WHAT'S OLD IS NEW AGAIN!

April has been a VERY busy month with regard to motorcycles.

I started the month by selling my XR600R. I realized that my cranky old knees were not up to off-roading.

Then on April 21st I sold the K1600GT because I could not get comfortable on it (knee pain).

The next day I happened to spot the 2009 R1200GS I used to own so I bought it back. It looked as good as the day I sold it and had only traveled 9,000 miles (total of 21,000).

Farkling The GT

Besides the great price (a 2015 K1600GT is worth $18-20,000, I paid $15,000) part of the reason I bought the GT was the hope I would spend less farkling it than another GS. During my search I found a 2014 GS. The GS was loaded but since the owner was upgrading to a newer GS he stripped ALL of his farkles off the bike. Blank canvas, yes, but expensive! The GT was also a blank canvas but since it came with bags I figured (hoped) that I would spend less. The GT also had 2 1/2 years of warranty left, the 14 GS 6 months.

When I owned my 96 R1100RT I rode it for the first year with nothing but a tank bag and one bag liner. I could carry my clothing in the bag liner and the bike stuff (cover, lock, oil, tools, etc) along with my off the bike footwear in the other bag. The tank bag contained my extra gloves, face shield, wallet, and whatever else I needed. Latter I added a Marsee seat bag and a BMW top case. I found the more capacity you have the more crap you'll carry.

I'm gonna try my best to get by with less on the GT. Considering how much smaller the GT's tank bag is than either the RT's or any of the GS' tank bags I'm probably gonna have to buy another seat bag.

The Other Bike In My Garage

I should mention that I also own a 1995 Honda XR600R. The XR is street legal (barely) and is a bike I wanted to own since owning a Honda XR650L back in the 90s. The 600 starts out about 50 lbs lighter the 650, has more power, and better gearing. Only drawback (with the 600) is it's kickstart only. Considering that it's never taken me more than 5 kicks (after sitting unridden in my garage for 3-4 months) to start it AND the electrical system is MUCH simpler (than the 650's) I got what I wanted.
Yes, a modern EXC KTM is a MUCH better bike, but I don't feel guilty letting the XR sit unridden in my garage where I would (feel guilty) doing the same with a $10,000 KTM.