Another "What Motorcycle for Me" thread.

Furious_E (Forum Supporter) said:

Curtis, you're more than welcome to come take my Ulysses for a spin if you want to give the ADV thing a try.

It certainly has its share of "character", as Buells do, but for my day to day riding, which generally consists of commuting every day the weather is decent enough with some ~150-200 mile jaunts on weekends, plus the occasional longer trip, it just works really well while still being kind of fun and unique.

Ooo.... thank you.  I'll hit you up sometime this summer

I just compared the Concourse, the ST1300 and the FJR on ergo.

Seating positions are remarkably similar for a 6' tall person with a 31" inseam.  The ST had the least forward lean (9 degrees) while the other two were about 12-14 degrees.  Knee angles were within 4 degrees of each other

So those are the first three to try.  Then Furious E's Buell and others like it.  Keep em coming.

wearymicrobe said:

If you can handle the weight you want a used ultra glide with a buddy highway seat. Puts you up high in a normal standard riding position and you can crush trips between states. 2013 with good service history would be decently cheap and you  can get service anywhere in the country. 950lb's though. 

... And with all of my buddies that have an HD, that service network will be probably be needed frequently :)

950 lbs doesn't bother me.  My current Vulcan is likely pushing 850 with all the crap I have on it.

In reply to Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) :

Sure thing, hit me up any time. You still have my number?

Suzuki V-Strom 1000 with luggage? There must be a reason adv bikes sell so well, and there also must be a reason that many riders happily use them exclusively on pavement. It might be worth trying something in the road-biased big twin adv category.
 

Perhaps try renting one on one of the motorcycle-sharing apps/sites. I've often it could be fun to do this myself as a way to get some real-world experience on categories of motorcycle I've never really ridden like a cruiser, a touring bike, etc.

Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) said:

Furious_E (Forum Supporter) said:

Curtis, you're more than welcome to come take my Ulysses for a spin if you want to give the ADV thing a try.

It certainly has its share of "character", as Buells do, but for my day to day riding, which generally consists of commuting every day the weather is decent enough with some ~150-200 mile jaunts on weekends, plus the occasional longer trip, it just works really well while still being kind of fun and unique.

Ooo.... thank you.  I'll hit you up sometime this summer

Wasn't it Peter Egan who had a Ulysses as a personal bike for a long time? They're still on my "want to try" list although I suspect I'll end up with a Harley or Indian RoadSofa at some point in the not too distant future. 

The V-Strom 1000 that was just mentioned would be a great pick. Or the Versys 650.  Plenty of poke on either of those. Of course an R1200GS would be great too, but probably a little higher sitting than you need.

If you were closer to Atlanta you could take my ST1100 for a long ride. I have the opposite problem - perfect bike for me, but no time to ride it. They are getting old though, just as old as your Vulcan. The newest ones are 20 years old and have carbs. The newer ST1300's are supposed to be pretty nice, with EFI and ABS and all that. Both have built-in luggage so big you can fit a helmet inside. Plus if you buy a white one, everyone will think you're a cop and get out of the way!

pres589 (djronnebaum) said:

This exact bike is the answer.  

2012 Connie

It's nicely under the budget limit, leaving money for a new top box, not too many miles, checks all boxes.

And it's brown.

That's it, that's the thread guys, I'm considering this one closed.

saw a bit newer one at a dealership that was a used trade-in... i'm shocked at how inexpensive those things are...  something I'd check out if I did a bit more HW riding and a little less commuting...

Furious_E (Forum Supporter) said:

Curtis, you're more than welcome to come take my Ulysses for a spin if you want to give the ADV thing a try.

It certainly has its share of "character", as Buells do, but for my day to day riding, which generally consists of commuting every day the weather is decent enough with some ~150-200 mile jaunts on weekends, plus the occasional longer trip, it just works really well while still being kind of fun and unique.

a local shop had a Ulysses on the floor a few months before I pulled the trigger on my versys... If i'd had the means at that moment the Buell would have been a strong contender... always loved a lot of the ideas of that generation of buell... remember checking them out in the showoroom at the local harley dealer while my firend was drooling over the "cant tell em apart" harley lineup... 

Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) said:

I just compared the Concourse, the ST1300 and the FJR on ergo.

Seating positions are remarkably similar for a 6' tall person with a 31" inseam.  The ST had the least forward lean (9 degrees) while the other two were about 12-14 degrees.  Knee angles were within 4 degrees of each other

So those are the first three to try.  Then Furious E's Buell and others like it.  Keep em coming.

with the ergo tool you can also play with moving the pegs and bars... there are frequently companies that make bar risers for the tourning based bikes with clip-ons... if they have traditional bars it's even easier to get taller bars and/or bar risers... I've also seen for some models there are companies (frequently European based) that make replacement upper triple tree clamps that ditch the clip on bars and lets you use standard bars... a bit more costly than the risers but they give you nearly infinitate adjustability with risers some just rise some raise and put the bar back or forward), then add bar height and bar sweep... I've got risers on both my Versys and my tiger

you can also like I mentioned frequently get lowering pegs... there are some that adjustable... I've got both lowering pegs (drop and move the peg forward a little) and the bar risers on my versys... 

ae86andkp61 (Forum Supporter) said:

Suzuki V-Strom 1000 with luggage? There must be a reason adv bikes sell so well, and there also must be a reason that many riders happily use them exclusively on pavement. It might be worth trying something in the road-biased big twin adv category.
 

