How are you choose what motorcycle(s) to keep when you don’t have room for all of the dozens that you want?

Photo above is my 2009 k1300s, set up for long distance touring. I’ve ridden it to both coasts. It’s amazing to ride in good weather on good roads. But when it rains, or when you have to spend all day on the interstate, or when you are choosing what to pack and what to leave home, it’s not the best bike.

I have room for two motorcycles in my life. I’m 100 miles away from some okay riding, but 1000 miles away from great riding. I like to go for a week-long ride, camping every night, but that requires a ton of storage space. And I want to maximize how much fun I have on great roads when I finally get there.

So, what does everyone think? What’s the right motorcycle purchasing philosophy? The best bike for the best roads and suffer on the way there? The most comfortable bike for rain and packing and highways, even though it’ll be less fun in the mountains? A compromise machine that’s great at nothing?

  • @BenHM3
    1•1 year ago

    You’re riding the best BMW GT so far. (I’ve had a K1200 and K1600GT.) As long as you’re comfy with the dropped handlebars, you’re at peak-smooth, max-power-to-weight, least heavy BMW product. Sure, the later K1300S got a different ECU with more HP, but honestly, you could already peel the paint off my 2016.

    Further, I’m kind of in the “butts=motorcycles” quantity school. I have 1, so 1. Mainly because they can suck so much money/labor and the storage space is the same as a car. I do all my own work, so maybe I’m weird.

    With those in mind, seems to me you’re next bike should excel at everything your current bike FAILS at. Or it should be a big experiment: which to me seems to scream “electric.” Watch some FortNine videos if your up for a nerdgasm: the bike reviews are fascinating.

    You do you, but if we were talking about this over a burger, this is what this old guy would tell you.