| Author |
Message |
    
Josh_
| | Posted on Tuesday, July 12, 2005 - 10:24 am: | 
|
>Ryker: You just made me break a sweat thinking of heated grips. I'm in New Orleans, currently 97.
You really ought to rethink an FJR then. Running across Ohio the temps were in the mid 80s and my feet (in good socks, Sidi Sympatex GT boots and an Aerostich) were absolutly baking.
With the S3, I couldn't commute to work with the 'Stich in 90 deg weather or I'd sweat up my dress clothes. With the FJR it's 80deg even with 12,000miles to break in and a Power Commander.
The bike is just damn hot.
Funny tho the acceleration is usually the only part of the FJR talked up or even mentioned.
Q"What about the heat?" A"Well it accelerates great"
Q"How does it tour?" A"Man it's real fast"
Q"Isn't it a little heavy?" A"The engine rocks"
Q"Doesn't it vibrate too much?" A"0-60 in three and a half seconds!" |
Johnnylunchbox
| | Posted on Tuesday, July 12, 2005 - 10:46 am: |
|
Sorry for the long post.
Wheelsleaning, do you have room to keep the XB and still get a new sport tourer? If you do I'll recommend the Kawasaki Concours. They have been relatively unchanged for 20 years, and they still sell. That says a lot. It has a retuned (not detuned) ninja 1000 motor in it. There are plenty of used ones out there for $3 - 5K. They are bulletproof, easy to maintain, have a shaft drive and screw/locknut valve adjusters, 7.5 gallon tank, standard hard bags, and the best weather protection of any bike I've owned. They are rated at about 100 hp and can do the quarter mile near 12 seconds flat. They have a ultra loyal (fanatical) fan base and a great owners group. Parts and technical support cannot be beat. Check www.concours.org
It is not uncommon to find concours with 100K 200K and even a few at 300K miles.
Also check:
http://www.mcnews.com/mcn/model_eval/Kawasaki%20Concours,%20Part%201.pdf
http://www.mcnews.com/mcn/model_eval/Kawasaki%20Concours,%20Part%202.pdf
http://www.mcnews.com/mcn/model_eval/Kawasaki%20Concours,%20Part%203.pdf
http://www.mcnews.com/mcn/model_eval/Kawasaki%20Concours,%20Part%204.pdf
I love my Concours and XB equally.
If you want the newest flashiest sport tourer with the most gizmos then the Concours is not for you. If you want a solid, comfy, mile eater, that is fast, handles well, and is at a price that'll save you enough money to buy gas for the next 5 years then the Concours is for you. By far the best bang for the buck in the sport touring world. No contest!
(Message edited by JohnnyLunchBox on July 12, 2005) |
Wheelsleaning
| | Posted on Tuesday, July 12, 2005 - 12:38 pm: |
|
Thanks for all the info guys.
Yall have me leaning for the Concours now.
Especially for the $$$$. Fund$ are slim in my account due to all my bills. So Keeping the XB is tough if I want a Sport tourer.
Anybody out there hiring? |
Wheelsleaning
| | Posted on Tuesday, July 12, 2005 - 12:50 pm: |
|
Bigeasy: Was that a new model or used? |
Johnnylunchbox
| | Posted on Tuesday, July 12, 2005 - 01:57 pm: |
|
Yamaha GTS is a great bike too bad they never caught on. I would think that because of the rarity they would be rather spendy.
FJR is also a phenomenal bike. However, also very spendy. Is it $5000 better than the Concours? No way.
If you have any questions about the Kawi, email me offline. I'd be happy to help.
However, in the interest of fairness let me point out some of the Concours lesser points.
Quite top heavy at parking lot speed maneuvers, especially with the full 7.5 gallons.
Can buzz a bit. Often over exaggerated, and there are many remedies.
Carbureted (Not really a downside in my opinion, but may be for some.)
Brakes are adequate but not in the same league as the more modern counterparts.
The weather protection is too good sometimes. Some consider a shorter windshield a necessity in the summer. I use a mesh jacket and a evaporative cooling vest. I will drill vents in the windscreen very soon.
(Message edited by JohnnyLunchBox on July 12, 2005) |
Bigeasy
| | Posted on Tuesday, July 12, 2005 - 03:21 pm: |
|
Brand new model, something like 12000$. |
Wheelsleaning
| | Posted on Tuesday, July 12, 2005 - 05:07 pm: |
|
Ouch. Out of my price range.
A 90s model Concours sounds perfect.
I'll be searching... |
Speedy818
| | Posted on Tuesday, July 12, 2005 - 05:18 pm: |
|
Chicago Harley has a brand new S3T still sitting on the Showroom floor - might be able to give you a really good deal on it to get it out of there. Call them 773 338 6868 - ask for Tim (Tell him Andy with the Street Rod sent you).
