What bikes did you consider buying before settling on the F6B?

[XKnight]

I was interested in the new Indian Chieftain, but ultimately decided I wanted a full fairing. The extra power and great handling of the F6B was the icing on the cake. I'm still getting the seating position just right, but with the Mustang seat I'm almost there. Once I install the handlebar risers I think I'll be all set. I've owned a lot of bikes over the years and this one is definitely the best so far.

[Kurare79]

@BobbyF6B: Cheers, mate!

[opas ride]

Came off a Victory Vision Tour. Prior to that a Victory Kingpin Tour..Both great bikes but always wanted to go back to the old Valkyrie days when I rode a 99 Tourer for 6 years...Goldwing's and BMW's both nice rides and I enjoyed them both, but the F6B fits me perfect with the lower Mustang seat and lighter weight..Cobra pipes, Baggershield windscreen, Kury grips and a few other goodies and I am all set for now and the future...Also had a VTX1800F which was nice but no bags or windshield and decided I wanted them....Love my F6B...Never considered HD as I just don't want or need to be one the "boys"..Their bikes all look alike and sound alike....Not for me

[six2go]

Bikes that I considered were:

Dave Ritsema's Valkyrie Interstate. This was one beautiful Valk with only 23,000 miles on it compared to my Standard with 102,000. I was surprised at how top heavy it felt to me. The weight of the fairing & trunk really add up, and the extra weight is up high.

Victory Cross Country. Really liked this one but it was just too "stretched out" for me. I don't care for forward controls at all, and the gauges were in another zip code.

Indian Vintage. Dealer network is too small at this time.

BMW R1200R. I have lusted over this bike for several years, but like Indian, there just aren't enough dealers and I think the number is shrinking.

The only one I actually test rode was the Victory Cross Country. If I was a larger person(height wise) I would have bought one instantly. I really liked it. Engine type and configuration doesn't bother me at all. If it runs good and doesn't put my hands to sleep with vibes, it's good enough for me.

So, I ended up with the F6B. Still getting used to it and not 100% convinced that I made the right choice but I'll live with it for a while & see how things shake out. I got rid of a 650 V-Strom at the same time as the Valkyrie in order to get the F6 and I miss the Suzuki more than the Valk. Time will tell.

[opas ride]

I posted earlier,but thought I would relate some other info/opinions....Having been a member of the Wolverine Victory Riders Club in Michigan, I have attended and helped out the dealer on several Demo-days rides...I have ridden, at some point and time, every model that Victory and Indian currently make... For what it is worth they are all decent bikes and have it all over similar HD models in my judgment...I personally like the new Indian Chieftain with the fairing and adjustable shield the best of all..The Cross bikes are also very nice bikes and perform very well...The Vision is the cream of the crop, so to speak, if touring and great wind protection is your bag...All the Vic's and Indian's are faster and smoother than HD's and handle much better for me....In the end I would not hesitate to buy one if the opportunity ever presents itself again after owning two different models...But, in the end none of them come close to the power, smoothness, handling, comfort and reliability of the Honda F6B......

[CheckpointChcky]

Yamaha Stratoliner Deluxe
HD Road King Classic
Kawasaki Voyager
Victory Cross Country
Indian bagger.

[Fla_rider]

Funny, in 2013 I wanted a bike sat on a F6B. Figured it was too big and I was too young to ride a Goldwing (55). So I bought a NC700X. I still have it and it is great around town, at 78 miles per gallon I can't complain. It's up for sale cuz all I want to ride is the 6 Baby!

[F6B1911]

F6B in Red
F6B in Yellow
F6B in Black

I went with the faster of the three, the black one.
I had an older BMW, it way past time for an upgrade, but once I saw the F6B, nothing else was was even close.

