Well, that's the end of that chapter - the GSA just got picked up to for its ride to IAA.
Well, that's the end of that chapter - the GSA just got picked up to for its ride to IAA.
If insurance will pay for the gear, I'd take their money and buy all new stuff. "Middle weight" now seems to be anything near or over 500lbs. Maybe look at the Aprilia Touareg, Ducati Multistrada or Honda Africa Twin?
In reply to docwyte :
The jacket and trousers have minimal damage (some surface abrasions that are impossible to even photograph) so I didn't feel it was right to add them to the claim. Already got the payout for the helmet as that has some damage and is definitely going to get replaced in the next week or so.
I will likely upgrade at least my jacket. Right now I'm trying to work out if I'm willing to splurge on an airbag vest or jacket that would potentially have prevented the broken bones.
The Touareg is interesting, although probably a bit too dirt oriented for what I'm interested in. The Africa Twin is definitely on the radar, although it is a pretty big bike as well. I think we're beginning to enter slow bike sales season so hopefully a couple of the bikes I have an eye on including a DCT AT at the local Honda Emporium might still be around when I'm able to check them out and test ride one.
Tracer 9 GT? Maybe a ninja 1000 with some hard bags? BMW's new F900XR?
I really like the idea of an airbag vest, just haven't gone and pulled the trigger on it yet. Maybe next season?
As to gear, I wear some Klim and some budget-oriented sedici stuff from cyclegear. My wife just got a firstgear kilimanjaro jacket and it's much more supple than the klim is. It's been surprisingly nice for the money.
AT weighs 500lbs. Still quite a bit less than a 12GSA but not a small bike. You're just not going to find a light bike unless it's a thumper, there's nothing under 400lbs that's a twin. At this point a lightweight twin is 450-470lbs, like the Aprilia or a Yamaha T7...
In reply to docwyte :
~500 lbs is kinda what I'm hoping for. Even a regular GS would be fine as the main "gripe" I had with the GSA was that it was a little too tall and top heavy for me to handle it with confidence with my wife as a passenger as I could only tip toe it and 8 gal of fuel put the center of gravity pretty high up.
Another bike that's shown up on my radar again would be a Honda ST1300 - I had an 1100 for a while that we used for two-up touring in Europe and that worked ok back then. Have to see how much the ergonomics agree with me these days.
The easy touring button for me would be a BMW K1100LT if I could find one in decent condition with relatively low mileage. I've owned a couple of them and know my way around them, but finding one with a) the ABS working (which is usually a maintenance issue) and b) less than starship mileage seems to be a problem these days. People seem to very much hold onto them as there isn't much with a similar combo of long-distance comfort and size.
In reply to the_machina :
Not really looking for something that new. I've not been riding enough recently to justify a new bike so something gently used with life left and under $10k all in is what I'm hoping for. Only exception would probably be a Guzzi V85TT (if the ergonomics work), which would also hit my 500lbs target.
As to gear, I'm currently trying to work out what I really want to get - the fairly cheap gear I have (Bilt/Rev'It) held up surprisingly well, but if I do want an airbag jacket (which I think I do, it would've likely prevented some of the broken bones), I have to figure the exact combo of jacket and airbag vest (or integrated airbag) that I want/need.
Fortunately I still have some time to do my research as I can't really try on jackets that well right now.
I keep wanting to grab an airbag vest, because you can wear it over mesh or waterproofs or anything.
Have you considered a concours 14 as a new ride? Blows the weight target out of the water but it's got a really approachable seat height and the CG is fairly low.
In reply to the_machina :
I believe I tried a Concours for size in the past and the ergonomics didn't feel like they'd work for me. I might revisit this as the FJR also kinda snuck on the radar.
In other news, I received the payout today so if that dang shoulder of mine could please hurry up with that healing thing so I can go bike shopping, that'll be great.
I'm getting itchy for a replacement motorcycle despite not even having acquired a replacement helmet yet, but at least I can now lift my left arm high enough so I could do up the helmet straps again. If I had a motorcycle helmet, that is.
It's getting so bad I've just bid (but not won) on another classic bike on Bring Yer Wallet. Probably should've bid a bit higher, I reckon the buyer got a bit of a bargain. But then again the watchlist has another bike on it that closes tomorrow and I'm actually more keen on that one.
Damn dude, Sorry to hear about this. I went down off road last Sept. 9mm tear in the front of my rotator cuff, but about a 3rd of the rear had to be anchored and repaired. Split my bicep tendon in two. Still attached, but I had two of them instead of one. Almost back to riding (expecting to be cleared for dirt again mid Feb.) 3 months of healing and PT was fun!!!! (please read that last part with as much sarcasm as possible). Luckily bent bars, and broken pegs/shift lever/shaft was all the bike suffered.
In reply to Mr. Lee :
Dang, that sounds painful. Glad to hear you're healing OK!
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