www.laspeedgarage.com

Tetge wrote:My brother says:

My lift is from: http://www.bikelift.net/photo-gallery/c ... ia.html#13

It is a great lift, it goes higher than others, and is wide. I have NO idea where you buy them... at the time Snap on was going to rebrand them and sell them.. but I don't know what became of that plan.

I chased it down, from Italy to Canada. Great looking lift. A very cool company. The least expensive "500" lift is $1600 (more or less depending on the currency valuation) and that does not include shipping. It would be shipped from Canada to Central Mexico -- about 500 lbs. The distributor was not interested in pricing the shipping unless I ordered. So Harbor Freight it is Now I have to see if my buddy has thought better about his offer to throw it in the back of his truck in Texas...

I finally got the E home today. It has been pouring rain every day since I bought the E, and since I am living in the boonies, I needed a way to get to town. Terri has a full work schedule. So coordinating a ride in from the boonies, when the previous owner's mom would be at her house has been a chore. meow

jhwalker wrote:I chased it down, from Italy to Canada. Great looking lift. A very cool company. The least expensive "500" lift is $1600 (more or less depending on the currency valuation) and that does not include shipping. It would be shipped from Canada to Central Mexico -- about 500 lbs. The distributor was not interested in pricing the shipping unless I ordered. So Harbor Freight it is Now I have to see if my buddy has thought better about his offer to throw it in the back of his truck in Texas...

My brother has lots of English bikes, as well as his Guzzi, to work on, so he went first cabin when it came to a lift. For a casual mechanic, such as you, and for a person who can still bend down to work on a bike, I am sure that the Harbor Freight lift will be more than sufficient I shall continue to get by with my ghetto lift, especially since I question whether or not I shall continue to ride motorcycles in my old age. I have ridden them for the past 50 years, so, I had plenty of experiences to look back on.

Those guys make beautiful lifts. I also can envision a day when the risk/reward of riding these Mexican trails might not compute, or I would have been tempted to just buy the good one and apologize to Terri later...

So, riding the E over make it clear how different the E and the S are. Some of you other guys have or had E's, right?

I don't think any of us have had street plated "E" models, other than perhaps Mike, who likely puts all the good stuff on his "S" models anyway.

So, what strikes you as the biggest difference?

Brakelate wrote:I don't think any of us have had street plated "E" models, other than perhaps Mike, who likely puts all the good stuff on his "S" models anyway.

So, what strikes you as the biggest difference?

Weight -- immediate difference. Engine -- snappy, grunt that my S does not have. I would think gearing, but I already geared down the S. I have to get someone to ride beside me to quantify the performance better. I will count teeth front and back on both.
I think someone lowered this E. It is supposed to be taller, but it isn't. Anyway, I will have some fun with my tape measure and report back. I am pleased with it as an addition, but if I were riding highway for 30 miles, I would choose the S.

Oh, this one has no plates and no legal Mexican title. It is registered as off-road only in Texas. I am one of about 5 people down here who has a license plate on his/her bike... Viva la San Miguel

No plates? No smog cronies? No vehicle taxes? Hot Dog!
Viva anarchy! Or, at least, monarchy.

I chatted with the parts guy at the local Suzuki dealer not long ago and he said that he had raced a kick starter E model in motocross, and that it was light enough to be fairly quick. In fact he still had the bike, but, it was not street legal. Fortunately, for street riders, the extra weight of the later models is really not all that big a deal, and, they can be modified to give pretty good power as well. The SM also has a different swing arm and front forks that make it perform even better on pavement. As it stands, even the E is heavy, and tall, by my standards, for pure dirt use. I think that I'd like a Hodaka or a step through Honda Trial 90. I might be slow, but, I'd get there sooner or later, and I could touch the ground and even almost carry the bike if I came to really rough going. But, my dirt riding as a sport, days, are long past, so I am not interested in roosting and flat tracking and all those physically demanding and risky things.

xbacksideslider wrote:No plates? No smog cronies? No vehicle taxes? Hot Dog!
Viva anarchy! Or, at least, monarchy.

Viva anarchy! Sometimes it feels like it...