BeemerSooner
New member
I just got back into motorcycles after having not ridden one since I was a teenager. I started off on a 1984 Honda XL80S. My dad had a pair of them that he bought new for I believe $800 for him and my older brother to ride around campgrounds. Eventually they ended up just sitting in our shed for many years until my friend started to ride a small suzuki 80cc dirt bike. My dad and I got the Hondas out, cleaned the carbs, changed filters and oil, and put new tires on them. I rode the hell out of that thing. Of course as I got older I got a pickup and just goofed around a bit on that little bike with my friends as a sort of novelty. At some point we sold them. Fast forward and I'm now 35, an Army veteran, and for some reason got the itch to ride again. The largest bike I'd ridden was I believe a 175cc yamaha that belonged to my friend's dad.
First I decided on taking the basic rider course to get properly licensed (the instructors I had were an amazing husband and wife team with lots of experience). I'm 6' tall and weigh around 200lbs. The little honda rebel I rode felt cramped to say the least. I felt comical riding it, but it was great fun to ride again. I was amazed at how quickly it all came back to me, and I found the course to be quite enjoyable, and like anything in life, there's always something more to learn. Most of my riding as a teen had been off road and on dirt/gravel roads. I knew I did not want to get a cruiser, and although sport bikes had some appeal to me, I just had so many fond memories of that little Honda that I decided I wanted something that would have a similar upright riding position and something that would do OK on less than stellar roads.
I of course discovered adventure bikes, and I fell in love! I debated over what to get quite a bit. Honda NC700X, but I didn't like that ABS only came with the DCT transmission. I liked the V-Strom 650 and it's probably the best bang for the buck as far as adventure bikes go, but something about it just didn't appeal to me. I loved the looks of the R1200GS, but decided to hold off on getting something that powerful, but at the same time knowing my size I really wanted something larger than, say, a Honda CB500X. Eventually I decided I wanted to either get a F800GS or an F700GS. I decided I likely wasn't going to be doing much true off-roading, being my first bike in so long I wanted to ensure I could plant both feet firmly on the ground (with some room to spare), and after looking at them closer I knew that the 700 has roughly the same torque curve, but it's horsepower drops off before the 800. I am not overly aggressive so figured the difference in peak horsepower wouldn't matter, plus I was already nervous about even the power the 700 has since I simply hadn't ridden anything even close to that large.
So against all the great advice out there saying to get a used bike, I went to the nearest dealer which is in OKC (great place by the way, they've treated me well) and purchased a brand new 2015 F700GS (this was back in June). I drove down with my pickup, loaded the bike on my utility trailer which I'd prepared with a front wheel chock, and took my new baby home. My first time on the bike I was pretty nervous and excited, not really knowing what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised to find the bike extremely easy to ride. What a difference it makes to ride something that didn't feel cramped up like that little Rebel. The bike didn't feel heavy at all. I don't think that smile wiped off my face for at least a week!
Now I've had the bike for over 6 months and I could not be happier. Of course like many motorcycle enthusiasts, I am always looking at other bikes and thinking about what I might want next (maybe an R1200GSA), but that is a long ways off, and I mainly just enjoy reading about other bikes. I keep slowly adding on to my current bike. I've added some GoPro mounts for different shots, phone mount, I just ordered a SW-Motech tank bag (powered model). My bike has the Vario side cases. I'll likely not get a top case and just put soft luggage and camping gear across the tail. I'm an electronics geek, so I love taking lots of gadgets with me, which is one of the reasons for the tank bag so I can keep batteries and such charged and have quick access.
I still love my pickup, and being a 4x4 it's taken me lots of places, but there's just something special about riding my motorcycle. It seems to make every trip feel like I'm more connected to the world around me. Feeling the quick temperature changes that you don't notice while in a car is one of the things I love. Going down into a little valley with a small bridge over a creek and feeling the temperature drop a few degrees...you just don't notice that in a car, and I love it. Especially noticeable on warm summer nights. I can't wait for spring to get here, but I'm not letting the winter hold me back from riding too much. I'm pretty tolerant of the cold, and with just a mesh riding jacket/pants with wind/rain liner + thin insulation layer + thin base layer I'm quite comfortable even at interstate speeds. I just need to get some handguards and a touring windscreen and I'll be set. Only problem I have is fogging due to my glasses, but I'll be getting contacts again soon enough (they can bring their own issues of course).
