Need a bike for commuting - suggestions please

[ajk]

Ok I bought my first bike, a 54 Suzuki Bandit S in November, after 3 years on a scooter.
It's a great bike and was ideal for my 20minute commute.
However I'm moving to a job with a 1hr (40mile) each way commute and I don't find the Bandit particularly comfortable for longer journeys - not great on the back and it's very "buzzy", there's a lot of vibration through the handlebars which makes my hands and arms numb

So I'm looking into replacing it with something a bit more practical and comfortable, any suggestions?

I'm looking for something which is:

• easy to ride (but still 'fun')
• visible (e.g. I've noticed that bikes with 2 headlights are way more visible to car drivers than bikes with 1)
• practical
• comfortable (I like a fairly upright riding position)
• reliable

Oh and it needs to sound good too
I'm not overly worried about performance as I'm a fairly sedate rider but am I right in thinking that a larger-engined bike will be smoother?
Budget up to £2k

Any advice appreciated.

[Craphouserat]

Yamaha Fazer - used to commute on my old one - a 50 mile round trip each day. Comfortable, affordable and quick. Mine was a 99 model 600.
Great bikes - meet all your requirements.

[Stig]

I'd recommend the Yamaha TDM 850 or a 900 if you can get one cheap enough. Comfortable for 2 hours+ riding, tank range of 200 miles (which is an essential consideration unless you like filling up every day!) and actually good fun to ride.

[black-k1]

Check out some of the BMW twins like the R1100RS, R1100RT and the R1100S. If you really want to be seen then get an ex-plod one. Will have a high mileage but the traffic ahead of you will be like the Red Sea to Moses and will simply part to give yo a nice clear route.

[Busamav]

I would search out a Thunderace in my list

[jonny_c]

I recently bought a Suzuki dl1000 v-strom which i commute 60 miles a day on - ticks all the boxes, except it may be a bit more pricey - i paid 2.5k for mine 3 weeks ago and it's an early (02) model

plus:

comfortable
twin lights/good visibility
loads of luggage potential
upright riding position
can keep up with my mates on Sport 600's (though the grunt of the v twin helps)
Typical Jap start and ride
V-twin rumble
mid 40's to 50 mpg

minus:
Big bike - i'd say 5'10 min to ride
Standard screen a bit rubbish
front forks too soft

There is a 650 version - ligher, cheaper, better mpg

Thought about a Honda Deuxville? - probably ticks all boxes but it's boreing - especially the sound

[Mr OCD]

Thundercat / Thunderace...

I use my Thundercat to commute over 70 miles a day in total comfort... thats coming from a Bandit as well

[RemaL]

1998-2001 FZS 600 FAzer. my first bike was a 2001 Fazer. great bike, cheap, fast, very reliable, great brakes ( old R1's)

great first bike and if I had the room I would have kept it before selling it on

[y2blade]

600 hornet? alot more fun to ride than the fazer 600 of the same vintage

[Rawwr]

Does it really matter what you buy? Lets face it, you're either going to crash it, torch it or crash it and torch it.

Just steer clear of Honda. We know what happens when you go there.

Edited by Rawwr on Tuesday 22 April 14:51

[black-k1]

Rawwr said:

Does it really matter what you buy? Lets face it, you're either going to crash it, torch it or crash it and torch it.

Must be an "in joke" of some kind.

[Rawwr]

Heh, sorry, should have added smilies to that. Yes, I know Andrew almost as well as Sinclaires know his car.

[y2blade]

Rawwr said:

Does it really matter what you buy? Lets face it, you're either going to crash it, torch it or crash it and torch it.

Just steer clear of Honda. We know what happens when you go there.

Edited by Rawwr on Tuesday 22 April 14:51

what?

[ajk]

y2blade said:

Rawwr said:

Does it really matter what you buy? Lets face it, you're either going to crash it, torch it or crash it and torch it.

Just steer clear of Honda. We know what happens when you go there.

Edited by Rawwr on Tuesday 22 April 14:51

what?

Don't mind him, as above it's an in-joke, I have a history of various cars failing to meet my needs!

Thanks for the suggestions above, keep 'em coming.
Plan is to try a few bikes over the next few weeks

[y2blade]

ajk said:

y2blade said:

Rawwr said:

Does it really matter what you buy? Lets face it, you're either going to crash it, torch it or crash it and torch it.

Just steer clear of Honda. We know what happens when you go there.

Edited by Rawwr on Tuesday 22 April 14:51

what?

Don't mind him, as above it's an in-joke, I have a history of various cars failing to meet my needs!

Thanks for the suggestions above, keep 'em coming.
Plan is to try a few bikes over the next few weeks

ahh got ya

[Hyperion]

Well, I like my Divvy 900.
Maintenance free shaft drive.
200 mile tank range.
Big and comfy.
Bullet proof reliability. I do 70 trouble free miles a day (touch wood).
Cheap servicing.
Quick enough.
The engine sounds like a bag of spanners though - but then mines done nearly 80k miles.

[Rawwr]

ajk said:

various cars failing to meet my needs!

mmc

[m3psm]

Another vote here for the TDM. Great commuter.

I've just changed mine for a VFR and it's nowhere near as comfy as the TDM.

Another option I was considering was a Varadero, but I couldn't find one in my price range when I was looking.

[Stig]

m3psm said:

Another vote here for the TDM. Great commuter.

I've just changed mine for a VFR and it's nowhere near as comfy as the TDM.

Another option I was considering was a Varadero, but I couldn't find one in my price range when I was looking.

That's good to hear as I've always fancied a VFR - but love my TDM. I do 100 miles a day on it and it's mint.

Have done the same journey on:
Aprilia Pegaso 650 - fragile
TDM 850 - brilliant but lobbed it down a road
Triumph T595 - wrist killer
Yamaha R1 - a brilliant commuter believe it or not!
Triumph Tiger 1050i - awesome, but was getting trashed by inconsiderate scooter parking goits

Pointless haaving anything half decent to ride/park in London so sold the Tiger and bought a cheap TDM900 (£2300) which has already been dropped, with purely cosmetic scrapes on one side. Best thing is, I'm not at all precious about it as I have been with my other bikes. Have ridden it every day (pretty much) for the last 6 months and it's been excellent.

[dern]

Stig said:

Yamaha R1 - a brilliant commuter believe it or not!

I think my y2k blade is a terrific commuter. I've been using it as such for 7 years now.