We missed our old pile of tupperware (Honda PC800) that we used to own last year, so we went out and got another cruising bike. This time, I made my wife pick based on her comfort to encourage us to go riding more often together. Her main complaint about the PCX is that it doesn't fit her badonkadonk (butt), so the main preference was to find something comfortable for her. We're also planning a motorcycle trip up the East coast next spring, and possibly a trip to the West coast eventually, so a bike with good storage, good power, and good maintenance was necessary for us.
I made a list of bikes I was willing to tour on, and we went and sat until we found the perfect one. The below is in no particular order, and is just the bikes I remember us trying off the top of my head...
* Honda NC700 - Seat wide enough, but not as much room as we wanted. A bit too expensive. Seat not comfy enough.
* Suzuki DRZ400 - Seat not long enough, she would have to sit on the topbox.
* Kawasaki KLR650 - Same problem as DRZ. Way too much ground clearance also.
* BMW F650GS - She thought it was fugly. I wanted to cry, I think they're gorgeous pieces of machinery.
* Honda Silverwing - Perfect fit for both of us, much smaller than Burgman, and it's a Honda!
* Suzuki Burgman 650 Exec - Comfy, HUGE, and fun to ride. Her seat was too wide. Maintenance nightmare though...
* Suzuki Burgman 400 - Same synopsis as above.
* Vespa GTS 300 - Way too small for 2-up touring. Very nice though, sad to pass this one up.
* Kawasaki Concourse - She loved it, I loved it. Best of the touring bikes we looked at.
* BMW R1200 RT - It doesn't get any nicer than this, but despite the features, other bikes were more comfy to sit on.
* Honda ST1100 - Comfy and nice, but a bit too hefty.
* Honda NT700 - Passenger footpegs weren't in the right place for her.
* Yamaha FJR - Comfy for her, but I was superman'ing that ho (look up Soulja boy if you dont get that reference. Actually, don't. You're not missing anything.)
* Buell Ulyssess - Nice, but too costly. Harley motor anyways, we'd be able to tell when it was out of oil when it stopped leaking it.
So, after our long search, we chose the Silverwing. Craigslist had nothing reasonably priced, and ebay had nothing reasonably priced, so we ended up getting a really good deal on one at a local dealer. It had been traded in and neglected a bit, but should clean up well:
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We're picking it up on Friday. The out-the-door price on it was $3120 + fees (brought it to about $3500).
Good choice.
I agree with your summing up but...
The Burgman 400 is a whole different kettle of fish to the 650, the 400 is a much simpler design and newer ones are totally bulletproof and astonishingly economical.
Not got as much grunt as the Silverwing though.
What year is it?
Four decades on two wheels has taught me nothing, all advice given is guaranteed to be wrong
Exciting!! Very nice Dave! Is this the color Candy Red? The seat looks comfie and low too. Good luck with it. I'm happy to hear it fits your new brides badkadonk (oops, I think that's spelled wrong) aaaa.....bum, butt, ask no more but, One more question, how heavy is this baby?
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I'm only guessing, but it looks like there is a glaring omission from the list in post # 1
It's Kymco.
The Downtown 300 is a simply sensational scooter and the Xciting 500 isn't all bad either.
But neither is as good a two-up touring steed as the FJS600.
Four decades on two wheels has taught me nothing, all advice given is guaranteed to be wrong
I dont think the Kymco is in league with the bikes listed. But of course im sure sendler will come up with other things we all should have bought. I think hes a wizard.
Theres not even a question mark there anymore, just says "sendler" where the "?" was. Besides i ask you more questions on the other site with your duplicate posts.