Wildguzzi.com
General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: dirtiegirtie on July 08, 2021, 02:18:10 PM
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I was reading a thread about an FJR and saw a few folks mention that the bike lacks "character" because the I4 engine is so smooth/no vibration. I have seen a few comments here, and on the Triumph forum I used to frequent before selling my Triumph for my MG, and am wondering how each person defines this subjective "character". I know how I would define it, but I don't want to bias anyone's answers as I assume it means something different to everybody. I'm sure I'll get a mix of thoughtful and funny responses, so I'm officially asking the question...
How do YOU define "character" in a motorcycle?
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I'm not sure any bike 'has' character off the factory floor, but they can certainly acquire it.
Nick
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Imperfect = character. IMHO
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I'd call "character" the thing that bonds the rider to the bike, a combination of performance, feel and styling.
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Unfortunate use of a term IMO - and it seems widely used to identify quirky things that a particular owner likes, or what resonates with their own personality. Another use of the term character is to gloss over problems. Doesn't start = character. Leaks oil = character. Hiccups at 3,000 RPM = character. I have no interest in that kind of "character."
Character is simply the set of features that define (or are characteristic of) the ownership and riding experience. By that definition, every bike has character. It's then a matter of defining what type character.
My V11 Scura has a different character type than my Husqvarna 701 Enduro, and both are different than the BMW K75s I had for a while.
It's a common criticism that the K75 BMWs lacked character. But I'd say that smooth, reliable, durable, well-engineered, and efficient were its character traits. Those are very attractive characteristics for some purposes - and if you want an affordable commuter and weekender, you'd be hard pressed to find a better bike.
Moto Guzzi and Husqvarna, both being smaller manufacturers than BMW, have a characteristic of being more rare, even though all three share similar heritages (about 100 years of manufacturing). For some reason I am attracted to the lesser-known brands with long histories, so that's an element of character. As for the riding experience, my Scura and Enduro both connect with my personality differently than the K75 did - they let me express my inner rebel or hooligan in a way the K75 did not. And the Enduro connects with my desire to go exploring and get way off the beaten path (into the dirty single track).
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Hard too define but my Buell had gobs of it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFeuPWgDB9k
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vibrations are vibrations
vibrations are not character
oil leaks are oil leaks
oil leaks are not character
the way that a particular engine makes power, transfers it to the drive train and transmits steering feel to the rider through hands, feet and butt are it's character.
A bike that gets you home through 8 hours in the driving rain when all the cagers were driving like maniacs while updating their instagram tictoc whatevers has just given you a bonding experience. Lots of bonding experiences create attachment.
As does the positive way (hopefully) that you respond to your particular bikes character.
There's a triangle or venn diagram to be drawn here, the arrows go in both directions....
bonding
/ \
/ \
attachment ------ character
When someone starts a post about vicious cycles of motorcycle dissatisfaction then I'll draw its evil twin triangle!!!
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I think one of my friends who had to work in Atlanta and tolerate the commute summed it up best. "When I get home from a particulary bad day even if I can't go for a ride I walk over to my bike and fire it up. I instantly get a S... eatin grin and a woody! When it fails to do that to me it's getting sold."
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Character is the conversation the bike has with you when you’re riding
With some bikes the communication is pronounced and with other bikes it’s hard to make out the conversation.
My 1200 Sport speaks volumes to me every time we ride.
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Character in a motorcycle is all the imperfections and flaws you choose to live with... :wink: :thumb: :bow: :boozing: :cool:
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I think vibration can be character. The classic "thud, thud, thud" of a Harley V twin is felt as well as heard. Definitely adds character. My Ducati has been trouble free for as long as I've owned it, but the sound and feel are unmatched. Gobs of character.
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To me it's like when someone says a bike has "soul" Both are 100% BS. Either you like it or you don't.
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Character only means something to the person that has the object of affection.
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I think one of my friends who had to work in Atlanta and tolerate the commute summed it up best. "When I get home from a particulary bad day even if I can't go for a ride I walk over to my bike and fire it up. I instantly get a S... eatin grin and a woody! When it fails to do that to me it's getting sold."
I think this nails it. A bike has “character” when you very much enjoy riding it. Day in. Day out. Rain or shine. Whatever features gives you that experience is character.
Quarter mile times, top speed, horsepower, gee-whiz technology are irrelevant—-unless somehow the combination reliably gives you that grin that makes you so happy to ride.
I’ve had many faster bikes that were “better” on paper. And they bored me to death. I would not ride very much if I only had access to “better” bikes.
