Hello, I am a motorcycle addict and I suffer from multiple bike disorder. I took up motorcycling in 1998. I like solo touring, and I like to get off the beaten trail, and I have a taste for big adventure bikes.
I haven't ordered a Super Tenere. I just got a new bike in 2010, the Honda NT700V, and it seems wildly impractical to get a new bike two years in a row. And there was that prototype Honda V4 shaft drive adventure bike in the news last fall, and the new Triumph shafty sport tourer that's supposedly coming soon. The world is full of promise, suddenly. But if no other choices arrive (or even if they do), it's very possible that I'll order a S10 next winter. So I've decided to join up now so I can follow along and see how all you early adopters get on, this year.
Besides the NT, I still own a 1992 Yamaha TDM850, which is a sweet, sweet motorcycle, even if it is a bit long in the tooth these days. And I put 65K on my last new bike, which was a DL1000 V-Strom - I liked the Strom very well but got sick to death of dealing with the chain. The thing that really tore it for me and the Strom, was having a chain go south with only 8000 miles on it, in the middle of a cross country trip in 2007. That was my last tour on the Strom. Not to mention replacing the clutch basket twice, and dealing with endless small annoying issues like water pump seals and clutch slave cylinder leaks and what-have-you. In 2008 and 2009 I did my touring on a 1994 VFR750, which was a thrilling bike and reliable too. The VFR wasn't bad, comfort-wise, but I did miss the way the Strom fit me, and I decided to get something with a shaft drive. I was hot for the VFR1200F but decided it didn't have enough tank range to suit me, and for that kind of dosh I wanted more comfort. Considered an FJR but decided it was too large. I want a moderately sized machine, with a shaft drive, that will cheerfully handle what passes for "roads" here in Michigan (aka the land of car eating potholes), do a little gravel as needed, carry me cross country in comfort and rail the twisties when I get there. And I don't want to spend half my riding season fixing it. Is this too much to ask?
Yes, I'm a woman, but I have ridiculously long legs and can easily flat foot adventure bikes. I do, however, have short arms and torso for someone with such legs, so a lot of bikes are quite a reach to the bars even though flat footing is no problem. Adventure bike ergos tend to suit me perfectly.
I haven't ordered a Super Tenere. I just got a new bike in 2010, the Honda NT700V, and it seems wildly impractical to get a new bike two years in a row. And there was that prototype Honda V4 shaft drive adventure bike in the news last fall, and the new Triumph shafty sport tourer that's supposedly coming soon. The world is full of promise, suddenly. But if no other choices arrive (or even if they do), it's very possible that I'll order a S10 next winter. So I've decided to join up now so I can follow along and see how all you early adopters get on, this year.
Besides the NT, I still own a 1992 Yamaha TDM850, which is a sweet, sweet motorcycle, even if it is a bit long in the tooth these days. And I put 65K on my last new bike, which was a DL1000 V-Strom - I liked the Strom very well but got sick to death of dealing with the chain. The thing that really tore it for me and the Strom, was having a chain go south with only 8000 miles on it, in the middle of a cross country trip in 2007. That was my last tour on the Strom. Not to mention replacing the clutch basket twice, and dealing with endless small annoying issues like water pump seals and clutch slave cylinder leaks and what-have-you. In 2008 and 2009 I did my touring on a 1994 VFR750, which was a thrilling bike and reliable too. The VFR wasn't bad, comfort-wise, but I did miss the way the Strom fit me, and I decided to get something with a shaft drive. I was hot for the VFR1200F but decided it didn't have enough tank range to suit me, and for that kind of dosh I wanted more comfort. Considered an FJR but decided it was too large. I want a moderately sized machine, with a shaft drive, that will cheerfully handle what passes for "roads" here in Michigan (aka the land of car eating potholes), do a little gravel as needed, carry me cross country in comfort and rail the twisties when I get there. And I don't want to spend half my riding season fixing it. Is this too much to ask?
Yes, I'm a woman, but I have ridiculously long legs and can easily flat foot adventure bikes. I do, however, have short arms and torso for someone with such legs, so a lot of bikes are quite a reach to the bars even though flat footing is no problem. Adventure bike ergos tend to suit me perfectly.
