Bikes you didn't like nearly as much as you thought you would.

[hankgs]

Originally Posted by ShardPhoenix

My first and currently only bike... Suzuki S40


If I had the means to get a new bike tomorrow, it would be a hard battle between a Ural, BMW G650GS or a Ulysses.

You might want to look at a used 1100GS, 1995-99...Great bikes IMO

[FlowBee]

Originally Posted by Cat0020

Never stopped me from doing triple digit speed when I want to.
If you're riding a motorcycle, that shouldn't stop you neither... Judging from your avitar; you're risk taker, not to be comformed by society laws.

While we're on this topic ... I took the bike well into the triple digits many times on I64 north of Evansville IN when I lived there. The bike did this very well. In fact, one afternoon I rode out east of town and wound it up to about 150 on the interstate. Other than dodging minivans there was no drama. Smooth. Settled. ... and boring. Dangerously boring. This bike made deadly, "throw me in jail and impound the bike" speeds outright boring. That day I realized the XX was useless in America - even in west Texas. It was meant for the Autobahn, not the USA. I traded it the next week for something with a lot more character that made 60mph feel like 60mph.

[GuinnesS]

R1200GS I was so excited about the release of this bike back in April of 04. I had my order in early and was the first to get their's when the dealer finally received them. Having previously owned several incarnations of the airheads this was to be my first 'modern' beemer.
Even though it outperformed the airhead GS's in almost every way it was still somehow less than the some of it's parts. I owned this bike 6 months, put 9k miles on it and sold it the very week I first tried a 950 Adventure. The KTM ended up being so much more than what I had hoped the hex-GS would be. I ended up owning 3 950's but somehow never got the same love for the 990's.
Strangest thing of all is that I now have an R1200R

[mattoid1]

2009 KLR, wanted a second bike, live four miles from pavement and thought it would be a great buy. Put 1500 miles on it and sold it. The original tires were squirly as hell on wet pavement, and wet gravel roads were worse. I do have a 2011 E-glide ultra and have more fun on that bike than I can believe. It's taken me all over the midwest, from Idaho to North Carolina, in comfort and with a radio.

Edit: I did try adjusting the pressure in the tires, but couldn't find a happy and secure place, maybe it's me.

[ShardPhoenix]

Originally Posted by hankgs

You might want to look at a used 1100GS, 1995-99...Great bikes IMO

Looked. Didn't find much, which is probably a good thing since it's going to be awhile before I could even afford to spend $5,000 on a used bike. (going off of the median price I was seeing on the few I found)

Besides, I think if I was going to get a big GS, I'd save the pennies and pick up a sorted, used R1200GS

[rocker59]

I wanted a Guzzi California for years...
Finally got a clean 2000 Bassa variant in 2010. Put 10,000 miles on it over a year and a half...



...and decided that we prefer this kind of touring:


The Californias are great bikes. My body has just become accustomed to the sportier seating of my other Guzzis...

[dmac57]

R1200R.

By every estimation, a great bike. Good handling, reasonably light, great gas mileage, reasonably nice looking. Practically speaking, probably a better bike for me at my size than the GS. But even after spending a full week on one on three separate occasions, it just doesn't raise my pulse even a tick. It's as close to a modern Honda as a BMW motorcycle gets, and for me that means boring.

Apologies to the R12R owners and fans.

[orangebear]

Originally Posted by GuinnesS

R1200GS I was so excited about the release of this bike back in April of 04. I had my order in early and was the first to get their's when the dealer finally received them. Having previously owned several incarnations of the airheads this was to be my first 'modern' beemer.
Even though it outperformed the airhead GS's in almost every way it was still somehow less than the some of it's parts. I owned this bike 6 months, put 9k miles on it and sold it the very week I first tried a 950 Adventure. The KTM ended up being so much more than what I had hoped the hex-GS would be. I ended up owning 3 950's but somehow never got the same love for the 990's.
Strangest thing of all is that I now have an R1200R

my dad who is 5.7 look at the 12gs and found the seat was to high and the max weight to much for him. he then got a ktm 990 adv in 06 and loves it the seat is a wee bit to high as he has to stand on the legs to get on. but found the weight to be better and love using it 2up. i am the same i would not go near the 12gs with a 10foot poll.

