Best all around bike ever? (if there is such a thing)

[Curtis Harper]

Just spotted this thread and thought I would throw in my .02. Currently I have about 60 bikes in my collection. Some running, some not. Same deal as pretty much anyone with more than three. But if I had to actually go to one bike, it would be my 79 CanAm 370 qualifier. It is quite an amazing woods bike, but the motor is so smooth the few times I have had it on the street it has been a pleasure.  Huge tank should do a couple hundred miles. 370 Rotax runs as cool as any 2 smoker out there and can maintain 80 mph easy. My Iron butt days are over but asphalt back roads to single track that would be my choice.

[kirb]

I like my Stelvio for all that we do- tours, around town, all paved.
I'd like to add more horsepower and shed a little weight...Ducati Multistrada.

Sure you give up some ease of maintenance, but DAMN that duc engine is sweet. I've done belts and valves on one before, so that doesn't bother me. They are MUCH more reliable than most give them credit for.

[Testarossa]

Back in the day, which means when I started riding, the best all-around bike was the Triumph twin series, 500 and 650. With the same frame and only a change of tires and exhaust, those bikes could tour, commute and race on pavement or dirt. From 1938 onward, the Edward Turner big-bike became the original desert sled and motocrosser, and also an ISDT champ, TT, Daytona and flat track winner, police bike, military ride, land speed record holder, chick magnet, around-the-world adventurer, and movie star, sharing credits with Brando, MQueen and countless stuntmen.

Beat that.

[Bill]

Being that I do not ride off road,  I find the B12 Bandit to be my favorite all around street bike. Gobs of HP and torque, mid weight and very comfortable. The motor is basically bullet proof needing little attention. Easy to find add ons  like side bags,  large wind screens etc. Good as a commuter, dragster, or touring bike. Does it all for me.
Bill

[LowRyter]

Being that I do not ride off road,  I find the B12 Bandit to be my favorite all around street bike. Gobs of HP and torque, mid weight and very comfortable. The motor is basically bullet proof needing little attention. Easy to find add ons  like side bags,  large wind screens etc. Good as a commuter, dragster, or touring bike. Does it all for me.
Bill

I've got 82k miles on mine but haven't ridden it in months. 

[Huzo]

Thought I might bump this to tack onto Smith Swede’s post.

[twowheeladdict]

I hope I never have to face that scenario, but if I could only ride 1 bike it would have to be an adventure style bike because it is the most versatile machine made.  I would have to research what bike would be the best compromise in size, weight, power, ease of use, and ease of maintenance before making a decision. 

Today I would give the V85TT a serious consideration.

well, what do you know.  A V85TT is now in my garage.  I still don't think I could get down to one, but the Van Van compliments the V85TT nicely.

[rocker59]

Best all around of all time?

I'd say it's a close call between...

Harley Sportster...

And

Triumph Bonneville...

They've been everything to everyone since Elvis was pulling tanker duty in West Germany...

[SIR REAL ED]

As Sonny and Cher would sing:  "And the beat goes on......"

Here's to hoping interesting threads and disagreement will never fade away!   

For me, it will be the DR650 Bush Pig until something "better" (always defined subjectively!) shows up.

Part of the fun of DR ownership is the "Garage Factor" of making it better and maintaining it.

The "Garage Factor" of great looks, not so much!

[tazio]

Yamaha TDM 850

[s1120]

A
For me, it will be the DR650 Bush Pig until something "better" (always defined subjectively!) shows up.

Part of the fun of DR ownership is the "Garage Factor" of making it better and maintaining it.

The "Garage Factor" of great looks, not so much!

I think in a long away future, after we are all gone, and after the rise and fall of the machine uprising, there will be two left... it will be a old DR650, and a old KLR650 fighting that final fight before the next unknown takes over the planet.

[Huzo]

Yamaha TDM 850

That’s a good one…

[lazlokovacs]

best all round bike??

1. Get yourself a loop frame and just ride it everywhere

2. Get yourself ANY tonti framed big block and spend a year in the garage making it fit you exactly as you want and voila... you will have the perfect all-rounder

3. you will still like the loopframe more


 

[Huzo]

best all round bike??

1. Get yourself a loop frame and just ride it everywhere

2. Get yourself ANY tonti framed big block and spend a year in the garage making it fit you exactly as you want and voila... you will have the perfect all-rounder

3. you will still like the loopframe more


 

The problem with that conclusion is, that the bike you like the most is not necessarily the “best” bike.
I had the most love for my Honda SL 70.
I have the most fond memories on my Suzuki GT 750, but that is not the best bike I have ever owned.
The most capable all rounder was my Triumph Sprint ST 1050, nor was that the best bike I ever owned.
If you put every bike I ever had in front of me and I had to walk away with just one and watch the rest go in the crusher, it would be my Norge. It is not on either of those first lists.
How can that be..?
Because what we want changes over the years and it takes a different bike to fit the bill of what we currently want.
What we like the most has only a minor bearing on what is the “best”.

[Scout63]

The problem with that conclusion is, that the bike you like the most is not necessarily the “best” bike.
I had the most love for my Honda SL 70.
I have the most fond memories on my Suzuki GT 750, but that is not the best bike I have ever owned.
The most capable all rounder was my Triumph Sprint ST 1050, nor was that the best bike I ever owned.
If you put every bike I ever had in front of me and I had to walk away with just one and watch the rest go in the crusher, it would be my Norge. It is not on either of those first lists.
How can that be..?
Because what we want changes over the years and it takes a different bike to fit the bill of what we currently want.
What we like the most has only a minor bearing on what is the “best”.

