[Diamondgeezer]

Ok, My AT in Black (changed my mind at the last minute from the tri-colour) is ready to be picked up on Tuesday March 1st.......I have now put picking it up till April !!!!!! as I have a weekend booked riding the new AT and the Honda off road centre in Wales at the end of March, I've done this to make sure that this is the bike for me off road, i currently ride an explorer xc which I love but not too much off road. The dealer is happy to hold the bike for me and wait till I've done the course and if I don't like it give me my deposit back....fair play to the dealer I say........SO am I MAD, or shall I just have it Tuesday and hope all the hype and talk about how good this bike is...is really true......my other option is the new triumph explorer xca.......(this may be a bit heavy and a bit over the top gizmo wise)
HELP ME as I'm a nightmare making my mind up.........Doh..............

Cheers

 

[graeme4130]

Ok, My AT in Black (changed my mind at the last minute from the tri-colour) is ready to be picked up on Tuesday March 1st.......I have now put picking it up till April !!!!!! as I have a weekend booked riding the new AT and the Honda off road centre in Wales at the end of March, I've done this to make sure that this is the bike for me off road, i currently ride an explorer xc which I love but not too much off road. The dealer is happy to hold the bike for me and wait till I've done the course and if I don't like it give me my deposit back....fair play to the dealer I say........SO am I MAD, or shall I just have it Tuesday and hope all the hype and talk about how good this bike is...is really true......my other option is the new triumph explorer xca.......(this may be a bit heavy and a bit over the top gizmo wise)
HELP ME as I'm a nightmare making my mind up.........Doh..............

Cheers

Surely, you can just borrow their demo bike and make your mind up then ?

 

[Yromulus]

Not mad at all. I always have a few second thoughts after ordering or buying things.

If you're really unsure then wait and see. If the dealer is ok with it then there's no real problem I guess.

 

[Diamondgeezer]

I've had the demo out 3 times !!! What's wrong with me......lol.....

 

[marekm]

Stay away from mat paint. Soon your bike will be covered by shiny patches. Will not look good at all :frown2:

 

[Diamondgeezer]

Not true had my Matt green explorer 3 years still looks the same as it did when I bought it !! Black may be different ? I changed my mind on the colour as I have no real connection with the AT from the past like some of the members on here and never owned a Honda....well apart from a gold wing for 6 weeks that I sort of bought on eBay after a bottle of red wine one night.....but that's another story....lol...... Also the tri and the red bikes seem very popular so I thought I'd be different and get a black one....sort of stealth mode ) wouldn't mind a set of gold wheels if anyone's up for a swop :>

 

[marekm]

Not true ...

Seems like the topic of mat paint is closed :surprise:

Pity that my former bike "mat gray" was not aware of this and did indeed develop shiny patches in areas of frequent contact (e.g. where knees rub on the gas tank), not to mention areas where I tried to remove minor scratches :wink2:

 

[Yromulus]

Have you decided yet @Diamondgeezer? If you're asking for gold wheels then maybe you have?!

Colour is such a personal choice - I wanted a red one, then a black one and then I ordered a white one after seeing them all lined up together at my dealer. Spur of the moment decision - highly unusual for me. Buy what you like - you're the one that has to live with it. Who cares what anyone else thinks? Besides, wrapping is relatively cheap these days so you can always change it later if you want. The local BMW dealer said one of his female customers had their GS wrapped in pink...

 

[Diamondgeezer]

No, still can't make my mind up, just wish the Triumph XCA 1200 was available to test ride then I'd know for sure........I know it's going to be heavy and I already know it's going to be expensive but at my age you can't take it with you lol so might as well spend it.........I think the AT will be the better buy because of price nearly £5,000 cheaper and weight....£5,000 will get some nice accessories and a bloody good adventure somewhere this year.........can I leave it till the end of March when my dealer is only 5 minutes down the road from me and it's sitting in the window torture....lol

 

[adventure boy]

Your in the same boat as I was when I traded my 2015 Versys 1000 in fot the AT as it was such a fantastic bike


Just do it mate it will be fine !!

 

[marekm]

I sold a 2015 Caspian Blue Tiger 800 XCx with just 275 km on the odometer, to buy Red AT DCT.

 

[anotherbiker]

Well, obviously I hate you a little as it's still not possible to get them in the US so I don't have a a choice but to wait... lol ;-)

But all things considered, I think ask yourself honestly what sort of riding you're going to be doing and what your road/off-road ratio is.

70/30 - get a KTM 690 Enduro R

85/15 - Africa Twin / Triumph Tiger 800 / F800GS*

95/5 - that big Triumph Explorer would do fine.

