There is one way of known that "one" as the right choice of bikes for "one self" :yes: which is.. when you don't know where to go next :undecided: I've always been lucky enough to have at least 2 bikes at one time :smiley: and I've always known after 12 months if I wanted to change and what to get rid of and what to get next :smiley: but now I have the 2013 zzr1441 and the 2013 Versys 1000 and when the time comes when I fancy a change I don't know where to go from here :no: there is nothing out there that's taken my fancy for 2014/2015 at present :hammer: don't want another super sport, cruiser, naked or pogo stick :laugh: I wouldn't part with my ZZR :nono: made that mistake with my 2008 ZZR :hammer: so I'm goosed now :sad: love the my ZZR and the Versys :smiley: but I know if Kawasaki update the present GTR1400 with the 1441 engine, cruise control and a few other nice touches, I will be tempted :smiley: so here is where my problem lies :yes: the wife would chuck me out if I had 3 bikes gain :sad: I refuse to get rid of my ZZR and the Versys is proving to be a bloody brilliant 2nd bike :clap: Can you now see my predicament :grin: if you have a second bike or not! and fancy a change from your present bike would you know what to go for?
ive gone through stages of owning 1 or 2 or even 3 bikes . I now consider the ideal set up is to own a new bike like my GTR and as a second bike something old/classic that you can tinker with , my ideal would be a z1300 or a gs1000e , something along those lines. I cant see the point to owning 2 modern machines !
I'm happy with what I've got for now, and I've sold off most of my bikes, mainly because I came to the conclusion that I can't ride more than one at once :mfr_lol:
I still kinda fancy a 1990s ZZR1100 though, (Ebony and Firecracker)
I've managed to have three or four bikes at the same time, catering for touring, commuting, classic, etc. however, I was struggling with the need to buy tyres, servicing costs, etc. as one of them always needed something every month!
So once I've sold my 1991 VFR 750 either now or by the Spring, I aim to keep just two bikes on the road. My 2008 GTR for touring, weekends away, days out and my 1997 Bandit 1200 for my everyday commuting and running about. Both bikes are very comfy for me and my partner, particularly the GTR she says, so that covers most eventualities I believe.
If I was to consider something else, maybe a bit newer, then I'd consider an FJR or a Versys (having sat on both at the N.E.C.).
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk (http://tapatalk.com/m?id=1)
Quote from: viper on November 30, 2013, 04:11:52 PM
ive gone through stages of owning 1 or 2 or even 3 bikes . I now consider the ideal set up is to own a new bike like my GTR and as a second bike something old/classic that you can tinker with , my ideal would be a z1300 or a gs1000e , something along those lines. I cant see the point to owning 2 modern machines !
can see your point there :yes: used to have the 2008 zzr1400 and the 2010 GTR1400 and were very similar in many ways, except for the power :smiley: but the zzr and the versys are completely 2 different machines no day is the same with theses 2 bikes :nono: would love a seventies classic :yes: but can't see the point in riding unrestored or winter hacks with yester years technology, when you have the use of a modern bike with up to date technology, reliability, stopping power and handling and power :smiley: I'm to old now to be stuck in a garage for hours on end in the cold restoring bikes and I'm not prepared to fork out silly money for restored yester years technology :no:
After my last post I had a quick look on fleabay to see if anything of interest was available .....and guess what ........its a long way from me though :whistling:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/kawasaki-zzr1100-verry-low-mileage-18840-sports-tourer-/131055740415?pt=UK_Motorcycles&hash=item1e8387e5ff
Quote from: O.C. on November 30, 2013, 04:36:57 PM
I'm happy with what I've got for now, and I've sold off most of my bikes, mainly because I came to the conclusion that I can't ride more than one at once :mfr_lol:
I still kinda fancy a 1990s ZZR1100 though, (Ebony and Firecracker)
I fancied a ZZR as well. This was fuelled by us having four consecutive FJ1200s in the late eighties then switching to ZZRs for the next two bikes - I really liked them.
We still have an FJ and I love it so when a ZZR came up for sale a few years back I bought it and spent a grand doing it up before I rode it...then found I hated it!
It felt like a lorry going round corners in a way the FJ just doesn't. I've no idea what changed but something did; perhaps it was just that particular bike? I sold it at quite a loss so it was an expensive itch to scratch.
Kevin
Very good point Kevin, dare I suggest that its us that have changed, coupled with our expectations of today's biking requirements ...I know what you mean though, it can be a real reality shock riding a bike that's twenty years old........ahem that is a motorbike :mfr_lol:
Think I'd like a nice cafe racer. not sure on make or model, just something with those classic lines.
I'd like a Black Shadow please. I've only ridden one for a couple of miles and the brakes were crap but if you could arrange to have one delivered to me tomorrow that would quite make my weekend.
