What bike next?

[DanceLikeAMon...]

It's the time of a year when a young man's thoughts turn to what bike he should get for next spring...

(Alright, I know it's a long way off, but I'll have to scrape some cash together and if I could buy it over the winter I could get a bargain.)

The GS500 is starting to look a little tatty, and my restriction period ends in April. I only use the bike for the journey to work and back and the odd little pootle(?) around, as my hand starts to ache if I do more than that, so I don't need anything fast (the GS is more than enough for me), but I fancy a better looking bike, something more sit up and beggy - I love the look of bikes like the Bonneville but want to keep the cost below £2k if possible.

Anyone got any thoughts?

Oh, and the newer the better because I can't be arsed to keep on having to fix things!

Ta for any opinions...

<Columbo voice>Oh, just one more thing, It has to be bigger than a 125. </Columbo voice>

[tony532]

what about an older yamaha fazer?.

they have a sit up and beg style to them but with plenty of low down grunt for a bit of fun in the twisties.
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bikes owned :-

aprilia rs125 - suzuki gsxr400rrsp 1990 - yamaha yzf600r thundercat - honda hornet 6

[mr.z]

[instigator]

Did you see the Bandit Tom aka Dodsi got?

£1900 for a 2004 faired black bandit with less than 10k on it I think. Granted it was a bargain but it might suit you down to the ground. Faired, very reliable, decent mpg on the commute and has a decent step up in power from your Gs500.

Not sure if that's "sit up and beg" enough.

Perhaps looking at a tdm or V-strom 650 (not sure if you can get that for less than £2k though - Depends when they started making them)

[DanceLikeAMon...]

Hmm, the TDM and Bandit are still (in my eyes) a bit more sporty than sitty. Ta tho.

I might just hang onto the GS until I save up the extra cash and get a newish Bonneville instead then.

[McJamweasel]

There are going to be some cracking deals on new Bonnies in this next few weeks, the 2007 spec is being released early so dealers will be selling off stock of the 2006 spec. Might be worth thinking about a loan/finance if thats what you want.
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BCF: Be yourself, just don't be an arse.

[mr.z]

Transalp is a nice sity up bike, seat was crap, and mine had electrical problems (which i fixed, but i'd lost confidence in it) but its worth a thinkin about..

Or perhaps an old beemer?

One guy i knew had a triumph, dunno if it was a bonervill or not, it was all quite low and hunky looking.. it was very very nice, looks pants in the magazines (imo) but up close it was lurvely..
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>RidingSkills<->Tech Tips<->MyBikes<

[DanceLikeAMon...]

[mr.z]

Hey its not like it a pair of shoes

F650 is a good one to look at, dunno what sort of price they are going for though..

The dealer bloke was probably right though, runing an 800 5miles a day probaly wont do it much good (it'll never even get warmed up!)

Maybe you should just get some new bars for the gs


Is there any possibility of getting a cheapo runnabout for work and a shiney toy bike? mz250 or something to get to work and back on.. i dunno, maybe wait till your restrictions up, plenty of time to kick tyres at dealers
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>RidingSkills<->Tech Tips<->MyBikes<

[garadan]

you should definitely look at the Vstrom, I am on an A2 license and I have ridden the restricted and un restricted versions, and unless you are looking to do over a ton then you wont notice much difference. plus the fuel economy goes up quite nicely with the restricter kit fitted