One Bike to Rule Them All?

[keystiger]

Originally Posted by FishrCutB8

Well, glad nobody is grabbing their torches and pitchforks, yet....

Question about the 955i: it looks to me that the stock seat slopes down. Is a seat upgrade recommended for two-up? Asking because I did see an '05 in decent shape and the posts here have me thinking....

It does slope forward some, however my wife doesn't seem to mind nor do I
And trully the slope is only when no one is on it. with 1 or two people it compresses the suspension and flattens right out.
Being completely honest here.......It really depends on what YOU are truly looking to do with a bike. Fire roads/trails to camping locations. Tiger, Tenere, Multistrada, Gs, Buell Uly, all just fine 1 or 2 up. Would I attempt Colorado Utah TAT on one....nope, well maybe somebody elses but not mine.
Just like I would NOT take a 650 single loaded with 2 people and gear on an interstate road trip. But would do that on my Tiger any day of the week and have. Comfortably at speeds able to keep up with or pass Turnpike traffic. Not just making up crap I owned a BMW F650 rotax motor thumper. Great light little bike much better for off road than the Tiger. (yes I said it) But was anaemic & underpowered on the highway. Put 2 grown adults and gear on it and it was pathetic. Felt like I was on one of the old lawn mower motor scooters from my childhood.
Sooooo if you really want a bike that is capable of doing it ALL in 33 years of riding and 28 bikes the one I chose (when I had to downsize to just one) and will not ever get rid of is the 955i Tiger.

[Bryn1203]

Originally Posted by FishrCutB8

I have put the Buell Ulysses on my list. I was thinking the V/Wee-strom as well, though its soul doesn't speak to me. What other bikes should I have on my list? Recommendations? Thoughts? Ideas?

The Buell is a good choice. Plenty of soul, good handling, cheap to run, torky - great too up. Or DL1000 ?

[FishrCutB8]

Rode a Buell today and had two thoughts.

1) Holy carp is that torque crazy? I was on a Lightning, and the "power band" starts at 1 RPM and goes all the way up. There is no place where it doesn't feel totally ready to jump.


2) That engine shakes a LOT at lower RPMs. I know Erik was working with the HD Engine, but that's the best they could do. I wasn't on it long enough to get the fan going, but feel that wont be going on the plus side of the ledger, either.

[ten.98]

Originally Posted by DockingPilot

Well, at least until the cast wheels crack anyway

Wicked looking bike for sure! Any more pics of it ?

If you're riding hard enough to damage these wheels, more power to you. Most people I find talk a big game about what their bikes are capable of, right before they putter their way off to Starbucks.

The topic was one bike to rule them all, and to me that means street as well as dirt. When you look from extreme to extreme (superbike to dirt bike), the only thing that comes close in my opinion (having owned the gamut) is the MTS.

To the OP's original req's:

- Reliable: 7500 miles between oil changes, 15,000 miles between valve adjustments.
- Off Road Capable: The bike wont be whats holding you back.
- 2-up Power: 150hp of pure awesomeness.
- Affordable: (nothing to see here)
- Soul: Pure Italian Thoroughbred.

And just because most Ducati owners aren't usually willing to put their bikes into harms way, doesn't mean they aren't capable of great things.









The camera ran out of batteries right as that last picture was being taken, but if you're wondering what the next frame looked like I can assure you it was very similar to this:

[oalvarez]

Originally Posted by ten.98

The topic was one bike to rule them all

well, between $7,000-$8,000 perhaps

I can appreciate the enthusiasm for your new bike though!

[DockingPilot]

Originally Posted by ten.98

If you're riding hard enough to damage these wheels, more power to you. Most people I find talk a big game about what their bikes are capable of, right before they putter their way off to Starbucks.

Oh don't take my post the wrong way. Me likey !



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk not at Starbucks

[HI378]

I have a Tiger 955i (05) and love it! It's my precious now. I have been on some dirt road and light trail and it works fine. I had a DR650 but after some long distance days decided to get something a little more road capable and butt friendly. I am in the process of adding crash bars, panniers, a skid plate and aggressive tires before i do anything too aggresive off roadwise.

I loved the DR but IMHO its not made for long haul or 2up. Still if you choose it I suggest you see Jesse at keintech for better springs and a High compression piston and pipe. You can do it for under a grand ( if you do it yourself, not hard) and the power and ride become much more capable.

