I've kinda ruined myself a bit by riding BMW's and Ducati's to end bikes and while others may disagree, there is a lot to be said about having computers managing multiple things once and knowing that you can rail the bike and not have to worry about losing traction in the rear, or a car cutting you off, etc. I have to keep saving my money and invest more of it too, but I really want some electronic nannies. http://www.motorcycle.com/safety/mo-tested-cornering-abs.html
I'd really like to get a 3rd bike once I finish the '85 VF1000F and get it on the road. I'm pining after one of those Honda Africa Twins. I got to sit on one when in Wichita and love everything I've seen on it so far.
Yea I gets ya, I keep eyeing the Aprilia Tuono factory really bad, but once I see the financial commitment I go WTF.. na. Then ride the viffer an go, not too bad for the money. still the urging is there tugging at me.
At the moment I'm helping my mate replace his stator and R&R on his Tuono for the third time, the bike has 16000km on the clock. It goes like stink when it runs, but it's deffinetly not a sports tourer. It really is just a naked short stint bike. I often look at what I would replace my 5th gen with, and the only thing I can come up with is a Triumph Sprint 1050ST. There is nothing else out there that can be seriously called a sports tourer IMO.
Funny. I'm coming from a big sport tourer and "downsizing" to my new to me VFR. Although I love my ST1100 and the 300+ miles I can go on a single tank of gas I've grown tired of the extra 200 lbs of bike weight and am just giddy to have fuel injection and MUCH improved braking.
The BMW r1200rs looks like a nice sport tour that is similar in style, size, and performance to vfr800. But it costs 15k and is a new model so it's hard to find used for less money. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Too bad they don't make the Blackbird anymore A good friend of mine has one and he hauls on that bike!
I've been on two long trips with the bird. First one was 7500 miles and this years was 5700 miles. Plus some smaller 1200-2500 miles and I can't say enough good things about the bike. It's that fantastic IMO. I think the VFR1200 was supposed to be it's replacement kind of. Honda blew it on looks and range. I wish Honda would come out with an updated bird. To bad this country is more cruiser than sportish bikes.
Unfortunately once Honda dropped the ST1300 they never bothered to come out with a new Sport Tourer. The African Twin is definitely appealing but if I'd stayed in the lager Sport Touring market I would have been forced to jump ship and get the FJR1300.
My choice would be the K1300S. Like the Blackbird it's a Grand Touring Sport machine. Much like the Aston Martin Vanquish.
I wanted to like the Honda Africa. I have not had a chance to ride one and they feel good, sitting on them, but it's just not me. I was never any good in the dirt and I have no dreams of off-road adventures in far off places. I like hotels with soft beds and hot showers. As for riding in the dirt, I can take my VFR down my dirt road at over 50, while standing on the pegs, so I am fine there. I guess I am kind of ruined. I have the 2000 VFR and it works better than any bike I have ever owned. I want to lust after bikes like I used to but I just can't. I compare them to my current ride and it's like ". . .but the VFR is as good as that.) I rode a lot of ST1300s since the shop took a number in on trade at one point. They were kind of fat and heavy when compared to my VFR. I will say that my VTR Superhawk is nothing but fun. If it had a more comfortable seat and a bigger tank it might rival the VFR for king of the hill. I have been fascinated lately with 70s vintage, street-legal, two-stroke enduro machines.
Agree. I for one would not call an ST or an FJR a sports tourer. BMW's are too expensive to buy and maintain here. Plus the sound of a boxer twin is not what I would call very inspirational. Three of my friends have Blackbirds, and I often swap with them, I like them but they are not a VFR. Inline fours just don't do it for me any more. Like I said, only the Triumph Sprint ST stirrs my soul. The new Susuki and Yamaha offerings passenger seat are a joke. The Kawasaki Ninja 1000 comes close, but again IL4.
To give you an idea, a 6 year old K1300S with 20K miles sells for more than a brand new VFR800 here. And it's still a big heavy bike, goes and handles fantastic, but it's a lot of money.
I'll tell you what, I just got back from a night ride from the Ducati dealership near me and the Ducati club and I rode from there to The Rock Inn, up in the mountains. Left at about 7 and got there around 8:30ish. The headlights on the 15-16 Multistradas are absolutely stellar. Made the headlight on my 1999 VFR look like I was holding a flashlight. Add in cornering lights and I could almost turn my lights off and I was running my high beams. Absolutely incredible.
I will say this tho, my bike just rolled over 70,000 miles/ 112654 kilometers tonight and it still can go faster in the Twisties than I can. It's not that I dislike my bike, maybe I'm not as emotionally attached as I was to my 2005, but I like it. I just see the safety/performance advances and I want them.
When you get right down to it, the only really important safety feature is ABS. Traction control is super nice, and sure it might make it safer for you to go super fast, but the truth is, if you are 100% honest with yourself, going that fast outside a track situation is not safe, period. My point is, get a VFR with ABS and you're good.
I mostly agree with your thoughts. Traction control can be a huge help in the rain and high end headlights are absolutely with every penny once you see how incredible they are. ABS ftw for sure, now, add to that Cornering ABS, which prevents the front wheel from locking, even when leaned over and that's a HUGE benefit right there. The great thing about TC is that it can save your ass if you're powering out of a turn and hit sand or gravel or water. I'm still tripping balls about riding last night and seeing how effective the lighting is on the new Multistradas. I so wish I had a GoPro so I could show you video of it. It was jaw dropping.
