I feel like a traitor, but........

Well, I decided that with gas prices that I needed a daily driver with a little less maintenance needed than the XJ. So far I love it, but it's not an XJ!

 

You're not a traitor; you're a motorcyclist who actually uses his bike for transportation.

However, a FULLY recommissioned XJ doesn't need much maintenance at all--

An oil change every 2500 miles, valves checked/carb sync checked every 5000 miles; and for the 550s, an occasional chain adjustment. Other than that I pretty much just put gas in mine and ride it.

I don't recognize that, except as a Kaw, what is it? Is it as comfy as the XJ? Does it get 52mpg?

 

Guessing.........

'01-'03 ZX-6?

 

Personally I think it's nice to have a variety of bikes so I wouldn't call you a trader. You can pick one to suit your mood or need for the day. I'd love to add a touring bike and a cafe bike, norton perferably, to my stable one day but first i'm saving up to get the pile of parts I need to restore my xj back to better than new.

 

It's a 2009 Kawasaki Versys 650, same engine as the Ninja 650r but geared for more low end torque and less top end. It's made for an upright riding position instead of any lean, made for cruising, commuting, and light off-road (dirt and gravel roads) riding. It is rated to get about 52-55mpg.

I will continue to work on the xj so that it is dependable as it should be.

Mac

 

Oh yeah, I forgot about that one.

Nice bikes, those....for a Kaw

:lol: :lol: :lol:

 

I have only done 10,000klms in the last 18 months, but there has not even been a hiccup.

I must say that thorough work is required to get reliable, but once there the routine stuff in minimal.
That been said, I am due to change the fork oil and brake fluid in the next few months.

 

How do you like that Versys? I've been seriously looking at them for a bit now, they're not that much on the used market. They kind of seem like the current incarnation of a UJM.

My Maxim is fine, now that she's (mostly) sorted (a couple things to do), but it would be nice to have something a bit more modern since I use my bike to commute. I need my bike to be dead reliable since I do home visits with children who have speech and language disorders, so I travel 40 - 100+ miles per day.

 

I've looked at those. Not my thing but nice bikes just the same. Another guy on here nealsxj I believe it was got one last year.

Skoster, nice to see another Marylander on here. There's a few of us.

 

So far I really like it! It's a little tall, with a 33" seat height, so I'm putting a lowering kit on it (I'm only 5'7). Anyone 5'10 or taller should be fine. This was a 2009 with 5k and I only paid 4600, I think you could get them even cheaper if you looked around. Alot of people think it's a crotch rocket, but it's not, it's more comparable to a Suzuki V-Strom.

 

I use my '83 XJ55R to commute (in season) 120+ miles every day, it's stone reliable. If it weren't, I wouldn't take the chance on being stranded in the wrong area in Detroit. I don't give it a second thought.

 

The entire city, in other words.

/Take him to Detroit!

 

Well, I don't mind saying that you know a hell of a lot more about these bikes, and are a hell of a lot more capable at maintaining these bikes than I am.

I commute on the bike, so I consider it reliable, but that said I do have to say that it'd be nice not to always be finding a *surprise* the PO left for me. It's getting to the point where I almost dread working on the bike because something is going to have been done poorly in the past, turning a simple 2 hour job into a weekend job. I'm not particularly fond of working on motorcycles, I only do it because it needs to be done, so yeah, I'd prefer a bike without 30 years of generally poor maintenance.

 

The solution to that is easy: Go through it from front to back, top to bottom, and reverse all the neglect. Properly recommission the bike to begin with, and the "suprises" are few and far between.

That's been my whole point all along; these bikes don't take any more maintaining than a new bike, or than they did when they were new-- ONCE you're got them all "caught up."

If you're not thorough in your recommissioning, then yes, you'll continue to have "suprises."

It's simply a matter of how much time and effort you want to put forth to begin with. And that will be true of ANY bike you find that's more than about 5~6 years old. Maintenance still needs to be done, not ignored.

 

Which is exactly the point I was making. A bike which is new(ish) will require less maintenance/work/whatever the hell you want to call it. I am going through it and recommissioning it, that's specifically why I'm finding surprises.

Whatever, frankly I'm not sure why I'm arguing it with you. If you can't see that it's more work to own and properly care for a 30 year old carburated 4 cylinder than a new fuel injected 2 cylinder, then that's your prerogative. I'm not denigrating the XJ with any of this, I enjoy the hell out of mine, but I also don't look at it through rose tinted glasses.

Just so we're comparing apples to apples, though, let's ignore that the entire bike is 30 years old and assume no metal fatigue, no wear on the engine and drivetrain, and that somehow the engineering is equivalent. You wrote:

The Versys requires oil changes every 7500 miles, that's 1/3 the amount of maintenance, and requires valves to be checked every 26,500 miles, which is a little less than 1/5 the maintenance. No carbs at all. So not only is it less maintenance, but also less frequent maintenance.

 

All very true.

But IF it breaks, can you fix it?

 

Yes, I can.

 

I've found I have more problems with newer bikes than older ones. My 2008 Shadow broke down twice in 2010 and left me stranded in the Arizona desert in summer (can be deadly). Come to think of it I've just had more problems with Honda's than anything else. In the last 6 years I've lost 2 goldwings, and 2 shadows. No mas.

 

I think it's a Honda thing, lol! J/K......seriously though, I see the merit from both sides. My XJ hasn't left me stranded or even made me push (except that one time when the floats were off, lol) but my whole mindset was thinking about the turnkey reliability of a newer bike, the superior braking, but mostly, I wanted to see "the other side." Like I said, I feel like a traitor, but damn, it's nice to ride a newer different type of bike, and love them both equally. The XJ sounds soooo much cooler to me, and looks cooler, but, it's a little more work and worry, that being said, let's just all enjoy, be safe, and enjoy riding our bikes like we stole them, lol!

Mac

 

Your no trader actually your smart. Not saying the xj is not dependable but i would feel better driving the new bike if it was my only transportation. But you can't blame the price of gas. You can buy a heck of a lot of gas for what that bike cost. Not to mention the money the police dept is gonna make off of you lol. I am sure your gonna ride it like a little old lady lol. Its probably faster shifting it about 7k then the xj and it has not even got into its sweet spot yet

 

Skoster, hail from another Marylander.

I bought a Kaw too. Love it.

FI and ABS on my next one.