Bikers - Need advice. Help with Bernse's new ride.

In My Humble Opinion
1

A couple of times now I have put threads in IMHO to get opinions on a couple of bikes I was wanting opinions on. The V-Max thread got a few replies but the Victory thread got none. :frowning: I also have a new bike in the mix and I would like some feedback/opinions on the machines if you have any.

Here is the deal. I don’t know if its the big 3-0 creeping up on me or what, but I want a new bike. Ideally, I want one that I can go on the highway for 4 hours without getting tired, and one with some luggage so I can take things with me (and handy for running around too). It’ll be a daily rider and replace my Jeep for most of the summer/nice days.
Here is what I have in the running:

Yamaha V-Max: Mozu Login

OK. This goes against almost every want that I specified. But I want one. I’ve always wanted one. I know they are more or lest unchanged since 85 but damn. Tough, fast in a line and just look plain cool. I know it is totally, 100% impractical, but I don’t care. On the highway I’d have to stop every 100 miles or so to fill up and probably stretch to get comfy (let alone the wife if she is captive to the back). What is going for it? Well, they are reliable from what I understand and pretty cheap. I can buy one for less than $12K CDN. I even got the go-ahead from Mrs. Archangel for the past two years… the only reason I didn’t is that my conscence got the better of me.

Victory V92TC: Victory Motorcycles

Cool looking cruiser. BIG. Pretty practical. Comfortable (has a seat like a sofa), built for the highway and citry. Its American but isn’t a Harley (thats a good thing, IMHO). Downsides. Its expensive. I’ll be looking between $20-22K CDN… but it’ll probably hold its value pretty well, better than most Jap bikes. The Mrs even said, “Well, at least its practical.” I took that as a good sign. The luggage is believe it or not a little on the small side… they wont fit a full face helmet. More pluses- Its also not a belly-button (you very, very rarely see other ones on the road). Kind of a unique factor.

Yamaha FJR1300: http://www.yamaha-motor.ca/cgi-bin/yf_viewproduct_high.pl?productid=372&lan=

I found this last night after doing some surfing. Its coming to NA for the first time. I’m not one thats into the “superbike” type of bike, but damn its nice. Its fast, damn fast. 10+sec 1/4 mile according to a review I saw last night. Waaay faster than I would ever need a bike to be. Did I mention its fast? Luggage is usable (will easily swallow a full helmet) and the rest of the bike is pretty pretty much cutting edge. A nice cockpit, EFI, usable windshield, etc. Its supposed to be pretty comfortable on the long highway trips, too. I am just unsure of the “superbike” look… the more I look at it the more I like it though. Price is right too. $17500 CDN. A good $3-4K less than the Victory.

I am a fairly experience rider (been riding for 15 years now) and I am used to large bikes. I also like BMWs but they are pretty rich and rare to find up here… as well as Triumphs.

I am a longtime Honda man, but I feel like I want a change. The only Honda that I think I might like is the new ST1300, but from what I understand they are going to be pretty $$$… so depending what the list at, I’d probably take the FJR over one of those.

Ideas? Thoughts? Any other bikes that might fit the bill you can think of?

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I’ve ridden the FJ1200, and it looks like the FJR1300 is a direct descendent of it.

The FJ1200 was a solid, no-nonsense sport-commuter; good handling, not jumpy but not impossible to throw around, either. I was described as “The world’s fastest tractor”, that was a pretty good description. While it is pretty quick, I think (while I haven’t ridden that one, I’m willing to bet) that the power was used primarily to make roll-ons an exciting proposition; a good use of power for a bike that size, I think, and that’s where you’d need the power if you were commuting/cruising on it. Motorcyclist has gone subscrition only, so I can’t verify that, but if I’m wrong casdave will be along to correct me shortly. I definitely wouldn’t let the available extra power keep me from getting that bike.