I agree completely agree with Peter.  The bike that I want is constantly evolving.  I’m curious about them all, especially the pretty ones. 

[Huzo]

I’ll change that last bit to read…
“What is the best has only a minor part to play in what we like the most…”

[blu guzz]

The best all arounder for the the longest, the Sportster in my mind.  The best ever for me would be a honda 450 twin of early vintage, trail, tour, bullet proof, parts are still around.

[Huzo]

The best all arounder for the the longest, the Sportster in my mind.  The best ever for me would be a honda 450 twin of early vintage, trail, tour, bullet proof, parts are still around.

So the real question with no hedging around..
Would you save the 450 from the crusher if you had to remove only one and watch the others destroyed ?
If you do not pick one, they are ALL going to be crushed.
Sounds like a Spielberg movie I once saw…..
You know, about choice…

[guzzi ride]

My choice is my 07 KTM 640 adv. Dirt, gravel,sport and sport tour. All around great bike.

[SIR REAL ED]

So the real question with no hedging around..
Would you save the 450 from the crusher if you had to remove only one and watch the others destroyed ?
If you do not pick one, they are ALL going to be crushed.
Sounds like a Spielberg movie I once saw…..
You know, about choice…

Lets face it, we're human, we're fickle, we're subjective as can be, and we're all like a dog in heat.

The best bike is the one that gets the job done in the heat of passion.

When the next Man-strul cycle comes around, we may feel completely differently.......   

The "best" motorcycle you have ever riden, is like the "best" meal you have ever eaten, or the "best" book you have ever read.  No matter how good "the one" is, variety has lots of appeal in the long run.

Even when one finds the perfect road, chances are it won't be the only road one chooses to ride for the rest of their life.

[Bulldog9]

I have only had maybe 20 bikes in my riding lifetime, and though there are some I LOVE (XS1100, GRiSO 1100) I would have to say the best all around bike has been my V7ii Stornello TT. 

[Gliderjohn]

From lazlokovacs:

Get yourself a loop frame and just ride it everywhere

2. Get yourself ANY tonti framed big block and spend a year in the garage making it fit you exactly as you want and voila... you will have the perfect all-rounder

3. you will still like the loopframe more

Sorry, I just don't get the loop frame thing. Then again I have only done a 90 miles on a loop frame. Was glad to be back on the T-3.
GliderJohn

[SIR REAL ED]

From lazlokovacs:
Sorry, I just don't get the loop frame thing. Then again I have only done a 90 miles on a loop frame. Was glad to be back on the T-3.
GliderJohn

Back in the day, when we were hip, we used to say "Different strokes for different folks!"

[not-fishing]

NO such thing as "best all around"!

Motorcycles are like golf clubs where you need 14 or more.

Now you can get by with one just like you can play golf with a 7 iron.  this from a non-golfer who's caddied some

[s1120]

The problem with that conclusion is, that the bike you like the most is not necessarily the “best” bike.
I had the most love for my Honda SL 70.
I have the most fond memories on my Suzuki GT 750, but that is not the best bike I have ever owned.
The most capable all rounder was my Triumph Sprint ST 1050, nor was that the best bike I ever owned.
If you put every bike I ever had in front of me and I had to walk away with just one and watch the rest go in the crusher, it would be my Norge. It is not on either of those first lists.
How can that be..?
Because what we want changes over the years and it takes a different bike to fit the bill of what we currently want.
What we like the most has only a minor bearing on what is the “best”.

I have not had a ton of bike. I tend to get one and own it forever. That being said, Im on the same page with you. The "Best" bike I owned was a old Suzuki GS650GL. It did EVERYTHING!  Looked nice, not too powerfull, but not too weak. Handled well. Really needed ZERO MAINTANCE!. You could jump on it and go anywhere, at any time. It was really a great all around bike..  But as you said if the garage was burring, and I had all the bikes I ever had in it, the Guzzi would be the first pulled out. Second would be my old RD400... 

[bacongrease]

 H D Sportster.   When the end times, parts galore, and any shadetree can help. Can be easily customized. Bullettproof.  I dont have one, never did, but that would be my choice.
 

[wrbix]

Other bikes are much better at specific things but the best all around bike I've known is the R100GS BMW.  I've had three of them.  They are very comfortable, can be sport ridden, commuted, off road ridden, they tour well with lockable hard bags, carry a passenger well, are incredibly easy to service and maintain and can be run for any mileage, forever.  I could list a number of faults but none of them are enough to distract from that conclusion.  My favorite version is the 1988-90 model

That said, I would not want any bike as my only bike...  So many of them sparkle in different ways, particularly Italian bikes, and having more than one to ride highlights the individual strengths of each.

1+

[wrbix]

Maybe not the 'best' but she's been a good one for me.  Thru thick and thin!




Taking a breather at rest stop in Frazee, MN - 2009




When she was brand new - Mid Ohio 1991




Leaving Jamie's shop after extensive work - Sept 2018

1+

[sdcr]

I’ve had a lot different motorcycles, over the last 50 years.
The one machine that I really wish I never sold, was a 1979 black Moto Guzzi G5. It was the best.

[Scout63]

I’ve had a lot different motorcycles, over the last 50 years.
The one machine that I really wish I never sold, was a 1979 black Moto Guzzi G5. It was the best.

That’s easily remedied John. The G5 is the black sheep of the family.  You should be able to pick one up if you poke around.