* and when I say AT / Tiger 800 /800GS I really mean, get the AT. Can't see what benefit those 800s have over the AT other than cruise control.

 

[Dirt Donkey]

Just buy the AT. You wont be dissapointed

 

[Diamondgeezer]

Good point, and a tricky question......
85/15 is a great starting point, Ive not done a huge amount off road so bit of a novice....
The thing is if I get my confidence up and really enjoy it more and more the explorer I think would be just too heavy and I'm 56 this year !!! The trouble is as well I love touring and want to do a lot more in the near future.........the beauty of the AT is that I think it will tour well enough and then be able to hit the off road sections when needed......
Then my other dilemma is tyres, I want good road holding as I still like the twisties but just want to feel confident if I dive off road.......Help me I am going Mad......I've never had sleepless nights over a bike before lol lol

 

[Yromulus]

...the beauty of the AT is that I think it will tour well enough and then be able to hit the off road sections when needed...

I think this sums up the conclusion that I came to. Ideally I would have bought two bikes and a trailer (oh, and a car...!) - one a proper off-road bike and the other a tourer but I don't want two bikes filling up the garage (along with 6 bicycles!). I also prefer the idea of going places and not having to worry about the terrain too much - adventuring I guess. For example my dad lives in Wales where I can easily go riding in the valleys and hills -rather than load up the trailer I can just go and see him on the one bike. Same for heading off to Africa - or even Eastern Europe judging by some of their roads. The world is your oyster.

And rather than the Triumphs - which I couldn't get on with when I rode them in both 800 and 1200 forms - I was fixated on a BMW 1200 GS because it has a really nice feel to it - similar low CoG and rock-solid planted feel to the AT actually. But compared to the GS one was £11K and the other was £15K - and the £11K one was probably going to be more reliable and more economical to both fuel and service. It also had a gearbox rather than a random collection of cogs banging into other. At that point it became a much easier decision for me - in fact it wasn't a decision it was obvious there was only one choice (out of those two that is!).

Which tyres is a tricky question - if you are a really good rider that can push the limits of a road-oriented bike then you might reach the limits of the AT tyres but there are more road-based tyres available - even in 21" TT-suitable form. Fortunately I'm not that good although I do enjoy sweeping through twisties - I just do it at my own pace at the back of the group!

As far as I can tell it's impossible to get a bike that excels at everything. I think the AT is very good at most things (from 2 hours of test-riding with no off-road). And the DCT will assist me off-road where I'm a newbie. YMMV.

Not sure this helps you really?!

 

[graeme4130]

AT looks miles better than the Tiger800 and GS 800 too IMHO
I've just sold my Tiger800 yesterday in readiness for my AT coming next week

 

[Diamondgeezer]

I think I am almost there !!!!! Not sure if I can wait 4-5 weeks to test the triumph XCa...
If I let the dealer know tomorrow he can still have it ready for the 1st of March
I will still hang on to my 13 plate explorer till summer might get a better price and for some unknown reason if I don't like the AT I'll sell both and buy the triumph...Simples.
But I'm always up for mor convincing until tomorrow

Cheers for all the feed back on my dilemma appreciate it

 

[Sloth]

Good point, and a tricky question......
85/15 is a great starting point, Ive not done a huge amount off road so bit of a novice....
The thing is if I get my confidence up and really enjoy it more and more the explorer I think would be just too heavy and I'm 56 this year !!! The trouble is as well I love touring and want to do a lot more in the near future.........the beauty of the AT is that I think it will tour well enough and then be able to hit the off road sections when needed......
Then my other dilemma is tyres, I want good road holding as I still like the twisties but just want to feel confident if I dive off road.......Help me I am going Mad......I've never had sleepless nights over a bike before lol lol

I,m pretty much in the same positon except that its a decision as to whether to keep my F800 adv or just go for and get the A/T .. I,m scared it wont match up to the Beemer .. I convince myself it will surpass it in every aspect ... then doubt creeps back in aaaaahhhh

 

[Captain Scarlet]

@ Diamondgeezer: The number of your posts has now exceeded "20". As such, the purchase of an AT (any color you like, so long as its not anodized purple) has now become mandatory by default. It's the law. And therefore totally incontestable. I'd get down to the shop and buy it immediately, if you want to remain on the right side of the law. Besides Black, with gold wheels would look JPS mega special. Go on... you know you just want to be told to... DO IT !!!!! :-D

 

[Yromulus]

Hmmmmm - anodised purple...

Judging by some previous AT colour schemes that isn't beyond the realms of possibility one day.