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Son's looking at one of these, probably 2015ish, for touring, 2-up with luggage, and then for London riding.
Anyone have any experience - he's budget constrained, a good rider (we've done a fair bit of high mileage touring) but a novice for 2-up, lives in London so insurance is v spendy so he's £ conscious, and it needs to be ULEZ.
I imagine it'd be reasonably comfy, but a tad underpowered? But would that really matter ... or any other alternatives?
Yes! Perfectly reliable, very forgiving for me as a newbie at the time, very practical and upright so good for visibility, I found it very comfortable.
For London riding: I might be a bit pathetic and I know plenty of people ride 1200cc monsters but...it's a reasonably chunky machine and the weight seemed high up. I enjoyed riding my Cub 90 and Vespa ET4 around town much more...
I've got one. It's a good bike, as above. Power suits me, but it's not exactly thrilling. It's great for commuting and distances, I haven't had a pillion on it but it's good with luggage.
I also had an eye out for a Kawasaki Versys, quite a lot of overlap between the two, although the Kwaks are a bit prettier to my eyes.
Would be a good choice based on your criteria.
I bought a 1000 back in 2017 but test rode a 650 back to back with it. It wasn't an easy choice because the 650 was great.
I suspect it'll be fine with just rider, but 2 up with luggage it might be a little asthmatic? It will manage I'm sure but it might make overtakes etc. a bit sluggish.
I rode the original one, not sure how much it's changed? I thought I'd like it, since I loved my sv650, but tbf I thought it kinda stank. Just felt tall and awkward, and the suspension was a mess. Really didn't like it in the city, though visibility was good- I've ridden other softroaders like the Dakar and F800 that did much the same thing but better. Quite fun to hustle though, and comfy.
Thanks all, and sounds broadly positive. He's going to go for one, in part budget driven, and in part they look like a good first step into adventure bikes/2-up touring. Time will tell!