If you were going to buy a street bike....

[Hank]

I'll go along with that

And they are a Honda, which says a lot.   Although lately Honda has me scratching my head... But Birds come from the day when Honda still really had their crap together...

[Caseyjones]

For street I would have to opt for the K1300GT BMW, that would be a pretty decent replacement for my 00 Triumph Sprint ST that has provided so much trouble free sport and tour duty. That GS1200 Adventure would have to be considered even though its not a straight street bike, I would tour that thing to the ends of the earth.

[loingrader]

this looks like a pretty cool bike.  bmw sport touring with abs, on the cheap!

http://www.powerbrokersblackhills.com/motorcycles/files/94r1100rs.htm

[iceycold]

the much over looked DL 1000 suz parts avail cheap..er and the 1k for 2 up.
kawi con .. older (drive shaft)
04 or older BMW K GT if you want drive-shaft and ABS
Honda ST dependable drive-shaft and it's a Honda.
I had FJR fast bike can comfortable at 65 and below but if ever a bike needed a 6th gear it's the FJR for sustained highway.
an older Honda wing must be considered as well as older GS BMW
older RT BMW are usually cheap and the damn things generally go forever.

bottom line comfort is king at 80 2up, go with what fits and gives decent wind protection.

BTW Mike I have a DL if you want to test the 2 up at 80 (not for days or anything) for a decent trial and it's close...

[iceycold]

then again this would work very well:

http://sd.craigslist.org/mcy/1814654314.html  and it's close to you. might want to put standard bars on it, or at least that's what I would do. http://sd.craigslist.org/mcy/1814654314.html the guy works at sturgis bmw in parts I believe.

[plumber mike]

That Beemer is sexy....and affordable.

I haven't had a chance to look at anything since I've been so busy working. Hopefully that means i'll have the dough when I do.

I am curious about the Honda NT700 , but they don't have any at the Honda dealer in Spearfish.

The Xcountry is pulling double duty for now, and doing a fine job of it.....but Nemo road could be much more fun.....just ask Excess.

[loingrader]

I am curious about the Honda NT700 , but they don't have any at the Honda dealer in Spearfish.

if you wanted a new bike they would be pretty tempting.  i like them a lot.  they are just a very updated version of the bike i ride every day.  1983 gl650i.  (673cc v-twin factory hard bags and fairing)  That was only $1k though.

you could find some a nice used sport tourer and a nice used klr for the price of a nt700. 

there is something to be said for buying a bike new though...

[JoniJo]

OK....OK.... Just have to get my 17.3 cents in.
VALKYRIE!!!!!!!
Great bulletproof motor....lotsa torque....handles much better in the curves than you'd think (low center of gravity) and really comfortable on the long haul.
Running my Valkyrie down Spearfish Canyon at "pucker your sphincter" speed is a BLAST.
You'll find some great used (because sillly Honda decided to quit making them) bikes around the $6,000 area.
Case in point.......1998 HONDA VALKYRIE (GL1500) - $5500 (OMAHA) Craigslist PostingID: 1875884613. Maybe not the best color but you get my point.
I've owned mine for over 12 years and it's the best bike I've ever owned. Now...If I could only find the right size knobbies.
See ya'll in about 6 weeks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
                                                                                                       JoniJo

"The two enemies of the people are criminals and government, so let us tie the second down with the chains of the Constitution so the second will not become the legalized version of the first." - Thomas Jefferson

[Dr Psyko]

I saw a nice older BMW R100 airhead (1700.00)the other day. With bags and a simple "clean up" modernization, I think that would be allot of fun. I had a R100RS and put about 20K on it and have a fond spot for bikes with character that don't strand you.

