Completely torn now!!! What have I done?

[JakeS]

The fj's have been one hell of a reliable bike. they do there job extremely well and smooth..
I have seen some for a ridiculous low price with under 15k miles.
I would buy the RT but thats just because i love a twin for the area i ride in and i just love TWINS.

[ausfahrt]

Originally Posted by doc4216

So I currently own a 2008 F800ST with 6600 miles, which I love riding around town, but is just okay for longer trips (long days up to 3 day trips).

Like I said, all advice welcome. Just trying to make the best decision Thanks in advance!

If you want a new bike, that's great and I understand. But you rode 6600 miles in 5 years so it doesn't seem like you do very many long weekend trips....just saying.

New bike lust can be a powerful thing just be sure to be honest to yourself. Been there, done that.

Good luck.

[doc4216]

Actually I bought the bike in 2010 with 600 miles on it so I put 6k in it in 2.5 years. May not be much to some but considering I live 4 miles from work, its enough!

[Twinz]

The Aprilia Futura is a great sport touring bike. After my long-term ownership of a BMW R1100RS, the Futura felt like a sports car. It does everything better than the beemer, and it is much lighter than many of the ST bikes people suggest - Honda STs, FJRs, C14s, RTs, etc. Futuras are available inexpensively and have a bulletproof engine. There are some problems, as with anything, and the great AF1 Racing Aprilia forum can answer all questions. I love this bike!

[Lujo]

Interestingly, I find my F800ST only OK to ride around town, but I love it on long trips. If you have a 4 mile commute, then you may want to optimize for the ease of parking (i.e., stick with a light, low bike). As some others have mentioned, the Sprint is probably more sporty than what you want, and the big sport touring rigs may be too heavy for a 4 mile commute. How does the F800ST fail you on long trips? Perhaps this can be fixed.

[Tom-Nor]

Originally Posted by Twinz

The Aprilia Futura is a great sport touring bike. After my long-term ownership of a BMW R1100RS, the Futura felt like a sports car. It does everything better than the beemer, and it is much lighter than many of the ST bikes people suggest - Honda STs, FJRs, C14s, RTs, etc. Futuras are available inexpensively and have a bulletproof engine. There are some problems, as with anything, and the great AF1 Racing Aprilia forum can answer all questions. I love this bike!

The Aprilia is A good looking and probebly a great bike to ride, but if he thinks the BMW800ST is to sporty riding posistion, then the Aprilia will fail for him to.
It sounds like he whants a more upraised posisition.
If he whants somthing smalish sport touring, i think he has to look at kawa Z1000sx,yama FZ1,SUZ 1200 or honda CBF1000 . But if he whants a sport touring with 70% touring and 30% sport then the C14,FJR13,ST and RT is the direction to look.

[doc4216]

Originally Posted by Lujo

Interestingly, I find my F800ST only OK to ride around town, but I love it on long trips. If you have a 4 mile commute, then you may want to optimize for the ease of parking (i.e., stick with a light, low bike). As some others have mentioned, the Sprint is probably more sporty than what you want, and the big sport touring rigs may be too heavy for a 4 mile commute. How does the F800ST fail you on long trips? Perhaps this can be fixed.

Please don't get me wrong, I love the bike but I find that the angle of my knees really starts to bother me after about 4 hours. Its probably due to the surgeries, but I don't remember them hurting that bad on my Weestrom even after 3 days. I'm actually starting to consider just keeping the ST for town and in a year or two just getting a different one for longer trips. With my career, it just depends on where I get stationed next.

[Twinz]

Originally Posted by Tom-Nor

The Aprilia is A good looking and probebly a great bike to ride, but if he thinks the BMW800ST is to sporty riding posistion, then the Aprilia will fail for him to.
.

Helibars!

[mrbreeze]

I have owned both an ST1300 and an FJR1300. Loved them both.

Both are big, heavy, comfortable road burners. My ST put off a lot of heat. Both are great bikes, but if I were doing it again I would prefer something smaller and lighter. I absolutely loved the DL1000 I had, but hated Suzuki.

