Aimless1 Posted January 25, 2015 Report Posted January 25, 2015 Sold my one and only bike about a dozen years ago. Getting the itch and have been looking at something to commute on and just have fun street riding. Maybe a weekend trip. Looking for a more upright riding geometry and more sport bike type responsiveness but touring bike comfort. Yea, there is no such thing but considering these bikes: Kawasaki Versys, Suzkui V Strom and a BMW F 800 GT. Haven't been for the all important test ride yet. So many bikes, so many niches. Stopped at two dealers today. Yin and yang. BMW sales person knowledgeable, good listener and had great advice. The Suzuki/Kawasaki sales person the polar opposite. Didn't know squat, ignored any thing I said and started with the biggest most expensive bike in the dealership which was a tricked out Gold Wing. Can't say as I remember that much from my riding days and really don't know much about bikes in the first place. At least it should be fun looking.
grawk Posted January 25, 2015 Report Posted January 25, 2015 Look at the triumph tiger too. I sold my last motorcycle when I left alaska. I miss being in the wind, but my convertible will have to do for a while.
cetoole Posted January 25, 2015 Report Posted January 25, 2015 I thought about a bike, a while back. Then I saw what motorcycle accidents do to watches: Sweet brushed finish! Maybe the best one so far. 2
Aimless1 Posted January 25, 2015 Author Report Posted January 25, 2015 Thanks Dan. The tiger and street triple both look like candidates.
grawk Posted January 25, 2015 Report Posted January 25, 2015 The tiger 800 xc is my ideal bike right now...
n_maher Posted January 25, 2015 Report Posted January 25, 2015 I'd steer clear of adventure bikes, personally. Generally speaking, those types of bikes have to sacrifice at least something in the way of road performance in order to gain off-road ability. They are the uprightest of the bunch though and probably offer good enough road manners if you don't think you'll be pushing things very hard. Sadly, the bike that I'd most recommend is no longer made, the Triumph Sprint ST. If you've got a local Triumph dealer I'd still look for one used. The original 955 version is as near to bullet proof as you're going to find and has more power than is necessary. The 1050 is a bit quicker, but not as fuel efficient. I had a Sprint RS for a decade/24k miles and regardless of how I rode it it consistently got 48-50mpg. Mine had soft luggage which worked great for trips, the ST always had an option for hard luggage which is even better. Generally speaking the Triumph alternative was about 40% cheaper than the BMW and if you aren't planning on putting more than 100k on the bike, there's no reason to buy the BMW in my book. Yes, they make great bikes, but they certainly come at a premium cost. And really, you want Tyll to weigh in on this.
Aimless1 Posted January 25, 2015 Author Report Posted January 25, 2015 Saw a picture of the Sprint. Made my heart skip a beat. Sweet looking ride. Then I read about Sprint reliability (and Triumph in general). That gave me pause. Common for regulators and batteries to be regularly replaced. Some oil leaking/using issues seem to be common and surprisingly blown engines. Local dealer has a Sprint ABS in blue. I'll stop by and take a look. BTW, for what I'm looking for I do agree that adventure bikes don't quite fit the bill. More likely the old standards or sport touring models will fit my needs best. I can see why the adventures are popular though.
