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Second Bike To Complement Mine?


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Depends on what you want it for?? I have been very happy with my fat KLR and it did take me 4000 miles in Alaska and the light ones can't do that. Not so recommended for any serious dirt work though.

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I love my DRZ, and it has taken me millions of places, but I put it in the back of my truck from here to the campground. It has taken me up to 10,000 feet, and still runs - barely. I would not ride for more than a few exits on the major freeways, but on a two-lane highway it's fine.I don't ride above 65 with the knobbies. One day I will get an adventure bike - most are either too tall, too heavy or too expensive, or under powered.


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I was thinking of the AT as another bike for my stable. Either that or a SUMO...

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I've owned two VFR's at the same time. Worked quite well for me..... :cool:

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I have my ktm 500 which is a dual sported offroad race bike , I try to atleast put a half hour or so on the vfr per week to keep gas running through it, but come riding time Its KTM all the way, just too much that you can do with that bike.

When I got the VFR I went street only for near 8 years (served its purpose), but missed the offroad capability and the exercise, ride the ditches, track , super moto , jumps, does it all.

I doubt I buy another street bike, but I'll keep the vfr , its still runs Mint condition in its post 100,000 mile age , the KTM aims to catch up. Ive had the KTM alittle over a year and pushing 15,000 miles, so the reliability is there for an offroad race bike, no motor issues at all thus far.

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If I was not closing on a house next week, I could talk my wife into letting me have a second bike. I have thought really hard about finding an old Sportster to tear apart and build back up into something that just looks cool and to play with on short rides. Just for something different to play with anyway.

But then again, being that I grew up with dirt bikes, any street legal machine that could take me off road too seems to really catch my attention. I still love any bike that I sit on that reminds of a dirt bike or has that dirt bike feel to it.

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I've owned two VFR's at the same time. Worked quite well for me..... :cool:

One with street tires, and one with knobbies.....????

http://thebikeshed.cc/2014/06/23/alis-gambler/

No. A 5th gen. and a 6th gen. The 5th gen. just came along with essentially no miles on it at a price that was too good to be true. The biggest lesson for me was that the 5th gen., under the right circumstances has very dangerously weak forks. There is a reason the 6th gen. has one millimeter larger diameter forks. Most people will never learn why first hand.

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Ducati 848 or 1098... They are cheap these days, used.

You will love yourself every time you ride a Ducati. Nothing sounds better.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Street Triple R.

Love that triple howl. Damn good bike!!!! I've had 2 (Daytona 675, Street Triple 675) Trumpets in my tenure and I'd still have the second one if it wasn't killed... :/

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FZ 09. You only have to replace the rear tires because the front stays in the air all the time.....

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I had a dual sport bike a long time ago, which I toured Europe on with a friend (Honda Dominator NX650) - all the way from UK to Greece's cyclades islands and back one summer.
Have always had a soft spot for off-road bikes too, as that's what I started riding on when I was a teeanger.

I have two bikes that go well with the VFR in particular, meaning that they can offer a genuine alternative, although perhaps not the usual choices judging by posts & suggestions so far...

For trackdays & sports riding, I have an RC51. Interestingly I have seen over the years there's a lot of people who went from a VFR to an RC51 or won both, maybe it's the gear driven cams?

The VFR is great for longer trips, highway use, carrying passengers, etc. but for running erands into town and just general fun, I have a 2006 Husqvarna SM450R.

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I'd wanted a light weight motard bike with good power for quite some time, but had been put off by tales of unreliability (I'm a Honda guy for that reason, usually...) but after doing plenty of research, I came to the conclusion these Husky 450 & 510's got better from 2006 on, when the valve stems were thickened. From around the end of 2007 fuel injection was introduced. For some that's not a problem, but I prefer to replace jets in a carb than go into drilling a hole into the header, fitting an O2 sensor and using a power commander to tune a bike after fitting a slip-on silencer, so I'm happy with the flatslide carb these 2006 models came with.
If you don't mind doing valve clearance checks every 1,000 miles or so, oil changes every 500 miles (Oil capacity is only around 1.5 litres and it's essentially a dry sump racing engine), can live with no cooling fan (Switch off for long stops at traffic lights) and a small fuel tank capacity, these offer a LOT of bike & fun for the money. As standard it's dripping with high quality parts that work well, from Brembo master cylinders & calipers to Marzochi forks and Sachs rear shock, floating front & rear discs (Brembo), etc.
They weigh around 120kg and will wheelie given provocation, or none other than opening the throttle wide in the first 2 gears. The single cylinder engine loves to rev and the braking and handling are sublime. We don't have much in the way of corners where I live nor can I safely enter blind corners at such speeds in residential areas, but it loves to lean. Looking forward to taking it on proper country roads where I'll explore into it's limits further. It feels so stable and confidence inspiring, despite liking to have a bike well over, I know already I won't reach it's limits of how far over it can go. Brakes are also very confidence inspiring. The only minor downside I've found is a little shake of the bars when hitting bumps at speed on straight roads... but that's the price payable for fast steering and a bike that handles so well.

It's probably the most fun bike I have... despite the maintenance it's the one I tend to choose to ride most. I've even put a Mototote carrier on our camping vehicle, so I can take it with me to enjoy mountain roads on...

Knowing what I do now, I wouldn't consider a less tuned Honda or other equivalent. I'd find it heavy and slow by comparison. Worth considering one of these therefore, but if you do, be sure to find a low mileage well maintained one. You don't want a ex race / track bike. You can put knobly tires on, but that'll reduce the available fun for road use. The suspension will be a bit harder than for a proper off-road bike if you do take it on dirt - if you'd really want to ride fast on dirt, then get a motocross bike, or similar.

Motards make excellent bikes for short distance riding. Some are better than others!


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