|  | Topic : Traded my Bird for a new EFI America ! |  |
| | | daz | | Zeus |  |  | | Reg. Date | : | 12/05/2009 | | Posts | : | 7,731 | | Location | : | United States |
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| | Posted : 05 Feb 2011 - 18:44 Post title : Traded my Bird for a new EFI America ! | | | Yep, i traded it.............for the day !  I took it in to have the chrome triple clamps installed and they told me it would take a couple hours longer than they quoted on the phone. So i told them i can't wait and rather than lose a job they gave me a loaner. Fun little bike, tho painfully slow. But just like my old speedmaster surprisingly good on the freeway. If i had to describe it i'd say "zippy". The combo of decent torque and lightness make it feel zippy. That said, it looks like a toy and i can't wait to get my baby back !!!!
| 2010 Blue/White Thunderbird, "Brutus". 1700 kit, short tors, gutted cat, UNI filter, filter seal off, custom tune. Brutus in his native habitat: Link
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| | | Druid | | Jupiter | |  | | Reg. Date | : | 14/10/2009 | | Posts | : | 1,359 | | Location | : | United Kingdom |
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| | Posted : 05 Feb 2011 - 19:44 Post title : Re: Traded my Bird for a new EFI America ! (Re: daz) | | | Blimey made me double take there Daz
| Socialism is the philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery - W.Churchill
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| | | mat1600 | | Thunderbird | |  | | Reg. Date | : | 06/03/2010 | | Posts | : | 8,596 | | Location | : | Bridlington, Democratic Independant State of Yorkshire, United Kingdom |
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| | Posted : 05 Feb 2011 - 19:48 Post title : Re: Traded my Bird for a new EFI America ! (Re: daz) | | | Sure got me clicking. I had one for the day - and felt very much the same as you did about it. Much prefer the speedmaster for looks and would have one if Mrs1600 would pass her test.
| My first natural instinct is to breathe. My second is to evade tax's.
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| | | daz | | Zeus | | | | Reg. Date | : | 12/05/2009 | | Posts | : | 7,731 | | Location | : | United States |
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| | Posted : 05 Feb 2011 - 20:02 Post title : Re: Traded my Bird for a new EFI America ! | | | He he he.....i figured i'd have a few of you clicking feverishly to see if i really did such a foolish thing ! I feel like i'd enjoy a 865 in the garage too, but not the speedmaster or america but a T100 with that beautiful black metallic tank with the white scheme. You really see where the price difference is tho when you sit on those bonnies and variants....so many cheap sheet metal and other such cheezy parts. The bird in stock form is like a gem by comparison, but with some of the accessory chrome it's in another galaxy. But yeah, i think a bonnie would be a blast for a change of pace. This is one thing in life i learned from being a guitar player for 40 years....no matter how good a particular guitar or amp is, there is no holy grail because after a while even much lesser guitars or amps are fun to play for a while. But you'll always go back to the king. Variety is the spice of life, the grass is always greener....take your pick.
| 2010 Blue/White Thunderbird, "Brutus". 1700 kit, short tors, gutted cat, UNI filter, filter seal off, custom tune. Brutus in his native habitat: Link
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| | | Leethal | | Zeus | |  | | Reg. Date | : | 24/01/2011 | | Posts | : | 6,593 | | Location | : | Australia |
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| | Posted : 05 Feb 2011 - 22:25 Post title : Re: Traded my Bird for a new EFI America ! (Re: daz) | | | Saw the thread title and thought WTF
Wouldn't mind a Thruxton sitting between the Honda and the Bird.
| Experience is something you get just after you needed it 
1600,Foran Razorbacks, Meerkat bypass, Dyno tune, real headlight,plenty of chrome,switchblade pegs, Nitron R3 shocks & Ikon progressive fork springs etc. Scorpion Western Low handlebars. PH adjustable fork caps.
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| | | daz | | Zeus | | | | Reg. Date | : | 12/05/2009 | | Posts | : | 7,731 | | Location | : | United States |
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| | Posted : 05 Feb 2011 - 22:45 Post title : Re: Traded my Bird for a new EFI America ! | | | I'll tell you what really hit me about the difference when i went to pickup my bike. The chain ! man, i never realized how grindy, snatchy and noisy chains are till i rode the Tbird for 1-1/2 years then rode that america today. Just say no to chains ! And on the way i was really starting to get used to the feel of the america and started thinking hey, this thing ain't all that horrible after all compared to the Tbird as power goes. Holy shit was I off base ! When i got back on the bird it felt like the R3 did back when jumped off my speedmaster and demo'd it about 3-4 years ago. I guess the 1700 isn't as far off from the R3 as i thought after all. Certainly far closer to the R3 than the speedmaster is to the 1700.
| 2010 Blue/White Thunderbird, "Brutus". 1700 kit, short tors, gutted cat, UNI filter, filter seal off, custom tune. Brutus in his native habitat: Link
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| | | Leethal | | Zeus | | | | Reg. Date | : | 24/01/2011 | | Posts | : | 6,593 | | Location | : | Australia |
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| | Posted : 05 Feb 2011 - 22:50 Post title : Re: Traded my Bird for a new EFI America ! (Re: daz) | | | Yes daz, it was the second thing I noticed on my demo ride, how quiet the drive train was. The first thing was ,where are the f##king foot pegs!!
| Experience is something you get just after you needed it
1600,Foran Razorbacks, Meerkat bypass, Dyno tune, real headlight,plenty of chrome,switchblade pegs, Nitron R3 shocks & Ikon progressive fork springs etc. Scorpion Western Low handlebars. PH adjustable fork caps.
