The new wife and I are moving out to the desert in CA, and I'm looking at buying a second bike to use as my daily commuter. I would like to get something with a bit more oomph, a more comfortable seat and some wind protection.
I'm 6'6", so the GS gets a bit cramped on longer rides. I still want to keep it for when I go out into the twisty stuff, but I would like a second bike more suited to touring.
I'm looking at something used, hopefully in the $3000-$4000 ballpark. Ideally, something that's easy to work on as well.
Any suggestions?
Mine.
Vstrom 650
BMW K75RTs are in that price range now. I have a friend with one, and he works on it himself. Having never owned one, since they are too damn tall for me, I don't know exactly how bad it is, but with a shaft drive and the valve covers on the sides, it looks pretty straightforward.
Very comfy and lots of wind protection - with the right fairing. His looks like this one (http://www.citlink.net/~daturley/page_02.htm) (but white).
I have a German Shepherd, too, so it really would look like that.
My dad has an R80RT, and it is really nice. Not sure what they sell for, but I imagine they're around that range. It looked almost identical to the bike RG is talking about, until dad wrecked it, now it is naked, and in my opinion MUCH better looking. Very comfy, and great for long distance, but the GS is WAY WAY quicker, so as far as more oomph, I'm not so sure. Another good thing about the R80RT is it is an aircooler boxer twin w/ shaft drive, so maintenance is fairly easy and cheap, unless the shaft goes bad. Also BMWs have a big vintage following, so you can always find parts.
Now that I'm done whoring my dad's bike, if you want sport-touring with more oomph you could look at a used, Katana, or a Yamaha FJR 1200, or a Honda Pacific Coast (kinda a mini Goldwind, but good looking), or a VFR, or a big Bandit, or an SVS. If you don't mind a cruiser, any metric cruiser over 750 would work great. Their are a ton of bikes, some well known others not so much, that have a little more oomph than the GS, that you can pick up for your price range.
The V-Strom 650 was an excelent suggestion, and if I wasn't so short I would consider one for my next bike.
I just sold my 92 BMW K75RT to buy a VStrom.
Here's why:
Cons: Expensive to get it worked on and parts are not cheap
Heavy
Electrics
Pros: Very good wind protection
White Police models have cachet and move traffic aside easily, but are typically well-used
Comfortable
VStrom: just the pros.
Moral - buy a VSTrom or look for a VERY well-maintained K75.
The K-bikes are a totally different animal from the R-bikes. The R-bikes are boxer twins, and I think the R80s you're referring to are airheads (air-cooled); the K-bikes are water-cooled inlines.
It's no secret that BMW places charge a buttload to work on their bikes. But my friend (Dale, of UnofficialBMW.com), has had two K75RTs (he totalled the first one) and a K100 (bought it after the totalled K75, liked the 75 better, and got another 75), and liked them muchly; if you get the service manual and DIY, they're not bad. Not as easy to work on as a GS in some ways, but a LOT better to work on than a modern BMW with servo-assist brakes and all of that crap.
one of these days when I have more money than I know what to do with, I'm buying an R1200GS Adventure and a K1200R. Kickass adventure touring and refined hooliganism. In the meantime, I'll be waiting on a used V-Strom, even though I think they're one of the ugliest bikes ever. Just can't argue with all that practicality.
there are lots of bandit 1200's running around here with for sale signs.
VFR750
why....
they don't friggin break, it's a Honda
As soon as I read this topic I thought of the VFR750. my uncle has one and it is absolutly fantastic. I've ridden it a couple of times and I love it. its considered a "sport tour" but its basically a sportbike with some comfort built in. plenty of power, very relliable, the fairing on it is very well designed to keep the wind off of you, and its the most comfortable bike I've ridden. although his does have a corbin seat on it, so that might have had somthing to do with it. also insurance isn;t going to be as bad as a 1200 bandit... if thats even a consideration for you... just my 2 cents
YZF600R
Very good, fully adjustable suspension.
Enough power to get you into trouble.
Light enough to be fun in the twistys (or track days) yet heavy enough to not get blown around on hiways.
Full fairings that move the air very well.
Good, couple year old examples can be had in your price range.
About the only down sides to the bike is a tempermental transmission, lots of expensive bodywork, and its so competent and smooth that its like a 2 wheeled sports car, theres nothing on it that HAS to be fixed.
I'm going to check out a 2001 YZF600r this weekend. I've looked for V-stroms, but there just aren;t many used ones on the market, and the prices are high. As for the BMW's, there are a LOT of them used, but they are pricey, unless they have 50k+ miles. For a daily rider, I'm not sure a super high milage bke is the right way to go, even if it's a BMW.
I'll let you know how the YZF is.
Mine.
