Best "tourer" less than $5k

What models are the HD touring ones?

And what models are the Japanese cruiser touring models? Cause I saw a vstar like pinchclaves for less than $4k and it was a 2012 model.

And if looking at cruisers what about Victory? I like the look but don't know much about them

In reply to octavious:

Road King

Road Glide and the variant: RG Ultra

Street Glide

cont:

Electra Glide and its variants: EG Classic, EG Ultra Classic, EG Limited

[damn near impossible to find an unaltered EG]

EG Classic:

EG Ultra Classic:

EG Limited:

And before anyone says it, yes, they do look a lot alike. But, they all have different features.

I think all BMWs and Japanese bikes look the same. So there.

Except Goldwings. Goldwings are cool.

I put 50 miles on a customer's 2006 FLHT CVO today.

Nope, not a chance.

My '83 Goldwing Aspencade rides smoother and handles far better. It's not as fast and the brakes aren't as good but it does everything else better than the Harley.

That said, my 2013 MG Stelvio NTX does everything better than both of them. It's definitely a "mileage disposal unit".

The Moto Guzzi Norge shares engine, frame and suspension with the Stelvio but is not set up for off-road excursions. By all accounts they are a great touring bike. Might be able to find an earlier one for reasonable money.

If you do buy a big block 'Guzzi, make sure the recall to convert the engine to roller tappets has been done. This fixes any trouble and the rollers were standard on any bike 2013 and newer.

Shawn

Real mini- thanks but I don't see any of those fitting in my price range. Cruiser I saw some Victorys, Honda vt1300s, and bigger Kawasakis. The only HDs I saw in my search in my price range were all Sportsters.

For that price range, I'd put in a vote for the Concours as well as an older Honda ST1100. Both available on a budget, and would leave some of the budget left over for the maintenance that just about any used bike will need.

In reply to octavious:

Agreed. I wouldn't tour on a Sportster (even though Dr Hess will defend its honor).

I'd jump on a Concours, though.

The older style Concours is a nice bike. They had a long production run with virtually no changes so they're cheap, plentiful and the aftermarket is good. I'd snag an FJR if you found one in your price range. Aprilia Futura would be an excellent choice as well.

I'd say ST1300:

http://philadelphia.craigslist.org/mcy/5132438832.html

In reply to 92dxman:

That is a lot of bike for the money. I say that could be the answer. I want one.

Anyone have any personal experience with the weaving issue that is on the ST1300 Wiki? Sounds scary but could be horribly overblown.

Fjr 1300 is my choice. With the right farkles ( mods) 1000 mile days are a breeze. I have a Russell day long seat, 5 gallon aux tank. Rostra electronic cruise control, highway pegs.

No bike off the lot comes with a decent seat.

So I was on travel this weekend and found a used bike dealer, and I got to sit on some bikes. I stopped just because they had a bunch of different options. While I have different opinions of all, these are what I got to throw a leg over:

2005 HD Road King

2009 Kawi Versys

2005 HD Softtail

2009 HD Superglide

1995 Kawi Vulcan 1500

2005 Honda VTX1300

2008 Triumph Rocket III

2007 Honda VFR 800

2009 Honda VTX1300

2010 Triumph Speed Triple

2013 Moto Guzzi V7

2007 Suzuki Boulevard C50T

A mix I know. What I found is that the cruisers while more laid back, felt awkward to have my feet that far forward. And wow are some of those jokers heavy, especially the Triumph Rocket it was HUGE!!! I also found that the the cruiser sit so much lower than the other bikes. I liked some of the cruisers, and I understand why others like them, but I don't like the luggage options on them as much. They all seemed to have soft luggage except the one HD that had hard bags and a trunk.

I really liked the VFR, but I felt I was leaning more on my wrists, than on some of the others. Versys just felt like a taller version of my bike. Would the ST1300 be a slightly taller version of the VFR?

I really liked the Guzzi, but it doesn't really fit what I am looking for.

If the ST1300 is anything like the ST1100 I owned, it'd feel like a more comfortable version of the VFR. Less weight on the wrists and less severe knee angle. Of course that's based on owning an ST1100 and a VFR750 - the 750 has (at least for me) a more relaxed/suitable seating position than the 800.

