[lg_0]

Hello everyone,

I'm new to this forum and am in need of your opinions / suggestions. I'm the proud owner of a Canadian K1300S 2010 which responds exactly to my needs:

• Versatile sport-tourer with a bias on the "sport" side.
• Not "aircraft carrier" size. 550lbs is pretty well my maximum. I want it relatively nimble. No K1600 or Gold Wings for me.
• Not a Boxer engine. I've tried it long ago & would rather drive a bus.
• Comfortable for two with saddlebags for weekend trips.
• Competent for one, without any luggage & canyon carving on his mind... ;-)
• Straight forward and not too expensive to maintain by the manufacturer.

My dilemma: I'm seriously thinking of moving to Mexico where (it seems, thus far) that I won't be able to import my K1300S. I'm thinking of selling my bike and buying a used sport-touring alternative in MX. My current line of though is:

- Buy a K1200S, since the K1300S is NOT available here:
- For: Would fulfill most of my needs & can be found for an affordable price.
- Against: Old technology that has it's problems. They were, in fact, resolved by the K1300.
or
- Buy an S1000XR:
- For: Latest technology. Overall good reviews. Performance is not a problem.
- Against: May not be so comfortable for two (TBD). May or may not be "buzzy" (vibrations affected some units, TBD). Riding position is against my nature since I've been riding crotch-rockets all my life (but I'm open to trying something else).
or
- Buy something exciting that I haven't considered before.

Let me know your thoughts. Thanks!

 

[andredl]

Mine is a 2016. It is buzzy, not irritatingly so, but when I get home after a long day I can feel my feet and legs tingle. The back seat and rear pegs are pretty far off the ground making it difficult for a passenger to get on and off. (The Shad bags make it even more difficult.) It is a sport bike - the suspension is stiff and the engine is happiest above 8K.

This is my first bike with a "sit up and beg" riding position since I bought an R90S in 1981. At 6' 4" I'm pretty comfortable. The bike is nimble even at speed; the suspension never wallows. The bike is happiest on a twisty mountain road where the engine can spin. It's not a torque monster like a K13, I pass two cars at a time, not three or four. I find aerodynamics (especially with the Shad bags sticking out there) limit speed when passing to around 120-125. The front feels a little light if I hit those speeds with the top case.

That was a lot of negatives. I think the XR is an incredible bike and have no plans to part with it. Living in Southern Utah I have an abundance of really cool roads to ride and a sport bike with bags makes a lot of sense. I bought a K13S for long rides.

 

[PhilAlberta]

It may be a left field choice but as well as my K1300s (2015) I bought a 2011 Diavel last year. It will not be great two up but mine fitted with a set of shad cases (I switch between the 23 and 35 litre ones) with the comfort seat and a screen makes a very good tourer. Mine has the full termi exhaust and thus around 170 hp so up to about 230 km/h is about as fast as the k1300s (above that the aero and riding position start to have an impact on how fast you want to ride).

I used to have a K1200s and the 1300 is a much better bike. The 1200 needs revs to really perform and you do notice the extra weight. The handling (my 1200 had ESA) is definitely inferior to the 1300 and you also notice the bike feeling very remote due to the front end.

like you I live in Canada (the west) and the Diavel has made lots of long trips with ease (e.g Calgary to Victoria).

 

[Fried_Chicken]

Honda CBR1100XX?

Supposed to be significantly smoother, and legendary honda reliability.

 

[du907]

andredl,
Is your XR "buzzy"? That is exactly what I thought when I test rode the bike a couple of years ago at the national rally in Lebanon Tenn. I thought maybe I was imagining it because I rode the sport bike with supposely the same engine/different tuning and it was not as 'buzzy". Buzzy, the exact word I used to describe it.

 

[rossmon1]

Hello everyone,

I'm new to this forum and am in need of your opinions / suggestions. I'm the proud owner of a Canadian K1300S 2010 which responds exactly to my needs:

• Versatile sport-tourer with a bias on the "sport" side.
• Not "aircraft carrier" size. 550lbs is pretty well my maximum. I want it relatively nimble. No K1600 or Gold Wings for me.
• Not a Boxer engine. I've tried it long ago & would rather drive a bus.
• Comfortable for two with saddlebags for weekend trips.
• Competent for one, without any luggage & canyon carving on his mind... ;-)
• Straight forward and not too expensive to maintain by the manufacturer.