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| | | daz | | Zeus | | | | Reg. Date | : | 12/05/2009 | | Posts | : | 7,731 | | Location | : | United States |
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| | Posted : 05 Feb 2011 - 23:21 Post title : Re: Traded my Bird for a new EFI America ! (Re: Leethal) | | |
Leethal wrote:
The first thing was ,where are the f##king foot pegs!! |
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Ahh, but not I sir, for having owned a speedmaster the pegs were right where i liked em ! 
| 2010 Blue/White Thunderbird, "Brutus". 1700 kit, short tors, gutted cat, UNI filter, filter seal off, custom tune. Brutus in his native habitat: Link
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| | | FTL40 | | Jupiter | |  | | Reg. Date | : | 13/10/2009 | | Posts | : | 1,122 | | Location | : | massachusetts, United States |
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| | Posted : 06 Feb 2011 - 02:41 Post title : Re: Traded my Bird for a new EFI America ! (Re: daz) | | | trust me we are knowhere near R3's, when riding with my father and we take off he leaves me for dead.
| 2010 tbird 1700 silver (fastest color) BC exhaust, BC airbox removal
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| | | weatherman | | Set | |  | | Reg. Date | : | 19/02/2009 | | Posts | : | 232 | | Location | : | Vista, Ca, United States |
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| | Posted : 06 Feb 2011 - 03:51 Post title : Re: Traded my Bird for a new EFI America ! (Re: FTL40) | | | Seriously thinking of selling my 05 Speedmaster with all its stainless steel pieces and finding an equal year or newer Bonnie for a good price. Only problem is they are hard to find used by me, good price or not.
Wouldn't trade my Tbird for anything else - Well maybe a Storm 
| If there's a T-bird in the garage then your either sick, broke or missing the time of your life.
Get out and ride that Bird.
The Tbird arrived June 26, 2009 - Speedy was traded in June for a 2012 Bonnie T100.
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| | | daz | | Zeus | | | | Reg. Date | : | 12/05/2009 | | Posts | : | 7,731 | | Location | : | United States |
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| | Posted : 06 Feb 2011 - 05:12 Post title : Re: Traded my Bird for a new EFI America ! (Re: FTL40) | | | FTL40 wrote:
trust me we are knowhere near R3's, when riding with my father and we take off he leaves me for dead. |
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Yeah, but with the 1700/tors/dizze's tune, it's damn close. It may not be a R3 but i can tell you mine will go 0-60 so fast i seriously doubt it would take more than 3 seconds. I would bet closer to 2.5, and the R3 does it in 2.3. The stock 1600...i agree. Not close at all.
| 2010 Blue/White Thunderbird, "Brutus". 1700 kit, short tors, gutted cat, UNI filter, filter seal off, custom tune. Brutus in his native habitat: Link
| | Post edited by daz on 06 Feb 2011 - 05:48 |
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| | | EnGage | | Thor | |  | | Reg. Date | : | 14/07/2009 | | Posts | : | 3,155 | | Location | : | Grand Rapids, MI, United States |
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| | Posted : 06 Feb 2011 - 14:07 Post title : Re: Traded my Bird for a new EFI America ! (Re: daz) | | | DAZ - The world must have stopped turning - they gave you a loaner 
I had a Speedmaster as a loner once. I apologize in advance to those who like the bike, but I did not like it at all. Compared to my Bonneville and my Bird, it handled very poorly. In fact, had the Tbird not been released, I would have likely gone to another brand for my cruiser (boy am I going to get it for that statement - running and hiding now...)
| | Post edited by EnGage on 06 Feb 2011 - 14:08 |
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| | | daz | | Zeus | | | | Reg. Date | : | 12/05/2009 | | Posts | : | 7,731 | | Location | : | United States |
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| | Posted : 06 Feb 2011 - 14:45 Post title : Re: Traded my Bird for a new EFI America ! (Re: EnGage) | | | They handle pretty well actually, but at slow speeds they don't. I used to ride with a couple bonnie guys, one who was a fast rider. I kept up with him to a point where he was a bit shocked. But i think they FEEL more like they don't till you realize they go well beyond how they initially feel. Hope that made sense, but in any case they don't handle that well compared to the Tbird, thats for sure. I do like them tho and if i were to lose the Tbird somehow I'd never be able put this much $ into a bike again, so i might well go back to one. Don't like these new ones tho. The cosmetics suck and I cannot stand the new speedo and the cheesy piece of sheet metal that it mounts on. Looks like a $200 Chinese bike. They're really starting to cheapen up on those bikes. Sad.
