Why don't they...

[EetsOK]

Honda does make a new version of that bike, this:

[mrbreeze]

ST1300! Excellent bike - much better with a Corbin and 2 Bros though..

[EetsOK]

Yes Mr. Breeze it is a great bike. i was very much surprised by how sporting it was. I expected it to more on the touring end of the spectrumt han the sport side but boy was i surprised. The V4 in that bike really packs a punch and sounds great too.

[cug]

Originally Posted by mrbreeze

Why don't they build a modern version of this bike. Touring amenities, comfort, light weight (for a touring bike), low maintenance, decent handling, good brakes and suspension...

Hmmm. I don't get it. Light weight? That thing was more than 315kg (694lbs) with only 19L of fuel. You gotta be kidding me to bring that thing up as an example of something good.

A FJR1300 is 20kg lighter, has likely light years better handling, waaaaay better brakes, low maintenance, better suspension, better comfort, ...

A BMW R1200RT is 60kg lighter, a ST1300 is just 10kg heavier (and feels likely still lighter when underway), a Concours 1400 is about the same weight and so on. They probably are all solidly build, no big issues, are likely at least as comfortable, safer, faster, possibly more economical (though I'm not certain about that part), just plain much better bikes.

If you're asking why nobody builds something like that just at least 80kg lighter, still with shaft and full sized fairing and lots of comfort, just not as much whizbang, I have no idea.

If I could build myself a bike, I'd use a 800 Triumph Triple engine, add belt drive (or shaft, belt is cheaper, so no issue from my end), a layout like the F800ST, just a bigger fairing / windshield (manually adjustable), more legroom,
better luggage. Like a modernized K75RT or so.

Give that to me for roughly 13k OTD with ABS, factory luggage the quality of the BMW RT, heated grips, and I would sign for one TODAY. RIGHT NOW.

Nobody builds that. And even if one of the Japanese manufacturers would build it, they'd not bring it to the US because "bigger is better" here.

[corndog67]

Originally Posted by mrbreeze

Goldwing owners, at least a lot of them, are a different breed. I had a GL1500 for a couple of years and joined GWRRA, and I have to say I just didn't fit in.

Carbs over EFI? Digital electronics are junk? You re living in the past. Nothing is ever going to change back to the early70s. Everything is faster, makes more power and is way more reliable now.

Nostalgia can be blinding, it always seems like stuff was better then. But it wasn t.

[firebrick]

I have an 82 Ive been restoring and lost interest on, looking to unload it now.



Heres when I got it, should not have f'd with it.

[lake_harley]

Originally Posted by mrbreeze

Why don't they build a modern version of this bike. Touring amenities, comfort, light weight (for a touring bike), low maintenance, decent handling, good brakes and suspension...



I saw one of these the other day. Perfectly restored. It looked so much better than it's overgrown, overweight descendants...

I think the world needs a good 1000cc touring bike from Japan...(I know this is an 1100)

What bike would you like to see Japan build?

I'd have to agree. I have a '83 GL1100. Quite often I consider buying a "newer, faster, nicer" touring bike, but my wife is perfectly comfy on the back of the GL1100 and I enjoy riding it. It'll go about 120-150 miles on a tank (as far as she wants to ride between stops anyway) and deliver right at 40 MPG. I always thought they were around 650#, but lets say maybe more, but still less than most bikes used for two-up touring today. It handles well at parking lot speeds. Handling is fine for the kind of riding I use a touring bike for. Working on it, which is seldom, isn't much of an issue in terms of removing stuff to gain access. I like it, it's simple.

If I was into dick measuring I'd just have to have something more "modern", but I can't say a newer "modern" bike would get the job (touring two-up) done any better. Living in the past, maybe, and I don't expect it back, but newer and improved doesn't really relate into any great, guaranteed benefit. For instance, carbs vs. FI....I can fiddle with the choke when the engine is cold for the first 1/2 mile just fine.

Even old bikes have more capability than I do, so today's bikes go to waste on me.

YMMV

Lynn

[mrbreeze]

Originally Posted by cug

Hmmm. I don't get it. Light weight? That thing was more than 315kg (694lbs) with only 19L of fuel. You gotta be kidding me to bring that thing up as an example of something good.

A FJR1300 is 20kg lighter, has likely light years better handling, waaaaay better brakes, low maintenance, better suspension, better comfort, ...

A BMW R1200RT is 60kg lighter, a ST1300 is just 10kg heavier (and feels likely still lighter when underway), a Concours 1400 is about the same weight and so on. They probably are all solidly build, no big issues, are likely at least as comfortable, safer, faster, possibly more economical (though I'm not certain about that part), just plain much better bikes.