Kevin
Quote from: 2kwacks on November 30, 2013, 04:53:00 PM
can see your point there :yes: used to have the 2008 zzr1400 and the 2010 GTR1400 and were very similar in many ways, except for the power :smiley: but the zzr and the versys are completely 2 different machines no day is the same with theses 2 bikes :nono: would love a seventies classic :yes: but can't see the point in riding unrestored or winter hacks with yester years technology, when you have the use of a modern bike with up to date technology, reliability, stopping power and handling and power :smiley: I'm to old now to be stuck in a garage for hours on end in the cold restoring bikes and I'm not prepared to fork out silly money for restored yester years technology :no:
Spot on 2K, did the old stuff 20-30 years ago and see no point in going backwards. i have the GTR for the touring / leisurely ride with power on tap if i need it, i have the ducati monster for the balls out, no brains blast with the boys, both suit my needs perfectly. I am thinking of p/x the monster for a new z1000sx, just weighing up the pro's and con's at the moment.
Quote from: zedmeister on November 30, 2013, 10:06:30 PM
Spot on 2K, did the old stuff 20-30 years ago and see no point in going backwards. i have the GTR for the touring / leisurely ride with power on tap if i need it, i have the ducati monster for the balls out, no brains blast with the boys, both suit my needs perfectly. I am thinking of p/x the monster for a new z1000sx, just weighing up the pro's and con's at the moment.
before you spend your hard earned cash test ride the versys 1000 it's sounds like it would suit your needs better as a second bike :smiley: p.s what ever you decide to get, don't forget the pics :smiley:
I would have a ktm690 , as a second bike if I could afford it , something different small light weight and great handerling , would be great around the lakes . :biker3:
Although the versys is undoubtably a cracking bike, i am not a fan of the adventure bike style, tried a couple in the past before i decided on the GTR, a Varadero and a GS neither floated my boat. i was in my midlife crisis at the time, always loved the sports tourer / naked style.
We are all very different and so all have different tastes in our bikes .. but Dave pop down to your BM dealer and take a look .... you may be pleasantly surprised ! :yes:
am gonna get a new watercooled R1200GS to add to the GTR !
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Quote from: pistole on December 01, 2013, 11:38:43 PM
am gonna get a new watercooled R1200GS to add to the GTR !
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Good choice! What an awesome engine. Love 'em to pieces!!
if it starts to fall apart on me , am gonna ride all the way to the UK and have it out with ya !!
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GS12WC is f*****g brilliant. Honestly. It is sublime. If it falls apart I will send you my home address!!
hoi !!
:smiley:
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Quote from: Winston Smith on December 02, 2013, 01:18:11 AM
GS12WC is f*****g brilliant. Honestly. It is sublime. If it falls apart I will send you my home address!!
How many miles of riding one, has it taken for you to form that opinion? :undecided:
Quote from: 100milesaway on December 02, 2013, 09:10:04 AM
How many miles of riding one, has it taken for you to form that opinion? :undecided:
Well if it is as good as winnie says, it took me 10 minutes to decide the GTR was for me, and i am now on my fourth one, and the ear to ear grin is still there.
A good day Geoff, and I am very open minded having ridden the amount of bikes and the testing I have done over the years.
The new water cooled GS is a superb bike and it has again raised the bar for all the other manufacturers, KTM, Honda Kawasaki et-al
Like it or not, the Germans are really understanding the current market in the way the Japs did 40 years ago.
They have created the adventure market which others (including yourself with the Versys) have benefitted from.
They have stolen the crown from the likes of Honda for tourers/sports tourers, with the RT knocking the Pan from it's podium and K16 taking sport touring to another level.
Even the sport bike market has been shaken up with the S1000
As I have said before, I love the GTR, it is a fantastic machine, and the Versys is a fine machine too.
It's just a fact - the new GS (and no doubt the new RT) is sublime and has raised the bar again.
Chris, how do you rate the pre water cooled GS's & which might be the better model, standard or the Adventure model? :whistling:
Quote from: Winston Smith on December 02, 2013, 10:15:44 PM
A good day Geoff, and I am very open minded having ridden the amount of bikes and the testing I have done over the years.
The new water cooled GS is a superb bike and it has again raised the bar for all the other manufacturers, KTM, Honda Kawasaki et-al
Like it or not, the Germans are really understanding the current market in the way the Japs did 40 years ago.
They have created the adventure market which others (including yourself with the Versys) have benefitted from.
They have stolen the crown from the likes of Honda for tourers/sports tourers, with the RT knocking the Pan from it's podium and K16 taking sport touring to another level.
Even the sport bike market has been shaken up with the S1000
As I have said before, I love the GTR, it is a fantastic machine, and the Versys is a fine machine too.
