I feel like I didn't properly **** down this thing's throat enough, so I'm back for a second round of number two!
I was thinking about how this bike fits in long term.
Who does it actually make enough sense for?
@Jayell mentioned that people that want this bike for off-roading, won't want this bike for off-roading, due to the weight. Cool.
I'm going to go ahead and add to that, that the people buying this kind of bike for on-roading, probably want this kind of bike for long distance riding, far from home. When I'm cross country touring far from home, the last thing I want is some random motorcycle no one's owned and worked on before. I want the most common thing that anyone can work on and anyone can get parts on, anywhere, with dealers galore to choose from.
That's why I shipped my BMW G650GS to Italy for my annual cross country rides starting in 2023. To give you an idea of how popular BMW motorcycles are over there, in the span that covers the equivalent distance of Windsor to Quebec City, BMW has 110+ dealerships in Italy. THAT's what I want for my touring bike.
"BuT i FiX mY oWn MoToRcYcLeS bEcAuSe I'm A rEaL mAn." Uh, probably not this one, tough guy. Because I'm guessing it's Euro 5+ compliant, and if it isn't already, it probably will be soon. That means if there's anything changed, or anything 'off' with the exhaust system, catalytic converter, or the lambda sensors, it'll all of a sudden throw itself into limp mode and you better hope you aren't on the highway if that happens.
"My BuDdY CaN jUsT bRiNg Me A nEw ExHaUsT sYsTeM oN tHe SiDe Of ThE rOad." Sure, I believe you, but that still won't help, because these new Euro 5+ bikes, once they go into limp mode
NEED a dealer with the proprietary dealer tool to get it out of limp mode. That is the only way to get your bike out of limp mode, no matter how manly and self-sufficient you and your oddly-faithful buddy are.
And that's why NO ONE should buy a NEW touring bike that doesn't have LOTS of dealerships in the place you'll be touring. Old bikes - no worries, we're still cool, buy weird old **** if you want to.
Speaking of buying... Have you seen what the resale market for this brand is like? It's brutal.
I just don't get who it's for. It doesn't make sense for the off-roader, it doesn't make sense for the touring on-roader, it doesn't make sense for someone who might want to "try it for a season or two and then sell it"... I just don't get how it makes any sense for anyone, other than someone who just wants to pose on their adventure bike from one Timmies bike meet to another... and even then, isn't that what most BMW GS' are for?
This thing makes no damn sense.