[powercruzer13]

As a long time Valkyrie rider it was more a matter of waiting for Honda to come out with an updated Valkyrie or something flat 6 powered with less doo-dads than the GoldWing. Saw the F6B when it first came out but was put off by the fixed fairing, I didn't think I would like it. Heard through the grapevine {OK, internet} that there was going to be another flat 6 powered bike coming from Honda so I waited. Then came the new Valkyrie. YUUCK. Bought the F6B & quickly learned that I was wrong about the fixed fairing. Sometimes it's good to be wrong!
Most of the thought processes & bike test riding was done long before I pulled the trigger on the F6B. I tried out friends bikes which include several "big" Harley models which all felt like underpowered mini-bikes compared to the Valkyrie & handled like dump trucks. Tried a bunch of Japanese Big 4 Harley clones {VTX, Vulcan, Boulevards, etc.} that compared favorably to the HDs but paled in comparison to the Valkyrie. I did pull the trigger on a decked out for touring Rocket 3 which I had for almost two years before I sold it to buy the wife her own Valkyrie.
Attachment 7343
The Rocket was a blast to ride but the odd 3 banger vibration & not to my liking ergonomics were a deal breaker on our long trips. Didn't trust the damn thing either, had too many problems early on.
Wife's Valkyrie.
Attachment 7344

Bottom line for me is the Flat 6 engine. The engine is the heart of any street bike & IMHO there is none better than the Honda flat 6.

BTW, the wife's 1998 Valkyrie pictured is for sale. 33,000 miles super nice!

[darcym]

My purchase of the F6B was somewhat of an impulse buy. It was because I wasn't planning on buying a new bike for six months or more. It wasn't because I'd been eyeing the F6B since it came out and reading all the reviews and lusting after pics on the internet, and occasionally glancing at models for sale on e-bay. When a nice used one crossed paths with me, I just had to have it.

However, I've wanted to have a Goldwing for as long as I have been riding motorcycles. Almost pulled the trigger on a Silverwing (remember those?) back in the mid-eighties, but got married instead (that was a poor tradeoff). I've always been attracted to quirky motorcycles, standards, and such. And I always thought that the Goldwing was too big and out of my price range. 20 years later I finally sit on a full size Goldwing and I'm blown away by how light and low it feels. I start to reassess. At the time I was riding a BMW R1150R. Later on impulse again I traded up to a BMW R1200RT. That bike was too tall and too top heavy, although a great tourer and smooth and fast. But BMW's aren't just expensive to buy, they're pricey to fix, too. The R1150R lent itself more to DIY than the bigger tourer, which would have been fine if I could drop it off at the dealer for every little thing.

SO these bikes were ones I've had my eye on:

BMW R1200GS and Yamaha Super Tenere: both are as cool as they come, but both are way too tall for me, and like someone posted before, when am I going to ride across Africa? Truth is, riding one of these monsters on dirt trails would scare the piss outta me. But I understand the allure of riding down the highway on a bike that you could turn off onto some unknown back road or back woods without a second thought.


Ducati Monster: swoon. Gotta love that Italian red. In the end, it's all about the romance, and there is very little practical use to owning it.


BMW K1600GT or GTL: so much technology, so much power, but same problem as before. Expensive to buy, expensive to fix. And BMW owners tend to hold onto these bikes. Used ones do not come up for sale very often. And it is also on the tall side.


BMW R1200R: great bike, not so tall as the others. Very easy to work on and lots of ways to add to it. But like previous experience with the R1150R, I was trying to make it into a touring bike, but it would never be as good at touring as a bike built for touring.

I also kinda liked the Moto Guzzi California 1400. But I think it's a little too quirky for me. Hard to find a moto guzzi dealer, too.


None of the "cruiser" bikes have ever appealed to me. I don't think of the F6B as a cruiser, it doesn't sit like a cruiser. It has a cruiser kind of look, I guess. It feels more like a standard to me when I sit on it. But it has the wind protect and storage ability of a touring bike. But it's not too big, and since I never ride with a passenger, I don't really need the accommodations of the big Wing. With the addition of the FB6, I'm feeling like I have a cruiser and a touring bike as well.

Owning a V-twin was never a priority. Give me a modern engine (although I do like the looks of the new Indian Scout). It's never been about the "sound" for me. It's about what the bike can do.

I'd still like to add an inline four cylinder bike to the stable. Just cuz. And maybe a triple, just to be complete.