Find what trips your trigger and then you won’t care much if it leaks oil or can’t break 12 seconds in the quarter mile. Why? Because you will be riding all around and being happy.
If I wasn’t stupid I would have figured this out in less than 25 years.
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In a way IMHO character is acquired like the aging of fine whisky. My first bike was a Suzuki GS400. It aged me from being a novice street rider to at least one that survived that first critical year of street riding and acquired higher skill levels from there. After some mods it slayed stock 1200 sporty H-Ds so I consider that character.
The T-3 then delivered it in spades from the way it rides to the comments it gets to the reminders it can sometime give me if I am not doing my riding part or saving my ass because I didn't do my part.
GliderJohn
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Maybe if we put it into musical terms, it will help. They say Guzzi and other "visceral" bikes (Ducati, Bonneville, HD, Norton, et al.) sing to you. Ok. To me, David Allen Coe, Lucinda Williams, Muddy Waters, John Kay, John Fogerty, have character. Wayne Newton, Nat King Cole, Beyonce, Charlotte Church, not so much. Opinion.
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My red frame V11 Sport has her rough and rowdy ways, her “character”. Lots of physical feedback and speaks with authority, but I have to ride her like I mean it to really bring it out and make her happy. Sort of like if you could ride a Telecaster.
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For me, it's a bike that requires the rider to cooperate with it. Both my V7 and Jackal have speed/gear range where the machine feels positively correct. Contrast that with several big motorbikes I've had or ridden. They demand nothing from the rider. Any speed-any gear-no fuss-no muss-just get on with it. I always felt like I was just riding the machine and that's it. Every Guzzi I've ever ridden has "sweet" spots. For instance, long rides to New England on my V7. 74 indicated is perfect-77 in not. Motor likes 74 and tells me-so, I listen. Every Triumph I've had did the trip at any speed with zero compromise. Some like that-I prefer my motorcycles to require that I partner with them to our mutual benefit.
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For me, character in a machine is when just standing still a keen motorist can read its story..see where it may have been or how it was treated: knee rubs on a tank, weather checking on a seat, "bush pinstripes", the subtle customizations and botched repairs of a PO, uneven rust patterns on the bottom of a pipe...etc. this is where true character is found, as opposed to "personality" that may be found as common traits inherent of a manufacture's :afro: model or line of product.
For many manufactures the goal is to stamp out these traits or "cookie cutter" everything the same. a Japanese saying goes: "the nail that sticks out gets hammered flat.." and now we have bunches of bug-eyed gundam-wing bikes! the Germans well....they don't like anything much out of goose-step engineering wise( not a bad thing). and HD..well....'mericans want what all m'mericans want n' yu best not tell em otherwise lol! :thumb:
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For me, it's a bike that requires the rider to cooperate with it. Both my V7 and Jackal have speed/gear range where the machine feels positively correct. Contrast that with several big motorbikes I've had or ridden. They demand nothing from the rider. Any speed-any gear-no fuss-no muss-just get on with it. I always felt like I was just riding the machine and that's it. Every Guzzi I've ever ridden has "sweet" spots. For instance, long rides to New England on my V7. 74 indicated is perfect-77 in not. Motor likes 74 and tells me-so, I listen. Every Triumph I've had did the trip at any speed with zero compromise. Some like that-I prefer my motorcycles to require that I partner with them to our mutual benefit.
Thanks, King. I think that is the closest to my personal definition of character. As an owner of a specific bike I know/understand it's limitations, its 'qwerks', and now have no issue with said qwerks. But if a friend swapped bikes with me for a few miles they would not be familiar with those qwerks and would not find the bike as enjoyable. Maybe they don't know to keep the RPMs up over 4k or that the bike twists a bit to the right with every twist of the right hand. To me, that's the character of a given bike - the small nuances that prevent another rider from jumping on your bike and immediately getting the same level of enjoyment that you get.
As others have indicated, IMHO, a poor design, faulty parts/assembly, leaking oil, or anything else negatively impacting reliability is not character to me.
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Well, sometimes we have to consult the dictionary:
"the group of qualities that make a person, group, or thing different from others"
"a distinguishing feature"
that pretty much sums it up for me.
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I would say the popular or colloquial use of the term is simple - it is used to describe a bike that "speaks" to an individual, that "appeals" generally on an emotional level.
