Small Sport Touring Bikes

[Yasko]

I will be getting another bike this winter. I'll be looking for a midsize bike that I can ride around the metroplex, and a bike that can do a 1200 mile round trip without any problems. The bike must be good on fuel and insurance...

The only bikes on my list are,the Honda NT700V and the Ninja 650R. If I get the Ninja I'd set it up for touring with the extra cash. 2010 on both bikes.

Anyone have any other bikes that my fit? The FZ6 is not quite as good on fuel and insurance. The budget is 7k and I'll be ready any time after Dec. 15th.

Any advice will be most welcome.

[Vergil]

The versys was pretty comfortable for me when I rode one for a couple hours. Nice and upright

[Jiggles]

Oh yes definitely check out the versus and vstrom, very comfortable bikes and if you buy used they often come with many sport touring accessories already installed

[Yasko]

I've love the look of the sport tourer all my life, and I'm looking along that side. I do like the looks of the Honda NC700X. If I do go for that type of bike, it would be the Honda.

After talking to my insurance company, I now can add a 09 BMW F800ST,a FJR(03-08), or any other sport tourer for under $7,500..

If I can find a BMW in the price range I'll jump on it.

[Whiskey]

Vfr 800

[Bill N]

I am a big fan of the FJR and just finished a 6000 mile trip on mine last month. However you mentioned you wanted a small ST. The FJR is large and heavy. Gas mileage is pretty good tho around 45 MPG on the HWY, upper 30's in town. I think its one of the best ST's out there but it ain't small. The 650 WeeStrom is a great bike but it is tall so make sure you check it out closely to see if it fits you.
Good luck, Bill

[Yasko]

The VFR insurance for me is little high, but I love that bike. I don't think I can keep up with gas on a VFR.

The big STs are on the heavy side for me. This will only be my 2nd bike. I do have 2yrs 13k miles under my belt, and hope to build up to the big 1000cc bikes.

I would like to know if the 09 BMW F800ST will eat me up keeping it on the road? What about being on the road and not have a local shop for the bmw? I need a bike that I can trust, and that's not to rich to own.

Thanks again.

[Yasko]

I saw this on a video of the BMW.

"The F800 ST is far from junk, sure there were a few issues when the bike was first introduced, but the greater percentage of owners were perfectly happy with them. Nearly all warranty claims made were met by BMW. By late 2007 the original reliablity issues had been sorted and the bike is now well sorted. I've been a biker for many years & owned V.Max tho' to VFRs and the ST is up there with the VFR for real world riding. Just avoid pre 2008 bikes and it'll be fine. "

[JeffM]

Sv650

[SmithSwede]

Not sure you really need a bigger bike for touring, unless you are going 2-up or hauling a lot of gear.

I say that in part because I just put 1200 miles on my 250 this weekend riding through Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, and Kansas. Had a blast.

I much prefer the little Ninja 250 to my 2005 Yamaha FJR (for one-up touring). I found the FJR uncomfortable, and just too dang heavy and hot, hot, hot. About the only thing the FJR did better was give you the ability to make warp speed passes on 2-lane roads. I prefer the 250 for anything else---overall comfort, economy, light weight, handling, braking, and the smile factor.

I also own a BMW F800S. Probably my favorite bike overall. But the next chance I get to tour 1000 to 2000 miles, I would probably take the Ninjette. It would at least be a tough decision. Three week, cross country tour--sure, F800. But less than that? Ninja is in the running...

Anyway, don't sell the 250 short. But if you want a bigger bike, I certainly recommend the F800, and also the Suzuki 650s.

[Yasko]

Originally Posted by SmithSwede

Not sure you really need a bigger bike for touring, unless you are going 2-up or hauling a lot of gear.

I say that in part because I just put 1200 miles on my 250 this weekend riding through Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, and Kansas. Had a blast.

I much prefer the little Ninja 250 to my 2005 Yamaha FJR (for one-up touring). I found the FJR uncomfortable, and just too dang heavy and hot, hot, hot. About the only thing the FJR did better was give you the ability to make warp speed passes on 2-lane roads. I prefer the 250 for anything else---overall comfort, economy, light weight, handling, braking, and the smile factor.

I also own a BMW F800S. Probably my favorite bike overall. But the next chance I get to tour 1000 to 2000 miles, I would probably take the Ninjette. It would at least be a tough decision. Three week, cross country tour--sure, F800. But less than that? Ninja is in the running...

Anyway, don't sell the 250 short. But if you want a bigger bike, I certainly recommend the F800, and also the Suzuki 650s.

The F800, do you trust her on the open road???????? I would love to have an F800ST but can I trust them???

[SmithSwede]

John: tried to reply to your question yesterday--dunno what happened to it.

Anyway, yes, I basically trust the F800, but I do worry on occassion. And I've had some issues over the last 40,000 miles. So far, nothing major like piston slap or the rear wheel bearing failure.

Anti-theft antenna ring failed in first few weeks of ownership. Left me stranded. Apparently a common early problem; fixed under warranty, no issues since.

Battery died on me suddenly. Left me stranded. Bike started fine on a chilly morning, but was stone cold dead 40 miles later. Never seen a battery fail without warning like that before.

