Ready to upgrade!

[SuziQ07]

I purchased my used GZ250 on April 1, 2010 and so far I've put over a 100 miles on it already...granted about 80 of those miles were put on exclusively in parking lots not far from my home! I think I'm ready to move on now! :2tup: Ok, I'm just kidding! Last weekend I hit 40 mph on some back roads and I felt like I was going about 80!! I've got 2 months more of practice before I take the motorcycle safety class. I'm just "pretending" on the bike in the picture, hence no helmet or other gear! A girl can dream!

[music man]

That is actually one of the nicest looking Harley's I have ever seen, and that is coming from someone who is not a big fan of Harley's at all.

[SuziQ07]

Originally Posted by music man

That is actually one of the nicest looking Harley's I have ever seen, and that is coming from someone who is not a big fan of Harley's at all.

Wow, thanks! It's actually my Dad's bike. Maybe I will inherit it someday?!?! He also has a pretty nice Sportster 1200 in his garage. For now I'll just stick with learning on my GZ250...that's plenty of power for me and then some!!

[music man]

I Love your GZ too, because it is the exact color mine was, unfortunately it is gone but not forgotten.

[alantf]

What's your dad think to the sportster? I don't know ANYTHING about them, but I've never heard anything good said about them - including people on this site - I'm not trying to be argumentative, this is a genuine query, to get another person's views on something I've only read about.

[SuziQ07]

Originally Posted by music man

I Love your GZ too, because it is the exact color mine was, unfortunately it is gone but not forgotten.

Thanks Music Man! I love the blue too...that's what attracted me to the bike at first! :2tup:

[SuziQ07]

Originally Posted by alantf

What's your dad think to the sportster? I don't know ANYTHING about them, but I've never heard anything good said about them - including people on this site - I'm not trying to be argumentative, this is a genuine query, to get another person's views on something I've only read about.

My dad loves his 1998 Sportster and wouldn't dream of selling it even though he primarily drives his Dyna Glide now. The Sportster is everything he thinks a motorcycle should be and look like. He is not a Harley snob by any means...he thinks my GZ250 is super and a wonderful bike that serves many functions. He admits that Harley has missed out on the market by not making a bike smaller than the 883cc. When I went to the local Harley dealership to look at bikes they showed me a Buell Blast...no thanks...sport bikes are not for me.

[burkbuilds]

Believe it or not, when I was a kid, Harley actually made "trail" bikes and advertised them in "Boys Life" Magazine. I can't remember much about them other than that I thought they were really cool when I was a kid. I think Harley has indeed missed a chance to market their motorcycles to an entire generation by not offering smaller bikes to younger people. Let's face it, by the time most of us are adult age we've already decided what we like and want to ride in general and if you haven't been exposed to a certain brand of motorcycle by the time you are an adult you may feel like it's not something you'd feel comfortable with. I grew up riding Honda trail bikes and so I was pretty accepting of the "metric" bikes in general, maybe if I would have ridden Harley trail bikes I might be a Harley fan as an adult instead. As it is, my general impression of Harley's is that they look really great, but they cost to much and have a reputation for being unreliable mechanically, yet, I've never even sat on one!

[bonehead]

IIRC the reliability issue was when AMF owned the brand.

[alantf]

Originally Posted by bonehead

IIRC the reliability issue was when AMF owned the brand.

I'm sure (?) I've heard of cooling problems with the new bikes. I think sarris can probably fill us in with the details.