British question

[Plane Dr]

So question for my Brits.  I have been pondering picking up a CT in England.  The plan would be to kit it out similar to my one in the states.  Then I could pack my boxes hop over the pond and ride.  I was thinking 2 weeks ish a year.  I have storage in Cambridge.

I did something similar when I kept a supermoto in SoCal with 2 sets of wheels for about 3 years.

That said I'm not hung up on a CT although it would be easier to match back home.  I start there just due to apples to apples comparison.  But anything I could slam Givi boxes on would work.  Or not?  Just want to avoid 2 sets of kit.

What cost is annual registration?   What is typical insurance?  Do I need to maintain insurance all year or is it possible to carry it only when there?

Should I look at a 650 ish as it would be cheaper?  I went CT here due to huge stretches of high speed motorway.  Not such a problem there.  I'm 250 miles to any sort of decent riding here in Texas.

Recovering the purchase price is an issue but not a driving item as over 3-4 years that sort of washes out.

Any thoughts or discussion welcome.  I appreciate thoughts on the issue.

[Jfro5867]

Afternoon Plane Dr. Others may be more qualified to answer but I would expect Insurance companies to absolutely rinse you. I have never heard of them doing a short term policy, you CAN take out an annual policy and then cancel it but you'd lose a huge amount and if you owned the bike you would want to keep it insured anyway, wouldn't you? I can see them rubbing their hands together in glee TBH.

 If you have digs in Cambridge I would have thought renting a bike would be a much easier and cheaper option.

[Plane Dr]

I was thinking about just parking there.  I have friends scattered all over the UK.

So more a start and stop rather than a base.  That was part of the cost consideration out right purchase.  Bike rentals here are $200 a day.  So depending that goes a long way towards a purchase.  Annual insurance doesn't bother me so much as I may do multiple 1 week trips rather than a single long one.  Try to fit it all in around having to work.

Though with work from home, the only hurdle is time zones.  So I could maybe squeak in some work while at it.

I'd even consider a Burgman or some such.

[bampy]

Originally Posted by Plane Dr

I was thinking about just parking there.  I have friends scattered all over the UK.

So more a start and stop rather than a base.  That was part of the cost consideration out right purchase.  Bike rentals here are $200 a day.  So depending that goes a long way towards a purchase.  Annual insurance doesn't bother me so much as I may do multiple 1 week trips rather than a single long one.  Try to fit it all in around having to work.

Though with work from home, the only hurdle is time zones.  So I could maybe squeak in some work while at it.

I'd even consider a Burgman or some such.

Cost to insure the the CT for 12 months in the UK with a fully comprehensive policy and breakdown cover would be in the region of £200 and if you went down to a 650 there would be very little saving. So it's a no brainer to insure for the year. The only concern would be the yearly MOT but if you have friends here I'm sure they could take care of that and the CT would be a far superior tourer than any 650. If you are buying new then there's no MOT for the first three years. Recovering the purchase price is more problematic I've owned two DCT models and I still own one and for some unknown reason the CT was not that popular in the UK to resale prices are not where they should be for some reason British bikes would rather ride BMW's and KTM's that have both proved unreliable but the CT just keeps ploughing om.

[Plane Dr]

I wouldn't buy new I'd be looking at the secondary market.  So hopefully initial output would be discounted.  Depending on time frame it would be a wash if I recover anything.

Thanks that is what I was wondering!

[Jfro5867]

Met up with a good mate of mine today for a brew, he's got a 2020 GS 1250 Exclusive with all the bells and whistles. Cost something like £18k. Anyway, it's been into BMW 4 times over recent weeks with an engine management light coming on. They can not diagnose the problem. Every time he gets messed about waiting, and waiting for the service dept to get on with it. They've had it two days this week. Also he wanted to make a warranty claim cos one of the LED indicators filled up with condensation. BMW refused the fault saying it was a 'consumable'!! He complained, they said they would take the bike in to dry it out first and then see from there. Great these BMW warranties aren't they......

[Plane Dr]

I had an 05GS.  It was a fantastic bike.  The newer they are though they seem to have more tech problems.  I was never a fan of canbus either.  I had a virtual second harness to run all the do dads.  It was also not "exciting", it didn't want to be flogged.

Fast forward when I went to replace it I looked across the entire spectrum.  But all the brands had some history problems.  I flashed back to my buddies CBR in all the miles he rode all he ever did is change tires, oil etc.  The VFR line has a good pedigree.  The CT had been out across the pond for years with nothing terrible notable wrong.  I took a manual for a ride and it had spirit.  Tried DCT cause why not?  I was hooked.

Price across the pond are high even for used.  I may look for an old one here and ship it.  it looks cheaper than buying there, or maybe ship mine and find a beater something here.  I'm big on a European adventure right now so I will see how it works out.  A few logistics and $$ money so I will see how it works out.  If I have a focus on Europe I wont be doing big rides here.  It would give me an excuse to try an Enfield