[SnappNBrrap]

Originally Posted by NJ-Brett

I find iit hard to believe a modern 650 bike will not go faster then my air cooled 250 (85 mph).

thats why i was disappointed with it. it goes great and pulls well up to about 65-70 mph and then its about done. it runs out of gear in 5th and i doubt it could pull a 6th if it had one.

[SnappNBrrap]

Originally Posted by dmac57

It's as close to a modern Honda as a BMW motorcycle gets, and for me that means boring.

Apologies to the R12R owners and fans.

I dont even want to ride modern hondas for that very reason. if honda makes a bike, somebody else makes one that's comparable, and most likely cheaper, that is far more interesting/exciting. or the hondas that are OK-ish are just fugly.

[Mr. Canoehead]

Originally Posted by SnappNBrrap

I dont even want to ride modern hondas for that very reason. if honda makes a bike, somebody else makes one that's comparable, and most likely cheaper, that is far more interesting/exciting. or the hondas that are OK-ish are just fugly.

Honda has become the Toyota of the motorcycle world. Mr. Honda is rolling over in his grave.

[Snizz]

I ordered a 1999 Buell X1 from aafes when I was stationed in Germany, picked it up in Colorado Springs. In the 3500 miles that I owned it, it blew the rear shock, primary chain tensioner grenaded the primary cover, exhaust studs in the head snapped off, crankshaft end broke off on the left side, and the drive belt snapped. Dealer at Pikes Peak Harley voided my warranty because of a slip on can..bastards.. I am aware now of the magnusson moss act, and would have fought them tooth and nail had I known better.. Its too bad, because it was my first time purchasing anything brand new, and army soldiers dont get payed shit.

Just a little side story.. when my primary exploded, I was on a day ride with a buddy, and I stopped in a dive bar while he rode back to get the trailer. It just so happened that the Avalanche hockey team was in the stanley cup and the bar was giving out free triple shots of house tequila with every Avalanche score..i think they scored 5 goals, i was both pissed and shitfaced..but at least got a story out of it..

I did enjoy the bike while it ran though, and the sound of that carbon fiber muffler was purely orgasmic..

[ninepeaks9]

Excellent point. I wish I had seen this or similar thread before going thru many of my previous bikes. This is perfect thread to come and find out the "not so good" side of bikes and do the process of elimination and get to your bike of choice. By that I mean the bike with the "no so good" sides that you decide you can live with. I think I found mine after going thru about a dozen. Time will tell...

Originally Posted by speedisgood

Many people live in areas where test rides are difficult to arrange, and thus base their purchasing decisions on what they
read in bike magazines or on web forums. For example, this was my situation with my first bike. I lived in a remote northern region in Canada and it was difficult to arrange a test ride. Thus I turned to the forums and to magazine reviews. At the time the Suzuki DL 650 was one of the most raved about bikes, and so I just bought one -- no test ride. Since I had committed to buy it, and didn't want to go through the purchasing process again I just rode it and rode it. I owned it for five years and put 50 000 kilometers on it. In hindsight, I think it was a bit over rated. The suspension was really poor, and while it had bullet proof reliability it wasn't very exciting to ride. So, here is my point. Bike forums tend to be filled with people who have 'committed' to a bike and thus protect it to some extent ie. don't emphasize how bad the suspension really is. Bike magazines often have certain biases as well. They are marketing tools, and thus tend to favor bikes which are pushing boundaries/categories or bikes which are pushing the market forward technologically. In the case of the DL 650, in 2004 and 2005 it was pushing the 'adventure/touring' category. I remember Cycle World running an article in 2005 or 2006 proclaiming the DL650 as possibly one of the best bikes ever. They had someone jumping rail road tracks with it, going on and on about how well it corned, and noting its off-road capability. It think this really was an overstatement, and would have appreciated a thread just like this which highlighted bikes that people wanted to like, but having tried them, just couldn't go with the hype of the moment.

[mrbreeze]

'99 Kawasaki Concours, that I already owned. There was nothing wrong with it really, but I had just come off a test ride of the ZZR1200. After that, the Concours felt like it barely had a motor at all.

But the Concours was a great bike. I kept it for 8 years and put 100,000 miles on it. Still running strong when I sold it.

[mrbreeze]

oh yeah, way back in the day, I had a Honda MT-125 for a little while. Pretty bike, fun to ride around town, but it couldn't pull a string out of a cat's ass. I bought it with about 300 miles on it, and sold it with about 500 miles on it..