Surely I'm not alone? It's around this time of year that I think lots of us have the time to sit back and contemplate the riding year(s) past, and the years ahead, and also start thinking about about a new (or additional) ride being in the cards.
The "new years riding resolutions" thread kind of got me going on this topic although I don't want to hijack that whole thread, so I think it's worthy of another discussion.
For me, I think it's time. I've owned my Vulcan Voyager since 2019, have put around 60,000km on it in that time period, and although I've had a lot of good times and fun with it, it has never felt like my forever bike. It comes down to the ergonoics I think - I've just never been ultra comfortable on it like I was with past bikes, and no amount of changes seem able to accomplish that - I've tried 4 different seats, different pegs, different backrests...I just don't know what it is, but it doesn't feel right. I once rode an 1800km day on my old VTX and could have kept going, but I rode a 1000km day on the Vulcan coming back from Vermont back in October and I was uncomfortable for at least the last hour. I could have kept going, but I've struggled to enjoy long distance days on this bike since day 1.
So, I'm thinking about moving on, and I've been thinking about one of these for a year or two now.
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They're a bit of an orphan from Yahama and have had an unusual timeline of life (introduced, disappeared, reintroduced for a few years, and now mysteriosly disappeared from the Yamaha lineup again, who knows what's going on now), but I've like the looks of them since they came out in 2018 and they tick a lot of the boxes I'm looking to fill...and having sat on one, they seem to fit me much better than my Kawi. It's 6" longer overall (which I think is a big part of it as the seat ergos feel less squished), and it just seems like it fits.
I've had a few people say "Just buy a Goldwing", but three things:
1/ I don't think I've reached my "Goldwing Years" yet.
2/ I've ridden one of the new Goldwings and really didnt' like it! I don't like the leg position and I can't stretch out as there's endless tupperware everwhere.
3/ I'm still partial to a big old unrefined V-Twin instead of a sewing machine whirring under the tank lol.
So, Anyone else eyeballing something new for 2024?