pg wrote on 12/20/16 at 04:18:04:philthymike wrote on 12/19/16 at 18:23:54:I'm reading up on the sport adventure bikes now. And they are looking closer to my ideal on the surface. The DL1000 prior to 2013 doesn't have that silly beak on it and it is fairly reasonably priced on the used market.
If the height is not an issue, the adv segment is fantastic. If you are looking for something to take primarily on the slab, you will need 1K. Just a couple of other options to consider - Versys 1k, Super Tenere, V Strom 1K, and even the FJ-09. I have a V Strom 650 and it is as good as 650cc can get; however, for exclusive use on the interstate you will probably be better off going bigger.
http://i68.tinypic.com/2i7v9xt.jpgBest regards,
I agree with 1000cc or higher. I briefly rode a Ninja 1100 on a secondary road with highway speed limit with a passenger and when it became necessary to pass 9 cages at once I was able to do it with no problems and then duck back into my lane and slow to normal speed with ease. Not that I enjoyed riding the thing but as an example of what is occasionally necessary riding the roads around here.
I've taken my better half's Vstar 650 on the highway a few times and it does considerably better than my S40 at those speeds but it definitely cannot do what that Ninja could. It doesn't have the escape speed required to get away from the aggressive road raging kamikaze cagers in these parts.
I do search craigslist daily if only to look at pictures of bikes. There's a nice Russian military Ural with sidecar on there now I'd give my left testicle for just for the coolness factor.
There's also a Vstrom 1K, Honda ST1100, Kawasaki Vulcan S, Kawasaki Concours, several Suzuki M series and a handful of other interesting things. If I can make time for it I might try to go look at a few of these and possibly test ride them.
Concerning the Sport Adventure class it does have some appeal in that I started out on dirt bikes. I got my 1st (1982 XR80) when I was 11 years old and kept riding in the dirt until my mid 20s. It might be a good feeling to be able to hit some trails and such once again.
Also something that can handle off-road will probably be better on the streets of Philly too. Calling streets in this town paved is going too far.