You are out of your mind, must be why the GS and Vstroms have such poor sales worldwide. And my buddy rides 2 up on his Multistrada all the time, he has owned an FJR and a Roadglide, his Wife prefers the Ducati hands down. And with more weather protection comes more weight and more plastic, both of which I am no longer interested in.
Okay, I am out of my mind for not enjoying riding s bike with little wind protection in 30 degree temps. You know everything, and in spite of me owning a vstrom which I nicknamed the "junkstrom" and my opinion is mot valid, and yours is imperically correct.
I live in the Midwest, and tend to prefer long rides. The junkstrom, and the gsa were not at all ideal in my opinion as my only bike based on those factors. If i still lived in San Diego, it might be a different story.
Stop production of all faired bikes, Pokey has deemed them junk and too heavy.
Geez..
I have to agree with eng943 in that an adventure bike makes a great second bike to the concours. The Concours is just too dam hot to ride in the heat of summer! There is literally no wind across my body below my shoulders unless there is a cross wind blowing. July, August and September will see the most miles on the Versys.
When you ride year round in temps that range from 100 degrees with heat index over 110, to 28 degrees with wind chill into the teens, you need more than one bike.
I have over 16,000 miles ridden so far in 2013 and as of today the Connie put on the most miles with the Voyager a close second. By the end of September the Versys will have caught up.
But you can ride any of the mentioned ADV bikes year round and across the dang country if ya want, and still be comfy to relatively comfy. AND.......you can hit some of those off the beaten path roads as well, and.........if you drop one you might have little to no damage. Pick it up, and go about your way. The Multistrada "which is what we were talking about" is an excellent touring bike, there are plenty of articles and riders that will back that up. And imagine this.....it has more hp than the C14 does and it weighs much less.
Not just me saying it.......if the ADV bikes like the Stroms/GS/Tenere/KTM Adventure/Tiger/Multistrada/Vstrom's etc, were not selling well and were not beloved all around the world and gaining in popularity here, then I would be wrong. And you liking what you like is not you being out of your mind, just calling an ADV bike more of a better 2nd bike. Now you calling a Vstrom a "junkstrom" is quite comical, not all quality bikes have to be expensive and have all the bells and whistles which you very obviously get a chub over. And I bet I ride and or have ridden in just as foul weather as you, and I have never had an issue doing it on a Strom or any of the other un-faired bikes I have owned or currently own. Comes down to what you like, how you like to ride, and what suits you, but an ADV bike is far from a second bike. Matter of fact other than maybe a Goldwing and some of the sport touring machines, more elite long distance riders would choose a GS over anything on 2 wheels. Now where did I say that faired bikes are junk and too heavy? You like heavy, hot and powerful bikes with lots of plastic and lots of weather protection, where for me less seems to be more. Now go make sweet love to your expensive gourmet bikes, and I will go and enjoy the hell out of my cheap ass junkstrom. And yes you are out of your mind for riding allot in 30 degree temps, have fun with that.
Geez.......
Sure you can, but would you want to. I would have to have heated pant liners or at least heated boot liners to keep warm enough on the Versys in freezing temps at 55 mph. On the Voyager I can ride all day long with heated seat, vest, and grips. I havent tried the Concours on a real cold day yet. Just got the heated vest wired up in time for the 2013 Moonshine lunch run.
I don't care who says "it", I'm no lemming, and I have owned an ADV bike. I love them, but not as my only bike or my two up bike of choice.
I ride with IBA guys that have GS's, and the last ride we did together we rode from Chicago to the UP, and into the night as temps dropped finally bottoming out at 29 degrees they were crying uncle while I was nice and toasty out of the wind on my C14. I know how they feel, I've experienced that.
Of course someone can ride them however and in whatever conditions they care to. That was not my point. The point is....I don't want to make a longer ride harder than it needs to be by being beaten up by weather on a bike with much less wind protection. Even my GSA left me too much in the open during rain/cold. I want to extend my short little riding season as long as possible, and my pillion likes room and wind protection. Even the C14 is less than ideal for her.
I don't begrudge you for having a different opinion that's fine.. we're human beings. However, when they way you articulate that right out of the box is by being insulting, then fair warning dude, I'm going to come back at you if that is how you do biz.
I stand by my statement, and it's a valid counterpoint that an ADV bike is a better second bike than it is a long distance two up weapon. It works for you, we get it, but don't ram it down our throats and insist it's right for all.
Moving on, and that all said, the Multi is a great bike, no question.
40? I close my vents on the front, but other than that? When it gets to 32 I will close the back and I may put on a thermal shirt and a neck gaitor. My fav riding temp is 50ish, anything above 70 and I'm cooking like an egg in a hot skillet My brain is indeed scrambled
I don't care who says "it", I'm no lemming, and I have owned an ADV bike. I love them, but not as my only bike or my two up bike of choice.
I ride with IBA guys that have GS's, and the last ride we did together we rode from Chicago to the UP, and into the night as temps dropped finally bottoming out at 29 degrees they were crying uncle while I was nice and toasty out of the wind on my C14. I know how they feel, I've experienced that.
Of course someone can ride them however and in whatever conditions they care to. That was not my point. The point is....I don't want to make a longer ride harder than it needs to be by being beaten up by weather on a bike with much less wind protection. Even my GSA left me too much in the open during rain/cold. I want to extend my short little riding season as long as possible, and my pillion likes room and wind protection. Even the C14 is less than ideal for her.
I don't begrudge you for having a different opinion that's fine.. we're human beings. However, when they way you articulate that right out of the box is by being insulting, then fair warning dude, I'm going to come back at you if that is how you do biz.
I stand by my statement, and it's a valid counterpoint that an ADV bike is a better second bike than it is a long distance two up weapon. It works for you, we get it, but don't ram it down our throats and insist it's right for all.
Moving on, and that all said, the Multi is a great bike, no question.
The Multistrada is a great bike with the following peculiarities (related to "enduro like" bikes or crossover, as you like, such as GS, Super Teneré, etc.):
- top quality
- top performance engine
- top electronics
- top price
- good but not the top protection
- good but not the top bag capacity
- "zero" off road capabilities
It's a powerful streetbike with a more erect (and comfortable?) posture
It WAS unique until the new KTM 1190 Adventure came out, with the same performances (150 HP !!!) and very good off road capabilities.
All this for around 4,000 euro less!!!
The Multistrada is way too expensive....
Following your logic, the Concours would not be my only bike and is definitely not comfortable enough for two up riding. My wife will not even think about riding on the Concours when I have the Voyager in the garage. The Concours is way too hot in the summer months to ride around with protective gear on.
Let's face it. The perfect bike is three bikes in the garage. or in my case, six.
Let's face it. The perfect bike is three bikes in the garage. or in my case, six.
No, because I do not insist that what works for me must work fir you. I ride my C14 in full aerostitch year round.
You must live in Canada or Alaska is all I have to say. You would never be able to wear a stitch in the southeast in the summer and survive.
You must live in Canada or Alaska is all I have to say. You would never be able to wear a stitch in the southeast in the summer and survive.