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For a first bike, would this be a stupid option?
🙂
Would be used on a 60 mile round trip commute, three days a week.
Cheers all...
Paul
I reckon you're taller than me (I'm 6'4") and looking at that all I can think is cold and windy, noisy tyres, and Id need roller skates to stay comfortable 🙂
far better, just like mine 😀
If you live in Mad Max world it'd be perfect. Otherwise the offroad tyres and general insanity of the thing might be a lttle wearysome. Wnat something fun and less lethal for a commute, like a 60-100hp mountian bike? Try a supermoto.
My first bike was a KTM 950sm. Its meant to be a big nasty evil monster. Its actually a beautifully fuelled, well mannered pussycat that can easily snake through standing traffic.
edit: Stoner's honda NC idea is also awesome.
Stoner, I've been looking at the NC700 and the CB500X. They are the sensible opitions. This is what my heart wants I think... Always loved Z's.
I think I want to live in Mad Max world. That may be the problem...
The tyres look offroad but I think they are Dual purpose- they are Continental Twinduro's and meant to be OK on the road.
I'm going to take a look I think. Can't hurt!
Buy it, ride it for a few weeks & if you don't like it sell it at the end of june when the sun comes out.
I'm going to take a look I think. Can't hurt!
you only came here for approval, not advice didnt you? 😉
I'm going to disagree 100% with them.
Sure i agree with their comments... but hell, who cares. Cars are for quiet, refined, nice, economical.
Motorbikes are for passion, pride, excitement and RAARRRRRRRR
OK, so that bike for me in particular excites 0%... but if it excites you, then buy it !
I used to commute on a Ducati 916, why, because i LOVED it !
Buy it ride it for fun, get sensible bike for commuting. N+1 applies to motorbikes too 🙂
That bike looks like bloody good fun, go for it
I have a vague notion of getting a bike a bit like that after my litre superbike itch is done with. Something slower and naked, maybe cafe racer ish. I love the way they look, my bike is only ever ridden for fun
In a way I really don't want sensible...
I've waited so long to get on a motorbike, I don't really want to waste any time with the logical option.
N+1 with motorbikes could get expensive very quickly!
Bloody hipsters. Putting shitty tyres on something and calling it a 'scrambler' doesn't make it worth £1500 more than it's actual value.
Stick some proper tyres on it and it'd be fine, but not at £3500.
Yes it can, I picked up my 4th motorbike at the weekend 😉
£3500 is a LOT of money for a bike that old, Zephyrs were old hat (but still in production) when I started riding 20 years ago. Personally I think they're very pretty but I wouldn't buy one now, certainly not for that much!
That money gets something modern, still in production, and more usable. You'll also get stuff like ABS. As a regular, high mileage rider I wouldn't touch a bike without ABS these days.
Buy this-
and thank me later 😀
edit- annoying advert though.
I'd be wondering whether replacement forks and a tank respray meant it had been in a spill. For a 30 mile commute I'd want something with a fairing or at least a screen, weather coming straight at you can be brutal.
I could get a 2012 Street Triple on a Cat D for £300 less... lower miles, better colour, all repaired...
Street Triple is a brilliant bike. Great for beginners and experienced bikers alike 🙂
I still miss mine !!
Just for the record, my first 'big' bike once I passed my test was a Zephyr 550. 70's technology engine, early 80's technology brakes and they corrode so fast the engine looked like a ball of cotton wool if it rained.
If I wanted a 'naked Z alike bike' now, I would get a proper old Z. They were state of the art in their day and built to last rather than a misty eyed nod knocked out on the cheap.
Good luck getting insurance on such a heavily modified bike as a first time rider!
So many different opinions...
I found the Street Triple a bit small for me.
I'm totally undecided.
I know this one is overpriced, but I do like it.
Good point Rockhopper - not thought about that yet.
I hadn't really considered insurance.
The insurance for my 125 was negligible. I ought to go get some quotes I guess.
Do you mean uncomfortable small or just felt a bit small ?
I loved the fact it feels like a push bike with an engine, just feels like a toy but in a good way 🙂
I am 5ft11 and I was fine on it. I sold mine to my mate and he is 6ft4 and gets on fine with it.
Just felt small. I'm 6ft 4 as well, but I didn't like the riding position on the one I sat on. A little hunched. I prefer a little more upright.
Of the bikes that I have sat on that I have found the most natural feeling are the Moto Guzzi V7, BMW R9T Pure, and the Honda CB500X
I'll be taking my test on a Suzuki SV650, and they feel OK too.
Did my test on my instructor's SV650, hated the bastard thing! Swore to avoid v-twins ever since 😀
What didn't you like about the SV Stoner?
£200 for the insurance- no modifications though.
Just picked up a 99 VFR800 last week, my first bike in 12 years. If I was commuting 30 miles each way every day to work and back, I wouldn't want any less protection than the VFR has to offer from the elements, so to speak...
I bet he didn't like the "3rd brake". V-twins have loads of engine braking - in 32000 miles on my KTM I've been through one set of pads and a rear disc (not counting the front disc I wrote off after a misadventure with a German beer festival, a hangover and a disc lock). Rode a 1050 adventure recently which had a slipper to reduce the effect. If you've learnt on a V2 then you'll not have noticed.
engine rattled like a bag of bolts. And not nearly as roomy a ride as you think. Although it did feel a smidge bigger then the other option which was the ER6 IIRC (that did ride a bit better though). Could have been due to being a leaner bike though of course. Much prefer a Honda engine though.
Fair enough on the Street Triple front. Shame as they really are a great bike. Would deffo show the other options you mention a clean pair of heels. I did euro tours and trackdays on mine it was great.
