1978 Honda CB400A Hawk: This was my first real motorcycle. It was my primary transportation for about a year and a half. This was not a fast motorcycle by any means. I believe I finally got it up to 85 MPH on a real long straight a way down hill with a good tail wind. It had a 2 speed HondaMatic transmission that used a torque converter instead of a clutch. A guy down the street was selling it, and my sister was in college at time time looking for cheap easy transportation around the campus. I bought this for her, but when she decided she didn't want to ride a motorcycle I just kept it for myself. It was a really fun bike I wish I stil had for nastaligic reasons if not for anything else.
1980 Kawasaki 550 LTD I bought this bike from a guy at work and rode it on and off for a year or so, but never really put too many miles on it. It had a charging problem, but as long as I kept the battery charged it would run for a few days and that's all I really cared about. It was fun but not anything toget excited about. It wasn't fast and didn't hanle too well, but it was still a fun bike.
2006 Yamaha FZ6: This is the best bike I have ever owned, and at this time the best bike I have ever ridden for the way I ride. I mostly commute to and from work, about 20 miles each way, with several 1/2 day ride in the N. Georgia mountains and the occasional daily ride up though Tennessee and North Carolina. Handeling is fantastic, acceleration is more then enough, and it's a comfortable motorcycle to ride. Since I've owned the bike it has had FZ1 handle bars installed, so the riding position is a bit more aggressive then stock. From what I have heard, the stock handlebars keep your wrists at a wired angle causing discomfort on longer rides, but you do sit up a little straighter. As far as performance goes, it's almost like having two bikes in one. Under 7000 RPM it is very tame, almost lazy below 4000, but over 7000 it's a screaming animal. Redline is 14,000 RPM, so you have a long time to enjoy that extra power. It's a great motorcycle that will do anything I ask it to do, and it does it well!
2012 FZ8 - I liked the smoother ride of the FZ8, more comfy seat, and smoother airflow due to no windscreen, but other then that I was a bit disappointed - not because it wasn't a nice bike, but because I think I expected more. The overall power seemed about the same as my 2006 FZ6 but it was stronger in the lower RPM range. The tank was a lot wider, and the bike didn't feel as agile but it dodn't feel bad by any means. I have never ridden an FZ1, and this is the only time I've ever ridden an FZ8 so I'm sure I'm not the best to give an opinion, but I don't think I'd trade my '06 FZ6 for the 2012 FZ8. That being said (and to muck up the waters a bit), had I bought the FZ8 without riding my FZ6 I'd probably be just as happy as I am now. Can't say that I'd feel the same about the FZ1, but I'd love to ride one of those and find out.
2012 FZ6R - The power band was flat and not nearly as strong as the FZ6, but it was a fun little bike. From 7000 to 14,000 RPM the FZ6 really comes alive, but with the FZ6R the power band is a lot less pronounced and pretty smooth all the way up to the 12,000 RPM redline. I never felt like the front tire was going to lift off the ground. Not sure about the size difference between the FZ6 and FZ6R, but it felt smaller and a bit lighter as well. As someone said when I asked about the two before I bought my FZ6, I probably would have gotten board with the FZ6R, but I still would have liked it. The bike was fun to ride and would be plenty for the average rider (I do consider myself average BTW), but a little more power and the (in my opinion) better looks of the FZ6 made me very gald I ended up with the bike I'm riding today.
2013 R6 - Could be fun in the twisties, but as a daily rider there's no way I could use this bike without some modifications. The seating position was way too bent over for me, and my wrists couldn't handle much more then the 20 minute test ride. The angle of the handle bar and the positioning of the clutch made my left wrist ache for an hour after my ride was over. I think with different clipons and some control re-positioning it would have been a lot better, but I'm not sure what that may take away from the rest of the bikes design. They had a used 2007 Kawasaki ZX6R on the lot that felt a lot more comfortable. They also had a R1 available to test ride (I didn't ride this one but BlueMoon did) that felt better just siting on. Bottom line - if someone pulled up in my driveway and gave me a brand new R6, I'd ride it - but straight to the dealer to trade it in. For some I know this is the bike of choice, it just wasn't for me.
2013 V-Star 950 Touring - Hmmm. This bike surprised me. When we pulled out of the parking lot my first thought was to turn around, I already knew I wasn't gonna like this bike. When we got up to the main road I started to tell the tail rider (I was the last bike in the pack) I wasn gonna take it back to the dealer. But I decided to give it a try anyway. Floorboards are wierd, never really liked the looks of them, and the recliner-feet up riding position was really hard to get comfortable with. After 5 minutes or so I started to settle in a bit and got used to me feet being in front of me. The heal shifter was also strange, but after a while it was kinda cool. I noticed the bike was very easy to steer, maybe because of the distance between the grips (pretty wide compared to everything else I've ridden). Turing was a bit unnerving when the floorboards would scrape, but it's not really made for sharp turning I guess and the floorboard do move to allow for this. I would have to do something with the wind screen. Above 45-50 MPH my helet was shaking so bad everything looked a little blurry. I believe it would have been fine with a taller or removed windscreen. Keep in mind I have never riden a cruiser before so I have nothing to compare it to, but at the end of the test ride I liked this bike.
2013 FJR1300 - Where to begin? I have always like this bike, but never ridden one. Well, I damn near came home with one yesterday! They had a 2012 in the showroom, but the one I rode was a 2013. It was the smoothest, most comfortable bike I have ever ridden. Over the 2012 model, it had cruise control (which was really cool!), heated grips, and a sport/touring setting. The grips were plenty warm on the lowest setting with my winter gloves on (it was about 55*F when I rode it). cruise control was also a cool feature, and although it probably wouldn't get used too much would still be a nice thing to have for the longer rides. The different PCM maps for sport and touring were surprising. Most of the ride the setting was on sport. The acceleration was a lot like the FZ - ready to go when you are and excited about it. Setting it on touring didn't seem to lower the power, but it did seem make to smoother and less like it just wanted to take off. Hard to explain but both setting felt good The clutch was a bit tiring to hold while stopped. The pull was fine, but sitting at stops I noticed my hand getting tired more so then on the FZ. I think this is probably because of the hydraulic clutch, but either way it wasn't a bid deal. The adjustable windscreen was nice as well, I found the perfect setting was just above half way so there's plenty of room for other riders to adjust to their liking. I thought the size of the FJR compared to the FZ would make me feel small at first, but it was very manageable and well balanced. When slowing, I didn't have to put my foot down until I was pretty much completely stopped. It did take a little more to turn the bike in a tighter curve, but that's something else I could probably get used to. The bike was about 675 lbs (IIRC), but didn't feel bulky or heavy and was very manageable both when riding and backing it back in to the parking spot. (On a side note, they had a free quality inspection for anyone who brought their bike to the dealer. I rode my FZ around to the service dept right after I rode the FJR. My bike felt tiny compared to the FJR! It felt peppier and much more flickable just riding the 100 yards or so in the parking lot. Really a funny feeling.) The only thing that would take getting used to is the seat. Although it was comfortable, I'm used to feeling the rise of the back of the riders seat on the FZ. You really don't get that on the FJR, so I kinda felt like I might slide back when I really got in to that bad ass 1300cc power plant (and man did that feel GOOD!). I really can't say enough about this bike, I really liked it. The main thing that would keep me from buying one is the color. It's only available in gray, and even though it looks good, I'd rather have a less neutral color (like the blue 2012 they have!). For the price different (about a grand) I'd go with the 2013 for the extra options if they had it in another color.