kevmeister
Registered user
So, here's the thing. In the day I would be doing 20k+ miles a year on my GS or K12/13, including a 65 mile daily commute, almost every Sunday morning down to the coast and a 2k tour of Europe every year.
Things have changed now and i'm just 16 miles from the office and leisure riding is a lot more infrequent.
I have a 2011 GS TB and much as I love it, its too big and heavy for what I need now, and too darn expensive to replace. Its been a fantastic bike, over the 3 years and 18k miles ive had it, its never missed a beat and never needed anything but consumables replacing. The only thing I dislike are the dammed spoked wheels which are so hard to clean they drive me crazy. They also annoy me because the wheels are always dirty because I hate cleaning them. The new bike must have nice smooth alloy wheels and preferably shaft drive as chains are for flushing toilets not driving motorcycles. The new bike also needs to be smaller, lighter and cheaper, but must be able to cope with the Mrs on pillion and be good for country lanes, commuting and the odd motorway sprint.
I have done some research and so far eliminated;
The F700GS to slow and downright boring to ride.
The F800GS, chain AND spokes and too high a riding position.
F800ST too small and cramped.
The Tiger 1050 sport - a lovely looking bike and looks good on paper but changing gear crippled me and the riding position had my legs splayed so wide I felt like a prostitute.
The Honda crossover, sounds nice being a V4 800 but 35mpg is UNACCEPTABLE!
K's to big and expensive.
Yamaha's, Suzuki's and Kawasaki's - too basic.
So I am left with two choices.
Triumph Tiger 800
Out of all the bikes I have ridden this has felt the best to ride. The engine is lovely and perky and free revving, the screen is great and its light and easily maneuverable. I think from a functional perspective the Triumph would be ideal.
But, i'm not a kid anymore and don't wear baseball caps and feel this thing is a bit young for me.
So the alternative is the R1200R
Certainly smaller and lighter (just) than the GS and gives me my alloys and shaft drive in a package that is cheaper than the GS and more sophisticated than the Tiger. But it doesn't feel as chuckable as the tiger and wind protection is minimal so I fear motorway stints are going to be painful, especially in bad weather and I do ride all year round.
So what to do? Forget about style and go for the functional Tiger 800, knowing i've bought the best riders bike and just park it up the road when I visit friends and forget that pride feeling when the garage door opens.
Or go for the R and show pictures to all my friends and grit my teeth on the M20 in the slow lane doing 70 because I can't tolerate going any faster.
Or is there another alternative i've missed??
Things have changed now and i'm just 16 miles from the office and leisure riding is a lot more infrequent.
I have a 2011 GS TB and much as I love it, its too big and heavy for what I need now, and too darn expensive to replace. Its been a fantastic bike, over the 3 years and 18k miles ive had it, its never missed a beat and never needed anything but consumables replacing. The only thing I dislike are the dammed spoked wheels which are so hard to clean they drive me crazy. They also annoy me because the wheels are always dirty because I hate cleaning them. The new bike must have nice smooth alloy wheels and preferably shaft drive as chains are for flushing toilets not driving motorcycles. The new bike also needs to be smaller, lighter and cheaper, but must be able to cope with the Mrs on pillion and be good for country lanes, commuting and the odd motorway sprint.
I have done some research and so far eliminated;
The F700GS to slow and downright boring to ride.
The F800GS, chain AND spokes and too high a riding position.
F800ST too small and cramped.
The Tiger 1050 sport - a lovely looking bike and looks good on paper but changing gear crippled me and the riding position had my legs splayed so wide I felt like a prostitute.
The Honda crossover, sounds nice being a V4 800 but 35mpg is UNACCEPTABLE!
K's to big and expensive.
Yamaha's, Suzuki's and Kawasaki's - too basic.
So I am left with two choices.
Triumph Tiger 800
Out of all the bikes I have ridden this has felt the best to ride. The engine is lovely and perky and free revving, the screen is great and its light and easily maneuverable. I think from a functional perspective the Triumph would be ideal.
But, i'm not a kid anymore and don't wear baseball caps and feel this thing is a bit young for me.
So the alternative is the R1200R
Certainly smaller and lighter (just) than the GS and gives me my alloys and shaft drive in a package that is cheaper than the GS and more sophisticated than the Tiger. But it doesn't feel as chuckable as the tiger and wind protection is minimal so I fear motorway stints are going to be painful, especially in bad weather and I do ride all year round.
So what to do? Forget about style and go for the functional Tiger 800, knowing i've bought the best riders bike and just park it up the road when I visit friends and forget that pride feeling when the garage door opens.
Or go for the R and show pictures to all my friends and grit my teeth on the M20 in the slow lane doing 70 because I can't tolerate going any faster.
Or is there another alternative i've missed??
With a BMW, or third party screen, you'll be sorted.