It's just a fact - the new GS (and no doubt the new RT) is sublime and has raised the bar again.
I would want to see it around a few years before buying as the model launch had a very dark day regarding its stability with the British press breaking a steering lock stop off and the tragic death of Mr Ash which has yet to be fully explained. :sad:
the new (updated) GS has a steering damper. Read into that what you will , but am plain looking forward to the new bike !
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Agree with Winston there.
Not having tested the number of bikes that he has (how he suffers .... ) , my opinion is limited to the hd , gtr and shortly the gs , but really feel that the Japanese makers have fallen off the log at the moment and are being outclassed by the europeans (just look at the two big euro makers , bmw and ducati).
more and more riders here locally are going euro simply because of the tech , design and badge.
the reverse was true maybe 8-10 years ago , but certainly not now. Look at the CBR1000RR and the Goldwing ... and the GTR really needs a total ground up revamp ... and the new FJR with 5 gears ? Really ? Who sat around that table and said "5 gears good , ok" ?
Unfortunately , I think the Jap bike makers are feeling the 10 years of malaise that has afflicted the general japanese economy, and that translated into their bikes.
sad for them since they have such a good base of reliability to work from
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Quote from: Rusty on December 01, 2013, 09:01:44 PM
We are all very different and so all have different tastes in our bikes .. but Dave pop down to your BM dealer and take a look .... you may be pleasantly surprised ! :yes:
I must say I agree rusty,went to the nec show on Saturday,spent a lot of time looking at the beemer's.i liked the look of the k1600gt se,being more on the realistic side the rt1200rtle looked good,I can see a test ride being on the cards.
I'll be trying the new GS, after having owned its predecessor (which was :shit: ) I'll also be trying out the TEX (Triumph Explorer), so that I can add it to my list of bikes that I've tried and so far disliked, I'm working on the principle of "don't knock it till you've tried it" :innocent:
Other bikes I have recently tested are:-
Aprillia Caponord 1200 about which much has been said and written, it is supposed to have suspension capable of providing a magic carpet ride and an engine to die for....well it didn't do it for me :no: frankly the suspension was no better than my Versys 1000, and the engine was bloody awful, it banged and klonked to a point where I feared it was about to spill its guts all over the road. It got a BIG thumbs down from me and Geoff who also gave it a 'spin'
MV Augusta Stelvio. (see correction below) Much has been said about the famous Guzzi over many years and it is a bike that is revered by its owners, some say its quirkiness is an attractive feature, in short it just didn't work for me...at all. I didn't like the riding position, as a consequence the bike didn't give me a feeling of confidence and to be fair I'm really not a fan of twins so its engine, which to me is rough didn't appeal, it does sound good though :yes:
There's nothing scientific about my opinion of the bikes I've tested so far, I'm simply checking whats out there and passing on my views.
I do like the look of the FJR though, but them I allus have :embarrassed: but its lighter machinery that I require and fit my riding needs these days :smiley:
Rog, have you been out all night on the sauce? MV Augusta ( Agusta) Stelvio !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ? :no: :nono: :embarrassed: I shall be having a word with you 2 mora, when you will recieve a clip around your solar panel. :yes:
OOOPs, Shoulda said Moto Guzzi not MV :embarrassed: :embarrassed: :mfr_lol: :mfr_lol:
Well it was early when I posted, and I was left singularly unimpressed by the test ride ~ so its not surprising that I'd forgotten what it was that I was testing :mfr_lol:
mmmmm...... maybe I should try an M.V next perhaps Turismo :whistling:
Quote from: Charlie747 on December 02, 2013, 10:32:54 PM
I would want to see it around a few years before buying as the model launch had a very dark day regarding its stability with the British press breaking a steering lock stop off and the tragic death of Mr Ash which has yet to be fully explained. :sad:
Charlie, I am pretty confident that poor Kevin's death isn't attributable to the bike, but I am not going to say anymore on the matter.
I personally found no problems with stability at real world speeds and on real world roads. A friend who bought one had a slight problem, but the was found to be down to the torque setting used on the subframe which was resolved accordingly.
Quote from: The Wolf on December 02, 2013, 10:31:36 PM
Chris, how do you rate the pre water cooled GS's & which might be the better model, standard or the Adventure model? :whistling:
The old Adventure was a better bike than the GS. However, with the new GS it is all about the engine. It has lost the harshness and 'agricultural' feel of the aircooled unit, but still retains character.
It delivers power in a similar way to an inline four and as a result feels a lot more sophisticated than it's predecessor.
As to which would be the better model, the Adventure isn't out yet (March I believe) so hasn't been through the mill yet.
