[Stablefull]

After taking a road trip on my sport bike, l have finally come to terms with the fact that my bike is great for commuting and riding around town, but it is not a good bike for riding over an hour or two. My back hurt, my ass hurt, and my foot fell asleep. So l have been thinking about getting a different bike and calling my sport bike itch scratched.

That being said, if l was to get a sport-touring bike, which would be great for the open road, it would not be great for commuting. I also considered an adventure bike, but l am not sure how well they do on a road trip.

In short, l guess l have come to the conclusion that no one bike can do it all. So now l am considering getting another bike. I have never owned more than one bike at the same time, but l know a lot of people here have several bikes. For those of you who have more than one bike, what are the pros and cons? Do you find that you actually ride them all, or do you end up riding one while the others collect dust? Any other thoughts on this?

 

[cmonSTART]

As a long time sufferer of MBS, one down side I see is that often some bikes don't get used enough - they stay parked for a while.

 

[hogcowboy]

Your expectation of one bike for commute and touring must be a lot different than mine. Both Harley and BMW came through quite nicely for me. Of course you might consider my commute as touring with 50 miles one way and half of it in Silicon Valley traffic. Is the size your concern, horse power, stopping distance, what?

 

[Porky]

I have come to the conclusion that a street bike and Dual sport/ adventure bike takes care of it all for me, although, I have added Maxi-scooters to the stable.

At one time I had 4 different types of street bikes in the garage.

It is a problem with maintenance, registration/ tagging and insurance versus just one bike.

Sam:coffeescreen:

 

[Jo6pak]

I am considering the same question Hawk.

I have a Victory and love it. And since all of my riding friends ride cruisers, the Vic fits right in and does great.

But, I have the itch to try something else, so I am probably adding another scoot. At this point probably a KLR, maybe a Super Tenere.

Anyway, to answer part the middle part of you post about one bike for commuting and touring...
Having ridden quite a few of the "Adventure class" bikes in the past few years, that the middle weights in the family (Triumph 800XC, BMW F800GS,) come very close to fitting the bill; providing you have the inseam for them.

 

[CTX]

The way motorcycles have become so specialized, sometimes I think its a marketing ploy to get people to buy multiple bikes.
Having multiple bikes myself, along with the other motorized stuff I have around the house, mowers tractors, UTVs, snow throwers, etc, etc, etc, I have a backlog of motorized stuff waiting for me to service. Last week I finally took one of my older bikes in to fix several issues that I just didn't have time to fix myself, and it probably cost me more than the bike was worth. I guess my point is, don't underestimate the time, effort and money that goes into maintaining multiple bikes.

 

[Rebeldog1]

Over thirty years ago a magazine coined the name/description UJM or universal Japanese motorcycle, a bike that with certain addition/subtraction of accessories made a motorcycle transform from sport bike, commuter/city or urban and touring bike. Since then the trend was for bikes made for specific purposes like shoes or clothes made only for one purpose requiring you to buy several pairs or outfits for walking, basketball, exercise or whatever. That is marketing to make profit by telling you you can't wear what you already have for that use. Motorcycles are no different but you can find multipurpose bikes like Adventure/Touring, standard/naked or sport touring, usually all those have more or less upright seat and handlebar positions. I have two bikes, a Harley XR1200 and a KTM 990SMT, both are different in advertised purpose but both are comfortable enough for everyday use for going to the store, sporty riding (I don't have delusions of being a racer) or if I wanted to ride several hundred miles in a day I could ride either one. I've seen sport bikes with saddlebags added, heard of dual purpose bikes used for long tours, seen touring bikes used for short range rides, I guess it all depends on your comfort level with any particular bike for the purpose.

 

[DianneB]

I have a passion for old and classic motorcycles and would have many except that our government insurance here is a crock of ***** and charges full rate for all bikes, as if they were all on the road at the same time. That makes it totally impractical for any except the rich to run multiple bikes.

 

[gcbengal]

I plan on buying a touring bike in a couple of years and I also plan on keeping my Stratoliner. I will have a 2 up bike for trips and long rides with the SO and a "fun" bike for short rides and cruising around town.

 

[Unkle Krusty]

Bikes

What Dianne said is so true up here. To get collector plates on my 79 XS11, I have to have something else insured. The something else is my XS400.
For an around town and around the Island bike the 400 is great.
For long runs down I5 the big Yamaha is great. Older bikes are only for those that know how to fix them. Those two would do the job for me.

