I currently ride a 2000 BMW r1100r. It's my first bike so I don't have a lot to compare it to. New bike lust has gripped me and I looking for a little advice. I do little in-town riding, preferring instead to ride the rural roads surrounding Nashville. I also plan to take one or two trips a year of 14+ days. My total motorcycling experience consists of two years and about 25,000 miles. In addition to a GS, i'm currently thinking about the VFR, vStrom and Triumph Sprint ST. Whaddya think?
If you have it narrowed down that far, it sounds like it is the perfect time for some demo rides and a gut check.
agree with mack - take a test ride of all of the ones you can find. another thing to consider - there isn't a triumph dealer in nashville anymore. ducati of nashville still does service i think, but i dont think they're carrying many parts. shoot me a PM - always interesting in meeting a local rider.
The R and the GS will be similar as far as engine pull, but the GS will do better in the tight twisty stuff. Your best bet is to test ride them all and see where the chips fall.
I stand by my demo ride and gut check post, but I just had to add a couple of thoughts. In the last year, my riding has gone off on a bit of a tangent, if I see a nasty gnarly trail from the roadside, well I get really grumpy, really quick these days if I am not on a bike that is enjoyable to head that way on. Prior to this, I had (have still) a VFR 800 pre-Vtec that I would not shut up about. I love these 98-01 VFR800s, they seem almost impervious to miles, the engine just rocks, build quality is first rate. You can commute, tour, do trackdays, etc. the bike does it all, and does it well. The only downside is the OEM suspension really lets the fine build quality of the rest of the bike down. A fork revalve/respring with CBR adjusters, and a Penske or Ohlins shock and your good to go. The support, knowledge base, forums, are prolific. Other then a ST1100, (not my cup of tea) I cannot think of a more robust, reliable, high performance, low maintenance bike out there. And the gear driven EFI V-four motor is wonderfull. With my current D/S interest, mine just gathers dust, yet I still cannot come to terms with selling it. 2002 up:The OEM V-tec suspension is improved, factory bags are offered, as well as ABS, and many are quite happy with this model as well. I just never cared for the styling or the V-tec characteristics and added maintenance. If you have any VFR questions, feel free to ping me. Cheers, Mack
I really wished that they kept the 98 motor and added the options of the 2002 model: ABS and Bags. I have been tossing around getting a 98 for a stable mate with the Dakar, but budget does not allow for it at this stage in the game. What VFR forums fo you find most helpful?
VFR forums "the main list" by email subscription only, since at least '95. Archives are currently down: http://www.cs.wisc.edu/~john/vfr-list.html www.vfrdiscussion.com Colors and pics and stuff
I always puss-out. Did you ever notice that you go into a dealer when you've been out of biking for a while and pick some half-assed compromise, and then a couple of months later you're trying to figure out when you can get what you really wanted? Like when I wanted a big ole Dodge pickup and bought a little Toyota instead, because it was more economical and sensible, and then ended up with the big ole dodge a couple of years later. Or, like when I really wanted the very best of, say, scuba gear, bought something more sensible, and then sold it all on ebay and bought the best stuff 6 months later? Well, I'm telling you right now, it's not a good idea to compromise. Test ride them all and then figure out the best way to get exactly what you want.
I really appreciate the responses. Dave Bell is right. I usually do the same thing and half-ass my purchases. At this point I'm leaning toward a VFR with ABS. But like others have mentioned, you never know til you take it out for a test drive.
Ditto That Which is why I bought a GS (Adventure), probably the best all round motorcycle available today ...But if can afford/justify more than one bike there's a lot of options available to you :eek1
i'm kind of in the same boat but i've narrowed the field down to the Kawi ZZR1200 and the Triumph Sprint. The Triumph dealer has been great so far with test drives i bet I've put 100 miles on their bikes. But the Kawi dealer does not allow test drives. Anyone in the SLC area that would let me take a ZZR out? I'll buy you a cup of coffee.
