New commuter what bike: Versys 650 vs MG V85 vs Ben TRK 702

[Mr_Megalomaniac]

Hi all, starting a new job soon and the commute is going to be 3-days a week in the office with a reasonably sizeable bit of travel each way. To save time and money I will bike rather than rail as much as possible. I've whittled down a list of 11 to 3 primary candidates. I used our AI friends to estimate costs etc. and servicing as well so I'm fairly comfortable on all that.

What I would like to hear from is anyone who has test ridden or owned these and can provide some practical first-hand insight?
For context, it's 8k-12k miles a year, mix of motorway, A-road, and London traffic. My options currently:
1. Kawasaki Versys 650
2. Moto Guzzi V85 TT
3. Benelli TRK 702

I'm slightly leaning towards to V85 partly because of the shaft drive & cruise control. But seems the economy on the Versys is better and it does have a better Euro emissions rating (to head off any ULEZ changes in future).
I'll keep it for 7+ years until its run into the ground so depreciation isn't a concern, but servicing, maintenance, running costs, insurance, and most of all ride-ability/comfort is a big factor.

Thanks in advance

[Marquezs Stabilisers]

Kawasaki and fit a Scottoiler for the chain. One thing you haven't mentioned is if there's a decent dealer nearby for each marque (unless I missed it). You're going to be hitting servicing intervals really quickly and with that mileage you are going to have to have tyre wear (though for London you have FWR).

[Ghs]

Mr_Megalomaniac said:

Hi all, starting a new job soon and the commute is going to be 3-days a week in the office with a reasonably sizeable bit of travel each way. To save time and money I will bike rather than rail as much as possible. I've whittled down a list of 11 to 3 primary candidates. I used our AI friends to estimate costs etc. and servicing as well so I'm fairly comfortable on all that.

What I would like to hear from is anyone who has test ridden or owned these and can provide some practical first-hand insight?
For context, it's 8k-12k miles a year, mix of motorway, A-road, and London traffic. My options currently:
1. Kawasaki Versys 650
2. Moto Guzzi V85 TT
3. Benelli TRK 702

I'm slightly leaning towards to V85 partly because of the shaft drive & cruise control. But seems the economy on the Versys is better and it does have a better Euro emissions rating (to head off any ULEZ changes in future).
I'll keep it for 7+ years until its run into the ground so depreciation isn't a concern, but servicing, maintenance, running costs, insurance, and most of all ride-ability/comfort is a big factor.

Thanks in advance

Try the seat on the Kawasaki , mines a nightmare & speaking to the salesman he said there all like that ( kawasakis ) , ive tried a few , 1100sx , z900rs & I didn’t find either much of a improvement , though the rs was a little better .
If I do buy another bike I doubt I’ll buy another Kawasaki due to the comfort , though sat on a 1,000 hornet & that was just as bad as the z900 .
I didn’t take it out but sat on a Ducati monster & that seat felt much better straight away .
Best of luck with whatever you buy .

[Ghs]

When I say sit on it , I mean take it for a 30 mile ride , 15 miles is enough for me , 100 mile round trip the other weekend was torture .

[T6 vanman]

Personally I'd take the MG V85 but it's the expensive option,

For cheapness I'd be looking at the Kawasaki Z Hybrid at around £5.5 for a 0 mile demo

[djsmith74]

How about the Honda NC750X, as you can have the option of the DCT gearbox which may help with city / traffic riding. The frunk is pretty useful, and it should be pretty bulletproof as a commuter.

[Drawweight]

djsmith74 said:

How about the Honda NC750X, as you can have the option of the DCT gearbox which may help with city / traffic riding. The frunk is pretty useful, and it should be pretty bulletproof as a commuter.

This seems to be recommended by a lot of commentators.

Was this one of the ones you discounted?

[Mr_Megalomaniac]

Thanks all for the replies, greatly appreciated. I should have added, on cost I'm mentally targeting under ~£6k for a used under ~10k miles example and have found at least one of each.

Ghs said:

When I say sit on it , I mean take it for a 30 mile ride , 15 miles is enough for me , 100 mile round trip the other weekend was torture .

Thanks, good suggestion - I am a bit concerned about this sort of thing. I'm relatively tall so ergonomics is a factor.

T6 vanman said:

Personally I'd take the MG V85 but it's the expensive option,

For cheapness I'd be looking at the Kawasaki Z Hybrid at around £5.5 for a 0 mile demo

Thanks - I did take a look at it but eventually figured the power would be a limitation for the motorway segment and ultimately decided against it on that basis. I love the general idea of a hybrid bike though, very attractive.

Drawweight said:

djsmith74 said:

How about the Honda NC750X, as you can have the option of the DCT gearbox which may help with city / traffic riding. The frunk is pretty useful, and it should be pretty bulletproof as a commuter.

This seems to be recommended by a lot of commentators.

Was this one of the ones you discounted?

Thanks - yes it was although not based on paper but because I had ridden one several years ago and left feeling very deflated about it. I didn't enjoy the ride or the vibration. It's possible things have improved since pre-covid but that was my reason for excluding it originally.

I suppose to add to the original question, vibration (NVH, really) is something I'm mindful of given the time I'll be spending on the bike.

[mrdelazouch]

What's your budget for the bike?

[Mr_Megalomaniac]

mrdelazouch said:

What's your budget for the bike?