Whatever you do enjoy and be safe.

[_cy_]

Originally Posted by ten.98

I'll throw another vote on for the Multistrada. If you're only going to have one bike (and can afford a 2nd set of wheels) this is the bike to have. On street tires it will outpace anything else in it's class. Throw a set of TKC's on and it will keep up with any similarly sized bike in the dirt. Truly the best of both worlds.

at 485 lb wet + gear .. it's probably among the lightest of the beast class bikes. just take some getting used to seeing a big Ducati doing much dirt work...

Ducati Elefants sure are cooool and would be a good candidate for dirt/road. for some reason they sell for dirt cheap. super clean ones come up for 3k-$5k range

if I didn't already have an R80G/S ... I'd already have a Elefant.

[FishrCutB8]

Originally Posted by HI378

I have a Tiger 955i (05) and love it! It's my precious now.

I suppose that's what I was really asking: which one is your "Precious"? I laughed when I read that....

[wizz]

Originally Posted by _cy_

at 485 lb wet + gear .. it's probably among the lightest of the beast class bikes. just take some getting used to seeing a big Ducati doing much dirt work...

Ducati Elefants sure are cooool and would be a good candidate for dirt/road. for some reason they sell for dirt cheap. super clean ones come up for 3k-$5k range

if I didn't already have an R80G/S ... I'd already have a Elefant.

elephants are really cool, would like to have one just to have dakar genetics. definately one of the best early adventurers made. would have wrenchs though simply for the age. would still recommend testing a multi 1100 or 1000 thats had valve issues addressed. youll be suprised how nice these bikes are and how easy they are to work on. then save your pennys. youll love it so much youll want to move on to the next generation. i have a 620, which is a great bike but needs suspension upgrade in order to truly perform and might not be fully satisfying 2up.

[Cos]

Originally Posted by ten.98

To the OP's original req's:

- Reliable: 7500 miles between oil changes, 15,000 miles between valve adjustments.
- Off Road Capable: The bike wont be whats holding you back.
- 2-up Power: 150hp of pure awesomeness.
- Affordable: (nothing to see here)
- Soul: Pure Italian Thoroughbred.

With all due respect, service intervals have nothing to do with reliability.
The MTS is a fantastic bike but i wouldn't consider it reliable. Not yet anyway, with all the reports of shocks crapping out etc etc.

[ten.98]

Originally Posted by Cos

With all due respect, service intervals have nothing to do with reliability.
The MTS is a fantastic bike but i wouldn't consider it reliable. Not yet anyway, with all the reports of shocks crapping out etc etc.

Sorry, but read in the context of the OP who doesn't "want to spend time/money in the shop", length of service intervals play a large part of determining expected operating cost / down time. Every bike is prone to unexpected failure, and if search through any forum long enough you'll come away with a worse impression then is probably warranted. Best bet is to go down to a dealer that sells a lot of different makes and ask him which one clogs up his service department the most.

[Cos]

Originally Posted by ten.98

Sorry, but read in the context of the OP who doesn't "want to spend time/money in the shop", length of service intervals play a large part of determining expected operating cost / down time. Every bike is prone to unexpected failure, and if search through any forum long enough you'll come away with a worse impression then is probably warranted. Best bet is to go down to a dealer that sells a lot of different makes and ask him which one clogs up his service department the most.

I understand this, you were talking about reliability and this has nothing to do with it. Yes, every bike is prone to unexpected failure. However, when said bike is prone to an expected failure (shock on the MTS, FD on the BMW, R/R on the Triumph etc etc) is when the reliability factor comes in.

[wizz]

the shock issue is 2010-2012 multi with ohlins well beyond op price range. the previous model had no such issues and was well sorted.

[victor441]

Originally Posted by FishrCutB8

Well, glad nobody is grabbing their torches and pitchforks, yet....

Question about the 955i: it looks to me that the stock seat slopes down. Is a seat upgrade recommended for two-up? Asking because I did see an '05 in decent shape and the posts here have me thinking....

I just bought mine recently and it came w/ a Corbin which works great solo and two up...am glad because if it did have a stock seat that sloped downwards that would drive me nuts, that was the case with the Monster it replaced and I had to buy a Sargent seat to fix it. Anyway absolutely love the bike but would be leery of riding it off road as it is so big and heavy, use my DR650 for ADV type riding....but many do make it work.