Want to move up to Sport Touring

[danmdevries]

I use my bikes mainly to commute to school and work. The ride to school takes me 27 miles each way on I-80/94 in IL and IN. It can be moving at 80mph+ Semi's included eastbound to gary from the state line and my ZX-550 Kaw and CM400E honda just aren't making me feel all that safe flying through traffic. Screaming engines in a lightweight frame while being buffeted by semi truck turbulance just isn't my idea of fun. The rest of the ride is great but the ZX hurts my wrists and the 400 is fairingless. I want to move up to a larger bike, friend of mine offered up his harley at a decent price but I'm just not ready to go that slow yet. I want to find something relatively new, 00+. And it has to be within about a 8-10K budget. And it has to be reasonable to insure. (Had an 85 zx11 that geico wanted 3100/yr to add to my policy which is only 448/yr with four bikes) I was told to steer away from the busa because of their high theft rate here on the southside of Chicago. SO, what I'm asking is are there any personal recommendations for a powerful sport tourer that offers good stability, decent fairing, good comfort but is practical to own and insure. I'm leaning heavily towareds a Super Blackbird right now.

Any owners of any type of sport touring bike please comment. Or something even outside the sport touring class, I was pretty comfortable on a 954R for a 50 mi trip. I'm 6'3" 210lbs.

[aussieidiot]

as i'm in the land down under, i can't help you on price.

i have the 03 954. long trips can be a pain in the ass literaly. it is also very different to the blackbird. acceleration is quicker on the 954 upto 260k's but then the blackbird will keep going. corners are a waste of time. 954 will have it all over the 1100

the blackbird is a good bike but always lacked versus the gsxr1300 or zx12r.

what about a VFR? too small for what you want?

[speediva]

VFR, Blackbird are what came to mind... something a lil less sporty would be the ST1100 or the ST1300 (newer and MUCH more expensive). The VFR800 (first year, I think 2k2) does very well on the interstate and is comfy for long rides, but I DO NOT recommend getting handlebar risers on it... they SUCK. Oh and it is FUN in the corners, too. A newer VFR can easily be found in your price range.

[danmdevries]

I looked at the st1300 and am also thinking of that new Kaw, the zx14? The st1300 had alot of power and isolated the rider from wind but it was just too... not sporty. The VFR, that's the newest interceptor, right? I haven't tested one of those yet, maybe I'll check that out. One more priority is it has to ride 2 up with relative comfort for both for 50-80 mile Sunday cruises. Maybe I'll just give it up and buy a cruiser/standard. I like the VTX1800 from Honda and the vulcan 1600 mean streak. But when I'm alone on the bike I love tearing up highway ramps and leaning hard and just can't do that on a cruiser... Oh well i'll keep looking. I haven't yet taken a blackbird for a test drive, and the suzuki dealership doesn't allow busa test drives unless you're an MSF instructor. I could try another one. Are they even comfortable? I know they're considered sport touring but most people just use them as wheelie monsters and drag bikes, so I dunno if they're even up for my riding style.

[speediva]

Speaking with first hand experience... the back seat of a Busa is NOT very comfortable for long distances. Short distances aren't bad. I never rode anyone on the back of the "Viffer"/Interceptor to ask how it's back seat was.

[danmdevries]

Another bike I ran into today was an old ZZ-R1100. Saw it in the cycle trader and it was a friend of someone at work, got to check it out. I didn't ride it but it seemed comfortable enough. I haven't really looked into them, I wanted to steer away from the older bikes for my daily transport so I don't know about that one. Anyone ever own one of these? Seemed like it might be a little heavy on the wrists after a while.

[speediva]

I wouldn't avoid older bikes just on the fact that they are "old technology" or anything else like that. As long as the bike was maintained properly or even relatively well, it will do just fine (unless you're talking about a Hardley Ableson which will NEVER be fine hahaha) As for experience with the ZZ-R... I rode through the wilds of West Virginia with a BUNCH of guys on ZZRs at a pretty nice clip... yes, they out-rode me.... but they all seemed plenty comfortable on their bikes. Again, I can't comment on the back seat, though.

[Z_Fanatic]

Might I suggest SV1000, best bang for the buck for carving or touring, naked or S model. Plus that v-twin grunt that makes them fun to use on the road. If I had the money, I'd get it and strip some weight off and get it to handle like SV650, then take it to the track. 650 handles great, but I fear it was underpowered after a while.

