Contemplating a new ride for 2020. Suggestions?

[J_F]

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50% over budget
but close by and would appear to tick all the boxes

edit: not sure how tall you are PP,
but this bike gets rave reviews from tall people

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[Iceman]

50% over budget
but close by and would appear to tick all the boxes

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Not a huge fan of the looks myself but that Victory v twin is fantastic.

Sent from my SM-A530W using Tapatalk

 

[J_F]

yeah, guess I like to root for the underdog
Cross Country goes up against RG or SG
depending who you talk to

dollar for dollar you got a lot of bike if you're into the American Iron thing
better engine performance, better braking and suspension, far better reliability

fit and finish on Victory was far inferior to HD, so the perception of a premium brand was never there
was a good business plan to try and get some share from HD who had it too easy for too long

 

[PrivatePilot]

On a side note...I listed my VTX for sale. I high balled the price to start (because hey, why not) and will lower it as time goes on and it proves necessary, but we’re on the cusp of buying season and I’m in no rush/need to sell it to come up with the funds to cover the new bike in the meantime.

Someone messaged asking where I got my batwing fairing from. I told them the name of the manufacturer, which was actually clearly listed in the ad, but that’s another story.

They then sent me a picture of their own mostly bone stock VTX and asked me if I’d like to trade. Because hey, it’s got 30,000 less KM.

 

[PrivatePilot]

I Think the VTX is sold. Guy is coming to see it tomorrow morning and is hot to trot - wanted to send the full payment tonight and blind delivery monday but I insisted he come see it first as I’m more comfortable that way.

I’m not sure how I feel about that. It’s one step closer to my new ride, but I’m also a little sad....I’ve had a ton of adventures riding the wheels off that bike. ?

 

[Hardwrkr13]

Always sad to see a bike go (well usually) but the money in your hand and the kijiji searching right after makes it much easier
I would have loved to keep my Victory as well as the Duc but the Vic would have mostly just sat and with Victory not being made it made sense to let it go. It's a great bike and if they were still made I'd whole-heartedly recommend one.

 

[El_Destructo]

Not my bag either. I'm quite happy riding my mobile couch on gravel and dirt roads when needed, and blasting off intentionally onto logging roads and such isn't one of my desires, so an adventure bike really just doesn't fit my desires at this point.



Thanks, yes, will keep it in mind. The only problem is that I'll get my heart set on some shiny new 2020 model, and next thing ya know....

What I ultimately want in 4-5 years (which is what I was alluding to) is a 2017+ generation Star Venture, but right now they're still in the ~$25K range, so whatever I go get this year is just a stepping stone.

So that means you ultimately want a 7 or 8 year old luxo tourer.??. It's not really even a kruzzer. It's a highway barge. Wonder what mileage you'd be lookin at by then. I'm guessing that you expect to get a deal on a low mileage bike, owned by someone who never used it. This niche of bikes does seem to attract those sort of owners when new.

 

[Lightcycle]

This niche of bikes does seem to attract those sort of owners when new.

Those types of owners exist for all makes of motorcycles. Beemers only ridden from home to the Starbucks, sportbikes only ridden from home down the DVP to Leslie'n Lakeshore, Ducatis only ridden from Woodbridge to the Gelataria, Harleys only towed from home to the service centre...

 

[Hardwrkr13]

What I ultimately want in 4-5 years (which is what I was alluding to) is a 2017+ generation Star Venture, but right now they're still in the ~$25K range, so whatever I go get this year is just a stepping stone.

Just saw this post. In this case, unless you want to take a huge hit on resale and/or be stuck with a very hard to sell bike you should be looking at something that you can enjoy for 4-5yrs yet still flip easily at a somewhat decent price. Look lower mileage (we all know it'll help resale). Wait for the right deal as right now isn't always the best time (sure bikes are harder to sell over the winter but there's much less options). Set your Kijiji notifications for your desired bikes and keep the cash ready at home so you can pounce on a deal quickly.

 

[MacDoc]

What I ultimately want in 4-5 years

The vehicle landscape will look incredibly different in 4-5 years- Harley may not even be around. That could make some big tourers more valuable.

