Bike decisions..

[St0rmer66]

Finally the time has come! My restriction ended on the 3rd March (though I'm sure the restrictors "fell out" about a year ago ) and I'm on the lookout for another bike for Summer.

I've narrowed it down to a few choices, but would like some views of people who've ridden some of them.

- Aprilia RSV-R (2001-2002)
- Honda VTR SP-1/2
- GSXR 600/750 (anywhere from 2004-2007 really)
- Kawasaki ZX6R (2005/06 underseat exhaust 636cc model)

Quite some variation there, so I'll try explain a bit.

The Aprilia seems like a nice big chunky bike, probably a much better fit for me (6'1") than some of the others but my only worry is whether the engine will be a bit boring. I've ridden an Aprilia Falco which has a very similar engine and while it was fast, it just didn't feel very exciting. To be fair, it was only a short test ride.. so I'd like some other views on this.

The Honda is similar in many ways to the Aprilia, love the sound of the gear driven cams and it just seems quite "special", but comfort and tank range are the disadvantages this time.

GSXR600/750, sat on someone's K4/5 (not sure which.. sagalout's bike) and comfort wise it seemed fine. Would probably prefer the slipper clutch etc from the later model though if the riding position is similar (anyone?). The indecisiveness between the 600 and 750 is that I'm not sure if the 600 would be a big enough power jump from my SV to make it worth while. Comparing the 750cc IL4 to the 1000cc twins is a much fairer comparison, though the newer 600 will undoubtedly be lighter than the older twins.

ZX6R (636), love the looks and the engine is probably just enough more power than the other 600's to make it seem a big step up from my SV. My only worry with this.. the size. I saw one at Squires cafe and it looked like a toy! I fear I would look ridiculous and feel very cramped on it! Any thoughts on this?

If anyone has some other suggestions of similar-ish bikes then feel free to say . Has to be a sportsbike, but I want reasonable tank range (i.e. not the <100 mile tank range of Ducati's) and comfort to be "okay" (typical sportsbike comfort isn't great, but not a torture rack either).

J-.
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:: Honda XR 125 L ('53) => Kawasaki GPZ 500S ('02) => Suzuki SV650S ('00) => Aprilia RSV-R ('51) ::

[sagalout]

[mark83]

The SP1/2 is always going to be more expensive than the RSV.

Hence I'd go for an RSV (unless you're dead set on the SP series).

Other than that, sounds like you need to make your mind up whether you want another twin or an IL4!
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Kawasaki ER6n -> Honda CBR600RR -> Honda VTR 1000 -> Moto Guzzi Norge 1200
Buy my Mercedes 350 Sport AMG Evo

[Yarri]

Honda VTR SP-1/2
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Theory Passed: 23/10/2008 49/74 Bike Test Passed: 05/01/2009 1 minor
Theory Car Passed: 22/07/2009 48/74 Car Test Passed: 22/10/2009 2 minor
Few minutes of life of the biker could be more interesting then the whole lifes of many people

[Blackwolf]

Im in the same prediciment, would love an SP1, or a 636....
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Current: Ducati Multistrada 1200s

[St0rmer66]

There's a nice GSXR750 K3 (older than I wanted but wait for the rest...) in the local Suzuki dealer. It has: Rizla paint-job, Ohlins forks, Ohlins shock, Ohlins steering damper, brembo calipers and master cylinder, unknown rearsets, some wavy disks (again unknown) and a full Yoshimura system and remap (so I assume a hidden PC III). Getting a test ride tomorrow to see what it's like . Overall it has about £4k of extras, price is at £4250 (but I will haggle it down a bit). Looking around a STANDARD K3 will go for about £3.5k private, so £4250 from a dealer with all those extras seems damned good to me! . Hoping to test ride some other bikes too though, not gonna put all my eggs in one basket..
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:: Honda XR 125 L ('53) => Kawasaki GPZ 500S ('02) => Suzuki SV650S ('00) => Aprilia RSV-R ('51) ::

[OssY]

If you get the chance you gotta own the sp1 or 2...

[repiV]

I got rid of my Fazer for an '05 ZX636 a couple of weeks ago, and I love it. I certainly wouldn't worry about it not being a big enough step up, the Kwak is leagues ahead of the Fazer in performance terms, and the Fazer is in itself significantly faster than an SV650.

I don't have a problem with the size, but then I've never owned a sportsbike before so I don't have much to compare it to. Stopped off at the services half-way through a 200 mile motorway journey last week and I walked a bit bow-legged for a couple of minutes, so the legs certainly seem to get it but that could just be because I was using them to support myself. Certainly the CBR600 and R6 feel a lot smaller and more cramped. I'm quite short though, 5'7 and a 30" inside leg.

As a breakdown, I'd say the following:

It's torquey. It won't have linear power like your SV, but it picks up quickly and goes some from very low revs, then just pulls harder and harder up the rev range. Not like some other 600s which are a bit asthmatic until you rev the crap out of them, although you still need to keep the revs high for maximum acceleration.

Very aggressive steering. It's got BT021s on it and it just falls into corners, which feels very unstable when you're trying to do anything with it at low speed but great fun.

The brakes offer excellent stopping power and good feel, but the thing that impresses me the most is how there appears to be no fork dive under braking. The Fazer is like a pogo stick in comparison. This could be because I still haven't bothered to soften the front suspension (it's set on fully hard), but it's impressive all the same.

I like the slipper clutch. I'm sure it's totally unnecessary on the road and all that, but it means I can be lazy and abuse the gearbox. Which I take advantage of every day.

It's got a very nice noise even on the standard can, it's very quiet at low revs but the wail when you're gunning it is awesome.

It draws a surprising amount of attention too - pedestrians literally turn and gawp in droves. I'm not used to that!

The worst point is the fuel consumption. I don't know how this compares with other sportsbikes, but I'm only getting between 80 and 100 miles to reserve. Which I think works out to a paltry 29-37mpg or thereabouts. Needs filling up all the bloody time and it really hits me in the wallet.

The plastic tank is a right pain, I had to give up my magnetic tankbag for a rucksack, which is irritating to say the least. And I have nowhere to put directions now either. Worth considering, if the bike is more than a toy.

Other than that, little niggles include very vibey handlebars between 5-7k rpm, the fact that you can't display the time and the trip meter at the same time, the fact that the display just flashes "FUEL" at you when you're into reserve, in place of the clock/trip meter etc so you can't see what time it is or how many miles you've done since the light came on.

Not much bad to say about it though, it's great - and I suspect quite comfortable compared to most modern sportsbikes. Perfectly civilised machine, not the stereotypical Kwaka loonie at all, but mental when you want it to be.