Lucky wife. Your a very generous man. 
Those Asians are crazy with what they cart and tow. The best I have seen was two oxen I guess were around 550 Kg and the trailer behind a 125 clapped out Honda. The total weight behind the bike would of been around 1.5 Ton.
Funny as well.
Saw a scooter with a pillion sitting backwards, towing (with his hands) a wheelbarrow full of bricks.
My FZ-09 and a friends Harley. Went out for a nice cruise near Denver.
Those loaded down bikes are Honda Cubs, the best selling vehicle of all time, over 50 million sold. Most have a 50cc engine that is bulletproof.
While in Vietnam and Cambodia recently the wife could not understand my fascination with mopeds and small Hondaās and Yamahaās. They have to be seen to believed. On more than one occasion she went crook at me for taking so many pictures of these amazing bikes and what they are asked to do.
Ramrod, Suncoaster has a 900 triple Yammie as well. Hes promised me a ride if I ever get up North to visit him. 
Routed here via MRsDNF and the hornet thread. :laughing:
I absolutely love all the pictures of the motorbikes in Vietnam (my native land). I was there twice last year and thereās nothing quite like experiencing the country on 2 wheels. I plan to one day do a trip from the south to the north on 2 wheels. (I need to move there already haha). Itās a shame more and more people are clogging up the roads with their 4 wheeled monstrosities there. :rage: The motorbike traffic seems insane but itās actually much more efficient, especially given how small the streets are (and how much they can load up :laughing: ). Cars really muck it all upā¦compare Saigon to Bangkokā¦ew.
Anyway my 2-wheeled obsession is alive and well in the states as well. Hereās my daily rider:
My CB500F, fresh after a wash. Nothing special but I love her. 
Still have some mods I need to add (fender delete and integrated LED taillight) but itās been way too hot here to work on her.
That bike is a looker. 
Well thank you!
I had a badass zx12 a few years back. Everybody used to give me chit about the big azz fender and my refusal to hack it off. I love fenders! Sold it and the new owner hacked the fender off in the 1st hr!!
Hahaha, different strokes I guess. 
It doesnāt flow well with my particular bike, IMO of course.
Nice bike. They have a few different versions of the 500 twin. North to South, now that would be an adventure. For you pleasure, for me pure terror.
I ride nearly daily now, as a bike commuter. My work involves nearly daily travel between the sites I support, with most trips less than 15 miles each way. I get paid to ride my bike, and then I get mileage reimbursement as well. :money_mouth_face: Hence, my desire for maximum fuel efficiency.
I was the #6 post on this thread, with a picture of my first bike. It was (note the āwasā) a 2013 Jonway YY250t; a $1700 Chinese internet-order scooter. This picture was taken my first day to ride the bike to work, after the initial break-in.
(I took this photo to send a co-worker, who also rode as a daily commuter. We exchanged conversation regarding the bike, and, then, the very same day, he was rear-ended while riding home, and nearly killed. He was in the hospital for a long while, and eventually recovered and returned to work, but never rode again.)
This bike was very nice, and comfortable. I had a trunk box mounted, and it had storage under the seat. The bike got 70+mpg, but the 244cc engine was WOT at about 60mph. I kept to slow roads as much as possible. This bike was fantastic for my short commutes, due to the cargo space, comfortable seat and riding position, and great fuel economy. Unfortunately, the bike died after six months, and only 5000 miles of use. It started to develop a bit of a clatter which got progressively worse. At my 5000 mile oil change, I found a huge amount of large metal flakes in the oil. The main crank bearing had failed, and had about 1/16ā of play. I ended up cutting the bike into pieces and dropping it off in the scrap metal bin at the dump.
