It's another what bike thread, sorry!

[arry]

I am sorry, I truly am, but it's gonna have to be...

Basically, current CBR600 is getting old and I've had it near 3 years I think, which is a long time. It's only my second bike, first one being a GPZ500.

The Honda is cracking, it does literally everything, it's comfy, decent tank range, handles well, goes well, reliable etc etc etc - but I can't bring myself to particularly love it, as there's not a lot of character to it.

In terms of riding style, I'm not particularly crazy through the lanes, I don't need something that sticks to the road like glue whilst leant over on a 75degree tilt - I'm ploddy, safe, non lairy type.

I do a fair few motorway miles (work stuff mainly) and the roads I ride the most are fast ish A roads.

I don't 'need' my bike as it's not a main form of transport nor do I regularly commute on it.

I'd like to go touring at some point, so this is a consideration.

I have about £3k to spend, potentially £4k for the right bike.

Things I've considered lately:
CB1300
GSX1400
Monster
Aprilia Shiver

Test ridden a GSX and the Shiver. Loved the GSX in terms of how smooth it was, but ultimately quite unexcited by it. The Shiver was great while I was cracking on a bit, but rubbish when I just wanted to settle into a cruise, hopeless on motorways.

Things I'm now considering:
Tiger 955i

Anything else that ticks the different / interesting box?

[Frost]

Thought about a Pan european? Great on the motorway, you could tour all of europe on one, surprisingly nippy on the twisty bits too! I saw one do a track day once.
Slightly older, but perhaps a blackbird?
ZX12?
Aprillia Futura?
Or if you're thinking about the triumph you might as well consider the KTM adventure and the GS1200 BMW.
There are plenty of large capacity classic style bikes about which would no doubt commute and tour well, but you'd have to be a manly man to put up with the battering from the wind on long motorway trips.

So in summary, you're likely to want something with a fairing, probably >600cc with a bit of fun factor?

[Im-a-Ridah]

How much of a factor is fuel economy for you?

[arry]

[arry]

[Reid]

Considered a Multistrada?

The 1000DS is right around your price range and seems to fit the bill. Ducati excitement/badge without feeling like a homologation special on your back and wrists. It'll do the relaxed-round-town thing and cruise motorways comfortably and can be thrown about the twisties in case you feel like it. Not as much final power as the i4's you've been looking at but the v-twin'll give you access to them a bit easier and sounds more like the sort of engine you're after. Certainly worth a look at.

The Tiger and GS are both solid options too that seem to fit the bill but if you want something that feels special and exciting...

[Seb]

https://img363.imageshack.us/img363/3849/22052008023yb5.jpg

Best overall bike I've ever owned, but they do have a few gotchas and caveats...

As far as plusses go: It's far more agile than it's size might suggest, the suspension is softer than the Millies but still well damped making it imo easier to hustle along bumpy A and B roads than some flightier sports bikes (I was quicker down the torpoint twisties on my Futura than I was on my ZX9 or SP1), the engine is significantly detuned from the Millie and has little of the lumpiness at the bottom end and with the updated ECU map the fuelling is pretty much perfect. It's also a supreme motorway blaster, the seat and riding position is one of the best combos out there and it's surprisingly fuel efficient at cruising speeds to boot.

On the downside: The biggest issue with them is that they don't crash well. The radiators are side mounted and the plastics are both numerous and expensive. Stock mirrors that still have a working flip up mechanism are likely collectors items by now . The smoother power delivery from the motor comes at the price of a redline that's 2k rpm down on the Millie, that combined with the lower gearing makes it run out of revs surprisingly quick, whilst it's got plenty of torque, you can't really just chuck it in a gear and ride it like a twist and go in the same way you can on something like a ZX9.

Beyond that they have a multitude of stupid italian cock-ups that are cheap to sort out up front but can potentially bite you with horrific consequences if you ignore them (a badly shielded section of wire, an underspecced connector and a fuel line quick release that's allergic to the fuel it carries ). Don't be too scared by that though, keep on top of the servicing and don't let the battery get low and the motor will never let you down.
____________________
2010 Triumph 1050 Sprint ST

[arry]

[arry]

[Seb]

The niggles are all cheap little parts, they won't cause damage over the bikes lifetime, they'll leave you sat at the roadside looking at a dead bike or worse, a bonfire

The fuel line quick release is the most critical one, it's a little plastic connector that is supposed to make taking the tank off easily, trouble is the plastic they isn't resistant to petrol and hence turns to tissue paper over the course of 3 or 4 years. The moment it takes a knock or gets tugged it quite literally crumbles (when I took mine off I could roll it up into a ball with 2 fingers) leaving a fuel line spewing fuel onto the top of your engine

A less documented issue is the shielding protecting the wiring that goes under the front cylinder, it's not taped at the top out of the factory and will potentially fill up with water causing the wiring inside to gradually rot away. I was lucky that I had a sparky for a mate willing to take up the challenge and figure out what was going on without charging me a fortune to do it.

