Quote:
Originally Posted by coakes00
How does you 850 handle down the highway? I love the feel of a GS being a sporty little bike around town. Just curious because I had a 450GA that would do 45 mph max in a 10 mph headwind. I always thought it was because it was automatic until I got a 500cc Honda CX that wasn't a big fan of highway speeds either.
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I am 6' even and weighed about 240lbs when I rode my 450 everywhere (10-12k a,year). I rode it from VA to OH (6.5 hour trip) once and 2 hour rides from home to school every other weekend. I could climb a 5% grade at about 60mph wound out in 4th gear. 6th gear almost never came into play till flat ground and 70mph. It is a small bike that is easy and fun to really toss around but it is no mountain carver like my 850G. It goes very well in snow due to the low amount of torque and skinny tire.
The 450GA had become a bit of a rarity, I would like to get my hands on one one day
Edit: Just realized you asked about the 850. The 850 and 1000 are pretty much identical so it is a heavy bike. It is very solid and stabile in the corners and has by far the best factory seat I have ever ridden. It has a fairly long stroke for an I4 so it is torquey from about 3k+ RPM. I long to have a 6th gear as 75mph at 5.5k is a little buzzy and noisy but the shaft drive is smooth as silk with virtually no torque slide.