VFR4Lee

Yes on getting new keys cut for the bags before you send them to insurance. Or, tell them the deal with the keys, just don't try to claim the bags are gone. Of course.

If that was me I'd be worried those girls would be laughing about that creepy old man. 😄 I don't know how you do it, but carry on.

Heal well, take your time. I don't think anyone would fault you if you decide your MC riding days are over. I hope mine do not come to an end in a similar way, and will keep doing my best to insure that. Life comes with no guarantees.

Sounds like you are very lucky to have survived. This bit reminds me of Homer Simpson falling down the cliffside, bouncing off the boulders, Doh! Doh! Doh! Heal well.

It doesn't have to be another country. I could be 50 miles from home and out of cell phone coverage. Not much difference.

If you're going old, here is a 1977 XS750, same color as the one I had. Before I painted it red. Triple disc brakes, self cancelling turn signals, and 3 into 2 exhaust. It was my second bike and coming off a Honda CL360 acceleration was fierce. I think it was one of the faster bikes of it's day. You can see the spindly right side up fork, shaft drive, and the way old school dual shocks. Tires are far better now too. Had a kick starter plus electric button. They call it a 750, and the engine cases were stamped 747CC. So, I have kick started a 747! 😄 Problems. Second gear quit working and only made an evil grinding sound. A friend reworked the trans for me, replaced shift drum, dogs, and a couple gears iirc. With a bank of 3 carbs, and 3 sets of breaker points and condensors on a plate that you rotated to set the overall timing, tuning it was beyond my skill level. Yeah, remember breaker points? LOL. Probably could have used a better seat and other mods. I never liked the low pipe. But I could barely afford the used bike and keep it running. Forget mods. Had it a couple years and sold it due to a job transfer from IL to SoCal. Hope the sailor at Great Lakes that bought it in 1987 liked it as much as I did. 😁 77 yamaha xs 750.jpg.bmp

Maybe next year.

The Multistrada looks like a good touring bike. I think the seat is on the high side? I was enamored of Monsters for a long time, so stuck with deciding which Monster. Torque is good, yeah!

For some reason I thought the XSR700 was supposed to be a distant relation to the old XS750 I had. But that was a 1977 model with 3 cylinders, what was I thinking?

My only bike these days is a 2014 Ducati Monster 1200. They say weight is around 460 with full fluids, 8x Ft Lbs, and 13x HP. My 29" inseam gets both feet flat on the ground. It rips off the line and roll on acceleration is instant and eeehah rapid! If you are anywhere near legal speeds. It handles great, a sweet dance partner in the twisties. It is red, it is rolling art work. It is beautiful. It gets low 40's gas mileage ripping back roads. But, it needs premium. Service intervals are much longer than older models and the newer ones are more reliable. 18,000 miles between valve adjustments. New drive belts every 5 years. The header pipe wants to roast my right leg. This is mainly an issue at a long stop light. It has traction control and ABS. The front brake is good, the back is somewhere between useless and wooden. typical Italian, and like the 2 Tuonos I had before. Who needs a back brake anyway? You need to use a firm boot and shift like you mean it to avoid false neutrals. Apparently this is typical Ducati. This mostly went away by the 10,000 mile mark. Every bike I ever owned got a false neutral now and then. The TFT dash is not readable when the sub shines directly on it. I think this affects any bike that has one of these, not just Ducati. A Speedymoto rear axle slider also acts as spools, so you can use your usual rear stand. You just won't be removing the wheel with it. Imho the stock pipes sounds really good and not too quiet. This is good since a full Termignoni system is $2500 or more. It is naked, but the wind does not bother me until well into arrest me and impound my bike forever speeds. So,it does not bother me. I had my VFR for almost 19 years and over 80,000 miles and it was a great bike. I wished for less weight and more power. I got it in spades. Bought my Duc in November 2017 with under 2,500 miles and a new rear tire. Out the door including 9.5% tax was a little over $11,000. So the price is not as bad as you may think when you hear the name Ducati. TLDR. I love love love this thing! The good is really good, and the down side is minimal.😁

Genesis fan? Or do you have triplets? 😀 OK, I get it, 3 of those hangers.

I like the quarterly format of Cycle World. The have some good pictures and interesting articles. Kevin Cameron is worth the price all by himself. I also get Motorcycle Consumer News. The US ad free magazine, not the UK thing. MCN is the best. 😀

The one I miss is Cycle News. I know, they have a web site. Just not the same.

I haven't gotten there yet with the wax. But the oily stuff (PJ1 was what I used) made a horrible mess in there. Lots of grit too.