If you're asking why nobody builds something like that just at least 80kg lighter, still with shaft and full sized fairing and lots of comfort, just not as much whizbang, I have no idea.

If I could build myself a bike, I'd use a 800 Triumph Triple engine, add belt drive (or shaft, belt is cheaper, so no issue from my end), a layout like the F800ST, just a bigger fairing / windshield (manually adjustable), more legroom,
better luggage. Like a modernized K75RT or so.

Give that to me for roughly 13k OTD with ABS, factory luggage the quality of the BMW RT, heated grips, and I would sign for one TODAY. RIGHT NOW.

Nobody builds that. And even if one of the Japanese manufacturers would build it, they'd not bring it to the US because "bigger is better" here.

I think your dream bike and mine are pretty much the same. When I say "lighter" in relation to the GL1100, I was comparing it to the GL1800. HD Ultra, etc.Comfy touring bikes that weigh way way too much! I agree that the FJR and the Concours etc. are better handling and more powerful and have wonderful brakes, but they are to "sport" oriented for my taste. I want a comfortable, practical bike that I can ride all day, day after day. I want a bike that handles well, has good suspension and brakes. The closest thing I see to what I want is the GSF1250FA, but I want it to say "Honda" on the tank, not "Suzuki". Or if Suzuki chose to go back to building quality bikes like they did in the 80's, instead of price point bikes like they are doing today,, that would be OK.

[mrbreeze]

Originally Posted by corndog67

Carbs over EFI? Digital electronics are junk? You re living in the past. Nothing is ever going to change back to the early70s. Everything is faster, makes more power and is way more reliable now.

Nostalgia can be blinding, it always seems like stuff was better then. But it wasn t.

no,I don't want to go back to carbs, etc. I want a modern bike. You are right, bikes are much better now, as far as reliability goes. But the choices were better then, at least for me. I was the odd ball that bought the GS650G, and turned up my nose at the GS650L - but they sold a lot more L's than G's.

[mrbreeze]

Originally Posted by lake_harley

I'd have to agree. I have a '83 GL1100. Quite often I consider buying a "newer, faster, nicer" touring bike, but my wife is perfectly comfy on the back of the GL1100 and I enjoy riding it. It'll go about 120-150 miles on a tank (as far as she wants to ride between stops anyway) and deliver right at 40 MPG. I always thought they were around 650#, but lets say maybe more, but still less than most bikes used for two-up touring today. It handles well at parking lot speeds. Handling is fine for the kind of riding I use a touring bike for. Working on it, which is seldom, isn't much of an issue in terms of removing stuff to gain access. I like it, it's simple.

If I was into dick measuring I'd just have to have something more "modern", but I can't say a newer "modern" bike would get the job (touring two-up) done any better. Living in the past, maybe, and I don't expect it back, but newer and improved doesn't really relate into any great, guaranteed benefit. For instance, carbs vs. FI....I can fiddle with the choke when the engine is cold for the first 1/2 mile just fine.

Even old bikes have more capability than I do, so today's bikes go to waste on me.

YMMV

Lynn

Now here's a guy that gets it!

I have to say though, Lynn - as much as you like your GL now, I think you would like it even better with EFI. That's a real improvement. Things like radios, heated seats, and airbags, they can keep.

[DannyZRC]

As mentioned, there are a buttload of bikes that are lighter, more economical, just as comfortable and far more powerful available than ye olde GL1100

Is it that they have sporting pretentions that turns you off? Cause the GL1100 wasn't slow for it's day, it was a mediumish speed bike for it's era, just like ST bikes of today.

The only reason it seems slow and sensible is because it's old. If you want slow and sensible and EFI and GL1100ish, there are more than a couple ST1100s out there.

Anything brand new will be built to the standards of today, so the only bikes that will seem slow and sensible will be ultra cheap things you won't want. Anything serious will be built fast enough to be taken seriously.

Just wait 10 years, the ST1300 and FJR will seem as slow and sensible as the ST110 does now, and in 10 years the ST1100 will have a thread started about "why don't they build something like this today, light weight (for a touring bike), low maintenance, decent handling, good brakes and suspension..." and it too will be full of replies about how heavy the ST1100 is and that there's plenty of stuff available then that's more comfortable, lighter, faster, better handling and more economical.

Nostalgia man, it's a hell of a drug.

