Big Naked Bikes - Yamaha XJR1300 v?

[Radis]

Sorry... another "Which Bike" thread....

I have managed to persuade my wife to sit her DAS which she will hopefully be doing in a couple of weeks pending test availability. When she passes I'll insure her on my XJ6 and she'll use that - I am using it as an excuse to buy another bike and I'm a bit torn for what to go for.

I love the look of the big nakeds but am also tempted by the big sports tourers and cruisers.

I currently commute quite a bit on the motorway ~40 miles per day on the motorway and a bit of a London town riding - ride outs for fun aren't very often, maybe once every other month, more if it is gloriously sunny like it has been. I will continue to ride through all weather so a bike that won't rot underneath me would be nice.

Budget is an absolute maximum of £2.5k, less is better though - I love the look of the Speed Triple and the XJR1300 but not sure what else I should throw in to the mix or if I could even get one of those for the kind of money I have spare. Do you lot have any opinions on which bike I should be looking at and why? I'll test ride as many as I can find before buying so all opinions welcome.

Thanks in advance

[neatbik]

Suzuki GSX1400?

A mate of mine has bought one for 2.5k, he loves it.
No idea how it compares with the XJR or the CB1300, but he seems to prefer it over them.

https://www.snichol.freeserve.co.uk/gsx1400_side.jpg

You will pick up an early Speed Triple for that money, but in my opinion (after having worked on a few) they might not be as reliable as the jap stuff.

Honda CB1300 might suit you, but of the top of my head i'm not sure how much they are going for.

[shereen]

Mr Shereen had an xjr and he frickin loved the thing - it is a BIG heavy lump though so go and sit on it first lol as it may not be suited to London town riding!

You will get an early model one for 2.5k, 2000 or 2001 maybe. They are lovely bikes and sound awesome with some nice cans on it. Really burbles and pops.

You can get a front fairing unit if you are commuting on motorways as there not too good completely naked at the front. The only problem with the unit on is I think it spoils the look of the bike. But each to their own.

With and without the unit.

https://i959.photobucket.com/albums/ae74/Clearancelines/268621_245538955458582_100000074398463_1062618_3613752_n.jpg

https://i959.photobucket.com/albums/ae74/Clearancelines/36145_1671829917192_1280701830_1813881_3487336_n.jpg

I rode it once and I was amazed at the power of the thing (Mr Shereens one had been heavily modded and tuned though)
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[KLR600]

You could pick up a ZRX1100 for that money and maybe the 1200 too. The 1200 was made with the smaller R style fairing but also a larger touring fairing too.

When I was looking to buy my current bike my list was something like this (in no order):

Suzuki Bandit 1200
Suzuki GSX1400
Honda CB1300
Kawasaki ZRX1100/1200
Yamaha XJR1200/1300
Honda Hornet 900
Yamaha Fazer 1000/FZ1

At the time I had no loyalty to any brand and I just wanted a big naked bike with a load of grunt. I almost took a CB1300 for a test ride but I couldn't haggle enough off the price and I was looking mostly for a Bandit 1200 but all the ones I could find were dogs. I stopped looking when I found my ZRX as it was spot on and the price wasn't mega crazy so I went for it and now I'm a die hard ZRX fan

I briefly considered some streetfightered litre sportsbikes too but I needed something reliable and trustworthy so ruled them out fairly early on although I've always like that style.
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[Radis]

Thanks for the input both.

Insurance for me on the GSX1400 is ~£1400 TPFT and I can't seem to find any for sale less than £3.5k so I'm going to have to rule that one out.

Both the CB1300 and the XJR seem to go for around £2.5k + but the insurance is ~£400 for me. I may have to wait a while to find a decent one in my price range which is a bit of a shame as I have new toy fever right now

I think I'll have to pop in to a few dealers and test ride some bikes to narrow my selection down and buy in the winter when the prices return to normal/people get desperate to sell for christmas.

Any more suggestions for bikes to test? So far I have:
CB1300
XJR1300
Speed Triple
Monster 900

[Radis]

[shereen]

How about Suzuki SV1000? Me likey.
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[neatbik]

The Monster 900 would be an interesting choice. They are quite grunty and sound immense with open pipes.

But they are quite a different ownership experiance compared to the Jap bikes.

I love them, so much i bought one.

[KLR600]

[Radis]

Thanks all - will hopefully get a chance to test some of these in the next few weeks. Not completely sold on any of the bikes with the bikini fairings but image isn't everything.

My insurance is high as I only have 4 years NCB and I live in a "high risk" area of London - I'm 29 in September as well so under the 30 year old reduction. My quotes are all at least £400 cheaper if I say I'm in Exeter instead of Shepherds Bush.... I need to leave London....

[Vincent]

One of this months bike mags had an article about "1000cc+ naked bikes for under £2K". May be of interest.

I'd go for a ZRX I reckon but always fancied a Honda CB1000 Big1.
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[Moxey]

You considered any twins? A friend has just gotten one an R1150R not too shabby feels really light compared to his CB1300 which he also has, it's basically a GS in road trim.
https://www.motorcyclespecs.co.za/Gallery/BMW%20R1150R%20%202.jpg
And the Rockster model https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bmw-R1150-R-ROCKSTER-/271195328513?pt=UK_Motorcycles&hash=item3f24805001

Also Buell XB9, XB 12 & Thunderbolt

*Just noticed your price limit of £2.5k, but still you can look around may find a bargain.
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[Ghost]

[garth]

900 Hornet is supposed to be fairly dull. They didn't sell well, they're not that powerful.

SV1000 i rode had a reaaaalllly boring engine / power delivery.

[gorillaonabik...]

[stevo as b4]

The thing I like about the 900 Hornet is that it looks very small and compact and doesn't look massive or much bulkier than the 600 does. It's about 194kg so it's lighter than all the air cooled big retro nakeds, and lighter than the bigger liquid cooled performance/retro nakeds like the ZRX1200 or CB1300 or the X11 etc.

It's also pretty simple, based on a very smooth 918cc Blade engine with excellent carburation and delivery. It's also that kind of bike a bit like a TRX850 where is makes so much sense to modify the std budget suspension and brakes, and fit different parts from other bikes to improve handling, braking and ground clearance. With race cans, free flow filter, and a Power commander mapped in, they seem to be around 108-110bhp r/w which is usefully decent in a 190 odd kg bike.

If you like torque, looks, and easy straightline grunt then some of the bigger engine nakeds deliver more, but you lose out on the balance of cornering, ground clearance and flickability to gain lots of grunt.

I expect a recent model Speed triple or similar would be a much more exciting bike than a Hornet 900, but less simplistic and have less obvious upgrade potential maybe?

[Radis]

Some good options to look into there - thanks all.

I had a look at an XJR in the flesh over the weekend but as I was on my mates stag do I didn't have a test ride... was still drunk. They look great.

Need to get my Mrs her licence before she will let me buy another bike so currently focusing more on getting her test days lining up with her off shift pattern. I am going to ride home via Chiswick Honda today though to see if they have any more stock of those suggested.