Author Topic: My test-ride of an '06 Bullet Sixty-5  (Read 4370 times)

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prof_stack

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on: August 15, 2007, 04:21:53 am
With only the classic motor available I got to choose between the Sixty-5 or Vince's own Military model.  I chose the former.  I got "lost" on the ride and put 12 miles on the '06 Sixty-5, about doubling its total.  Here are some thoughts:

The great:
- Wonderful riding bike with the solo seat.  Great seating position with hand and feet all very correct.  I could have ridden all day long and kept smiling the whole time.  Oh yeah, this is what the "single" life is all about.

The good:
- The shifting was pretty good.  Only a couple false neutrals and pretty quickly I could find the correct neutral at stop signs. 
- Keeping it at 40 or less per instructions, the pick up power was decent.
- Handling the roundabouts was great with the quick handling.
- Vibrations were not an issue.  I wonder if the solo seat is the main cure.

The quirky:
- The ammeter doesn't know how to stay still.  It kept jiggling the whole time.
- Upon start up, oil smoke poured out of the exhaust for a good minute.  Vince said (as I read here recently) that the piston needs to held at TDC when parked or else oil leaks into the chamber.  What a polluting mess!  He said it hasn't been ridden in a while.

The bad:
- New drum brakes are pretty useless.  I hear they seat in and eventually are okay, but I doubt if they ever are as good as disc brakes.
- The green neutral indicator light is useless in the sun.

The decision:
Vince offered the bike, with solo seat, OTD (out the door) for a decent price.  I could probably talk him  down a little but he has to eat too.  I have until  Saturday to decide.  The fact that it is an '06 model allowed him to take about $200 more off of the price compared to the '07 models.  But I have to get a pickup truck or pay his mechanics' wages for the time to deliver it and get back, about 125 miles in total. 

I plan to test-ride an '06 Electra at another dealer about the same distance away in the other direction.  This is the dealer who claims the MSRP is $5995 for the Electra-X.  I should take a printed copy of the webpage showing it as $4995. 

So, when do the '08 models show up?  What is different?

Finally, it was great meeting Birdmove (Jon in Puyallup) on the way home in Tacoma.  Too bad he works for Harley-Davidson.   ;)


deejay

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Reply #1 on: August 15, 2007, 03:09:42 pm
The ammeter jiggle is normal... mine seems to do it more when the engine is cold and calms as I ride.

If adjusted correctly (see pete's manual) that front drum brake will grab really well. In some cases, too well.


Kevin Mahoney

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Reply #2 on: August 15, 2007, 04:00:38 pm
The 08 models will be out soon, but the only difference is that they are more expensive, by about $200. Not too bad when you consider that the US dollar is now worth 10% less than it was a year ago in India. Be careful about buying a bike based on price alone. This can be a foolish choice in the long run. I do not know who the other dealer is and he may be great so the choice is yours, but I know that Vince is well known to stand behind his customers and to take care of any issues that may arrive promptly. He has sold RE's for a long time and has been very successful at it. When you choose a dealer be sure to make your choice based on reputation, how you think the shop runs and the type of after sale service you think you will get. Take a hard look at the bikes on the floor and see who seems to have taken the most care setting them up. All of this more than makes up for any difference you will pay on the front end.
Best Regards,
Kevin Mahoney
www.cyclesidecar.com


justin_o_guy

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Reply #3 on: August 15, 2007, 05:48:13 pm
I bought an 05 Guzzi in Houston, could have "saved" $500.00 & gotten the exact same bike in Oklahome. Driving difference was next to nothing, from Longview. The deciding factors were from the phone calls & the blogs online. I talked to the owner in Houston & a salesman in Ok. The blogs raved about the quality of the support from Houston. Not a bad word about the dealer in Ok, but no raves. I found out that the factory is a bit stingy with the grease in head & swingarm bearings. The Houston dealer tears into these areas & makes sure they are wll lubricated & assembled correctly. TheOKlahoma dealer couldnt match that kind of commitment to deliver a product that was as well set up & therfore, more likely to go farther & not give me trouble. I have had a couple of warranty issues. Handled without a squable, just called them & explained what was going on & they shipped replacxement parts, no questions asked & didnt rtequest I ship back the old parts. The shop owner took the time to do first service so I could watch & learn, since his mechanic gets unhappy with folks watching & asking questions. I understand that fully & dont figure the guy has a bad attitude, just isnt comfortable with folks looking over his shoulder. Mechanics are people who like to work alone & unsupervised, it's (my) their nature.
Moral? Cost & price arent exactly the same thing. How much time & money will be invested in the bike in 2 years? I believe that by spending $500.00 more on the initial purchase & saved myself that much & more in costs & hassles later. If you are a good enopugh mechanic & enjoy the work more than riding, get the lowest price ya can find & support it in your garage. IF I was that kinda guy, thats exactly what I would do, cuz I have more time than $$, since I can find 10 minutes a day & cant locate a dime, I can say that! In the end, of course, it's your call, but good dealerships can only stay open if we suport them. If all we ever go for is the cheapest price, soon, only the least desirable, cheapest price, least service places will be around. B uying a poorly set up bike from a dealer & hauling it to a quality shop for warranty service to bring it up to right standards is low class. Like going in shops & shopping for riding gear & once found, going online & buying. The dealer has his $$$ tied up & products in stock, thats WHY the price difference. If we shop in his store & buy online, we ought at least toss the guy a few dollars for allowing us the opportunity to use his inventory to our advantage. Otherwise, he will go broke or be forced to stop carrying riding gear. Our society is so poorly raised we hardly even realize when we are stealing.


Anon

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Reply #4 on: August 16, 2007, 12:24:26 am
Buy from Vince, he has a great reputation!  Seriously, I didn't and I wish I had.  I'm going to be giving Vince all my business in the future.  His shop knows what they are doing and what they are talking about.  In the future, I'm going to buy all my accessories through Vince also.

Vince's place is a real motorcycle shop and they know how to set up the bikes properly.  My Bullet came (NOT from Vince's) with the timing almost fully advanced.  I had driven several hundred miles before I checked the timing and discovered this.   I had the bike for 3 months before they got me a manual.  They also seemed unwilling to have me bring the bike in for service.  I got the feeling that they didn't know how or just didn't want to work on the bikes - just sell 'em.   This feeling was reinforced when I asked them the proper kick start procedure.  I was told that "you can kick start 'em but it's really hard to do and it can kick back, so use the electric start".  Probably because the timing was so far off!

Vince, on the other hand not only cares about providing good service, but has been doing this a long time and knows what he's doing.  If he doesn't have an Electra and you really want one, I'd consider waiting until he gets one in.  Otherwise, get the '65 or the Military that he has in stock.  You won't be sorry!

Eamon
« Last Edit: August 16, 2007, 03:38:33 am by Eamon »
Eamon