so, as most of you know, i am planning to put my VFR up for sale at the end of this month. my original plan was to replace it with a Honda Blackbird, or maybe the new VFR1000. well, i have re-thought that plan and i am going to modify it. yeah, i know, you guys are SHOCKED by this.
anyways, what i have come to realize is that i really don't enjoy touring on a sport tourer like i do on a cruiser. i am NOT going away from the sport bikes, but i think it is time for me to get back into the touring cruiser market. hopefully i can hang onto the Meanie as it is paid off, but finances will dictate whether it is possible.
so, my first thought is to pick up another Nomad, 1500 or 1600. then i would turn it into more of a tourer by adding a fairing like i did before. that is still an option, but man, wouldn't it be nice to buy a bike with a fairing already and maybe even a radio ? save myself the hassle of modifying another bike when i should be spending the time either working on the house or out riding. so, that leaves me 3 options, sort of. i could go for the new Voyager, which most of you know, i am not a big fan of, mainly the styling. i could also go for the Yamaha Royal Star Venture, which i am also not a fan of the styling. the third option is to go to the darkside and pick up an HD.
so, here are my options :
1.buy either the Voyager or the Venture. neither of which i really care for. they also both have trunks, which i really do not want. and i don't think they are easily removable.
2.buy another Nomad and transform it, slowly, into the bike that i want
or 3.buy an HD, probably a Street Glide

so what do you guys and gals think ? i have always been one of the first to bust on HD owners, mostly in jest. for the most part, i have always thought that they were overpriced, underpowered, and not as reliable as metrics. but, they do have more quality put into their parts, and the aftermarket is overflowing with possibilities. but, i have never ridden one, so i don't know if they really are that underpowered. i don't know how the ride compares, and i don't know how reliable the new ones are or are not. can anyone help me out here ? i'd like to take one for a ride first off and see if i like the feel of it. we have a dealer local and i might go down there this week before the weather turns. that may make up my mind for me right there, good or bad. but i would still like to hear some opinions from you guys.

you know how i ride, will a new or newer HD hold up to my abuse ?
will i be happy with the power ? (compared to a Nomad)
will i be happy with the ride quality ? (also compared to a Nomad, as that is what i am using for my baseline)
and anything else you can think of.

ultimately david you will be the one who has to make the choice as to what the right bike for you is. I agree, i'm not a fan so far of the voyager or venture. I'd say if you were to maybe rent a HD to see if it would meet your power requirements? dunno.

personally if it were up to me, since you'd be mod'ing a nomad if you went that route, go big and get youself 2053cc's of stump pulling power and put the mods on your mention previously. you know that big tank packed with fuel would come in handy

First thing to look at in my opinion David , is having ridden with you before, many times, that going the cruiser way would not fit you very well......that being said, have you looked at the BMW's touring offers, I have never ridden on any, but maybe Brent can enlighten you on those bikes. If you go with a Nomad style or the Harley full dresser, you will be eliminating a very big portion of how and why you ride, but that is just my opinion. I do speak from experience having come from riding only cruisers and now with my C14. I would hate to ever go back to a cruiser, I just love the way the sport tourer handles and rides and the confidence that I feel on the bike, whether I am riding the flat lands out here or carving the canyon roads in the Rockies. The speed and power available is well worth it. But it is each to his own, just consider the types of roads you mostly ride, and the type of riding that you will mostly do, and then look into the future, and see what your thoughts will be when that perfect twisty road is laid out before you and you are on a "LEAD SLED CRUISER"......any way that is what my thoughts are on this, so maybe you can tell what my opinion is.

As far as the harley dressers I think they are a good bike, and they do look awesome, albeit a dated unchanged design, which by the way thru the industry news, the harley line will be water cooled to meet emmision specs soon. When I rode with Tim he had a V-rod.....man what an awesome looking bike. In talking with him he loved the bike, gobs of power and handles like a dream, he came from his FJR to the night rod.

Hope I didnt confuse you but thats what I think anyway.
Deron

I agree with Deron's statement Dave.
Going to a cruiser is going to limit your abilities in some riding areas. I urger you to test ride a few bikes, and not a 10 minute ride. Tell them you gotta take it for a serious ride. Not sure how you will pull this off. When I took the HD Fatty for a ride, it was 15 minutes and we had a chaperon. WTF, if they want me to buy it they better let me ride it the way I ride. Either way good luck with your choices. I know I am not budging off the 14. Its a whole new riding experience. And I love it.

yeah, i figured as much
probably going to see if the local shop has a used bike i can take for a quick rip, just to get a feel for it.

and i'd love to, but the V2K chassis just doesn't "talk" to me like the 1500 or even the 1600 chassis does. there is something about it that i just can't get over. i'd LOVE to have the power, but the bike is just not me.

well, in theory i agree that my riding style dictates that i should stay with the sport tourer. but here's the funny thing. every time i go on a long ride on a sport tourer, i long for the Nomad. yeah, once a nice tight twisty road comes up, i forget about that for a minute, but the overall feel of the ride is that i miss not have a laid back comfortable cruiser. when i took the FJR across Canada i was really wishing i had the Nomad, and the same thing this year with the VFR. i guess the comfort and the laid back styling and feel of the big cruisers also fits me real well. most of the time i am riding, i am either going back and forth to work, where it is really nice having a bagger with a fairing, or going on a long ride where the cruisers shine.
now, to please the other side of me, i am still planning to replace the VFR, but it will be with a true sport bike. and to help out on those trips when i come up on a road that i wish i had the other bike.....i am hoping to build a trailer to tow behind the bagger, with the sport bike on it.

and yes, the design is very outdated, mainly the bags, IMHO. actually, i have always loved the looks of the Road Kings, FLH's and whatnot, just not the bags. but, i can overlook that i guess.

as much as i have realized that sport is the way that i ride, i have also come to terms with the fact that the riding position is not comfortable to me for long rides, especially with the limited movement available. i guess i could stick with a bike like the Meanie or even a VROD and just set it up for touring, but i REALLY want the comforts of the big bikes. the hard bags, the fairing, the radio, the engine guards, things like that stuff.

of course, that is this week, my opinion could change again......

I think you just answered your own original question buddy.

yeah, that answers the type of bike, but i am torn between one that is already built with a fairing and one that i would have to piece together myself.

dont give up on the new yoyager yet david, look at it in person first, it really is a great looking bike, and way more advanced than the 1600 nomad. I have seen it in person and sat on one.