Over the winter I got the usual itch for another motorcycle, and managed to convince myself that a 2011 GSX1250FA listed on Cycle Trader in Missouri would be a good deal. Most of you will recognize the FA as a faired version of Suzuki's 1250 Bandit.
There were a number of glitches with this deal, including higher shipping cost than anticipated, a bike that under the seat and under the plastic covers looked like it had been parked outside in the Sahara for a number of years, low RPM stumbles, and evidence of a number of (probably) minor accidents. But after a couple of months of disassembly, cleaning, running some injector cleaner and new gas through the machine, etc etc, I have a bike that I am pretty excited about. I've never had a big bore four cylinder bike before, and here late in life I am tooling around on a torque monster. I can get used to this. When I first start the bike I feel I am sitting on a hive of angry bees. But the thing is so smooth and quiet, once you pass 5MPH and the ABS light goes off, the motor almost disappears into the background, except for the power which never stops. Almost as heavy as the NT, but much more composed in the corners, and (with a laminar lip on the stock windshield) actually quieter than the NT on the interstate. I really like the older school looks of the bike and the almost complete absence of rider aides or gizmos.
Problem is I now have about two too many bikes in my fleet. I picked up a used BMW F800ST a couple of years ago, I am still running around on my Chinese 250cc adventure bike, and then there is the NT. I can make a case for keeping everyone of them. But given that I don't actually put that many miles on motorcycles, I am attempting to downsize. I have put the NT and the ST on my local Craig's List, but my heart's not really into selling either of them.
I'm just a lucky guy with four great bikes. For now, anyway. We'll see what I am riding when I get to the Rally in West Virginia next month.
There were a number of glitches with this deal, including higher shipping cost than anticipated, a bike that under the seat and under the plastic covers looked like it had been parked outside in the Sahara for a number of years, low RPM stumbles, and evidence of a number of (probably) minor accidents. But after a couple of months of disassembly, cleaning, running some injector cleaner and new gas through the machine, etc etc, I have a bike that I am pretty excited about. I've never had a big bore four cylinder bike before, and here late in life I am tooling around on a torque monster. I can get used to this. When I first start the bike I feel I am sitting on a hive of angry bees. But the thing is so smooth and quiet, once you pass 5MPH and the ABS light goes off, the motor almost disappears into the background, except for the power which never stops. Almost as heavy as the NT, but much more composed in the corners, and (with a laminar lip on the stock windshield) actually quieter than the NT on the interstate. I really like the older school looks of the bike and the almost complete absence of rider aides or gizmos.
Problem is I now have about two too many bikes in my fleet. I picked up a used BMW F800ST a couple of years ago, I am still running around on my Chinese 250cc adventure bike, and then there is the NT. I can make a case for keeping everyone of them. But given that I don't actually put that many miles on motorcycles, I am attempting to downsize. I have put the NT and the ST on my local Craig's List, but my heart's not really into selling either of them.
I'm just a lucky guy with four great bikes. For now, anyway. We'll see what I am riding when I get to the Rally in West Virginia next month.