Yamaha is offering low financing of 1.99%. and 5 year warranty on what you want.

Mozu Login

www.yamaha-motor.ca

But then

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$10k today ...39k km.

 

[Hardwrkr13]

See if you can talk this guy down to your price:

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If you strike out there, take a look at these two and see how low you can get them:

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Visit Kijiji Classifieds to buy, sell, or trade almost anything! New and used items, cars, real estate, jobs, services, vacation rentals and more virtually anywhere.

www.kijiji.ca

Kijiji - Buy, Sell & Save with Canada's #1 Local Classifieds

Visit Kijiji Classifieds to buy, sell, or trade almost anything! New and used items, cars, real estate, jobs, services, vacation rentals and more virtually anywhere.

www.kijiji.ca

 

[PrivatePilot]

There's several Harleys in my desired price range, but every single one of them has a history I don't like - either a lack of paperwork proving claimed work to address the cam chain tensioner issues, or low mileage engines that just have never been touched...which means they're basically ticking timebombs. The other thing that I'm seeing are bikes with endless performance hop-ups which people seem to think is a plus, but I personally consider to be a negative as it means chances are it's had a rougher than average life.

I'm still looking, but the only really ideal one I'm seeing that looks like it's properly upgraded (with paperwork to prove it), and is owned by someone who rode it as the 1000# touring bike it is (instead of trying to make it a crotch rocket by adding tuners and junk) is 5 hours away. The pictures look good, but several past really bad experiences in my past have made me once bitten twice shy about going long distances for vehicles that are promised to be in one condition online, but turned out to be enormous turds upon arrival, with the posted photos clearly being a decade or more old.

Back on the metric front, I went and looked at the Kawi Voyager today that I'd been eyeballing. It's nice. Checks all the boxes and is in good shape. Not 100% sure on the seat (even though it has a factory optioned "comfort" seat option vs the stock) but seat issues, if it even turns out to be an issue (One can never really tell until they get that first long ride under your belt), is easy to address. The one big downside is...well...it has a tune flashed on it which does create the question of whether it's been thrashed as well, but having spent some time with the owner chatting, I didn't get the impression he was the sort to beat on it. But the tune means it needs premium fuel, although some digging shows the bike requires minimum 90 octane anyways (mid grade) so I guess at that point we're only taking a few dollars per tank difference regardless.

I've got a few others to look at as well, but I suspect I'm going to keep coming back to the Kawi.

 

[Evoex]

There's several Harleys in my desired price range, but every single one of them has a history I don't like - either a lack of paperwork proving claimed work to address the cam chain tensioner issues, or low mileage engines that just have never been touched...which means they're basically ticking timebombs. The other thing that I'm seeing are bikes with endless performance hop-ups which people seem to think is a plus, but I personally consider to be a negative as it means chances are it's had a rougher than average life.

I'm still looking, but the only really ideal one I'm seeing that looks like it's properly upgraded (with paperwork to prove it), and is owned by someone who rode it as the 1000# touring bike it is (instead of trying to make it a crotch rocket by adding tuners and junk) is 5 hours away. The pictures look good, but several past really bad experiences in my past have made me once bitten twice shy about going long distances for vehicles that are promised to be in one condition online, but turned out to be enormous turds upon arrival, with the posted photos clearly being a decade or more old.

Back on the metric front, I went and looked at the Kawi Voyager today that I'd been eyeballing. It's nice. Checks all the boxes and is in good shape. Not 100% sure on the seat (even though it has a factory optioned "comfort" seat option vs the stock) but seat issues, if it even turns out to be an issue (One can never really tell until they get that first long ride under your belt), is easy to address. The one big downside is...well...it has a tune flashed on it which does create the question of whether it's been thrashed as well, but having spent some time with the owner chatting, I didn't get the impression he was the sort to beat on it. But the tune means it needs premium fuel, although some digging shows the bike requires minimum 90 octane anyways (mid grade) so I guess at that point we're only taking a few dollars per tank difference regardless.

I've got a few others to look at as well, but I suspect I'm going to keep coming back to the Kawi.

Have him livestream a video of the bike.

