Question - who's buying serious sport bikes

Nuts · Aug 5, 2012

Apologies if this is in the wrong spot, but;

After the comments about Ducat sales, with Rossi and Hayden riding Duc's. Everyone on here has more than a passing interest in bikes, and the performance of their favorite riders and teams.

How many people on here have bought a serious sports bike, new, within the last (say) 3 - 4 years (and Bazza your Korean pos is not a serious sports bike). How many people are seriously likely to buy a new sports bike at some time in the future.

Why did you buy the bike you did - any connection to racing ??

If you had your time over, would you buy the same bike again ??

Have you ever taken your bike on the track ??

Meaning - how much benefit (if any) have any of the manufacturers had out of this group of hard core MotoGP fans.

Lets go a step further.

How many people out of this hard core group of GP fans smoke Marlboro.

How many people drink Moster instead of Red Bull because of racing. How many people even know what Pramac is, or A-Style, or Cardion, etc ??

Who could name more than 3 - 4 sponsors in Moto 3 without looking at photos.

Guess you see where I'm going with this.......

birdman · Aug 5, 2012

I bought a Kawasaki ZX10R in 2006 mainly because it was an 05 runout model. I really liked the tech on the bike such as slipper clutch, radial mount brakes etc and did track days because of racing influence. As for the brand, helmet I wear etc couldnt care at all, and I choose the Kwaka over other 1000's because I liked the way it looked. One thing that has influenced me is the Yamaha with the cross plane crank. Having my chance again I would have bought that instead of the Kwaka, so motogp does influence me on some level.

The other questions it doesnt influence me now, but I think it did when I was a kid, because back then I wanted to be Wayne Gardner and I would smoke Rothmans if it meant I could be Wayne Gardner. That influence wore off by about 16 - 17 years old, by which time I could have already been addicted to Rothmans if I hadnt of figured out it was no help to me. I wonder how much Red Bull etc sinks into the subconscience of my kids?

At present I dont like the direction the 1000 sportsbike are taking. They rev too high and are unusable on the road. I wanted bottom end power and real world suspension so I sold the Kwaka and bought a KTM. Again racing did influence me because the reason I choose KTM was the up-spec components that I recognised, like Brembo brakes, Marchesini rims, 75 degree V angle twin hahaha suck on that Ducati!!!!!

povol · Aug 5, 2012

GP does not affect my purchasing decision one iota. Im 6'6" 260 pounds, the 1000 repli racers simply are not an option for me.. I bought the closest thing to a sport bike for big guys, a ZX12r. No replica helmets, boots, gloves, leathers for me either.

birdman · Aug 5, 2012

I did buy a Doohan replica helmet once. Also I lied, at 25 years of age I sold my car and bought a Honda NSR250 painted in Rothmans colours. I had to ride it from Liverpool to Kurnell for work, and found it cost more in fuel than the 1.3L car engine!

Nuts · Aug 5, 2012

birdman said:
I did buy a Doohan replica helmet once. Also I lied, at 25 years of age I sold my car and bought a Honda NSR250 painted in Rothmans colours. I had to ride it from Liverpool to Kurnell for work, and found it cost more in fuel than the 1.3L car engine!

I had a Pepsi RGV250 once, so we've both been in the same trap, but at that time knew nothing about road racing.

The RGV seemed a step up from 2 stroke MotoX bikes (YZ 250's).

hawkdriver · Aug 5, 2012

povol said:
GP does not affect my purchasing decision one iota. Im 6'6" 260 pounds, the 1000 repli racers simply are not an option for me.. I bought the closest thing to a sport bike for big guys, a ZX12r. No replica helmets, boots, gloves, leathers for me either.

Same here but my size isn't a problem. After owning a gixxer 600 and 750, ninja zx7r, and honda rvt 1000r(rc51) my purchases have all been about eye appeal and reliability. Same goes for my riding gear, comfort and fit are most important. I may not ever buy another sport bike just because the cagers seem to be getting worst every year and there aren't any big twins that interest me, I'd never buy a Ducati.

birdman · Aug 5, 2012

Nuts said:
I had a Pepsi RGV250 once, so we've both been in the same trap, but at that time knew nothing about road racing.

