Timbo Slice

Some things never change... KEVIN

Awesome to see this coming together Andy!

I'm assuming you mean the 690 Duke then, the SuperDuke is a 1290. Surprisingly, for being a liter bike, the FZ1 is extremely refined and manageable.

That's more like it. Have you looked at the FZ1? Solid, solid bike.

Thanks man! I ended up with a free weekend so I split out of town early Saturday, rode to Amsterdam to visit my grandmother, raced the sunset from there to Lake Placid and camped for the night. Sunday morning I did a quick climb up Whiteface and then hit the road back to Rochester. Perfect weather, empty roads...it was simply amazing.

SuperDuke I can approve of, but I looked up ZT-09 and this is what I found. I could see you rocking that.

Took mine out of the city for the weekend on what is now tied for the best driving/riding experience I've had my entire life. Did the whole thing solo, packed my tent to camp it, and total cost was about $25 in fuel.

Damn, that's a shame. Glad you're okay.

Yup, he's back.

Looking for something All Season mainly. The car is going to see mild winters shortly and occasional gravel. Just looking for a well balanced tire that is a combo of quiet, comfortable, and long lasting. Side note: http://www.autoblog.com/2017/06/21/volvo-cars-relaunches-polestar-as-standalone-electric-car-brand/

Looking for some tire recommendations for the XC90. All season, mostly road use with a decent bit of gravel track stuff. Does anyone have recommendations?

With a proper exhaust, those SVs can sound so mean

Very cool. And yeah I get the feeling to crank the throttle as well, it's just there and asking to be used. I wonder if they make some type of windscreen you can utilize to cut the wind down without it ruining the look of the bike.

Nice pickup Andy!! Glad to see you starting fresh, hopefully between the old VR and this one you'll build a hell of a machine! Hopefully we can catch up this summer, I'd love to see it.

Went for a long ride after work yesterday, I'm really loving this thing. I already have a list of modifications for it though...

We'll have to do a NY get together then sometime this summer. I'm not against coming out your way to get a few NE guys! I still have the Swedish flag from the 2014 Saab tent ;)

Congrats buddy! I'll be at Ithaca again, probably not driving the Volvo but such is life. Any plans to have this thing done and in town for that meet??

Monsters can be optioned out in so many different ways, both in motor size and equipment, like you mentioned. The Suzuki does have some options to choose from, but not nearly what Ducati offers. The sticker price fully reflects that. That being said, the new SV650 is a steal if you ask me. $6,999 for the model without ABS, $7,499 with it. I'm really glad they brought it back this year and I hope they never bastardize it like they did with the Gladius. I think having an SV650 for commuting purposes and something like an FJ-09 or VStrom for long distance touring would be the perfect combo.

Neither do I, I'm teaching myself as I go

It's like a Volvo (SV650). It competes with BMW (Monster), but the BMW doesn't compete with the Volvo. That's at least my impression as well as a few others, though that's not an official marketing thing. Mine was a 2001, but it had a lot of custom work done to it when I bought it: -Buell Headlights -Buell Windscreen -"MotoGP style" custom exhaust -GSXR 1000 front forks -Kawasaki SX10 rear shock -TrailTech Vapor Gauge cluster That bike was unique, and I miss it all the time. Maybe a little less now that I'm riding the FZ.

Which Yamaha is this again? Agreed though. I ended up picking up an 08 FZ6 with 84xx miles on it last night and am really happy with the riding position. It might need a Corbin seat down the road and some better bars, but everything else is exactly what you said: ideal. Rode it an hour home from Buffalo with nothing but blue skies and country roads, man was that everything I needed. I'm excited to get more seat time this weekend, but am pretty happy with the power delivery the bike has, which makes me happy I didn't go with the 919. It's a nice, torquey motor below 6k but not obnoxious, and at 8k it turns into an entirely different bike. Suffice it to say I'll be staying below 8k for a little while so I can get used to being back on a modern bike again. I got to the top of 2nd last night and was just shy of triple digits...not the kind of power I'm used to, especially after coming off of my '79 CB750. I'm transferring my plate on my lunch break, I'll post some pics once I get it cleaned up. This is why I bought my first SV650. I feel like they were designed to compete directly with the Monster.

Did you end up getting any seat time? I'm in the middle of selling my CB750F and have an SV650, FZ6, and 919 staring at me. I'm leaning towards the FZ because it'll make a good sport-tourer, but the SV is cheaper (and I've had one in the past with zero complaints) and the 919 just seems like a badass little bike. All three are about the same price. Thoughts?

Yeah they seem to be the predecessor to what we now know as the naked sportbike from what I understand. It's a more upright and relaxed riding position with the same (not identical) power delivery and similar braking and suspension components as it's super-sport counterpart. Call me old, but that's why I'm looking at picking up an FZ-10 for sport touring in the next year or so. It's a sport-inspired bike with plenty of power (same crossplaned inline 4 as the current R1) but is very comfortable and has tons of aftermarket for touring accessories like bags and whatnot.

Honda Hornet? What year? I've been seeing a few around here lately for sale, curious how they ride.