Opinions requested on a hypothetical motorcycle purchase

In My Humble Opinion
1

The setup is this. We bought our first motorcycle back in November of '06. Even though we both have our licenses, I’m the only one that rides. It’s a 1983 Honda Nighthawk 450. Not really well-suited for freeway travel, so I mainly use it to go back and forth from the train station during the week.

So I’ve been whining for a while that I want a “real” bike that I can use for actually traveling places. We’ve been doing a little better financially as of late, and my wife has begun hinting/suggesting/questioning me about bike preferences and suggested we might be able to spend between $3,000 and $5,000 on a bike for me in the not-terribly-distant future.

Now, my personal tastes run two ways. I started off wanting a cruiser really badly. Something in the 700cc-1300cc range. More than anything, I would want a windshield, hard saddle bags if I can swing it, and foot pegs instead of running boards. However, a very good friend of mine loaned me his Kawasaki Concours (sport tourer style) for several months, and now I also have a love for this style of bike. I dearly desire an FJR 1300, but that’s obviously not going to happen in the price range we’re considering.

My Concours-owning friend has tried to convince me that the sporttourers are better for year-round riding because cruisers don’t handle as well in poor weather, and the extra fairing will keep me much more dry and warm. However, we also live in Southern California, so the weather isn’t a huge consideration in the first place. In addition, there are LOTS more used cruisers to be found in that price range than there are sport tourers.

So I’d like some opinions about which direction I should be looking at, or at the very least, what other questions I should be asking myself in terms of making a decision. I hate that you can’t walk into dealerships and do test drives the way you can with cars. My only experience riding a true cruiser was a few months ago when I visited a friend in Maryland. Her bike was a Vulcan 1600, which is bigger than I’d want ideally, but I do know that I’d be comfortable riding it. I just didn’t have any experience riding it on a freeway, so I have no idea what that’s like. I enjoyed the time I had with the Concours and got a decent amount of freeway riding experience, so I already know that a sport tourer would work for me.

Decisions, decisions…

2

I know you have a budget that limits your decision making. But if you’re going to buy a “scooter” for more than just commuting, I would recommend considering it an investment and possibly financing what will fit your longterm needs/wants. And with fuel costs continuing to rise, motorcycles may soon become a primary means of transportation versus a casual one.

For the record, I’d stick with the sport touring you’ve grown accustom to.

3

Unfortunately, financing isn’t an option. For a variety of reasons, we’re working on clearing out any and all debt, good and bad. We’re going to be in a position soon where we want to minimize any type of monthly payments, so this would be one last major purchase to solidify transportation around the house, and we want to pay for it outright. The motorcycle will almost certainly be my primary transportation, though (at least during the week), so I definitely intend to find a solid used machine.

4

I own a light-weight cruiser (350 lbs., Suzuki Savage), but I did just take a 1,000-mile, seven-day tour of central Italy last month on a sports bike that only weighed 100 pounds more (Honda CB500).

(I know that sport touring bikes are different from sports bikes, but they are based on the same style of frame.)

I liked both styles of riding. Since they were both fairly light bikes, curves were more easily managed and both could be quickly maneuvered around obstacles. (And in Italy, there are a lot of obstacles in the road!) I think you lose some of that maneuverability with a heavy cruiser, which I personally would not like.

Do you like to be low to the ground on a cruiser or high on a sports bike?

What’s the power curve of each bike? Do you like the low-end power of a cruiser, or high-end? In other words, where will you spend the bulk of your riding time? My bike is known for having very user-friendly power, i.e., power in the 0-50 mph range, where you are most likely to use it in the city. A sports bike and I think a sport touring bike has high end power, and can really shine only at highway speeds.

I personally found that the sports bike I rented had crap performance anywhere under 5,000 RPM, which made it harder to negotiate very tight curves. (I took curves in 1st gear – to keep the RPMs up – that I could have taken in 3rd gear in my cruiser.)

What riding position are you more comfortable in? Before I rode one, I thought that the leaning forward, feet tucked under your hips riding position of a sports bike was uncomfortable. I’m more used to the feet forward, sitting back style of a cruiser. But surprisingly, the ride was actually O.K. on the sports bike: I put in some full days of riding without any back pain or leg fatigue.

Hope this helps.

Spiff

5

Is the sudden plethora of motorcycle threads on the Dope an indicator of 1) poor economic conditions, or 2) June? Because it’s really making me want to buy a real bike, and I don’t need one.

