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With the house out of town getting slowly in shape and the lease on our place in town coming to an end next year, it has been suggested that we move out to the house permanently and, when I need to, commute in for work instead of hogging the broadband.
I hate using public transport and driving a car into the centre of the city will be a bastard, so the obvious choice is a motorbike, something that I have a license for, but which I am waaay out of currency with. So obviously I want a Ducati 1098...
The sensible option is to get something in the 600cc range and also something relatively cheap, with a fairing and with boxes, so I’m looking for help on the choices that I have in the “less than 4K” budget range.
The Suzuki sv650f seems nice, good for taller people and relatively cheap and Kawasaki make the ER6f which also looks pretty good for the same reasons. Are there others I should look out for?
Yamaha Tracer 700? Easy bike to ride. Lightest in its class. Reliable. Comparatively cheap.
Honda SH 300i not as sexy but after years of sports bikes and now owning a scooter it is the best option imo.
Suzuki V-Strom
Kawasaki Versys
But think the Tracer 700 as Fat-boy-fat suggested takes some beating.
What City? You might need to take into account emissions zones/charges and if so, you'll need something newer.
How many miles a year are you gonna be doing, and how far is the commute/how often? Also is it motorways/a roads/heavy traffic?
I'd 2nd the Yam 700
Honda CB500X, would be great for a beginner and taller rider. Can be upgraded and are highly regarded beyond beginner status.
The city is Stockholm and there will be an emissions zone, but I don’t think it will apply to bikes (which is lucky). The plan is to keep the bike in Uppsala, about 70km to the north, for commuting.
I plan on working from home the bulk of the time, but planning on two/three days a week for six months of the year seems to be about right, with occasional trips to Västerås or the other side of Uppsala at weekends. Maybe 10000km a year?
The workhorse. Economical on fuel.
Honda NC750X DCT
Reasonably priced even new less than £8k new.
You just need to upgrade the seat. The seat is the only drawback.
The scooter like bike.
Honda X-ADV 750 DCT (same engine as above)
A bit expensive. More than £10K new.
The super scooter.
Yamaha TMAX 560 a thief magnet but can be extremely comfortable and fast.
A bit expensive. More than £10k new.
Any of the above will be very good.
I’ve got a Triumph Bonneville and although it has no fairing, no luggage and is 900cc, it’s dead easy to ride and chuck about, fast enough even on the motorway, and is just lovely and torquey for bimbling about on should you wish.
That said, I did my test on an SV650 and I liked it, and would be quite happy on one of those too.
Tbh the best idea on thread was the 1098
Ducati 1098 is a speed demon ...
Opps did not see the £4k budget ...
In that case might be able to get Honda NC700 or TMAX 530.
A Triumph Tiger 800 might be within budget.
CB500x a good shout for some forest road touring at the weekend and commuting in the week.
Check out;
https://www.cb500xadventure.com/
for purely commuting id go with the Tracer, if you want some fun on the weekend MT07.
personally i now ride a Tiger 800 after my MT07 was stolen from work, its a bit of a lump but does offer better cold weather protection.
i wouldnt look at anything smaller than a 600 if you are riding A roads or motorways. Yamaha make the most reliable engine in motorcycling with the 700.
had a 700 Fazer for a while which was a great commuter
For commuting get something with a fairly upright position that won't look stupid with muffs and a bag strapped to the back. If you want to be intelligent about it, the ideal thing would be a maxi-scooter. But they're ugly and they're scooters, so no. If you've got the money, get a big BMW or similar, something sort of trail bike but really meant to be used on the road. Sizewise, at least a 600.
Another vote for the CB500X. I bought one new 5 years ago for £4k with panniers, topbox and heated grips. It is a great first bike and I haven't felt the need to buy anything else yet as it does my commute and a bit of weekend riding perfectly. I commuted from Canterbury to Poole on it for 4 months and it was ideal.
So, a 90 mile round trip, 2 or 3 days a week - I'd want a fairing, something comfy, with a big tank range.
Something like my old VFR800fi would fit the bill, I used it for commuting and did an alps tour on it. And it sounded awesome - 4v with straight cut cam gears.
200 miles from a tank wasn't too hard, full fairing a decent screen meant motorways were comfy, I did switzerland to Kent in a day, no issues.
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Cheap too, around £2k here will buy you one.
Mine sounded exactly like this. Miss that thing...
After looking at an Sv650 and a CBF600F (and considering a VFR 800), I took the plunge and spent 25,000kr on a Suzuki Bandit 650. It has a fairing, has attachment points for a top box and sides and is in really good shape for the age.
I’m really happy and it will last a good few seasons I think. Just need to wait for the rest of my safety gear to turn up and I can get out on it! Damn being tall.
Oooo. A bandit and tall? You're going to have sore knees. I looked like a sumo wrestler on a clown's circus bike on a bandit. You might want to get a lifted seat for it.
Good luck in the winter.
Don't listen to the fun sponges on here. Get a proper bike or get park 'n' ride.
Honda VTR1000 SP-2 RC51
Torquey, reliable and has fairings!!!!
Too late! Bandit it is.
Collected the rest of my gear from the local bike shop (shout out to Lelles in Uppsala) and took it out this afternoon. Nothing fancy, nothing fast. Seems planted, turns well, accelerates like a rat up a drainpipe.
Raised seat my be an option in the future, but it is not bad right now to be fair, although I was only out for 40 minutes.
Oooo. A bandit and tall? You’re going to have sore knees. I looked like a sumo wrestler on a clown’s circus bike on a bandit. You might want to get a lifted seat for it.
Whereas i had to get the seat cut out to lower it for my short arse legs on my old Bandit 1200!
My bro had a 1200, he's 6' and it looked like a toy bike under him, whereasas it near dwarfed 5'4" Mr Kip. However Mr Kip's 600 Bandit was great fun and he only swapped it up for a 1999 CBR600F which he still has 12 years later. It's a speed demon and he can find no reason to upgrade it, much to his chagrin.
I had a 600 Bandit as a hire bike from insurance when mine was indisposed, cracking engine.
Street triple r absolutely brilliant for scooting to work and ragging at weekends