I'm all for not being sensible but that's a 25 year old bike, and wasn't particularly nice back then either.
800 or so miles a month would be more than enough to rub away the novelty after a month or two at most in my opinion. Like others, the NC750/700X is a great proper bike, but the free revving nature of the CB500X would probably get my vote: it's just a bit lighter and a bit more fun.
£3,500 won't have you far away from a CBR650F that was re-released in 2014. 4 cyclinders, a bit more power, decent fairing...
Versys 650 are good too. Engine is a bit buzzy, but it's a great bike.
SV650s was my first bike, I liked it!
Street Triple R was my next bike. What a wonderful toy that was, really amazing. Put over 13k miles on that in a couple of years and moved it on for my now Fireblade.
I was quicker on my STR than my Fireblade on many roads, had an excellent riding position and plenty of grunt (though obvs nothing on a fireblade)
I'm 6'3, found the STR comfy - comfier than the Fireblade
Tootall,
How about a KTM 690, the insurance is buttons, the 690 single is a hoot and they're comfy. Wind blast can be a pain compared to faired bikes I admit. But worth a look?
I know its a daft choice.
In know something like the NC750 or CB500X would be the sensible route.
Not a fan of the Supermoto KTM style.
One choice comes from the head. One choice comes from the heart.
This time I may just follow my heart. I'm 50 and I want something that makes me smile.
I commute three days week at most (150 miles). If the weather is gopping, I can always take the train...
IMO anyway, it's not a daft choice.
3.5 for that, what an utter joke.
Find him a better example of what he wants then for less money?
Just because we can't grasp the prices, sometimes that's simply how it is. I can't grasp LCs being £7000+ but that doesn't mean they're not that price. Or the Ducati Sport Classic I sold for £4300 that's now £10,000 etc
3500 is high, as I said. It's not crazy though.
Good examples are fetching 2500 - 3000.
With the quality of the work that's been completed on this one, the price doesn't seem that bad.
Look at custom BMW R80's. Now there is silly money.
For example...
A friend of mine had a old R80 that he sold for 2500. It wasn't even working...
It's a weird thing: the bike doesn't suit what's been done to it: it's an in-line 4 trying to look like what would typically be a twin or at a push a single.
If the street triple feels too small, the SV650 will also feel too small I reckon.
If that's the style of bike you like the idea of crusing around on, have you looked at the Triumph Scramblers? or how about the bonneville? or maybe the W650 etc etc. Isn't the Ducati scramble quite well regarded as well?
Weeksy: I too can't get over LC prices. My dad bought his for £895 in 1993 and I used to ride it...even sneaking it out during lunch-time at college.....
Next thing I know is my MZ 250 will be the bike to have and it'll be worht a fortune!!!!
This looks 'interesting'.
[url= https://www.gumtree.com/p/honda-motorbikes/honda-gl1100-goldwing-custom-cafe-racer-project-or-leave-as-is-part-ex-drz-baghira-/1236503951 ]Gold Wing Custom.[/url]
Leaves you a couple of grand to fix it. 🙂
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Next thing I know is my MZ 250 will be the bike to have and it'll be worht a fortune!!!!
Which model?
I bloody love MZ's.
If you're going to be commuting on it, dont pay top dollar as it'll soon get wrecked. Good intentions to keep it clean, but that will soon fade after a few months.
Also i'd recommend something upright which will help you in traffic and avoid naked bikes. You'll appreciate a screen in the wind/rain.
mugsys_m8 - I like all those options, I just can't afford them. For most of those the lowest price option is 5k.
I agree with you about the looks of the Zephyr- it is a little odd. But I like a little odd.
Which model?
I bloody love MZ's
ETZ251. It's a bit of a mis-match: It has the rear rack, wire spoked wheels. Looks like the Kanuni's from Turkey but is in fact German made: It must be one of the last ones to leave the proper factory. It's on a K plate. Mint condition or was when I put it away in 1999. Been sitting in my parents garage since and Dad's messed around with it a bit: bits of rubber starting to fail etc. Planning to bring it home and get it back up working this summer. It does have a stripped thread on the exhaust manifold which is straight in the barrel so that needs sorting: was going to try to get a 300 barrel and piston for it. Going to put the MZB ignition on it too.
Passed my theory test!
🙂
what do you want, a round of applause? 🙂
Did you also do the hazard perception test today as well then?
Did my test on my instructor's SV650, hated the bastard thing! Swore to avoid v-twins ever since
But you went and bought a parallel twin with a 270 degree crank which mimics a vee twin! 😉
You should ride more vee twins, specifically Ducatis, then get back to us! 🙂
the crank arrangement doesnt create the same braking effect as a vee though really. (I thought they only did it for the gurlge sound 🙂 ) And at least a Honda engine doesnt sound like its midway through lunching its valves!
Stoner - Yep. It's all in one.
One month till Mod 1.
🙂
I have decided to hold off any bike buying thoughts until I pass.
I still like the Zephyr, but I think I need to test ride some bikes to work out what I like to ride...
Pah! don't be so sensible! I bought my Street Triple because I thought it looked ace in an advert and was a bargain. did my DAS 4 months later.
Just buy a Tuono ....
I would very much recommend not buying the 1100 wing. I have a gl1000. It weighs more than a small moon. If you drop that ****er, and you will, you will need a crane to get it back up again!!
Yes, buy a Tuono. But budget for a new sprag clutch and a new clutch slave cylinder. And a new left side bodywork and/or handlebars/clutch lever/mirror/fairing bracket/screen for when the sidestand (that sits inboard of the COG when it's down) fails and your bike falls over... 😆