The cars and bikes thread!

[OTGabe]

I like that Triumph a lot, Raza. Also this similar Royal Enfield:



Can be fitted with the fairing for the full cafe racer look:

[Raza]

I like that Triumph a lot, Raza. Also this similar Royal Enfield:



Can be fitted with the fairing for the full cafe racer look:

Triumph’s modern classics are my favorite bikes. If I actually do buy one, I’ll probably get the Bonneville Street Twin, their 900cc entry level bike. Not quite as pretty as the Thruxton, but still sexy, lighter, and more manageable.

https://m.triumphmotorcycles.com/bik..._device=mobile

[gnuyork]

I like that Triumph a lot, Raza. Also this similar Royal Enfield:





\

Dang, that's pretty

[gnuyork]

I know I talked about test driving Miata RF a couple weeks ago. It's a great car, and really arguably a better daily driver than the soft top.

With the way the trim levels are done on the Miata, you get more car for the money with the mid tier "Club" level as it it includes the Limited slip differential and Bilstein dampers. Only thing is cloth seats.

On the premium GT trim you do not get those features, but you get the nice leather interior, including the option for Nappa leather, which felt so nice.

So I found a soft top Club that had the Brembo/BBS wheel package...with this package you get the cloth seats swapped for leather (not the nappa). This one goes further with Alcantara Recaros. So it looks cool, though the seats are heavily bolstered and feel a bit narrow because of that.

You can get these features (sans Recaro) on the RF, but your looking at over $37K...for a Miata!

For roughly the same price I can have a hard top RF GT with Nappa leather ....or... this tricked out Club Soft top with cool BBS forged wheels and Recaros (also LSD, and Bilsteins).

I'm on the fence between the two, but as a car enthusiast, I'm leaning towards the soft top with the goodies. I'm going to test drive it again today to see if I can really live with sitting in those Recaros on a daily basis.

[Raza]

Soft top with the goodies, for sure.

[gnuyork]

Soft top with the goodies, for sure.

Ha ha, somehow I knew you would be on board with that

Btw, I really wanted a red one, Mazda's new Soul Red Crystal looks stunning in the sun (at least the SUVs do), but it appears they are almost non existent now in Miata soft top form. I called Mazda USA yesterday and they found me one in Texas (the last one in the country with BBS wheel package). I made the fatal mistake of calling that dealer and mentioning I was from out of town... and so he did not really work with me on a deal. So far I've got a great deal on the gray one here locally. The gray and cherry top looks pretty good, probably my second choice...The red one would have been $3K+ over my so far negotiated deal, and no Recaros so even worse of a deal.

[mlcor]

I know I talked about test driving Miata RF a couple weeks ago. It's a great car, and really arguably a better daily driver than the soft top.

With the way the trim levels are done on the Miata, you get more car for the money with the mid tier "Club" level as it it includes the Limited slip differential and Bilstein dampers. Only thing is cloth seats.

On the premium GT trim you do not get those features, but you get the nice leather interior, including the option for Nappa leather, which felt so nice.

So I found a soft top Club that had the Brembo/BBS wheel package...with this package you get the cloth seats swapped for leather (not the nappa). This one goes further with Alcantara Recaros. So it looks cool, though the seats are heavily bolstered and feel a bit narrow because of that.

You can get these features (san Recaro) on the RF, but your looking at over $37K...for a Miata!

For roughly the same price I can have a hard top RF GT with Nappa leather ....or... this tricked out Club Soft top with cool BBS forged wheels and Recaros (also LSD, and Bilsteins).

I'm on the fence between the two, but as a car enthusiast, I'm leaning towards the soft top with the goodies. I'm going to test drive it again today to see if I can really live with sitting in those Recaros on a daily basis.

Didn't you live with the seats in the Elise? If so, how bad could these be?

[gnuyork]

Didn't you live with the seats in the Elise? If so, how bad could these be?

Elise seats are way more comfortable (shape wise)... mine are the Alcantara Sport seats like those in the Exige... They are narrow, but I fit in them perfectly. Plus I don't daily drive the Elise anyway... We;ll see with the Recaros. They definitely look the business.

I read reports of the normal Miata seats not being great... the Nappa felt great to me, but some report that after time they lose their comfort. The Recaros will likely hold up better I think.

[Raza]

Ha ha, somehow I knew you would be on board with that

Btw, I really wanted a red one, Mazda's new Soul Red Crystal looks stunning in the sun (at least the SUVs do), but it appears they are almost non existent now in Miata soft top form. I called Mazda USA yesterday and they found me one in Texas (the last one in the country with BBS wheel package). I made the fatal mistake of calling that dealer and mentioning I was from out of town... and so he did not really work with me on a deal. So far I've got a great deal on the gray one here locally. The gray and cherry top looks pretty good, probably my second choice...The red one would have been $3K+ over my so far negotiated deal, and no Recaros so even worse of a deal.

There are a few red Mazdas I see around me, but I don't know if it's the Soul Red or another shade. Good color, good looking car Mazda makes these days.

But yeah, I'll always choose a soft top over anything else. Right now, I'm currently trying to talk myself into an Audi TT roadster as a winter car. It's practical to own two open top two seaters in the northeast, right? The TT would be AWD. Perfect winter convertible. The Z4 has around 93K miles on it, and apart from a blown speaker and a roof that doesn't want to go up and some body damage from living on the Philadelphia streets, it runs like new. I would have a hard time giving it up. I still find myself just staring at it sometimes, and I've had it for like 5 years already. I've even given thought to getting something practical for the winter, like an Evo X, but they're so rare to find with a stick, leather, and a sunroof, it's practically gambling on finding one within driving distance. Plus, they get like 23mpg highway, which is atrocious. I could look for a stickshift Audi S4, but even though I enjoy the one I drive now, they're a bit soft compared to the Z4. As an Elise owner, I'm sure you know the struggle--almost everything feels like a big bowl of pudding when you drive something on the extreme side regularly--even sport sedans. Plus, at my age, I've gotten so particular on feel--the pedal effort on the Audi is a little low, and that bothers me a lot. In the Z4, I can put my foot on the gas pedal and the engine won't go up a single rev. You actually have to press the pedal down. In the Audi, I've got to hold back or you'll constantly creep up in speed. Over distance, that can be tiring. I drove a rental Buick once halfway down California that had an ultralight pedal--breathe on it heavily and you'd start to accelerate. By the time we stopped to get something to eat, my leg muscles were on fire from having to hold my foot back on those cop infested roads. And that was a Buick SUV, not a car that can hit 60 in a little over four and a half seconds.

I don't know, man. Everything's up in the air. I keep waiting for some business deals to go through to increase my cash flow, but the other party keeps stalling. At some point, you stop being a man of leisure and start just being unemployed, you know?

As for you, I say definitely just get the soft top MX-5 and drive the hell out of it all the time.

That reminds me, I saw a guy in a convertible Mustang today wearing a hat and sunglasses. Both. Don't be that guy. It's got to be one or the other. If you're wearing both, what you really wanted was a car with a fixed roof.

[geoffbot]

That reminds me, I saw a guy in a convertible Mustang today wearing a hat and sunglasses. Both. Don't be that guy. It's got to be one or the other. If you're wearing both, what you really wanted was a car with a fixed roof.

Propostrous. So, if you want to wear a hat you have to squint into the sun?!