Good luck! |
Krassh
| | Posted on Tuesday, July 12, 2005 - 06:17 pm: |
|
One of the mistakes I believe Yamaha made with the GTS1000 was to keep the bike below the unofficial 100 bhp limit in place in Europe at the time. So instead of making bikes for different markets they made one for all and that was one of the failures of the bike when they brought it to the US. It was detuned and retuned, they detuned it to get below the 100bhp and retuned it for more mid-range punch. Love the ABS though. The Concours is an extremely reliable bike you cannot go wrong if you can find a good used example that has been well maintained. |
Krassh
| | Posted on Tuesday, July 12, 2005 - 06:20 pm: |
|
Another bike that I still would love to have in my garage that would make an excellent sport tourer is a FJ1100 or FJ1200. Air cooled like our Buells but awesome bikes and good examples can be had for a good price. Throw some soft luggage or hard bags on one and you are good to go. You could probably pick one of these or the Kawi up for a good price and still talk the wife into keeping the Buell. |
Johnnylunchbox
| | Posted on Tuesday, July 12, 2005 - 06:24 pm: |
|
Krash - I forgot about the old FJ's..those are legendary. I got my first taste of triple digit speeds on a FJ1200. I was about 14 riding as a passenger and a cousin's husband took me for a ride.
Wheelsleaning - The Concours had some minor updates for the 94 model year, something to do with the clutch star spring. As far as I know it's an easy fix on earlier than 94 models.
(Message edited by johnnylunchbox on July 12, 2005) |
Krassh
| | Posted on Tuesday, July 12, 2005 - 06:31 pm: |
|
Here is a '90 Concours in Tulsa OK, none in Louisiana and not sure what part of the State you are in. $2,500 with hard bags.
http://adcache.cycletrader.com/5/5/8/79964758.htm
Here is an FJ1100 in Texas. $2495.00
http://adcache.cycletrader.com/5/5/8/79964758.htm
A 98 Concours for $3995.00 in Universal City, TX
http://adcache.cycletrader.com/5/3/7/79880537.htm
A 99 Concours for $4000.00 in SAN ANTONIO, TX
http://adcache.cycletrader.com/5/5/9/79790359.htm |
Krassh
| | Posted on Tuesday, July 12, 2005 - 06:34 pm: |
|
Some of the later FJ1200 had ABS. Those bikes were fast and reliable plus decent handling. Can't go wrong with the Kawi GPZ's of those times either. |
Wheelsleaning
| | Posted on Wednesday, July 13, 2005 - 10:20 am: |
|
Wow guys!
Thanks for all the help.
Did'nt know there were so many sport tourers on this site.
I'm still leaning toward the concours due to its versatility, reliability, and parts availability.
It should be able to handle a small dose of Nitrous. |
Johnnylunchbox
| | Posted on Wednesday, July 13, 2005 - 11:13 am: |
|
Oh man I'd love to see nitrous on a Connie. That would be the cat's a$$. It'd probably be a sub 11 sec sport tourer with hard bags. Can you imagine a guy on a stock 'busa looking over and saying WTF is that? LOL |
Bigeasy
| | Posted on Wednesday, July 13, 2005 - 11:37 am: |
|
I have also been looking at adding a sport tourer to my xb12s wheels. Depending on what Buell comes out with, I have been looking at BMW k1200rs. Real nice with lots of power 130 horse I think. I have seen 2000 to 20002s for about 8000. You may want to consider this bike also. I sat on a new one and it fit like a glove! Very comfortable and plenty of room for the bags and riding two up. Also has adjustable bars with a quick turn of the wrench. |
Wheelsleaning
| | Posted on Wednesday, July 13, 2005 - 11:43 am: |
|
Sounds nice, but I'd still prefer to spend 4000 on a Concours. |
Outrider
| | Posted on Wednesday, July 13, 2005 - 02:35 pm: |
|
Owned both a 1990 Concours and a 1989 FJ1200. Both were great bikes and I don't have anything bad to say about either in reference to their intended purpose.
What I don't understand is why you are not considering a used Honda ST1100. I have friends with well over 250,000 virtually trouble free miles on them and when they finally upgraded, they went to the ST1300.
The ST1100 out rode the Connie in every situation and cost a lot less to maintain. The FJ1200 would spank both of them, but gave up a lot in the comfort department, especially with a passenger.
I had the fortune of swapping bikes and logged a few hundred mountain and desert miles heading to Death Valley one year and swore that if I ever bought a sport touring bike it would be a Honda.
FYI, the aftermarket now has slip on's that give them a nice exhaust note. Not at all like the appliance sound of the stock pipes. |
Wheelsleaning
| | Posted on Wednesday, July 13, 2005 - 03:43 pm: |
|
Outrider:
I guess it's down to whichever one I can get for the better deal. Thank you for the info. I'm researching that one now. |
Outrider
| | Posted on Wednesday, July 13, 2005 - 04:19 pm: |
|
Connie's almost always cost less than an ST1100, but then that is for a plethora of excellent reasons. However, I am not going to bother with pointing out the strengths and weaknesses of each as they are well documented.
Still the Connie is a great dollar value and I would assume parts will be available for even the older one's a lot longer than they will for the FJ1200 compliments of it still being in Kawasaki's lineup. |
|