Those who value the utility and precision of a refrigerator (and that's possibly a bad analogy in a world with bluetooth connected fridges with multiple electronic control panels that seem to break with a higher frequency than they should), I think are less likely to use the term since they probably judge things more on a practical and less on an emotional level. But they aren't wrong, because it's a personal thing.
OK, to answer the original question, FOR ME.
It is about personification. It's about feeling connected to the bike.
It's not about faults per se, but a lack of boring level perfection which would make it feel inhuman, bland, vanilla.
Yes too smooth, too good a suspension, etc. would come across as too much "perfection" and as such BE FAULTS to ME.
I want something that gives me feedback.
What are the closing lines from Serenity? Captain Mal is saying to his little albatross (River):
"You know what the first rule of flying is? ...Love. You can learn all the math in the 'verse, but you take a boat in the air you don't love, she'll shake you off just as sure as the turning of the worlds. Love keeps her in the air when she oughta' fall down, tells you she's hurtin' 'fore she keens. Makes her a home."
https://youtu.be/ZU26EseuDoI (https://youtu.be/ZU26EseuDoI)
If you don't love the bike on some level, there's no personification, no character.
And I can't love a bike without character.
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It's pretty much what Kate Walsh says in the Cadillac CTS ad.
When you turn your bike on does it return the favor?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkEw1rsBUak
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Excellent responses, one and all. "Character," like "beauty," or one of my favorite internet topics "offense," is in the eye of the beholder. One size does not fit all. We all get to decide on the definitions that apply/appeal to us personally. Like it or not, it's our choice to make.
We all know people who have lots of "character," who other people consider to be "a**holes!"
As one responder noted above (paraphrased), "when I don't get the reaction I want I sell the bike." Well, the bike did not change, the perceptions/priorities/desires of the owner/rider changed.
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....... I instantly get a S... eatin grin and a woody! When it fails to do that to me it's getting sold."
Sounds like a bloke destined to end up with a garage full of expensive hookers !
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Sounds like a bloke destined to end up with a garage full of expensive hookers !
A f****n-men! :drool:
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what a great conversation. Justice Potter Stewart of the Supreme Court famously said in regard to pornography, "I know if when I see it." Maybe character is similar to pornography, difficult to define but you know it when you experience it. My example is this: I rode Japanese 4 cylinder bikes before I got my first Beemer. The year was 1997 and the bike was a 1984 R100RS. If your definition of character is a machine you have to work with to understand and appreciate, this bike was it for me. First, I had wanted one since they first came out in 1977, but the price was unreachable then for me. Second, it looked so gorgeous and fast with its' Hans Muth fairing but in reality was only about 50 hp. and good for about 110 mph. The shaft drive jacked up and down on accel and decel, the brakes were a joke, the shifting was deliberate, throttle heavy, tires skinny, on and on and on. But, I fancied myself a hotshoe rider in those days and it took about 10,000 miles to really understand the bike and how to get the most out of it, on the right road, it could really surprise some guys on high horsepower machines. At an indicated 68 mph, it was turning 4,000 rpm, the absolute sweetest spot for it and in the helmet with earplugs in, the engine sounded somewhat like the little Cessna airplanes I have flown in as a boy. That fairing was like the cone of silence from Get Smart at that speed, you could ride it for hours and hours. Finally, it was totally reliable from the 59,000 miles it had when bought to the 90,000 when sold.
So, if character is having to earn the right to be one with the bike, for me, that 84 R100 was the epitome of character.
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Sounds like a bloke destined to end up with a garage full of expensive hookers !
or a bloke with a couple cheap bikes and a healthy monthly Viagra budget.......
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Further to the point. Several years ago I worked at the Guzzi demo tent at Americade. It was ASTOUNDING how many test riders came off the bikes and mentioned how much they did NOT like them. The idiot (yes, correct term) "big" shots NEVER asked why-they were way too busy looking at their phones and quite content to let us "pleebs" deal with the masses. Finally, it bugged me to the point that I started to chat with returning riders. Low and behold, simply by asking a few questions I discovered that the vast majority of test riders were keeping the bikes MUCH too low in the rev range. Most were riding them like H-D big twins. Ever the cleaver one, I started letting test riders know to keep the revs up a bit. Don't ya know the feedback got much better after that. The HQ guys could not have cared less. I learned a LOT that weekend.
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I think Nat King Cole has a lot of character. :kiss:
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My example is this: I rode Japanese 4 cylinder bikes before I got my first Beemer. The year was 1997 and the bike was a 1984 R100RS.
