Originally Posted by gplassm

That is a great comment, Joe! I do not have *unlimited* funds, but I am prepared to spend more than I ever have on bikes. As I mentioned, I am also shopping for a dirt bike at the moment, and I must have a "barely street legal" type bike, for the riding I do. Even though I do not have a set amount to spend, I have this vague sense of "whatever I don't spend on a street bike, will allow me to get a better, newer dirt bike". My wife, however, might have trouble if I bought a bargain basement street bike, in order to get a fancy new dirt bike. She has seen what happens to my dirt bikes, and how they end up. My street bikes get treated much differently. I tend to pamper them, and keep them in pristine condition for years. The smallest scratch sends me into a tizzy.
My wife and I spoke again today about the bikes. I think that she is getting tired of talking about it, to tell the truth. We do, however, want to go to a Triumph dealer and check out the Tiger 800 (probably *not* the XC, as this will be a street bike only). So, I will keep hunting. With 8" of fresh new snow on the ground, there really is no hurry. Unfortunately, that also means that test rides are out of the question, so I will have to rely on web video's, comments, and reviews while I continue the hunt. FWIW - the KTM SM-T is pretty much universally praised, for what it is - a comfortable, yet fun bike. Very few 'Strom reviews mention that word - Fun. Instead, they use words like "competent", and "reliable". One phrase that keeps coming up is "Good at everything, great at nothing" - and I am OK with that.

Originally Posted by gplassm

My wife and I just returned from visiting a couple of dealerships. Here is what we found: 1) The NC700X is 6,999, and is a *small* motorcycle, compared to others that we saw and considered. My wife did not like the passenger accommodations, and a better, more comfy aftermarket passenger saddle may be limited in design by the necessity for it to swing upwards to access the fuel filler. This, combined with the lower power output of this bike, knock it out of consideration for us. Next we saw 2) a Gold Wing. This bike is a *WHALE*. It has unparalleled comfort, but I was nervous just propping it up off of its side stand. It is just too big for me to consider pulling out of my garage for my 3 mile commute. Next we saw, 3) a left over 2010 FJ1300. This bike was much smaller, lower, and pretty comfy, both front and back. It was heavy, though. The price was something like $15k. My wife liked this bike, but I seem to recall heat management issues with earlier models, so I will have to do some research on the 2010 model. Moving on, we looked at 4) a 2013 Ducati Multistrada. This bike is obviously the *Cream* of the Adventure bike segment. It's "SkyHook" suspension was *rigid* when not running. The bike was tall, but not ridiculously so. Even at $20k, it is in the running, just because it is simply a great bike, with a great motor, and everybody who has ridden one will tell you that. We looked at pretty much every bike they had, including Monsters, Diavels and miscelaneous sport bikes and cruisers. None of them seemed to fit the bill for us. Just before we walked out the door, we saw a KTM 990 SMT (Super Moto Touring). We had the salesman pull it out so we could sit on it. It was nice! Lower than the Multi, but taller than the FJ. I do not know much about this bike, so I will have to do some research. At $13,999, it is a definite contender! I would have never thought that I would even be considering a KTM.
We next went to visit a Suzuki dealership. They had 4 V-Stroms - 2 650's (1 regular, 1 adventure), and 2 1000's (1 regular, and 1 adventure). We sat on both adventures. The 1000 was not as tall as I expected it to be, but it is l-o-o-o-n-g-e-r than I expected it to be. It was very comfortable for both of us, but I would probably shift the top case back 3" or so. It is a lot of bike for the money, but I had to wonder if it was just too big for my short daily commute. My wife wondered the same thing. The 650 was better, but it was not a pretty looking bike, and it did not *move* me much. On both bikes, the bags interfered with mounting and dismounting. We did not notice this on the the KTM, which was equipped with soft bags, and no top case.
We did not buy anything, yet, but on the way home, my wife asked me which bike I liked best. I answered that the Multi or the KTM moved me the most, but it was hard to discount the big Strom just because of its comfort and value.
She wants me to get the bike I like best. Pretty much all of them will do what we want them to do, and any of them seem comfortable enough as is, or we could just spend a little more to get a super-comfy seat on any of them.
So, now I have some studying and some thinking to do. I am really drawn to the SMT for some unexplained reason.

Originally Posted by Joe S.

Pretty generous calling the Vee only a 'step down' in power.
From what I see a good Vee makes around 92 hp and an FJR makes around 125. What I would call a whopping big step down.
Not that it much matters, all of them from a Liter on up aren't exactly hurting for power.