Going to test ride an NC750X tomorrow

[ZesPak]

Jazoli said:

Have a look at the Bandit GSX1250 too they seem brilliant value at £8k, for a big bike with luggage

https://www.suzuki-gb.co.uk/motorcycles/motorcycle...

Hmm, I love the bandit.
It's a great show of cheap motoring as well, while it looks pretty good.
That said, compared to the NC it's a completely different take on motoring. It isn't half as clever, won't get anywhere near the same mpg and is very top heavy.

The Bandit does deliver that "raw" feel, but compared to the NC it really is 20th vs 21st century.

[DJP]

The comparison of the Bandit 1250 and the NC700/750 is a bit of an odd one: The Bandit has twice the power & torque of the NC but much worse fuel consumption.

They're not even on the same page.

[AceOfHearts]

Another little update

Basically I ave decided that I would rather sacrifice cost instead of making any sacrifices with the bike, mainly so I can get some longevity from the purchase and also because i want to treat myself (and have been given the go-ahead from the misses ), so budget has been upped.

I went to Pure Triumph in Woburn today to try a couple of the bikes; a Sprint GT and Tiger 800 SCX

Sprint GT

Really strong engine, tons or torque, very easy to ride and great wind protection. Super stable at speed but felt quite heavy on the road. I didn't find it amazingly comfortable and it felt quite old fashioned and basic compared to the Hondas i have been trying. I don't think I would spend £9000 on one. Gearbox was quite clunky as well and i trapped my hands against the tank when turning the bike around.



Tiger 800 XCx

Fantastic bike, great suspension, powerful engine (felt a lot more lively than the Sprint) and very well specced with plenty of options. Absolutely loved riding it and is very much now at the top of the list. Really have nothing bad to say about it at all. Not really much else to say







And a goofy picture of me



I am also booked in to try a VFR800 (and possibly a VFR1200 but I am sure it will be too large) on Wednesday which I am very much looking forward to. Starting to get my list a bit shorter now and figuring out what i value and want from a bike. Sorry for the long ramblings

[LoonR1]

To put this in one car manufacturer terms. You asked a question about a BMW 114i as you wanted mega economy and didn't care about image and are now looking at a BMW 540d as you've sacrificed economy and are concerned about image.

Brilliant.

[ZesPak]

I think you should approach the NC750X from another mindset.

From what I see it, between the practical trunk, the mpg, price and (optional) DCT, it really is a scooter-alternative.
It provides everything a scooter does, without being a scooter.

Even performance is spot on in that aspect, considering the BMW is the fastest scooter around? and the Versys is a "slow"-ish motorcycle:
https://youtu.be/8amppGTKWkY?t=10m27s

[AceOfHearts]

LoonR1 said:

To put this in one car manufacturer terms. You asked a question about a BMW 114i as you wanted mega economy and didn't care about image and are now looking at a BMW 540d as you've sacrificed economy and are concerned about image.

Brilliant.

Where did I say I am concerned about image? I started looking at £6000 bikes, decided they are sacrificing too much of the 'fun' I get from biking so am looking at slightly more expensive, bigger engined and better specced bikes that still do everything as well of not better at the sacrifice of 10-15 mpg

[crofty1984]

ZesPak said:

I think you should approach the NC750X from another mindset.

From what I see it, between the practical trunk, the mpg, price and (optional) DCT, it really is a scooter-alternative.
It provides everything a scooter does, without being a scooter.

Even performance is spot on in that aspect, considering the BMW is the fastest scooter around? and the Versys is a "slow"-ish motorcycle:
https://youtu.be/8amppGTKWkY?t=10m27s

Ha ha, I do occasionally describe mine as a maxi-scooter for people that wouldn't be seen dead on a maxi scooter!
And yes, there is a variant of the NC that is a scooter.

