Moving to the sticks, practical needed bike for up to £8K

Moving to the sticks, practical needed bike for up to £8K

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Discussion

dc2rr07

1,238 posts

230 months

Friday 26th February 2016
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Mario149 said:
Biker's Nemesis said:
R1
yikes....hehe
Gets my vote or BMW S1000RR, definitely no panniers though otherwise you may as well go in the car.

srob

11,566 posts

237 months

Saturday 27th February 2016
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Matchless G3LS

accident

582 posts

255 months

Saturday 27th February 2016
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as someone said an fz1/fazer is a cheap as chips bike (possibly a bit quicker than the trumpet)
a bit dull to look at so not a scum magnet.
covered in tried and tested bits so easy maintenance.
however if you are doing a 40 mile trudge a couple of times a week an ideal bike would be a street tripple

Willy Nilly

12,511 posts

166 months

Saturday 27th February 2016
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Get a Honda NC750X with DCT if you are commuting

Silver993tt

9,064 posts

238 months

Saturday 27th February 2016
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TimmyWimmyWoo said:
KTM 1190? Sounds like you have similar needs to me - I'm hopefully testing one tomorrow so will report back. I'd go for a Multistrada but it'll be living outside...
Might be a very good choice. I have the 1290 SA which is superb. My German colleague who has had his K1300s for the last 5 years was blown away by it and will be chopping his bike in for one this year. He loved the comfort, the huge low down torque, the handling and the visibility from the riding position.

spareparts

6,777 posts

226 months

Saturday 27th February 2016
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Mario149 said:
Looks like it's finally happening, after umming and ahing for a few years my gf and I are moving from London to the sticks (well, 40 miles outside of London!) in a couple of months all being well. Looking forward to it loads but I'll be commuting in 2-3 times a week via train/car/bike depending on how the mood takes me, but for the latter I think I need something a bit more practical that my Street Triple R plus I fancy a change. Love the bike, looks great, sounds great but isn't massively comfy to sit on for long journeys even with a gel seat and the wind blast on motorways is a bit of a faff. Other considerations:

[B]1) Think I want panniers or tail box as a fairly heavy rucksack for 20 mins through town is okay, but not for 1hr+.
2) Also quite like the idea of rider aids like ABS/TC if poss. While I'm reasonably handy at chucking a car about, on a bike I'm very cautious and having some aids as a safety net so I can learn to push a bit harder with confidence really appeals. Never had the guts to do it on my aid-free STR
3) Also quite fancy electronic adjustable suspension if in budget
4) Although the 105 bhp on my STR is plenty, you have to rev the nuts off it to get it which frankly I don't, so fancy something in the 1000cc+ range that I get the performance from a bit easier (pretty much the opposite of what I like in a car hehe) [/B]
5) Still needs to look good!
Requirements: commuter bike into London 2/3 times a week.

You want:
ABS - this is standard on virtually all bikes being sold nowadays.
TC - irrelevant if you are 'very cautious' (your words, not mine)
Electronic adjustable suspension - irrelevant for commuting, and if you are so cautious that you are unlikely to be pushing a bike (and the suspension) hard enough to notice any difference
>105bhp. Irrelevant. You only get 105bhp if you are revving the STR out to the max... which I doubt you are by the sounds of it. An STR can be a quick/fast bike - if you want more power, then I suggest you just learn how to ride the STR harder.

So all in, I think you just want a faired commuter bike. Nothing exceptional really. Most of the gadgets you request are not relevant to your riding. If you are such a cautious rider, invest in a couple days at the CSS to learn how to corner and use corner speed. Then you'll start to load up suspension and get the bike 'working'. A big capacity/faster bike like a Multi will not save your arse if you don't know how/lack confidence to manage/control power/speed... it will just allow you to have a bigger crash when you hit an object at higher speed. If you like modcons/electronic gadgets 'just because', then I suggest getting something like a BMW. A BMW F800GT would be perfect for your needs: torquey twin to help power away from the traffic lights, ABS/TC/ESA gadgets galore, comfortable on the commute, and semi-faired to keep the windblast away. And BMW Motorrad dealers will give you the cappucinos to keep you 'fancying' the next new toy.

F800GT. Thank me later wink



Edited by spareparts on Saturday 27th February 11:38

Mario149

Original Poster:

7,750 posts

177 months

Saturday 27th February 2016
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spareparts, I see where you're coming from with your advice, but the whole idea of having some electronic aids like TC/ABS is to help me explore the bike's capabilities with more confidence on the road knowing I have a safety net. I've done a day at the Ron Haslam Race School, learnt some useful stuff, but I'm not about to start riding like I did there on the road without at least the psychological feel good of TC/ABS.

As for clever electronic suspension, as I mentioned in another post, it's not about absolute performance, but if it changes the character of the bike like it does on a car, I know I'll enjoy it smile Plus if I want to stick my gf on the back for a spin, it'd be nice to get it set up for both of us with just a button push rather than a tool.

