I need to start looking for a new bike.

ST Gui · Jan 31, 2018

Picopower said:
I’m surprised no one has said the new goldwing.

I thought about doing so a couple of time but the OP said he wanted a lighter bike and that his current bikes were taller than preferred. The seat height of the new GWT is a little lower but also wider than the ST. When I sat on one it felt very slightly shorter but I couldn't be sure. The CG is lower and that might help but overall it doesn't seem like it's the bike for the OP. BUT— you never know until you try it on for size.

Now the F6B I sat on a few year ago at the San Mateo IMS had a 'gunfighter' seat that was quite a bit lower than the ST and my legs were comfortable bent with lots of control for walking the bike around. And a very low CG. I don't think that's the case with the new F6B nee Gold Wing.

ST Gui · Jan 31, 2018

Picopower said:
Supposed to steer like a 350 pound bike at low speed with the new front end.

The only report I've read about slow speed maneuvering said it handle a little heavy and 'credited' that to the fat rear tire. I'd like to see more about that. Of course there may be the difference between low and slow speeds.

Bill144 · Jan 31, 2018

fnmag said:
The water cooled BMW RT would be my choice.

That would be great but there are no used ones for sale in Western Canada.

Bill144 · Jan 31, 2018

Al Gully said:
Bill, my wife just bought a Syder F3, there is one red one for $24k in Langley at the moment a GVPS.
They don't hold that much luggage, so a small trailer might be needed. Just a blast to ride with thier new ACE 1330cc 113 hp.

I was hoping to look at them when i turned 80. lol

Bill144 · Jan 31, 2018

Wahrsuul said:
I know most "bikers" don't want to think about it, but have you considered a Maxi-Scooter? The Silverwing 600, and the Burgman 650 come to mind. I've been researching them as a replacement for using the ST13 as a commuter. Seat height is low, weight is distributed low, and they already have sizeable built in storage. Trunks are available, and I've seen at least one with additional Givi hard bags. Both are well capable of highway speeds, and are pretty comfy.

Maybe not the ideal solution, but I've read several reviews from people like yourself that have made the transition and enjoyed it.

I ride with a group called the Jurassic MC club. At one time over 10 riders had Bergmans. They are very popular and go like stink. I have never rode one but they aren't my favorite choice.

DavidR8 · Jan 31, 2018

Bill144 said:
That would be great but there are no used ones for sale in Western Canada.

I saw one at Island BMW but it may not have been for sale.
Nothing on Kijiji?

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Wahrsuul · Feb 1, 2018

Bill144 said:
I ride with a group called the Jurassic MC club. At one time over 10 riders had Bergmans. They are very popular and go like stink. I have never rode one but they aren't my favorite choice.

No, I can't say they're mine either, but they are lighter, easier to get on/off, and still go well. I'm willing to try one for my commuting, using the ST seems like overkill.

africord · Feb 1, 2018

The biggest problem is that sporting power, lightweight, comfortable ergos, and touring storage is a hard combo to get. I think the F800GT could work. If you are willing to settle for less power, you could also look at the Honda NT700V. I've ridden the NT and I'm not convinced I need to shift to it, yet. My touring ride is a VFR800 that I've lowered the pegs and raised the clipons. I'm really hoping that Shad provides a set of cases for the Z900RS. A Comet fairing would pretty much complete the package. Shad already has cases for the Z900, but its not for me.

tjhiggin · Feb 1, 2018

Bill144 said:
So, whats out there that is lighter, comfortable, low seat height, and a 4-5 gal tank.

If by "new" you mean "new to you" and not "new from a dealer," what about a PC800? There are plenty available on CL via searchtempest.com. Here are a couple of nice ones:

https://miami.craigslist.org/pbc/mcy/d/mint-condition-1998-honda/6478673665.html

https://chattanooga.craigslist.org/mcy/d/make-offer-9998-mile-honda/6432566249.html

Whooshka · Feb 1, 2018

If you still want to tour check out a Yamaha FJ-09. Much lighter, versatile, dependable and easy to ride.

STraymond · Feb 1, 2018

Whooshka said:
If you still want to tour check out a Yamaha FJ-09. Much lighter, versatile, dependable and easy to ride.

The new 2019 Tracer GT (renamed FJ09) will have some great features, but is chain-driven and gets less than 200 miles per tank.

STGuy · Feb 2, 2018

Honda is bringing their NC750X over here it has a bit more power than a NC700X. I have a NC700X and NC700XD. Very low center of gravity. Step down from the ST but it feels like a 250 weight wise when going down the road or while sitting in the driveway. I have lowered both using Soupysperformance.com kit. It has a 21 liter front trunk, you can order Honda bags and top box. In that configuration it has more storage space than the pre-2018 Goldwing. The gas tank is below you. It makes 70 mpg at 60 mph. Has only a 3.7 gallon tank but at 70 mpg can see over 200 miles per tank. Easy maintenance. Valve check takes less than 2 hrs as it is not a bucket and shim type. It is chain drive but a good DID chain an auto oiler will see you going down the road for many a mile. Feels kind of thumpy as it is a long stroke parallel twin. The NC700XD has the DCT which my daughter now loves.I was on it and playing around and I was getting used to it and liked it. Something to think about. You would have to spring for a RDL saddle for sure though. Used they can be had very inexpensively too. Even new they are reasonable.

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Whooshka · Feb 2, 2018

STraymond said:
The new 2019 Tracer GT (renamed FJ09) will have some great features, but is chain-driven and gets less than 200 miles per tank.

True, not ideal for touring. The ST is the first bike I've owned where range is a factor because on all my previous bikes I wanted to take a break every 100-120 miles to stretch my legs. Not so on the ST.

