I need a new bike! Which One?

[Elk]

As many of you know, I crashed on the ride Sunday.  As it turns out, both of us are in worse shape than I initially thought.

I have a comminuted distal radial fracture with some displacement (left wrist - will be set in about a week when the swelling diminishes).  I also broke my right thumb with the break going into the end joint.  I'm glad I was wearing good leathers, racing boots and gloves, etc.  The injuries would have been much more serious otherwise.

Much worse, my Ducati is almost positively totaled.   Gorgeous machine, perfectly sorted out, tuned by Doug Lofgren, etc,

So what should I get as a replacement?  I'm thinking a BMW S1000RR.  What else should I consider?

This is a good group to ask as there is a lot of experience here and lots of great bikes.

Final note: Lloyd's route was great!  Exactly what I want for one of these rides.  I'm going to ride it again - and finish it! - once I am healed. 

Also, the crash was no one's fault but my own.  I'm entitled to crash after 30 years or so of riding.   My plan is to go much longer before the next one however.  This one hurts like hell.

All replacement suggestions eagerly considered.

Ehrich

[tk]

Another guy with an S1000RR is GeLy. His bike also has all the hightech options that Tim has. Gely can be found on the ZG and TA forums. Tell him I sent you.

[Greg]

If you like eccentric bikes, the new Honda VFR sure is a looker.

[Ray916MN]

Boy those are some no foolin injuries. Heal well and heal fast.

The S1000RR is definitely a bike to consider. Some other bikes to consider are the CBR1000RR. '08 used models are available for much less than half the cost of the BMW and are very close in performance. The KTM RC8R is being heavily discounted down to the same price or lower price than the BMW, as are leftover MV Agusta F4 1000s. There are also some very limited production Ducatis that are getting cleared out. Delano Sports Center recently sold a brand new leftover 1098R on Ebay for $25K, versus its' original list price of $40K. Wanna go full monty, pristine low mileage Desmosedici's have fallen to below $40K.

So it depends on what you want. The BMW is the performance king, the Honda is the price performance deal, the KTM, MV Agusta and 1098R are exotic deals.

[Elk]

The injuries stink.  I need to learn how to fall.  The practice is painful however.

I don't get it.  I wasn't going that fast, wearing good stuff.  Sure glad I was dressed well.

Great bike ideas.  The VFR is a fascinating critter certainly.

Ray, how do you track down who has what bike?  Those are killer deals!  The Desmo is out of my league, but the Honda is an astounding stellar deal.  The others are also amazing.

[Ray916MN]

Ray, how do you track down who has what bike?  Those are killer deals!  The Desmo is out of my league, but the Honda is an astounding stellar deal.  The others are also amazing.

I'm an inveterate shopper and keep an eye on Craigslist, Ebay and a variety of forums (eg. ZG, MNSBR, Ducati.MS). 1098R got discussed on Ducati.MS before the Ebay auction ended, and when I went to look at the auction I realized it was Delano Sport Center selling their off the ground display bike which I had seen earlier in the day while picking up parts. There are only a few Ducati dealers around, and Delano has KTM as well as Ducati and has been really aggressively pricing recently. Heinen's up in Osseo has been showing up on Ebay selling leftover Agusta's at aggressive prices. With the poor economy allot of the exotic stuff seems to end up on Ebay looking for a wider market.

[vince]

Top of my list is the BMW and number 2 is the CBR1000RR with ABS.

[Elk]

Interesting observation on the ABS on the two bikes.  Given that BMW has had ABS on bikes for years I would expect them to be especially good at it.  I need to learn what Tim thinks of his BMW.

Idiosyncrasies often make a bike, car or friend appealing. It is hard to beat an Accord for reliable competent transportation - but it is the ultimate average car.

Almost all modern bikes are impressive and well executed.

I want another sport bike with communicative handling, but a bit of forgiveness is ideal.  No matter how long I ride I am still learning. The BMW's traction control and ABS has an appeal.  I like the back up of such things with the hope that I never need them.

It can be a bit of a bother in town as is a Ducati superbike as I ride in rural areas almost exclusively.  I like personality.

I want too much power.  I like being able to scare myself when I want to.

[Chris]

Elk sounds like you want/need a R1

[flyinlow]

Even though the press has panned the RC8, it has been winning in various series around the country. I like the looks of the tail section, makes it look like the previous generation motogp bikes.

The first go around with ABS that BMW did was not good, it was a servo assisted setup (or something like that) and had issues like if your bike died, you lost most of your braking. Their newer generation ABS that came out a year or two ago is much better and similar to most ABS setups. So they really haven't had alot of development time because they basically threw away their first gen ABS and started over.

[mikey]

ive only seen one RC8 out there, they look uncomfortable but very cool at the same time.  I would definately look up some of the S1000RR owners and get their opinions, might even be able to weasel a test ride out of one of em.  I havent heard a bad thing yet about the BMW, especially with its price tag.  Depending on what your wallet can afford it seems to be a great bike for the money.  The 08 hondas are dirt cheap and are a really nice, light well balanced bike from what i have noticed.

[Chris]

Elk sounds like you want/need a R1


I dont think so.             Ask Andy how thats working out for him !

These are just another dime a dozen bike, and clearly he is looking for something more eccentric or at the very least, original.

I would love to ride an RC8 and maybe even see how they are to work on.....hint, hint.

I know Lloyd that was my lame attempt at a joke.

I like that RC8.

[Ray916MN]

BMW dealers are required to have an S1000RR available for demo and required to put miles on it. Getting test rides on them isn't very hard.

The KTM RC8 is very comfortable with the most upright seating position of any current sportbike and a pretty short reach to the bars. They also feature adjustable footpegs.Delano is anxious to sell what they have and offered me a test ride, which I declined since I wasn't serious enough about buying one.

All Erhich has to do is heal up!

[Ray916MN]

Just out of curiousity, what kind of price are they at on an RC8, or didnt you get that far, since you werent really interested?

$14.5K for an '09 leftover which originally listed for $20K. They've sold it since, but told me they would sell a 2010 at a significant discount.

[Elk]

The BMW dealers do have demo S 1000 RRs.  I asked.

Each dealer's demo has roughly 2,500 miles on it with no mishaps other than speeding tickets.