Similar for me. I had three inline fours, a Honda 350 and two Yamahas (600 Radian and FJ1100). When I got my 1981 R100CS in the early 90's I learned the phrase "they all do that." This was in response the bike's "character." I learned to co-operate with that machine and how to find the sweet spots in the engine and suspension. I rode that thing everywhere. When I "upgraded" to an R1100RT some years later, I started to get bored of riding. It was objectively more competent, and it served me well as a commuter, but I didn't take it out just for the joy of riding - only if I had somewhere to go.
Then I got to the point in life where I could have more than one motorcycle and I bought a new Ducati Sport Classic Monoposto to put beside the RT. In retrospect, I should have bought and held the Paul Smart version that I really wanted, but that's beside the point. Related to character, the point is, one day one of my surf buddies came over and asked why I had two motorcycles. Now, he had about a dozen surfboards, and he was not a motorcycle rider. So to put it in terms he could understand, I said "The BMW is my longboard, and the Ducati is my shortboard." He instantly said: "Say no more."
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It's hard to define.
I've had one or two machines that built character in the motorcyclist, though! :grin:
-Stretch
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Further to the point. Several years ago I worked at the Guzzi demo tent at Americade. It was ASTOUNDING how many test riders came off the bikes and mentioned how much they did NOT like them. The idiot (yes, correct term) "big" shots NEVER asked why-they were way too busy looking at their phones and quite content to let us "pleebs" deal with the masses. Finally, it bugged me to the point that I started to chat with returning riders. Low and behold, simply by asking a few questions I discovered that the vast majority of test riders were keeping the bikes MUCH too low in the rev range. Most were riding them like H-D big twins. Ever the cleaver one, I started letting test riders know to keep the revs up a bit. Don't ya know the feedback got much better after that. The HQ guys could not have cared less. I learned a LOT that weekend.
Exactly! True for almost all factory owned distributorships. Most of these so called specialists are so busy looking for their next big paying job they could cate less.
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Further to the point. Several years ago I worked at the Guzzi demo tent at Americade. It was ASTOUNDING how many test riders came off the bikes and mentioned how much they did NOT like them. The idiot (yes, correct term) "big" shots NEVER asked why-they were way too busy looking at their phones and quite content to let us "pleebs" deal with the masses. Finally, it bugged me to the point that I started to chat with returning riders. Low and behold, simply by asking a few questions I discovered that the vast majority of test riders were keeping the bikes MUCH too low in the rev range. Most were riding them like H-D big twins. Ever the cleaver one, I started letting test riders know to keep the revs up a bit. Don't ya know the feedback got much better after that. The HQ guys could not have cared less. I learned a LOT that weekend.
Yep. I am shifting my Harley where the Guzzi just starts to get interesting. Of course I am shifting my Guzzi where the KLX300SM just starts to get interesting.
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Further to the point. Several years ago I worked at the Guzzi demo tent at Americade. It was ASTOUNDING how many test riders came off the bikes and mentioned how much they did NOT like them. The idiot (yes, correct term) "big" shots NEVER asked why-they were way too busy looking at their phones and quite content to let us "pleebs" deal with the masses. Finally, it bugged me to the point that I started to chat with returning riders. Low and behold, simply by asking a few questions I discovered that the vast majority of test riders were keeping the bikes MUCH too low in the rev range. Most were riding them like H-D big twins. Ever the cleaver one, I started letting test riders know to keep the revs up a bit. Don't ya know the feedback got much better after that. The HQ guys could not have cared less. I learned a LOT that weekend.
I take your point but at the same time, if a rider just can't figure out how to use the throttle grip and feel the powerband on a motorcycle, perhaps they really aren't cut out to ride.
Just my opinion. I might be wrong. :violent1:
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You may have a point but then again, I'm just passing on what I know to be true at this event. Perhaps too much credit is given to the fact that an owner must, by virtue of ownership, be assumed to have any degree at all of competency. I'm personally not ready to assume that.
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I take your point but at the same time, if a rider just can't figure out how to use the throttle grip and feel the powerband on a motorcycle, perhaps they really aren't cut out to ride.
Just my opinion. I might be wrong. :violent1:
Most sane riders aren't going to get on an unfamiliar bike and goose the throttle.
Kawasaki makes a line of small displacement parallel twin bikes that rev to over 12,000 RPMs. Most riders are not used to revving that high and then come on the forums and complain about the lack of power. When you say rev them above 8000 to get into the meat of the power curve they say they don't want to hurt the bike, and those that will never rev it eventually sell and get a larger displacement bike that they never rev either.
