Talk me out of

[John F]

I spent a while looking for my bike. I have my Husky 450fe for anything more off road oriented that requires a plate, so I was looking for a mainly road bike that I can ride for a couple hours to Michaux and back, and ride on the MABDR. I test rode a 2021 Triumph 850 sport. It seemed like it, or really the 900, would do everything right, but it just kinda bored me. The 1200xc was great, but big and top heavy, and the high pipe was hot on a 75 degree day. The Street Scrambler was fun, but down on power and would need a fair amount of suspension work to be fire road ready. Like you said, the T7 can't be bought right now, and it's a tall bike. I only sat on the Motoguzzi, but it was big and there isn't a lot of dealer support. I only sat on a CB500x, but it was going to be down on power for me anyway. The AT also struck me as a big bike. The Aprilia is just too new for me to risk, and there's no dealer support around me. The Duc desert sled was too vibey at speed. The motor felt just like the Ducati 750 Monster I had, and I got rid of that after 7 years because of the vibes when cruising and that it just begged to be ridden fast--too fast to ensure a long life.

The best bike I test rode was a KTM 790s that I'm pretty sure is still at Motorcycles of Dulles. Great motor and balance, and low COG with the low gas tank. Just a great, really fun bike, and if it's still at MOD, they'll let you test ride it. I would've bought it last fall, but they has just gotten it in and their price was just a few hundred lower than new leftover 790.

I had completely dismissed any BMW. Too big and too road oriented. Then a guy talked me into test riding a UGS, and it just made me smile. Mine has Ohlins and a bunch of other stuff on it. I'm looking forward to trying it out at Michaux and someday the MABDR. You're welcome to try my bike

Long story short, I thought that the best mid weight ADV bike was the KTM. I'd get the S. It has plenty of travel for me and isn't too tall. Sonny's R looks amazing, but it's too tall for me (Sonny is fearless). Again, the Triumph was great, with a great motor, but just didn't make me smile. That said, I wound up with the UGS just because. Hope this helps.

[Laoch]

Good info. Thanks John.