Ref power, it's not about the absolute max power the bike produces, it's about what is available at any given revs for me i.e. torque. Your advice to learn to ride better is true, but it's also true for 99% of litre bike owners who could just get a 600 and learn to thrap it to death.

As for F800GT, I've already had an F800S. Fine for going up and down the motorway, nightmare in town with heavy clutch and its gear foibles. Not going there again!

spareparts

6,777 posts

226 months

Saturday 27th February 2016
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I heard you the first time. Get a twin. More torque. F800GT is a much better bike than the F800s. ESA for 2-up preload adjustment at the press of a button.

sprinter1050

11,550 posts

226 months

Saturday 27th February 2016
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Surprised nobody's mentioned a Tiger 800 yet.
'Specially as you have a trumpet already wink

defblade

7,395 posts

212 months

Saturday 27th February 2016
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Mario149 said:
the whole idea of having some electronic aids like TC/ABS is to help me explore the bike's capabilities with more confidence on the road knowing I have a safety net.
If you're planning to go litre+, there's simply no way you'll be exploring the limits of the bike while commuting (unless it's a Bandit 1200 wink ). My BMW K1200 didn't even bother to mention you were moving until well into 3 figures.... I went back to a 750cc twin with a decent chassis/suspension set up that was still fun and plenty fast, but carried much less risk of insta-ban.

Mario149

Original Poster:

7,750 posts

177 months

Saturday 27th February 2016
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defblade said:
If you're planning to go litre+, there's simply no way you'll be exploring the limits of the bike while commuting (unless it's a Bandit 1200 wink ).
Totally agree (although I've never ridden a Bandit 1200 so couldn't pass judgement on that comment hehe), my phrasing was bad in hindsight. What I'm trying to get across is that I need to be able to commute on the bike, but if just going out for fun I might want to try and improve my skills, with the bike providing a safety net with ABS/TC etc. Do I need a litre+ bike to do this? Clearly not hehe But like for a lot of people, the effortlessness of their power delivery appeals and the absolute performance is largely irrelevant. And if I can afford it, why not, life's too short hehe In the same vein as no-one buys a Ferrari F12 because they'll actually be able to use all 700bhp+ to be faster from A to B on the road.

TimmyWimmyWoo

4,305 posts

180 months

Saturday 27th February 2016
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Silver993tt said:
TimmyWimmyWoo said:
KTM 1190? Sounds like you have similar needs to me - I'm hopefully testing one tomorrow so will report back. I'd go for a Multistrada but it'll be living outside...
Might be a very good choice. I have the 1290 SA which is superb. My German colleague who has had his K1300s for the last 5 years was blown away by it and will be chopping his bike in for one this year. He loved the comfort, the huge low down torque, the handling and the visibility from the riding position.
Ugh, drove all the way around the M25 to find the dealer didn't have an 1190 on the demo fleet. Took the 1290 out for 2 hours. Bloody. Hell.

Silver993tt

9,064 posts

238 months

Saturday 27th February 2016
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TimmyWimmyWoo said:
Ugh, drove all the way around the M25 to find the dealer didn't have an 1190 on the demo fleet. Took the 1290 out for 2 hours. Bloody. Hell.
... and no doubt you had traction control turned on as it's the default when you start up smile

Mario149

Original Poster:

7,750 posts

177 months

Saturday 27th February 2016
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Any fans of the VFR here? Latest one seems quite tidy

abarber

1,686 posts

240 months

Saturday 27th February 2016
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Look at an MT09 / Tracer. An awesome motor with a lovely triple sound. Berluddy good value too.

Tribal Chestnut

2,997 posts

181 months

Sunday 28th February 2016
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For commuting in London I went for an FZ1 over an 1190, Tracer, S1000XR, etc. Those bikes are better for the odd occasion when you might need to pop up or down a kerb, but more often you'll be stuck thinking st if only my bars were a little narrower.

Sports bikes are great for filtering though, provided you've no need to change direction sharply. FZ1 or similar is a decent compromise, but I'll dust the R1 when it warms up.

spareparts

6,777 posts

226 months

Sunday 28th February 2016
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Mario149 said:
Any fans of the VFR here? Latest one seems quite tidy
Nice bike, but it is already 15 years old in its current guise. (I've had 2 Viffers before, a pre-vtec and the vtec which is virtually the same bike as the current version)

Mr_Tickle

218 posts

177 months

Monday 29th February 2016
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I agree, any of the 1L sports bikes. As mentioned, great for filtering (except when you require a decent turning circle) and great at cruising speeds.

terry tibbs

2,188 posts

220 months

Monday 29th February 2016
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CG125

the Taliban's preferred mode of transport good enough for them good enough for anyone

Mario149

Original Poster:

7,750 posts

177 months

Monday 29th February 2016
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terry tibbs said:
CG125

the Taliban's preferred mode of transport good enough for them good enough for anyone
hehe Should come with an RPG mount....