What motorcycle to buy?

scorpa

http://www.motorbike-search-engine.c...kes/f650gs.jpg

This is the F650GS if you could find one for a good price it would be fun. Only problem is BMWs are so darn fancy you would likely have to have all work done at the shop and the shop rate for BMW's is ridiculous. At least with this bike if you wanted you could go on a longer distance ride more comfortably than with a more serious dual sport.

wolram

Complete with home entertainment center, kitchenette, wc, shower, sat nav and butler.

scorpa

Bikes like that are just couches on wheels, like the goldwing...bleh.

turbo

Yep. I was just tire-kicking and trying to kill 45 minutes or so in a Kawi dealership. I'm open to buying a sport-bike of some kind, though I'd prefer to stay low-tech with a normally-aspirated carb. Ain't gonna happen as far as I can see so far.

turbo

BMWs ARE fancy and high-tech with close tolerances and there are no dealerships near me, so every service-call would be $$$$. I had a close friend in the early '70s who rode an R65 and I've got to say that I fell in love with that bike with it's clunky-looking boxer engine and mini-fairing. It was a metallic rust-orange color that kind of grew on me.

BMW's G650X looks pretty good, but I'm having trouble getting details, specs, etc.

turbo

Maybe the BMW F650GS is back in consideration. Don't know for sure. BMWs are pricey and the nearest dealer is about 100 miles away.

berkeman

Not sure if it's been mentioned already (I only read part of the thread), but the Honda VFR800 (or older VFR750) is a reasonable compromise between sporty and comfort. I prefer full-on sportbikes myself, but if you are going to be doing some 200 mile trips, a sportbike gets uncomfortable (unless all 200 miles are curves!).

Have you sat on a VFR800?

turbo

I've not looked at a VFR800, though the nearest Harley dealership carries Hondas, too. My quandry is that I have owned Harley cruisers (and a couple of years with a Road King) for decades and I have not been keeping up with the field. My future prospects for day-long touring are dim, so I'm looking for a less-expensive bike for one-up riding. I have some really curvy pavement and some interesting gravel roads that are pretty well-maintained (not rock-gardens) and I'm trying to figure out what models to look at. There are just too many models to try to test-ride and I'm hoping the nice PF folks will give me some valuaable guidance.

berkeman

Streetbikes do not like gravel roads much. I guess your initial dual sport thoughts may end up being your best bet, but I have to tell you, IMO dual sports do neither on-road nor off-road well. They are scary on the road (not enough power, dicey traction from dual sport tires, high center of gravity), and they are downright dangerous off-road, where their weight becomes an issue as the bumps and jumps get bigger.

My main street ride right now is a Buell XB-12R sportbike, and my off road dirtbike is my CRF450R motocross bike in my avatar. You could probably get both for the price of your Harley (especially if you bought used). Just think, in a few weeks you could be riding standup wheelies (on either bike), and change your avatar!

.

turbo

Yeah, berkeman! I have a few friends with Buells and will consider them, though they are not good candidates for gravel roads, and I would have to trailer (not a good option) to get to those. I have a close friend with 2 Thunderbolts - one of which he modded to nitro and is really scary at the drag track with big soft Avon tires. They don't last long, but they are really sticky and he's got to use a wheelie bar to keep from flipping over off the line.

Cyrus

LoL, 75mph over. A good sports bike will easily go 145mph over the posted speed limit (65mph). If your bike can only go 75 over the posted, take it to a shop!

Cyrus

Why do you want a new bike with 20 year old technology? Get fuel injection. Carbs are a pain in the butt. My friend had a sports bike that was normally-aspirated. Its a hassle. He got a fuel injected suzuki 600 instead.

berkeman

210mph? That's a Daytona Superbike, not a production sportbike. The R1 is more like 175mph, isn't it? The Hyabusa is a bit higher, but not really a sportbike in my book.

Cyrus

The Hyabusa will go 220mph. A gsxr-1000 will probably do 190-200. My friends gsxr-600 does 180, it just doesnt accelerate as fast as the 750 or 1000cc. I think the top speed is also faster for the higher power models though.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxLLD...eature=related

turbo

I was trying to be conservative and address the capabilities of the mid-range crotch rockets. There is no way that I am going to spend the bucks and insurance money (and fines) to jump into high-revving 1000cc+ monsters. I have no need for one of them, nor do I want one, even if it was given to me. I have enough troubles without clocking enough radar-speed to pull my license permanently, and believe me, if I had a bike capable of a top speed of XXX mph, I would eventually be tempted to test it. I put my 650 Yamaha to 110 on a very short stretch shielded with hills on each end back in the early 80's and I don't trust myself to avoid that in the future. Yes, when I was riding Harleys, I had a buddy with a Yamaha V-Max that could pull wheelies in every gear. When we swapped bikes for fun, he called my Harley a tractor after I ran away from him on his Yama. By the time we got to NH, he was sore and needed to walk off the ride, and I was fresh. There are trade-offs to each kind of bike, and I'm looking for input.

turbo

The point is that I can tear down and rebuild/tune a carb, and I have no way of doing that kind of maintenance on a computerized fuel-injected bike.

Cyrus

Yeah, but you dont have to do that kind of repair often on a fuel injection system, and its programmed for max performance. Its technically more advanced.