Well, it happened today!
I've traded the ST13 But wait, it's not the end of the world as we know it!!
I've been looking for a replacement for the Wing, believe it or not. Something lighter as a commuter, gravel road runner, whatnot.
The ST does for me what the Wing does (as I think Brian will understand now).
Yesterday I took a test ride on a Tenere because they're very popular with the FarRiders. Too bush oriented, uncomfortable, and overly technical for my tastes.
The salesman says, "Oh, a simpler bike- how about this low mileage recently traded Triumph Explorer?"
Took it for a ride. Argh! Rough as guts.
Went to another dealer who has a low kays Honda Crosstourer. Took it for a test really hoping it was
the one, being a Honda V-four shaft drive with cruise control. All the boxes ticked. BUT it buzzed like a twin and had a hopeless seat. AND, wait for this: the indicator selector and horn switch are
upside down!!! I could not live with that. On the test ride I kept blowing the horn to indicate. The designer who put that on the bike should be forced to use hand signals, standing up, naked, in Winter, for the rest of his life (no, I'm too generous).
Now a person might get used to it if it was the only bike you ever rode, but I'll have it as my second bike and at my advanced age, I depend heavily on muscle memory to navigate this weird world, and it just wasn't feasible. I might have lived with the buzzy engine (the reviewers called it "silky smooth"- they haven't ridden an ST, obviously) but that was a deal breaker, simple as that. So now what?
They had a pair of brand new 2015 V-Stroms on the floor and I've always been partial to them. I took the DL1000 for a ride and found it very buzzy (you forget how rough inferior bikes are after you've ridden an ST for a while!). Heaps of power and very responsive. Cornered nicely, hard seat (another thing I've been spoiled by the ST) and "clunky".
I took the V-Strom 650 out and found it much smoother. The instruments are modern and readable.
I know, I know- it's chain driven. Life is full of compromises. I'll learn to live with it- they tell me modern chains and lubes are better than the dirty old days.
I wasn't keen on the LAMS model- the 2016 comes in Cherry red and I got it at the 2015 price.
My first ever brand new bike. It comes in from Sydney next week.
I'm stripping most of the farkles off Ruby and she's the trade-in.
And no very far down the track, the GL will morph into my next ST1300
Scared ya, didn't I??