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I recently swapped rides with my buddy's lovely red Ducati ST2.
The Ducati's engine / gearbox / handling / throttle response / braking is much smoother than my poor ol Centauro.
However, the mighty Centauro (aka, "The Pregnant Shrimp") makes up for it in visceral brute power and grunt...and you feel that when you twist the throttle above 5,000-6,000 RPM.
My buddy Mike commented: "Your Centauro turns into a completely different motorcycle above 70 mph!" :wink: :bow: :cool: :boozing:
Yes, indeed...and thus another example of "character and soul" of a motorcycle... :thumb: :cool: :wink:
(https://i.ibb.co/QJSNt4h/IMG-3084.jpg) (https://ibb.co/QJSNt4h)
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It is about personification. It's about feeling connected to the bike.
It's not about faults per se, but a lack of boring level perfection which would make it feel inhuman, bland, vanilla.
Yes too smooth, too good a suspension, etc. would come across as too much "perfection" and as such BE FAULTS to ME.
I want something that gives me feedback.
What are the closing lines from Serenity? Captain Mal is saying to his little albatross (River):
"You know what the first rule of flying is? ...Love. You can learn all the math in the 'verse, but you take a boat in the air you don't love, she'll shake you off just as sure as the turning of the worlds. Love keeps her in the air when she oughta' fall down, tells you she's hurtin' 'fore she keens. Makes her a home."
What can I say about someone who quotes a Firefly character while eloquently making the exact point I would make? Thanks, Kev!
It's not that an FJR has no character, it's that the character is bland, without distinguishing elements (except maybe a funky transmission) - and BORING. Boring is good for appliances - no one wants a toaster that has too much character. But I don't want to ride a toaster! :grin:
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It's pretty much what Kate Walsh says in the Cadillac CTS ad.
When you turn your bike on does it return the favor?
Which might be exactly the right example - a Cadillac CTS has so little character (at least in my eyes) that it's the perfect case for a vehicle that would NEVER return the favor!
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What can I say about someone who quotes a Firefly character while eloquently making the exact point I would make? Thanks, Kev!
It's not that an FJR has no character, it's that the character is bland, without distinguishing elements (except maybe a funky transmission) - and BORING. Boring is good for appliances - no one wants a toaster that has too much character. But I don't want to ride a toaster! :grin:
Can't ride a toaster, too small, need a refrigerator. :evil:
kk
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Did someone say toaster?!?
(https://darthmojo.files.wordpress.com/2008/05/cylon00_cover.jpg)
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I heard a new touring bike will be based on the Buick limited. The manufacturer feels four wheels will be required to support the 5200 pound curb weight.
(https://i.ibb.co/MnGB423/EFC460-FF-AB5-A-4-FEF-9274-00-AB2-E9-C330-A.jpg) (https://ibb.co/MnGB423)
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When asked why he didn't have more Japanese bikes in his collection, Jay Leno once responded, "Because they don't need me!"
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Character is the conversation the bike has with you when you’re riding
With some bikes the communication is pronounced and with other bikes it’s hard to make out the conversation.
My 1200 Sport speaks volumes to me every time we ride.
You Sir have nailed it and as a matter of fact Sonja ( MG V7 II Special ) and I just had a great conversation this morning.
I very much look forward to our conversations...
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When asked why he didn't have more Japanese bikes in his collection, Jay Leno once responded, "Because they don't need me!"
Obviously, Jay gets it.
I want something that gives me feedback.
There I go agreeing with Kev again..
And..
"If I have to tell you, you wouldn't understand." :evil: :smiley:
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After riding a Suzuki GS 750 for a year, I thought my Moto Guzzi Norge had character. (it does)
Then I purchased a Ural. That makes the Moto Guzzi look and feel refined and precision. (and reliable)
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It’s been said “A car moves your body but a motorcycle moves your soul.” I think a bike with character is what they’re referring to.
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Definition
character: 1. the mental and moral qualities distinctive to an individual.
since bikes have neither morals nor intelligence (yet), a bike's character is only an anthropomorphizatio n projected by the human
character 2. a person in a novel, play, or movie.
now in there are some examples. ie El Pederoso from Motorcycle Diaries, Jupiter from Ted Simon's Jupiter's Travels.
and more characters unknown:
https://overlandmag.com/resources/history-2/history-up-to-1920s/
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Most sane riders aren't going to get on an unfamiliar bike and goose the throttle.
