So I went to Bikes Blues and BBQ just for the demo rides Thursday.

I was trying to be strategic with my timing. It opened Wed and goes through Sat but I figured the first day would be a lot of setup and on the weekend I would be lucky to get a couple rides in due to the crowd. It seemed to have worked. I had planned on checking out Triumph and Harley and was hoping BMW was going to be there but the closer the show got the more up in the air that seemed. Also the only info showing demo rides said they would be at the Rogers Convention center so thats what I set my GPS for. I'm glad I rode the Street Triple down because bikes got free parking everywhere. I arrived at the convention center and there were only BMW and Harley there. I went over to the BMW tent and signed up to ride and asked them if they had scared Triumph off and they acted as if they were surprised Triumph was supposed to be there. Anyway, I rode the tar out of some BMW's. This won't be in order probably but I rode an F 900 XR which was a neat bike but I did not like the sound of the engine at all. It rode great and had plenty of power but I wouldn't own one. Next was the R nine T Urban GS which oh my that engine was perfection and that was my favorite bike of the BMW lineup. Interestingly it has a different, larger rider triangle than the R nine T Pure which they also had there but didn't fit me. On a lark because nobody buys them I rode the R18. When rolling that bike is fantastic. When at a stop sign or light it is super heavy and with the side to side cylinder jugs it was trying to get me to layer down when stopped if I leaned slightly either way. It seems it would be the perfect bike to attach a side car to and I think would be amazing configured like that. After the R18 I didn't test any Harleys. I thought I would be interested but I figured out I have no interest in a cruiser of any sort.

I found the Triumph demo truck at the Triumph dealership (imagine that). This is where I learned I do not want an ADV bike. First I rode the Bobber. It was a fun scoot but ultimately not for me. I then rode the scrambler  1200 XC which was fun but the exhaust on the side of the bike got a bit too warm for me. Then the Speed Triple RS, it reminded me of my street triple but on steroids and with a slightly more tight rider triangle. It was also way too powerful on the street for me. Then I rode the Tiger 1200 Trophy which cemented my thoughts on ADV's, cool and comfortable but not for me. I then rode the thruxton and fell in love with the engine. It delivers power differently than the Bobber and T120 with the "same" engine. However the Thruxton was extremely uncomfortable for me. I learned that their Speed Twin 1200 is the thruxton frame, suspension, engine and transmission with the Bonnie tank and handlebars. I rode The Speed Twin 1200 and it's perfect. So the day was fun, gratifying, informative and a blast riding all these different bikes. I'll probably do it again next year.

You should ride stuff you don't think you will like. That's how I wound up wanting an Indian, and I did not think I would ever want a cruiser.

I have demo ridden Harleys. Have yet to find one I would spend money on.

In reply to ddavidv :

I hear you. The only bike I thought I wanted before I got there was the Triumph Bobber. So basically every other bike was not something I thought I would ever want. Especially the R nine T. After riding the R18 I was sure I didn't want a cruiser(aside from attached to a sidecar). I found out that all of the bikes I rode I could stand up on the pegs or boards(R18) comfortably and that was not something I expected from the two cruisers. The only reason I didn't ride and Indian was because I was worn out and wanted to head home after riding the T120. I rode the Speed Twin 1200 last and wasn't sure that was a great idea but it happened and I'm glad I did.

Ride a Harley Sportster-thing and then ride an Indian Scout. Truly eye-opening. And then ride a Chief (without forward controls if possible).  Indian builds bikes that are like Harleys, but as if they weren't married to the antiquated H-D style and engine type. 

I had similar reactions to many of the Triumphs you tried (and I've owned two). 

ADV style bikes are probably the most comfortable for long days in the saddle outside of a massive bagger or Goldwing. But I dislike the top-heavy nature most of them have. It's like I want a Jeep Wrangler but find I'm driving a Chevy Tahoe.

Oddly, I've never found a BMW I enjoyed riding. Now, I've only tried a few, but none of them were appealing. Odd, considering I like their cars (outside of the horrible reliability). 

People who buy motorcycles without test riding them baffle me. Bikes are so varied, and you can't tell from the spec sheet or appearance what they will actually be like to ride.

Depends on which ADV bike.  The KTM 790/890 holds it's fuel way down low, so it's not nearly as top heavy as a yamaha t7 for instance...

Yeah, but it's a KTM, which means it's wholly uncomfortable to me. Have yet to find a KTM that doesn't make me go "Ewwww" after I sit on it. And then there's the looks.

You clearly haven't drunken the Kool Aid.  I'm not a fan of the way the 790/890 looks but it's the best mid weight adv bike on the market performance wise.  Ergonomics wise I fit on them fairly well with a set of bar risers

For sure about the test rides. When I bought the Street Triple I rode it, a Bonnie T100 and a vstrom 650 and I would have bought the Bonnie (it was what I wanted when I went there) if it had a 6th gear and been happy. After I rode the street triple I knew I would buy it. Funny story, when I was test riding at the triumph truck last Thursday I was talking to the rep and mentioned that I didn't need to ride the 2024 765 Street Triple they had because I have the 2019 and she said "Oh, you already have the best bike in our lineup." Then when I got done with my rides and was leaving she came over and said "Enjoy your ride home on our best bike!" In my head I was like "I know, right?" So to be fair, I want one of the above bikes to replace my wifes Royal Enfield not my Triumph. The biggest takeaway for me was that all the bikes I rode were high dollar bikes, for me, and I could tell where the money went into the engineering vs less expensive alternative motorcycles. Totally worth it.

Those R nine T's sure are beautiful. I always hoped they ride as nice as they look. I should go test ride some bikes.

ddavidv said:

You should ride stuff you don't think you will like. That's how I wound up wanting an Indian, and I did not think I would ever want a cruiser.

Great advice.  I was at NJMP for the MotoAmerica round and brought gear with me, hoping to do exactly that in the morning before the races.  CFMoto and Yamaha had bikes to demo this year.  Unfortunately, it rained all morning.  It didn't look like they were going out but I didn't have waterproof gear anyway.

I did get to sit on a MotoGuzzi V100 that a dealer brought though.  I thought they looked amazing in pics and video but I had a 'meh' reaction in person.  It didn't help that it was the worst (IMHO) available color scheme of white with gold wheels.

Yes, ride as many things as you can at a demo.  Things can be unexpectedly surprising, both good and bad.  

I traded in my R nineT after a couple of years and only putting about 1500 miles on it. 

My main problems were the engine vibration at 75/80 that made my hands go numb after a few minutes and the engine would detonate quite a bit just riding around town. It drove me nuts. 

I know I wanted to love it but it never grew on me and I ended up trading it for an S1000RR as it was not the bike for me. 


 

The thing about the R nine T is that each sub model is a bit different from the other R nine T's. Handlebars or clip ons, rear sets vs mid sets, I like how each one looks because each sub model is slightly different but the urban GS is the one I rode and it's perfect for me.

In reply to gunner (Forum Supporter) :

I agree, sitting position probably makes a big difference.

I was just expecting a smoother engine after putting a lot of miles on an  R1200GSA. 

In reply to Slippery :

I was thinking it was probably the handlebars vs clip ons that made the difference in vibration based on my experience and what you just posted. The only vibrations I got was from the engine itself unless they changed something in their NVH department for the 2023's which is unlikely. The main draw for me was the character of the engine, it struck me as very airplane like, and I liked that, otherwise the Triumph Speed Twin 1200 was just a smidgeon more to my liking.