Which next bike?

[jay12329]

I know this is a hard question to respond to but I'm a bit lost with what bike to get.

Been riding 6-7 years, had a Hornet, Daytona 675, BMW 1150gsa. I've ended up with a Speed four in my garage and it really doesn't do it for me!

I now don't know where to look to get my biking kicks. I loved my 675, but its too much for an everyday ride. I loved my BMW comfy for long distance 300mile tank range, just too darn heavy for me to be bothered to get out the garage and too big to filter though town.

So in essence i want a nice comfy toury big tanked, light weight flickable fun machine for every day use, that has big hard luggage.

Ideas i've had so far...
VFR 800, ?too dull?
Speed triple, <100 to a tank and not great for m-ways.
R1, Too much for commuting and not great for distance.
675 Daytona, again not great for distance or commuting through town.
Blackbird, to fat for daily use.

I love toque, but I'm not a fan of viby twins.

Stuck? I know I am. Got a couple of k and the speed four. So maybe 4k for something mega.

Am I asking the impossible? Should I just save up and have a 12 bike garage?

ta
J

[WishayKillie]

Triumph Sprint ST?

A good alrounder and a better bike than the VFR apparently.
Good for day to day use and has enough grunt to have a good blast on it
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Current; 10' Aprilia Dorsoduro 750.
Previous; 05 Triumph Daytona 600, 08' Ducati 1098s.
"Needs a check-up, fae the neck up!"

[Whosthedaddy]

Pan Euro or a Deauville? Maybe a little heavy though?

BMW F800s?
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Current : MSX 125 Past : CBR 900RR Monkeybike : c50 LAC : ZXR750 H2 : FZR600 : ZX7R P3 : YW100 : TRX850: Trophy 900 T309 : GSXR 600 L0: Monkeybike : XJ6S Whosthedaddy

[craigs23]

Street Triple, Tiger 1050?

[G]

As I've said before undoubtedly - modern litre bike for 'torque'/performance/handling.
Then modify to suit for riding position as required.

Sure you can stick some hard luggage of some kind on there if you so desire and do a bit of research.

However, a commuter and separate 'fun' bike would seem to make sense.

[Bendy]

GTR 1400

There was a black one outside Wickes on Saturday. It looked fiiiiine.

[stevo as b4]

BMW F800R? Street triple as already mentioned, or maybe a Honda CB1000R?

All the bike's you have listed have merits, and you won't get any bike that does some of the things your previous bikes did so well IMO!

Probably best to decide on the following things first:
1, how much power you want?
2, How do you want it delivered?
3, How heavy the bike can be?
4, Handling?
5, Riding position and comfort.

Style, character, re-sale value and build quality etc can all come after you have these things sorted.

BTW, i have only ever sat on a Speed four, but i think for every day use, that with some sensible mods to the riding position that they would be a hard bike to beat for fun, ease to live with etc.

A Hornet, FZ6, GSR6 etc, are all much duller, and inferior bikes than the Triumph IMO!

[MarJay]

There is an obvious and good value choice that springs to mind that nobody has mentioned yet.

Hornet 900 of course!

Or a Buell...
____________________
British beauty: Triumph Street Triple R; Loony stroker: KR1S; Track fun: GSXR750 L1; Commuter Missile: GSX-S1000F; Cheap project: CBR900RR FireBlade
Remember kids, bikes aren't like lego. You can't easily take a part from one bike and then fit it to another.

[Bendy]

We need a definition of 'too heavy' here. Yes, the BMW was a massive tank of a thing but I'm not sure it was the weight alone that annoyed you, I think it was the combination of weight and the scary new world of not having your feet flat on the floor with your knees bent. Do you think the Sprint is too heavy?

The VFR you're dismissing as 'too dull' - you haven't ridden one. Do so. The Blackbird you're dismissing on the fact that *I* thought it was 'too fat'. Me, with my crap 'width judgement' and coming straight off a CBR6. You should try one.

Speed Triple - crap tank range and naked so you can discount that. But as some people have suggested, look at the things with the same engine, the Sprint and the Tiger. Not to put too fine a point on it but there's a Sprint sat in the garage every day which you could take out and see if you liked...

R1 - generalising 10 years of bikes there. I'd say there's quite a difference between '99 and '09 and though I haven't ridden one a long way, I'd say an older one would be entirely do-able for distance and commuting. Hell I've seen couriers using them. Or go Fazer Thou, which is essentially a 'comfy R1'.

675 - yes, it's crap for distance and not an ideal commuter. But you like it - does that make you willing to put up with all the hassles?

[cajoe]

KTM 990 ticks all the boxes and best of all they're awesome fun, there is probably hard luggage compatible with them.
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Cagiva Freccia, ZXR 250A & C, KX 250, GSXR 750 K2 & SRAD, ZX6R B1h rag the masshh!

[G]

There is hard luggage compatible with them.
A 990/950 Adventure could well be a good choice as it's what a GS /should/ be. While it'd look a bit weird, you should be able to swap to SM wheels for daily use to give it a bit more 'flickability'.
Though, I don't like the wide bars of my smaller 690 for properly-tight filtering while commuting.

And yes, I doubt the blackbird is too fat for daily use - few sports-styled bikes are really wider than their bars, which is always going to be a limiting factor squeezing between rows of traffic.

I'm not sure the riding position of the R1 has changed massively over 10 years - though I reckon I'd be about ok for commuting.

[Bendy]

He rode the 990 last time, didn't like it.

[MarJay]

Fazer Thousand is the other choice.

(I actually think that a Fazer thousand is more than enough bike for anybody but people are put off by image. Nobody needs an R1 on the road but hardly anyone in the UK will admit to that. Jay, you sometimes get a bad back from riding 'extreme' sports bikes, so I'd say that you should try a steel framed Fazer 1000 and see how you go. I reckon you'll really like it.)
____________________
British beauty: Triumph Street Triple R; Loony stroker: KR1S; Track fun: GSXR750 L1; Commuter Missile: GSX-S1000F; Cheap project: CBR900RR FireBlade
Remember kids, bikes aren't like lego. You can't easily take a part from one bike and then fit it to another.

[G]

Nobody *needs* a bike with some chassis dimensions taken from a 250cc GP bike and an engine you don't have to rev over 5k rpm, but hardly any of the riders will admit that .

[MarJay]

[G]

'Practical' for what? I'd say an R1 is more practical - thinner, more power with the same torque, better wind protection, a more natural riding position and the like.

Still, my point was that saying 'need' is irrelevant as none of us 'need' a bike in the first place... it's all want want want

[_Will_]

F800GS?
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Past -Honda qr50 | 2004 Peugeot Tkr s 50| | 1996 Yamaha XJ600s Diversion|

[G]

Rode dom's Adventure and it did feel a bit weird on the road. I reckon with SM wheels on it may well feel a lot better.

The F800 is also a good shout - fairly similar to the KTM though slightly lacking the competitive edge. A lot lighter than the silly-1200.

My usual suggestion would also be a Highland, but not very 'easy'.

Though, I suspect while it probably does make a much more reasonable off-road bike, it may end up being a bit lacking in sparkle elsewhere.

I still want to make a 675-based adventure bike .