Cruisers look great and sound great, but I found myself with a growing list of desired changes. A more standard footpeg arrangement for surmounting obstacles, higher gearing more suitable for highway use, a windscreen, lockable on-bike storage, and a more comfortable seat. In short, a touring bike. Before taking a perfectly good street cruiser and opening the wallet to start changing it, I decided to look at what kind of naked or tourer was available first, with an eye for another beginner friendly bike that had touring chops. If I could do so without losing a bunch of money on the Honda, then all the better. I thought about selling the Honda private party, but if I traded it in then the value of it would subtract from the taxable value of the new bike, a savings that I would not be able to duplicate selling to a person.
First thing I did was take my Honda back to the dealer I purchased it from, to see what kind of trade in value he would give me. He would offer me 2/3rds of the purchase price to buy it back, or slightly higher if I traded it in on another bike he had. He had a Yamaha FZ6 that I took for a test ride and how different from a cruiser can you get? The Yamaha FZ6 also has a 600cc engine like the VLX, but the Inline-4 it sports is a totally different beast from the V-twin I was currently riding. Frankly, it was too much bike for me right now, and the leaning forward sportbike ergos had me feeling like I was constantly about to fall into the tank. I imagine it would have been more comfortable at highway speeds with air pressure pushing you back up, but a twist of the throttle got me up to 40 in 2nd gear without even thinking about it. It would not be a forgiving bike if I made an error, not a good learning bike. That said, it was quite peppy and fun, I imagine that it's going to be in consideration for a subsequent bike. Add in the fact that it was going to cost me about $2500 over trade-in, and it wasn't the right bike.
I then went to a local Suzuki dealer to sit on a V-strom 650. I liked the ergos, it was a taller bike which I liked, and had touring accessories like hard bags available for it. I wasn't sure how much off-roading capability I would need though since I have no experience with it, and I suspected that a heavy 650 would not be ideal to learn how to off-road with. Also the reports of buffeting and uncomfortable seat led me to suspect that I would have to put some money into the bike after purchase to make it suit me better. On top of all that was the price. I was going to have to shell out a couple of thousand in addition to my trade-in to get one from a dealer. So I decided to pass on the V-Strom. Once again, I liked the bike so it may be in future consideration for a future bike.
My next trip was to the local BWM dealer to look at some used bikes they had listed. Or particular interest was a used K75RT. It had all the tourer features I was looking for, and fans of the K series "flying brick" bikes love them with an almost cultish fervor.
All it took was one test ride and I was lost. Talk about a smooth running bike. I did a little horse trading, the dealership called around and was able to offer me enough on my trade-in that I purchased the K75 for $250 out of pocket. That sealed the deal for me.
I picked up the K75 yesterday, and took it for a 160 mile meander through the hill country west of Austin. The ride included some pretty nice twisties and some segments of slab. The K75 took it all like a champ. I had one moment where I dragged my left boot on a twisty and backed off a little bit, but it was quite capable in the turns. The aftermarket saddle went a long way towards eliminating numb butt syndrome, and the fairing and windshield and higher gearing made running at highway speeds much more enjoyable, where as before it was simply something to endure. The hard bags give me some much needed on-bike storage. I'm going to see if there are some other options, the locks are pretty cheesy and will only keep honest people honest, but since it has to stay outside my apartment they are appreciated and a starting place.
The Inline-3 cylinder has plenty of torque for me, I can beat most cars off the light, and can cruise all day at 75-80. I got it up to 95 yesterday in a straight segment, I imagine it will do more if I open the throttle all the way, but why would I need to? Will this be my last bike? No. But it's a good and forgiving learner that I can take on day trips, which is what I want in a bike right now. I was actually surprised at how well it handled the small backroads. I had a couple of low water crossings, some gravel segments, and a couple of cattleguards to cross. The K75 handled them all with grace and made it look easy.
The only "problem" I have with it, is it gets pretty warm around the upper legs when running at highway speeds. That's a known issue with K bikes, and it's a function of stagnant air behind the fairing and heat coming off the engine. The previous owner installed a Corbin seat, and found that they couldn't put the side panels back on. I suspect that part of the heat problem is from these missing panels. I'm going to look for some used ones and see if I can adapt them to work with the seat.
Overall I'm very happy with my purchase, I think this new bike will suit my needs very well, and I'll get miles of enjoyment out of it. Hopefully this post on my thought processes will help another beginning rider to find the right bike for them.
Tex