The RGV seemed a step up from 2 stroke MotoX bikes (YZ 250's).

I grew up in the Illawarra around the time the likes Corser were coming up through the ranks of 250 proddie racing. It was a big thing back then, I knew guys who were racing the RGV and I liked it a lot but couldnt afford it att. Only later bought the NSR second hand just by coincidence, I was actually looking for an RGV. I just saw the Rothmans paint scheme and couldnt resist.

BarryMachine · Aug 6, 2012

Nuts said:
I had a Pepsi RGV250 once, so we've both been in the same trap, but at that time knew nothing about road racing.

The RGV seemed a step up from 2 stroke MotoX bikes (YZ 250's).

I had an RGV250 in the shed up to a few years ago ..... not a road goer. The Korean "POS" , as you put it ........ is a far better bike ..... even with the road gear ( well most of it ) on it. God you are a .......

I would buy a KTM RC8 ....... maybe.

Nuts · Aug 6, 2012

BarryMachine said:
I had an RGV250 in the shed up to a few years ago ..... not a road goer. The Korean "POS" , as you put it ........ is a far better bike ..... even with the road gear ( well most of it ) on it. God you are a .......

I would buy a KTM RC8 ....... maybe.

No question the Hyo is better to ride than the 20 year old RGV, and probably better to ride than most current sportbikes, but that was not the basis of my question....... .......

Would buy a KTM RC8, or there is a serious possibility you will buy a KTM RC8.

Lots of people on here buy bikes, but who has recently bought a new sport bike. Bet there are not many.

Not me, and probably not likely in the immediate future.

BarryMachine · Aug 6, 2012

I actually bought the Hyo over a thou bike ...... which was the bikes I was test riding ...... but to be honest they lacked that rawness of the Hyo. And I could modify the Hyo easily and with little regret.

I would have bought a 1098 over the Jap thou's also. They have no character.

WHy don't you want to accept the Hyo ..... I've already said it beats a CBRR in a 580km race up the freeway!!

Edit: Also a few years back the Hyo GT650 beat the R1 for the highest selling sport bike in a quarter, her in Aus.

But in relation to your question .....

I don't think I have ever bought because something was GP related.

Racing related yes ( the Hyo is an off the shelf bike that is raced popularly and is dirt cheap to do so ..... but I'm too old ( and sensible ) for that anyway )

Monster ? Red bull etc ........ tastes like toilet cleaner smells ....... horrid stuff.

Boots and gear ..... fit, value, safety ..... never a brand.

Fuel ...... Yes!! Shell always ..... but has nothing to do with GP .

Mental Anarchist · Aug 6, 2012

My last road bike was a '05 GSXR750. Once I had kids I lost confidence to ride on the road. If I was to buy a road bike again it would definitely be a sports bike and it would definitely be new. No way would I buy a second hand one. I am 6'5" so for me it would be another Suzuki because they are just that bit bigger. I would find it very hard to go past another GSXR750 because for me they just make sense as a road bike. I would consider a Triumph 675 as they look horn.

But now days for me it is all about dirt bikes. Loving 2 strokes. Should have done it years ago damn 4 strokes.

BarryMachine · Aug 6, 2012

Mental Anarchist said:
But now days for me it is all about dirt bikes. Loving 2 strokes. Should have done it years ago damn 4 strokes.

You are so backwards!!

Well you did things back to front compared to my experience. You must be a lot younger than me ... I grew up on two strokes. 4 strokes only existed for speedway and dirt track.

For years I clung to two strokes then finally relented when I was loaned a YZ400 for a while. Then I had a loaner KTM EXC 520 and I thought it was the best dirt bike I had ever ridden, even though it was a 4 stroke. Nowadays I'd say the same of the Husaberg 570.