You might be able to visualize this here: http://cycle-ergo.com/

When I got my VFR800 I felt like there was too much weight on my wrists to really be comfortable. There are bar risers available to lift the bars nearly a full inch without need of new control cables and such. There's also a guy on VFRDiscussion.com that sells peg lowering blocks if you feel like your knees and hips could use a little bit of a stretch.

These sorts of options exist for about anything on the market.

Yeah, a VFR is your answer here. Less buy in, operating costs, than the hog, or BMW.

In reply to Flight Service:

You know, I've got a lot of miles on my VFR. I like my VFR. I'll defend them in discussions about motorcycles. But servicing this thing isn't a real fun time. Stuff is buried on that bike. Like when I had a failing thermostat; to get at it, the throttle bodies come out, because the thermostat is in a canister under the induction. Which is under everything else. Or stators that have died on me through over-temping (which I think is partially caused by not enough oil splash to cool the stupid thing). A valve adjustment means the camshafts come out twice and it's supposed to be done every 16k. The V-4 configuration makes for an all-around smooth bike both in power delivery and vibration but there's a lot going on between those cylinder heads. Going back to chain driven cams didn't help anything either.

In summation, I'd rather do-it-yourself maintain an H-D or boxer BMW than this thing. My solution is a possible move to an FJ-09 in the next year or two; vertical triple and less body work seems like a good mid-point between the VFR and something like an air-cooled H-D as far as maintenance is concerned.

pres589, what do you think about the ST1300. (Kinda leaning towards those over the ST1100 due to age and looks)

Local dealer here has a ST1300, a Concurs, and a FJR in stock. I hope to make it by to look at them this week since they are my top 3 right now.

octavious wrote: Local dealer here has a ST1300, a Concurs, and a FJR in stock. I hope to make it by to look at them this week since they are my top 3 right now.

That is an excellent and comfortable top 3. If they are all similar in price I personally would probably choose the Kawi. Says the guy who has not rode any of the bikes in question.

I have first hand experience with the VFR800. So, grain of salt; I think the ST1100 and 1200 a really good bikes that can handle decently. There's a reason they've been used as cop bikes. They're probably not "exciting" but sometimes that's a good thing. I believe they're pretty reliable.

I stopped with the VFR750, although those really weren't much better, I just never had a problem, we would check valves at 16k but never adjusted any. I know plenty of VFRs with 30k and nothing more than oil changes on them. Shop used Bel-Ray and never had an oil related failure. Ever. Hell of a brag on that oil. But given the price, we kind of expected that success rate.

The rub in all of this is the $5k price tag. A hog and BMW are getting up in age and mileage to meet that number. I have seen 25th anniversary VFRs with 10k on the clock for that money.

octavious wrote: Local dealer here has a ST1300, a Concurs, and a FJR in stock. I hope to make it by to look at them this week since they are my top 3 right now.

3 great bikes, I just wonder the age and mileage to be in your budget

If the main thing is comfort for your passenger, you'll be hard pressed to beat any Goldwing, or H-D Dresser with the tour pac. Just don't get the crashbars on the hard cases of the H-D, they'll cut into her legs. Good luck trying to find a good one for $5k or less. The 1800 'Wings handle extremely well, and passenger comfort is excellent. If you're tall, you might feel a bit cramped. The 1500s aren't quite the handler the 1800 is, but can not be beat for comfort and touring, and many lower mileage ones can be had in your price range. Heck- I'll sell you mine for $4500! The earlier wings are decent, reasonably priced(under$3k), and other than a stator, virtually indestructible-as all the wings are. The Concours is awesome, Fzs are great, as is the ST1300, but not overly comfortable two up. And if anyone tells you goldwings don't handle, check out the guy on the Yellow 1800 on the Dragon. Very few sportbikes can keep up.

RealMiniParker wrote: And I say BS to Iron Butt riders NEVER being on a Harley. 15 of the 30 bikes that completed the Lake Michigan 1000, in 2014, were Harleys, mine being one of them, along with the two other bikes I was riding with. IBA Member 59448 Long distance riders are never on a Harley... pish

Harleys are no doubt good for the long haul, and would be my first choice by a mile (pardon the pun). The annual cross-country rides to Sturgis and Daytona are proof of that! I just meant that they are not automatically the best choice...sport touring bikes can be good too depending on your needs. I always mistakenly assumed that bikes like the ST-1300 were just crotch rockets with bags, The ergos are in fact completely different and way more comfortable.

No one is arguing the long distance prowess of this baby!