Another Which Bike Thread...

[jaxx]

I've been looking for a new bike, having been knocked off the Benly, which was promptly written off by the insurance company. I have also sold the GSXR, so I am completely bike-less at the mo.

Right, Ill be as concise as possible.
Budget is upto about £1200.
I am not a tart, I dont mind if they are a bit scruffy, but it needs to be mechanically sound, & low/cheap maintinence.
I need to be able to use it 365 days a year, whatever the weather.
Journeys are usually within 25miles, but I sometimes go out for a ride with others - Speed Triple, R1, VFR, etc, so would like to be able to keep pace, at least a little...
I do carry passengers, normally my 11yr old daughter, who loves a bit of (sensible) speed
I'm open to almost any size & style of bike, not a huge fan of cruisers thou...
I've previously owned lots of different bikes, TS, RD, TDR, CB, GSXR, H100, so really not too fussy.

I've been leaning towards the usual brace of 5/600cc, Blandit, Hornet, etc, but was wondering what the masses of BCF would suggest.

If I've missed anything, point it out, and I'll fix it, for any help

Cheers
Jack

[Wafer_Thin_Ham]

Hornet 600.
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[pinkyfloyd]

The bandit 1200 you could probably get for your budget. Big enough to keep up with the rest of the bikes and cheap enough to use all year.
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illuminateTHEmind wrote: I am just more evolved than most of you guys... this allows me to pick of things quickly which would have normally taken the common man years to master
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Teflon-Mike:I think I agree with just about all Pinky has said.

[nowhere.elysium]

Both of the above are good ones: the Bandit 12 is guaranteed to keep up with most things, and the Hornet 6 is probably the best of the naked 600 I4s.

I would love to own a tricked out bandit 12. Get one of the old pre-2006 ones, though, because they're oil cooled and just better. Wouldn't bother with the FI ones, myself.
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'10 SV650SF, '83 GS650GT (it lives!), Questionable DIY dash project, 3D Printer project, Lasercutter project

[.Bishbash.]

Definitely the Hornet, better build quality IMO, and power wheelie nicely as well.
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Current bike - GSX-R1000 k8

[bacon]

Zx7r? They go cheap, they are like a heavy torquey 600 really, and very stable on uk roads. Riding postition is quite forward biased but not uncomfortable.

Mine has had nothing go wrong with it (except service items, i.e tyres, front wheel bearings-MOT advisory) since buying it nearly a year ago and 6.5k miles later.

Weak points are the stock calipers (winter destroys the dust seals, bandit 1200 nissins 4 pots are perfect replacements and cost bugger all) and the stock downpipes (find one with stainless downpipes already fitted).

[jaxx]

[jaxx]

Also, SV650?

[Yarri]

cbr600f ofcourse
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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

[Pernig]

A ZX7R I have been drooling over for ages.

[jaxx]

[pinkyfloyd]

[Darth]

What he said ^^^
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Harold_Shand wrote: I suppose it's like anything, you get your fingers burned when you start out, you learn from it and eventually become a complete arsehole about the whole thing.

[Robby]

Your requirements can be met by just about anything, so people are just to recommend the bike that they have. This is because all bikes in that envelope feel broadly the same to ride.

So I would just have a few test rides on anything 500-1200cc and buy the one with the least rust and newest tyres. Test rides are important though, you'll find the ergonomics terrible on some bikes.

[tk338]

[jaxx]