Nastiest bike I've ridden to this day remains an old Works CR480. Actually took it for a trail ride in steep rocky country, never been so scared of hitting rocks and bumps wrong !!!

cliche guevara · Aug 6, 2012

i drink monster,red bull and rockstar.i smoke marlboro,roll rizla and if my supermarket had some san carlo chips I'd eat those in sics honor.

hate to admit it but sponsoring sure affects me.i prefer rizla over ocb just because they pump their money into something i find good,that is (or was) motogp.same goes for marlboro over lucky strike

when i was in spain i found it cool to fill my tank at a repsol station, that they spend their money by being title sponsor for doohan,stoner etc. makes them more sympathetic to me than BP.

as for buying a bike....maybe in about 4 to 5 years when i get the money for it.

can't say motogp will influence me what bike i'd buy. the bikes i'd like to have most are from manufacturers that are not even in motogp except for the r1 maybe.

but then again do i like the v4 sound because of the motogp or just because i like the sound?probably the latter.

i think its more the little things ,like i said, i admit i tend to choose a product that does something for the sport over another product that is being advertised in commercial breaks on tv.automatically hate those in most cases!

MigsAngel · Aug 6, 2012

I only ever bought one new bike, and wont do it ever again....why pay for the depreciation...

I currently have an Senna S4 Monster (3rd Ducati in last 10 years), so doesnt matter to me who rides for them, i buy what i want....having said that the Monster is up for sale...since i decided this past Saturday to buy a Triumph Daytona 675 (Test rode it and it handled like a dream and had power all over the rev range, and it is beautiful).....

I have never bought a bike because of racing....and I'd not it over again....you live you learn you go on.....

I have not done a track day on the Monster, nor the 900SS FE before that....but the Daytona will need a track day....

I smoke Malboro's, i hate rolling my own cigarrettes (and i have pipes for the rest).....

GP sponsorship does very little to nothing for me....the only i did was by a Tissot recently.....but it is a nice and good watch....

Keshav · Aug 6, 2012

First new bike: 1980 Kawasaki 750 partly because all the bad boys in my area rode them and partly because Lawson was awesome.

Several used bikes later...

Bought a new 1983 Interceptor. Okay for the street but not a favorite bike of mine.

After trashing it...

A new Ninja 900. Awesome bike - but I wanted to go racing and wasn't stupid enough to chose it to learn as a novice rider. Sold it.

Bought a new Ninja 600 because the bike mags said it was fabulous. It wasn't. Sold it.

Bought a left-over new FZ600 - probably the best handling bike I've ever been on bar a TZ250 but couldn't really take that on the street.

I liked the TZ250 over the Honda because Yamaha was more affordable and so much more privateer friendly and you could pretty much buy anything that the big boys had. Honda F2 program was much more restrictive with privateers. That had a lot to do with why I was such a loyal Yamaha guy for many years after.

Regarding sponsors: Different people have different takes on this. It's very much a cultural thing. When I was a little kid in the '50s all the cool

kids with hot-rodded cars had stickers on the window glass, Hurst 4-on-the-floor, Mr. Horsepower, Crane Cams etc - so mayhaps it's a bit of

nostalgia thing but I think it's fun when people make their bikes up to look like race replicas. I'm almost 60 and I still like to be a kid and have

some fun decals on the bike. Doesn't mean I buy all the t-shirts and beer cozies.

Other than a Bajaj scooter and a Madass that I bought new for my wife - everything else over the years has been used.

Back in the day I had a Lawson (Bell) replica, a Wes Cooley (Arai) replica and a Schwantz (Arai) replica. They weren't so crazy overpriced back then. Then - I was influenced by AMA Camel Pro guys.

I don't smoke. Never touch energy drinks. Prefer B12 injections.

baturro · Aug 6, 2012

I was brought up around Hondas. Like the Ducatista, you could say I'm a bit of a Hondista... My last 4 bikes were Hondas, but no race replicas. I think most experienced motorcyclists understand the race replicas are .... for the day to day. Honda has lost the "edge" in the street bikes, most getting more and more ordinary, but still bullet proof reliability.

