Discussion
I've been riding my SV650S for just over 2 years now and am thing about trading up. The problem is that I use the bike mainly for my daily commute of 35 miles each way which is almost entirely motorway and dual carriageway and the SV can get a bit tiring at those straight speeds. The obvious choice for the commute would be something like a Deauville but I want something a bit more "interesting" (i.e. something I can hoon on from time to time 
)
I thought a GSXR750 or similar might have longer gearing for the motorway and could therefore offer a reasonable compromise but there are probably a number of others to consider.
The usual rules of "whatever feels best for me" will obviously apply but I desperately need some help in creating a shortlist.
Any advice based on your collective experiences would be much appreciated.
T
) I thought a GSXR750 or similar might have longer gearing for the motorway and could therefore offer a reasonable compromise but there are probably a number of others to consider.
The usual rules of "whatever feels best for me" will obviously apply but I desperately need some help in creating a shortlist.
Any advice based on your collective experiences would be much appreciated.
T
aeropilot said:
All singing all dancing VFR has to be a candidate I suppose....
Ducati ST3 or Triumph Sprint ST would be what I'd be looking at....??
A guy here at work does a Dorset to Watford commute and back on a Sprint ST a couple of times a week in the summer months...!!!
Ducati ST3 or Triumph Sprint ST would be what I'd be looking at....??
A guy here at work does a Dorset to Watford commute and back on a Sprint ST a couple of times a week in the summer months...!!!
How would these stack up reliability and service cost wise against the Jap opposition? The Triumph sounds tempting though.
black-k1 said:
One of the BMW twins? Very good MPG and shaft drive. (Ideal for commuting.) Go for the GS or the S and you get something that is pretty quick in "real world usage".
What this man has said, however, I commute 70 miles a day (return trip) on a 2005 R1 and have no problems, my route is 1/3 M'way, 1/3 dual carriageway the rest is minor A road & B road. I'm thinking of getting a BMW R1200GS as well but keeping the R1 for those days when you want to ride a sports bike, plus my R1 isn't worth much now due to the mileage on it so I may as well keep it as it's worth more to me than the crap trade in I'll get.
The CBR600F seems to be getting a lot of votes so that's on the shortlist. The Honda VFR800 looks like it might also fit the bill - anyone got any experience of these? I like the fact that it's got a larger tank and therefore (presumably) a better range.
I'm not sold on the looks of the Tiger but will have a closer look at a Sprint. I know nothing about BMWs but they seem to get a lot of praise so will do some interwebbing to find out more.
Muffles - your comment that the GSXR600 has lower bars probably rules that out in terms of comfort.
What sort of mpg and/or range can you get from the bikes recommended? My current commute means that I have to fill up every 2 days but am only about 10 miles short of managing 3 days which is a bit of a pita.
I'm not sold on the looks of the Tiger but will have a closer look at a Sprint. I know nothing about BMWs but they seem to get a lot of praise so will do some interwebbing to find out more.
Muffles - your comment that the GSXR600 has lower bars probably rules that out in terms of comfort.
What sort of mpg and/or range can you get from the bikes recommended? My current commute means that I have to fill up every 2 days but am only about 10 miles short of managing 3 days which is a bit of a pita.
the t boy said:
Muffles - your comment that the GSXR600 has lower bars probably rules that out in terms of comfort.
Yeah, I'd say it's not the best if comfort was your aim. The rest of the bike isn't uncomfortable as far as I can tell though, seat seems much the same and the pegs are not that much different.
the t boy said:
What sort of mpg and/or range can you get from the bikes recommended? My current commute means that I have to fill up every 2 days but am only about 10 miles short of managing 3 days which is a bit of a pita.
That's impressive, so that must be 200 miles odd on a tank?? I think the most I got was about 160, but I think that still included a bit of town riding and I filled up when the light came on (or soon after).
muffles said:
That's impressive, so that must be 200 miles odd on a tank?? I think the most I got was about 160, but I think that still included a bit of town riding and I filled up when the light came on (or soon after).
The light comes on between 145 and 160. I can usually go up to 190 before I start thinking that my luck is about to run out. When I refill I always seem to have had 2-3 litres left spare so could probably go a little further. Ideal range would be just over 215 miles as that would give me 3 days per stop.
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