What Bike After Years Away?

[svracers]

bitcrusher said:

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.

Im 6ft7 and the sv650 was my second bike. Had absolutely no issue with the size of the bike but then again i know its a very personal choice! Im now riding a gsxr750 2013 model and want to restore a vj22 suzuki rgv250

[E36GUY]

Similar to you OP. I returned to biking for commuting. Bought a Bandit 1250S.

[Volant]

NITO said:

Aprilia pegaso?!

http://www.motorcyclenews.com/bike-reviews/aprilia...

I love my pegaso. Lives alongside a Daytona 675R.

Torquey, so goes much better than 50bhp would suggest, although starts to run out of puff at much above 80 though. Narrow, feels lighter than it is due to low CofG. Basic suspension but suits the bike well. Good mpg - 70 odd.
Low seat, which makes it easy to paddle around and unintimidating. Practical, space under the seat is huge, sounds good with some cans, and if you squint can look a tiny bit supermoto.

I bought it just for London commuting, but use it more and more for B road fun and touring, even two up.

It's not a motorway or 'fast' A road bike, but as a commuter and a B Road blaster, for a couple of grand? Great!

[MartynVRS]

Birky_41 said:

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?

I've seen reviews of both lately and some say the SV is better suspension wise but I never thought it was that good with the rear feeling too soft for my weight and brakes were never great either. But then someone in work bought a curvy SV as a temporary bike and they weighed not far off 17st and were 6ft 4 and found it good. I'm 6ft 1 and just over 16st.

I'm probably looking into too much detail as it's my first bike back. Done a few insurance quotes on a few things and I forgot how reasonable it was.

[Birky_41]

MartynVRS said:

I've seen reviews of both lately and some say the SV is better suspension wise but I never thought it was that good with the rear feeling too soft for my weight and brakes were never great either. But then someone in work bought a curvy SV as a temporary bike and they weighed not far off 17st and were 6ft 4 and found it good. I'm 6ft 1 and just over 16st.

I'm probably looking into too much detail as it's my first bike back. Done a few insurance quotes on a few things and I forgot how reasonable it was.

As you say first bike back plus those things are simple fixs. A suspension setup with springs won't cost more than a couple hundred and will be the single biggest thing you could do on the bike... The change once right is huge

You can buy a linkage kit to lower or in your case to raise the bike although this can affect the geometry of it so make sure you see a suspension specialist about your requirements... I.e. 6ft 1 and xxx stone

Brakes on them are tokico... Which aren't great but can be setup well. If you don't mind a bit of garage time (or local mechanic) make sure calipers are working smooth and pistons aren't sticking etc

Then braid the lines £50 eBay and flush with fresh fluid £10 with some nice medium compound/fast road pads. They would last plenty still, bite instant and give good feedback plus you'd be amazed what those crappy tokico become like after

I did exactly this on my old track bike and ran a very strong setup against friends doing these R6/1 caliper setups at 1/4 of the price

[MartynVRS]

I'm finding myself looking more at the MT07, sat on one a few days ago and the position seems good. Have read things about it being budget and apart from some of the plastics I think it looks OK. Usual dealer though trying to get me to try a 900 Tracer instead which being as it's new is out of my price range although is very nice and very comfy. Both Tracers were nice with more wind protection and longer swing arms which would help stability. They are happy enough for me to try a few things once I'm ready which is good.

Whatever I buy I think has to be cash as I don't like the idea of financing a £6k+ bike, something happening to it and me still paying for a bike I don't own. Do many people finance a bike? Had a few insurance quotes and a MT07 would be about £350 fully comp which given I'm 4 years out I don't think is too bad. I'll have to increase my budget but some are around £4.5k already so won't be long until they go to £4k. Bikes do seem to cost more than they used to when I last looked but then some have more tech, inflation, etc so it isn't surprising.

[mad4amanda]

Honda CB650f has 0% finance and £49 a month on a pcp according to a sign I saw in Honda yesterday, lovely new bike!

[Birky_41]

mad4amanda said:

Honda CB650f has 0% finance and £49 a month on a pcp according to a sign I saw in Honda yesterday, lovely new bike!

Yep my brother got that deal a couple months ago. Has a final of about £3500

For the money it's a steal. Abs, and he paid bit more for Honda heated grips which are brilliant

Just needs a tail tidy and slightly nicer sounding pipe as it currently sounds like my mums sewing machine when revved

[Spanglepants]

I returned to biking on a TDM 850. Don't know if the 900 is in your budget but can only say it was a decent bike. Very chuckable, comfortable and , using all the revs, went better than I expected. Might be worth at least trying one see what you think?

[leighz]

zx9r

take a look at http://cycle-ergo.com/

[Wedg1e]

NITO said:

huge grunt everywhere

Not in my (admittedly brief) experience... anything less than 3000rpm and it was like riding a mating sheep.
My idea of torque is that it comes in just above idle... which most V-twins don't.

[gareth_r]

Versys 650? Not the prettiest, but roomy and comfortable, and seems to have a good rep.

[podman]

leighz said:

zx9r

take a look at http://cycle-ergo.com/

Thats a great site (assuming its accurate), compare a (similar ages) VFR800 or a FireStorm Vs the ZX9, just because a bike is physically large, doesn't automatically mean its comfortable, as the ergos for the 1999 Hayabusa also demonstrates.