I just put a deposit down on a 2000 VFR800. It's yellow and beautiful and I want to make sweet love to it.
Hopefully I won't kill myself.
Here's some pix https://filebox.vt.edu/users/msimbula/VFR/
My GS will be up in the For Sale section ASAP. It's green and beautiful and somebody out there will want to make sweet love to it.
Speaking of heavier bikes being better for cruising: if you just load a GS down with heavy luggage, would that actually make it more comfortable on an all-day ride?
(assuming Progressive springs in front, and maybe Bandit 600 shock in back).
tried that, it dosn't really work.
Quote from: raylarrabeeI just put a deposit down on a 2000 VFR800. It's yellow and beautiful and I want to make sweet love to it.
...
Here's some pix https://filebox.vt.edu/users/msimbula/VFR/
that, my friend, is a very nice vfr
750. better IMO than the 2002+ vfr800. no vtec or linked brakes. great bikes. theres a massive vfr discussion forum at
vfrdiscussionforum.com or something witty like that.
congrats. you got it, right?
what part of the CA desert are you in again? up central CA isnt it?
It's actually an 800 (a more honest name would be a VFR782, but I guess 800 had a better ring to it)...look in the lower left of the picture:
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v284/raylarrabee/VFR1.jpg)
I'm picking it up tomorrow. I wish the motor vehicle office was open on weekends! Thanks for the link to the VFR forum. Hopefully I won;t have to do anything to fix it anytime soon, but you never know.
About the move...we will be moving out to Lemoore, CA. It's about 40 miles south of Fresno, in the middle of effing nowhere. http://maps.google.com/maps?q=lemoore,+ca&spn=1.003039,2.572723&hl=en
Yeah, ditto on the VFR. I rode my roommate's '96 VFR 750 for the first time on the highway today on our way back from the N.Ga mountains. That is a SOLID bike with all the torque you'll ever need for highway trips. The seating position is pretty darned close to the seating position on a GS (mine, at least)... but talk about power in any gear! As far as i'm concerned, V configurations are where its at.... I don't need to maintain 100+ mile per hour speeds, so I'll take my power on the low-to-mid end where it will help keep me out of the way of the cagers.
I also rode my friend's '97 GSXR-600 for a good bit. Its a zippy bike (especially compared to my GS500), but I can't see myself upgrading to it. Besides the horsepower, I wasn't all that impressed with the handling (wide bike that doesn't true-steer very well... you have to lean it to get it to do anything). The one thing I did like was that the engine doesn't mind working at high revs (the tach goes a lot higher than the tach on a gs or vfr).
I was about to say VFR.. dude.. got to tell you.. its a nice bike. Handles well.. get a 2003.. I think it was the 2003 that was rated "bike of the year" or something like that.. it is a sweet ride. I have heard some bad things about I think it was the 2004 model... something about valves and lower power at low rpms... but don't quote me on it.
Well done with your new bike my Good friend had a vfr 750 & had no problem with on the long trips, The only other bike you might like is a Bandit GSF 1200S ( when I was looking for a new bike the two that come to my mind was the vfr 800 & Bandit GSF 1200S , I went with the Bandit GSF 1200S because it was like the GS 500 only with more power well maybe anyway well done :cheers:
all the best matt :) your friend
Safe Ride
I looked at the Bandit (both the 6 and 12). I liked the ergos, the pricetag and the fact that it was a Suzuki. I promised myself, however, that I wouldn't get another bike w/o fuel injection.
OK, I gotta hit the road and go pick up my new wheels. Thankfully the guy is letting me keep his plates on for the ride back to my house--can't get temp tags until Monday.
Picked the bike up and ride it home. It's like night and day riding that after learning on the GS. It's noticably heavier, but sooo smooth on the throttle. It's so much better than the GS on the highway that I can't begin to describe it.
Looking forward to re-learning how to ride. It seems pretty forgiving, and feels like I can grow into it safely.
Thanks for all the advice about buying--made my search and decision a lot easier. :thumb:
Congrats and welcome to the VFR fold, I hope it has have a sport pipe fitted to unleash that special v4 note :)
Just like this GS forum, you will find the VFR forums have pleasant, friendly and helpful people, most probably because VFR riders also don't tend to be racer boys with something to prove like most here in GStwins.
Personally I ride a Blue '96 VFR750 and love the gear driven cams sound. Safe riding and yes you find her a bit heavier than the GS, just make sure you set your corners up as it isn't as forgiving as the light and nimble GS. Also save up for the next set of tyres as a pair of tyres for the GS cost me less than the VFR rear tyre alone, personally I use the Mich Pilot Roads. I have no doubt you will enjoy the bike, and at least you didn't get a red one (the other colours do go faster)
Cheers
Conrad