I had my personal boycott of Repsol for a year. I was pissed off because Repsol had their team unveil in Zaragoza, my home town, and we went over to give a shout out to Nicky. The Repsol staff were dicks. Real cold and unfriendly, as if they didn't want to be there. And now I only fill up at the Repsol in emergencies!!

My latest bike, an Aprilia, I bought because Honda lost the "edge" and were not producing what I was looking for. I bought this one new. If Honda had a comparable product, I would have continued with Honda.

I do pay more attention to the Honda riders.

I bought a package of them Wuddy franks that sponsor, or sponsored Rossi once cause they caught my eye at the store. No good, never again. Wouldn't have tried them had I not seen them on the GP circus.

Goatboy · Aug 6, 2012

I am 33, I have smoked Marlboro since I was 14 & I would be lying if I said it had nothing to do with Motorsport at that time. Since then I have continued with Marlboro despite what fuckwits they have sponsored in cars & bikes.

yamaka46 · Aug 6, 2012

Never bought a brand new bike - why suffer the depreciation?

Only race rep I have bought was a Walter Wolf RG400 like this one http://www.exoticrarebikes.com/suzuki/44-suzuki-rg/63-1986-suzuki-RG400-Gamma-Walter-Wolf.html and if you look at the price tag you'll see why I'm pissed that I sold it in the late 90s

Not interested in buying the latest sports bikes regardless of whether they're in MotoGP or WSBK or whatever - too much power for the roads and I don't do track days on bikes.

Never deliberately bought bike gear makes worn by racers, and defo no race rep lids etc. As others have said, it just needs to be well made and fit.

Don't do energy drinks, but do smoke Camel Lights, did try Winfields when they were sponsoring Williams, 555s when they sponsored Colin McRae, etc, but sponsorship of racing didn't get me started in the first place - anyone here that was tempted into starting smoking due to sponsorship? I've never met anyone...

Nuts · Aug 6, 2012

BarryMachine said:
I actually bought the Hyo over a thou bike ...... which was the bikes I was test riding ...... but to be honest they lacked that rawness of the Hyo. And I could modify the Hyo easily and with little regret.

I would have bought a 1098 over the Jap thou's also. They have no character.

WHy don't you want to accept the Hyo ..... I've already said it beats a CBRR in a 580km race up the freeway!!

Sorry, wasn't really ratting on your Hyo. To be honest, I know nothing about them, but could miss the op to get a rise.

I take it all back - but point I was trying to make is that the Hyo is not a serious sports bike. I'm talking, R1/R6's, CBR's, ZXR's, GSXR's, 1098/1198's, F4's, RSV4's etc.

barbedwirebiker · Aug 6, 2012

I brought a CBR600RR in 2006 new from the dealership. I tested the yamaha, Kawasaki, Suzuki and Honda 1000's and 600's Also the gixxer 750. I chose the Honda for quality, looks and performance. For me personally a thou was overkill as bikes back then where my only transportation.

I had chosen the red and black model and the day I was to pick it up they had a Movistar limited edition in the showroom resplendent in the war paint. I said I want that one instead.

Now fitted with full Moriwaki 4-1-2 system and other goodies it is as close as you can get to full sized race replica.

Saying all that I didn't buy it because gibbers was riding it (in 2005 iirc movistar withdrew sponsorship) or any other factor than it was the bike I had chosen - Honda 600 - yet was as horn as .... with the decal treatment.

Search

Search

Question - who's buying serious sport bikes

Nuts

birdman

povol

birdman

Nuts

hawkdriver

birdman

BarryMachine

Nuts

BarryMachine

Mental Anarchist

BarryMachine

cliche guevara

MigsAngel

Keshav

baturro

Goatboy

yamaka46

Nuts

barbedwirebiker

Similar threads

Recent Discussions