Lastly the brown block, it's well documented and can hinder amount of charge that makes it's way back to the battery, personally I didn't worry about this so much, I just made a note of charging the battery overnight every once in a while. Just keep in mind that letting the battery go flat with these rotax engines can get scarily expensive, whilst the Futura's clocks don't seem anything like as skittish as those fitted on it's sister bikes, it can still suffer from a worn sprag clutch which is serious bad news. In short, if the battery is low, don't bother trying to start it.

I'm kind of surprised the insurance was high on it, mine was less than half the price of my ZX9 or SP1 to insure, seemed comparable to a sports 600 for me.
____________________
2010 Triumph 1050 Sprint ST

[arry]

That's great info, thanks

I'm really liking the exclusivity factor, the rarity, interesting and quirky nature - it also seems it does everything pretty well, so it will suit what I'm after.

Battery thing sounds interesting - I'll give that a read up. I don't really have anywhere I can use an optimiser on it with as there's no real sunlight gets into my batcave where the bike is stored - presume you just have to hook it up to a trickle charger? I don't use the bike that often, so that's a problem for me - my CBR has been left for 3 months without even having it turn over and has NEVER failed to start. To think leaving it that long might potentially cause damage scares me...

Insurance is insurance, I guess, I'm just a different proposition to you and probably a more risky one . Hopefully I'll be able to get something cheaper.

[Seb]

Glad to help , they were vastly underrated bikes right from the outset despite getting glowing reviews from the press. They were pretty pricey from new which coupled with the whole italian unreliability reputation of the day put people off getting them from new. They've crept back up a little in price over the last year mind.

I wouldn't really classify it as a posers bike, whilst it's aged brilliantly in terms of looks, the colossal exhaust system mutes the engine note down to near enough nothing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujYoMY3bwQU is probably the best example of what they really sound like as stock. If you want some noise you'll need to try and hunt down a bike with Staintunes, Befs or Quills fitted, just keep in mind that for motorway work, the stock exhaust is actually rather pleasant.

As for the deal with the battery, lift the seat, pop 4 screws and it's clean out, I just used to huff in indoors and top it up overnight maybe once every month or so. My commute is pretty short which didn't help the issue, a longer ride should be even less so but I'd still keep an eye on it to be safe. Quite a few long termers went with beefed up batteries as a further precaution too.

if you want more info to graze over have a look on https://www.apriliaforum.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=14

You'll find pretty much anything you need to know from that lot, just don't mention you ride a Honda
____________________
2010 Triumph 1050 Sprint ST

[arry]

Legend

As for exhaust noise - quieter the better IMO. Not one for lairy cans, I like my neighbours too much.

Off to view a couple of them in Norfolk tomorrow. Let's hope I can come home with a good news story

[multijoy]

Are you in 'busa territory, perhaps? I'm not sure if it's a bit cliched, but may well suit a bit of sport touring.
____________________
'11 CBF1000A, '99 C90, '98 CB500
silky666: He rode amazingly well considering his bike is the weight of a small van and had slicks on.

[arry]

[arry]

So I've been to see 3 today, test ridden 1.

Things I like:
Looks
Seat
Dials
Practicality of it all

Things I dislike:
Dislike is probably strong but I'm still not sold on the engine
Wind buffetting, especially side winds!
Bars feel a bit far forward for what it is
Mirrors rattled around awful

Admittedly it was bloody windy today, and it was out in the flat planes of Norfolk, so it's to be expected, but I really couldn't believe how much the bike slewed around in the wind.

Anyway, the best of the 3 condition wise was an orange one on a Y plate with 15k on the clock, but no panniers with it. Now not being funny, but what's the point of a sports tourer with luggage not coming with the luggage? Am I right in thinking they'll be gold-dust to pick up cheap?

The one I'd more likely buy was a Stream Silver 2002 bike with 14k on the clock. Said it had full history but it doesn't really - it's not got massive gaps in the history but it's hardly full either, especially given mileage is low. 2 things concerned me:

1) Dealer can't tell me if any of the fixes described above have been done, and they're an Aprilia agent - so, err...
2) When I got there he said he'd had to take the battery off charge as it failed to start earlier because the alarm had drained it. Am I right in thinking this is bad, bad news?

[Flip]

[arry]

[Flip]

[arry]

[DrDonnyBrago]

TBH the CBR6 sounds ideal but as you want a change how about a CBR with a bit more push, a 954 fireblade for instance?

Less sporty, how about the VFR800?


Got to be honest I have been having the exact thoughts you have (CBR6 for a few years, want something different but keep deciding the CBR is pretty much perfect for my needs). I was considering a VFR, 929 blade, zx9R, Speed triple, street triple, bandit 12, VTR1000F firestorm, TL1000S, choice depending on whatever I figured I intended on doing with it.

[Seb]

[arry]

So I went off today and tried the Sprint. Liked it so much I ended up buying it

[Okeydokey]

nice one, pics would be appreciated!
____________________
Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruitsalad!
YB100 v. Ford Sierra (1982 I came 2nd place) Honda H100S (Currently 0 - 0) CX500 Cafe project (me 1 - wife 0.... maybe!)

[arry]