6

I’ve got an '03 Kawasaki ZZR 1200, which is basically the predecessor to the Concourse. You should be able to find one in your price range (check eBay, there’s about one a month from Cali). I love it, and couldn’t ask for a better bike to suit my needs.

Yes, you do.

:smiley:

7

I…don’t know. One of the things I enjoyed about the Concours was being up high, for sure. I found this especially useful on the freeway as I like to be able to see several cars in front of me for extra safety. The bike I own, while small, still sits me up a little higher than the average sedan, so there is a definitely advantage in the comfort I get from being up higher.

On the other hand, again, I only have maybe 1.5hrs of riding experience on a cruiser (it was a Vulcan Mean Streak 1600, if anyone’s interested). And this time was spent on four-lane highways out in the open country with slow curves and gentle hills. Nothing like riding on an LA freeway. I don’t remember being perturbed at all by the lack of height on the cruiser. To the best of my recollection, I was able to adjust lane positioning pretty easily to make sure I could see where I wanted to see. But again, I never dealt with the kind of traffic I see here at home, either.

If anyone wants to loan me their cruiser for a few months so I can get a proper feel, I’d be very grateful. :smiley:

Well, the street riding I do now keeps me at 50mph or lower. I don’t do any freeway riding right now because my 450 just isn’t made for that. My daily commute doesn’t involve any freeway riding, but once I have a capable bike, I will be inclined to spend much more time on the freeway in the 65-80mph range because I’ll use it to visit friends or ride to work on the weekends or whatnot. So it’s a tough call.

Again, hard for me to say just because the lack of experience on a cruiser. The Concours would actually hurt my hands after a while because I think I was leaning forward too hard on my hands. However, my friend tells me that other sport tourers are even less forward-angled than the Concours, and in general, I found the position fairly comfortable. My time on the Vulcan was…not particularly comfortable in that the handlebars and foot pegs were farther forward then I would have liked. With the lack of a windshield, there were times when we got over, say, 50mph, that I felt like I was holding on to the handlebars for dear life instead of just for steering. On my current bike and on the Concours, I never had any qualms about taking my left hand off of the handlebar to look around or take a rest or what have you. But on the Vulcan, I felt like I’d lose control of the bike if I did that.

Having said that, I’ve sat on a few other cruisers on the floor of dealerships where I felt like the handlebars and pegs were better positioned and I wouldn’t have the same issue, so I think there’s probably a good selection of comfortable cruisers out there for me. But I can’t say yet which position is more comfortable. Which is just another reason why this decision is so difficult for me.

Joooooooooin ussssss. It’s blisssssssssssss.

If it makes you feel any better, my wife has gone back to working on her old scooter to try to get it up and running again. She’s got an '85 Yamaha Riva 125 that she absolutely adores, and I think she’s very close to getting it back on the road. Given that the cost of fueling our diesel Volkswagen Golf has gone over $5/gallon in our area, I’d say gas prices are a definite factor.

8

In my garage I have:

  1. 1 scooter, back wheel flat, waiting for Himself to fix. In other words, does not run.
  2. 1 Ural motorcycle with sidecar. Does not run.
  3. 1 '66 Mustang with something wrong with the battery. Does not run.
  4. 1 major furniture refinishing project. Been “working” on it for months. Has no wheels. Does not run.

Know what’s not in the garage? My actual car. It’s on the street.

If I had a motorcycle, it would just not run.

9

False logic. Everything parked on the street runs. So you just need a motorcycle you can park on the street with a cover.

You’re welcome. :smiley:

10

I’ve got 100,000 miles on my Concours, you need to bend your elbows more as you shouldn’t be putting any weight on your hands. I do know that after a few hours, as in 6-7+ hours my wrists do start to hurt, but that’s just from not moving around much.

I like my Concours, as it evident by the 100k on it, but it is very heavy, and I’ve dropped it a number of times. It costs a lot when the damn footpegs snap.

11

Maybe I just have short, stubby arms or something. :slight_smile: My friend thought it was weird about my hands, too.

12

Oh, stupid question. Let’s assume for a moment that I find a fantastic cruiser. I love absolutely everything about it except that it has floor boards. Can I have those removed and replaced with foot pegs, or is that a big deal?

13

I don’t know for sure, but I think the floorboards of the heavy cruisers are pretty well integrated into the frame. So I think it would be a moderately hard mod.

