Winter hack...again

[Esceptico]

Weather is turning crap and they are starting to salt the roads. Which means either forget riding until around March/April (depending upon how bad the winter is) or perhaps buying a winter hack. Ideally:

- not that expensive (up to £5k)
- robust (I am a lazy fecker so it won't have the salt washed off every time I ride it)
- fun to ride in the winter (an oxymoron for some) - not thinking of riding in snow storms or when there is black ice - just reasonably mild days but where roads are damp (they never seem to dry properly over the winter) and the roads are still salty

Thoughts?

[PIGINAWIG]

GSX1250FA. You can a year old one for 5 large.

[Krikkit]

Pre-VTEC VFR800?

Good protection from the elements, tasty-sounding V4, cheap as chips, it's a Honda...

[Dakkon]

Krikkit said:

Pre-VTEC VFR800?

Good protection from the elements, tasty-sounding V4, cheap as chips, it's a Honda...

I am on my second VFR750, both bought for £1000 off ebay, both had rectifier issues, but apart from that, never missed a beat, current VFR is over 40k miles, the previous one I took to over 70k miles. Fit some Road 5 tyres and ride it all year round.

[crofty1984]

Krikkit said:

Pre-VTEC VFR800?

Good protection from the elements, tasty-sounding V4, cheap as chips, it's a Honda...

You can have mine for 2k.

[Esceptico]

crofty1984 said:

You can have mine for 2k.

Details (year, mileage, condition, colour, extras)?

[Esceptico]

Bikes I have been considering...

VFR
Duke 690
MT-07

[stupidbutkeen]

I am selling my 2016 mt09 tracer with 10500 miles for 5k. 5k gets you a hell of a lot of bike this time of year. I just have a hankering for a sportsbike again.

[jonindorset]

I've had both an MT07 and VFR800FI. The old Honda is in a totally different class in terms of the ability of components to stand up to neglect through winter salts. In any case you will be best drowning it in ACF 50 or equivalent.

Otherwise, it depends a lot on the nature of your commute. If its fairly short and on urban / semi urban roads, the MT07 is much lighter, quicker off the mark and more agile (and fun), it is also much more upright. The VFR is on the sporting side of sports touring but is still quite heavy and you are still leaning forwards quite a lot. The VFR is much better at covering long distances, dual carriageways and motorway sections. Personally, having moved from an MT07 to a VFR for a long distance commute I just couldn't get on with the riding position (or my neck and shoulders couldn't get on with it anyway) and I ended up chopping it in for an MT10.

[Dakkon]

jonindorset said:

I've had both an MT07 and VFR800FI. The old Honda is in a totally different class in terms of the ability of components to stand up to neglect through winter salts. In any case you will be best drowning it in ACF 50 or equivalent.

Otherwise, it depends a lot on the nature of your commute. If its fairly short and on urban / semi urban roads, the MT07 is much lighter, quicker off the mark and more agile (and fun), it is also much more upright. The VFR is on the sporting side of sports touring but is still quite heavy and you are still leaning forwards quite a lot. The VFR is much better at covering long distances, dual carriageways and motorway sections. Personally, having moved from an MT07 to a VFR for a long distance commute I just couldn't get on with the riding position (or my neck and shoulders couldn't get on with it anyway) and I ended up chopping it in for an MT10.

Totally agree with this, with regards my previous comment on the VFR 750, my commute is 50 miles each way of mainly motorway.

[TheCommuter]

Ninja 650... Turning out to be the perfect all year commuter for me. Light, nimble, easy to filter, fairing for weather protection, 65mpg and a fun punchy little engine.

[Lee540]

Bandit 1250S

[warch]

My experience of winter riding is that you need;

a) really good headlight(s)

b) a fairing

c) heaty uppy bits. Not essential but they're good for morale

d) decent helmet/thermal gear


I've more or less given up riding to work in winter, unless someone knows of a way of making early 90s cbr headlights actually work.


Incidentally OP 5 grand isn't winter hack money, you could actually buy something nice with that.

[myvision]

Fazer 1000.

[SBDJ]

warch said:

I've more or less given up riding to work in winter, unless someone knows of a way of making early 90s cbr headlights actually work.

You could open them up and install projector housings, then run HID.

[jjr1]

For my first winter riding hack I am going for a Ducati Hypermotard 796.

Why? Bloody cheap

If I fall off? Bloody cheap

If it gets wrecked by salt and ste on the roads? Bloody cheap


Wish me luck but for the first time in years I am actually going to use a bike in winter

[SAS Tom]

Have I travelled to a different planet where 5 grand is the equivalent to 1? Since when has a winter hack been 5k?

[Esceptico]

Poor choice of title on my part. I should have said second bike to use mainly in winter rather than winter hack. Also the £5k was the upper limit rather than a target.

[dern]

You could do what I did and buy a cheap hack and then spend bloody ages fixing every niggle, knackered bit of braking system, bodged repair and leaking fork seal. Or you could spend a reasonable amount on a decent bike and knacker that or you could buy a hack that someone has spent time sorting out and now wants shifting because they gave in to a shiny KTM they saw in a showroom.

Roundabout way of saying I have a 2003 blackbird that you won't mind getting salt all over for 2k that had all the work done incl chain, sprockets, brakes, fork seals and radiator.

[Krikkit]

SAS Tom said:

Have I travelled to a different planet where 5 grand is the equivalent to 1? Since when has a winter hack been 5k?

I thought the same! Hypermotard 796... Bloody cheap? Maybe if you buy a new litre bike every year for your collection...