Time to change the garage

[Rttoys]

Well, time to change up the toys in the garage. My Ducati 996s is staying, Triumph Daytona is up for sale and the V-Max is to be sold soon. Time for a new (new to me) bike.

I should have roughly $6-8000 to spend (depending on how much my 2 bikes sale for), but would like to stay under the 6 range unless something realy catches my eye.

The thing is, what to get???

I'm not a cruiser fan so X those right off the bat. No Beemers, Moto Guzzies or Kawi Concorse (not my style).

Need something that can be riden for many miles in a straight line and run through the twisties with the best of them.

I've considered, so far:
Honda VFR- 2002 and up
Honda ST1300
Ducati ST3 or ST4
Ducati Monster
Suzuki SV650 or 1000
Yamaha FZ1

It needs to be a 2up bike for the 3 times my wife wants to ride in a year and planty of fun for me whenever I don't feel like riding the Duc (which is almst never).
Anything else I'm missing?? and does anyone have first hand experiance on any of these bikes?? good or bad....

 

[randomid25]

fz1 has my vote. Sweet bike. They run like scalded dogs.

 

[Rttoys]

Ya, I likey too. Only problem with an FZ1 is there is a very small used market for them. Everyone who has them, keep them.

 

[Rttoys]

Now drool'n over a Ducati Multistrada, too. :drool5:

 

[SfcJones]

well for some reason you don't like the Kawi C14 (Councours) it will run with the best of them, it does ride high tho, but I am a tall man so it doesn't bother me...
but a ST1300 is a nice ride, considered them until I found out the local dealer service dept sucks.....

 

[Rttoys]

I'm fully aware of the Concours' capabilities :thumbsup:, but to me, they are kind of on the lines of a Gold Wing, kind of 'old fashoned' and plain. I've never heard of a problem out of them and have a few friends that have them now, or have had one in the past. It's kind of like a V-max, in that, it's stood the test of time, unchanged.

The new designed one is a lot nicer, but it's too new and the price is more than I would want to spend. :smile5:

Kind of leaning towards something smaller and easier to toss around. I've got real use to my 400# sportbikes. Even my V-Max (at 580#) is getting heavy.

 

[NorCal 2500Hd]

Kind of leaning towards something smaller and easier to toss around. I've got real use to my 400# sportbikes. Even my V-Max (at 580#) is getting heavy.

Maybe a supermoto.......:smileydan:

 

[Rttoys]

Well, still looking. No hurry though. The Daytona is sold and it's a coin toss if the V-Max is going to go. Everytime I ride that thing I from ear to ear. The power is increadable.

Anyways, I went to the Motorcycle show the other weekend and sat on a few bike and even test drove the Ducati Hypermotard. Wow, what a rush. It's an 1100cc V-twin that produces 90hp/76torque, BUT it only weighs 390# :thumbsup: The Brembo radial brakes can stop it on a dime and give change back, very impressive. I steers well and just falls into corners, I just don't know if it's for me. It feels more like a dirt bike, which is kind of what it should feel like, but I don't think that's my style.

I would still like to ride the Ducati Multistrada and now the new V-Max is out :willynilly: but sold out till 2010ish... Oh, what to do. I'll just wait and play my cards right. :smile5:

 

[Rttoys]

:hurray: Found what I wanted, finally. '07 Yamaha FZ1 mechanicaly stock, un-molested, adult riden, black on red :thumbsup: I'm going to pick it up in a few hours. Pictures and first ride thoughts soon to come........ :drool5: :grin:

 

[3500GMC]

I was gonna say Suzuki V-strom. DL1000.

 

[Rttoys]

I've sat on, asked friends and read about many many different bikes, and there are so many good choises it's unreal. Not to mention, with everyone ditching their toys, the used market is huge. The FZ's are still hard to come by, but there are a few out there, just the year and color were the biggest factor.

First ride was interesting. It's been a long time since I've ridden an inline 4 cyl I forgot the difference in power delivery. ):h This thing screams on the freeway and is highly controlable up to and over 100mph. It kind of feels like the Ducati, the faster you go the easier it is to ride. Steering is very sharp and responsive, but at slow speeds it's neutral and very well balanced. Parking lots are a breeze. The brakes can kill you though The fronts are very strong, but the rears are a little soft. Not a big deal, just got to get use to them, which I have already. :thumbsup:

I've only been about 50 miles on it so far (it was getting to damn cold out there). Last night I adjusted the suspension and moved the handle bars a little more to my likeing. So today it's about 50 outside and time to go play a little more.

Here's a few pictures:

 

[FLSTFI Dave]

Nice bike. It looks good. Glad you found what you wanted.

 

[Rttoys]

Thanks Dave. :smile5:

Took the FZ on a 200 mile journey today. I'm liking it more and more. :smile5: I haven't really hit full throttle yet, it's almost not needed. There is power on top of power at any given time. I did find out it will do 80mph in first gear, though.

On the "to do" list are a Corbin seat, Zero Gravity taller and smoked windscreen and a tank protector. That black is going to be very hard to keep unscratched :mad2:

 

[Rttoys]

Oh, one more pic from today:

 

[saratoga]

Looks good! Can you tuck behind the screen at highway speeds?

I've ridden my friend's R1 a few times and understand what "make sure you hold on around 8k" means!!!

I like the upright position of the FZ1, but that's also my biggest complaint about the Buelll; being upright and exposed at (sane) highway speeds. I'm thinking of trying to put a set of ProTapers on it to be able to tuck down some without having my elbows up in the air.

 

[Rttoys]

I've been up to 120 a few times on it, and basicaly if i just 'hunch over' a little, it seems to just enough to let the wind go over me. Normal 70-80 cruise, it's not bad but the screen is just a tad too short. the wind seems to hit me right in the helmet and shakes me a little. I was looking at new screens and found this one that's just a hair taller and still sporty looking: http://www.twistedthrottle.com/trade/productview/4652/520/ Zero Gravity also makes one too. I think if I got one of those, the wind will be right on track to where I want it. :thumbsup:

I bought this bike for more sport touring stuff so I got this tank bag a while back that holds my GPS (it didn't work that well on the Vmax, though). It's kind of big, so there won't be any laying over the tank to avoid the wind anymore. lol If you look at my second set of pictures, you'll see the tank bag and my GPS poping out of the top, looking right at me. On the FZ, it seems to work very well. Here's the bag: http://www.firstgear-usa.com/fgweb3.nsf/Products/F5118A7D72E3A208862574F00077FE8D?opendocument It's a lot of bag for the money.

"hold on around 8k" ):h Haha, that's no lie. The FZ1 is based on the R1. Without getting to technical, the only difference is the handlebar position and farings. It's sweet spot seems to be around 5-6k, then twist the throttle and hang on till 12k

 

[Rttoys]

I like the upright position of the FZ1, but that's also my biggest complaint about the Buelll; being upright and exposed at (sane) highway speeds. I'm thinking of trying to put a set of ProTapers on it to be able to tuck down some without having my elbows up in the air.

I found this for your's (watch the video too): http://www.twistedthrottle.com/trade/productview/4895/474/

It's going to be hard to find something that will be stylish for your bike while still being functional. :mad2: