Motorbike and scooter owners.

[Smudge]

hear the bike scraping on the corners, ok if you aint paying to fix it

Its just the footboards touching down, no big deal. You get used to metal touching the tarmac riding a cruiser.

 

[DSK]

I'm going to enjoy flicking through this thread as I have 14 pages to catch up on.

I started out on a 2000 Kawasaki ZX6R J1. It was awesome and I kept for it for 9 years. I now have a 2007 Suzuki GSXR-1000. 7,000 miles, FSH, Yoshimura exhausts, R&G radiator guard and a Powerbronze hugger. Amazingly comfortable, easy to ride, very flexible engine, drives smooth and clean from 1,800rpm so can be ridden like a twist-n-go.

 

[T.M.H.N.E.T]

A fine machine indeed

 

[Electric_Andy]

Advice please.

I'm selling my SV650 becasue it's too uncomfortable for me (hurts my wrists and back after 10 minutes).

I'm looking for something with an upright riding position, as light as possible (need to wheel it around sometimes) but needs to be fast enough to out drag cars at the lights when I filter to the front.

Currently thinking:
Mash 400 (love the look, but worried about parts availability, and 29bhp)
Royal Enfield Bullet 500 (only 26bhp?)
The KTM Duke 690 is too high for me, and they seem pricey.
Other supermotos are again a bit high and too pricey.

Any other suggestions? Would mostly be used for dry (4 mile) commutes and sunny sundays. Don't suggest a bicycle, it's not feasible for a number of reasons I won't go into

 

[Smudge]

Advice please.

I'm selling my SV650 becasue it's too uncomfortable for me (hurts my wrists and back after 10 minutes).

I'm looking for something with an upright riding position, as light as possible (need to wheel it around sometimes) but needs to be fast enough to out drag cars at the lights when I filter to the front.

Currently thinking:
Mash 400 (love the look, but worried about parts availability, and 29bhp)
Royal Enfield Bullet 500 (only 26bhp?)
The KTM Duke 690 is too high for me, and they seem pricey.
Other supermotos are again a bit high and too pricey.

Any other suggestions? Would mostly be used for dry (4 mile) commutes and sunny sundays. Don't suggest a bicycle, it's not feasible for a number of reasons I won't go into

Yamaha MT07 or the XSR700 version. Comfy, about the same power as your SV, good mpg and bulletproof reliability. Easy cheap servicing with valve check only every 24K miles. Pretty light at 180kg.

 

[Smudge]

Also, Honda CB500X and Kawasaki Versys 650.

 

[Hacienda71]

I had a few scooters back in the late eighties:

1974 Vespa 50N
1979 Vespa 50 Special
1978 Vespa V90
1966 Vespa 125 Super
1972 Vespa 150 Super
1971 Lambretta Lui Vega
1964 Lambretta Li150 Series 2

Aged 16 I could strip an engine to it's individual parts and reassemble it. Suspect I could still do it now. Sold them all for peanuts before they became ridiculously priced.

 

[Oldfentiger]

Advice please.

I'm selling my SV650 becasue it's too uncomfortable for me (hurts my wrists and back after 10 minutes).

I'm looking for something with an upright riding position, as light as possible (need to wheel it around sometimes) but needs to be fast enough to out drag cars at the lights when I filter to the front.

Currently thinking:
Mash 400 (love the look, but worried about parts availability, and 29bhp)
Royal Enfield Bullet 500 (only 26bhp?)
The KTM Duke 690 is too high for me, and they seem pricey.
Other supermotos are again a bit high and too pricey.

Any other suggestions? Would mostly be used for dry (4 mile) commutes and sunny sundays. Don't suggest a bicycle, it's not feasible for a number of reasons I won't go into

Perfect excuse to buy a Ducati Monster. Whichever one suits your budget, they’re all a hoot to ride.

 

[Electric_Andy]

Perfect excuse to buy a Ducati Monster. Whichever one suits your budget, they’re all a hoot to ride.

I hadn't considered that. My budget is 2.5k really and I've not seen any in my area for that. They do look nice, but they also remind me of a Bandit a bit! The sensible answers are sounding good, if a bit pricey, but I suppose you get what you pay for. I just thought about the Mash and the RE Bullet becasue I like the look and the idea of a sedate 30hp. I'd definetely need to test ride one first, in case they're too slow.

 

[Biff600]

My 1st bike after passing the test, Suzuki GSXR600,

I got bored with the 600 after a few months so bought an Aprilia RSV1000 in Nori Haga colours

The Aprilia was ok, but I needed something a bit more comfortable for my regular trips to Portsmouth, so bought my 1st Hayabusa

Great fun (in a straight line) but wanted something a bit more sporty so traded it for a Suzuli GSXR 1000 K4

The the girlie that I had took up with wanted to ride pillion, so it was time to move the K4 along and buy my 2nd Hayabusa

Always after a change, I traded the Hayabusa for my 2nd GSXR 1000, this time the K7 model

The GSXR went last year as I didn't have the time to ride it with work and one thing and another

 

[keithmac]

Advice please.

I'm selling my SV650 becasue it's too uncomfortable for me (hurts my wrists and back after 10 minutes).

I'm looking for something with an upright riding position, as light as possible (need to wheel it around sometimes) but needs to be fast enough to out drag cars at the lights when I filter to the front.

Currently thinking:
Mash 400 (love the look, but worried about parts availability, and 29bhp)
Royal Enfield Bullet 500 (only 26bhp?)
The KTM Duke 690 is too high for me, and they seem pricey.
Other supermotos are again a bit high and too pricey.

Any other suggestions? Would mostly be used for dry (4 mile) commutes and sunny sundays. Don't suggest a bicycle, it's not feasible for a number of reasons I won't go into

The Bullet 500 (EFI) is an excellent bike, will go forever if looked after. They aren't the fastest thing in the world but definitely worth a test ride on one.

 

[MarkF]

I watched the Mash story with interest having seen loads of the things in Barcelona. I wouldn't buy one even though they are what l like. You are not buying into a guaranteed parts supply, especially with so many variations of (supposedly) the same motorcycle from (supposedly) the same factory......alarm bells should ring if they can't even get the right "CC" figure on the bike decals.

£2:5k l'd be tempted by a mint MT03 660cc thumper, it's the sort of slow seller that becomes a wanted bike in the future.

 

[Electric_Andy]

MT03

Funny, I was just looking at one of those. I don't do many long rides now, so it would seem a sensible option if I can find a good one for that money. I did test ride an MT-07 a couple years ago, and it seemed like my head was bowing down over the front wheel (maybe I've got short arms), so that might be a limiting factor, but worth a look thanks

 

[MarkF]

Funny, I was just looking at one of those. I don't do many long rides now, so it would seem a sensible option if I can find a good one for that money. I did test ride an MT-07 a couple years ago, and it seemed like my head was bowing down over the front wheel (maybe I've got short arms), so that might be a limiting factor, but worth a look thanks

I am keeping my eye out for one within reasonable distance, like a modern version of the favourite bike I've owned, the Honda Dominator 650.

I saw a CB300 for sale recently, 3k miles, mint for £2:5k, only 31hp but then only 143kg, they look fun and economical to run. They might suit the OP?

https://www.motorcyclenews.com/bike-reviews/honda/cb300r/2018/

 

[Electric_Andy]

Yeah that looks good. Anything like that will do, just light enough to be easier for pushing around when needed, just enough power to get away from cars at the front of the lights. I also looked at the KTM390 but not sure about reliability. I still love the Royal Enfield in army colours, but the only one I've seen is £3800 which is more than I want to spend.