Another bike you may want to consider is a lightly used NT700V. That was my second choice when I bought the FJR. I think if I had bought that, I would probably still have it.

I don't know if you carry a passenger or not, but my wifed hated the FJR, tolerated the ST, and loves the Nomad I have now.

[Tom-Nor]

Originally Posted by doc4216

Please don't get me wrong, I love the bike but I find that the angle of my knees really starts to bother me after about 4 hours. Its probably due to the surgeries, but I don't remember them hurting that bad on my Weestrom even after 3 days. I'm actually starting to consider just keeping the ST for town and in a year or two just getting a different one for longer trips. With my career, it just depends on where I get stationed next.

Might tryto lower the pegs.
But if the knees are the problem, you might try the V-Strom, Triumph Tiger 1050 or bikes in that class.

[Eddy Alvarez]

Originally Posted by doc4216

So I currently own a 2008 F800ST with 6600 miles!

Your bike is 5 years old with 6600 miles...Assuming that you don't have a stable of other bikes where you rack up another 15,000 miles per year, you're trying to talk yourself into something you WANT, but don't need or use.

If you average 1200 miles per year, just get some Helibars, a better windsheild, maybe a Russell saddle and keep the big wad of cash you would have spent on a new bike for gas and tires! The 800ST is a great bike.

If you want a more comfortable, not expensive, super reliable, fast enough, great handling bike with hundreds of dealers in the US, get a another 650 V-Strom with a taller saddle.

[doc4216]

Originally Posted by Eddy Alvarez

Your bike is 5 years old with 6600 miles...Assuming that you don't have a stable of other bikes where you rack up another 15,000 miles per year, you're trying to talk yourself into something you WANT, but don't need or use.

If you average 1200 miles per year, just get some Helibars, a better windsheild, maybe a Russell saddle and keep the big wad of cash you would have spent on a new bike for gas and tires! The 800ST is a great bike.

If you want a more comfortable, not expensive, super reliable, fast enough, great handling bike with hundreds of dealers in the US, get a another 650 V-Strom with a taller saddle.

Funny, had you read the other posts you would see that I have put 6k miles on it since I bought it mid-2010. This doesn't include the 14k I put on my DL650 in 15 months, so don't think you know my riding amount by one sentence. It doesn't matter if I WANT ot NEED it, its my money that I'm spending. Most of us don't have a bike because we need them, we just love them.

I was simply looking for advice on other bikes that I haven't had the pleasure of riding yet. That is why I love this forum, good people with great information and great discussions.

[AlanCT]

"You said you know the C14 but not the C10? The 10 is carb'd and not much more expensive than a loaf of bread. It's one you could likely buy and keep the bmw too in all honesty. Some complain about vibes, it's supposed to get valve adjustments more frequently than some, but I've got a feeling alot of people stretch them out as it's not talked about a whole lot. Very old design, also a very big following as it does check alot fo boxes for some. Cheap, powerful, shaft drive, good amount of storage and wind protection. "


You can pick up a C10 fully farkled for less than three grand. Connie owners mostly baby their bikes, although they do pack on the miles (not a bad thing).

The vibes (if you have them) are easily mitigated by several easy adjustments: carb sync, motor mount bolt torque, and balancer shaft adjustment.

After break in, the valves adjustment can be stretched out to eight or ten thousand mile intervals. The first time takes awhile, but it can be done in about two hours once you have the hang of it.

I love mine; it is a highly competent touring and commuting bike. My one gripe is that it gets hot behind the fairing and windshield in summer weather. That's a blessing in the winter though.

[doc4216]

Thanks Alan, that's great info to know. I'm actually to lean towards keeping my ST and getting a used one similar to that. I just saw one today around town and you're right, it was well taken care of:)

[davyjones]

Why not try a Triumph Sprint GT? They are dirt cheap now. I have seen some below 10K in MD, PA area new.