What do you ride??

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One of the other forms i read is ST-owners.com and a bunch of vstrom guys there with no complants. You may want to check it out. Real franchising group and willing to answer any questions or you can read about what you want.
 
Zuljin said:
I'm still all over the board on what I want next.

How do you VStrom 650 guys like that bike on the interstate?
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Great up to about 70 (actual). Above that it gets a little buzzy and winds from cars and semis knock you around a bit- it's more of a 2-lane bike but a lot of guys put tens of thousands of slab on them and still love it. I wear plugs and have farkled my bike for great wind protection, so it's pretty decent, although I probably would pick a different bike for an Iron Butt or something.
 
Falcon3 said:
Great up to about 70 (actual). Above that it gets a little buzzy and winds from cars and semis knock you around a bit- it's more of a 2-lane bike but a lot of guys put tens of thousands of slab on them and still love it. I wear plugs and have farkled my bike for great wind protection, so it's pretty decent, although I probably would pick a different bike for an Iron Butt or something.
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I know a retired guy that criss-crosses the country on his wee strom 650.
 
I changed out my 47 tooth rear sprocket for a 45. A lot of guys change out the stock 15t for a 16t, but that was too far in my opinion. The 45 brings RPMs down about 500 and makes it way more comfortable on the interstate without giving up anything on the bottom end.
 
2005 Heritage Softail

image.jpg
 
I have three bikes at the moment - 2011 ZX10r, 2007 ZZR600 and a 2005 ZRX1200 ELR :fro:



All Kawis. My brother bought my KLR650. I need to get that thing back :eek:

20140722_120908.jpg
 
grrickar said:
I have three bikes at the moment - 2011 ZX10r, 2007 ZZR600 and a 2005 ZRX1200 ELR :fro:



All Kawis. My brother bought my KLR650. I need to get that thing back :eek:
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Looks like a pretty sweet setup you have there! Just need a couple more for a bike per day system.
 
A John Deere 2305 tractor.


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bberg said:
Looks like a pretty sweet setup you have there! Just need a couple more for a bike per day system.
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My riding buddy has like 7 bikes now, so he does have one per day LOL

I like more sport touring, so thinking about an FJR or a Connie next, but that means selling a bike.

I do all my own services and tire changes, etc, so 7 bikes would be a chore to maintain.

Since I moved north I needed a winter hobby so I jumped back into homebrewing. In AL I could ride almost all winter long.
 
brewbama said:
A John Deere 2305 tractor.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew
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Awesome, a tractor from the future! What are tractors like in 2305? Do they fly? ;)

Yah, I know it is the model, just having some fun...

Edit: PS - What part of Bama are you from? I lived in North AL almost all my life, but moved with work 1.5 years ago to Ohio...
 
grrickar said:
Awesome, a tractor from the future! What are tractors like in 2305? Do they fly? ;)

Yah, I know it is the model, just having some fun...

Edit: PS - What part of Bama are you from? I lived in North AL almost all my life, but moved with work 1.5 years ago to Ohio...
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Huntsville. SWMBO is from Chillicothe Ohio.


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grrickar said:
thinking about an FJR or a Connie next.
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Ride both first if you can. I can attest to the Connie (ZG1400) being more powerful but it's a heavy beast. I've never rode an FJR but I've ridden my brothers BMW R1150RT and it feels much lighter and more flickable but infinity slower.

But if straight-line speed is what you want the connie's ZX14's roots are hard to beat... We did 700 miles in a day and I wasn't tired at all on my Concours 14.
 
atoughram said:
Ride both first if you can. I can attest to the Connie (ZG1400) being more powerful but it's a heavy beast. I've never rode an FJR but I've ridden my brothers BMW R1150RT and it feels much lighter and more flickable but infinity slower.

But if straight-line speed is what you want the connie's ZX14's roots are hard to beat... We did 700 miles in a day and I wasn't tired at all on my Concours 14.
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Honestly I am a Kawi guy, and have owned 7 of them over the years but I don't really care for the look of the Connie. I liked the dark blue they did that one year, but really never cared for the other colors. The FJR just looks nicer IMO.

I have ridden a Connie for a short distance on a Kawi demo day in Nashville. It was a load of fun and did not seem to handle like a heavy bike.
 
I've always wondered about these sport touring type bikes. I've rode a fair number of harley touring bikes With the foot forward seating position and elbow height bars that I've found very comfortable on the hwy. But these are set up more like a dirt bikes seating position.

What's the purpose of that? seems like you'd end up straining your neck and stomach fighting the wind on long rides. I set up my rigids like that to let me get my ass off the seat on long rides at the cost of the rest of my body and for a more aggressive stance for slow speed handling in the city. But what's the benefit of it on these machines? I just can't see a bulked up touring bike being meant for rough terrain or slow speed handling.
 
