I have continued my bike search. Although it is still possible to take my Triumph or even my Honda, they do have a LOT of miles and it still probably makes more sense to get a different one.
I had tried a Yamaha Tenere a while ago, and found it vibrated too much. A friend who has one said they are not that bad, and maybe the one I tried was having issues. He let me use his, and I found it to be much better, but it still vibrated more than I liked. More importantly, I really did not like it. I don't think I could fall in love with this bike.
I had stopped at the Honda dealership to look at the Africa Twin. This bike is a lot like my Triumph, but it is a Twin Cylinder engine, so will likely vibrate more. It is also more dirt oriented, with a hard narrow seat. It is a good competitor to the Triumph, with an equal number of pluses and minuses, but different ones. The 2018 models are not out yet, but they made some changes, some of which I consider improvements, some not. I wanted to take the 2017 model for a test ride, but for some reason they did not want to let me take it only a couple of days after a snowstorm. Not sure why.
So, my options as I see them right now are:
1 - Honda Africa Twin - 2017 or 2018
2 - My Current Honda ST1300 or Triumph Tiger 800XC
3 - A newer Triumph Tiger 800 XC
4 - Any Generic inexpensive bike. There are a TON of cheap bikes if I am willing to go for a 2011 or so model. Some are bikes that when they were new models I really wanted, but was not willing to spend the money on.
Decisions, Decisions.
Still looking at May 10th as my last day, but the likelihood of moving the date the May 24th is still about 50%. It all depends on when I plan on doing whatever I do after retire. I could move the date out farther, but those two dates work best for me.
Although flying a bike to Europe is still my main choice, for various reasons, not the least of which is my procrastination, I am still considering other options. Here are a few of them:
1 - Fly a bike to Europe, heading to Norway etc first.
2 - Ride around the US, then up to Alaska, Prudhoe Bay, and then south, maybe into Central America. Then decide where is next, possibly South America, possibly not.
3 - Fly to Australia in June/July then New Zealand for our winter.
4 - Assuming I do not go to Europe first, then wait for next spring, during the slower season, and go to the Isle of Man TT Races, then wander around Europe, going to the Far North countries last.
Yup, lots of options, and my procrastinating may decide where I go.
There are a few factors in my routing choices. I don't like planning, so need places where I can replan on the fly. There are many places that I want to go, but not alone, so need to skirt around those. I don't want to shock my system by entering retirement spending large amounts when I have spent all these years saving.
Whatever and Whyever I decide, I will put my thoughts here.
Bob L