What Bike After Years Away?
Discussion
Few years ago I decided to get by big bike test done for commuting, then into a busy city centre and bought a K7 SV650 and it was great for 4mths until a van cut the white line and I had to abandon it mid corner. Bike was written off but because of a new job and moving away shortly after I never replaced it. That was almost 4 years ago and I didn't think I could get another while I'm renting but I've managed to get some off road parking that's big enough for a bike so the thought of riding again returned. Car barely does 28mpg on the 10 mile commute as I often have traffic and people who genuinely don't know what the limit is to deal with.
Budget would be £2-3k, I have all the gear from before as it was all OK but i'm not sure what to get. Want something easy to ride and to get familiar with riding again. A little fun but not something I'll be hurting on after 10 mins. Was thinking of getting something smaller than a 600 but I'm over 6ft and 16st. I could go SV650 again but wouldn't mind trying something else. I'm definitely a novice and at this point I'd be treating it as day one again.
Budget would be £2-3k, I have all the gear from before as it was all OK but i'm not sure what to get. Want something easy to ride and to get familiar with riding again. A little fun but not something I'll be hurting on after 10 mins. Was thinking of getting something smaller than a 600 but I'm over 6ft and 16st. I could go SV650 again but wouldn't mind trying something else. I'm definitely a novice and at this point I'd be treating it as day one again.
The older CBR600Fs (possibly I'm bias here!) are great bikes. I've still got my F-W (1998) steel frames one and love it. Fun to ride, low cost, capable(ish) on track.
My brother had the 650 for a while so I've ridden that -loved the low down torque, but preferred the Honda for everything else.
Depends how far over 6ft you are though? A mate who's 6'2" has no problem on his identical 600F though, so it's a possibility.
My brother had the 650 for a while so I've ridden that -loved the low down torque, but preferred the Honda for everything else.
Depends how far over 6ft you are though? A mate who's 6'2" has no problem on his identical 600F though, so it's a possibility.
king about.As a bigger bloke I'm surprised you got on with the SV at all - great bikes but at 6'2" I look like a clown on one and the handlebars practically scratch my ankles. With a budget of 2-3k you could do a lot worse than a good pre-VTEC VFR 800. The fact that it's a slightly bigger capacity than maybe you are used to shouldn't put you off, they are incredibly forgiving bikes with very stable and assured handling. I went from a 600cc Thundercat to a VFR and my riding improved in leaps and bounds. All the myths about them being a do it all bike are true, they are a cut above in terms of quality - don't let big miles put you off buying one either if it's in good order. In spite of the stability, they are still loads of fun when pushing on:
I would have another one in a heartbeat.
I would have another one in a heartbeat.
CaptainSlow said:
Early Tuono.
Lol, that's what I did after 16 years away with the last bike being a 2-stroke Aprilia RS125.Whereas the early Tuono is very comfy, I snigger at your sense of humour and I'm sure you meant that tongue in cheek, it's arguably the worse reinitiation bike on the planet!
Intimidating, huge grunt everywhere, front wheel in the air nearly everywhere, ferocious v twin (high compression) engine braking, and mine was owned previously by a midget so the out of spec full ohlins suspension was setup horrifically making matters worse! Still I bought a book on suspension tuning, set it all up by making adjustments every day for a few weeks, learnt that the throttle works both ways and it's a cracking bike and I love it, but it's pretty brutal, cracking vfm, terrible fuel economy and a great riding position for a middle age crisis biker! Talk about baptism of fire though
I do like the Street Triple but can see that being the bike after this one. Last time I did look qt CBR600's but some tried to put me off. VFR800 isn't a bad idea. A previous senior tech of mine had a new VFR800 that he did well with and was his only vehicle so was in full touring mode. Surprising how much he could carry on it, not that I will be.
MartynVRS said:
...Last time I did look qt CBR600's but some tried to put me off. VFR800 isn't a bad idea. A previous senior tech of mine had a new VFR800 that he did well with and was his only vehicle so was in full touring mode. Surprising how much he could carry on it, not that I will be.
Dont let anyone on the net "put you off" , go and try a CBR for yourself . The VFR is a great idea, I was looking for something for a little but roomier in the same budget, I also looked at Gen1 Fazer 1000s but like the VFR, couldnt find a nice one for the budget, in the end I bought a Honda Firestorm, it offers a similar roomy position to the VFR but the same money nets you a newer, lower mileage bike.
Bailey93 said:
Nice quad post above 
OT though SV650's are great they even have that low RPM assist which is a nice addition to new riders or even veteran riders.
The MT07 is in the same category with a larger rear tyre 180 compared to a 160 on the SV but same MPG and Power.
I'd have the MT over the sv but not sure you'd get one in his budget? OT though SV650's are great they even have that low RPM assist which is a nice addition to new riders or even veteran riders.
The MT07 is in the same category with a larger rear tyre 180 compared to a 160 on the SV but same MPG and Power.
The joys of posting after a few beers !!
Bailey93 said:
Nice quad post above
OT though SV650's are great they even have that low RPM assist which is a nice addition to new riders or even veteran riders.
The MT07 is in the same category with a larger rear tyre 180 compared to a 160 on the SV but same MPG and Power.
OT though SV650's are great they even have that low RPM assist which is a nice addition to new riders or even veteran riders.
The MT07 is in the same category with a larger rear tyre 180 compared to a 160 on the SV but same MPG and Power.
Gassing Station | Biker Banter | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff