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| *Vultures Knob>>>Cruiser Bike |
I'm a happy BMW rider- of a '71 R60/5 to be exact. But I'm shopping for a newer bike for touring. Suggestions? |
A new Beemer is out of reach price-wise. But I love the BMW's reliability, the smoothness, the quiet, the shaft drive. Needless to say I'm not an HD guy. And the newer Gold Wings don't appeal to me. Any suggestions from satisfied owners of metric cruisers and/or touring machines? What about an excellent exercise bicycle. Very economical on the fuel and very trendy. Huh? Who are the voters? royal enfield, MZ, ural? how about a xj 900 Yamaha,shaft drive good comfortable and reliable for touring. and best of all up right seating. really good second hand ones are well priced. Don't know what price range you're looking at, but I have one major suggestion - if you want to ride distances, get a bike designed as a touring machine, not a cruiser. I have an '02 Honda cruiser (with a Mustang seat, so one can ride it for a while without killing his back and derriere, along with a number of other mods), but it is not a truly happy highway machine. No other cruiser I have ridden (metric or American) seems extremely well suited to highway use, either. I really like that little bike, but for highway use (and even around town) I have come to greatly prefer my '06 Harley Electra-Glide - it practically calls out to you to hit the highway. I am not trying to get you in to a Harley, just stating that the machine is truly designed to cover ground on the highway, and to do so comfortably. It is the first H-D I've owned in over 30 years, and there is just no comparison to the older Harleys - excellent quality, extremely reliable, handles exceptionally well, rides very well, and has lots of storage. I have run numerous 500-700 mile days, and always arrive feeling rather fresh, not fatigued. Oh yeah - oil leaks - well, I just can't find any - the bike runs 5,000 miles without using any oil, consistently. Anyway, I digress. You might want to look at relatively late model used BMWs (still a bit pricey, but marvelous machines). I'm not a great fan of the new Gold Wings, either, primarily from an aesthetic standpoint (way too much plastic, you can hardly tell there is a motorcycle under all of it), but they are extremely capable machines - comfortable (if your legs fit, mine don't), very good handling, fast and reliable). The Yamaha FJR may be worth a look, as may the Honda ST-1300. Another possibility would be a Honda Valkyrie Interstate or Tourer, both of which have the 1550cc opposed 6 cylinder engine of the previous generation GW, but in more of a "traditional" motorcycle styling format, with hard bags and other touring amenities. In any case, I must reiterate my advice to get a bike designed for touring, if that's what you want to do with it, anything "less" (in that regard) won't make you happy on trips. Have fun shopping, it's always fun to try on new bikes! The new motorcycles are fantastic. I have a BMW F650GS that I dual-sport with. I ride a lot of back roads and have very aggressive, knobby tires on it. I also have been looking for a second, street / touring bike. I am considering the Suzuki 650 V-Strom. I fits me perfect, weighs little more than 430 lbs, an upright riding position, cheap insurance, low price, and very good rider reviews. They also make a 1000 cc model, a little taller. Much cheaper than a Beemer. |
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