https://www.yamahamotorsports.com/cruiser-touring/models/stryker

A 650 POUND MOTORCYCLE ???      

Mike

Looks nice don't it !  

But

Let me ask ya about that 650 # thing ?

My sportster only weight 560 # and going from it to the Savage is like jumping on a pony after getting off a horse !        Oh yea , the Sportster gets as good or better mpg than the Savage.  

Remember : Yahama quits making parts for machines after 10 years ...     ,  not to wise to buy one of them.  

These are all good points and i will think about them.
the blackout look is becoming quite the cliche I suppose. I don't see why you can't paint the stuff you don't want chrome on the same color as the bike. I intend to do this with Thumpy.

The weight is a concern. I've gone and sat on a Sportster 883 and a 1200 and was shocked by the weight of them. Very top heavy feel but that was standing still. I'm sure it's much different in motion.
One reason I'm even considering the Yammy is because my other half has a Vstar 650 that feels lighter than Thumpy even though its actually heavier. The way Yamaha managed to balance the center of gravity is magical on it so I was thinking the Stryker would be a similar feel. A lot of weight you don't immediately notice.

It's a bit of a conundrum to pick a bigger bike in light of a souped-up S40. The engine mods will take its performance up to the ballpark of a typical 800 cruiser but with half the weight. SO it seems pointless to me to bother with the 800CC class with it's guaranteed 500~ lbs.
the next logical step seems to be the 1000~ CC class.
For awhile i was quite taken with the Triumph Bonneville until I spoke with an owner of one who confided to me about the maintenance costs of that brand. Poor guy....

Anyway back to the Stryker, I'm not too concerned with ugly pipes. 1st thing to go  

As for a physically smaller and lighter bike that will do what I want I have a huge temptation to buy and old 80s UJM. The majority of them are perfectly suited to my needs. I'd especially love to get my mitts on an 83 Yamaha Vision (XZ550). Beautiful bike, awesome engine...
But then I'm SOL anytime I need parts. I'll spend more time hunting for replacements than riding.

Also regarding weight I think a bit more weight is actually benefit for highway riding. Sure they fall harder but they don't get blown clear across a lane when a big rig passes you. This is my big concern with Thumpy. If I decide to take him for a ride to NYC to visit my dad how much exhaustion will I incur from fighting against pass-blast, wind and keeping the bike from going airborne on very rough highways at 70-75 mph?
I find the light weight of the S40 to be fatiguing to ride at length on highways as bad as these on the Eat Coast considering you cannot do less than 70 without a death wish.
I love Thumpy around town and especially on the rural backroads I can ride for hours on end. But just my commute to work down 95 for 19 miles tires me out.

I was quite interested in the Triumph Bonneville and Scrambler until a Bonneville owner told me what his regular maintenance cost him. Even worse than for a Harley. But darn they are very attractive rides.

Yesterday I put many highway miles on my S40 - half of them in rain too. The new shocks I added have made this much more tolerable for me. And the bike works so much better in the wet now too with some extra weight on the front wheel from the longer shocks. That alone was a night and day difference from before. I dreaded taking it out on wet roads before but no longer.

I think things will be more tolerable once my engine mods are done and I've installed the bigger front brake.

But I'm still keeping an open mind about a second bike. Also a little curious about the Indian Scout 60 too.

But darn they are very attractive rides.

They are perty ,

I'd be ridding a SpeedMaster if they had Belt drive .     Those Chains are always such a DIRTY MESS      .    Really cuts down on the choices , but that dirty chain is a forever mess.    

MMRanch wrote on 12/19/16 at 09:11:41:

Oh wow I hadn't looked into this one yet! drool...  

Agreed about the chain drives.

I take your point about the Stryker Dave. It may not be practical and that's what I'm trying to learn about it. I'm not in love with but I see them used for very reasonable prices. Mainly I'm looking for used.


As for what kind I am open to suggestions. My aim is to have a "highway bike" and a fun little "local bike". I have the local bike. And it's fun. and I can wrench on it as I see fit because it is fairly cheap and easy to do so. I am in process of making it more usable on the highway but it's just too light for me to do longer stretches. at least not on these roads (think surface of the moon).
The longer-range highway bike needs to be something with staying power so I can join in rides to distant places - the mountains, beach, neighboring states etc.
It should be something usable for commuting in and out of the big city with though so it can't be some big touring land yacht.
It should carry a passenger with ease on the highways.
I won't be wrenching on it so it has to be a good fit with little modification.
I actually toyed with the idea of a Vstrom 1000 but the hideous ugliness of it is very hard to swallow despite it's functional utility bike virtues. I don't want to make everybody on South St. on a Friday night puke all over their gas tanks when I ride by  

It's going to be a year out most likely. I need to save the money, become a more competent rider and most importantly do my homework. That last part is why I'm trolling for ideas now. By the time I'm ready to take the plunge I want to be good and sure about what to buy.