TennesseeSmith

1968 Honda CB450K, 1976 Honda Gold Wing, 1979 Honda CX500C, 1977 Honda Gold Wing, 2000 Honda ST1100, 2003 Honda ST1100P, 2003 Harley Davidson Ultra Classic, 2012 Honda Gold Wing, 2012 Suzuki Wee Strom, 2014 Honda CTX700D, 2013 Triumph Trophy SE, 2014 Honda CTX1300 Deluxe, another 2014 Honda CTX1300 Deluxe, 2017 Indian Scout ABS, 2018 Honda Gold Wing, 2019 Yamaha Niken GT, and I have a 2023 Moto Guzzi V100 Mandello on order. My favorite is the second Honda CTX1300. The best was the 2018 Gold Wing. The best looking was the 2017 Indian Scout. The most fun was the Wee. In terms of the value I got out of the bikes, the Niken is in sixth place: 1 - 2nd CTX1300 2 - ST1100 3 - 1976 Gold Wing 4 - 1st CTX1300 5 - 2018 Gold Wing 6 - Niken GT 7 - Indian Scout I've enjoyed them all. The Triumph and the Harley were my least favorites due to their lack of reliability. You can see pictures of some of these bikes at https://tennesseesmith.smugmug.com

I've had my 2019 Niken GT for a bit over three years and a bit over 19,000 miles. I'm ready to move on to a 2023 Moto Guzzi V100 Mandello. What's the range for Niken values at trade-in? How's that compare to the resale price? Are there enough of these changing hands to get an idea of the value?

Thanks!

Up to now, I've had someone else adjusting my chain. I'll be doing that myself now. What size wrenches do I need? 2019 Niken GT

I rode my 2013 Triumph Trophy SE at minus 1 F (-17 C). I had heated gear and it was just a 10 mile ride to work. The cold was not bad at all. The slick parking lot at work was nearly a disaster. I rode my 2017 Indian Scout over Jellico Mountain for the initial service. It was 15 F when I started in the morning and 30 F when I got home in the afternoon. It was about 100 miles down and 100 miles back. Heated clothing made the difference. This morning I started the trip to work in the dark at 24 F. It's about 22 miles. I rode the CTX1300 with the large windshield. Tomorrow I'll be doing the same trip in similar temperatures on the Niken. I don't usually break out the electrics until it's below 20 F or if I'm making a long trip. A fleece jacket under a leather jacket is really nice. It's not bad as long as you are careful. Ice and darkness are far more dangerous than the cold. I'm familiar with the road to work well enough to know where the likely spots are for ice. Going to work and coming home in the dark are not great. This morning I rode between two halves of a deer carcass on a two-lane road. I'm glad I wasn't the one that hit him. The scariest part of Winter riding now is that if you fall down on the ice and break your leg, you have to wait for hours to get into the hospital. Then they just patch you up quickly and send you home with a permanent limp. And you are hanging out with all the COVID patients while you're there.

Picking up a motorcycle does not require much strength. It's all about leverage. YouTube has lots of videos showing how to pick one up. Gravel complicates the process because the tires won't grab and the bike tries to scoot away as you lift. And your feet want to come out from under you also.

It's been over twenty years since I've had to pick up a motorcycle. But I tend to pick it up immediately without taking my gear off. It only takes half a minute unless the bike is way over in the ditch. I don't let any non-bikers touch it. They tend to bend it up by grabbing the wrong parts. Of the examples above, the guy in the bicycle race would have the worst time getting up and going. Normally traffic will stop while you pick it up. That won't happen in his case. Of course it doesn't help that either the pilot or the pillion is laying injured in the ditch.

a. Buffeting is not bad for me. I've never carried a passenger on the bike. b. I'll dig out the invoice tonight to see what size it is. c. The port really helps to smooth the airflow. I rode in rain yesterday and it was not an issue. I've ridden this bike down to about 10 degrees F (-12 C) and the only part of me that got annoyingly cold was my knees. d. Yes. It uses the same mount points as the stock windshield. e. I'll have to measure it tonight. It's thinner than any other screen I've ever bought. Whenever I buy a new bike I budget an extra $500 to figure out a good windshield. This one came in way under budget. I was happy with the first screen I bought. Overall, I recommend this screen. The biggest oddity is that California Scientific screens are made in Missouri. They discuss their theory of airflow on their website. They seem to know what they're doing.

I put a California Scientific screen on my Niken a couple of years ago. It shakes a bit in the wind, but I like it better than the screen that came on the bike.

I ride solo. I change the traction control settings depending on how I feel each day. I wore that back tire down to the cord in the middle without wearing down the outside edges. That seemed odd considering I ride in twisties every day. I managed to slide that original back tire quite a bit also. I think the original rear tire was way to soft up the middle and way too hard on the edges.

I came to this forum today looking for tire advice. It looks like the Pilot Road fronts will be what I order for my Niken GT. I replaced the rear with a Dunlop RoadSmart a year ago. I only got 6500 miles on the stock rear tire. The new rear is holding up much better. I've had the bike a couple weeks short of two years and I've only put 11,200 miles on it. My Hondas get most of the touring miles and the Niken gets mainly local roads.

I tend to wave at anyone who is riding on the correct side of his vehicle. By that I mean the outside. Tractors, bicycles, trikes, bikes, etc. Even convertible cars. Most wave back. I don't consider it a mark of some kind of brotherhood. It's just people outside enjoying life and being friendly. I even wave at grumpy people who won't wave back because I'm not quite like them.