Let's play a somewhat hypohtetical game.
Assume:
1) There seems to be a snowball's chance in hell of getting a Triumph Trident 660 this year. Fully pre-sold inventory with lengthy waiting lists.
2) That spousal approval / resignation to the inevitable seems close, and I don't want to want to lose that momentum by waiting until next year.
3) I really don't love any other of the 600-ish cc bikes - I know I'd always wish I'd got the Trident. (CB 650R, MT07 etc. - they don't suck, I just don't got that loving feeling.)
Anything else that really appeals to me is up a class in displacement, power and price (100-110hp versus 80 for the Trident, 14-15k versus 10k for the Trident) and probably not really a beginner's bike.
Bot those that I DO really like a whole lot include:
1) Triumph Speed Twin
2) Ducati Monster
3) Kawasaki Z900 RS
Yeah, I know that's two retro-styled bikes and one thoroughly contemporary sport naked - hey, I like what I like. And these by and large don't require a line-up to purchase.
Any thoughts, experiences, known plusses or minuses to these three from the group?
The Ducati Scrambler 800 is something of an outlier. I saw a new 2020 nicely discounted when out shopping this past weekend and fell for it even in the utterly obnoxious yellow and black colourway.