Ideally around ~£6k, looking at used and under ~10k miles on the clock
If I have to go up a bit I can but I know I'll keep it until it's worth £0 so not wanting to go too crazy on things.

[FoolsErrand]

Did you already whittle a V-Strom off your list? The 800 engine seems to get good reviews.

[RoadToad84]

I own a V85 so somewhat biased, but I'd highly recommend.

All day comfort, later models (should be available within budget) are Euro5 and tubeless. Real world 60mpg, shaft drive, cruise control is superb. Basic, low stressed engine is supremely reliable and simple to service. Tyre life from Michelin Anakee Adventures is astonishingly good (14k and counting from my originalfront with plenty of tread left, at least 8k on the rear, with plenty of tread but admittedly squared off).

[mrdelazouch]

What about Tracer 900/900 GT?

[Mr_Megalomaniac]

FoolsErrand said:

Did you already whittle a V-Strom off your list? The 800 engine seems to get good reviews.

Not exactly on a model basis per se; I had a zook before and it munched up 6th gear, so I've been weary ever since. But, that was a completely different model and I know that both of the smaller V-Strom models do in fact get solid reviews and are comparable to these bikes.

RoadToad84 said:

I own a V85 so somewhat biased, but I'd highly recommend.

All day comfort, later models (should be available within budget) are Euro5 and tubeless. Real world 60mpg, shaft drive, cruise control is superb. Basic, low stressed engine is supremely reliable and simple to service. Tyre life from Michelin Anakee Adventures is astonishingly good (14k and counting from my originalfront with plenty of tread left, at least 8k on the rear, with plenty of tread but admittedly squared off).

Thanks for the first-hand experience. Especially wrt. tyres as on my previous bike I'd used Pilot6's and I'm not sure if they're right for the next one.

mrdelazouch said:

What about Tracer 900/900 GT?

I confess I hadn't looked much into it, but like the V-Strom seems like a serious contender to do the job.

I guess it's starting to be a consideration between: shaft-drive cruise control (1 option) or chain-drive efficient good all-rounders (4 options).

I'm starting to think this might get settled on insurance costs.

[teddosan]

Triumph Tiger Sport 660? I've got the 2026, but 2-3 years old, sub 10k miles can be had for under £6k. It's perfect for my commute into London on a mix of country lanes, motorway/A road and central London snarl ups. Relatively light and nimble, but still more than sprightly enough to get up to speed quickly. Am getting about 55mpg from mine long term, and with a top box on I have enough storage space for my work stuff without compromising my filtering ability with panniers.

Appreciate it's not on your list and if you've already discounted it then fair enough. If not, though, definitely work a look.

[srob]

I spoke to a salesman I know who sells those Benellis and he reckoned he's sold loads, and they're one of the few bikes he's known that they've never had a single one come back with any issues.

I realise he's a salesman so he has a dog in the fight, but I wasn't (and I'm not) looking to buy so it was mentioned in a general chat.

I think they look good for the money.

[FoolsErrand]

RoadToad84 said:

I own a V85 so somewhat biased, but I'd highly recommend.

I like these, but the vibrations on the demo V7 I tried was like riding a concrete mixer. Are they not an issue on the V85s? I enjoyed it for an hour on the V7 but having that on a regular commute would have me pause for thought.

[Mr_Megalomaniac]

teddosan said:

Triumph Tiger Sport 660? I've got the 2026, but 2-3 years old, sub 10k miles can be had for under £6k. It's perfect for my commute into London on a mix of country lanes, motorway/A road and central London snarl ups. Relatively light and nimble, but still more than sprightly enough to get up to speed quickly. Am getting about 55mpg from mine long term, and with a top box on I have enough storage space for my work stuff without compromising my filtering ability with panniers.

Appreciate it's not on your list and if you've already discounted it then fair enough. If not, though, definitely work a look.

Thanks for suggesting this. Seems the service intervals will favour my longer commute and it's actually quite a compact form factor so that's good around the city.

srob said:

I spoke to a salesman I know who sells those Benellis and he reckoned he's sold loads, and they're one of the few bikes he's known that they've never had a single one come back with any issues.

I realise he's a salesman so he has a dog in the fight, but I wasn't (and I'm not) looking to buy so it was mentioned in a general chat.

I think they look good for the money.

Agreed. It's interesting that the Benelli and the Kawasaki are reported to have bullet-proof reliability by the sound of it. I haven't had much experience of Moto Guzzi to be able to tell.

FoolsErrand said:

I like these, but the vibrations on the demo V7 I tried was like riding a concrete mixer. Are they not an issue on the V85s? I enjoyed it for an hour on the V7 but having that on a regular commute would have me pause for thought.

Thanks for flagging. I did some reading on it, apparently the V85 isn't just a refinement, it's supposedly a very different motor. Reportedly being smoother overall but that's obviously subjective. One reviewer noted it's a bit "vibey" above 130kph

[Bob_Defly]

Are you parking it in London? If so I'd go for something that doesn't look that nickable.

If I was buying a commuter I'd be looking for something from Honda or Yamaha.

[Mr_Megalomaniac]

Bob_Defly said:

Are you parking it in London? If so I'd go for something that doesn't look that nickable.

If I was buying a commuter I'd be looking for something from Honda or Yamaha.

Yes I shall be. There is some secure parking nearby but in the event it's full, street parking might be required.
Do you reckon any of the above (mine and other's recommendations) are less nickable? Not sure if there's a website with some data or stats on which bikes are more likely targets?