Motorcycle show

Yesterday was the first day of the weekend motorcycle show at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. all of the major manufacturers were there. I was particularly looking forward to seeing the new Kawasaki 1700 series of bikes. These bikes are replacing the current 1500, 1600, 2000 cc classes. The engine and drivetrain on the new series looks promising, however the body styling and redesigned frame leaves a lot to be desired in my mind. I know it's personal preference but I prefer a fork mounted fairing to the frame mount style of the new Nomad Voyager. The frames on these bikes have been tightened up and the wheel base has been shortened slightly. Fine for an average sized person but not great for someone with a frame over 6 feet (like me).

Other manufacturers had new bikes in their lineups catering to the ever growing league of motorcycle enthusiasts in Canada. Honda has a Suzuki V-Strom clone called the Varadaro which should prove to be a big seller with those wanting to venture further than the 400 series of highways and looking for a little adventure. Yamaha has nothing of interest to me these days as their touring machines are looking dated and not in keeping with today's technology. What's with the cassette player on the Venture? And carburetors?

On a personal comfort level after sitting on many touring and street bikes at the show it came down to Harley Davidson to provide the comfy couch feeling that I've come to enjoy as my riding experience. Their touring versions seem to be quite up to date technologically and the classic styling doesn't go out of date. Price wise the company is competitive with other touring machines. They are all expensive and you have to really be able to justify the cost of these machines. None of them will convince me at this point that my Nomad 1600 wasn't a good value and provides me with the level of comfort and durability I require.

So I guess it's just more add-on's and enhancement s to my current bike for now. After all with 35,000 km's it's just getting broken in!