Perhaps you could scan online photos of various models to see.

Also, since M/C riders are notorious for modifying their bikes, I’m sure that an online forum devoted to a particular cruiser would have info on this topic … because someone, somewhere has tried it!

14

New or old Concours? They redesigned it in 2007 and you can’t compare the two. If you rode a new one, you will be severely disappointed if you get an older one. If you rode an older one and liked it - you should be able to find an older one for about your price range.

You may be able to find an older FJR (I think 2003 is the oldest in the US) for a little over 5K.

I bought an '04 VFR in '06 for 7K, which included the hard bags and many extras. You should be able to find a VFR in your price range. The VFR has more emphasis on the “sport” rather than the “touring”, but is stil very comfortable on long distances, especially with some bar risers and custom seat (Honda likes to put planks under the rider on their sport bikes). I did 3K miles in 6 days last year with no ill effects.

Honda also has the ST1100/1300, with more emphasis on touring, but still sporty. Doubt you can find an ST1300 in your price range, but probably an ST1100.

Suzuki doesn’t really have a Sport-Tourer, but the 650SVs are nice.

Naked sport bikes may be an option also. The nakeds seem to have a little more upright riding position, with room to strap on some luggage. Something like a Suzuki Bandit may work for you.

15

Fear the Turtle, the Concours I rode was, I believe, a '97, so definitely the older model. I’m not a fan of the new look models and couldn’t afford one even if I did want it. I have seen a few older Concours models (and indeed, some of the ST1100s, which I like) on CycleTrader, so there are definitely some options if I want to go that route.

I’d avoid the VFR because I definitely don’t want something more sporty than the Concours. I don’t want to lean any farther forward than what I’ve experienced.

Another factor in my considerations is that I want to find a good balance between affordable and relative newness. Since this would be my primary transportation, I don’t want to buy another mid-80s bike if I can help it. I’m looking for late 90s and early 2000s models. From what I’ve seen, this is still doable in my price range for either style of bike, but it’s just something I need to be aware of. Again, there seem to be a lot more used cruisers in the 2001-2004 model years within my price range, while the Concours and other sport tourers I can potentially afford tend to be more 90s models.

Spiff, thanks for the info. I was afraid of that. It’s possibly I could grow to love floor boards, but again, not having had the experience, I just don’t know.

16

For the price range you stated, the Councours is about all your gonna find with bags, shield and fairing. Maybe a very long-in-the-tooth MoldWing. I’m rather indifferent to them, but have a friend that has owned several and simply loves them. The stock windshield however needs to hit the bottom of the dumpster. Too short and causes horrible buffeting. That one of the main reasons I didn’t care for it.

He rides much more than I do, so there you have it.

If the Councours is not quite right, look into a Honda PC800. Thouroughly miserable in my opinion, but everyone I’ve ever met that actually owned one loves it. No “bags” per se, but a trunk built into the back. One of the most lackluster machines I’ve ever ridden.

Might try a well equipped Honda VFR (one with bags already), but don’t know if you can get one for 5k. Depends on the year/milage/condition. Would be a little “zippier” than a Councours but still very utilitarian.

More “cruisier”? Look into Honda ACEs. Might find an older one (mid-to-late 90s model) with some soft bags. Shouldn’t be too much.

Kawasaki W650 is fun/interesting if you can find one. No bags, no shield, but could be added for extra duckets.

Thats enough of my dribble.

17

I wish I could give you more information, it would seem that there is plenty of good suggestions here friend. Let me know what you end up with, so when you move to Maryland, we can take a ride. :slight_smile:

18

For 5 grand you should be able to find a used Concours no problem. Even a more modern mid 00 one. They only sold for 8k new. You might even be able to find an older ST1100 for the same price.

You might even be able to find a much newer Suzuki VStrom 650. I’m very seriously thinking about going this route, and some come with ABS. If we weren’t expecting a baby I probably would be buying one.

19

I’ll take that off your hands. You need to unclutter the place.

20

You know, I keep running across a lot of 650-700cc cruisers for sale in my price range. Part of my concern is that, considering I’m not comfortable with a 450 on the freeway, is going to a 650 going to be a big enough jump for me? Granted, I’m sure even today’s 450s have more power than a 450 from 1983, but this whole project will end up having been a waste if I still don’t feel like I have enough weight and power with me for longer trips.