Originally posted by Black Sheep
I'm torn as to which direction to go. I guess it depends on how much I'm gonna be riding - I bought a Rebel 250 with a few mods to see if I was gonna stick with it. So I am going to get something larger and more comfortable for longer excursions and less vibrations. I'm not getting into anything new - but I am leaning towards either a used Harley 883 or a BMW R1100. Or split the difference and get a Ducati Monster. All have pros and cons. I can go longer distance with the BMW and still feel my butt afterwards. Harley is a Harley. Loud and a head turner. All have touring field trips. Just want to see what kind of bikes people on here are riding.
What exactly do you want to do with it?
If you want to ride the poker runs, want to ride an American-made bike, play dress up with bar and shield, do local group rides, ride bar to bar, and cruise locally more than anything; then a cruiser if probably the way to go. Cruisers are more laid-back in their riding, and more about the image. Many cruisers can still be set up for light-duty touring. T-Bags and luggage rack, saddle bags, hard bags and front fairing. It can be done. Lockable Hard bags and a good front fairing is better than soft luggage and bolt on fairings, IMHO, if touring is the goal: think HD Road King, Road Glide and Street Glide; Victory Kingpin Tourer; Honda Valkyrie Tourer; Kawasaki Nomad.
If you want to travel long distance, like to canyon carve (not necessarily fast), have the ability to haul along some gear (camping, clothes, whatever), then you might want to lean toward a sport-touring rig. I suggest a nekkid street bike with good front fairing or larger windscreen replacement than a full faired sport bike set up for touring: more comfortable seating arrangement, easier to work on, and usually cheaper insurance (less plastic). A Bandit instead of a Katana for example.
A good nekkid street bike with lockable side bags, a small fairing, decent windscreen, and enough power output to use for charging and powering things like cell phones, heated vests, heated handgrips (
heated grips can make a real difference in cold weather riding), iPod or radio, radar detector, extra lights.... whatever works for you. Can be used well as a commuter, touring bike, and sporty canyon carving on the weekends.
Ducati, BMW, Triumph, Moto Guzzi.... best if you have a good dealer around you or are very comfortable in doing your own work. Also, generally not cheap to buy and maintain compared to Japanese bikes.
Harley will probably run more for insurance cc for cc to other bikes. Hogs get stolen a lot for parts and joyrides, so rates are higher.
Things to consider:
Fuel Injected is better than Carburated for most purposes. Shaft and Belt drive both better and easier (and cleaner) than Chain. If new to riding, staying under 1000CC and away from fully faired bikes usually means lower insurance. Get
above 500 or 600cc to have a decent rig that can carry a load, and you won't outgrow it easily. Something in the 750 to 900 cc range if insurance is a concern. Get the MECHANIC'S manual for whatever bike you get, and subscribe to any Owner's Groups for that bike on the web to find out all the little things about it.
Also, changing the handlebars: full bar swap, clips, heli bars or bar risers, can make a BIG difference in your riding posture: I've owned six bikes in 20 years, and EVERY ONE OF THEM, I've changed the bars to bring them up a little and a little further back toward me.
Additionally is riding gear.
If touring is the goal, a full face helmet with a flip-up chin-bar (these are very convenient at times), good waterproof riding boots, both waterproof and light duty gloves, and textile riding jacket and pants (with zippered vents and jacket liner, and armored padding) makes for a good travel suit. Most textile riding gear is waterproof - no need to carry additional rain gear, and well vented jackets and pants are a godsend in hot weather while on the road.
This is not the kind of gear you find most cruiser riders using: ie... leather, denim, and beanie helmet, if any helmet at all.
Me currently:
2005 Victory Hammer (the
other American motorcycle manufacturer) - Toxic Green, Corbin saddle for two-up riding, Stage-1, Willie and Max pillon bag to carry stuff around (doubles as backrest). Fun ride for around town and shorter trips. Local riding, usually just a t-shirt for me.
2003 Honda ST1300 sold a little while ago. Top truck, radio, iPod, heated handgrips. Long distance touring rig and sport ride. For LONG distance riding, there is nothing like a sport tourer with a power adjustable windscreen, music, and heated handgrips for comfort in bad weather conditions. --- seriously thinking of getting
Kawasaki K-14 Concours next summer as it's replacement. Still have the full riding gear I used all the time with the ST, I rode it pretty aggressively; so armored riding gear and helmet.
Before the ST, I had a
2000 Suzuki 600 Bandit I set up for sport-touring. Hard bags, luggage rack, top box, had a river duffle bag (waterproof kayak bag) for the back seat (doubled as backrest). Power for electric vest, heated handgrips, a Zero-G Double Bubble windscreen, fork brace, fog-lights. That bike saw 10,000 miles a year for the four years I ran it, most on multi-day trips.
