It's a What Bike thread

[Jazoli]

V7's aren't reliable enough, yes they look pretty but the one my Dad owned was brand new and had several expensive failures (well they would have been expensive out of warranty)

If you want a reliable fun commuter buy a SV650, or the Honda.

[supercommuter]

cb500 all day long

[Goldfever4]

TheInternet said:

Pizzaeatingking said:

For all year round commuting, I'd get something resilient to the winter conditions and something you'll not be too precious over, even more so in a big city. Honda would probably be my choice.

Yep, this is a concern. The Honda I've earmarked is a bit too new, but I'll not feel the need to overly mollycoddle it.

I would point out that the Honda is definitely built to a budget and I had to work quite hard to stay on top of corrosion. The Guzzi might not be as reliable, but it's easier to work on if you're into that kind of thing. Plus, shaft drive, so less faffing around in the rain to keep the chain clean...

The CB500X forum is excellent btw - I know you're looking at an F but loads of helpful beards and info on fundamentally the same bike.

Edited by Goldfever4 on Monday 17th February 17:25

[Goldfever4]

SamR380 said:

A V7 III should be in range at that budget, aparently much nicer to ride than the earlier models. Comes with the advantage of ABS too, which is nice for a beginner.


You could get a CB500... but would it look as good as this?

Yes, but less chrome - the newer cylinder heads and black exhausts don't lay a hand on the earlier models / yours

Edited by Goldfever4 on Monday 17th February 17:46

[stu67]

I commute into London on a Moto Guzzi V7 and it's great. Don't get me wrong it had a couple of early issues, faulty speedo and a speed sensor but apart from those warranty issues it's been fine. To be honest I'm thinking of getting a large adventure bike but still think I'll keep the Guzzi it's just a great looking bike and not as common as your Triumph T100's etc. Also big plus being old school they are really easy to maintain yourself

[nunpuncher]

The Husqvarna 401 models are down to £3999 according to all the targeted adverts I keep getting hit with.

Styling is a bit marmite (personally think they all look smart) and might be a bit theft magnet for London but I've seen a few Svartpilen's with accessories on that looked like ideal sturdy city commuters. Powerful enough and ideal compact size for a city as well.

[TheInternet]

Yep, I had a sit on one of those too (at that price) but didn't feel as at home as I did on either of the other two options. Styling is also trying a bit too hard for my liking.

[hiccy18]

Buy an old CBR600/FZS600/SV650 in the best condition you can find, keep a war chest for repairs and put the other £4k in the bank?

[sprinter1050]

Try a Kawasaki ER6n from about 2008-10.
Surprisingly good fun & easy to ride. Lusty parallel twin.
Edit: having just read your post again with a 6G budget could almost get new one?

Edited by sprinter1050 on Tuesday 18th February 21:16

[Pizzaeatingking]

TheInternet said:

Pizzaeatingking said:

For all year round commuting, I'd get something resilient to the winter conditions and something you'll not be too precious over, even more so in a big city. Honda would probably be my choice.

Yep, this is a concern. The Honda I've earmarked is a bit too new, but I'll not feel the need to overly mollycoddle it.

It's tough with a bike getting a balance of desirability combined with something that you don't feel bad about thrashing through winter and that won't disintegrate though it either.

[Hugo Stiglitz]

I'm in this choice at the moment, CB300 or CB500? 300s are a fair bit cheaper.

I won't be riding motorways, mainly town and commute (>50mph) so a bigger engine, does it make sense?

I'm 16 stone though. If that really matters.

[JulianHJ]

If you can test ride them both that might answer your question more effectively. Personally, for town riding I'd probably take advantage of the lower purchase and running costs and get the 300.

Edit: Looking at the specs of the 2022 models, the 300 appears to be around 143kg, whilst the 500F is 189kg. That's a fairly substantial weight reduction equivalent to almost half your body weight.

Edited by JulianHJ on Saturday 26th March 12:49

[black-k1]

JulianHJ said:

If you can test ride them both that might answer your question more effectively. Personally, for town riding I'd probably take advantage of the lower purchase and running costs and get the 300.

Edit: Looking at the specs of the 2022 models, the 300 appears to be around 143kg, whilst the 500F is 189kg. That's a fairly substantial weight reduction equivalent to almost half your body weight.

Edited by JulianHJ on Saturday 26th March 12:49

If you plan to bench press the bike on a regular basis then the weight difference may be important. If your plans are more about riding the bike then thd difference will likely be negligible. The torque from the larger motor will be noticeable though.

[TheInternet]

Hugo Stiglitz said:

CB300 or CB500? 300s are a fair bit cheaper.

If you were to go and sit on them I suspect you'd know straight away, the 300 being quite small. The 500 is good in the city whilst also being just about good enough for out of it too. I doubt that is true of the smaller bike.

I'd be surprised if you can't pick up an older 500F just as cheaply as the 300, but would go >2016 if you can run to it. My 500 would do 80mpg+ without trouble. I doubt overall costs are really much different between the two.

[Hugo Stiglitz]

Use ridden a sv650/cascade with ease on my mod1. It's a hateful thing. I'd ride if you gave me it but I found it cumbersome, sluggish, the polar opposite of nimble! I got on with a 66plate cb500f straight out of the box but if the price gap was 40% less it'd be a no brainer for me.

I'm never riding out of the city, never on ride outs, to the country etc. Its just a tool. To avoid football traffic, rush hour traffic etc etc.

[TheInternet]

Hugo Stiglitz said:

I'm never riding out of the city. Its just a tool.

Scooter then if you want the fastest/most convenient thing.

[Hugo Stiglitz]

The thing is scooters cost as much if not more. So I thought might as well do the DA/only takes 3 days.