[danmdevries]

I have three bikes, the first three I ever owned in pristine condition after restoring two last year and in the middle of the third this winter. I love old bikes mainly cause if something does go wrong, I can fix it myself. I also want to retire them from my daily commute. I looked at that suzuki online but I think I want to stay with the "roominess" of the long single seat like the 80's bikes I love. I located a CBR 1100 XX in Chicago here so I'm going to try to check it out. Surprisingly it's dare I say cheap on insurance? I got a quote to add to my policy would be $533 a yr. That's a quarter of what I pay on my 95 civic sedan. After reading as much as I could about the sport tourers, the Super Blackbird definitely seems to fit the bill. Everybody said the blackbird may be a little slower for the top speed title but is more comfortable than the competition. With that, and that I agree with its styling, the comments about hhow it blocked most of the wind (the other three bikes had complaints), I like that point. I think I'm sold on the Super Blackbird. We'll see. There's a triumph that caught my eye on somebody's screen saver at work, don't know what it is though

[speediva]

Unless you are a fan of leaking fluids, I'd steer away from Triumph. Speaking for PA, there are FEW reliable dealers and the bikes themselves tend to be "quirky" in a not-so-charming manner.

Oh, how could I forget about the BMW tourers??? You could look into one of those!

[danmdevries]

Well the insurance man just crushed my dreams... I got cleared for the financing on a 2004 model with 1909 miles on her (super blackbird). They required I had proof of insurance including comprehensive and collision with a $500 deductable. The $533 a yr increase on my policy was without either. I only have liability on all my vehicles. Even though I have a perfect driving record and no accidents for some reason insurance companies really F*** me when I want full coverage. Anyways, after updating the information on my quote it suddenly went up to $4700 increase, and that's with a $1000 collision deductable. It's $5000+ (don't remember exactly right now) with the $500 deductable. For a bike that's selling for $7900 there's no way in hell I'm going to shell out that kind of money for insurance. I looked around at my other choices, the lowest I was able to get it (I believe on the triumph) was $2800 a yr. That's just insanity. But I could add a brand new CBR600RR to the policy for only $1100 a yr full coverage ($180 for liability). Now I know why I've only seen but one or two blackbirds outside of dealerships. Oh well I guess I'll just stick with my old bikes till I win the lotto.

[speediva]

Originally Posted by danmdevries

Well the insurance man just crushed my dreams... I got cleared for the financing on a 2004 model with 1909 miles on her (super blackbird). They required I had proof of insurance including comprehensive and collision with a $500 deductable. The $533 a yr increase on my policy was without either. I only have liability on all my vehicles. Even though I have a perfect driving record and no accidents for some reason insurance companies really F*** me when I want full coverage. Anyways, after updating the information on my quote it suddenly went up to $4700 increase, and that's with a $1000 collision deductable. It's $5000+ (don't remember exactly right now) with the $500 deductable. For a bike that's selling for $7900 there's no way in hell I'm going to shell out that kind of money for insurance. I looked around at my other choices, the lowest I was able to get it (I believe on the triumph) was $2800 a yr. That's just insanity. But I could add a brand new CBR600RR to the policy for only $1100 a yr full coverage ($180 for liability). Now I know why I've only seen but one or two blackbirds outside of dealerships. Oh well I guess I'll just stick with my old bikes till I win the lotto.

Yeah, financing is a bitch that way... Full coverage will get you every time. Is there any way to get another rider titled on it with you who might be older or something that could get a cheaper rate on full coverage? I've done that in the past with my dad on my title, and then he insures it as his own, but puts me on as allowed to ride.... saves me TONS.

I just re-read your problem, and you could always look into another insurance company that insures by "style" rather than "cc"... I think that is why you are getting such a huge hit... your insurance is so high because they "rate" it by how big the motor is, rather than what kind of bike it is (sport, supersport, sporttourer, etc). Do a lil research... you might see a BIG difference.

[CreepingDeath94]

Or you could just insure it for the initial down and then never make an insurance payment and let it lapse...but that would be evil and baby Jesus cries when you lie or commit acts of evil...

[danmdevries]

I did try a few different companies, state farm, progressive, geico, and then the dealership tried helping me out with a few too but nobody fell within a reasonable range. I considered just getting it with the $600 down and letting it lapse out but should i get caught I don't wanna end up with that on my record. I'm just gonna hold off for another year and hope I can find another and pay cash. This one was in such beautiful shape with such low mileage though... I'll hold off for another week, do some fiddlin' with Quicken and see what i can do.

[DealsGap]

When I bought my R6 I took out a generic personal loan from a bank for a few grand, and then paid cash for the bike. That way I was able to get around having full coverage insurance. I only ever ride the same 10 mile stretch of road when I street ride, so I didn't feel it necessary to have full coverage. If I commuted or rode in other high traffic situations, things would be different.

If you decide to go this route, familiarize yourself with the legal risks you are taking in various accident scenarios by having only liability coverage.