I'm teetering on the fence

[jethrobolas]

Been thinking about a second street bike for longer distance rides. Max gets rough after a couple hours, even with moreleys mid cut seat. Small tank, no storage and I'm really starting to want a windshield. Max looks best naked in my opinion.
Presented the idea of another steed to my wife. She pointed out that I have too much machinery to look after already (I bitch about it every now and then to her) and that the max would mostly sit.

"Sell it and get a cruiser"

No.



Then I started looking at..... concours 14s.

Mmmmmmmm mm


Couple days looking at cl. Plenty on there. Some quite affordable.

Today one pops up on cl. At my local yamaha shop. Oh oh.

2012 with >350 miles. $10,500.

Think I'm gonna ride max up to the motorcycle shop tomorrow.
She's gonna have my head if I come home on something else.

 

[Rollie]

If you want to keep the Max AND have a sports-tourer , look at used Hondas. CBR1100XX Super-Blackbirds are selling for $ 2,500 and up depending on mileage , options and condition. Capable of 175 mph , smooth & bullet proof fuel injected motors ( '99 model & up ) , and lots of aftermarket luggage / bags , suspension upgrades and forums to keep you updated like this one does for the Max. There are also turbo routes if 200+ h.p. is needed. LOL :rofl_200:

 

[1967vmax]

I bought a zx14 last year i couldnt pass up the deal fuel injected is the way to go.

 

[Fire-medic]

Yep, plenty of great bikes in the used marketplace, it's just an assessment of your priorities & what your wallet will withstand.

The CB1100X was hot, then the Hyabusa ended that 'top of the performance chart' run. Same thing w/sportbikes, you can get a cheap Yamaha R1 non-current model because the sportbike guys want the newest thing. I have a firefighter friend who has two non-current R1's he's sitting on, he wants a R1-M but is waiting until the FL weather moderates into fall. I know he'll be selling them at a good price because he wants to 'move-up.' He just bought a new Corvette so he's not pinching pennies (you can do things like that if you have no children & aren't married). Both are immaculate, and they don't have 20K miles together, so lots of life left there!

This probably could be considered the 'golden age' of motorcycling because of the reliability and performance across the industry on so-many levels. Plenty of used bikes, and if you have the $ you can make a good deal.

That Concours 14 is a great over the road bike, you have your first generation VMax for TT racing around town and hooliganism. Even if you have to get off the VMax to get it, no one on here would say anything except, "good luck w/it."

Before I bought my VMax from the dealer 22 years ago, I was riding a BMW R100RT airhead touring bike. The main difference between the RS sports model and the RT touring model was the fairing coverage. They were nearly identical other than that. It was a great bike, very versatile and the torque would lift the front end easily in first gear to whatever height you wanted it, no clutching necessary. Stock H-D big twins didn't have a chance of catching it, but modded ones ($$) could beat me pretty easily, but I didn't buy it for that. I rode it back & forth to college, and the hard bags would carry bags of groceries easily. Today, if I was in the market for an over the road bike, and if I found a good deal on a R1100RT, or the newer R1200RT, I would be very tempted. They usually are well-maintained and are agile for turning up the pace if you wish. For the passenger, they are very comfortable.

Anyway, let's see what you end up with, happy hunting.

 

[jfeagins]

"HE WHO DIES WITH THE MOST TOYS, WINS."

-one of my favorite bumper stickers of all times-

...just sayin'...

 

[lethal dose]

Can you trade me wheels before you trade the bike?

 

[jethrobolas]

Can you trade me wheels before you trade the bike?

They look cool, but it's like having an anvil mounted on each axle. Thick solid aluminum and the valve stem is a bitch to access. Had to fab my own pressure gauge hose.

Just woke up (night job). Going to check it out shorty.

 

[Woody]

the kawi is a cool bike. my neighbor had one. click off the traction control and lay some rubber.

 

[jethrobolas]

Nice bike.
Faster than it FEELS. Ran first up pretty good paying more attention to the tachometer than the speedometer. Clicked second and opened it back up for a second. That's when I realized I was doing 85. No drama, quiet and smooth as silk. The linked abs felt a bit grabby at low speed.
Said best he could give me for the max was 2k. Showed me the book, $1600-$2100 condition dependent. Kinda figured that's what he would offer. I shouldn't have too much trouble fetching twice that if I'm patient.

Rode red back home.

 

[Blacklightning]

There was a 2012 concours 1400 for sale locally for $7,200 this summer, and the bike only had 7k miles. There are some good deals out there to be had. When I get back on 2 wheels, my only choices are 2nd. gen Vmax, concours 1400, or possibly another M109.

 

[jethrobolas]

Lots for sale for sure.
2010+ bikes are commanding more money because of the updated body work (rider heat issues), a bigger windshield, heated grips, more oil in the fork, 2nd Gen abs with traction control, blah blah.
I'll give it some time, prices will continue to drop.

The blackbird looks slick. Not as refined for touring.

Thinking about putting the max on cl for too much money and see if I get any bites.

 

[Biker Dash]

I would consider an 1100 Katana, if I could get hardbags and a trunk for it.
As it stands, I WANT a Royal Star Venture Midnight... damn thing comes with virtually EVERYTHING I want, and feels very comfortable.

 

[Rollie]

ST-1300 is another Honda you might consider.

 

[jethrobolas]

St looks like a capable bike, but the numbers don't look good on paper...including the price. I would need to try one on. Connie set the bar pretty high. V4, that's cool. It's pointed in the wrong direction! Honda likes doing that shit. Italian wannabes (I know, honda does it better).

Had a katana 750. Nice bike. Fast little bastard. Wheelie machine. Not where I would want to be sitting for a couple tank fulls at a time.

You guys are kick ass.


Here's the st with goodies.