is there such a bike... help me find it.

[RC Fan]

no i haven't... but that's a nice looking bike. what's the seating position like? i want something a little more upright (standard). plus, i've never thought about getting a liter bike. are they good for longer trips (can they easily accept bags)?

I sat on one. The seating position is upright, very much like my Bandit. It is a lighter feeling bike though. I can't comment on how it would be for touring.

[dean owens]

I think what you really want is a V-Strom.
It's the Swiss Army Knife of motorcycles. Commute during the week, then do touring, sport touring, sport(ish) riding, or dual sport riding on the weekends.

i like the idea but i'm a short fella. a 32.? seat hight is a little too much for me. how easily can they be lowered and how low can they go?

[mgdavis]

The V-Strom can be lowered approximately one inch, front and rear, by installing lowering links in the rear and sliding the forks up in the clamps.

You might also be interested in the Versys, I think the seat is a touch lower.

[AlphaZed]

Have you considered a Kawasaki Z1000?

no i haven't... but that's a nice looking bike. what's the seating position like? i want something a little more upright (standard). plus, i've never thought about getting a liter bike. are they good for longer trips (can they easily accept bags)?

As Cathy noted (above) the Z1000 is no longer in the Kawasaki line. However, you can probably still find new 08's...

And the seating position is upright. It's undoubtedly the most comfortable street bike I've ever owned! I always felt after riding 400 miles or so, that I could do 400 more!

The Z1000 is a relatively quick bike, but is not a super sport. It makes a great all around motorcycle, but if your primary mission is canyon carving with other fast riders, the Z1000 is not the bike for you! I found handling and braking to be wholly insufficient in "hard-core" riding situations. That being said, the Z1000 was not designed to hang with GSXR's and if you stay away from those situations, the bike will treat you well.

[radak5osu]

Let me start off by saying that I haven't ridden a whole lot of bikes, but I have looked at a whole lot of bikes that I can't afford, so my knowledge is almost exclusively theoretical. However, I can definitely come up with some bikes that match your criteria that you might want to check out.
As mentioned earlier, shaft drives are used only on more expensive bikes, namely some bigger cruisers and touring and sport-touring bikes. These include Kawasaki's Concours, Yamaha FJR1300, Honda ST1300. These 3 are very powerful sport-tourers in the $14-15k range, like the BMW. Cheapest new shaftie I found is a Suzuki Boulevard C50 for $7299.
Your cheaper alternatives for belt drives are mid-range cruisers like the new Yamaha V-star 950 ($8700 or so?) and Kawasaki Vulcan 900. Also all Buell's are belt driven, and a Blast is only $5 grand or so, but I've heard good and bad things about it and it's only a 500cc single. The Buell Lightning is closer to $10k but with plenty of power. For the Buell's or any of the cruisers you might look into a windscreen if you want weather protection. They all would have a comfy bar/seat relationship though.
My choice would be the standard/sport standard area, bikes like a Kawi Ninja 650 (or 500 for cheaper), Suzuki SV650 (naked or faired), the FZ6 you mentioned. All of these would be comfy (SV650S slightly sportier and naked SV obviously has no fairing) and affordable but powerful enough. I think my personal pick would be the Ninja 650: slick full fairing, good price, nice twin power (72hp at the wheel), great ergos, FI and definitely able to accomodate luggage with it's undercarriage exhaust. Oh I forgot, Ninja 650 is $6799 and they make a naked version for $6399. SV650 is also good for $6-$7k (naked vs. sport).

Wow I do waste too much of my time reading up on bikes...

[Grey Thumper]

. . . but i have grown to like something sportie . . . i like a more standard seating position . . . most of what i do is comuting and would like something light for around town use . . .

BMW F800R, although it technically doesn't exist yet (at least to buy).



Triumph Speed Triple R



Both chain driven though.

[paul246]

I think what you really want is a V-Strom.
It's the Swiss Army Knife of motorcycles. Commute during the week, then do touring, sport touring, sport(ish) riding, or dual sport riding on the weekends.

i like the idea but i'm a short fella. a 32.? seat hight is a little too much for me. how easily can they be lowered and how low can they go?

Some bikes are easier to sit astride simply because they are a bit narrower in the seating area. That is why it is so important to sit on each prospective bike. You may be surprised with the end result.