Thanks for all of the suggestions! Unfortunately I'm biased towards the Japanese (& Ducati) bikes because I have several local dealers for them around me....
Suzuki B-King -
I got to sit on one of these bikes a few weeks ago while my friend was buying an 09 600 GSXR. It felt big and wide while still feeling somewhat comfy... unfortunately it's out of my $5-7K price range, plus insurance is $1500/yr for me. Not to mention that it may be more machine than I will ever need.
Ducati Monster 1100 -
I love the look of this bike, but the ducati price and insurance is what makes me say no once again!
Suzuki V-Strom (1000cc model) -
The ergos sure looks comfy, but I'm still trying to get over the look of the bike. One attractive feature that appeals to me is that (I believe) they are optional with ABS.
Yamaha V-Max (pre-09 model) -
Awesome performance on paper (haven't ridden one) and cheap to insure... only downside that I can think of is the carbs. The look is a bit wierd, but I'll have to wait until I see one in person.
Grey Thumper wrote:Do you still want to keep the classic look of a cruiser?
I like the look of the retro bikes, but I just can’t see myself buying one.
storysunfolding wrote:Anyway- why not just add bar raisers or helibars to the VFR? It'll get you less in a sportbike position but keep you on a sweet bike.
I did install some taller bars that raised them about 3/4”-1” from stock. In fact the bars have moved up so much they barely clear the fairing. The raise did help some, but more of a raise would be my preference. These cops look pretty comfortable on their VFR800’s:
500x375 Police VFR800 with tall risers |
800x600 Police VFR with tall risers |
800x545 VFR with tall risers
I've considered getting the LSL bars that spieglerusa.com offers, but they require modification to the fairing... Kind of a turn of and they don't say how much rise and pullback I'll get with those. Still trying to get info on them though.
ShawnKing wrote:Take a look at the segment leaders: Yamaha FJR1300 (my bike), Honda ST1300, Kawasaki Concourse 1400 and the BMW K 1200 GT and BMW R 1200 RT. There's also a Triumph and a Ducati that can be thrown into the mix.
My local dealer (Chicago Cycle) has a few of these on the floor, but I’ve only sat on the used models due to my fear of knocking them. Anyway, I absolutely liked the FJR that they had, but sport tourers seem like too much machine for my 2 mile commute to work, the occasional 20 miles cruise and my rare 50-100 mile weekend rides. If I rode a lot more, I would surely look into picking one of these up. Insurance for them seems to be cheaper if not equal to a lot of the bikes that were suggested to me here, with the exception of the Concours14 for some reason?
