Who has the oldest and most reliable commuter bike?
Discussion
I use a 2001 yamaha fzs600 fazer as my daily, its only on 25k ish, I hardly ever clean it, its used in all weathers and does its job just fine. Though where i work there are plenty of people commuting on older stuff, plenty of 90s bikes and even the odd late 80s honda or bmw still going strong.
jackthelad1984 said:
I use a 2001 yamaha fzs600 fazer as my daily, its only on 25k ish, I hardly ever clean it, its used in all weathers and does its job just fine. Though where i work there are plenty of people commuting on older stuff, plenty of 90s bikes and even the odd late 80s honda or bmw still going strong.
I've had a 2002 one from new, now on a bit under 100k - it's had a new gearbox output shaft which was a disaster, but other than that I'm pretty happy with it - which tyres are you using? I'm contemplating going from PR 3s to Roadtec z8s....It is of course going to get clobbered by the new London emission regulations :-(
xeny said:
I've had a 2002 one from new, now on a bit under 100k - it's had a new gearbox output shaft which was a disaster, but other than that I'm pretty happy with it - which tyres are you using? I'm contemplating going from PR 3s to Roadtec z8s....
It is of course going to get clobbered by the new London emission regulations :-(
Its currently got michelin pilot power on the rear and a pilot street on the front as they were what my local indy had going cheap at the time. I dont do big miles at the mo, its a fairly short commute of 8 miles so not to worried how long they last as I dont really ride it much other than the commute or odd trip to the hospital or shops.We are househunting further afield so it will end up doing more miles at some point. Dont see what i could replace it with for the price. Its not the prettiest now as the paint is flaking off the engine and theres a bit of corrosion here and there but its very reliable.It is of course going to get clobbered by the new London emission regulations :-(
xeny said:
I've had a 2002 one from new, now on a bit under 100k - it's had a new gearbox output shaft which was a disaster, but other than that I'm pretty happy with it - which tyres are you using? I'm contemplating going from PR 3s to Roadtec z8s....
It is of course going to get clobbered by the new London emission regulations :-(
When you wear out the threads on the output shaft most people just blob a bit of weld onto the new gearbox sprocket - if you're careful grinding it off come replacement time you can do this a fair few times.It is of course going to get clobbered by the new London emission regulations :-(
The emissions zone rubbish is going to kill the 'pick up a barely used 10 + year old bike for £1500' trick for Londoners / everyone eventually. 15 to 20 year old secondhand cars are mostly fairly leggy but you can get awesome value out of humdrum similar age bikes.
My R1 did the commute thing 10 years ago and then went onto trackdays. It's now at 52k and sat semi retired in the garage. It runs great but currently gently leaking fork oil into a plastic pot.
moto_traxport said:
When you wear out the threads on the output shaft most people just blob a bit of weld onto the new gearbox sprocket - if you're careful grinding it off come replacement time you can do this a fair few times.
Yamaha cheerfully paid for the LBS to do the shaft swap. The LBS then made a complete hash of the engine remove/strip/rebuild/refit.After it gets retired from commuting I'm tempted to do a top end strip as I strongly suspect there are some rings missing, regardless of anything else that has since been resolved.
Not my bike but we have a customer at the garage who is a courier. he runs an SV100 (03 plate i think) and it was on 220k miles last time i saw him.
He also has a vfr700 on around 150k miles although it is in for engine work.
I had a 2002 bandit with 65k miles was in pretty good nick overall but seem to need carbs playing with every few weeks.
He also has a vfr700 on around 150k miles although it is in for engine work.
I had a 2002 bandit with 65k miles was in pretty good nick overall but seem to need carbs playing with every few weeks.
My daily commuter is a 2003 CBR600F and a total banger.
Reading 28k miles but the speedo broke last year so only records about 2 miles a day (my commute is 24 return), helps with my mileage limit however, just need to remember my gear-speed ratios.
Again I'll be clobbered early 2019 by Sadiq
Reading 28k miles but the speedo broke last year so only records about 2 miles a day (my commute is 24 return), helps with my mileage limit however, just need to remember my gear-speed ratios.
Again I'll be clobbered early 2019 by Sadiq
Another Fazer600 here too, 2002 vintage, 59k miles, used daily and much as I can through winter too. I had the dreaded sprocket nut fail but my local mechanic managed to tap the end of the shaft and put a big bolt and washer on there. The upside of this is you can remove and replace the C&S kit without much aggro (which he's done since). Other than stainless headers and consumables I've not had to do all that much so far, had the valve clearances checked at 35k and they were still in tolerance.
Tough old bikes but still ride well even with some miles on em.
Tough old bikes but still ride well even with some miles on em.
Another FZS 600 commuter here. 2003 one with nigh on 60K on it. No major hassles other than me throwing it down road and track a few times... Thank god new fairings are only £200 from Yamaha!
Stuck with Metzelers on it for years, Z6's, then Z8's - both good grip and 13k ish life span. Now have a Roadtec 01 on back and M7RR on front. Again good, no complaints.
Dreading having to dump it when then ULEZ s
te comes into play April 2019, as I ride into centre daily. :-(
Stuck with Metzelers on it for years, Z6's, then Z8's - both good grip and 13k ish life span. Now have a Roadtec 01 on back and M7RR on front. Again good, no complaints.
Dreading having to dump it when then ULEZ s
te comes into play April 2019, as I ride into centre daily. :-(Gassing Station | Biker Banter | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff