Ugarte
Turbocharged
My 05 Rocket has served me well for 97000 miles. The only significant problem I had was the ignition switch. Despite this reliability I have not ridden it very much in the past three years because I figure my time is due for failure of either: the output shaft bearing; the shaft drive splines; the cam chain; the heated grips throttle tab; the clutch lifter shaft, or all of them at the same time, somehwere out in the middle of the desert in the early morning on a mid summer day 50 miles from water and shelter. But I am keeping it as a local bike and stripping it of all the touring garbage I put on it and selling the garbage on ebay.
I bought this bike today for the touring duty.
Yeah at a mere 650 cc's it is torque and hp challenged but I still have the Rocket for that fix. Gas mileage is good at around 50 mpg, and range at around 240 miles. Took it for a 75 mile ride today and I think the stock seat and windshield will be fine, but I will be putting on a large trunk. I am much more comfortable splitting lanes with this bike than the Rocket. The handlebars are only 32 inches wide while the Rocket's are 38 inches. The bike also has ABS which I am very glad to have especially for riding in the rain.
I considered several bikes before deciding on the 2014 v strom. First was the Honda CTX 700. I actually made an offer on one but the dealer wouldn't take it so I walked. He ended up calling me at home the same day but did not budge on the price, neither did I. He called me again while I was in the process of buying the v strom.....he should have taken my first offer, it was only 400 bucks less than his. Also seriously considered the Yamaha FZ 07 or FZ 09 but nixed both when I found out how much the insurance was for them, at least 800 bucks more per year over the v strom. Forget it. There was a used 1250 Suzuki Bandit that looked inviting but again the insurance was too much, though less than the yammies. The Street Triple was a candidate too and surprisingly the insurance was reasonable compared to the yammies. Insurance was too high on the Speed Triple. Who can figure out motorcycle insurance companies?
I bought this bike today for the touring duty.
Yeah at a mere 650 cc's it is torque and hp challenged but I still have the Rocket for that fix. Gas mileage is good at around 50 mpg, and range at around 240 miles. Took it for a 75 mile ride today and I think the stock seat and windshield will be fine, but I will be putting on a large trunk. I am much more comfortable splitting lanes with this bike than the Rocket. The handlebars are only 32 inches wide while the Rocket's are 38 inches. The bike also has ABS which I am very glad to have especially for riding in the rain.
I considered several bikes before deciding on the 2014 v strom. First was the Honda CTX 700. I actually made an offer on one but the dealer wouldn't take it so I walked. He ended up calling me at home the same day but did not budge on the price, neither did I. He called me again while I was in the process of buying the v strom.....he should have taken my first offer, it was only 400 bucks less than his. Also seriously considered the Yamaha FZ 07 or FZ 09 but nixed both when I found out how much the insurance was for them, at least 800 bucks more per year over the v strom. Forget it. There was a used 1250 Suzuki Bandit that looked inviting but again the insurance was too much, though less than the yammies. The Street Triple was a candidate too and surprisingly the insurance was reasonable compared to the yammies. Insurance was too high on the Speed Triple. Who can figure out motorcycle insurance companies?