To many choices.

I'm new to this whole bike thing. To be honest I always liked restoring cars, and thought i would try my hand at a bike picked up a 78 Honda CB750 for $60 and it barley ran. now after some fresh paint and engine and Tranny over houl it's starting to come around. now here is my delima. I have grown fond of the riding expirience and now I wish to upgrade. I am a big boy I have looked at alot of diferant bikes at the dealers. I really am leaning towards the honda VTX1300 or 1800 mostly because of cost and 3 kids. But I do like the bike and I beleive honda is a good machine. The other bikes I have looked at are the HD road king, and Triumph rocket 3 touring. anyone that knows anything about these bikes that could help me decide? Dealers only do their own products justice so i need some REAL WORLD Feed back

1 What would be the advantage of an 1800 as opposed to the 1300.
2 Fuebles with brands, like I have heared hD has some problems with their control Mods and Triumph is bad for transmissions.

I haven't really heared anything bad about the Hondas other than there not Harley lol But i have looked around and it seems that people are holding onto their VTX's Any input is greatly appreciated

Welcome to the board. You'll certainly get some input here, but you may end up more confused than you started.

Please clarify a few things. You say you are "a big boy". How big? Height, weight... I'm tall but thin, so my requirements are different from a short stocky guy.

What do you mean by "HD has some problems with their control mods"?

Again, welcome to the board and if you ever decide to change your board name just give one of the administrators a shout. It's hard enough going through life without people referring to you as "looks funny"... and you'll get that around this joint... believe me.

One good thing about the Harley is they retain or even increase in value. I have never heard that about another motorcycle brand. If gas mileage is an issue, get a scooter.

In this economy, I want value in what I own, disposable cash is not being spent.

Of course if you are well off, go with what is cool to you, all the motorcycles out seem reliable, ridable and great looking.

Welcome to the forum.

in response to FX. you are absolutly right about harly retaining value. and I have certainly taken this into consideration. I am the type though that once I buy the Bike, it'll be under me for a long time. I love harly and the big thing that attracts me to the Honda is i know they are a good bike too and the price tag.

Now big water. As far as the problem with HD control mod. That maybe incorrect terminology. As you know HD is fuel injected, Now other forums I have visited I have heared alot of people talking about their bikes stalling out due to a down load that was incorrect and caused the fuel mix to be lean. it's my understanding that you can purchase other down loads for modifications done to the bike. hopefully I am gathering correct information. now in HD's defense I guess the problem was easily rectified. My point I suppose was vague. I don't know alot about bikes and was curious as to what differant brands were known for. like example Dodge Ram pickups are bad about Transmissions, in genral what kinds of problems seem to be common with differant brands. And whats wrong with my name? i know. actually i was watching my daughter during some toilet training and my WIFE the wonderful person she is finished my sighn up. She thought it was a scream. lol oh well I have big shoulders lol

I have not heard of any tranny issues with the Trumpets. However, for someone new to bikes, I would not recomment the Rocket 3 as it is a lot of bike. As with BW I am not sure of what you are referring when speaking of a control mod on the HD. And trust me, I have owned Hondas, HD's and Trumpets over the years, mostly Trumpets but I find nothing wrong with an old Honda. By the way, Looks Funny, welcome to the forum.

I like the Honda I got. I guess though it is my first project bike. I have finally figured out how to upload some images to my profile. a couple of after shots and a before.

I happen to have a harely and it still has decent value. But if I had to have a bike now, I'd get what I could afford in honda yamaha or something and ride just as happy I guess as opposed to not riding.

So things are good for now.

First Welcome to the Forum. Just looked at the pics of you bike. It looks like you did a great job.

As for what type of bike to get, I would see no problem with the Honda. Now, I am and have always been riding Harley's, but the Yamaha's and Honda's are good bikes. Plus they have come a long way in looks. Either way, just enjoy whatever you ride.

You said that you are new to riding, so I would strongly recommend taking a Riders Safety Course.

I intend to take the course. I'm not sure how it's done in other states but in indiana we can either take a driving test after we have held a learners for at least 30 days, or take the safty course through ABATE of Indiana. Which is likely what I'll do, plus that also gets me into ABATE at a little sheaper rate. I did alot of dirt bikes when I was younger, but I have since learned that is a completely differant animal that on the street.

SO here is another question, how about shaft drive VS belt drive. HD and Victory are belt drive All you HD owners out there how often do you need to change the final drive belt. I have noticed that ALL of the hi performance bikes are always Chain drive so I am figuring there is a reason for that., But what are the advantages for to to the other. I also noticed that when I test drove the HD that it didn't have as much drive noise But the Honda and the Triumph weren't bad and I really don't think that after you add the after market exhaust it would be noticeable anyways.

