Hello. Like my ingenious title says, I've decided to sell off my Honda ST1300. I have had it for 3 years and put 51,000 miles on it. It's starting to nickel and dime me to death. I also have a 'slightly modified' Gen. 2 Hayabusa so I have time to find the right bike. I've been looking at a Concours, 2012 model.
I live near Orlando, FL so I get to ride all year and for 3 or 4 months even fairly comfortably. Winter is about 6 weeks long and I have a pair of glove liners I can put on if necessary.
I'm retired and I've been riding for over 40 years.
Thanks
Interesting- I have always thought of Hondas generally being the flagship of reliability. In fact, I cannot think of any other motorcycle that will get anywhere near an Oldwing (a Hondapotamus) regarding pure longevity, by which I mean outright reliability coupled with an absolutely huge service and parts base almost anywhere in the US.
Brian
I would suggest while looking at a C-14, also look at a Yamaha FJR; they are direct competitors and some people like FJRs better for various reasons. They are more similar than they are different IMO but still, absolutely worth your time taking a look and hopefully a ride on both bikes before buying anything if possible.
Whatever you buy, best of luck with it.
Brian
<snip>
Really?
Interesting- I have always thought of Hondas generally being the flagship of reliability. In fact, I cannot think of any other motorcycle that will get anywhere near an Oldwing (a Hondapotamus) regarding pure longevity, by which I mean outright reliability coupled with an absolutely huge service and parts base almost anywhere in the US.
The C-14 is a great bike IMO but like everything else, overall they do have a failure rate which is not high but again is not zero either, and a handful have had catastrophic failures. Not sure how 1,000 C-14's would compare with 1,000 ST1300's regarding overall reliability or even the incidence of service. I will say that the C-14 has an outstanding warranty, and an even more outstanding warranty extension plan; my C-14 is an '08 model year purchased in July '07, is under full warranty (extended for three years, two times now) and passing 100K miles.
I would suggest while looking at a C-14, also look at a Yamaha FJR; they are direct competitors and some people like FJRs better for various reasons. They are more similar than they are different IMO but still, absolutely worth your time taking a look and hopefully a ride on both bikes before buying anything if possible.
Whatever you buy, best of luck with it.
Brian
Yep, really. The FJR is as direct a competitor as there could be between manufacturer's models of motorcycle IMO. About the same cost, and overall, the same size, performance, style, etc. There is also the Triumph and of course BMW's but both of those are somewhat more different than the C-14 / FJR are.
I prefer the C-14 but that has no bearing on anyone else and what he / she may like, what fits better, etc. Even things like which model has a better dealer available should factor in on buying a motorcycle IMO.
And while there are a handful of known problems and quirks with the FJR, just like every other model, they have really made a standing in the long distance riding community. Go to any long distance rally and there will be quite a few FJR's there, as well as a LOT of Oldwings and BMW's of course. But by comparison, fairly few C-14's. So that alone indicates to me that they are a solid bike capable of long and pretty hard (Easy Boys!) use reliably.... BMW riders and their final drives excepted of course.
Brian
My son had a 2005 FJR, traded it in for a 2013. A world of difference between the Gen 1 and Gen 3. I really like the Gen 3 FJR. The side cases are crap and it doesn't have as much raw punch as the C14. But the ride-by-wire smooth throttle control and cruise control is fantastic. A very close competitor to the C14 and Kawi really needs to go to ride-by-wire to keep up.
....it all comes down to what a prospective owner wants, does NOT want and can / will be tolerable........ But I would absolutely suggest anyone thinking about dropping 15K$ or more absolutely look all the way around at everything even remotely competitive first.
For my own opinion, I need the engine turning slower at highway speeds (more important to me than how many gears), and I just about require inverted forks.The FJR ES version does have inverted forks. No cure for the rpm difference(approx 400 @ 80mph {by my calcs}) , maybe a huge dark side car tire in the back?
I lubs some Honda too but I switched to Kawi. Kept the jacket!Cool!!!