Ugh... Something is wrong with me!!! Well... maybe not. There are serious reasons - one actually - why I am contemplating the sale of my beloved Dory, and it boils down to one statement: I miss riding with my wife.
Yep. My 650R may be going on the selling block soon (yo Saki.Girl... you've always said you get dibs). And the sad fact of the matter is that it is a GREAT BIKE!!! It says a lot about a two-wheeled machine when you can empty the tank, refill, and go another full tank with complaint about the back or the hind-end. It is a total blast in the twisties, amazingly easy to maneuver in traffic, has great mileage... I could go on forever.
Unfortunately, it does nothing in terms of comfort for the wife. She never could get used to the leaned forward position, and the stiff suspension rattles her spine on even the smoothest of roads. She was happiest on a cruiser, which is the way I am to go in the next couple of months.
The worst of it. After the experience on the 900, I'm firmly in the belief that I should stay in a comparable engine range for whatever cruiser I might select. That virtually kills off a Kawi (unless I bite a bullet and return to the Vulcan 500). I know that mods are available to change the ergos on a larger bore machine, but funds will be restricted for the foreseeable future (let's thank X-Mas, taxes, and a trip to Israel). I want to maximize the chances that I'll be outright happy with whatever I get, before any mod.
And the truth is, based on experience, that I've only been truly comfy on a stock bike that had less than 900cc's.
The likely candidates - Suzuki C50... ugh. Honda Shadow 750 Aero... ugh. Yamaha V-Star 650... double ugh!
Check that... there's a lot of posting about the V-Star being really underpowered for two-up above 65 mph. ARGH!!!
Still... riding with my wife along the California coast was the whole idea in the first place ( please bear that in mind as you show up on my front porch to skin my traitorous hide alive ). Guess there really isn't any choice in the matter.
Yep. My 650R may be going on the selling block soon (yo Saki.Girl... you've always said you get dibs). And the sad fact of the matter is that it is a GREAT BIKE!!! It says a lot about a two-wheeled machine when you can empty the tank, refill, and go another full tank with complaint about the back or the hind-end. It is a total blast in the twisties, amazingly easy to maneuver in traffic, has great mileage... I could go on forever.
Unfortunately, it does nothing in terms of comfort for the wife. She never could get used to the leaned forward position, and the stiff suspension rattles her spine on even the smoothest of roads. She was happiest on a cruiser, which is the way I am to go in the next couple of months.
The worst of it. After the experience on the 900, I'm firmly in the belief that I should stay in a comparable engine range for whatever cruiser I might select. That virtually kills off a Kawi (unless I bite a bullet and return to the Vulcan 500). I know that mods are available to change the ergos on a larger bore machine, but funds will be restricted for the foreseeable future (let's thank X-Mas, taxes, and a trip to Israel). I want to maximize the chances that I'll be outright happy with whatever I get, before any mod.
And the truth is, based on experience, that I've only been truly comfy on a stock bike that had less than 900cc's.
The likely candidates - Suzuki C50... ugh. Honda Shadow 750 Aero... ugh. Yamaha V-Star 650... double ugh!
Check that... there's a lot of posting about the V-Star being really underpowered for two-up above 65 mph. ARGH!!!
Still... riding with my wife along the California coast was the whole idea in the first place ( please bear that in mind as you show up on my front porch to skin my traitorous hide alive ). Guess there really isn't any choice in the matter.