On the whole, it is a bike that fits your criteria pretty nicely. Oh, I would expect it to be reliable (the guys at Yamaha really do know what they’re doing these days), although ti will almost certainly drop in value pretty quickly. That said, I’d expect that engine to last a long time - the friend who let me ride his in 1989 still rides it, and I think he’s racked up over 150k miles on it. It was a comfortable, sporty, confidence inspiring motorcycle. I am used to slightly leaner machines, and have always found the heavier ones a little uncomfortable, but I liked it.

I haven’t ridden a Victory, but I’d expect that, for commuting purposes, the FJR would be a better bike, followed by the VMax, then the Victory, but they’re all going to do the job. For long distance cruising, the Victory followed VERY closely by the FJR, then the VMax. The only time I could see the Victory getting a big advantage is if you’re doing several 500 mile days in a row. Any canyon riding puts the FJR way out in front; it will easily outhandle the others.

None of them are bad bikes; all of them are certainly pretty. I have to admit to being a little less than rational on the subject of motorcycles, and find very few of them to be without redeeming characteristics.

In the interests of full disclosure, I should let you know I ride a Ducati 748 (and commute to work on it, in fact), so you might want to disregard my comments on “fast”, “comfortable”, and “dependable”. If you’re looking at other bikes on these lines, I’d recommend the Ducati M900, although I admit it doesn’t, technically speaking, actually fit any of your criteria; I just like that bike.

Good luck.

3

My Yammie dealer told me ALL the FJR1300’s that were made in the first run (1600 bikes) have been sold pre-delivery and none would be available for several months. I’d love to have one as a second bike, but I just don’t live in that income bracket.

The V-Max is not that comfortable for 4 hours.

I’m cruiser-oriented, myself, but unless you plan to spend bigger bucks, that ST1300 sure looks good.

4

I’d consider support and availablity of trained repair folks. I don’t know how widespread the Victory is, but I don’t see that many out there. Have you ridden the Valkarie much? Power, size, luggage, comfort.

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It sounds like you have quite a bit of experience, I would go to your respective dealers and tell each that you would like to take a test ride on all of them…you may be able to rule out one of them quickly.
bashere–which model 748 do you have? I looked at them before deciding on the R1.

6

The STX1300 will hold its value far better than most other Japanese machines.
It builds upon the reputation of the ST1100 and currently Honda is selling everything it makes, demand is high.
They hold their value well anyway but add the latter and they are a good bet.
BTW, how many bikes have a 100k service item ?

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My chopper… :smiley:

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Why not a Kawasaki Concours? I own one and love it. She’s a sport touring machine and can be thrown around the curves pretty easy. The best part is that they are pretty cheap, you can get a new one for under $8000 USD. They come with hard luggage that will hold a full face XL helmet.

The bad part is that if it gets dropped parts can break, the footpegs and plastic usually. The footpegs can be fixed by filing them a bit and I just leave the crack in my plastic.

There’s also the 6K valve adjustment, but most people put that off when the bike gets a few miles on it. I do the majority of my own maintinence so cost is minimal.

The good, she will still almost keep up with the ST1300 and FJR1300 in the 1/4 mile. She was actually faster in the 1/4 then the ST1100. She’s great for touring, I’ve been to 46 out of the 48 lower states on her in just over the last year, no problems yet. Actually in the 56000 miles I’ve had all of one problem with it and that was a recall.

I have heard a lot about the new FJR though and people really like it. I’ve heard it will wheelie on comand even at speed.

If you want more info goto http://www.concours.org/ the Concours owners group.

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I know where you’re coming from. I can supposedly pick one up here, but worst case scenario, I’ll wait until spring 03. I’ve only got a couple months of good riding weather left anyhow… not a huge loss. Who knows, maybe the color will be better next year. (I’m not a big fan of the silver :slight_smile: )

UncleBill - Valkyrie is a nice bike. I have ridden one once and liked it, but not enough to buy. Besides, I’ve always owned Honda and want something different… just 'cause if no other reason. :slight_smile: (Although, that new ST1300 sure looks nice but I think it’ll be too rich for me)

Victory’s are sold through Polaris dealers (ATVs/Snowmobiles) and they have a pretty good dealer network. Good point though.