My dilemma: I'm seriously thinking of moving to Mexico where (it seems, thus far) that I won't be able to import my K1300S. I'm thinking of selling my bike and buying a used sport-touring alternative in MX. My current line of though is:

- Buy a K1200S, since the K1300S is NOT available here:
- For: Would fulfill most of my needs & can be found for an affordable price.
- Against: Old technology that has it's problems. They were, in fact, resolved by the K1300.
or
- Buy an S1000XR:
- For: Latest technology. Overall good reviews. Performance is not a problem.
- Against: May not be so comfortable for two (TBD). May or may not be "buzzy" (vibrations affected some units, TBD). Riding position is against my nature since I've been riding crotch-rockets all my life (but I'm open to trying something else).
or
- Buy something exciting that I haven't considered before.

Let me know your thoughts. Thanks!

I have a 2006 K1200S and I been thinking the same thoughts for a few years because I want something lighter. I keep coming back to a Ducati SUPERSPORT with the upgraded ohlins. I mainly want a lighter bike as I am 72 and the K12 is just too heavy. However, i keep waiting for Ducati to upgrade the motor and I keep coming back to how nice, powerful and reliable my K12 has been. It has 38K on it and also costs me nothing to keep but a lot of $$ to buy something else, so I’m stuck in place dreaming! Good luck!
Rossmon

 

[lg_0]

Thanks for your feedback everyone!

Here are my views & observations:

@andredl & du907
The more I read about the S1000XR, the more I think it's likely what I'll end up choosing. I'm arranging for a test ride with BMW when they have one available which is likely in a month or so. The one thing that worries me the most is the buzzyness. Seems like every rider has a slightly different opinion on it severity so it's likely to remain an unknown until I ride one and see how it affects me or not.

@PhilAlberta
The Diavel is a no-go for me since I need to be able to ride with a passenger. If I were to go the Ducati route, I think that the Multistrada would likely be a better avenue. I must admit though, that I have a negative bias towards Ducati for two reasons:
1- Of all of the people I know that own Ducatis, a lot of them have various lingering technical issues that never get resolved in a timely manner. I'm not feeling warm & fuzzy about Ducati as a company...
2- The nearest dealership for me would be 3 hours + away. I'm not crazy about the idea of wasting that much time each time I need to get the bike serviced or deal with the dealership.

@Fried_Chicken
The CBR1100XX End-Of-Lifed 13 years ago. Even though it could be an interesting bike, its expiry date makes me worried about future maintenance. The bike that replaces it: the CBR1000 is not made for two up riding. I rode the RR version of the 2018 model (Repsol Honda) and was impressed with it at the time but can't imagine riding it with my wife at the back (even though we did ride a GSX-R1000 2001 together at the time - we're just not getting any younger unfortunately ;-)

@rossmon1
The Ducati SuperSport sure looks sexy. Definitely a bike with the riding position that I favor. Unfortunately, because of the reasons I've stated earlier, I doubt that Ducatis are for me. Additionally, even though I haven't looked into its reviews, I find the spec sheet a little underwhelming when I look at the power figures: 110hp @9000rpm & 69 lb.-ft. of torque @ 6500rpm, really! I know that it's a lighter motorcycle but...

Again, thanks for your view & comments everyone. I really appreciate your thoughts. Keep'em comin', please!

 

[Fried_Chicken]

The CBR1100XX End-Of-Lifed 13 years ago. Even though it could be an interesting bike, its expiry date makes me worried about future maintenance.

I really wouldn’t worry about it if you find one in good condition. I’d be surprised if parts suddenly become unavailable.

 

[andredl]

andredl,
Is your XR "buzzy"? That is exactly what I thought when I test rode the bike a couple of years ago at the national rally in Lebanon Tenn. I thought maybe I was imagining it because I rode the sport bike with supposely the same engine/different tuning and it was not as 'buzzy". Buzzy, the exact word I used to describe it.

Yeah it's buzzy but not numbingly so. It's most bothersome at highway speeds over 80 mph ( Utah!) where the engine is turning just over 6K.

@lg_0 Enjoy! it is a great bike. If you are getting the newer version there should be no buzz.

 

[lg_0]

It's interesting how manufacturers have shifted their definition of "Sport Tourers" to heavily bias machines that have the typical allure of Adventure bikes (high off the ground, straight riding position...) while removing the real "Adventure" parts in them (no 19 inch front wheel, no all-terrain capabilities...). I'm not sure about what the marketing departments have been thinking about in redesigning the new bikes and would certainly like to know if there are any (road) Sport Tourer riders among them.

My personal view is that the Sport Touring class is comprised of multiple different types of machines that are complimentary and not necessarily mutually exclusive: Adventure (for people wanting to be able to go literally anywhere), Sport Tourers (sport machines that have been adapted with ergonomics allowing them to ride on paved roads comfortably for miles on end) and quite a few others fitting in between. To this point, the classical road going Sport Tourer is a species on the brink of extinction, which for people like me is a great shame. I don't want to ride a Touring machine (too large, too heavy, too comfortable ;-) nor an Adventure bike since I have no plan on going off-road, which leaves me with fewer & fewer alternatives.

In the last week, I've discovered one of the few real Sport Touring machines left on the planet and must admit that I'm getting more and more interested in what it has to offer: The 2020 Kawasaki Ninja 100SX. The machine looks the part, has been updated with modern electronics, has had very good reviews & is priced attractively ($12,599USD for the 2021). Apparently, there's nothing not to like about this bike and I intend to seriously look into it. Disclaimer: I may be a little jaded as I have owned 3 Ninjas (1985 Ninja 600, 1984 Ninja 900, 1988 Ninja ZX-10) in the past and relished every minutes spent on them.

Introducing the 2020 Kawasaki Ninja 1000SX:

It has all of the ergonomics/electronics I'm looking for, has decent power (142hp) even though it's not as powerful as my current K1300S or the S1000XR, and is not the size of an aircraft carrier (514lbs wet) ;-)

What do you think?

 

[Fried_Chicken]

Kawasaki is great. They’ve had a soft spot in my heart since my first bike (NInja 250r).
514 pounds wet makes a huge difference. The K is just massive, although holy shit is it competent on the highway as well as when you’re looking to hoon. It’s unbelievable how well BMW pulled off Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. It’s big around the twisties, but that doesn’t mean to say it isn’t competent, the opposite. This thing will absolutely monster the twisties, and keep up with any of them. Difference being when you get on the highway to go home, it’s just as competent.

My only concern with Kawasaki would be build quality. There is a notable step up when you go from something Japanese to something German. For a bike you want to own for 50k+ miles, I’m not sure Kawasaki is the best option. Sometimes I find myself just staring at the parts on the K12S admiring how well they’re made.

 

[Douglas M]

Kawasaki is great. They’ve had a soft spot in my heart since my first bike (NInja 250r).
514 pounds wet makes a huge difference. The K is just massive, although holy shit is it competent on the highway as well as when you’re looking to hoon. It’s unbelievable how well BMW pulled off Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. It’s big around the twisties, but that doesn’t mean to say it isn’t competent, the opposite. This thing will absolutely monster the twisties, and keep up with any of them. Difference being when you get on the highway to go home, it’s just as competent.

My only concern with Kawasaki would be build quality. There is a notable step up when you go from something Japanese to something German. For a bike you want to own for 50k+ miles, I’m not sure Kawasaki is the best option. Sometimes I find myself just staring at the parts on the K12S admiring how well they’re made.

I couldn't say it better myself

 

[PhilAlberta]

Diavel will not work for passenger as you say. I have ridden the older 1200 Multi a few times and I don't think that bike is great two up either. In terms of Ducati quality I have owned many over the years (I still own 4) and the current bikes are very well made and reliable. I would not avoid the Ducati on the basis of reputation as the new bikes are (more) reliable than my new triumphs or BMWs. They are expensive to service but the new (non-DEsmo) Multi may be OK.

I have ridden the z1000SX and think you will find it a step down from the K1300S. the H2SX is a lot nicer (and more expensive and you may want to look at the ZX1400 - these bikes are probably the closest you will get to the K1300S. Unfortunately the world seems to have shifted to adventure bikes for touring.

 

[rossmon1]

Thanks for your feedback everyone!

Here are my views & observations:

@andredl & du907
The more I read about the S1000XR, the more I think it's likely what I'll end up choosing. I'm arranging for a test ride with BMW when they have one available which is likely in a month or so. The one thing that worries me the most is the buzzyness. Seems like every rider has a slightly different opinion on it severity so it's likely to remain an unknown until I ride one and see how it affects me or not.

@PhilAlberta
The Diavel is a no-go for me since I need to be able to ride with a passenger. If I were to go the Ducati route, I think that the Multistrada would likely be a better avenue. I must admit though, that I have a negative bias towards Ducati for two reasons:
1- Of all of the people I know that own Ducatis, a lot of them have various lingering technical issues that never get resolved in a timely manner. I'm not feeling warm & fuzzy about Ducati as a company...
2- The nearest dealership for me would be 3 hours + away. I'm not crazy about the idea of wasting that much time each time I need to get the bike serviced or deal with the dealership.

@Fried_Chicken
The CBR1100XX End-Of-Lifed 13 years ago. Even though it could be an interesting bike, its expiry date makes me worried about future maintenance. The bike that replaces it: the CBR1000 is not made for two up riding. I rode the RR version of the 2018 model (Repsol Honda) and was impressed with it at the time but can't imagine riding it with my wife at the back (even though we did ride a GSX-R1000 2001 together at the time - we're just not getting any younger unfortunately ;-)

@rossmon1
The Ducati SuperSport sure looks sexy. Definitely a bike with the riding position that I favor. Unfortunately, because of the reasons I've stated earlier, I doubt that Ducatis are for me. Additionally, even though I haven't looked into its reviews, I find the spec sheet a little underwhelming when I look at the power figures: 110hp @9000rpm & 69 lb.-ft. of torque @ 6500rpm, really! I know that it's a lighter motorcycle but...

Again, thanks for your view & comments everyone. I really appreciate your thoughts. Keep'em comin', please!

Thats why I said that I keep waiting for Ducati to put more of a motor in it! I can't go from a stunning approximately 170hp motor to an anemic little 110hp engine. Now if they put any of their bigger twins in it, i'm in! OTOH, its relatively inexpensive as it is, so if they bump it up to 125, say, i'll start looking at my checkbook balance! A few months ago, my wife backed into the driveway without seeing my k12... I could not lift the damm thing up at all! Finally, I attached a tow rope to the SUV's tow hook and very carefully had her roll forward to lift the k12 up. Miraculously, I got it balanced just right and it didn't go over on its other side! One has to have some luck! The bike just had some minor scratches where it already had some minor scratches from a former knock over ten years ago! At the time, I got paid what I originally paid for the bike by the insurance co of the jerk who knocked it over and I was able to keep most of it, just replacing a couple of bent metal parts like the brake lever. Fortunately with the BMW bags on, the bike is pretty well protected from other than cosmetic damage on a knock over or user drop...

 

[Felix]

How about a used R1250RS, R1200S, R1150RS, R1100RS, or R1100S? Or don't you care for BMW twins? There's a good following in Mexico.

 

[lg_0]

Kawasaki is great. They’ve had a soft spot in my heart since my first bike (NInja 250r).
514 pounds wet makes a huge difference. The K is just massive, although holy shit is it competent on the highway as well as when you’re looking to hoon. It’s unbelievable how well BMW pulled off Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. It’s big around the twisties, but that doesn’t mean to say it isn’t competent, the opposite. This thing will absolutely monster the twisties, and keep up with any of them. Difference being when you get on the highway to go home, it’s just as competent.

My only concern with Kawasaki would be build quality. There is a notable step up when you go from something Japanese to something German. For a bike you want to own for 50k+ miles, I’m not sure Kawasaki is the best option. Sometimes I find myself just staring at the parts on the K12S admiring how well they’re made.

I, too, have had a soft spot for Kawasakis since I've own 3 Ninjas on which I've had loads of fun. I do understand that they may not have the fit & finish of the Germans but I've never had reliability issues with them either. I think that they're generally good value/performance for the money - "honest bikes" in my book.

There's no doubt in my mind that my favorite option would be to stay with my K1300S if at all possible. To this effect, I came across some new information and I need to connect with a customs broker in order to confirm it but I may be able to import it into Mexico after all. If so, the price will determine what I'll do next.

 

[lg_0]

Diavel will not work for passenger as you say. I have ridden the older 1200 Multi a few times and I don't think that bike is great two up either. In terms of Ducati quality I have owned many over the years (I still own 4) and the current bikes are very well made and reliable. I would not avoid the Ducati on the basis of reputation as the new bikes are (more) reliable than my new triumphs or BMWs. They are expensive to service but the new (non-DEsmo) Multi may be OK.

I have ridden the z1000SX and think you will find it a step down from the K1300S. the H2SX is a lot nicer (and more expensive and you may want to look at the ZX1400 - these bikes are probably the closest you will get to the K1300S. Unfortunately the world seems to have shifted to adventure bikes for touring.

Ah, for sure, if I could afford it, I'd love to supercharge my life with the Ninja H2 SX but at $25,500USD, it's a little rich for my pocket book . Even if I could, I'd have a bike that's more powerful by 35hp from something that suits me just fine (210 hp vs 175 hp for my K) and would weigh 17 lbs more than my bike which is already at the upper end of what I'm willing to deal with. All of this for the pleasure of paying new premiums over a bike that's long paid for... I'll pass on that, thank you very much!

The ZX14 is just getting too big for me at 593lbs but it's a sitting at a much better price point ($15K USD) than the H2 SX for comparable horsepower.

One quick note about the Ninja 1000SX: Its power to weight ration still isn't too far off (3.67 lb/hp) with the BMW S1000XR (3.02 lb/hp) and my K1300S (3.2 lb/hp). So I don't expect it to be a slouch either...

 

[lg_0]

Thats why I said that I keep waiting for Ducati to put more of a motor in it! I can't go from a stunning approximately 170hp motor to an anemic little 110hp engine. Now if they put any of their bigger twins in it, i'm in! OTOH, its relatively inexpensive as it is, so if they bump it up to 125, say, i'll start looking at my checkbook balance! A few months ago, my wife backed into the driveway without seeing my k12... I could not lift the damm thing up at all! Finally, I attached a tow rope to the SUV's tow hook and very carefully had her roll forward to lift the k12 up. Miraculously, I got it balanced just right and it didn't go over on its other side! One has to have some luck! The bike just had some minor scratches where it already had some minor scratches from a former knock over ten years ago! At the time, I got paid what I originally paid for the bike by the insurance co of the jerk who knocked it over and I was able to keep most of it, just replacing a couple of bent metal parts like the brake lever. Fortunately with the BMW bags on, the bike is pretty well protected from other than cosmetic damage on a knock over or user drop...

The Ducati SuperSport is "Super Sexy", as always with Ducati products. Unfortunately, even though the asking price is reasonable ($15,400USD for the "S"), 110 hp & 69 ft-lb of torque simply doesn't cut it in this category. The weight in low at 463 lbs wet but these kinds of specs can better be compared to the current lineup of 600cc class of super sport machines from the Japanese manufacturers where it then becomes a bike with a high price disadvantage by about $3K USD. It needs to find another 30 horsepower & a little more space for the pillion to be in contention in the 1000cc space. But boy is it sexy!...

Glad to hear that your mishap wasn't too bad and that it took place at ~0 mph . You got away easy on this one, enjoy! (it doesn't happen so often).

 

[kofi]

This is my first post and I'm new, so go easy on me when I suggest to lg_0 "Consider the Busa." From you all's description of what you like in a bike, I resonate with you riders. Recently, I was on a tight budget and really there were only 3 bikes I was having a hard time deciding between. K1200s, K1300s and Hayabusa. Used purchase options for all three exist below $7500.

Kofi