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?
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That might just be the ticket. The K1300S shown about his now for sale, since I’ve picked up a 2012 Multistrada 1200 S. It’s probably the least adventuresome ADV bike, but it seems to be a great compromise between the goals of:
So far so good on the MTS 1200, although there are some annoyances: non-existent rear brake, iffy quality of buttons/display, annoying and expensive valve/belt maintenance.
Maybe I’ll pick up a newer V4 multistrada in a few years when they price into my price range.