 

[Hardwrkr13]

Cam chain issue is an easy fix. Knock money off price if it hasn't been touched. Most get dealer serviced so call the dealer they used and get the service history from the service desk (I've done this as well).
Most will have exhaust done. When the owner gets tired of the popping/backfiring the dealer sells them a tuner. Pretty standard. If the engines been rebuilt be thankful if they put better cams in.
My Victory had exhaust, intake, fuel tuner, minor internal work, and was dyno tuned by the time I sold it.

 

[sburns]

Yeah the cam chain tensioner upgrade isn't hard to do. Mostly a lot time to get into the cam chest, because a lot of parts have to be removed. But once you are there it's a piece of cake. The parts are only around $100. I did mine this past fall because they do wear out, but I have the updated version. Doing this at a HD shop is around $500-$600.

If the owner has modified the bike hopefully if you are lucky they might have some of the original parts. Most riders only do Stage I or II which doesn't do much other then open up the air flow, which adds a tiny bit of HP and change the sound .

 

[J_F]

still boggles my mind that a push rod engine would require a cam chain

 

[GreyGhost]

still boggles my mind that a push rod engine would require a cam chain

The cynic in me wonders how much of vehicle design is driven by creation of profitable future work for dealerships. People will only tolerate so much on the sticker price but many (and IME, especially many star-struck HD buyers) don't consider the potential for a $500+ service every two years in addition to what is considered normal maintenance.

 

[BigEvilDoer]

How about this?

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Honda v4 reliability and comes with side and top cases....
And under 10,000km too.

 

[Mad Mike]

There's several Harleys in my desired price range, but every single one of them has a history I don't like - either a lack of paperwork proving claimed work to address the cam chain tensioner issues, or low mileage engines that just have never been touched...which means they're basically ticking timebombs. The other thing that I'm seeing are bikes with endless performance hop-ups which people seem to think is a plus, but I personally consider to be a negative as it means chances are it's had a rougher than average life.

I'm still looking, but the only really ideal one I'm seeing that looks like it's properly upgraded (with paperwork to prove it), and is owned by someone who rode it as the 1000# touring bike it is (instead of trying to make it a crotch rocket by adding tuners and junk) is 5 hours away. The pictures look good, but several past really bad experiences in my past have made me once bitten twice shy about going long distances for vehicles that are promised to be in one condition online, but turned out to be enormous turds upon arrival, with the posted photos clearly being a decade or more old.

Back on the metric front, I went and looked at the Kawi Voyager today that I'd been eyeballing. It's nice. Checks all the boxes and is in good shape. Not 100% sure on the seat (even though it has a factory optioned "comfort" seat option vs the stock) but seat issues, if it even turns out to be an issue (One can never really tell until they get that first long ride under your belt), is easy to address. The one big downside is...well...it has a tune flashed on it which does create the question of whether it's been thrashed as well, but having spent some time with the owner chatting, I didn't get the impression he was the sort to beat on it. But the tune means it needs premium fuel, although some digging shows the bike requires minimum 90 octane anyways (mid grade) so I guess at that point we're only taking a few dollars per tank difference regardless.

I've got a few others to look at as well, but I suspect I'm going to keep coming back to the Kawi.

I find premium fuel to be a plus in bikes, whether they need it or not. Sure there are a few bucks extra, but you can avoid Ethanol mixes which means a decent gain in fuel economy, and less maintenance for fuel systems, no detonation, plugs last longer and you carbonization is reduced.

As for the tune flash, this can be done for a variety of driveability reasons, not just to unlock performance. I would check the reputation of the tune/tuner, that would be more important to me than the fact an ECU has been flashed.

 

[GreyGhost]

As for the tune flash, this can be done for a variety of driveability reasons, not just to unlock performance. I would check the reputation of the tune/tuner, that would be more important to me than the fact an ECU has been flashed.

Agree. Many bikes come from the factory incredibly lean to pass emissions and driveability (and sometimes power) can be substantially improved with a flash. As you said, the tuner/package chosen tells you a lot. If they picked the "screw the fuel economy, I want exhaust flames" tune, that bike is not for you. If they picked the "removes the giant flat spot from 3000 to 5000" tune, that sounds like a great idea.

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