If you had to buy a bike.....

[DougL]

I'd like a Triumph street triple

That's exactly what I did. I adore the engine but haven't ridden it enough to know if I have bonded with it. It had done 600 miles this year so far and just had its first service. I found a lovely road thanks to Ride Magazine, the B1057 from Great Dunmow in Essex to Haverhill in Suffolk and spent a lovely Saturday afternoon doing a few runs. The engine is an absolute peach and the power is lovely, though the riding position takes some getting used to after a maxi.

The three cylinder is completely vibe free, smooth, powerful, wailing, torquey - it feels much better than any two or four cylinder I have ridden so far (and those are bike wise BMW 800 twin, 1200 boxer, Yamaha XJ6. The Triumph 800cc triple in the Tiger is also a lovely thing if a little less charismatic.

[mottza]

The B184 from Ongar to Dunmow is a great road too.

[andyscooter]

i would buy a royal enfield bullet

look like a bike should not fast but fun

was looking at one when i got the vespa but chose the vespa instead

[bikerdezzie]

After 10 years of ownership, I still really like the look of my CCM R30...
The build quality aint great but one of the nicest looking bikes I think.

first geared bike I ever bought, great handling, was in the ccm owners club, best site ever of around 30 to 40 of us honing round the country roads in the summer 1 time!

[MrGrumpy]

What's interesting is that so many people's ideal bikes seem to be older ones, not anything thats available now! Does the bike industry have a problem??

[StephenC]

The B184 from Ongar to Dunmow is a great road too.

Although the signs telling speeders to beware of heli-coppers isn't a lie.

If I couldn't have a maxi I'd go for a small capacity auto-box bike with good storage capacity. But the closest to that seems to be the Integra.

[smeghead]

You could have a point there Grumpy. It's probably because older bikes looked like, well. bikes! Interestingly my 35 year old son-in-law bought his first 'big' bike a while ago and he bought a Guzzi Breva 1100 and a splendid looking machine it is too. And it's relatively simple to work on, as he likes to tinker.

[Bluebottle]

It's also a bit weird that people who would only buy scooters that are cheap and under 300cc but they want a bike that is expensive and 2 or 3 times the cc
I don't understand that.

[MrGrumpy]

It's also a bit weird that people who would only buy scooters that are cheap and under 300cc but they want a bike that is expensive and 2 or 3 times the cc
I don't understand that.

Since when was buying scoots or bikes about being rational!!!

[irev]

Guzzi 1400 California

Black/White seat: Check
ABS: Check
TCS: Check
Shaft Drive: Check
Reasonable riding position designed for a human, not a spider monkey: Check
Looks like a 1930's steam train: Check
Stops Old farts for a reminisce: Check

Overtakes at will reminiscing old farts and any dawdling spurtbike: Check

Satisfies the `police` requirement: "Me?" "That speed?" "On this?" "You must be mistaken... your grandad probably had one of these. In the War..."

...Rumble away, sniggering.