Quote:
Originally Posted by stiletto2
Prioritize your requirements to establish positively what you desire (plus the degree of flexibility in your criteria) Then do research. Ask about what are considered quiet bikes (as you are doing here since that seems a priority) find bikes with belt drives if you would consider them acceptable, consider bikes of acceptable engine size, initial and maintenance costs and any other criteria you deem most important in your decision. Weigh your options as you find them then decide which best meets your criteria.
EDIT: OH! I see you got a bike already anyway... but already seems you are not completely happy with it... later possibly come to regret getting it & utterly despise it because it is not comfortable.
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Yep, it was definitely an impulse purchase. Regret? No. I feel happier in pain than I do driving my car, so worth it. (Now, my helmet, which is also giving me grief, THAT I regret, but it's not an expensive mistake, and one I can more easily rectify, next paycheck) I'd still like to address the pain, though, as my body does demand the use of the car more frequently than the 'Strom.
To outline my requirements more clearly, of course silence is my most important requirement. The 'Strom, while not as quiet as I'd like, still seems to be acceptable, as I hear no echoing coming from buildings in city environments, or closely packed neighborhoods. A ride along with my father has him describing it as "barely audible" with his windows down. I suspect my riding style of "lugging" the engine at 25-35 mph speeds contributes to this, so perhaps a great many more models than I thought would satisfy my quiet requirements.
I'm unwilling to use a CVT, from the point of first-hand experience with it's durability, and the "disconnected" feeling it has which is not totally dissimilar to an automatic in a car. (This contributes partially to my greater happiness on the 'Strom, over the car, which has a hideous automatic, even for a car) Efficiency factors into that, but as there is no engine which appears (unmodified) in both a manual and CVT form that I'm aware of? difficult to get accurate numbers on what an engine COULD do if not ham-strung by the CVT.
Insurance no longer seems to be an issue for me. Those grey hairs are starting to come in handy. Progressive quoted $75 each per year for my 1983 Nighthawk 550 (more of a toy than a serious ride at this point), and the 'Strom. This is liability only, but I doubt I'd get coverage on a newer bike anyway. (Financing is for fools, and I've outgrown my foolishness
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The ultimate in simplicity would probably be a chain in a proper chain case. I could see that going for a hundred thousand miles, without maintenance.