MajorTom · Feb 2, 2018

Not water-cooled, but here's a 2010 BMW R1200RT with a low seat on sale at Blackfoot Motorcycles in Calgary. Ad on Kijiji. 42.8k km and asking $14k. Good luck with your search.

MaxPete · Feb 2, 2018

Well, I just took delivery of a shiny new Suzuki SV650ABS today.

The Suzuki’s journey to my garage is quite the tale of woe. Its about a 2-beer story, but in short, I actually agreed to buy the bike in late October and planned to pay for it over 3-4 months to spread the pain - but then to get the 5-year warranty, they decided that I need to pay all of it by the end of 2017. I argued that successfully and it seemed that all was well until a couple of days after Christmas when they moved my bike from the showroom to the storage barn for the rest of the winter.

That night - the danged barn burnt to the ground...... (check out “Hully Gully fire”)....

...and not one of the more than 100 bikes (including some new bikes, some older ones and a few valauable vintage bikes plus a whole whackload of snowmobiles and waterski boats) survived. My beautiful blue SV650 was gone - just a puddle of melted aluminium and plastic. It really was a terrible fire and a lot of people came out much worse than me. For example, the paper reported that one guy had bought a brand new Yamaha 900 sport bike and had paid for it - but had not yet arranged his own insurance coverage - and now he has nothing except the 2017 Yamaha brochure to show for his $17,000 purchase. My bike hadn’t been fully paid for and so it wasn’t in my name at the time of the fire.

The dealer offered me a matte black bike for the same money, but I really wanted the blue and so I held out till they found one. The (second) new blue bike turned out to not be a demo unit and so there were freight and PDI charges on it. I pointed out that it wasn’t my choice to move the bike to the barn, nor did I burn the barn down. Anyhow, we see-sawed back and forth on that issue and I wound up with a big discount on the freight and PDI plus a $500 gas card and free delivery today (the dealer is about 220 km away) - so I’m happy.

Anyhow, that’s my latest motorcycle adventure - in the cold dead of a long winter (am I a disloyal Canadian?) - I hate this weather.

Cheers,

Pete

DavidR8 · Feb 2, 2018

That's a tale for sure. But I notice there's no snow outside?!?! Feb 2 and no snow?

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MaxPete · Feb 2, 2018

Windsor doesn’t get much snow but it was a bone-chilling -10C today and there is salt everywhere.

OK fellow Canadians and US border state folks - I know that -10C is not a big deal. You can stop laughing now.

tjhiggin · Feb 2, 2018

MaxPete said:
Windsor doesn't get much snow but it was a bone-chilling -10C today and there is salt everywhere.

OK fellow Canadians and US border state folks - I know that -10C is not a big deal. You can stop laughing now.

Border state, shmorder state. Even us folks in the SE USA are laughing at you. -10C is only 14F. It's gonna hit 25F tonight here in Alabama. They're gonna revoke your Cdn passport & deport you to Jamaica. Tomorrow you best be washing your care in shorts & a t-shirt.
1

jspringator · Feb 3, 2018

How are you going to lower the pegs? That has always held me back on this bike. I have a first gen Helibars for the ST1100 that I'm saving for this kind of bike!

STGuy · Feb 3, 2018

MaxPete said:
Well, I just took delivery of a shiny new Suzuki SV650ABS today.

The Suzuki's journey to my garage is quite the tale of woe. Its about a 2-beer story, but in short, I actually agreed to buy the bike in late October and planned to pay for it over 3-4 months to spread the pain - but then to get the 5-year warranty, they decided that I need to pay all of it by the end of 2017. I argued that successfully and it seemed that all was well until a couple of days after Christmas when they moved my bike from the showroom to the storage barn for the rest of the winter.

That night - the danged barn burnt to the ground...... (check out â€œHully Gully fireâ€)....

...and not one of the more than 100 bikes (including some new bikes, some older ones and a few valauable vintage bikes plus a whole whackload of snowmobiles and waterski boats) survived. My beautiful blue SV650 was gone - just a puddle of melted aluminium and plastic. It really was a terrible fire and a lot of people came out much worse than me. For example, the paper reported that one guy had bought a brand new Yamaha 900 sport bike and had paid for it - but had not yet arranged his own insurance coverage - and now he has nothing except the 2017 Yamaha brochure to show for his $17,000 purchase. My bike hadn't been fully paid for and so it wasn't in my name at the time of the fire.

The dealer offered me a matte black bike for the same money, but I really wanted the blue and so I held out till they found one. The (second) new blue bike turned out to not be a demo unit and so there were freight and PDI charges on it. I pointed out that it wasn't my choice to move the bike to the barn, nor did I burn the barn down. Anyhow, we see-sawed back and forth on that issue and I wound up with a big discount on the freight and PDI plus a $500 gas card and free delivery today (the dealer is about 220 km away) - so I'm happy.

Anyhow, that's my latest motorcycle adventure - in the cold dead of a long winter (am I a disloyal Canadian?) - I hate this weather.

Cheers,

Pete

So I see a silver ST, an old Yamaha and what looks like a bike with a Honda CX500 engine and another bike with no tank or seat. So who's the SV for?
[emoji41]

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I need to start looking for a new bike.

ST Gui

240Robert

ST Gui

240Robert

Bill144

Bill144

Bill144

DavidR8

Wahrsuul

africord

Plains Rider

tjhiggin

R.I.P. - 2022/06/11

Whooshka

Fairly faST old guy

STraymond

STGuy

Play it makes life fun

Whooshka

Fairly faST old guy

MajorTom

QuickBlue

MaxPete

DavidR8

MaxPete

tjhiggin

R.I.P. - 2022/06/11

jspringator

STGuy

Play it makes life fun