[cug]

Originally Posted by mrbreeze

I think your dream bike and mine are pretty much the same. When I say "lighter" in relation to the GL1100, I was comparing it to the GL1800. HD Ultra, etc.Comfy touring bikes that weigh way way too much! I agree that the FJR and the Concours etc. are better handling and more powerful and have wonderful brakes, but they are to "sport" oriented for my taste.

Okay, ST1300 then - it's not really sporty, seating position is upright, not as "sofa" like as the GL1100, but close.

When you look at the GL1100, it was basically a very modest cruiser layout with standard controls. You could take one of the modern Japanese cruisers and put a good windshield on and you might actually get fairly close. Not the same of course, but close.

If you want modern as what you pasted above, like the CBF1000 - I'm all for it. But the real thing you missed is this guy:



Decent price, simple technology, comfy, super low maintenance, Honda, ...

Still 250kg or so. Too much for my taste for a bike like this, but okay. You said the GL1100 was light weight ...

Again, from my perspective, take the R1200RT, throw away all the fancy stuff, make it slightly smaller, give it an 850cc boxer engine (that one was always better than the bigger one), make it 230 to 240kg including the side cases and I'm buying. Unfortunately, not going to happen.

And don't get me started on asshole Japanese manufacturers not even bringing the European line up over here to the US. BMW, Triumph, Ducati, KTM, ... they all bring the full line up from Europe over here. Can't be much harder for the Japanese.

The difference to me always seems to be that the Japanese are in for the money only, the Europeans are in for the fun and the technology and just plain for motorcycle riding. For Japanese it's business only, for the Europeans it's about bikes first, business second. At least it feels like that. Same for HD. Without a full attitude change, there is absolutely nothing that will get Japanese motorcycles back in the market. You can see where the huge drop in sales came from: money first. A lot of the "riders by heart" have moved away from Japanese because they feel that they are not getting the the "bike for the rider" but that they have give "money for the bike". It's just so different, and I don't see that changing. Japanese are great in cloning and making things better, but they were NEVER good at attitude.

[kraven]

I'd like a modern version of the RE5 rotary engined bike.
With modern FI and rotary technology having progressed, there's no reason this bike couldn't be built to be as or more reliable.
And if it spooled up to 20k rpm, so much the better.

I'd also like Honda to come up with something mold-breaking, like when they built the CBX street bikes. Something stripped down and beastly like that with a unique look and engine would be very attractive to me. Maybe a v6 this time, based on the RC race model v4 architecture, or a very small v8. Impractical and ridiculous? That's what sells here, so why not?

[mrbreeze]

Actually, when I bought my FJR last March, it came down to either it or the NT700V. I went for the FJR primarily because my research on the NT700 indicated it was pretty maintenance intensive. I am at work right now and cannot access youtube, but there are several maintenance videos by "soundtechguy" on the NT. It took two hours to remove the rear wheel, not just because of all the bodywork, but the exhaust also had to be removed! I like the NT but that indicates poor design to me - so I went with the FJR.

I liked the FJR. Great bike, a real blast to ride - but my wife hated it. She rode it once for 36 miles. Squirmed the whole time. When we got home, she pronounced it "the most uncomfortable bike you have ever had".

The FJR is gone, and now there is a 2008 Kawasaki Vulcan Nomad in my garage. The wife is comfortable on it. It's low maintenance, looks great, sounds great. It's a real pleasure to ride down the highway. But it is a big fat pig (772 dry) and difficult to handle at low speeds. The weight is only a small part of the problem. The real problem is the ergos. Feet out in front. High and wide handlebar. Great for cruising down the road, but difficult to ride at low speeds. I now understand why so many cruiser riders have mastered the duck walk.

So I got to thinking there should be something comfy for two with more "standard ergonomics". A Goldwing would be perfect, but it's just way bigger than anything I want, and I don't care for all the plastic and extra things... I just want a smiple, basic bike. Like I said, a friend of mine has a beautifulled restored GL1100. He parked it next to my Nomad the other night, and that's what got all this started.

A BMW R12RT would be a good fit, but I don't want to pay the BMW price tag, and only have one dealer (who is difficult to deal with) in the area. Besides it seems to me that Honda is doing the best on quality these days, and BMW basically has their head up their corporate @$$. Just my humble opinion.

Maybe the new Triumph Trophy will fill the bill.

Anyway I did not intend for this thread to become a debate on the merits of GL1100's, or nostalgia vs modernism - I intended it to be a thread about what bikes we would like to see that are not currently available NEW... Maybe we could give the manufacturers an idea or two

[DannyZRC]

FJR is fine, your wife was being a weirdo.

Also, you're kidding yourself if you think there's a lick of difference in quality/reliability of any of the front line mfgs.