Two up touring bike which stops and corners - thoughts?

[verysideways]

Hi everyone,

I need a little help if poss. I'm ex TZR, CBR4, CBR6, T'cat, 'Blade and am now coming back to bikes after 4 year 'rest'.

I'm looking for a bike which goes, stops, and handles like my old 'Blade BUT i fully expect to spend most of my time on it two-up and with luggage, so i have narrowed it down to things like Thunderace, CBRthou, ZZR11 or CBR11.

I am leaning towards the 'Bird for lots of reasons - performance, comfort, reliability being high on the list - but i just want to make sure i haven't overlooked any obvious contenders.

Please note: i am 5'7" and so have trouble with bikes like the R1150GS, and i now drive a car every day so the bike would be relegated to weekend touring duty not 16k+ miles a year like my T'cat and 'Blade did

HELP!

[ballon]

Bird definitely

[black-k1]

BMW K1200S (eats 'Birds)
BMW R1200S

Both get good reviews. I've not tried the R1200S yet but the older R1100 was pretty good (though lacking a little in the "go" department - the 1200 should make up for some of that.)

I have tried the K1200S and it handles, goes and stops very well. If you get the one with the electronic suspension then you can set your suspension according to the road you are on whilst on the move.

[wedg1e]

My bro' has a BMW R1100S... I'm 5-8 and can sit on it OK, but as a pillion I found it a bit of a trial. His wife is shorter and seems happy enough

[Busamav]

I take my Busa away every year and it never fails to deliver, 2 up , full krauser luggage and a packed tank bag .

Dont dismiss them , it eats the miles and is comfortable , on the road it makes pace as fast and as well as anything else out there.

Mountain passes were great this year , we came across 2 guys ridng new Blades with Koi carp like matching leathers , and having caught them up i just sat on their tale , they hated it all the way up, and down the other side .
The hardest moments for us were coming down , into sharp hairpins where the brakes were starting to cook .

[sparkey]

Try a Triumph Sprint 1050 before you buy a blackbird. Just as comfy and fast but much lighter handling.

[taz666]

VFR 800? That does all the thing that you require of it, and its friendly on the vertically challenged as a work mate has one and he`s quite short.

[wedg1e]

taz666 said:

VFR 800? That does all the thing that you require of it, and its friendly on the vertically challenged as a work mate has one and he`s quite short.

Good point. The V4 is an entertaining thing... and the current VFR looks like it'd chew you up and spit you out.

[tonyf]

Blackbird no question, owned 2 of these superb machines over the last 4 years and they do exactly what it says on the tin !

[Frik]

sparkey said:

Try a Triumph Sprint 1050 before you buy a blackbird. Just as comfy and fast but much lighter handling.

You know it makes sense Pete.

[welsh blackbird]

tonyf said:

Blackbird no question, owned 2 of these superb machines over the last 4 years and they do exactly what it says on the tin !

Agreed.

I had a VFR800i after a CBF1000 and it felt totally gutless. Traded it in for a Blackbird and never looked back!

[verysideways]

Interesting - thanks for your comments.

I'm still leaning towards the Blackbird but i will check out the Triumph. Surprised no one commented on the ZZR11 though...

[verysideways]

Well, a Blackbird is now on the cards. I sold my 540 last weekend so i replaced my leather trousers, got a new pair of gloves, and have started checking out ground anchors and chains

Since i have been off bikes for four years i have lost my no claims, any ideas on best places for bike insurance? Bike will be a 5 year old B'bird, worth about £4k.
I am 30, live in a decent area, bike will be locked in a metal shed and attached to a ground anchor and i drive a car every day so i would be okay with limited mileage (say 5000?).

Any ideas appreciated.

[randlemarcus]

verysideways said:

Well, a Blackbird is now on the cards. I sold my 540 last weekend so i replaced my leather trousers, got a new pair of gloves, and have started checking out ground anchors and chains

Since i have been off bikes for four years i have lost my no claims, any ideas on best places for bike insurance? Bike will be a 5 year old B'bird, worth about £4k.
I am 30, live in a decent area, bike will be locked in a metal shed and attached to a ground anchor and i drive a car every day so i would be okay with limited mileage (say 5000?).

Any ideas appreciated.

Currently looking at getting a quote for the Mille, and A-Plan are coming up trumps at the moment. Dont forget to try Honda insurance, as they were very good for the CBR and will have another chance at the Mille, when I mention how low A-Plan came in at

[silver993tt]

verysideways said:

Well, a Blackbird is now on the cards. I sold my 540 last weekend so i replaced my leather trousers, got a new pair of gloves, and have started checking out ground anchors and chains

Since i have been off bikes for four years i have lost my no claims, any ideas on best places for bike insurance? Bike will be a 5 year old B'bird, worth about £4k.
I am 30, live in a decent area, bike will be locked in a metal shed and attached to a ground anchor and i drive a car every day so i would be okay with limited mileage (say 5000?).

Any ideas appreciated.

I use ebike for insurance. My ZX12R is 260GBP fully comp and I'll be getting a ZZR1400 in April and that still comes out at around 280 GBP fully comp. Talking of which, have you thought about the ZZR1400?? Supposed to be brilliant, seat height shouldn't be a problem and feel lighter that the ZX12 on the move.

[wedg1e]

The absolute lowest quote I got for the ST13 was from Hastings Direct, but their website phucked-up and wouldn't accept my Visa card. They weren't prepared to match the internet price when I phoned them so I binned them and went with Direct Choice instead.
Ironically a few days later Bennetts offered to match the original Hastings price...
All this is for a 43-year-old , had no bike insurance for 6 years and bought the 10th most expensive bike in the UK...

[F.M]

verysideways said:

Interesting - thanks for your comments.

I'm still leaning towards the Blackbird but i will check out the Triumph. Surprised no one commented on the ZZR11 though...

A weighty machine , not quite as nimble as your Fireblade or as brutal as a Blackbird...although apparently it delivers near the top like all good Kawas do...the linked brakes on a bird would annoy me though....
TLR..?
ZX9..?

[Mon Ami Mate]

Still love my ZZR1200. More powerful and better handling than a ZZR1100. As quick as a Blackbird (a bit more so since I had some interesting cams put in ), more fun to ride, just as comfy and no linked brakes. The build quality isn't as good though...

Edited by Mon Ami Mate on Tuesday 6th February 14:02

[verysideways]

Cheers for the feedback, i will start ringing around (oh joy!).

I love the TLR but it's not comfy enough for long distances or two up, if i was just going for a 'Blade type again it would either be a TLR or an early injected 'Blade.

I have sat on and read about all the various options but ultimately the Blackbird seems to best fit all my criteria and Honda's build quality, packaging and reliability played no small part in that. I don't want to go back to all that fiddling about, i want a bike that i can look after and therefore can expect it to look after me in return.

Ringing around for insurance... what a ball-ache...

[black-k1]

A good place to start is the Bike Trader insurance centre

www.autotrader.co.uk/BIKES/owning/insurance_centre.jsp

Gives a good idea of what to expect price wise and a list of the top few to call. Also saves having to repeat all the same info to half a dozen different companies.