Reading the various threads here abouts, I was thinking about how I chose my bike. Maybe others would care to comment and we'll end up with a bit of a database?

So, it's 2004, I'm riding an XT600E. Within 12 months I've got a girlfriend (now wife), a dog and a job where I can no longer ring the boss from the wrong side of the North Sea and ask for a week off (Goodness knows what I'd have done if he'd ever said no, Norway or Germany to Leeds in fifteen minutes isn't easy and even I can't develop convincing man flu in thirty seconds ). The pillion seat on the XT was ueless, so it wasn't getting used as much as it should.

I therefore needed a two-up, fun at weekends but able to go anywhere type bike. I only do aircooled singles and twins after the F650 in Morocco incident. Spec was a 650-1000cc 50-80 hp road bike with a full frame and nothing I didn't understand mechanically.

Initially I wanted an R80GS, but prices were insane and condition poor, plus selling an 18 month old XT to buy a fifteen year old BM is more hassle than walking into a dealer. Oddly three new bikes met the spec, Kawasaki W650, Harley Sportster and the Bonneville. The Kawa was out of production and a little short on power. The Sportster was a great ride but tyre choice was limited and the sales guy only wanted me to get one so I could trade it for the adult version (1200) later. The Triumph salesman was drunk at some Rocket3 event so made me a stupid offer.

Fast forward to 2007 and I fell off a few times on the Elefant basically due to laziness in not putting the knobblies on. However, with the dog and amount of gear Karen likes to carry the sidecar made sense so I fitted the Ural chair.

Am I happy with it? Once I sorted the range with an auxilliary tank; Oh yes

Conclusions I'd draw:

Look at bike specs, not particular models.

Don't believe anything the bike manufacturers or journalists say unless it has hard facts in it. "Could do with stronger brakes" is Journo speak for "I'm used to my R6 and would rather be out testing a Ducati".

Tyres maketh the bike, look at rim sizes and clearances.

Simple is good.

Do your research here and on other sites, comments like "my clutch is fine at 107000 miles" and "I've never opened the engine" give warmer feelings than pages of discussions about water pumps.

Look for models with a long production run. I pick up spares at crazy prices as most Bonneville owners fit chromed bits and e-bay the OE items.

Andy