i just bought my superhawk....actually, i made a trade
with my buddy. i got the hawk, and he got my '05
st1300. the st1300 was one of my favorite bikes that
i have owned, but it seemd like i was always compromising
when i rode it....when i was riding alone, it was never quite
sporty enough...and when i was on a long 2-up ride, it was
not as comfy as a real touring bike. my wife would only
ride about 250-300 miles. she's been wanting me to get
a yamaha royalstar venture or goldwing, but i just couldn't
do it. so, i made a deal w/ her...i'd buy a superhawk, for my
"me time", and i'd let her decide what we got for the other
bike. i borrowed a friends venture last week and we rode it
about 300 miles. she loved it. 300 miles and she said she
could have done a couple hundred more easily. now i plan
to rent a goldwing for a day and try that out. i kinda think
i will like the 1800 goldwing better, but a nice used one
runs about 4k more than a nice used venture...

anyone here have any experience w/ either? or both? or
any other big, fat, comfy touring bike i might be overlooking?
i know about the k1200lt, but bmw is out for me because
of the lack of dealer service/support in my area....

and don't bother telling me any touring bike will perform like
a constipated slug compared the the 'hawk...i know that
already

 

What about an FJR?

 

Sprint ST.....
fun bike and pretty comfortable too.

 

yeah well.....i already had a sport touring bike, an
st1300....kinda tired of that.

that's why got got a sport bike and am looking for
a big, fat, comfy touring bike now.....

 

ok,,, read my lips "big,,,fat,,,comfy,,,touring bike"....

i know sport touring bikes are cool....had 2 connies,
a v-strom, an st1300, a r1100gs......i dig 'em, honestly....

but,,,thumper, seriously,,,can you see a chick riding on
the back of that for 500 miles and being happy at the
end of the day.....????.....my wife would be telling me
"none for you tonight...i'm tired and pissed"....lol

maybe i need to start another thread "what's your favorite
sport-touring bike?"

 

To some of us (and our wives) the V-strom's (like being in a car with the windows down according to my wife), ST's, FJR's, etc... are the big, fat comfy touring bikes.

I don't know exactly what the bike is, but isn't there a Victory touring bike out? That one might be kinda cool. It looks like it would be comfy in the magazine pictures I've seen.

 

I use my cbx cool and still functions pretty well. but no denying its age , lack of power brakes etc. I had an older roadking which really fit the role great for a trip, cool to me and good for around town. fjr is nice, the st you know already. good luck

 

thumper...why did you delete your message?

sometimes, on these types of forums, we need to remember
that we may be misunderstood, or possibly come across as
a$$holes when we didn't intend to......

sorry thumper......

 

Though I realise the XL1000V Varadero is not for sale in the USA, it is soon to be for sale in Canada.

It's like a Big Strom, but faired more, and with an injected version of the VTR motor.

One of the Varadero owners here in NZ swapped his ST1300 for his Vara, specifically for touring, and much prefers it for comfort and handling.

My wife and I use our Vara for backroads touring, and out of the 90+ machines we have owned, the Vara is no question the most comfortable. We do 400-600 km - say 250-400 miles - on a typical day trip. Note that my wife is 6ft tall, so leg room is a big consideration for her.

Don't dismiss the Japanese V-twin giant imitation trailies. They have no pretence of good offroad performance, but are mega-comfortable and handle any sort of formed road to an extent that dedicated fat "tourers" cannot, as well as being more comfortable.

PS two-up on the Vara last weekend we had a most enjoyable dice on one of the local twisty roads with a new CBR600 heh heh heh - in the end I waved him past on a straight.

PPS do not dismiss one of the old CB-F bikes, either, despite comments above. Go for a ride on a 1983 CB1100F (they only made 'em one year). My one was the #2 tourer in my shed until we started making it into a dedicated road racer this NZ winter. The 1100s have just as much stomp as the VTR, and the stock piliion seat is pretty comfortable. Plus they are relatively cheap, so you get to keep the VTR and also have a tourer.

 

Yes I do. This is for our time.It really handles like a slug with the trailer. Not too bad though.We have pulled it in every state east of the Mississippi and camped with it in most of them. It is every bit as much of a good time as the Hawk.We can ride sun up to sun down without getting monkey butt.Click pic fo larger veiw.

 

Personally, I feel that the Goldwings are much more refined that their competitors. Is it worth the price difference... that's up to you.