06-04-2020, 11:50 AM
(06-04-2020, 06:33 AM)RLS_imp Wrote: I am looking to pickup a cruiser/touring bike to ride from Memphis to Denver than over to Scottsdale and back. I would love to do it on the CB, but I think it would wear me out. That said, I went and test rode some Harley's; a 2015 Dyna Low Rider, 2017 Heritage Soft tail and a 2018 Road King. All had about 4k to 6k miles and priced from $12k to $15k. I had a blast riding each of these bikes. Love the big 103 and 107 engines. However, when I get back on the CB to ride home, I am so glad I own this bike. It is superior in every way. I won't be getting a Harley, but I am interested in what bike would be a good stablemate for the CB, one that is better suited for touring. Any opinions would be appreciated.
You'll get as many opinions as there are models of bikes, but the sport-touring bike in my garage for the past 6 years is the BMW K1600GTL. Came to that from a Honda ST1300. To me, the GTL is the ultimate sport-tourer. I have carved the Tail of the Dragon with it (left a couple of sport bikes in the dust) but was comfortable riding the first 800 miles from DFW to Chattanooga on the first day of the trip. A buddy of mine just picked up a 2016 GTL with 3500 miles on it for around $13k. Ironically, the guy selling that one liked riding his big Harley more.
On the broader thread topic of Harleys...I had a 2004 VROD until a couple of years ago. Loved that bike. One of my SS1K rides was riding that bike from Sturgis to Dallas in 22.5 hours straight. It was the end of a 3-week, 5000 mile trip from DFW to LA to Sturgis and back. Not as powerful as the CB1100 to be sure, but it was a really comfortable ride.
Have fun with the search! That's half the fun.