Priller
Well-known member
BORING PREAMBLE STARTS
So I sold the Tuono on Sunday. I've been out on it for a grand total of three rides this year, one of which was a commute, and it was just too much bike for my particular corner of Ontario. It was heavenly in BC, but as I've complained about at length here, Hamilton is not an ideal spot if your preferred brand of riding is attacking a twisty road for a weekend afternoon. The Tuono is not a bike for cruising along, and felt very much like a caged tiger.
Another part of the reason for all this is my wife and I have decided that our plans to retire to Italy have fallen significantly behind schedule, and we needed to make some significant expense cuts to get back on track. Paying for a son to get a degree ate a huge chunk of cash, and we had two dogs that accrued significant vet bills in later life simultaneously (do NOT suggest to my wife that this spending was excessive).
I priced it semi-aggressively, and it was super low mileage, so I had plenty of interest. The usual tire kickers, a kid I had to gently lecture about the need for more experience before refusing to sell it to him, and the inevitable deluge of "would you take half asking?" messages. Was away trailer camping at MacGregor Point on the weekend when someone messaged on FB Marketplace that they were coming to buy it on Sunday evening. I took that with the usual grain of salt, but he wasn't kidding. Showed up with a van, a UHaul trailer, and a stack of $100 bills in his hand. Looked at the bike for about two minutes, I started it, he sat on it, and then agreed to buy it. I handed the stack of bills to my wife to count and inspect for counterfeits while we did the paperwork, and not long after, the Tuono was disappearing down the road.
A couple days later, and I'm having massive seller's remorse. The plan was to keep the Burgman 400 I occasionally commute on, as that's about as cheap as possible to insure and is super practical. But it's the first time in almost 23 years that I haven't owned a real street motorcycle (RC51 track bike and Burgman don't count), and I don't like it.
So.
BORING PREAMBLE ENDS
This is where the GTAM hivemind comes in.
The plan now is to sell the Burgman, practical as it is, and get something (with gears) that's cheap to buy and insure. I need some advice on the latter part. All the online quote machines seem to be spitting out rates that are frustratingly same-same. Between $1100 and $1300/yr for bikes between 800 and 1200 cc. The only way I can save a few bucks is by going down to something like an SV650, but even that got me quoted at $850/yr. (For reference, this is comprehensive coverage, $500 deductible, $2M liability.) I've gone to TD, Riders Plus and NFP thus far, with zero pleasant surprises.
The ideal candidate would have:
- ~100 hp. Not too much, not too little. Lots of torque is always a bonus, though, especially hauling my lardarse around.
- Not too sporty. If I'm avoiding riding because I know I'll be frustrated with the lack of speed, I might as well have kept the Tuono.
- A little sporty. No cruisers, thanks.
- Comfy enough to spend the day on.
- Priced around $5-6k, a bit more is okay for the right bike, but less is better. Trying to avoid the slippery slope of, "Well, that one is only $1000 more..."
- Ideally can be insured for <$1000/yr
Personal preference and biases pushes me away from BMW as a brand, though I accept that they're fine motorcycles. I'm also disinclined to so-called ADV bikes, but some (like the one below) might be okay. Oh, and no V-Stroms. I get that they tick a bunch of my boxes, but no. Just no.
The bike I really want is a Moto Guzzi Griso (preferably 2013 or newer to get the super reliable roller motor), but it's inexplicably even more expensive to insure than my Tuono was, at ~$1250/yr. It ticks a lot of my boxes as a unique, very pretty (to me!), and laid back ride that would be happy rolling along the shores of Lake Erie at 60 km/h. I've loved them since they first came out, and it's as close to a cruiser as I'll likely ever get.
Other candidates include:
- '02 to '13 VFR800 (the VTEC one): It was drummed into my brain that the Viffer was the ultimate Swiss-army knife bike reading moto mags through my youth. Has the reliability that Honda still trades on, can do pretty much anything, and is still a good looking bike. What sport-tourer used to mean before the marketing teams started applying the 'sport' term to all sorts of porkers.
- '05 to '09 Triumph Sprint ST: Before they made the inexplicably awful GT, this was their take on the VFR formula. Also has vestiges of that early reborn Triumph reliability, a fun triple, and similar universality to the Honda.
- Ninja 1000: As above, just Kawasaki's take. Never really caught on here, but were a sales smash hit in Europe. Newer, so harder to find a deal, but decently reliable.
- Street Triple 675: Probably smaller and sportier than would be ideal, but the lower cc may make insurance cheaper. If it's got the mantis headlights, they'd have to go.
- Tiger 800: Probably the only ADV-ish bike I'm considering, though I'd love a Tuareg. Really not pretty, but very practical.
- Shiver: Not sure how I feel about these. Would likely have to try one, any experience folks have would be appreciated.
- SV650: The obvious choice, though I think I'd prefer something a bit more unique and interesting. This is the emergency option.
The top three insure very similarly, as they all fit into a category. I'll be surprised if there are any insurance deals to be had, as they verge on sporting.
If anyone has any advice on companies worth calling to get a better rate on something like the Griso (I suspect the cc's are the culprit there for the high rate), or alternatives that will reward me for low mileage, I'm all ears. Or, if I'm missing any bikes that tick some of the above boxes, let me know. Most importantly, if anyone has personal experience with any of the above bikes, I'd love to hear your thoughts.
