Strange to read this. My situation is similar to yours. Been thinking for a long time that the 6r is the way to go. From a completely "by the numbers" analysis, it probably is. But this past weekend I got to ride a Bonnie, and a Scrambler. And all I can say is that something "clicked." Again, on the numbers they're not as good bikes. Most of the leak issues are known to have been dealt with (Triumph redesigned the valve cover gasket a couple of years ago) and many of them turn out not to actually be leaks -- they're new bikes that are weeping cosmoline because dealers didn't clean them up properly.
So I'm sort of doing a bit of thinking. Nothing about motorcycling is really practical. So maybe the practical analysis just isn't what matters. Maybe the fact that something in my head felt right on a Bonnie is what matters, and the fact that it won't perform on the track, or go 130, or run 25000 miles before I have to look at the valves isn't what's important. For my purposes, I can still put tail and side bags on a Bonnie or Scrambler and it'll take me anywhere I reasonably expect that I'll ever go.
Today's my birthday, and this is sort of a present I've been promising myself for a while. But I'm holding off because I'm suddenly in "debate" mode again. I think it's fairly natural for those of us who aren't tightly focused on performance issues to consider lots of different alternatives, because when you strip away performance, it's no longer a simple "numbers" game. All sorts of other things come into play, which I guess is how some guys with mental defects end up with Harleys.
And no, there's no way in hell I'm ever going there. Going after Steve McQueen is one thing, Dennis Hopper is another...
So I'm sort of doing a bit of thinking. Nothing about motorcycling is really practical. So maybe the practical analysis just isn't what matters. Maybe the fact that something in my head felt right on a Bonnie is what matters, and the fact that it won't perform on the track, or go 130, or run 25000 miles before I have to look at the valves isn't what's important. For my purposes, I can still put tail and side bags on a Bonnie or Scrambler and it'll take me anywhere I reasonably expect that I'll ever go.
Today's my birthday, and this is sort of a present I've been promising myself for a while. But I'm holding off because I'm suddenly in "debate" mode again. I think it's fairly natural for those of us who aren't tightly focused on performance issues to consider lots of different alternatives, because when you strip away performance, it's no longer a simple "numbers" game. All sorts of other things come into play, which I guess is how some guys with mental defects end up with Harleys.
And no, there's no way in hell I'm ever going there. Going after Steve McQueen is one thing, Dennis Hopper is another...