name and raise our insurance rates.

KBB and NADA values are more accurate for cars than for motorcycles. The ER-6N, while a good motorcycle, was not a good seller. That's good for you if you're negotiating with a dealer. I'd offer $4,500 ish

Another good deal at the same place 2013 Ninja 1000 for $8,999 http://www.dreyermotorsports.com/2013-Kawasaki-Ninja-1000-ZX1000GDFL--inventory.htm?id=456991&used=1&vin=JKAZXCG17DA023918&unitType=1787&unitBrand=20