[nostatic]

Well, so far so good (knock on wood). I'm actually back to commuting most every day on the bike, and have amused myself with some low key canyon cruises. I'm actually itching to do some longer rides and maybe short tours (upm3?), but the naked bike beats me up pretty good on the freeway. So I'm pondering a second bike. Or maybe one to replace the Aprilia, although I love this bike. Some options:

Another Multistrada. I can get a used one but then will be on the hook for possible costly repairs. There is a local shop with a ragin' deal on a brand new '08 "S" that they can't sell. But $13K is still $13K...

A used Duc touring bike. There are ST2/3/4 bikes pretty regularly. Downside is that the ST4 is the superbike engine so it isn't cheap to service. Also they have discontinued making/selling any ST bikes so parts will likely start to get a little more sparse (especially the ST3 which was only made for a few years).

BMW. I have to admit that I love the R1200S but that is a ton of money. The R1100S can be had used for reasonable prices but is more sport than tour. I don't really want a full blown touring bike though.

VFR. Plenty of these around, and from what I understand the pre-vtec bikes ('02 and older) are bombproof and reasonable to service. It isn't European, but the VFR seems to have the rep of being one of the ultimate do-all bikes around. Plus an '00 (mmm, yellow) can be had for $5K plus or minus.

I know some of you guys have had VFRs and other mentioned. Plusses or minuses?