Edward - I’ll check into the Kawi. I forgot all about them. Have they been updated at all the past few years? Thats another reason why I am staying away from the ST1100 - its just an older bike now. I’m leaning towards the FJR as it is pretty much cutting-edge (not always a good thing)… but its nice to be on top of the curve :slight_smile:

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I’ve just checked out a couple of reports on the STX1300 and there are a couple of small niggly things.

I think I’d wait awhile before deciding on one, give it one or two years and see if anything serious emerges.

I suppose you could say the same for the FJR too.

The XJR1300 might be a good option, it is known to be reliable and it goes well.

The Kawasaki ZRX 1200 or maybe even go for the last years version ZRX1100 might be a good bet, especially the one with the half fairing, it goes, stops, and handles better than most bikes of the type.

your link
http://www.motorbikebob.com/article_detail.cfm?article_id=35&pagecount=5&currpageno=1

If a full fairing machine is what you need then the new Kawasaki ZZR1200, based on the ZZR1100 is a real beast, it goes and you hardly notice it, you find yourself going maybe 40 or 50mph more than you thought.

Last of all try out the Yamaha Fazer 1000, it seems expesive until you ride it, it can do about 90% of a sportbike job but is plenty usefull as a tourer.

Try here for a review

http://www.motorbikebob.com/bobs_news/reviews/fazer1.html

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Thought about the new VFR? Once you have owned Honda, you might find anything else “substandard”. Just a thought. Yamaha, Suzuki and Kawasaki make excellant machines, but under the microscope, they just are not as good (meaning minutea, attention to tiny details, individual componants, hardware, appearance of welds) as a Honda finished product. DISCLAIMER HERE! I’m really a Yamaha guy, but have worked at multi-line dealers and seen almost every new bike between 1990-1999, and own a couple of Hondas. Theres just no beating the quality. Sorry, I calls it as I sees it!

Of the three you have listed, I would snag the FJ if you can get your hands on one. For other consideration, I would think about the VFR or Valkyre (or maybe even a CBRXX!). The Concourse is a fine bike, but outdated and just plain bland! Exciting as a toaster. And my experiance with them is they don’t do well on milage, and have almost zero resale value (but, you can find excellant used ones very cheap indeed!). Its not a bad machine at all, but not a “great” machine either.

If the FJ is as good as the earlier ones, it sould be a fantastic ride.

Me? I’m thinking about getting a Ural with sidecar! I tend to gravitate towards the “odd”. And maybe a used Kaw W650 if I stumbled accros one on the cheap. It would look good next to the GB500.

12

Edward - I made a call to my Kawi dealer and asked about a Concours. They can get me on one for cheaper than a V-Max… like 11K or so CDN cheap.

I am going to look a little further on it. It is starting to look rather dated though… but hey, they’re cheap. Even cheaper used :wink:

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Here I always thought you were a decent feller only to find out that you want something different than a Honda. Traitorous pig.

If you are into cruisers, how about the V-Star/Road Star line? If I were to ever consider a different bike, those are pretty sweet. Ride like a dream too. For tourers, the new Ventures are pretty nice too. I’m not into crotch rockets so can’t really offer anything there. Personally, I’m pretty hot for the Honda VTX retro line. It’ll be hard to get rid of my Pacific Coast though. I love that thing.

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Hmmm, must be one of those marketing things that the big four do but the Kawasaki Concours is not sold in any form in the UK.

Seems similar to the ST1100.

Usually very similar models are sold everywhere, and the closest one that I can get is the Kawasaki GTR1000, but I’ve never seen one.

It would clash, or at least pretty much duplicate the ZZR1100, but this latter is a much faster machine.

It makes me wonder if the ZZR1100 is sold in the US or if it’s a euro- only bike.