[AceOfHearts]

Another update if anyone is still listening

Test rode the VFR800 today. Really lovely bike. Fantastic engine; grunty around town but screams with the VTEC when opened up, it was really good fun. Handling was excellent as well. I did find that my test ride started to make my stomach ache after a bit from holding the weight off my wrists, but i think this is more due to me not riding 'sporty' bikes in years and after a few weeks would be fine with some strengthening up.

Unfortunately the weather was awful on the test ride, drizzly rain and fast gusty wind, so i did find myself getting blown about a lot, but the dealer has invited me back next week with the misses for hopefully a better chance to ride the bike and also see how comfortable she is as pillion. I am also still not sure if i prefer the upright adventure style or sports touring as i think either would fit what I want perfectly.







The only thing letting the VFR down really is the price, as with all the options i would want the best price the dealer could come to was £12,000, which was actually still a lot off or RRP but a huge amount of money.

I also popped into the local Suzuki / Ducati dealer to have a look at the V-strom and GSX1250 but to be honest neither really did it for me

One thing that shook things up a bit though was this:







Absolutely stunning looking bike, satisfies my Ducati urges and comes with most of the options I want as standard. Kitted out this work out about the same price as the Tiger, and almost £1000 cheaper than the VFR. Service intervals at 8000 miles (or yearly) and big service at 16,000 miles (or 5 yearly) means that it works out similarly to the Tiger as well (if not a little cheaper).

I have always been a Ducati fan (had 3 now) but was slightly turned off the brand by my Multistrada 1000DS which was a pain in the backside, so am slightly wary of that, and also the dealer does not have a demonstrator and when asked about test rides he just said most people don't want to ride them before and 'how bad can it be'!

Its a lot of money to spend without test riding IMO

So where I am at now:
VFR and Tiger are at the top of my list and I love both. I will have to do more research on the Hyperstrada and see if there is a dealer with a demonsrator available. Next up is to try the misses on the back and see what sort of deal could be had o the Tiger to weigh up against the VFR and Ducati.

[Killboy]

I had a Tiger 800XC, and it was absolutely fantastic. Miss it plenty.

The only issue with it was the dealer quote for valve clearance check, but then they wonder why you run for an independent as soon as you can.

[AceOfHearts]

What made you move on from the Tiger?

I haven't spoken to the Triumph dealer yet about servicing costs but i have read online that it is quite expensive (and only 6,000 mile service intervals compared to 8,000 on the Honda and Ducati)

A small service on the Honda is £140 (600 mile service is £100) and large valve clearance service is £575 at 16,000 miles. The Ducati is around £200 small service and £700 large service (belts and clearances)

[Killboy]

AceOfHearts said:

What made you move on from the Tiger?

About another 65hp :P

I'm not one to try save £10 when servicing, so cant really comment on the running costs in comparison, but in the 3 years and 11k miles it didn't cost much more than the oil changes, tires and a set of pads. Dealer wanted to do the valve clearances at second service, which was 8k miles, for around 700 quid. But a mate of mine also had a big quote for a Honda of his, so its all relative. A decent indy and I sort of feel all bikes will largely cost the same, as labor is where its expensive. Oil, plugs etc are cheap.

[LoonR1]

Cheap to run and reliable were the first two of your five requirements. Ducati doesn't tick those two boxes a,d the VFR won't tick the cheap box when the big service kicks in.

[spareparts]

By the end of this thread, he'll be riding out on a Pani 1299 with a Ventura kit on a Trioptions package

[2OOM]

I'm really enjoying this .. it makes me feel much better that I'm not the only one that starts off with a definite idea of what to get but gets distracted by the other sparkly options along the way and ends up with a completely different bike to what was originally intended ... keep going OP I'm looking forward to the final choice

[PTF]

AceOfHearts said:

Another update if anyone is still listening

Test rode the VFR800 today. Really lovely bike. Fantastic engine; grunty around town but screams with the VTEC when opened up, it was really good fun. Handling was excellent as well. I did find that my test ride started to make my stomach ache after a bit from holding the weight off my wrists, but i think this is more due to me not riding 'sporty' bikes in years and after a few weeks would be fine with some strengthening up.