Drive belt failed at 25,000 miles--managed to limp home. Kinda my fault, since you are supposed to change them at 20K, but I thought it was ok. And BMW wants $450 for these belts (!!), so I was trying to nurse as much mileage out of it as possible. Now I know what to look for in terms of wear.

Stator burned out at 30,000 miles. This also left me stranded, as battery was dead. Replacing battery with a new one did not fix the problem. Took me hours tinkering with it, until finally I activated the cut-off switch on the side stand. Then bike started up fine. Not sure about this--think maybe the computer freaked out when it lost 100% power, and needed to reboot or something.

Had several oil drain bolts become siezed in the oil pan. The alloy of the bolt is too soft, and the factory torque specs on this bolt are way too high. Not an issue any longer since I torque to a lower spec and safety wire the bolt.

Currently think the bobbins on the dual front discs are frozen. Front shudders a bit under brake, but only at low speeds. Possibly discs are warped?

Rear wheel slowly locked up due to rear brake binding--was able to fix on roadside. I count this as my fault, since I adjusted the rear brake to have a bit less slack. Seemed ok for first 50 miles, but for some reason as the system heats up, the pads don't retract, it heats up more, etc. and eventually the rear brake is fully applied and won't release. Lesson learned---BMW put that much slack in the rear brake mechanism for a reason.

I think the bearing on the rear drive pulley is failing. Pulley wobbles a bit and belt doesn't track straight. Pretty sure it is just the $90 drive pulley bearing, and not the $1000 rear wheel bearing.

Made the mistake of having a local shop put tires on the bike, and they managed to break the TPS sensor in the front wheel. I'm told that even the BMW dealers break out of of ten of these units when changing tires. I do like the ability to see tire pressures while riding, but it does create a PITA when changing tires.

Headlight and tail light bulbs only seem to last 6 to 9 months or so. Too much vibration I suppose.

My hunch is that overall the Ninjette will be more reliable and easier/cheaper to work on that the BMW. But the F800 is a very sweet bike, although a bit quirky. If you are mechanically inclined, probably not a big deal. But if you needed to take it to the dealer for every problem, that might be a deal-breaker given the kind of rates the BMW dealers charge for service.

[Yasko]

Originally Posted by SmithSwede

John: tried to reply to your question yesterday--dunno what happened to it.

Anyway, yes, I basically trust the F800, but I do worry on occassion. And I've had some issues over the last 40,000 miles. So far, nothing major like piston slap or the rear wheel bearing failure.

Anti-theft antenna ring failed in first few weeks of ownership. Left me stranded. Apparently a common early problem; fixed under warranty, no issues since.

Battery died on me suddenly. Left me stranded. Bike started fine on a chilly morning, but was stone cold dead 40 miles later. Never seen a battery fail without warning like that before.

Drive belt failed at 25,000 miles--managed to limp home. Kinda my fault, since you are supposed to change them at 20K, but I thought it was ok. And BMW wants $450 for these belts (!!), so I was trying to nurse as much mileage out of it as possible. Now I know what to look for in terms of wear.

Stator burned out at 30,000 miles. This also left me stranded, as battery was dead. Replacing battery with a new one did not fix the problem. Took me hours tinkering with it, until finally I activated the cut-off switch on the side stand. Then bike started up fine. Not sure about this--think maybe the computer freaked out when it lost 100% power, and needed to reboot or something.

Had several oil drain bolts become siezed in the oil pan. The alloy of the bolt is too soft, and the factory torque specs on this bolt are way too high. Not an issue any longer since I torque to a lower spec and safety wire the bolt.

Currently think the bobbins on the dual front discs are frozen. Front shudders a bit under brake, but only at low speeds. Possibly discs are warped?

Rear wheel slowly locked up due to rear brake binding--was able to fix on roadside. I count this as my fault, since I adjusted the rear brake to have a bit less slack. Seemed ok for first 50 miles, but for some reason as the system heats up, the pads don't retract, it heats up more, etc. and eventually the rear brake is fully applied and won't release. Lesson learned---BMW put that much slack in the rear brake mechanism for a reason.

I think the bearing on the rear drive pulley is failing. Pulley wobbles a bit and belt doesn't track straight. Pretty sure it is just the $90 drive pulley bearing, and not the $1000 rear wheel bearing.

Made the mistake of having a local shop put tires on the bike, and they managed to break the TPS sensor in the front wheel. I'm told that even the BMW dealers break out of of ten of these units when changing tires. I do like the ability to see tire pressures while riding, but it does create a PITA when changing tires.

Headlight and tail light bulbs only seem to last 6 to 9 months or so. Too much vibration I suppose.

My hunch is that overall the Ninjette will be more reliable and easier/cheaper to work on that the BMW. But the F800 is a very sweet bike, although a bit quirky. If you are mechanically inclined, probably not a big deal. But if you needed to take it to the dealer for every problem, that might be a deal-breaker given the kind of rates the BMW dealers charge for service.

Thanks, just the kind of info I'm looking for. Now if I can get the same 1st hand report on the Truomph Sprint ST.

This info will go along ways in helping make the pick for the next ride. I'm really getting to know the Euro bikes bettter, and I hope to test ride in the next few weeks.

[SmithSwede]

John: there is an excellent forum you should explore: F800riders.org.

I have ridden the Triumph briefly (loaner bike). Great engine. But it felt oddly top heavy to me. Try to get a test ride.