$10K to spend, what bike?
 

If you had $10K to spend and wanted to get another bike, what would you buy? Looking at getting rid of my current wheels and have freed up some cash. Now the shopping begins. :evil

Leaning towards a used Tiger XC or 1200GS, but open to ideas.

Primary use will be commuting, but also weekend trips, including hitting some dirt and trails.

For $10,000 there is only one bike, a well farkled '06-08 R1200GS...

I found a 2012 Tiger 800 XC with oem heated grips, oem lights, LV carbon can and 345 miles for $10,150. Love the bike and a fantastic value -- even at closer to msrp, I think they are a great value.

I cannot agree. There are other bikes I find much more desirable than a BMW boxer GS,
for reasons that have to do with power, weight, handling, and real-world range of use.


I'd rather have a KTM 950 Super Enduro, but then I like bikes with good suspension
and lots of power. I also like bikes with chain drive so I don't ever need to deal
with a catastrophic final drive failure. Instead I just buy new a chain and sprockets
and keep riding. If you like to ride in a sporty manner and not just cruise, you owe it to
yourself to try a KTM with an LC8 engine. It is one of the greatest motorcycle engines
ever made, and it is remarkable for its light weight, its power characteristics, and its
compactness, all of which make bikes with the LC8 huge fun to ride.


I test rode a BMW 1200 GS and it was the most disappointing bike I have ever ridden. It's
quite heavy ( I believe the BMW claim for weight is inaccurate and that scales will verify this )
the suspension felt like a Buick, the brakes were over-assisted, the switchgear layout was
crazy and illogical, and it just felt ponderous. I think the people who own these
things are victims of mass hypnosis or maybe it is a situation similar to the old tale
of "The Emperor's New Clothes" where many people agree about something that is
not even true because they want to be part of the "in crowd".



The BMW is a heavy road bike which pretends to have off road capabilities but
pretend IS the correct word. It's no more suited to any real off road riding than
a Cadillac Escalade is to racing the Dakar Rally. Again, it is a road bike
with styling which pretends it can go off road. As long as you are comfortable
with that reality it might be a great bike for you. But I prefer never to ride one
of the piggish things again. By the way, back in the day I owned a BMW R90S
and rode it many miles, so I do have some experience with BMW. I had to laugh
when I shifted the 1200 GS and its transmission clunked nearly as badly as the
transmission in my R90S, which was built over three decades earlier. WTF, BMW,
why can't you build a transmission that doesn't feel like a Gravely mower blade
drive selector ?


Between the two bikes you mentioned, for me it would have to be the Turnip,
hands down ( yes I know it is a Triumph, Turnip is a nickname we used back when
lots of the old 500 Daytonas and 650 Bonnies were still seen regularly, which was
a while ago ).


.

Save two more grand and get the Tenere.

Thanks for the opinions, both pro and con! It's helpful. Keep 'em coming.

i'd look a buying a ktm950/990 and spend the rest on farkles and gas if 10k was my budget.

+1.

800xc

I'm in the same boat: didn't want to spend much more than $10k, but am now looking at V-Strom 1000, Concours 14 or the Tenere. (The Concours is only because I have the previous model, and there's really no other sport-tourer that does it for me...)

I'd say, maybe the Strom 1k? There are deals to be had on the 2012s, and I can speak from experience that it's a helluva lot faster than it looks.

A buddy suggested a Tiger 1050. :ear

Used well modded DL60 and a used wr250r or an older Bonnie or w650
I'd use the spare 1k for gas and ride both bike.

I had an extra 10k to spend on a bike last week. I bought a new scrambler and still have money left over. YMMV :ricky

A two years ago, I found on FM a DL650 with a few farkles for $4k and a Bonnie SE with 500 miles for $6k.

Have enjoyed both to the tune of 10k miles each year on each bike.

I'd like to find a WR250R but am holding out for the WR450R... :lol3

NFE

I'd look for an 8 grand 1200, you'll need the other 2 for maintenance in a thousand miles or so. :rofl