That said, the difference between the GS and Adventure is very much a personal one. I liked the 'look' of the the Adventure and preferred the ride it delivered, but the new GS is, in my opinion, in a different league.
Better? Personal choice really.
Chris, as you know I always respect your opinion, and would ask, is the new GS more comfy than its predecessor as Gillian found the pillion seat on the 2010 model GS I had very uncomfortable, she also reports that the pillion facility on the Versys is extremely comfortable by comparison...the riders seat certainly is very comfy, frankly more so than the GTR :yes:
Without being faciscuos - I haven't (ever) sat on the pillion of one!
I did find it similar to the old one, but can't really compare due to the time between riding them.
I found the original to be comfy seat-wise but (and the reason I got rid) I found the bar position gave me back ache
Quote from: Winston Smith on December 02, 2013, 10:15:44 PM
A good day Geoff, and I am very open minded having ridden the amount of bikes and the testing I have done over the years.
The new water cooled GS is a superb bike and it has again raised the bar for all the other manufacturers, KTM, Honda Kawasaki et-al
Like it or not, the Germans are really understanding the current market in the way the Japs did 40 years ago.
They have created the adventure market which others (including yourself with the Versys) have benefitted from.
They have stolen the crown from the likes of Honda for tourers/sports tourers, with the RT knocking the Pan from it's podium and K16 taking sport touring to another level.
Even the sport bike market has been shaken up with the S1000
As I have said before, I love the GTR, it is a fantastic machine, and the Versys is a fine machine too.
It's just a fact - the new GS (and no doubt the new RT) is sublime and has raised the bar again.
I can't comment on the B.M.W 1600, S1000 or the new GS because I've never ridden those 3 bikes :no:.. but I've ridden the RT1200 many times and if that had any part in knocking the Honda pan of it's podium... then I'm a monkeys uncle :mfr_lol: the reason the pan ST1300 as gone the way of the dodo is because it's "yesteryears" technology :yes: now... if you were to say, the GTR1400 knock the ST1300 of it's podium then that would be believable :clap:
Dave, the GTR1400 knocked the ST1300 off it's podium......do you believe me? :popcorn:
(I looked for a
Thread-Swerve icon but couldn't see one...)
Quote from: O.C. on December 03, 2013, 09:14:58 AM<snip> Gillian found the pillion seat on the 2010 model GS I had very uncomfortable <snip>
That'll be because the seats on both the GS and the GSA are crap in our experience. Mind you, I do have a damaged coccyx and the only manufacturer's seats we have on any of our bikes are the Yamaha 'extra comfort' seats on the FJR which are very good. They are an aftermarket extra because, I assume, Mr. Yamaha thought FJR purchasers wouldn't want to be comfortable as standard.
We tried having the GSA seats modified in the UK but they weren't much better. I have a pretty much brand new Kahedo GSA seat in the garage which didn't work for me and eventually settled on a Sargent seat with the rear lip cut off supplemented with an Airhawk on long trips and copious amounts of painkillers. Lyn used an Airhawk with the standard seat.
When we were in California we had the seats modified by Rick Mayer and the comfort is so much better now it's like night and day. On a trip down to Spain (http://www.thewellers.net/blog/motorcycling/iba-uk-seville-rte-october-2013) recently we were riding for pretty much 24 hours with a few short breaks and while I was suffered a bit the next day I took no painkillers at all. The seats from our new-to-us Ténéré will shortly be winging their way across the pond in Rick's direction.
Kevin
Interesting Kevin, obviously not all bike riders suffer the same problem with all seats, but your point is well made, and you've confirmed my suspicions that it isn't just myself or Gillian who found the GS uncomfortable.
The mileage that you cover and the resulting 'saddle time' more than qualifies your observations
Quote from: The Wolf on December 04, 2013, 12:58:28 AM
Dave, the GTR1400 knocked the ST1300 off it's podium......do you believe me? :popcorn:
:yes: :yes: :yes: :yes: :yes: :yes: :yes: :yes: :yes: :yes: :yes: :yes: :yes: :yes: :yes: :yes: :yes: :yes: :yes: :yes: and :yes:
Quote from: Winston Smith on December 02, 2013, 01:18:11 AM
GS12WC is f*****g brilliant. Honestly. It is sublime
she's here !!
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(http://i1280.photobucket.com/albums/a493/changtausian/GS3_zps136d344f.jpg)
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Very nice indeed....just needs some panniers now. :yes:
Lovely Lovely .. just needs an Akro pipe and it'll be 100% :yes: :yes:
:agree: with Mr rusty :yes: akrapovic exhausts are the way to go :clap: not cheap :no: but quality never is :nono:
(http://i1280.photobucket.com/albums/a493/changtausian/DSC_0528_zpsf35cb4dc.jpg)
german meets japanese
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