This is my current Bike, a 2016 Fazer8. I got it about two years ago as a replacement for my old 97 Africa Twin.
Because I mentioned it in the post, here´s my previous and also first Bike right before I sold it. I had it for 10 years and sold it for a little more than what I originally paid for it.
You can’t ask for better than that! Well done on the sale. There’s something special about those first bikes. Keep those pictures and memories forever! That Fazer8 is a good-looking bike as well. Big fan of the color palette on that one. Have you been happy with the Fazer8?
I was a bit sceptical back then if such a huge bike with a center of gravity so high would be a wise choice as a first bike. But once I have ridden it, I was in love! I still rejoice whenever I spot one of them old ones out in the wild.
That Fazer is the perfect small step up from the AT. It has more power but not excessively so. It still has good wind protection but not as insane as the AT had. And it was also pretty cheap to come by, altough not as cheap as the AT was back then. It´s the perfect dad bike and I´m a bit sad that this type of bike, naked in the back, proper fairing in the front, with a nice windscreen, has become so rare. You get either full on naked, full on sport or real heavy tourers.
That AT looks well loved. Did you try out the new one yet?
I did not actually. Even the used “new” ones are well above my budget. So I won´t even make myself want one by trying it out. Judging by the fact that, big rig enduro wise, all I ever see are GS and AT, it shouldn´t be that bad. Still won´t ride one until they are well below 5k used ;-)
you still have any adv? if not, do you miss it?
right now ive been debating on a sport bike, but i dont really wanna lose that “do-it-all” nature of an ADV
i could maybe keep 2 but just curious about your situation
Nope, don´t really miss it. I sometimes miss the seating position and the wind protection, although the seat itself was awful for long rides, but I don´t miss the “do it all”. And that, I fear, is mainly because at least in the end, I didn´t really do it all any more. See, I live in Germany. Where it´s not trivial to just ride off road. And I never hat the time or budget to really go on adventures. And while I did the off dirt road on the first two sets of tires, I quickly found myself 99% on regular roads. I was too proud to do full stree tires, so I opted for some 80/20 type ones. Still, gravel was as wild as it got. Don´t get me wrong. I had the AT fpr 10 years. And it was just a great touring bike, even on regular roads. I don´t regret not using it “properly”. Still, that fact made it pretty easy to switch to a different style of bike. Not radically different, since I still have relatively upright seating and good wind protection, but different enough to matter.
So for your situation, I guess look at the way you actually use your current bike. For me, the decision was easy. But if you regularly ride off road, I fully understand your hesitation.
ya man thats super reasonable, totes understand. if i were in your shoes i think id go the same route
i live in Colorado in the US so im off road all the time as im also up around 10k elevation. but it gives me hope that i dont have to “stick” to one.
ive been a bit afraid of considering not using it anymore but i see all these fast boys riding through switchbacks all cool like and man, it looks so much fun
im just plodding along. i think maybe one or two more summers and if i still dont have the space, ill probs move on to something else and buy like a small, dedicated off roader
What do you ride then? Because just because you haven an ADV doesn´t have to make you slow. When I ride in Austria, in the alps, with serious switchbacks as well, somehow the big 1200GS are often faster than the sport bikes. Feels like that bumblebee situation, where they actually can´t fly but since nobody told them that, they do it anyway.
Feels like that bumblebee situation, where they actually can´t fly but since nobody told them that, they do it anyway.
ive never heard this before so i hope you dont mind if i steal it
im on a KLR 650, so essentially a pig, but i bought it for that “legendary reliability” but after a bunch of years with it, im starting to get that itch
my biggest problem with “fast” advs is how $$$ they are, at least here in Colorado but sport bikes are still pretty reasonably priced
i think 2020 and all that shit really created this giant market for advs and the mark ups feel a little nuts
my real honest to goodness dream is to have a nice adv and a some sort of track toy, but that cost money which is getting harder to find
I tried the newer one and honestly… didn’t like it. I found the fueling to be jerky and the LCD screen was distracting. Plus everything I wanted to change on the bike seemed to be 2-3 levels deep in menus. Riding wise is was nice. Cruise control was freaky as hell!
That’s such a nice looking bike.
