Here’s the story: my beloved Monster is still in the shop and has a 1% chance of being finished on Wednesday. My dad is flying in Wednesday and renting a Harley. We’re taking a trip down the coast to the redwoods, over to crater lake, and then over Mt. Hood. About 1000 miles over three days. I really want my Monster for this, but it’s not happening. Here are my options:
Rent from a motorcycle version of Turo, with an expected cost of $500-800 depending on the bike I choose assuming I can actually get a hold of the owner. It’s been hit or miss so far. But I’ve made contact with the owner of a Multistrada 950, which would set me back about $750. Most other options in my area are... less than ideal for my intended use.
Ori could rent from an actual rental company such as Motoquest. That would be about the same price as Moto Turo, but for (hopefully) am F800GS. Which, I think would be less ideal for this trip.
Finally, I could buy another bike. A local dealer has a bunch of 2017 Africa Twins in stock for under $10k. However, they’re large and heavy and 2018 made a ton of improvements. I might go ride one tonight after work.
The KTM 790 Adventure is out, which is perfect on paper. But I’ve heard of reliability issues and warranty hassles. Anyone know anything?
Long time favorite option of mine; Triumph Tiger 800, preferably in xca/x trim. Wonderful engine and chassis. Looks cool. Fantastic on road and pretty good off. Current Triumph promotion gets you free aluminum side cases with a new Tiger, about $1000 value in the real world ($1300 according to dealer pricing). They’re very nice cases. A guy I work with took advantage of this deal on an xr trim Tiger.
Or, something else entirely... Triumph or Indian Bobber? Bonneville? G310GS? Scout Sixty?
Tldr: Moto trip, monster in shop, rent a bike or buy a new one? If buy, which bike?