I have made a critical error in judgement

It's winter here in PA but there is no decent skiing to be had because it was in the 30s and raining all last week. So, to occupy my mind I happened into a BMW Motoraad dealer and sat upon an S1000XR. Despite it being 28F and salty outside they rolled the demo out into the parking lot and let me ride it around the block. Because obviously I look like an easy mark.

Sweet berkeleying christ. Strapping a frenetic 160HP inline 4 superbike motor to a tall upright sport touring chassis and giving it a clutchless quickshifter is stupid! It liquefied my mind. It sounds like a MotoGP race bike. It accelerates so hard it's like a berkeleying shifter kart on slicks. And that was only in "idiot" mode with all the traction nannies on full blast and limited to 9k RPMs because it's not broken in yet. Unbelievable. It's so easy to ride ... comfortable and tall, heated grips, civilized ergos and torque so you can be lazy and cruise or turn the right grip and bend space around you. I could only ride it for 15 minutes because I was so cold I thought I might shatter but....

I MUST HAVE IT

It's a '16 demo with 350 miles. Loaded with all the whiz like lean angle ABS, quick shift, dynamic suspension adjustment, other stuff I don't have any clue about like "rain mode". $4.3k off the zero miles '17 next to it before negotiations. It's still too much money. And that isn't including luggage.

I MUST HAVE IT ANYWAY

I am selling a 49 year old Yamaha scooter, two sweet dirt bikes a CRG Cadet kart and probably the best motorcycle I ever had in 30 years (R1200GS Adventure) as well as any organs that I have two of if anyone is interested.

My wife is not going to like this little surprise at all.

A past co-worker has a Ducati sport-touring bike he'd commute into the office (~50 miles each way on highways). Right after he bought it he went through all of the computers and various gadgets it has. It cost more than my '03 TDI wagon did (around $23K, IIRC).

He bought the extended warranty. Definitely get the extended warranty.

In reply to Huckleberry:

Just buy it in the same color as your current bike. She'll never know the difference.

Toyman01 wrote: In reply to Huckleberry: Just buy it in the same color as your current bike. She'll never know the difference.

That is a legitimate strategy except for the size difference. The GS is a massive hulk of a thing with big square hard luggage.

Toyman01 wrote: In reply to Huckleberry: Just buy it in the same color as your current bike. She'll never know the difference.

Funny related story: a buddy used to have a dirt bike. During the off-season he would keep it in his shed. Another friend asked if he could store his street bike in his garage while he moved. Sure. Month goes by before his wife notices the bike in the garage is different.

"Honey... I thought your motorcycle was blue?"

Huckleberry wrote:

Toyman01 wrote: In reply to Huckleberry: Just buy it in the same color as your current bike. She'll never know the difference.

That is a legitimate strategy except for the size difference. The GS is a massive hulk of a thing with big square hard luggage.

Just tell her you sold the luggage. It's still true.

I see no error

Get the extended warranty and make sure it covers the electronics.

Do it!

There's a heavily discounted RNineT at my local dealer. I can't, shouldn't, and won't... probably

Buy it, then when the weather warms up go back and ride the s1000RR.

That's a pretty amazing bike. Actually, a REALLY amazing bike. I have been riding with guys on sport-touring bikes more and more, and am leaning (pardon the pun) that way myself. The S1000XR is too much bike for me, but if they make a S400LT (smaller number, less aggressive letters) perhaps.

gixxeR wrote: Buy it, then when the weather warms up go back and ride the s1000RR.

The RR is too much for my back. I can't sit on aggressive sport bikes for long days like I could 20 years ago. I love the XR because it's got GS "sit up and beg" seating, luggage racks AND a screamer motor.

In fact, the S1000R would be the ticket for me if I didn't like to moto camp or do 700 mile days getting somewhere to ride. It's lighter, quite a bit cheaper, naked so no expensive bodywork to crack ... but it's missing wind protection, heavier rear frame for mounting luggage, longer travel for rough roads and the longer wheelbase for comfy long days of slab to get to the places I want to ride.

THe XR ticks all the boxes and guys are even riding them on forest roads so I don't have to give up anything except the more gnarly stuff the GS seemed OK with and in return I get the speed and handling I've been missing.

Now if it was only out for a few more years so the used ones were cheaper...

Huckleberry wrote: I am selling a 49 year old Yamaha scooter

So...... is this a cheap pit bike scooter that's perfect for a Chump team or a "vintage" type scooter perfect for riding to the pharmacy for more of Dr. Hipsters Old Fashioned Mustache Wax and Eyebrow Conditioner?

Inquiring minds and all that...

logdog wrote:

Huckleberry wrote: I am selling a 49 year old Yamaha scooter

So...... is this a cheap pit bike scooter that's perfect for a Chump team or a "vintage" type scooter perfect for riding to the pharmacy for more of Dr. Hipsters Old Fashioned Mustache Wax and Eyebrow Conditioner? Inquiring minds and all that...

It depends... do you have a man bun? I bought it to be a pit scoot but it cleaned up too nice to batter around in the trailer.

A '67 Yamaha U5e (12v electric start) rotary valve 50cc with oil injection and a 3 speed clutchless gearbox. 500 original miles.

Do they make kevlar skinny jeans?

Huckleberry wrote: Do they make kevlar skinny jeans?

Yes....yes they do....

In reply to fanfoy:

LOL. I didn't expect that.

In reply to Huckleberry:

How much? Where in PA? I know someone who may be interested. She has a scooter, but it's in a million pieces and who knows when it'll get back together.

In reply to Ian F:

PM sent

Looks nicer than the ones I have been eyeballing like this bad boy inside my budget outside Binghamton. (Everybody loves alliteration)

I see my FJ-09 as the poor man's version of the S1000XR. They actually look very similar in the styling. Both are not very attractive unless you're sitting on the saddle.

But you're coming from a GS so it's obvious that you don't give a berkeley about styling

In reply to Nick (Bo) Comstock:

I like the FJ, and you are probably right... I thought I liked the way they look but I ride a GS. Do I even know what a good looking bike is?

Demo days are coming soon and I'm going to ride everything before I buy anything.

In reply to Huckleberry:

I think they are terrific looking things. The general consensus on them though is they are not very attractive.

I think it's an awesome looking bike, but I own something similar. Tiger 1050.

I've drooled on the s1000xr often. Downside of the dealership bring a half mile from my office.

Grtechguy wrote: I've drooled on the s1000xr often. Downside of the dealership bring a half mile from my office.

Have you ridden one? It reminds me of the way the E39 M5 was screwed together back when they were a steathly sedan and people didn't know about the rocket propulsion device under the hood. It's all nice and comfy. Respectable looking. The controls are nice, good tactile feedback... it sounds so good. The gearbox is all snick-snick... it's happy to putt around and pull smoothly from pretty low and you are thinking "Wow. Typical German balance and attention to detail." Then you crank up the throttle and.... fuuuuuuuuuuuuu.... Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs.

fanfoy wrote:

Huckleberry wrote: Do they make kevlar skinny jeans?

Yes....yes they do....

Wow. Apparently they sell to the handful of hipsters with money, cause they ain't cheap...