Unfortunately the weather was awful on the test ride, drizzly rain and fast gusty wind, so i did find myself getting blown about a lot, but the dealer has invited me back next week with the misses for hopefully a better chance to ride the bike and also see how comfortable she is as pillion. I am also still not sure if i prefer the upright adventure style or sports touring as i think either would fit what I want perfectly.







The only thing letting the VFR down really is the price, as with all the options i would want the best price the dealer could come to was £12,000, which was actually still a lot off or RRP but a huge amount of money

The journos keep banging on about how the new vfr is a return to how the old pre-vtec bike used to be. I had a vtec and didn't like the switch to the other cams which used to unsettle it.

As nice as the new one is, i can't get past the fact that it's essentially the same frame, engine and riding pos as the model from 15 yrs ago.

So. I just bought an R reg one for 10% of the new price you quoted. Lovely machine. Heated grips, scotoiler, rack included, plus it has FSH andit had the valves done not long ago.

If you like the vfr but not the price maybe hunt out an older one? They don't seem to suffer with age at all!

[AdamLoewy]

The VFR800 has always been a well-proportioned, handsome looking bike with pretty timeless looks.
The latest generation is a major step back aesthetically with the headlight being particularly bad. It looks like a bad chinese copy of a chinese copy.
Waste of a V4.
Rant over.

[AceOfHearts]

LoonR1 said:

Cheap to run and reliable were the first two of your five requirements. Ducati doesn't tick those two boxes a,d the VFR won't tick the cheap box when the big service kicks in.

Yes tbh i think the Ducati might be a step too far. Reading online it seems to basically be the same as the Hypermoto with a screen and panniers, so still deep down is just a bonkers supermoto, so might not really tick the practical box either

Edited by AceOfHearts on Wednesday 6th May 20:30

[AceOfHearts]

2OOM said:

I'm really enjoying this .. it makes me feel much better that I'm not the only one that starts off with a definite idea of what to get but gets distracted by the other sparkly options along the way and ends up with a completely different bike to what was originally intended ... keep going OP I'm looking forward to the final choice

Haha thanks, there is just so much choice and i am indecisive

I'm sure i will be happy with whatever I end up getting. I think the Tiger is out in front at the moment so next thing is get the misses down there with us and see what she likes being on the most (as that will open up potential touring options in the summer )

[J B L]

You ought to try an MT09 Tracer.

[AceOfHearts]

PTF said:

AceOfHearts said:

Another update if anyone is still listening

Test rode the VFR800 today. Really lovely bike. Fantastic engine; grunty around town but screams with the VTEC when opened up, it was really good fun. Handling was excellent as well. I did find that my test ride started to make my stomach ache after a bit from holding the weight off my wrists, but i think this is more due to me not riding 'sporty' bikes in years and after a few weeks would be fine with some strengthening up.

Unfortunately the weather was awful on the test ride, drizzly rain and fast gusty wind, so i did find myself getting blown about a lot, but the dealer has invited me back next week with the misses for hopefully a better chance to ride the bike and also see how comfortable she is as pillion. I am also still not sure if i prefer the upright adventure style or sports touring as i think either would fit what I want perfectly.







The only thing letting the VFR down really is the price, as with all the options i would want the best price the dealer could come to was £12,000, which was actually still a lot off or RRP but a huge amount of money

The journos keep banging on about how the new vfr is a return to how the old pre-vtec bike used to be. I had a vtec and didn't like the switch to the other cams which used to unsettle it.

As nice as the new one is, i can't get past the fact that it's essentially the same frame, engine and riding pos as the model from 15 yrs ago.

So. I just bought an R reg one for 10% of the new price you quoted. Lovely machine. Heated grips, scotoiler, rack included, plus it has FSH andit had the valves done not long ago.

If you like the vfr but not the price maybe hunt out an older one? They don't seem to suffer with age at all!

I was quite surprised on this that the switch was seamless onto Vtec. The whole bike was very well 'polished' and build quality seemed excellent. Just a class bike all round really.