Perhaps try renting one on one of the motorcycle-sharing apps/sites. I've often it could be fun to do this myself as a way to get some real-world experience on categories of motorcycle I've never really ridden like a cruiser, a touring bike, etc.

there was a good "high side, low side" podcast a while back that basically talked about how the ADV bike has largely replaced the sport touring bike... they do nearly as well where sport touring bikes shine and can do so much more while being more comfortable for most riders.

In reply to donalson :

Hey, hey, it's been a while, buddy.

In regards to adv bikes, you can do a lot with a standard and motard tires without needing the inseam. I am 6' but I still like the regular seat height of a standard, especially when loaded with luggage. I put about 80k miles on an SV650.

I've been shopping.  Prices are high.  I think I might sell the Vulcan now while prices are high and continue shopping in the fall.

In reply to Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) :

2 weeks after Christmas is a good time to buy a used bike.

Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) said:

I've been shopping.  Prices are high.  I think I might sell the Vulcan now while prices are high and continue shopping in the fall.

Prices are coming down though - they were a lot higher even in January. Not all sellers have got the message, but I'm noticing price drops almost everywhere. Harleys seem to be especially hard hit. 

The 2015 generation of KTM 1290's is getting south of 10k in price. Shop around you can probably pick up one near your price point. I would be looking at the Adventure S or T models. Don't sweat the R model. Someone mentioned the Tiger. Mid 20-teens 1200 is shaft drive and they're amazingly cheap compared to where they start at for being less than 10 years old. Both are on my radar to replace my 690 Duke as a commuter. Though a Connie, or ST1100/1300 wouldn't hurt my feelings.  KTM can be a bit maintenance heavy, but repays it with just tons of riding character. (if you enjoy the occasional road shenanigans) 

Are these liter class bikes really necessary? A friend is an avid motorcycle racer, but for distances he rolls out his 2009 BMW F800ST and he's quite happy. Prices are surprisingly low.

Unless you are traveling two up, no.

My Tiger 800 had plenty of power for multi-state trips and corner carving while loaded with panniers and a top box. 

Kreb (Forum Supporter) said:

Are these liter class bikes really necessary? A friend is an avid motorcycle racer, but for distances he rolls out his 2009 BMW F800ST and he's quite happy. Prices are surprisingly low.

 

Curtis mentioned that he would be touring and using this for 2up riding. The limited 2up riding I did with my Tiger 1050 made it a breeze. With just me on it I was getting upper 40s mpg.

How about the bike I'm looking at? A Hayabusa. The aftermarket will provide plenty of options for touring equipment. 

chaparral said:

How about the bike I'm looking at? A Hayabusa. The aftermarket will provide plenty of options for touring equipment. 

The only thing that scares me about the Busa's, is that they seem to be more abused than most of the other bikes mentioned.

Obviously, exceptions to every rule.

I like the Concours 14 as has been mentioned.  I've ridden one.  Ridiculously quiet and smooth.  Fast as you could ever want to go.  But if you don't mind putting up with a chain, a ZX14 can be set up very similar to a Connie.  And not that it matters but on the drag strip a Plaid will edge out a Busa, but it can't take a ZX14 

A little late to the party, but I'll throw in my $.02...

My riding profile was almost exactly what Curtis is talking about:  weekend fun bike, and (mostly) one-up touring.  Our Miata replaced our two-up bike back in 2011.  I did quite a lot of track time on bikes from 2000-2006, so I'm pretty demanding in the performance department.

ST1100 - one of the best ever, I had two of them.  Fantastic bikes, but getting very long in the tooth.  An ST1100 was our last two-up bike.

ST1300 - very competent, but about as interesting as a Honda Accord.  I don't know how Honda managed to completely eradicate everything interesting about the ST1100, but they did.

BWM air/oil cooled RS/RT - I had an R1100RSL, and this generation and the 1150 are great bikes.  All day comfort and decent performance.  None of the reliability problems and complexity of the later BMWs.  Like the ST1100, getting long in the tooth.  Very few options for replacing worn out suspension.  Low mile R1150RTs are cheap and could be real gems.

Connie 14, FJR - Never owned one but have ridden a few.  Great bikes, never tripped my trigger to the point where I bought one.

Now, for the top contenders...

VStrom 1k - GREAT sport touring bike.  Mine was an early one (2002), and I rode it border to border and coast to coast.  Corbin seat, hard bags, bunch of other farkles.  Sounded fantastic with Two Bros slip ons.  Terrible wind management - this is an issue with a lot of ADV bikes, which is why they have funky looking windscreens.   Needed a bigger alternator, and the factory GIVI bags were WIDE.  MPGs would drop into the 30s with a lot of right wrist, or headwinds and range dropped under 150.

'Busa - Really, really good bikes.  Great suspension, monster engine, torque everywhere, stone reliable.  I kitted mine up with hard bags, raised bars, and lowered pegs and rode the E36 M3 out of it.  They do lack some 'touring' amenities - big alternator for farkles, cruise, ect. but I was surprised how good it was as a tourer.  Keeping tires under it was a problem... all that torque shreds rears if you like your corner exits.  Also, the riding position eventually got uncomfortable for me so I sold it for something more upright.  Two up for any distance is really a non-starter.

FJ-09 - This was probably the best all-'round bike I've owned, and I've owned a lot of bikes in 40+ years of riding.  Under 500lbs with hard luggage, and over 100hp. The triple 900 engine is a delight.  Mine was a '15 and lacked cruise and some other amenities the newer bikes have, but it was still fantastic.  It's a hooligan bike in touring clothes, but still comfortable enough for all day travel.  Not as much wind protection as something like an FJR, but still not bad.  Factory suspension is on the cheap side, like most bikes.  Tight quarters for two-up riding.