Thinking about something slower...but fun!
Discussion
So I’ve been riding 4 years now, gone from a z750, to SV1000, to 675 street triple and now 765 street triple RS
Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love my Triumph, but I’ve noticed roads increasingly going from what was NSL to 50/40mph. As we all know, it’s far too easy to go quick on newer machines.
I’ve thought about selling up and getting a track bike, but I don’t have anything to tow with/van so have ruled that out. Thought about getting into green laning but the prices of these bikes have rocketed and I don’t fancy paying £3-£4k for a bashed about ktm/Yamaha wr250 etc.
I’ve then been thinking about supermoto’s such as the husky 701/ktm 690. Something still capable of motorway speeds but light and nimble enough to have fun on smaller roads with lower speed limits. My misses is currently in the process of getting her bike license too, so would be nice to be doing similar speeds.
Am I crazy, does anyone else feel the same? Open to suggestions also! Or if anyone owns the above and has some insight to offer.
Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love my Triumph, but I’ve noticed roads increasingly going from what was NSL to 50/40mph. As we all know, it’s far too easy to go quick on newer machines.
I’ve thought about selling up and getting a track bike, but I don’t have anything to tow with/van so have ruled that out. Thought about getting into green laning but the prices of these bikes have rocketed and I don’t fancy paying £3-£4k for a bashed about ktm/Yamaha wr250 etc.
I’ve then been thinking about supermoto’s such as the husky 701/ktm 690. Something still capable of motorway speeds but light and nimble enough to have fun on smaller roads with lower speed limits. My misses is currently in the process of getting her bike license too, so would be nice to be doing similar speeds.
Am I crazy, does anyone else feel the same? Open to suggestions also! Or if anyone owns the above and has some insight to offer.
People buy dirt bikes and don't take them to the dirt. You will get a pristine one for the price you mention. There is a 2015 Honda CRF250 on Autotrader now for £3,800 which has no damage. Or all the parts have been replaced.
I am far from an offload expert, but if you want to go off road, buy a bike which you are happy to drop, often.
I am far from an offload expert, but if you want to go off road, buy a bike which you are happy to drop, often.
I got a new gen SV650 for exactly the same reasons.
It’s still fast but at least you can rev it before you are going too fast. The handling is what I would call honest, meaning it can be ridden hard and you feel like you are riding it hard too, again without going too fast.
I’m of the opinion that bikes now are so good that what you get from higher end is ease of riding quickly, which isn’t necessarily fun, especially if it means going silly speeds for the bike to feel alive.
There is a lot to be said for going back to basics for riding enjoyment.
I will admit that at first I missed the down the road g you get from really fast bikes but the same way you get used to power you also get used to less power and the fact 75bhp on a bike still makes it faster than most cars you’ll see on the road, especially under 100mph, means it’s never lacking for overtakes etc.
It’s still fast but at least you can rev it before you are going too fast. The handling is what I would call honest, meaning it can be ridden hard and you feel like you are riding it hard too, again without going too fast.
I’m of the opinion that bikes now are so good that what you get from higher end is ease of riding quickly, which isn’t necessarily fun, especially if it means going silly speeds for the bike to feel alive.
There is a lot to be said for going back to basics for riding enjoyment.
I will admit that at first I missed the down the road g you get from really fast bikes but the same way you get used to power you also get used to less power and the fact 75bhp on a bike still makes it faster than most cars you’ll see on the road, especially under 100mph, means it’s never lacking for overtakes etc.
jakeharvey63 said:
What I forgot to mention is that I want to try a different genre of bike, whether that be adventure, supermoto, enduro, cruiser etc.
Buy a KTM 525 EXC. I used mine to commute on for a few years, every ride was an event. I recommend using road legal knobblies, the least suitable for road use the better. At 60 mph it felt pretty hairy/fun. It was so much fun I was always confused how it was fully road legal.conkerman said:
I have a bit of a thing for the ducati scrambler, seems ideal for the country lanes near where I live.
I rode a Desert Sled version a couple of months ago... maybe it‘s just me, but I though it was quick enough to make a mockery of normal speed limits. I rode it very sensibly, obviously, but my friend said he saw 80-100 mph on the speedo an awful lot of the time.jakeharvey63 said:
What I forgot to mention is that I want to try a different genre of bike, whether that be adventure, supermoto, enduro, cruiser etc.
That's why I swapped my lightly modded FZ-09 for a Triumph Tiger 900. It's slower, but I love riding it slower too. The FZ-09 was always straining to go faster.I went out for a few hours with a beginner rider recently, and didn't get frustrated with riding slower at all, had a great day. On a faster bike I would have not had a great day.
Just posted similar in another thread but essentially
Try everything and see what fits !
Does it matter if the bike is bashed up as long as you get your money back when you sell it ?
I bought my 450 KTM 3 yrs ago for £2k it's currently worth £3k but when I'm researching many bikes I'm finding they were selling for less 10 yrs ago !
Try everything and see what fits !
Does it matter if the bike is bashed up as long as you get your money back when you sell it ?
I bought my 450 KTM 3 yrs ago for £2k it's currently worth £3k but when I'm researching many bikes I'm finding they were selling for less 10 yrs ago !
How about a vintage Honda CB400R? Imports all of them but they are so much fun and rev to18k. You will be buzzing through the first half of the box before you realise you're only doing 50mph. Classic bike too so uber cheap insurance and they hold their money.
https://youtu.be/6E4EPb8vkKM
https://youtu.be/6E4EPb8vkKM
Felt exactly the same way, had a hayabusa for 4 years or so it's so easy to go very quickly on, this yr decided to find a smaller bike that's fun, fancied a 690ktm smcr, but dismissed as a bit to focused, decided either ktm790 road bike or an aprilia shiver...... bought neither, I got a brand new aprilia 900 dorsoduro, it supermoto enough to be fun, but big and heavy enough to do reasonable distance but at more legal speeds. Only downside so far is small fuel tank, but 100 odd miles to a tanks ok. And the vtwin engine is a peach, so smooth and torquey.
Still got my hayabusa just incase I fall out with it tho.
Still got my hayabusa just incase I fall out with it tho.
jakeharvey63 said:
I’ve thought about selling up and getting a track bike, but I don’t have anything to tow with/van so have ruled that out. Thought about getting into green laning but the prices of these bikes have rocketed and I don’t fancy paying £3-£4k for a bashed about ktm/Yamaha wr250 etc.
Pay 5k for a brand new honda crf300, new model.LordFlathead said:
How about a vintage Honda CB400R? Imports all of them but they are so much fun and rev to18k. You will be buzzing through the first half of the box before you realise you're only doing 50mph. Classic bike too so uber cheap insurance and they hold their money.
https://youtu.be/6E4EPb8vkKM
Check parts coverage before you buy anything over 10 years old though, some parts can be tricky if not impossible to get hold of on older bikes.https://youtu.be/6E4EPb8vkKM
A500leroy said:
Check parts coverage before you buy anything over 10 years old though, some parts can be tricky if not impossible to get hold of on older bikes.
Generally not an issue with Hondas. David Silver will supply almost anything (for a cost!) but many parts are common across the ranges and span many generations!
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