So I sold the Tuono on Sunday. I've been out on it for a grand total of three rides this year, one of which was a commute, and it was just too much bike for my particular corner of Ontario. It was heavenly in BC, but as I've complained about at length here, Hamilton is not an ideal spot if your preferred brand of riding is attacking a twisty road for a weekend afternoon. The Tuono is not a bike for cruising along, and felt very much like a caged tiger.
Another part of the reason for all this is my wife and I have decided that our plans to retire to Italy have fallen significantly behind schedule, and we needed to make some significant expense cuts to get back on track. Paying for a son to get a degree ate a huge chunk of cash, and we had two dogs that accrued significant vet bills in later life simultaneously (do NOT suggest to my wife that this spending was excessive).
I priced it semi-aggressively, and it was super low mileage, so I had plenty of interest. The usual tire kickers, a kid I had to gently lecture about the need for more experience before refusing to sell it to him, and the inevitable deluge of "would you take half asking?" messages. Was away trailer camping at MacGregor Point on the weekend when someone messaged on FB Marketplace that they were coming to buy it on Sunday evening. I took that with the usual grain of salt, but he wasn't kidding. Showed up with a van, a UHaul trailer, and a stack of $100 bills in his hand. Looked at the bike for about two minutes, I started it, he sat on it, and then agreed to buy it. I handed the stack of bills to my wife to count and inspect for counterfeits while we did the paperwork, and not long after, the Tuono was disappearing down the road.
A couple days later, and I'm having massive seller's remorse. The plan was to keep the Burgman 400 I occasionally commute on, as that's about as cheap as possible to insure and is super practical. But it's the first time in almost 23 years that I haven't owned a real street motorcycle (RC51 track bike and Burgman don't count), and I don't like it.
So.
BORING PREAMBLE ENDS
This is where the GTAM hivemind comes in.
The plan now is to sell the Burgman, practical as it is, and get something (with gears) that's cheap to buy and insure. I need some advice on the latter part. All the online quote machines seem to be spitting out rates that are frustratingly same-same. Between $1100 and $1300/yr for bikes between 800 and 1200 cc. The only way I can save a few bucks is by going down to something like an SV650, but even that got me quoted at $850/yr. (For reference, this is comprehensive coverage, $500 deductible, $2M liability.) I've gone to TD, Riders Plus and NFP thus far, with zero pleasant surprises.
The ideal candidate would have:
- ~100 hp. Not too much, not too little. Lots of torque is always a bonus, though, especially hauling my lardarse around.
- Not too sporty. If I'm avoiding riding because I know I'll be frustrated with the lack of speed, I might as well have kept the Tuono.
- A little sporty. No cruisers, thanks.
- Comfy enough to spend the day on.
- Priced around $5-6k, a bit more is okay for the right bike, but less is better. Trying to avoid the slippery slope of, "Well, that one is only $1000 more..."
- Ideally can be insured for <$1000/yr
Personal preference and biases pushes me away from BMW as a brand, though I accept that they're fine motorcycles. I'm also disinclined to so-called ADV bikes, but some (like the one below) might be okay. Oh, and no V-Stroms. I get that they tick a bunch of my boxes, but no. Just no.
The bike I really want is a Moto Guzzi Griso (preferably 2013 or newer to get the super reliable roller motor), but it's inexplicably even more expensive to insure than my Tuono was, at ~$1250/yr. It ticks a lot of my boxes as a unique, very pretty (to me!), and laid back ride that would be happy rolling along the shores of Lake Erie at 60 km/h. I've loved them since they first came out, and it's as close to a cruiser as I'll likely ever get.
Other candidates include:
- '02 to '13 VFR800 (the VTEC one): It was drummed into my brain that the Viffer was the ultimate Swiss-army knife bike reading moto mags through my youth. Has the reliability that Honda still trades on, can do pretty much anything, and is still a good looking bike. What sport-tourer used to mean before the marketing teams started applying the 'sport' term to all sorts of porkers.
- '05 to '09 Triumph Sprint ST: Before they made the inexplicably awful GT, this was their take on the VFR formula. Also has vestiges of that early reborn Triumph reliability, a fun triple, and similar universality to the Honda.
- Ninja 1000: As above, just Kawasaki's take. Never really caught on here, but were a sales smash hit in Europe. Newer, so harder to find a deal, but decently reliable.
- Street Triple 675: Probably smaller and sportier than would be ideal, but the lower cc may make insurance cheaper. If it's got the mantis headlights, they'd have to go.
- Tiger 800: Probably the only ADV-ish bike I'm considering, though I'd love a Tuareg. Really not pretty, but very practical.
- Shiver: Not sure how I feel about these. Would likely have to try one, any experience folks have would be appreciated.
- SV650: The obvious choice, though I think I'd prefer something a bit more unique and interesting. This is the emergency option.
The top three insure very similarly, as they all fit into a category. I'll be surprised if there are any insurance deals to be had, as they verge on sporting.
If anyone has any advice on companies worth calling to get a better rate on something like the Griso (I suspect the cc's are the culprit there for the high rate), or alternatives that will reward me for low mileage, I'm all ears. Or, if I'm missing any bikes that tick some of the above boxes, let me know. Most importantly, if anyone has personal experience with any of the above bikes, I'd love to hear your thoughts.