Anyways, I can tend to ramble on forever! I tend to lurk a lot, and post in small bursts on most forums that I frequent. I just wanted to finally introduce myself here after lurking a while. This seems to be a great community and I'm happy to be a part of it.
First I decided on taking the basic rider course to get properly licensed (the instructors I had were an amazing husband and wife team with lots of experience). I'm 6' tall and weigh around 200lbs. The little honda rebel I rode felt cramped to say the least. I felt comical riding it, but it was great fun to ride again. I was amazed at how quickly it all came back to me, and I found the course to be quite enjoyable, and like anything in life, there's always something more to learn. Most of my riding as a teen had been off road and on dirt/gravel roads. I knew I did not want to get a cruiser, and although sport bikes had some appeal to me, I just had so many fond memories of that little Honda that I decided I wanted something that would have a similar upright riding position and something that would do OK on less than stellar roads.
I of course discovered adventure bikes, and I fell in love! I debated over what to get quite a bit. Honda NC700X, but I didn't like that ABS only came with the DCT transmission. I liked the V-Strom 650 and it's probably the best bang for the buck as far as adventure bikes go, but something about it just didn't appeal to me. I loved the looks of the R1200GS, but decided to hold off on getting something that powerful, but at the same time knowing my size I really wanted something larger than, say, a Honda CB500X. Eventually I decided I wanted to either get a F800GS or an F700GS. I decided I likely wasn't going to be doing much true off-roading, being my first bike in so long I wanted to ensure I could plant both feet firmly on the ground (with some room to spare), and after looking at them closer I knew that the 700 has roughly the same torque curve, but it's horsepower drops off before the 800. I am not overly aggressive so figured the difference in peak horsepower wouldn't matter, plus I was already nervous about even the power the 700 has since I simply hadn't ridden anything even close to that large.
So against all the great advice out there saying to get a used bike, I went to the nearest dealer which is in OKC (great place by the way, they've treated me well) and purchased a brand new 2015 F700GS (this was back in June). I drove down with my pickup, loaded the bike on my utility trailer which I'd prepared with a front wheel chock, and took my new baby home. My first time on the bike I was pretty nervous and excited, not really knowing what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised to find the bike extremely easy to ride. What a difference it makes to ride something that didn't feel cramped up like that little Rebel. The bike didn't feel heavy at all. I don't think that smile wiped off my face for at least a week!
Now I've had the bike for over 6 months and I could not be happier. Of course like many motorcycle enthusiasts, I am always looking at other bikes and thinking about what I might want next (maybe an R1200GSA), but that is a long ways off, and I mainly just enjoy reading about other bikes. I keep slowly adding on to my current bike. I've added some GoPro mounts for different shots, phone mount, I just ordered a SW-Motech tank bag (powered model). My bike has the Vario side cases. I'll likely not get a top case and just put soft luggage and camping gear across the tail. I'm an electronics geek, so I love taking lots of gadgets with me, which is one of the reasons for the tank bag so I can keep batteries and such charged and have quick access.
I still love my pickup, and being a 4x4 it's taken me lots of places, but there's just something special about riding my motorcycle. It seems to make every trip feel like I'm more connected to the world around me. Feeling the quick temperature changes that you don't notice while in a car is one of the things I love. Going down into a little valley with a small bridge over a creek and feeling the temperature drop a few degrees...you just don't notice that in a car, and I love it. Especially noticeable on warm summer nights. I can't wait for spring to get here, but I'm not letting the winter hold me back from riding too much. I'm pretty tolerant of the cold, and with just a mesh riding jacket/pants with wind/rain liner + thin insulation layer + thin base layer I'm quite comfortable even at interstate speeds. I just need to get some handguards and a touring windscreen and I'll be set. Only problem I have is fogging due to my glasses, but I'll be getting contacts again soon enough (they can bring their own issues of course).
Anyways, I can tend to ramble on forever! I tend to lurk a lot, and post in small bursts on most forums that I frequent. I just wanted to finally introduce myself here after lurking a while. This seems to be a great community and I'm happy to be a part of it.