A few months later in the summer of 2014, I found this bike on CraigāsList:
Itās a 2009 Yamaha TMAX, purchased new in 2012 by the original owner, and used as a commuter for less than 6000 miles. This bike is a 500cc 2-cylinder, that actually has the power to keep up with traffic. The internet says it will do about 110mph max, but Iām not about to try that. I have had it up to 80mph, with plenty of throttle left over though. In the two years Iāve owned this bike, Iāve put over 15,000 miles on it with no issues. Iāve replaced the tires twice since I purchased the bike. The bike is less comfortable than my original cheap scooter, and has less storage, but it makes up for that in reliability and performance. I still get 50+mpg on this bike. The longest ride Iāve ever been on was about 70 miles, and that got seriously uncomfortable. I would like to mount a trunk on it, but the mount kit is a Yamaha-specific cast aluminum unit that is extremely expensive.
When this bike wears out, Iām hoping to move up to something a bit less scooterish. Iām a big fan of the frunk on the Honda NC700, and am seriously considering that as my next bike. With the storage space and much better fuel economy (65-70mpg reported), it should make a fantastic commuter.
I gravitate toward those bikes that can get me almost anywhere, so my North American bike isā¦
ā¦and my Central American buggyā¦
Yup, the fairingād R and the adventure X. I preferred the naked style myself (clearly)!
Riding in VN is great! Saigon and the other big cities seem like utter chaos when youāre a casual observer, but it moves quite well and is actually pretty intuitive once youāre in the hivemind. :smiling_imp: Once you hit the countryside and smaller towns is when the real experience starts though. The small bikes there donāt go very fast, and I like it that way. You get to really take in all of the breathtaking scenery!
A fellow Texan bike commuterā¦.nice! Love the maxi-scooter! My dad has the ācruiserā version of the NC700, the CTX700 and itās been a solid bike. He got the DCCT model and itās almost TOO easy to rideā¦the transmission is great (he averages about the same as me, ~60-70mpg which is impressive for bike of that size), although I still prefer my clutch (yes even in traffic).
The NC700ās storage is incredibleā¦it reminds me of all the massive storage compartments on the scooters in Vietnam. You can even fit your whole full-faced helmet in there! Super useful!
@DriftMonkey
You betā¦ Since I have to carry a lot of gear, the storage in a scooter is one of the big reasons I went that route. My current scooter has enough space under the seat for a full size helmet, or my laptop in a case, with my gear, and extra room for a towel (seat cover) gloves, bungee cord, etc.
My old scooter had less space under the seat, but had a large trunk I could fit my full-face helmet in, or a couple of laptops in cases, with other gear.
I like the more relaxed ride position and fairing of the CTX700, but since itās a work commuter bike, I need the storage space worse.
I thought about the automatic transmission, but I generally hear that conventional clutch transmissions are more economical, and will net you better fuel economy in the long runā¦
2006 Honda 750cc Shadow Spiritā¦ā¦. This may very well be my last season with herā¦ā¦ā¦ then again maybe notā¦ā¦ Started on a Honda50 back in ā63.
Yeah, def makes sense for you. My backpack is generally all I need on a daily basis, but I donāt carry much.
Iām honestly not a fan of the CTXās riding position, forward pegs feel unnatural to me (sorry, cruiser bros). The upright CN I think Iād like moreā¦although if you ride scooters, you might be used to it.
The automatic transmission is actually more efficient if you can believe it. Itās not a typical automaticā¦itās a dual clutch system (like you would find on cars) that shifts just as you would, but faster. It still has all the gears and everything and there is a satisfying shift āfeelingā when it shifts. Thereās a more aggressive āsportā mode that keeps in gear longer and a manual mode where you can control the gearing with buttons.
Itās all very neat, but I like my bikes the way I like my cars: manual. Itās part of the riding/driving experience.
How about some mini bikes.
Here are a few on mine.
And the old reliable Honda CT110 Great trailbike 4 Speed with high-low range
Anyone else with miniās?
Later
Keith
Current bike is a 2015 Triumph Street Triple Rx. Previously had a BMW S1000RR, S1000R, Kawasaki Versys 650, Honda CB600F Hornet.