And thanks for the comp;iments on the bike. Beleive it or not I only have around $600 in it. Parts are hard to come by but I welded the exahust, the overhaul and paint and a buddy of mine made the seat. It's been interesting. And I have learned that bikes are easier to tinker with than cars lol

Big horses should have a chain one would think. Smooth would be the shaft or rubber belt. Of those two, the belt seems more serviceable. All I can remember about shafts is that they caused problems with twisting the bikes when powered around turns and I never liked that and stayed away. I dunno about todays technology though.

Owning one shaft driven bike currently, I can tell you it does not handle in turns well as the drive shaft tends to want to lift the rear wheel off the ground and as FX said tends to twist the bike.

Owning one shaft driven bike currently, I can tell you it does not handle in turns well as the drive shaft tends to want to lift the rear wheel off the ground and as FX said tends to twist the bike.

That's what I mean. I think newer designs work better, but I don't know for sure.

FX, although it is not my every day rider, it is my first shaft drive bike and if it is indicative of how they handle, it will be my last

Anytime you introduce computers into the mix you're going to have issues that crop up with the software. Those generally get worked out fairly quickly. The only experience I've had with electronically controlled bikes was with the VRod. I never had any problems out of it, but I didn't drive it much because I hated the bike. Honestly, I like bikes (and cars) I can wrench on, and I go kicking and screaming into anything mechanical that is electronically controlled... even speedometers (and I'm a computer geek).

As far as the final drive... they all have their purposes. Chains for maximum torque abuse... but they're noisy and require regular maintenance. Shafts for highway cruising... little noise and no maintenance other than a shot of grease every 15,000 miles. Belts are a good compromise and are fine as long as you maintain the tension and keep them lubricated. Lubrication isn't in the normal sense like you think of with a chain and oiling them. Coat your final drive belt with a DRY silicon spray at each oil change. I've got about 50,000 miles on the belt on my Fatboy and it looks brand new.

BW, then I will wish you luck and not curse your drive belt as I did FX's. May you get another 50,000 miles out of it.

I did notice that VTX did handle differant. Not bad by any means but differant comparedto the yamaha and HD I tried. just figured it was bike desighn well I suppose it is. dumb statement. didn't seem to have any trouble in a turn. than again I didn't make any real serious turns either. Everyone does seem to be going the route of the belt so maybe Honda is behind the times. Has the carbon fiber belt been around long?

BW, then I will wish you luck and not curse your drive belt as I did FX's. May you get another 50,000 miles out of it.

The key is to keep the belt lubricated. As I stated above, you want to use a dry silicon on it to keep it flexible. Not lubricating your belt is as bad as not lubricating a chain drive. However, lubricating a belt with an oily substance is worse than not lubricating it at all.

Has the carbon fiber belt been around long?

I've not had any experience with carbon fiber belts. Carbon fiber to me means stiff, and is exactly the exact opposite of what you want in something that's meant to change physical shape and geometry several times per second. However, I don't stay on top of the technology as much as I should and it wouldn't surprise me if they've figured out a way to make carbon fiber flexible enough to use in a final drive belt.

[quote=bigwater;43044]The key is to keep the belt lubricated. As I stated above, you want to use a dry silicon on it to keep it flexible. Not lubricating your belt is as bad as not lubricating a chain drive. However, lubricating a belt with an oily substance is worse than not lubricating it at all.


I am sorry but this is so wrong, BW keeps saying lubricate. And what is worse, he says lubricate and flexible in the same sentence. I would expect something like this from Ricky but not BW.

Actually, BW, what are you using a silicone powder or what? Something like a graphite powder?

Hey Funny Lookin' (see..they warned you that you would get ribbed..LOL)
The one over all most important thing you have to consider is what type of riding will you be doing...
What I am getting at here is...if I am not going to put more than a couple thousand miles on a year... I would find it terribly hard to justify spending the high dollar on a bike that wouldn't get much use...On the other hand, if you are going to log a lot of miles..the high dollar isn't always the best money spent either...
Like FX says...get what you like, and spend what you are comfortable spending, and enjoy riding...
If you like the Honda, consider it, but if you are thinking HD just so you can be cool...think about it some more...I know lot's of cats that still aren't cool , even after their third HD....
But if you really like the HD for the right reasons, and are willing to spend the bucks then go for it....
It all comes down to being happy with the ride....
Once I am in motion...I can't tell the difference between what I am riding and heaven...because I could be on a 50cc Jawa and love it.
Welcome to the forum....

Hoppie, you may be happy on that little 50cc Czeck bike but you won't look cool on it. Funny looking, as Hoppie said, whatever you are comfortable on, what seems to fit you best and what makes the best economic sense for you should be your choice.
Don't give in to peer pressure and get something you think will make you look cool with all your buddies. Get what you want.