S
Skeeter190
Another bike to consider: BMW K series bikes, especially from a few years back, which can be bought for fairly reasonable prices.
Besides my wife's 2007 FZ6, the other bike in the garage is a 1998 K1200RS that I picked up in Dec of last year for $7250, in great shape & with only 3k miles on it. It came with removable hard bags & a few other farkles, though we've since added considerably to the farkles.
My wife & I have swapped back & forth with the bikes & love them both. What's telling though is that my wife, a rider of a mere 6 months & 2k miles on the FZ6, is quite comfortable with the much heavier & more powerful K1200 RS. The weight of our K is 619 lbs dry, which is well more than the twin BMW RT series, slightly more than the 09 FJR or Kaw Concours, but a massive 110 lbs less than the 09 Honda ST1300. More importantly, the older K bikes with their 4 cyl on the left side keeps the CG relatively low compared to the ST1300 who's V-four puts the heads much higher on the bike.
Just today I stopped off at a dealer that had both an 08 FJR & 08 ST1300. Both were nice bikes, but too far towards a touring bike for what I'd want. So at the risk of showing my bike love, the 1998 K1200RS ~ 2004 K1200GT rate up there with me for their sport tour mix. The newest K-series bikes are quite impressive too, but the K1200S went more towards a sport bike & the newest K1200GTs went more towards a touring mount.
You can certainly "tour up" an FZ1 or Bandit, both great bikes BTW, but for the money, a used RS or GT could be an excellent value. New, the latest K bikes are awesome machines, but at $22k or so for a well optioned GT, that's just a ton of cash to spend these days.
Congrats Masta! The FJRs are great bikes from what I've read. Very loyal followings for them, BMW K-bikes & FZ's too.
Besides my wife's 2007 FZ6, the other bike in the garage is a 1998 K1200RS that I picked up in Dec of last year for $7250, in great shape & with only 3k miles on it. It came with removable hard bags & a few other farkles, though we've since added considerably to the farkles.
My wife & I have swapped back & forth with the bikes & love them both. What's telling though is that my wife, a rider of a mere 6 months & 2k miles on the FZ6, is quite comfortable with the much heavier & more powerful K1200 RS. The weight of our K is 619 lbs dry, which is well more than the twin BMW RT series, slightly more than the 09 FJR or Kaw Concours, but a massive 110 lbs less than the 09 Honda ST1300. More importantly, the older K bikes with their 4 cyl on the left side keeps the CG relatively low compared to the ST1300 who's V-four puts the heads much higher on the bike.
Just today I stopped off at a dealer that had both an 08 FJR & 08 ST1300. Both were nice bikes, but too far towards a touring bike for what I'd want. So at the risk of showing my bike love, the 1998 K1200RS ~ 2004 K1200GT rate up there with me for their sport tour mix. The newest K-series bikes are quite impressive too, but the K1200S went more towards a sport bike & the newest K1200GTs went more towards a touring mount.
You can certainly "tour up" an FZ1 or Bandit, both great bikes BTW, but for the money, a used RS or GT could be an excellent value. New, the latest K bikes are awesome machines, but at $22k or so for a well optioned GT, that's just a ton of cash to spend these days.
Congrats Masta! The FJRs are great bikes from what I've read. Very loyal followings for them, BMW K-bikes & FZ's too.
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