edgelett
Well-known member
Tony and I both got our motorcycle learners permits back in 2004 for him and then 2005 for me. back then we didn't have any disposable cash so the idea was he'd get his L's first and get a learner approved bike (back then in South Aus we were limited to nothing over a 250. this has now changed to up to 650 with specific power to weight ratio).
Then when he moved on to his full licence and got a bigger bike, I'd get my L's and either use his bike or sell that and get something appropriate for me.
Since 2004 Tony has had a ZZR250 (his learner bike), Honda CB1300, Honda VFR800, MV Augusta Brutale 1090 RR and now the Harley Roadster.
The VFR and Roadster were purchased new, everything else was 2nd hand.
The Harley he's owned now for over 5 years, the longest he's had any bike.
After our 3 day trip to the South East of SA a few months back, he's wanting to do more riding trips.
But the suspension on the Roadster is quite frankly garbage. The roads in SA are shit, and every pot hole and bump tried to realign his spine (I was fine on the FTR by the way)
The throttle lock on the Roadster was also pretty shit, either constantly slowly speeding up or slownig down. (I was fine with my cruise control).
On top of that, a few months ago he noticed his exhaust bracket had cracked and he had to repair it.
This now has him looking at an insane variety of bikes over the last 3 weeks, trying to decide whether he wants to get something else or not.
So far he's considered an Indian Scout (he's worried about tank range being less than the Roadster), new 2022 Indian Chief Dark Horse, Ducati Multistada 950 (he's concerned about Itallian bikes after his experience with the MV Augusta), Triumph Tiger 850 and 950 low, Kawasaki Versys, Suzuki Vstrom, Various BMW's, zero Hondas though. he's open to either a new or 2nd hand bike, and would love a proper sports tourer but as no-one seems to be making them any more, he finds he's instead limited to adventure tourers (we won't be riding off road if we can avoid it) or cruisers.
But he also loves riding through the twisties.
What is he looking for? honestly not sure. He's shorter than me by 1/2 an inch so there are a number of adventure tourers we eliminated immediately due to seat height and some he needs to sit on to see if he can touch the ground at all. He's also aware some adventure tourers have electronic suspension which helps in terms of changing ride height when getting on/off and at lights etc. He wants a larger tank range than the Roadster, so anything that gets more than 200kms a tank he's happy with (i got between 220-250 on the open road with the FTR). He needs something that can fit panniers at a minimum, panniers plus top box or bag on rear rack would be awesome.
Also looking for better suspension and if possible cruise control as factory or something that can be fitted with aftermarket cruise control.
He also loves riding the twisties, but part of the reason he got the Roadster was to force him to slow down. He was probably going to end up as road pizza on the MV because it made him ride like a maniac. For that reason, he's not keen on a suspersport or even an insanely fast naked bike. We considered a 2nd FTR but he thinks he'll ride like a loony haha.
His Harley has zero chicken strips on the rear tyre and he scrapes pegs regularly. For that reason, he's concerned the longer wheelbase on the Scout and Chief aren't going to be any good for him (and he's worried about scraping exhausts).
The intention is to take our time and look at a lot of bikes both new and 2nd hand, do as many test rides via dealers that we can, and make sure this is a long term investment.
Other than the bikes I already mentioned - is there anything else outside the square we should consider looking at?
are there other considerations he should take in to account beyond the usual (ergonomics/comfort/etc)
Thanks all
Then when he moved on to his full licence and got a bigger bike, I'd get my L's and either use his bike or sell that and get something appropriate for me.
Since 2004 Tony has had a ZZR250 (his learner bike), Honda CB1300, Honda VFR800, MV Augusta Brutale 1090 RR and now the Harley Roadster.
The VFR and Roadster were purchased new, everything else was 2nd hand.
The Harley he's owned now for over 5 years, the longest he's had any bike.
After our 3 day trip to the South East of SA a few months back, he's wanting to do more riding trips.
But the suspension on the Roadster is quite frankly garbage. The roads in SA are shit, and every pot hole and bump tried to realign his spine (I was fine on the FTR by the way)
The throttle lock on the Roadster was also pretty shit, either constantly slowly speeding up or slownig down. (I was fine with my cruise control).
On top of that, a few months ago he noticed his exhaust bracket had cracked and he had to repair it.
This now has him looking at an insane variety of bikes over the last 3 weeks, trying to decide whether he wants to get something else or not.
So far he's considered an Indian Scout (he's worried about tank range being less than the Roadster), new 2022 Indian Chief Dark Horse, Ducati Multistada 950 (he's concerned about Itallian bikes after his experience with the MV Augusta), Triumph Tiger 850 and 950 low, Kawasaki Versys, Suzuki Vstrom, Various BMW's, zero Hondas though. he's open to either a new or 2nd hand bike, and would love a proper sports tourer but as no-one seems to be making them any more, he finds he's instead limited to adventure tourers (we won't be riding off road if we can avoid it) or cruisers.
But he also loves riding through the twisties.
What is he looking for? honestly not sure. He's shorter than me by 1/2 an inch so there are a number of adventure tourers we eliminated immediately due to seat height and some he needs to sit on to see if he can touch the ground at all. He's also aware some adventure tourers have electronic suspension which helps in terms of changing ride height when getting on/off and at lights etc. He wants a larger tank range than the Roadster, so anything that gets more than 200kms a tank he's happy with (i got between 220-250 on the open road with the FTR). He needs something that can fit panniers at a minimum, panniers plus top box or bag on rear rack would be awesome.
Also looking for better suspension and if possible cruise control as factory or something that can be fitted with aftermarket cruise control.
He also loves riding the twisties, but part of the reason he got the Roadster was to force him to slow down. He was probably going to end up as road pizza on the MV because it made him ride like a maniac. For that reason, he's not keen on a suspersport or even an insanely fast naked bike. We considered a 2nd FTR but he thinks he'll ride like a loony haha.
His Harley has zero chicken strips on the rear tyre and he scrapes pegs regularly. For that reason, he's concerned the longer wheelbase on the Scout and Chief aren't going to be any good for him (and he's worried about scraping exhausts).
The intention is to take our time and look at a lot of bikes both new and 2nd hand, do as many test rides via dealers that we can, and make sure this is a long term investment.
Other than the bikes I already mentioned - is there anything else outside the square we should consider looking at?
are there other considerations he should take in to account beyond the usual (ergonomics/comfort/etc)
Thanks all
