Quote:
Originally Posted by plutnicki
I'm a Harley guy, so my answer is going to be a Road Glide properly set up. I'm 5'7" and well, fat, and have no trouble moving one around. You can get a late model, used, low mileage one in the $20k range all day long. That's a great way to tour, period. And dealerships are everywhere so in case of a breakdown, there's never one too far away. There are good and bad dealers, but most will take good care of a traveller, it's the locals they beat up on.
I did NH -> Wisconsin and back, 9 days, 2500 miles on my 2012 Street Glide with a good seat. Was an awesome experience, and the bike performed flawlessly.
I had a 2018 BMW K1600B for a bit to try something new. Found it twitchy and unstable on the highway, moved around A LOT. Bags are hard to use. Tech is hard to beat though. BMW dealers are hard to find. Went right back to a Street Glide.
But at the end of the day, Goldwing is the right answer. Honda reliability, great tech, all day comfort. Of course, it sounds like a Civic, but....
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So I was a young sport bike guy back in the day. My first real bagger was my '94 Concours. Did a lot of "sport" touring on it, 2-up. Then May 30, 1999, out on a day trip in Virginia/West VA, stopped in at the Honda dealer in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Asked to see the new Valkyrie Interstate. The owner of the dealership had the keys in his pocket. He just got back from riding over to Lake Anna. He threw the keys at me and said take it out for as long as you want. My wife and I saddled up, rode it for an hour. We came back, I traded the Concours on the spot, I wrote a check for the rest, and rode off on the new scooter; put in a 300-mile day.
I've never looked back. I've had it 21 years now. I was 37 when I bought it (i.e. still young) Once you get a real large displacement MC and tour on it, you finally understand.