Kawasaki makes a line of small displacement parallel twin bikes that rev to over 12,000 RPMs. Most riders are not used to revving that high and then come on the forums and complain about the lack of power. When you say rev them above 8000 to get into the meat of the power curve they say they don't want to hurt the bike, and those that will never rev it eventually sell and get a larger displacement bike that they never rev either.
Well, again, to quote kev, I dunno. It might be suggested that to get on a demo bike and ride it exactly like your current bike has the very real potential to reveal exactly nothing at all. Any bike I ever get to try I'll open the throttle all the way. Not to WACK open an unfamiliar bike, but yes, I'll open it. But I get not goosing............ ...................
makes me recall all the idiots who bought a real 911-rear air cooled and 3 pedals that passed thru the vertical firewall. Because they owned it they were "real drivers" until at first real time at pace swapped ends faster than they knew what hit them.
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Another analogy:
Leitz Summicron lens flare = character to Leica lovers
Leitz Summicron lens flare = crummy lens to digital guys
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You may have a point but then again, I'm just passing on what I know to be true at this event. Perhaps too much credit is given to the fact that an owner must, by virtue of ownership, be assumed to have any degree at all of competency. I'm personally not ready to assume that.
So why blame Guzzi to sell bikes to incompetent riders? They were Harley riders and weren't going to change. If they couldn't twist a throttle or look at the redline on the tach, they were never going to get it.
I agree with your main point. Brief them and say, "we're not going out of town, don't go past third gear". :evil:
You think that might have made an impression? :rolleyes:
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Most sane riders aren't going to get on an unfamiliar bike and goose the throttle.
Kawasaki makes a line of small displacement parallel twin bikes that rev to over 12,000 RPMs. Most riders are not used to revving that high and then come on the forums and complain about the lack of power. When you say rev them above 8000 to get into the meat of the power curve they say they don't want to hurt the bike, and those that will never rev it eventually sell and get a larger displacement bike that they never rev either.
A rider doesn't have to goose the throttle to use the throttle. A rider can look at the redline on the tach and feel the power curve.
Anyway, if a bike feels slow, I wouldn't crack the throttle and shift. I'd give it more more throttle until it was going at the right speed or find out that it didn't have enough power to get there.
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Further to the point. Several years ago I worked at the Guzzi demo tent at Americade. It was ASTOUNDING how many test riders came off the bikes and mentioned how much they did NOT like them. The idiot (yes, correct term) "big" shots NEVER asked why-they were way too busy looking at their phones and quite content to let us "pleebs" deal with the masses. Finally, it bugged me to the point that I started to chat with returning riders. Low and behold, simply by asking a few questions I discovered that the vast majority of test riders were keeping the bikes MUCH too low in the rev range. Most were riding them like H-D big twins. Ever the cleaver one, I started letting test riders know to keep the revs up a bit. Don't ya know the feedback got much better after that. The HQ guys could not have cared less. I learned a LOT that weekend.
If you are unfamiliar with Guzzi they are a lot like a sidecar. Ride one for 5 or 10 miles and there's a good chance you'll hate it. Ride one for 500 or 1000 miles and you'll start coming around. It takes time to warm to them.
As far a character bikes, bricks, I-beams are all inanimate objects. The character as far as motorcycles are concerned is the guy riding it.
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In a way IMHO character is acquired like the aging of fine whisky. My first bike was a Suzuki GS400. It aged me from being a novice street rider to at least one that survived that first critical year of street riding and acquired higher skill levels from there. After some mods it slayed stock 1200 sporty H-Ds so I consider that character.
The T-3 then delivered it in spades from the way it rides to the comments it gets to the reminders it can sometime give me if I am not doing my riding part or saving my ass because I didn't do my part.
GliderJohn
Having also started out on that same bike, I can say that the character also changes with experience.. As a new street rider working on, and riding that bike, at the time had a ton of it. Those first street miles, and having that bike bumping along the road.. Feeling that first rush of "power".. Going WAYYYY too fast into my street that first time, and overshooting the road, and up on the side walk, and still keeping me upright. Learning how to fix, and clean a street bike.. Today I would think its a pretty bland bike.. and really is was, but in the day, as a first time rider it was alive, and reved up my spirt far faster then its own motor could.
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That is a good question. My V Strom 650 is an excellent bike, a very good tool, but almost totally lacks character. My Royal Enfield Classic Chrome Bullet has tons of it. And my V 7III Special is loaded with it. I think I would define it as something that causes a positive emotional response. And I LOVE my V7!
Scott