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Are You a Honda person ?

  • Thread starter Deleted member 1183
  • Start date
D

Deleted member 1183

Well I am beginning to think I am.

Of the four current bikes in my shed, three are Hondas. I am not starting this thread specifically to get folks to list bikes they have owned because that has been done elsewhere. The pic of the Honda 550/500 four posted this morning got me thinking on this line. In the early days of my motorcycling I had four Hondas in succession. Then I moved over to Kawasakis. I had ten of them. Then in the late 80's I started looking around at various makes and experimented here and there. However I eventually moved back to Honda for a while with four in quick succesion. I had a love affair over 7 years with KTM's which I thought would last a very long time but then imho KTM lost their way and gradually I moved back to where I am now. Interestingly my shed is also once again, totally Japanese.

Someone asked on a forum, (could have been here), "what is your dream bike" ? In answer to that I would have to say "I have it already" in four parts, three of which happen to be Honda :D
 
I’ve always been a Japanese motorcycle person, and I’ve owned samples from each of the big four. However, lately I have gravitated to having mostly all Honda models. I’m not a brand loyalty kinda guy, by any means, but Honda seems to build user friendly models that appeal to me. The other manufactures tend to focus more on ultimate performance. While Honda bikes are usually heavier and often less powerful, they do what they’re intended to do with good reliability.
 
+1 with 670cc's comments. Except for some CBRs and CRs, you couldn't say the average Honda model has the best performance in its class. And long term, they seem to have parts available for a long, long time. Most Euro models and even some non-Honda, Japanese have had a problem with parts being available - even in their first year!
 
Price Honda parts compared to Kawasaki parts and you’ll find a big difference. In choosing my last Honda vs Kawasaki buying choice, parts and accessories pricing was a factor in the decision.
 
Since I started riding in '66 I've owned 3 Suzuki's, a Triumph, a Yamaha, 2 BMW's, 2 Moto Guzzi's, and 3 Honda's, a '71 CB500/4, a '78 CM185 Twinstar (technically my ex wife's but I put more miles on that she did) and the NC.

That Twinstar was the most cantankerous hard to start bike I ever had. If you used the electric start you'd just run the battery down, it would take several minutes of using the kick-starter and I'd be about ready to just give up but then the engine would give a few sputters of encouragement so I'd keep kicking and then when it did finally start it would rev way up and then way down again and die. If you gave it any gas while dying back down it would just die sooner, so after doing that for 2 or 3 times the rev's would get down almost to the point of dying and then rev up again but not as high as before then back down and up each time not as high and not as low as the previously once the rev's settled down it ran fine.
 
Dennis M. I started riding in '66 too. But my cantankerous award goes to my '59 Triumph Tiger Cub. Lucas electrics and Whitworth faseners. Need I say more? Light at night? Maybe. Light at night and run in the rain? Never.

It took another 35 years until I bought another Triumph. That was a 2001 retro Bonnie. Always started, ran great, even in the rain, rusted bad. The spokes were crap too.I came oh so close to buying the new Street Scrambler, then I read how they still has corrosion problems and bought the NC.

I've had four Honda's in fifty two years of riding and had my Gold Wing for ten. The Honda's have never left me cold, wet and stranded on the side of the road. That has to count for something.
 
Heh, I had my first motorcycle in '70. I too have had many models, all Japanese bikes and i enjoyed each of them when i had/rode them. Some better then others, condition wise but always a blast! I've owned, ridden and enjoyed many 1L bikes but the older i get i really have become a mpg snob, thus the smaller cc bikes i currently own. I have a beautiful black 2012 CBR250r(i can't ride in that position anymore so it's for sale), a nice 2003 CRF230f(i don't ride it anymore since buying the NC700 so it's for sale) and of course my new personal fav... my 2012 NC700x(not for sale). I've wanted one since they first came out but just couldn't justify the price of a new one. So, in March of this year i had the opportunity to grab mine from a grad student for a smoking good deal. The NC is the best all around MC i've ever had. Comfortable on/off road with it and the MPG is right up my alley! :{)
 
