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Hello all,

I've been out of riding for several years and can ingore the call of the road no longer. I'm looking for a tourer, but will probably go on long rides only 2-3 times a year. Most of my riding will be short 1 day trips and commuting to work about 40 miles one way. I'm looking at the BMW's or maybe a Goldwing, but I'm worried about the Goldwing being to big for the limited amount of long rides I'll go on. I'm probably gonna buy new. Comfort and reliability are my biggest concerns. Any thoughts?

The BMW LT was just updated a little bit last year. I think the Goldwing is due for an update. It looks a little stale to me. Both the LT and the Wing are quite large bikes for the casual commute. You might want to consider the BMW R1200RT or the Honda ST1300 if your looking for something a little smaller but still with a great deal of comfort.

Just to relate my experiance. My first BMW was the R1150RT and I can tell you that this is probably better than the LT, Wing or Honda 1300 for what you need. The R1150 RT handles like a hyper tourer and is very very stable. Although a heavy bike it is easy to manouvre, once the panniers are of it can zip about in traffic like an SBK. Has plenty power and can cruise all day at 180kph. We had the bike for three years and my wife never complained about lack of space, even when we went away for a week. It also has cubby hole for everyday things and you can also put a top box for carrying stuff without needing the panniers. An all round great bike. Went from service to service, got 18 000kms out of my first front tyre and 14 000kms out of the rear (Metzler Z4). As for reliability, these bikes are only considered broken in at 30 000kms. I only changed mine cause they brought out the K1200S, or I still would have had it. PS my trade in was fantastic, it held the value far above my expectation.

I would vote for the RT as well in either the R1150RT or the R1200RT depending on your taste. The California Highway Patrol rides R1150RTs and those guys ride for 8 or more hours per day 4 or 5 days a week. They put 60,000 hard miles on them before they get traded out for new ones.

Of course now the GL1800 is all new and updated for 2006.

Then there's the Honda ST1300.....smaller than the Wing, but still a great sport-tourer.

If the poll is strictly between the BMW & Goldwing I say BMW. Now the fun begins, which BMW. I own a 2005 R1200RT. I traded a 2001 K1200LT. I put 68k on the LT and in 7 months 14k on the RT. I love both bikes. I like the RT better because it's 280 lighter than the LT, has huge detachable sidebags & topbox and a bigger gastank, 7.1 gal. The RT or LT come with heated grips & individually heated seats. Not available on a Wing. Anti-dive front suspension with ABS brakes standard. Not available on a Wing. Electrically operated windshield on the RT & LT standard. Not available on a Wing. Do you get my drift? More bang for the buck = BMW.