think i need a second bike

[nostatic]

I thought about a Triumph ST, but fear the reliability issues on a used Triumph. I wouldn't mind an ST2, as they are cheaper to maintain. I found a very clean Multistrada S, but it would likely be about $9K and that's a lot of money unless I got rid of the Aprilia. Which at this point I'm not that keen on doing.

I'll have to do more digging on the BMW side of things. I'm not that familiar with the variants. I know that Chocoholic's bike looked sweet, and a friend's roomate also has a K bike that he loves.

[deathpunk dan]

Dear Mr Nostatic-

Although it's been 3 years and 5 days since I sold it, I have very fond memories of my 1996 VFR750. It made the summers of 03 and 04 truly epic and never once let me down. The V4 has an amazing sound, especially with a simple two brothers slip on. nothing short of an aircooled unmuffled flat six, or a bevel ducati, or a les paul jr through a plexi marshall sounds as good to my ears.

Heavy-ish, considering I was coming off a 94 Ducati 900SS/CR, but with a lot freer-revving an engine, superior ergos, better ride, and infinitely more comfy.

Single side swingarm and the final generation of carbs FTW!

If I were to get another modern street bike (on deck after I get the 911 road ready is a 1982 Suzuki RM125 awaiting restoration) I'd have a hard time saying no to another VFR, maybe even an older red/white/blue 86-89 model...

[greglepore]

2 other things w/ Beemers-they have Duc like expense for routine maint. if you let the stealer do it, but are very DIY friendly, once you get by all of the plastic on the touring varients. The touring bikes are also on the tallish side, but a lowered saddle and suspension tweeks help-even w/ my 29 in inseam. They also require quite a bit of forethought when parking on non-level surfaces, but despite all of this, and a tranny that is quirky but learnable, they have a certain teutonic charm.

[Ray B]

Have you looked at/considered a ZRX? Decent ergos, retro styling, fast as stink and some good windscreen options.

[Steve Carlton]

Hard to argue with a VFR. For many years, always on the top-ten list. You couldn't lose trying one out used. Lacking in good power prior to VTEC, but for many the VTEC creates more problems than it solves.

Caponord is the sleeper of the bunch. I have a friend who makes your promiscuity seem tame, knows his bikes, and loved his. I think you can steal one used and have a reliable bike. Be nice to drop off one Aprilia when you pick up the other.

Another sound sleeper is the previous-generation Triumph Tiger 955i. A little dorky looking, but not bad in the right color. Smooth, supple riding, factory hardbags, handles great with lots of suspension travel, very reliable AFAIK. I've always wanted one.






Another dark horse is the Cagiva Gran Canyon. Ducati 900 air-cooled motor. Looks good, handles good, factory hardbags, but supposedly a nightmare to perform routine maintenance on.

BMW R1100S a steal used these days. With the comfort bars, probably still a bit too sporty, but maybe not. The R1200S is flat-out awesome, and there's a couple of bar riser options out there now. Probably too much sport vs tour, though. BMW R1150RT pretty hard to complain about. Great wind protection. Handles great and has that endearing flat twin charm. Get that over the R1100RT. The R1200ST is the bike you want, except for the hideous front end. The 1999-2005ish K1200RS/GT was a fantastic tourer. Handles better than you think, as smooth as a Gold Wing. Not the soul of the twins, though. Some mechanical issues can bite you pretty hard on these BMWs, some were more reliable than others on an individual basis.

[speeder]

This is funny. I traded 3 phone calls yesterday w/ Frank @ Pro Italia on that VFR. I'm also in the market for a VFR after flopping around between wanting a BMW, a Ducati or just a cheap used Japanese bike.

I would still love a Ducati Monster for a city bike, but long rides would suck on a naked bike+ maintenance costs if you rack-up the miles. BMWs are nice, but expensive. I would want a mint condition late 1150RT, (maybe '04), and they are about $10Gs. Worth every cent, and really a good value but I'm on a strict budget at the moment with work slow. I want to road trip, so comfort and some fairing are important. Here's one I'm following:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=260243865945&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=016

Late model used VFRs are half the price and in many ways better bikes. Performance-wise, they would leave any shaft-drive BMW on the trailer, I would think. Different strokes, I know, but a lot more fun to blast around town on. The Beemer is a cruiser, which can be enjoyable as well.

When choosing just one bike, there are always going to be major compromises and you have to decide what matters. If I could have 2 or 3 bikes, this would be easy. The VFR is one of the best MCs ever made according to most MC journalists, and that's just as a rider's machine. The V-4 is like a locomotive, I've never heard that they are down on power. They will walk all over a BMW twin w/ 300 more cc's. They are supposedly OK long-distance bikes, but I can't imagine they have much wind protection w/ that fairing and windshield.

I've ridden a R1100S and had a thread about them here a while back. Those are bikes that I wanted to like, (based on looks and the theory behind them), but I hate to say that it didn't do anything particularly well, IMO. Fairing was worthless on the freeway, (wind hit me in the neck and made helmet sound like a jet engine), performance was boring, handling weird + it buzzed my right hand numb in 20 minutes which is a common complaint on the web for those. After riding Ducs and other sport bikes at PI, it was a bit of a turd.

I'm not up on the whole VTEC thing, but Honda has been putting it in millions of cars for years with no issues that I've heard of. Variable valve timing has turned-out to be easy technology, just crucial to use the right oil for it to work right. My 996 really woke-up when I put the (correct) 0-40 Mobil 1 in it. The previous owner had used 15-40. I actually like the older VFRs for styling reasons. They were big on *1 year only* colors, my personal favorite is '92 in black. I don't like red ones and I don't like the mid/late-'90s styling. Here is a '92 that I have my eye on, it's mint:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=190224569062&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=009#ebayphotohosting

Read this if you are even considering a VFR, they are in a class by themselves:

http://www.ciao.co.uk/Honda_VFR_750__Review_5508146

[BlueSkyJaunte]

Lots of folks complain vociferously about VFRs lacking "character" or "soul".

I say, "Whatever." It's all in their heads. My '86--a mere 700cc--with a Kerker 4-into-1 sounds like 1/2 a Ferrari 360. It hauls my 210 lbs. around with aplomb. I don't do any power-wheelies on it (hell, I've never done a wheelie, period) but it's got plenty of power to exceed the speed limit on the highways here by a factor of 2.

I giggle every time I twist the throttle coming out of a curve. The bike is reliable as hell. It's comfortable, and doesn't have that inline-4 buzz. What else do I need?

[tcar]

http://www.sportrider.com/bikes/146_0002_sport_touring_motorcycles/index.html

Or you could get a Hardley... won't go fast enough to beat you up...