Honda, but not as a religion. I like the reliability and they seem to make bikes that work for me. Started on an S- 65 as a teen. Graduated to an SL350. Returned to riding on a nighthawk 750. Great motorcycle! Tried a 650 nighthawk, didn't like it.Suzuki DR650...liked it, but it was used and pretty ragged out when I got it. Then the NC

When I was a kid, the mechanic across the street had a BMW. I love those. Always wanted one, but they are too expensive to keep for my budget. I want a motorcycle that I know will get me home. Also love the old BSA and Triump 650's. That's how motorcycles should look.

Currently considering a Royal Enfield Himalayan. Pretty big jump for me. Been following that thread on ADV and I think I would really like the Himma.
 
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Currently considering a Royal Enfield Himalayan. Pretty big jump for me. Been following that thread on ADV and I think I would really like the Himma.

If I ever jump off of the NC750x there are 2 very different bikes I'd like to jump onto. Likely won't jump to either one.

One of those is the Royal Enfield Himalayan. I love its simplicity. Looks like it would run forever with a paper clip, a hammer and some duct tape as the only necessary tools to maintain it.

The other is the brand new (not yet released) MotoGuzzi V85TT adventure bike. The V85TT is the bike that dreams are made from, even for old men with arthritis.
 
At least 10 Honda street bike, and 5 dirt bikes. 3 non Honda street bikes, and 3 non Honda dirt bikes. 20+ Honda three wheelers, and 1 Polaris. Honda is always my first choice, pretty much all the others were because I got a deal.
 
I've owned 8 bikes, 6 Hondas, one Susucki and a Yamaha. The Suzuki was a 250 that couldn't get out of it's own way. Going up a hill tandem, the passenger had to walk. The Yamaha was a Virago that I loved, but it leaked so bad that I thought about just pouring the oil in the drain pan back in the crank case every week. I know that I can't judge a manufacturer by one bike and if I had done that with Honda I wouldn't be with one now, but the majority of my Hondas have been pretty reliable, easy to work on, easy to find parts and a whole lot of fun. Plus they are cheaper, more dependable and, I think, lets the world know that I'm not an a-hole that runs his Harley at 2 in the morning.
 
Nope, I'm just a bike guy.
3 Hondas - 1978 CB750 (first bike, barely ran) 1979 CB550 (great machine) 2012 NC700X (my current, The Toaster)
2 'zukis - 1981 GS750EZ (built that into a rocketship) 1982 GS550 (bought for a girlfriend but rode it every once in a while for grins)
1 H-D - 1999 Road King Police - Honestly a solid scoot I NEVER had an issue with; sold her when I moved after having her 16 years and still kicking myself.
1 project (AGH!!!) a 2001 Bajaj Chetak scooter with a sidecar that I need to go stare at for a while in the garage every so many weeks.....
 
I do have two Honda motorcycles. I test drove a Honda Accord, but the cockpit is designed for someone shorter than me. Also thought the information screen was way too high.
 
I looked around the other day, and realized that I AM a Honda guy....one Honda ST1300, a Honda Helix, Honda HR216 mower, and Acura TSX. I'd probably have a Honda truck too, but they don't make anything which is analogous to a Ford F150 4X4. I did ride BMW's for 25 years, but they seem to have lost their way, durability and practicality wise.

I am currently shopping NC700's, but I have to sell a few toys and such to rationalize it past the CFO.
 
After very positive experiences with Honda (cars, motorcycles, rototillers, lawn mowers, and generators) over the last 40 years, I would definitely consider myself a 'Honda person'.
>T
 
For the record, my first Honda was a self propelled, walk behind lawn mower, model HRA214, circa 1984. It’s had quite a few repairs done, but I am still using it regularly. 34 years is a long time for a lawn mower.
 
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Never thought of that. My mower also has a Honda engine albeit the mower is a McCullough. It can be a pain to start though. Probably due to petrol degradation.
 
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