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If you're looking for a cruiser and considering your size and weight I think the 750 may not be enough bike for you. I'd recommend looking at a Harley. A Harley will soot your situation and if it's two tone color you're looking for Harleys come in a lot of multi-color paint schemes. Go check them out. A new one will be over your $10,000 budget. You may want to consider looking into a used one, saving up a while longer or get a loan. The Harley is well worth it.

My two questions back at you would be: 1) how much riding experience do you have? 2) how much interstate highway riding are you planning on?

If you have limited riding experience, a smaller bike is definitely better. Something in the range of 450cc is a good place to start, although some people would suggest smaller.

Assuming that you have experience (and I really hope that you have some if you are taking a passenger), I think a 750cc bike would be fine for most riding, although long rides on the interstate may be more comfortable on a bigger bike.

I ride an old 750cc bike (at 5' 10" and about 205lbs), and I have plenty of power for highway riding. I don't typically ride with a passenger, but I feel like the power ceiling is high enough that I could. A more modern bike will no doubt do more with 750cc than a 30 year old bike.

As far as brands go, Honda bikes (like the cars) are famous for their reliability. Harley's have great resale value, and you can get a Sportster with an 880cc engine. However, because of the lower resale value, you can get a great deal on a Honda that's just a few years old.

The 750 Aero has a rider/gear weight rating of 405 pounds. You're pushing the limit with just you and a passenger, You could get a V Star Silverado for just under 10K in the 1100 size. If your wife can operate a bike it may be beneficial to buy two used bikes in the 650-750 range? I have a 750 Aero and am thinking about another for my wife. If not a 750, a V Star 650 for her. They may look big but she has ridden mine and she can get her feet on the ground without a lowering kit. Now if I can just teach her a few other things? (brakes and dirt/gravel don't mix well)

A lot of it depends on what's important to you. My friend has a Kawasaki Vulcan Nomad. It is a truly outstanding touring bike. It's like a smoother and more polished version of a Roadking. He never really feels comfortable at the big HD rallies though.

That's a big deal to some people. I have to admit that I have mixed feelings about HD. In many ways the bikes are overpriced and not up the the Japanese competition.

On the other hand, they are the 100 percent genuine real thing. The Japanese can make the best cruiser in the world and it will fail at being a Harley. For some people that isn't a big deal. For other people, that is a deal breaker.

As goofy as some of the leather wearing wannabe bikers can be, it is still a TON of fun to go to those big HD celebrations. In fact, that feeling of being part of a group is one of the biggest selling points I can give for buying a HD. In a lot of ways, the actual bike is only a part of the total riding experience.

There are tons of really nice bikes out there. Take as many as you can for a ride. That's the best way to decide.

Look at a Suzuki C50 or C50T (touring) bike. Basically the same bike, the "T" just has a few extra amenities for touring. They are reasonably-priced, darn near bulletproof bikes, proven design, very dependable and good on gas. I would have recommended my current ride, the Kawasaki 1600 Nomad, but at 800 pounds, it's a little heavier than you wanted.

There are plenty good metric cruisers on the market. You may want to go with a little more displacement for pulling two people. I really like the VTX1300 a lot and the V-Stars are hard to beat also. Of course if you plan to do long rides there is nothing like an Ultra Classic HD.

Get the Honda VTX 1300. It sort of looks like the Aero and isn't that much heavier.

The Honda Goldwing was a good bike. The engine is powerful and reliable and darned near bulletproof.

You can get a VT 1100 Sabre for just under $9000

Its about the ride, not "resale" and if you want something in the 883 range, look at Kawasaki Vulcan 900 for around $7500

You can buy a new Honda VTX 1300 for less than 10k and it'll have plenty of power for two-up riding plus comfort to boot. Check 'em out.