n_maher Posted January 25, 2015 Report Posted January 25, 2015 I've been out of the scene for years so I have no idea what current reliability is like for Trumpets but in the early years of the return of the brand (mid 90s through mid 00s) they couldn't afford major issues so they overbuilt everything. My RS had zero issues in my ownership other than a fuel fitting recall that never caused a problem and was fixed proactively. I thought the early 1050s were pretty well thought of but I checked out long before those got into the higher miles. All I know is I can still find relatively low mile RS/ST's around here for stupidly short $$ (sub $3k). A couple other thoughts in the last few hours: Yamaha FJ, Honda VFR (older is better as far as I'm concerned), and I'm sure there are others like the Ducati ST. Bottom line, coming up with a list of bikes I'd like to ride would never be a problem. Convincing myself it's a good idea to get one again, that'd definitely be an issue. 1
swt61 Posted January 25, 2015 Report Posted January 25, 2015 The style of bike that interests me these days is an upright, cruiser style. But a more stripped down version. The two on the top of my dream list would be the 2015 Indian Scout and the Triumph Rocket III. http://www.indianmotorcycle.com/en-us/scout-silver-smoke http://www.triumphmotorcycles.com/bikes/rocket/2015/rocket-iii-roadster No doubt the giant 3 cylinder Rocket is the quicker bike, but I'm more drawn to the Scout. That's a whole lot of style for 11 G. 2
Voltron Posted January 25, 2015 Report Posted January 25, 2015 Nice to see your pop up on recent posts, my friend!
n_maher Posted January 26, 2015 Report Posted January 26, 2015 Yeah, I'd been away too long. Holy shit! This certainly brings a smile to my face.
Aimless1 Posted January 26, 2015 Author Report Posted January 26, 2015 (edited) Missed having you around Steve! Been missing you. The Indian Scout is stylin Edited January 26, 2015 by Aimless1
Dreadhead Posted January 26, 2015 Report Posted January 26, 2015 I will never own a motorbike but that Scout is downright awesome looking. Also: T.I.C.E!
Aimless1 Posted January 26, 2015 Author Report Posted January 26, 2015 Too cold for these old bones to test ride. Articles and recommendations lead me to believe the following bikes should be considered: New: Honda Interceptor BMW F800GT Used: Honda vfr 800 bmw f800st triump sprint st Surprising, not much difference in cost new of the Interceptor and F800GT. Again, not much difference in cost of the used bikes. Sent the shop with the Sprints (Sprint ST and Sprint ST ABS) an email early this a.m. with automatic response that someone will be back with me shortly. Still no response. They are open but perhaps the person who responds had the day off. Long shot anyway as prices are easily $1000 over top retail value, but would like some response. Let's just say bike shops were much more hungry for business in 1997 then they are today.
Aimless1 Posted January 30, 2015 Author Report Posted January 30, 2015 Can't find a used interceptor and the new one was meh. Look at the Sprint ST tomorrow. Really interested in the ergonomics. Lucky in that I have two Sprints on the market and one used f800st as well as several new f800gt available locally.
Aimless1 Posted January 31, 2015 Author Report Posted January 31, 2015 (edited) Thanks for the Triumph rec! This one made my heart skip a beat or two. Edited January 31, 2015 by Aimless1
Tyll Hertsens Posted January 31, 2015 Report Posted January 31, 2015 Woot! Just catching up on this one. FWIW (not much really) the Sprint is an excellent choice. I'm mostly into old school bikes except for my FJR---which is the perfect bike to end up in Iowa with after a days ride, but not really a good choice for riding around town. (It's a bit big and unwieldy.) My only real advice comes from hanging around on Adventure bike forums, where people in the know looking for a general purpose road riding bike end up with Triumphs about every other time. The other 50% is a mix of odds and ends people might have a hard-on for. So, not so much good advice from me, but motorcycles makes me smile!!!
Aimless1 Posted February 3, 2015 Author Report Posted February 3, 2015 Thanks Nate! If you had not suggested the Sprint St I most likely would have missed it. Put in an offer, haggled a bit and will be the proud owner of the Red 2006 Triumph I posted the photo of. Really looking forward to riding again after being away for the past 13 years. Haven't been this excited about any thing in a very long time. 5
swt61 Posted February 3, 2015 Report Posted February 3, 2015 Congrat Al! Welcome to El Dos Ruedas club! 1
guzziguy Posted February 3, 2015 Report Posted February 3, 2015 Congrats. Remember, safety third. Local joke. Remember to wear your safety gear. 1
grawk Posted February 3, 2015 Report Posted February 3, 2015 Ride it like you stole it, and when your wife is looking, obey all posted traffic laws. 1
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