[plumber mike]

I haven't had a chance to ride the bikes I have :'(I'm saving my pennies and hoping to score something in the fall when prices are lower(so I can spend more to get more bike for the money)
I am really liking the FJR's and the Blackbird type of sport tourers. The beemers are sexy but parts prices are so high. A local friend has a Wing that just dosen't seem to be selling, but thats alot of bike on my "road of marbles". I really like the older airheads, but I don't want to have to throw a ton into repairs. Still torn.....stay tuned

[Hank]

I've been eyeballing the C14's a bit lately myself.  I likely won't get one, but I think it would be a great bike for my purposes.
Read some reviews on the 2010's and it sounds like they were refined into an even better bike this year.   Ebay and Craiglist have a ton of 08/09's, both carryover and lightly used.   Saw one carryover 08 for 9K, which is pretty sweet considering it retailed around 13 or 14.

[loingrader]

I've been eyeballing the C14's a bit lately myself.  I likely won't get one, but I think it would be a great bike for my purposes.

how so versus your xx?  i'm thankful that so far nothing currently available tempts me to replace my blackbird.  the newer bmw sport tourers or the new viffer if it had a larger tank are in the ballpark but not near close enough, especially when cost is considered.

i've got givi side cases and topcase on my xx and it is every bit as comfortable as my fjr was.  it fits me like a glove and 1000 mile days are effortless on it.  the c14 is a much bigger bike, not near as buttery smooth, but better wind protection, factory bags, and comfort for a passenger. 

my 05 fjr1300 was an awesome bike.  i ordered it new, put 25000 miles on it (in 18 months), took excellent care of it, had to fix the tranny, thought that shouldn't have happened, sold the yammy and bought a honda.  never looked back!

we are really splitting hairs mike.  connies, wings (gls), vfrs, stroms, sts, fjrs, bmw's, etc...   are all awesome bikes with low maintenance.  you can't go wrong with any of them. 

course i think you NEED a klr.

[Hank]

I'd have to ride a C14 to know if its better, but from the reviews I've read they say engine wise its much smoother than the FJR.  Don't know how it stacks against the XX.  I wouldn't want to sacrifice any of that buttery smoothness though.

I do really like the looks and shaft drive (the 4 bar link setup works great) on the C14 too, but from what I've seen the '10 model would be the way to go, and I'm not spending that much.  The heat management sounds much improved, and from what the Yeti said and what else I've read the older models really cooked your legs.  No thanks on that.   So if I can't have a '10 model, which I can't, I'm sticking with the XX.

The two areas I'd like to improve on the XX are riding position and suspension.   I've made mucho headway by adding the LSL bar kit and lower pegs, but I'd still like to get a bit more upright.  It's really an easy fix though, just need to swap the bars for something taller.  It will require new upper hydraulic lines, throttle and choke cables, and longer control pod wires, but that's cheap comparted to a new bike!

The suspension is probably my biggest bitch, especially the front fork.  I know they made some valving changes around 99, but my ol' 97 has a really harsh fork, and the rear shock isn't anything to write home about either.

My plan for now is to graft on a 'busa front end.  Busas are a dime a dozen and a mint set of forks can be head for a couple hundred bucks.   I've seen it done and the XX looks pretty killer with inverted forks and a busa fender, and the ride would be much improved.    I'm about 99% sure I'll do it this winter, then I might just get the shock revalved at the same time.

With those changes, I think I'd be a really happy camper.  I've added GIVI bags to mine now too, and they are sweet.

Or I could just live with it the way it is, and still have a bike that can do a 1K mile day without much complaint, but for me half the fun of having a bike is finding ways to make it better and different... so I'll likely change it

[The Yeti]

I really, really loved my C14...except for the cooked right leg, that really was the deal breaker. Well, that and the fact that I have NO right wrist restraint.   

Recently, I've really been missing riding two-up with the wife, but am really unsure which direction to go. She really love the "recliner" seat on the back of our (long gone) GL1800, but I didn't like the weight/bulk of it. She didn't mind the back seat on the C14, so if the new ones have solved the heat issues, that may be my next bike (again)! 

[Hank]

It is one sexy beast...