But I figure, I have lived and rode long enough to deserve my SV1000 which is great for Highway 20 and better than the Yamaha. But as you have found out, freeways are hard on the butt. A good 250 or 450 off road bike will fix the dirt itch. If licensed, a 450 could be the around town bike as well.

I always used to own 2 street bikes, 2 track bikes and 1 dirt bike.
One nice sport cruiser, and one good licensed dirt bike should do the job.
Unless you need a side car. Or a scooter.

Unkle Crusty*

 

[Stablefull]

Your expectation of one bike for commute and touring must be a lot different than mine. Both Harley and BMW came through quite nicely for me. Of course you might consider my commute as touring with 50 miles one way and half of it in Silicon Valley traffic. Is the size your concern, horse power, stopping distance, what?

My commute is about 4 miles. It is very heavy, urban traffic, so stopping distance is the main factor. I read somewhere along the way that bikes with touring tires take nearly twice as far to stop. My bike is fantastic in this type of environment. I guess this is why l am hesitant to sell it.

I guess at this point if l was going to replace it l think l would go with an adventure bike, like a V-Strom. I might find that it does better on the open road than l think.

 

[Stablefull]

One message that comes shining through with everyone's responses is, the more bikes you have, the more maintenance you have to do, and to not underestimate what that all entails.

 

[Eye_m_no_angel]

I've got a touring bike for following Mrs. Eye on long rides, and a hot rod for bar hopping and around town. I've got a vintage project for taking up space in the garage so that I don't get tempted to buy any more motorcycles. I've got a few extra engines and boxes of parts to make the garage look full and help collect dust.

 

[FlipFlop]

My scooter for around town and the sportbike for everything else. To me it was about the seat and any bike if you not rode it all winter or very little will get you. 26+ years last 10 years no cage period.

 

[Oz]

... I read somewhere along the way that bikes with touring tires take nearly twice as far to stop. My bike is fantastic in this type of environment. I guess this is why l am hesitant to sell it.
...

Some touring bikes have shorter stopping distances than sport bikes. That's partly because they typically have longer wheelbases and the leverage allows more weight to be shifted to the front without worries of a stoppie.

Test ride a BMW K1300S and see for yourself. A 2007 SV650 needs 119 FT to stop from 60 mph. A BMW K1300S only needs 113 FT. Even BMW's big K1600 six cylinder tourer stops in 122 feet! Here's a link to a Motorcycle Consumer News pdf that lists acceleration and braking performance by model.

http://www.mcnews.com/mcn/technical/2012JanPerfIndx.pdf

 

[Porky]

Todays touring bikes have absolutely excellent brakes, with ABS either standard or at least optional.

Pay close attention and you'll never need your brakes---well, maybe a little.

Sam:coffeescreen:

 

[Unkle Krusty]

Stop

What Oz said about stopping.
A good bike should be able to stop in about 120 feet from 60.
Old British and Guzzis took about 180 feet.


Unkle Crusty*

 

[seagullplayer]

My commute is 40 mile one way mostly rural.

When I bought my 883 in 1995 I thought it was the greatest all around bike in the world. I road it to work, we road it on weekends.
When it rained I got very wet, in the mornings I got very cold. Everything was held on with a bungee cord.
But it was all we had for 16 years.

Then I picked up an old Gold Wing, I thought to ride on weekends with my wife. But after riding it to work I found it to be the perfect commuter bike. It would take a major raid before I got wet, plenty of water proof storage. I really will miss that bike.

I picked up a Honda VTX 1300 late last fall. It has hard bags and a large windshield. I plan to add a fairing shortly. I want the best of both worlds, sport and tour. I do still own the 883. You can't own too many...

 

[cmonSTART]

Seagull, I completely agree about the old Goldwing. I own one and it does everything I want it to - like a pick up truck.

I do own a mildly modified CB750 too though, which is all fun and no function. Can't have too many!

 

[Stablefull]

I've got a touring bike for following Mrs. Eye on long rides, and a hot rod for bar hopping and around town. I've got a vintage project for taking up space in the garage so that I don't get tempted to buy any more motorcycles. I've got a few extra engines and boxes of parts to make the garage look full and help collect dust.

I have pictured your garage, Eye...and l vow to have a similar one someday...