400 mile ride on a motorcycle.

[HardDrive]

What if twice a month, you wanted to ride 400 miles between cities (Columbus, OH to Rochester, NY). Do not want to split the ride up, hammer it out in a day. If you were strictly looking for a used bike, budget $10k, what would you buy? Assume only looking at well maintained, no stories, ready to ride bikes.

[Steve Carlton]

No idea what they go for used, but I would look at an R1100RT/R1150RT/R1200RT with ABS brakes. Comfortable, stable, safe, good wind protection, and handle well. The boxer engines get in your soul.

[Eric Hahl]

Goldwing, R1200GS

[flatbutt]

Originally Posted by Steve Carlton

No idea what they go for used, but I would look at an R1100RT/R1150RT/R1200RT with ABS brakes. Comfortable, stable, safe, good wind protection, and handle well. The boxer engines get in your soul.

These

[Chocaholic]

For that kind of high speed slab riding, I agree with Eric. A land yacht like a Goldwing would probably be my first choice. Reliable as a brick, reasonable weather protection, comfort, storage, etc.

But if you prefer more of a sport-touring rig, I’ve always liked the Yamaha FJR1300. I’ve never owned one but hear good things consistently. Seems like it would be a serious mile eater.

[HardDrive]

What about a BMW F 800?

[T6andT]

Would think the 800 would get “buzzy”. A friend that rides with is had one, just upgraded to a R1200RS. And loves it. This is my freeway ride as well, great bike and 400 miles will just zip by. The RT would also work, but not my first choice.

[SamC.]

Concur 100% w/ recommendations for R series. Quiet, fast, comfortable. Shaft drive, full fairing, heated seat & grips, top end riding suit and helmet to minimize exposure. ( Think ATGATT) The Beemer R series is the way to go IMO. Back in the day I did 1000 mile weekends on a BMW K100RS - no wonder my knees are shot now.

[creaturecat]

one day ride.
a used Super Tenere Yamaha would be on that list, for me.
Triumph Sprint 1050 is a sweet machine.
or - maybe a decent hog?

[Rot 911]

That’s sort of riding is going to get old real fast. You’re going to want something heavy, with a big engine and a large fairing. And you want a helmet that you can put in some good Bluetooth earphones.

[upsscott]

If you want wind protection the r1200rt is a great choice. You should be able to find one under $10k. If you want a more raw feeling trip I highly recommend the r1200r. My favorite bike of all time. I had many 500 mile days over the years on my 1200r’s.

[cstreit]

BMW 1250GS, but not sure you could get one at that price. Otherwise I’d buy the biggest newest Honda or BMW I could afford.

But honestly I wouldn’t just want to knock out 400 miles in a day, I’d want to make an adventure out of it, at least a little.. so then I’d go for the GS1250 or a KTM 1190 or 890. Back roads. Enjoy the journey.

[gregpark]

Originally Posted by Rot 911

That’s sort of riding is going to get old real fast. You’re going to want something heavy, with a big engine and a large fairing. And you want a helmet that you can put in some good Bluetooth earphones.

I agree. 400 miles in a day is a long day even on an 800lb. cruiser but doable. Forget it on anything resembling a sport bike. I've done cross country trips with buddy's and we found it more enjoyable to do 300 miles a day on our big bikes but that's riding every day for a week.

[Jeff Higgins]

I've done exactly this more times than I can remember on my two Road Kings, first my 2000 model year and now my 2013. The only tip I would stress is to make sure it has the 2014 and newer handlebars, older bikes will have to be retro fitted. The 2014 and newer bars are a dramatic improvement in comfort over the earlier design. Or just get an Electra Glide. Same bike, better wind protection.

One of the things that almost never comes up in these kinds of discussions is what happens if you break down. Granted, modern bikes are stone ax reliable, but it does happen. I never have, at least on my modern touring bikes, but it remains a possibility.

Harley has outstanding dealership coverage, parts availability, and a corporate policy of support for touring riders. You are far, far more likely to be somewhere near a Harley dealership when out on the open road than, say, a BMW dealership or, God forbid, something like a KTM dealership. And that dealership will have parts to repair your bike and get you back out on the road. Even a Honda dealership probably will not have the parts on hand to repair your bike. Oh, they can get them, certainly - three weeks out. Which means you are renting something to haul the bike home, or flying home and then going back to retrieve your bike.

A riding buddy who had a Goldwing and I used to play a game when we were out on the road. Essentially, pretend you just broke down and need, say, a clutch, or an alternator, or something like that. Find the nearest dealership. Call them and tell them you are broken down, can you get a tow, do they have the parts, can they get you in. The Harley always "won". The nearest dealership was always closer, often by hundreds of miles, often to the point where it was impractical to even get the Honda to the nearest dealership, 300-400 miles away. And the Honda dealership never had the parts anyway - just too many different models to support. Almost every time my Honda mounted buddy, had the situation been "real", would have found himself renting something to haul the bike home with, or would have left it and flown home only to have to retrieve it weeks later.

So, yeah, modern bikes are reliable to the point we really don't have to consider these things. Most of the time... "Everything is fine 'till it's not"...

[JavaBrewer]

I have done 2k mile 4 day road trips on my KTM 1290 super duke gt, and not all slab. Admit on the 4th day I was hoping for it all to end soon and have a large drink in hand 😂 So many good bikes to choose from, I lean to sport touring as I avoid highways (slab) any chance I can get.

[otto_kretschmer]

If you really want to save a few bucks and your under 6' look for a used Goldwing GL1100 or GL1200. Find one from an older guy who stopped riding and you will find it in good shape for under 3 grand.

If I were to do that ride with what I have right now I would take my 2008 Kawasaki Concours 14. You can find those bikes for reasonable prices.

[Gogar]

I'd buy the best K bike you can find in your budget. Second place would be an R bike. A F800 would probably hurt a bit.

[ramonesfreak]

I’ve been back and forth from Rochester to NYC (about 360 miles each way) many times on a sportster before the engines had rubber mounts. Whatever you don’t do that!

I’ve also been from Rochester to Columbus many times and as you know, it’s a fairly safe, straight shot, plenty of gas stations but just tedious as hell. I like the above recommendations and I’m pretty sure we still have a BMW dealer here if you need service or whatever

I like the idea of a Road King too. Can a newish one be had for $10k? I haven’t looked at them in years….there’s probably 10 Harley dealers between here and Columbus

[zakthor]

I rode a hayabusa all day on freeway once, had hard boxes and a bigger windscreen and adjustable bars. Very very comfortable.

Not kidding it’d be my first choice. They lope along quietly.

Mostly you need to decide what sort of fit you like.

[ramonesfreak]