"Too much bike" or nostalgia? 100hp 4cyl vs <50hp twin for leisurely back road riding

[LAB3]

My search started with XS650s, a very natural fit for the question at hand, but the KZ750 sort of dropped in my lap (well, sort of, it's clear 7 hours away driving time). But when I see a clean unmolested older bike, for cheap, in need of rescuing from cafe/bobber intenders, one must act.

That's the tough part of trying to find an XS650, one that's not been hacked up! Gotta admit though, they do make a nice looking old school style chopper for not much money with easily sourced off the shelf parts.

[Grimly]

That's the tough part of trying to find an XS650, one that's not been hacked up! Gotta admit though, they do make a nice looking old school style chopper for not much money with easily sourced off the shelf parts.

When I take the XS650 out after using the 850, it's like riding a Honda 250 but with twice the power.

[dorkburger]

I think literbikes (excluding big tourers) have been fun overkill for street use for years. If I ever have the extra money and space, I'd love to park a small GS next to the 1150.

[GS1150Pilot]

I haven't had a bike smaller than a 900 in decades, but they can be fun, and some of my best memories have been aboard my GPz 550 and the RZ350s I owned.

[dorkburger]

Ha, same here. I started on a KZ 550 in 90s then a year later it was GS1100, then GS1150, then the ES I have now.

That old scooter I have is a hoot though.

[GS1150Pilot]

Ha, same here. I started on a KZ 550 in 90s then a year later it was GS1100, then GS1150, then the ES I have now.

That old scooter I have is a hoot though.

I have friends who own Groms and are now angling for Vespa 300s. They don't do long trips but I daresay they have as much fun on two wheels as anyone I know.

[Suzukian]

Those little wheels slide on sand to easily. I also have seem many of these bikes get nearly rear ended as people who ride them ride in high speed traffic lanes at 40 mph, and everyone else is doing 65 mph. They good for about town, and some back roads. When I go riding, I want to go where I want to go on a whim. Any bike 500 cc or larger will let you do that. Even certain 400 cc bikes will allow that, to a point, they get a lot of road harshness passing up through the frame, and you are always revving the pizz out of them to get anywhere. I wouldn't, these days, take a 400 cc bike up on a major Interstate Highway.

[GS1150Pilot]

I think the thread was about backroads ...

[gtem]

I'm certainly not gonna be buying a Grom but I think the point is spot on, being able to ride something using more of its performance envelope while doing so safely/legally on the street. I personally can't wrap my mind around the economics of these little 125s, and I get that it's not fair to compare new vs used, but their MSRPs are what I paid for my clean low mileage Bandit 1200... but that's me speaking as a massive cheapskate.

[rphillips]

I wondered when I saw the thread title what was meant by backroad. To me, in my area backroads are the little dirt or gravel roads, Some probably think maybe narrower rds. that have no stripes on them, and some may think a hwy. with very little traffic. Read several definitions, and nothing definite about size or surface, but all say light traffic and usually in rural unpopulated areas... Hoped I'd find something more definite.

[gtem]

I guess I was a bit vague. To me backroad is widely defined as anything below a state highway, from 25mph up to 55mph limit, with a lot of those landing in the 40-45mph posted speed limit range, twisty, sometimes mediocre pavement, sometimes narrow and/or no marked centerline. A prime example last summer was PA 414 that runs along Pine Creek in Northern/central PA. It's cut into a mountainside, very narrow and twisty, the posted speed limit is as low as 25mph in some spots but goes up to 35-45 in some other areas. I was on my GS1100E last summer on that road and it just felt super overkill/out of place. A bull in a china shop.

[LAB3]

I've recently gotten to know a former trick riding (supposed) superstar, he's riding a 600cc Yamaha sport bike these days. It's a pretty wild experience riding with him, we'll be going down the road at 60mph and here he comes around to pass with the front wheel about two feet off the ground! He's planning to stick around Florida's gulf coast for awhile and is trading his bike in and getting a Grom, he claims it's the better bike for playing around in the dirt, riding in the sand and so on. The way this guy rides I'm pretty sure he knows what he's talking about.

[rphillips]

Don't think you were vague, everybody uses the term backroads. it's just that folks in different places think of it different. I don't remember reading about to do with speed limits or about below a st. hwy. The first thing that came up said "road away from the main road" but then didn't define main rd. Most definitions agreed in rural less populated areas... Kind'f like say'in I bought a high dollar house, near here $500K may be considered hi dollar, don't think folks in CA would think so

[Suzukian]

In Connecticut back roads are roads that sometimes leads you into the driveway of someone's house.

[bwringer]

Go check out a Royal Enfield dealer.

Yeah, the newer 650 twin is innnnnnnnteresting.



And yes, it's a lot more fun to ride a slow bike fast...


I will always have a soft spot for twins and triples.