David Lahey wrote:Theres lots here about Kawasaki trials bikes here including an Australian magazine comparison of the Kawasaki and the Suzuki (and the Yamaha and Honda)
My enduro riding buddies in the late 1970s were mad-keen KDX and KLX riders so I was hammered to death by them constantly telling me how good Kawasakis were. It almost compared with how much I hammered them about how good Yamahas were.
I'd class myself a motorcycle nut, however during the 70's all that I was exposed to were Yamaha's, Honda's & who could forget the European tackle.[/quote] Hey Warren what did you think about the Suzuki trials story?
David Lahey wrote:I'd class myself a motorcycle nut, however during the 70's all that I was exposed to were Yamaha's, Honda's & who could forget the European tackle.
Hey Warren what did you think about the Suzuki trials story?[/quote]
No Mr Lahey, it has to do with CLASS my dear friend! I've been a bike nut myself for over 25yrs and I will begrudgingly admit to owning two Yamahas and one Honda in my time. My very first bike was a second-hand YZ80D that my wonderful parents bought for me at the start of '81 when I was a tender 12yrs old. 6 months later came a brand spanking YZ80H. Dad was going to hold out for the '82 YZ80J until he heard it was going to be water-cooled. That sort of new fan-dangled technology didn't sit well so the "H" it was. Then, like some sort of divine intervention, my beloved mummy and daddy bought me an '82 model Suzuki RM125Z and the rest, as they say, has been a blissfull, Suzuki soaked, checkered-flag-laden history! So Warren; good on you mate! Hope you find an RL and I certainly hope the trials bug bites you as hard as it's bitten me. It's great fun. By the way Mr Lahey & Starky, I am very well aware of where Boyne Island is and I'm also well aware of the RL for sale on said island. I virtually live on ebay. Only problem is, Grace is also VERY well aware of the $2500 starting bid! Some things just aren't meant to be. Oh, the one Honda I owned? An FL250 Odyssey. It was fun.......for about a week!
Hey Wazza I love Suzuki motorbikes too - I've had a great time with Suzuki MX, enduro, trail and road bikes and in fact my one-and-only remaining VMX weapon is a Suzuki. It's only RL250s in standard trim that I've got reservations about.
Yeah I know. The old RL didn't get rave reviews when it was released. I think that adds to the attraction for me. The RL tends to polarise opinion a bit. But one thing I do know for certain, when you only ride the one bike you tend to adapt to that machine and ride accordingly. I've ridden Jeff and Steve's modern bikes and while they were incredible in the way they respond to the riders' input, I still prefer the character of the classic bikes, whatever brand they are. The fact that the RL has so much "character" (not all of it good) is the icing on the cake.
Sometimes "quirks" are what make things appealing to me. I think I might have to aim for one of each of the 70's Japanese marques. As it stands I have the Honda & Yamaha covered.
I know I am a newbie around here but I'd like to add that I was closely watching the RL at Maryborough too. The starting bit threw me a little, but it's not that bad. Have you seen the 74 RL for sale in QLD I think. It's on the trading post. I reckon the shop was kidding themselves when they put a tag of $3500 on it. It's down to $2450 now but it's still not worth it when comparing it to the 75 in Maryborough. They call it an "enduro". An enduro bike with a 5 litre tank? Ha ha ha.
