09-30-2014, 12:02 AM
The Versys is a very nice bike. I have yet to ride one but was able to talk to a fellow touring on one outside Wibaux Montana. He was from the west coast.
The biggest complaint, and I can confirm from sitting on one in the showroom, the stock seat slants forward so you tend to slide into the tank. I do believe there is a factory optional tall seat available but you also have a boat load of custom seat makers that can fix that for you too.
Along the lines of the Versys, the KTM Duke, a 390 (??) water cooled single. Light as a feather, about 68hp - which is insane for such a light bike. A buddy just picked one up which makes two in our gang that have them (while folks I know have an extremely wide assortment of machines, no one has a Versys. Yet.). My buddy plans on touring with his Duke (he has a cafe'd DR800 imported from Germany that is just crazy cool and a Magni Guzzi that is a real ball buster and he has toured on all of them, says the Duke will feel like a Wing compared to the Magni. He is a thumper kinda guy though. The Duke is very much a niche bike.
For tall guys with, shall we say, robust inseams, Adventure bikes are your best bet. I had a Moto Guzzi Quota for several years (their adventure bike, since replaced by the Stelvio) and in truth it was a great road bike and handled way better than folks realized. The Vstroms are excellent choices in that regard and it is only a small miracle I don't have a 650 Vstrom.
Enjoy this phase, in many ways it's almost as much fun as actually riding. The International Motorcycle Show is touring again. http://www.motorcycleshows.com/phoenix Recommended. Especially if manufactures offer test rides when the show is in your area (easy to do in Phoenix this time of year.
).
From my experience, if you want a good looking standard bike that fits a tall person, the Bonneville and CB1100 are pretty much your only choices.
Oh, I have a Honda XR650L, easy peasy, the thing fits but you do have to replace the handle bar or add risers as it's too damn low. But 450/650 dual sports are a hoot and come with tons of leg room. Tons!
The biggest complaint, and I can confirm from sitting on one in the showroom, the stock seat slants forward so you tend to slide into the tank. I do believe there is a factory optional tall seat available but you also have a boat load of custom seat makers that can fix that for you too.
Along the lines of the Versys, the KTM Duke, a 390 (??) water cooled single. Light as a feather, about 68hp - which is insane for such a light bike. A buddy just picked one up which makes two in our gang that have them (while folks I know have an extremely wide assortment of machines, no one has a Versys. Yet.). My buddy plans on touring with his Duke (he has a cafe'd DR800 imported from Germany that is just crazy cool and a Magni Guzzi that is a real ball buster and he has toured on all of them, says the Duke will feel like a Wing compared to the Magni. He is a thumper kinda guy though. The Duke is very much a niche bike.
For tall guys with, shall we say, robust inseams, Adventure bikes are your best bet. I had a Moto Guzzi Quota for several years (their adventure bike, since replaced by the Stelvio) and in truth it was a great road bike and handled way better than folks realized. The Vstroms are excellent choices in that regard and it is only a small miracle I don't have a 650 Vstrom.
Enjoy this phase, in many ways it's almost as much fun as actually riding. The International Motorcycle Show is touring again. http://www.motorcycleshows.com/phoenix Recommended. Especially if manufactures offer test rides when the show is in your area (easy to do in Phoenix this time of year.
).From my experience, if you want a good looking standard bike that fits a tall person, the Bonneville and CB1100 are pretty much your only choices.
Oh, I have a Honda XR650L, easy peasy, the thing fits but you do have to replace the handle bar or add risers as it's too damn low. But 450/650 dual sports are a hoot and come with tons of leg room. Tons!