EVILsteve said:
I've always wondered about these sport touring type bikes. I've rode a fair number of harley touring bikes With the foot forward seating position and elbow height bars that I've found very comfortable on the hwy. But these are set up more like a dirt bikes seating position.

What's the purpose of that? seems like you'd end up straining your neck and stomach fighting the wind on long rides. I set up my rigids like that to let me get my ass off the seat on long rides at the cost of the rest of my body and for a more aggressive stance for slow speed handling in the city. But what's the benefit of it on these machines? I just can't see a bulked up touring bike being meant for rough terrain or slow speed handling.
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They're not setup like a dirt bike, more like a sport bike but more straightened out. When riding my KLR, my knees are forward and my feet are nearly directly below them, but on the Connie, my feet are further back. The KLR has a more upright riding position while the Connie is slightly bent forward. I'm 6'5" and so I've improved this with handlebar risers and wedges. raising the bars 2.5", giving me a little more upright position.

I've never ridden a fully dressed HD, so I cant compare, but I have spent thousands of miles on a VT1100 Shadow Spirit with a Mustang Seat, no crash bars or highway pegs and I can tell you that the Connie is infinity more comfortable than that bike. Even though the Honda had a tall wind screen, the wind protection everywhere else was abysmal. On the Connie, my legs are tucked into the fairing, but on the Honda they were out in the slip stream and after a few hundred miles, it was painful trying to keep them tucked to the tank. A 400 mile day on that bike was awful. It took me nearly sixteen hours to go the 435 miles from John Day Oregon to Reno Nevada on that bike and the final few hours really sucked. I did the same trip on the Connie and it took half the time and was much more comfortable. Come to think about it, I road a buddy of mines Victory Vegas home for him, a 150 miles or so and it reminded me of the Shadow, windy sum B..

Last June I rode from Missoula Montana to Custer South Dakota, nearly 700 miles, in way less than 12 hours and felt like I could easily go another hundred miles.

The ZG1400 Concours might not be a Gold Wing for comfort, but it isnt bad. My knees get a little achy some staying in the same position all the time, but you have to gas the thing up every couple hundred miles so a nice walk takes care of that problem.
 
EVILsteve said:
I've always wondered about these sport touring type bikes. I've rode a fair number of harley touring bikes With the foot forward seating position and elbow height bars that I've found very comfortable on the hwy. But these are set up more like a dirt bikes seating position.

What's the purpose of that? seems like you'd end up straining your neck and stomach fighting the wind on long rides. I set up my rigids like that to let me get my ass off the seat on long rides at the cost of the rest of my body and for a more aggressive stance for slow speed handling in the city. But what's the benefit of it on these machines? I just can't see a bulked up touring bike being meant for rough terrain or slow speed handling.
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Are you sure we are talking about a sport tourer? That last sentence makes me think that you are talking more like the Super Tenere or the BMW 1200GS, Versys, etc. Those are meant for 'lite' offroad, although I took my KLR in some pretty hairy stuff and got weird looks from the dirt bike and 4 wheeler crowd. Watch Long Way Down with Ewan McGregor and Charlie Boorman and watch the punishment they put a couple BMWs thru.

The Connie is like a more comfortable ZX-14. Most of the power, but a lot more comfort and slightly less sporty. A good sport tourer to me is one that handles well despite it's weight, offers a comfortable riding position, and decent wind protection (and somewhat decent fuel economy).

The Connie is a blast to ride, and the riding position seems far more comfortable but I have not ridden one on a long trip.

I have ridden a few bikes (HD, Victories, even a Honda or two) with far forward controls, and it just seems unnatural to me.
 
I liked the 'chair at a table' position on my cruiser. It was a very natural way to sit. It's how people sit.

What I've noticed reading up on bikes lately is that the cruiser crowd and the everything else that's not a cruiser crowd are sharply divided over seating. The everything else crowd will break into tears and teeth gnashing over forward controls. The cruisers dont want to be laid down and hunched over going face first over the highway.

How can you ride with your feet out like that? You look like Wonder Woman in her invisible jet.
Oh yeah? Well you look like you're about to be launched over the handle bars any minute now. Are you trying to mate with that bike?

It's funny to read some of these guys. :D
 
super tenere and bmw where exactly what I was thinking of.

Ive been planning a trip through central america over the next winter and was planning on taking a flathead Harley but the ADV rider group had got me thinking about a bike more suited to the purpose. Id always grouped the Adventure bikes and touring together in my head. I was at a few dealers over the weeekend and can see their two different animals.

As it stands the HD 45 will still be making this tour.
 

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