As to the loaner, i have asked them in the past at thier other location and they said no. But this time they told me 10 AM and it would take 2 hours. I was hanging around for about an hour and they still didn't get to it because they were working on a thruxton, which they said would be done in a few minutes. Finally they admitted they wouldn't get to mine till noon so i told him i'm gong to have to pass and do it some other time. He then offered to ask if i can have a loaner and when he asked the girl who was in charge he said to her, (paraphrasing here) can we get him a loaner because he doesn't want to hang around for 3 or 4 hours and we're going to lose the job. So it was the fear of losing my business, which by the way they wouldn't have. I would have just gone back next week or whenever they could assure me my bike would be first. I think he was trying to put the fear in her so she'd authorize it. So I told them if they can arrange a loaner i'll be doing more service there when needed and they said ok. I now have a dealer close by AND gives loaners ! But i won't be doing much now, as the only service i will likely need is the valves 12k from now. Good to know tho. Of course once again i'm looking at buying a house, and if i do the only area i can afford one that i'd be happy with will once again put me 40 miles from the dealer !!! 
| 2010 Blue/White Thunderbird, "Brutus". 1700 kit, short tors, gutted cat, UNI filter, filter seal off, custom tune. Brutus in his native habitat: Link
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| | | narsisco_lopez | | Thor | |  | | Reg. Date | : | 09/09/2010 | | Posts | : | 2,765 | | Location | : | Golden (Showers!), Colorado, United States |
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| | Posted : 06 Feb 2011 - 15:16 Post title : Re: Traded my Bird for a new EFI America ! (Re: daz) | | | At least you got an America... my dealer only has 2 Scramblers and 2 BMW F800s as loaners.
| 2012 Storm (SOLD!)
Other Bikes:
2003 Suzuki DRZ400E (plated - my dual sport/mountain trail/camping bike)
Past Bikes:
2012 K13S
2009 KTM 990 Adventure
2010 Triumph Thunderbird 1600 (the Alien Queen)
2009 Triumph Sprint ST (another great bike!)
2007 Kawasaki ZX10R
2000 Kawasaki ZRX1100
1975 Honda SB550T "Clubman"
1981 Kawasaki KZ1000J
1985 Suzuki GS550E
1978 Yamaha 650 Special
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| | | ray548 | | Set | |  | | Reg. Date | : | 09/02/2010 | | Posts | : | 299 | | Location | : | sylmar, CA, United States |
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| | Posted : 07 Feb 2011 - 01:11 Post title : Re: Traded my Bird for a new EFI America ! (Re: narsisco_lopez) | | | Daz is exactly right on the America handling. Glad I could keep it, so when I go to San Jose, I have something to ride. And I get my daughter's Bonnie when I want to ride it. But I miss the TB, but next month will be here, and I'll be getting it ready for riding. Too bad my wife has to work, she may not find me around since I retired.
| 2010 TB, 2007 America
2009 Black Bonnie
owned by daughter, but fun to borrow
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| | | mellow_daze | | Set | |  | | Reg. Date | : | 16/01/2011 | | Posts | : | 18 | | Location | : | Foxton Locks, Leicester, United Kingdom |
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| | Posted : 07 Feb 2011 - 11:21 Post title : Re: Traded my Bird for a new EFI America ! (Re: ray548) | | | Daz how many times did you try and change into 6th gear.
I've a speedy (for daily commute missus don't like me leaving the bird at work) and bird for everything else, when I've been riding the bird and go back to speedy I just can't stop myself trying for 6th, drives me nuts.
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| | | daz | | Zeus | | | | Reg. Date | : | 12/05/2009 | | Posts | : | 7,731 | | Location | : | United States |
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| | Posted : 07 Feb 2011 - 14:00 Post title : Re: Traded my Bird for a new EFI America ! (Re: mellow_daze) | | | oddly, i never even thought about it, even on the freeway. Not sure why but probably because the bike seemed to have no engine braking to speak of. And when you have a bike like that they can cruise at fairly high RPM's w/o feeling like you need to shift
| 2010 Blue/White Thunderbird, "Brutus". 1700 kit, short tors, gutted cat, UNI filter, filter seal off, custom tune. Brutus in his native habitat: Link
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| | | BlueNose | | Thor | |  | | Reg. Date | : | 29/09/2009 | | Posts | : | 2,478 | | Location | : | United Kingdom |
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| | Posted : 07 Feb 2011 - 18:56 Post title : Re: Traded my Bird for a new EFI America ! (Re: daz) | | | I think the stock America and Speedy are lame. Need TORS and a few performance mods to bring them to life. I love them bikes and a bobber Speedy will be added to the stable when I find the right opportunity. That said the Bird is better in every respect except location of foot pegs (in particular) & dial and ground clearance.
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| | | FTL40 | | Jupiter | | | | Reg. Date | : | 13/10/2009 | | Posts | : | 1,122 | | Location | : | massachusetts, United States |
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| | Posted : 07 Feb 2011 - 19:42 Post title : Re: Traded my Bird for a new EFI America ! (Re: daz) | | | i have a 1700 with seat mod and trust me we are not close
| 2010 tbird 1700 silver (fastest color) BC exhaust, BC airbox removal
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