You know how these things start, three blokes standing around at a bike shop, kicking tyres, shooting the breeze and bouncing ideas around for something interesting to do.
We all scratched our heads, looked exceptionally wise and agreed to meet a day or two later, each with a bike we’d chosen.
R120k or less. That was the budget that we selected to find out what cruiser-esque bikes a mere 120k can buy. In the world of new motorcycles, that’s not a whole lot of cash, but we are happy to say that we found some great pre-loved bikes, in great condition for the money…
Glenn shot off to Bikeshop Rivonia ‘coz he had seen something that he liked. Poor, misguided Glenn (or so we thought), collected the Harley Davidson XR1200X complete with a Vance and Hines full exhaust system and roared in with a big grin plastered on his kisser.
Don and Sean each opted to pick a bike from the expansive collection at Bikeshop Boksburg. Donovan, much like a magpie has a keen eye for shiny things, chose the Honda VT1300X “Because it looks “pretty” and goes braaaap with its straight pipes.”
The Triumph was, perhaps the misfit given that it is the smallest capacity in this company.
Sean at two metres tall, couldn’t care less about outright horsepower went with the unusual, a 2009 Triumph Speedmaster.
“It’s got a Smaller motor, sure, but it’s way cooler in my book. Also, they’re rare as hen’s teeth in SA, and I fancy something different.”
And so, the scene was set. Three delinquents on a tight budget, three retro twins, some very bad ideas.
Bad idea 1: Lets go and race them around the Midvaal track.
Bad idea 2: Lets have a drag race at the FK Track.
Bad idea 3: Lets find the worst possible traffic jam in the world to negotiate and ride home in.
Yup, we did all three of those things and, would you believe, we actually had a jolly old time, each in his own way.
Ride One: Gauteng Freeways
We started with a simple cruise. N12, N1, the usual soul crushing ribbons of tar that connect Joburg to the Vaal Triangle. Here’s what we learned:
Harley XR1200X:
Glenn sat there acting smug because his Harley had the longest legs. Sixth gear, 120 on the clock, no stress. The XR has proper shove, and you can tell it was built to munch highway miles at a decent lick. Shame about the vibrations every time we came to a stop though, Glenn pretended he didn’t notice, but we’re pretty sure his fillings are now loose.
Honda VT1300X:
Don’s bike looked the part, and those pipes… you don’t so much hear them as feel them vibrating in your ribcage. Trouble is, the Honda hated sitting at 120. Either it was lugging unhappily or screaming for mercy. Pretty, yes. Practical, no.
Triumph Speedmaster:
The surprise package. Despite being the smallest engine of the lot, the Triumph’s parallel twin had torque everywhere. Fifth gear, twist wrist, off you go. Lazy cruising, and properly comfortable too, even for Seans Orangutan frame. He had the most relaxed street experience of the bunch.
Point for Triumph.
Test Two: Midvaal Raceway
Because cruising is boring, we pointed the convoy south towards Midvaal Raceway. The idea was to replicate mountain passes, fast straights, tight hairpins, lots of braking, accelerating, leaning. Basically, things that these bikes were not actually designed for.
And yet…
Harley XR1200X:
Fastest down the straights, Quickest through the corners… sure.
But Glenn?
Glenn rides like your gran on her way to the shops.
BUT! And this is testimony to how well HD built this bike. He DID overtake the Triumph on the straights, (can you imagine that, and only with a mere 40% more engine capacity – who would have thunk it?), AND he overtook the big Honda on the outside, all the while yelling as if he’d won a MotoGP.
Honda VT1300X:
Oh dear!
Don is a former superbike champ, but the poor Honda gave him nothing to work with. Slow, wallowy, and about as nimble as an overloaded donkey. Don tried… really tried… but sparks were flying off the exhaust pipes before he even leaned halfway. He admitted, eventually, after being lapped by both of the other bikes that it was hopeless.
Triumph Speedmaster:
Here’s the magic. Yes, it’s low slung. Yes, it scraped and sparked like a Fourth of July fireworks show. But with a bit of bravery (and some proper loin girding), Sean managed to dive inside Glenn into the hairpin and gap him through the twisties. The trick was to push hard in the corners and build enough of a lead before the straights – otherwise the Harley would murder it. It worked.
Eventually, Glenn bailed, muttering something about “being seasick”.
Coward.
Point for Triumph again, but we know that the HD was the best bike for the track, the rider… not so much
Test 1 take 2:
Peak hour traffic slog back to the East Rand. Traffic at a standstill, gridlock.
Don was utterly miserable simply because his bike was so large that he couldn’t actually get going anywhere. Sean and Glenn weren’t overly happy but at least they could negotiate through the traffic. It was, however, noted that the Big Blue Honda was drawing many admiring glances, so we gave the Honda a point for that.
Test Three:
Formula-K Drag Strip:
Because boys will be boys, we ended the day at Formula-K in Benoni. Empty back straight = impromptu drag racing.
No rules, no timing lights, just three idiots lining up and pinning it. As best you can on this type of bike…
Harley XR1200X:
Destroyed them all. It pulls like a train and had Don and Sean eating its rubber on every single run. Glenn’s smugness returned and he proceeded to annoy the hell out of everyone by doing a victory lap of the track between every run.
Triumph Speedmaster:
Middle of the pack. Slow off the line compared to the Harley, but surprisingly punchy once rolling. That constant torque delivery meant Sean could just sit in gear and watch Don disappear in his mirrors.
So, fine. The Harley got another win. But honestly? Who cares!
The Final test:
Looks count right?
A bike has to look nice and draw admiring glances from passers by. Right?
We all needed some perking up after an interesting day in the saddle. We parked the bikes right at the entrance to a retailer that is flanked by a coffee shop and watched to see which bike would get the most attention…
Foley is blind! People would walk past, heads down and he’d claim a stolen glance at his Harley. He claimed a win citing the fact that the rest of us were not paying any attention. We saw him give the same trolley jockey a point every time he wheeled a trolley past…
Don got double points when a guy with a man bun actually checked his hairdo out on the Hondas gleaming chromework.
His bike did, however, take the overall concours victory when a pretty girl walked by and kept glancing back at his Honda.
It was absolutely a quality view.
The Triumph is the “Plain Jane” of this pack, quietly sitting there looking all British. A few grannies did stop near the bike, but only to dig around in handbags to find missing keys…
In terms of value for money all three of these bikes come in well under budget, with the Flat tracker at R89999.000, the Honda VT1300X at R89999.00 and the Triumph at a PALTRY R80.000.
Guess what?
We had change!
How cool is that?
There are still many quality used bikes that, especially in todays market represent amazing value for money out there. These are three of them.
By the way:
Once the scores were tallied, the Triumph actually took the win as our bike of the day, largely thanks to that price tag and the value for money proposition.
However…
Two out of the three riders voted the Harley as the bike that they would have parked in their garage.
Choices… Choices.
In a later feature we have asked each rider to put their thoughts down on the bike that they rode, so watch out for that.
And… we’ll do this again, buy a different kind of bike again on a budget and share our thoughts.