I have an 85-88 LT230GE Suzuki that I acquired about 2 years ago and got it running again. It was primarily a hunting ATV. Wanted more room, had a rear rack and wanted a front too and just a few things I wanted to do with it. A machine that old came with hard to find and discontinued parts.

A buddy in my hunting club had another buddy that both bought brand new '04s at the same time. He vouched that his buddy's was babied. He offered to pick it up and drive an hour and a half to deliver and let me see it. Said if I didn't like it, buy him a burger and he'd take back to the guy. LOL!

I rode it, went over it with a fine tooth comb and jacked it up and sampled the oil, checked compression, brakes and everything just about. This thing was immaculate.

Took my son turkey hunting Saturday and he's always been very timid of the 4 wheeler, the noise my Harley makes and using the big motor on my bass boat. He's only 7 and some jerk almost swamped us when he was about 4 and we were at speed on the lake. He's been motor shy every since.

Well he got on with me Saturday and he LOVES to hunt and camp. He is an awesome turkey caller. Well I couldn't get him off the 4 wheeler. He loved it. Since the Suzuki was so small to begin with and only a rear rack, all of our gear was on the rear and he and I were cramped up together.

My buddy left about 6:30 Tuesday night and my son and I rode that Recon around 'til after 9PM. LOL!

I know some of you guys with big atv's may not understand where I'm coming from. A 230 to a 250? Well that 230 would scoot but it was so small, this Recon is like a land barge to me.

 

I went from a sport quad to the recon a year ago. They both are fun in different ways but when all is said & done, I guess I like the recon better. The mud protection is great compared to my 250X. And the stuff I carry on the recon I'd never begin to fit on the X. I just got back from a 3 day Hatfield McCoy trip and that recon was awesome. The only thing was, at times I was looking for another gear. But that was only on the open road once in a while.

 

I should also say that when I had my X, I was into going fast, racing, and just barrelling through the woods. Although this was fun, I knew sooner or later I was gonna get killed. The recon runs almost as well but there's just something about it that makes me slow down. I actually enjoy the scenery and the ride more. It has made me realize that it's about the outdoors more than it's about going fast. But, I am older too.

 

That's why I ride a big old slow touring Harley on the road. I'm a flower sniffer. Husband, father of two and my main concern is coming home to my family safely. I have an '05 Electra Glide with 50K or so on the clock. Maybe 200 of those miles were fun miles. Everything else is commuting back and forth to the office. I save weekends for family. If I have an activity on the weekend for fun, at least one of my family has to be able to do it too. I have a 7 yr old son, 5 month old daughter and a wife. Now granted, my son is my main avenue of fun! LOL! He's like a little me, we love the same things.

 

Well then, YOU'RE the guy I need to talk to. So I'm thinking about buying a big used touring bike. I like the idea of buying American but golly, a big HD is 15 grand vs. maybe 6 grand for a comparable other brand. I know, I know, there ain't nuttin like a Harley. But there's alot of things I can do with the extra 9 or 10 grand I save. I've owned a lot of bikes but never a Harley, and never anything huge. But honestly, I was always pleased with what I had. I've always liked the silky smoothness of a Gold Wing but they are tremendously expensive too. I'm looking at like a Yamaha Road Star or something along that line. What should I do?

 

^^^Road Stars are great machines. I own a little ole Yamaha V Star 650 Classic that is more than enough for me, no more than I ride. I have owned a Goldwing and by far, they are a great touring machine! A bit much around town but in it's paces on the open highway!

If I get another bike, it will be a Road Star. I have never owned a Harley and won't say I never will, if a good one comes up at the right price. I owned a Wing and got that out of my system so I guess now I need to get HD out of my system! LOL!

To the OP, I bought my now 12 year old son, who has Asperger's Disorder, a 09 Recon this past Christmas and he loves it. It rides a bit rough for my tastes as I drive a much heavier Rubicon. But all in all, it's a great performing machine and like the TRX 90 he out grew, we will keep it for the grandkids whenever he decides to go bigger.

Enjoy the Recon. They are one tough atv!

 

I honestly think if you're in the market for a touring bike, an HD, Honda, Kawasaki, Yamaha or Suzuki version - any of those will be fine reliable machines. I'm not a bike bigot period. I'm a member of HOG only for the 10% discount. I rode on one HOG ride back in 99 or 00 and that was my last. I bought my first Harley at 27 or 28 and I've had 6 or 7 total. I wanted a tourer first off and my wife called it an old man bike. I went up thru the models throwing dollars at them trying to make them something they weren't. I'm not adverse to any brand, I'm a CPA and since I was trading a bunch, resale was a big issue. The HD's fit me well and I like their look and ride.

I live in middle TN and my office is in KY and I ride year 'round so I wanted fairing for cold weather and I need storage for a pair of shoes suitable for the office, laptop and briefcase. I'm short legged and the Harleys sit low.

I can't really say any brand of tourer is better than the other. My only advice is buy the type of bike you want from the get go. If not, you'll spend a fortune trying to make it something it's not. A Gold Wing is not a canyon carver and vice versa. I know someone will chime in and say they drag their knees with their Wing or rode 15,000 a day miles on their Hayabusa. LOL! But if you want to commute, you can only wear so many backpacks on a crotch rocket and only lean so far over on a Wing. Ya gotta be happy.

 

Brad, That is a great, level headed post. All in all, I guess I was thinking along that line. Get a bike that I like, regardless of brand. But the word "like" encompasses many things. Comfort, reliability, price, cost of maintenance, looks, etc. I just have to decide what is important. Thanks for your thoughts.

 

I don't know how to say this without coming off like a rear end, but I've always been gifted numerically or anything that involves memory or problem solving. I can speed read and 20 years later you can ask me what the 50th word on page 200 is and I can tell you. If you give me an amount and interest rate, I can tell you the monthly payments in less than 30 seconds. Has been a tremendous help in my profession, but I just always assumed I was a bit odd. LOL! Well my son is the same way. Scored a 156 on his IQ test a month before turning 4.

Anyway, short version. We thought he might have signs of autism or aspergers and we had him tested at Vanderbilt. They actually wanted to run different tests on me too. They said he definitely did not have autism and showed no signs of asperger's. What was weird was I tested positive for asperger's myself. They had a 5 point criteria that I fell into 4 of and another test that I scored an 88% on.

Make sure your son knows that Asperger's is not a disability and don't let him think he's "different." I apparently went undiagnosed for the first 35 of my 38 years on this planet and I'm no worse for wear. Never made a B from 1st grade thru my Masters and passed the CPA first try. Had a golf, academic and baseball scholarship to college. High school quaterback. It's not a ticket to being treated different, you can use it and rise above.

Probably preaching to the choir and don't know why I posted that, just felt like I should.