Back to biking after a long time. Want a good commuter bike!

[amywamy555]

Hi there,

I am a 25yo female with a full motorcycle license which I got at 17. From about 18 onwards I haven't ridden as when it came to getting a full time job, it was (sadly) more sensible to get a car.

However...I now would love to get back into bikes! I am planning to do a refresher course before I buy anything to sort my riding skills out, but I need advice about what type of bike to get for commuting. My commute is around 55 miles each day, most of it a busy motorway (the M27 to be precise!).

I am looking for:

Something economic to run with the best mpg possible.

Will sit comfortably at 70mph (I don't intend on speeding, but the sound of an engine struggling at 70 makes me uneasy)

A bike that will be comfortable for my height as I am short (5"3) and my first ever bike was a bad experience of being on tip toes at traffic lights...

My budget is flexible, I don't want to spend more than about £5k ideally, but will happily save up for the right bike.

I don't mind what cc the bike is, obviously since I am new to this again I wouldn't be looking at getting monster bike (not yet anyway!) but my license means I can get any size (I think?)

Thanks for any advice in advance!! I appreciate any help you guys have to offer!

[Teflon-Mike]

Notion begs suggestion of the Commuter-Twins; for every-day practicality, versatility & ecconomy; something 500-650ish cc.

After that? Budget is wide... erganomics unknown... go down the dealers and shoe-shop... then when you have some bikes you like the feel, look, and idea of.... search the net for owner reports... then go back to the dealers, with the cash in your pocket to talk deals.

Its an open question; go have fun sitting on other peoples toys!
____________________
My Webby'Tef's-tQ, loads of stuff about my bikes, my Land-Rovers, and the stuff I do with them!
Current Bikes:'Honda VF1000F' ;'CB750F2N' ;'CB125TD ( 6 3 of em!)'; 'Montesa Cota 248'. Learner FAQ's:= 'U want to Ride a Motorbike! Where Do U start?'

[Matt B]

[amywamy555]

OK I would prefer a bike where I'm sat more upright (don't know the technical terms!)

But my first priority is cheap to run...as I want to save money from my car commute. Is that possible or should I just stick to the car?

Any suggestions of makes/models would be useful..

[Monkeypony]

A bike should be about more than just the practicalities of owning one (after all, as modes of transport go, they really aren't that practical!).

For the money you want to spend There are 1001 bikes out there that will do the job, but what sort of thing floats your boat?
____________________
Current bike - 2018 H2-SX, 2004 SV1000s, 2016 Aprilia RSV4 RF, 2017 Sherco SERF 300, 2003 Suzuki DRZ400 (stolen - AY53 JUU)

[amywamy555]

Yeah I realise they are about fun too

I learned on a Yamaha RS 125 and thought they were lovely and comfortable but I would want something more powerful for my commute.

I owned a Sachs 125 Roadster and it was not at all suitable for me because it was too tall, very heavy so I couldn't move it around very easily on my own.

The seat positioning of the RS 125 was ideal so anything similar but more powerful and economical would be nice...

[Monkeypony]

Well,

You could have a look at a late model Fazer. Not the most exciting bikes in the world, but dependable, upright and have some fairing. You won't be spending anywhere near your budget on one of these

Street triples are massively popular. Not too heavy and upright. No fairing though (not sure if that's an issue) You could spend all of your budget on one of these. It a fun bike though.

Hornets are also decent bikes. Been around forever and you can spend all or hardly any of your budget on one.

But these are just three (predictable) examples. Best bet is to do the rounds of the dealers. Sit on or test ride as much as possible. 5k would be a lot to throw away on a machine that wasn't right for you.
____________________
Current bike - 2018 H2-SX, 2004 SV1000s, 2016 Aprilia RSV4 RF, 2017 Sherco SERF 300, 2003 Suzuki DRZ400 (stolen - AY53 JUU)

[amywamy555]

Since I'm such a newbie, what would make a bike "fun" in your opinion?

Once I'm more confident I'd like to have fun too

[Monkeypony]

For me, 'fun' would be all about how the bike goes through the corners. How stable it feels and how much it inspires confidence to push.

A 'fun' bike may not be the 'best' bike for sitting on a motorway for any length of time though, so if you only own one bike, there will always be an element of compromise.

But if a bike is no fun at all, what the point?
____________________
Current bike - 2018 H2-SX, 2004 SV1000s, 2016 Aprilia RSV4 RF, 2017 Sherco SERF 300, 2003 Suzuki DRZ400 (stolen - AY53 JUU)

[amywamy555]

Thanks for your advice. I see it was a bit of a vague question to begin with, once I've done the refresher I'll have a better idea of what I'm looking for and will hopefully be able to come back with some favourites for a more detailed query!

[Teflon-Mike]

SR125, is a semi-cruiserified commuter. Useful little things, if you like or can abide that style; but, suggestion you found a Sachs, which while heavier than the SR, is no porker by big-bike standards, 'heavy and unweildy'.... might sort of limit choices some-what... IF you fret about it...

MOST motorcycles, outside of the learner-legal lightweight sector, weigh somwhere around about 200Kg, give or take; about twice that of a 125, that tend to center on weights around 110Kg or so.

So big-bikes weight about 450Lb, or about 32 Stone... a bit heavier than me and my missus put together....

BUT, like I said, dont fret about it. WEIGHT is not the real issue... real issue is BALENCE and 'manageability'.

The weight of the bike is supported by the wheels; its not like you have to lift it, except perhaps onto the center stand, and even that tends to only be the weight over the back wheel, not the whole bike, AND you have the mechanical advantage of 'leverage' provided by the stand itself to do it.

Its all about 'Technique'.

Once moving... bike props its self up, weight don't matter. So dont worry about it too much, you ent buying a bike as a bit of gym equipment to lift up and down in your garage, you are buying it to get on and ride, and hopefully you'll spend more time with your feet on the pegs, and the engine shoving it along, making it move and stay upright, than you will shunting it in and out of parking spots...

I say 'hopefully'... its a trick I dont think I have fully mastered, I seem to do more miles pushing bikes round my back garden than I do on the road.... BUT... I'm odd!

However; is an issue, and having a bike thats a pain to put away, can really damp any enthusiasm for it, and not make you want to ride it. Unfortunately, theres no 'How Easy is it to Push Round the Corner' spec in the brochures or magazines! And what specs they do provide, dont give much of a clue.

The SR was easy to manouver, not just because it was light; but because, semi-cruiserified, it has raked out chopperesque forks, that tilt the wheel a lot when you turn the bars, which you can a long way; coupled to a short wheel base; means the thing has a tiny turning circle, and seems pretty 'easy' to shunt around.

Bikes with more concervative or 'sporty' steering geometry, tend to have steeper forks, and less steering lock and hence wider turning circles; BUT, how they 'man-handle' is all down to balence, and not how much weight they have, but where the weight is. and where it shifts as you turn and tilt the bike, and they ALL do that slightly differently.. it will be down to a bit of guess work, and a bit of pot luck, and possibly some trial and error to find the 'knack' how unweildy you might find any particular model of bike.

ONE point of note; dont fall for the falacy that because they have tall seats, dirt bikes dont suit littler riders, and cruisers cos they have low seats, suit shorter ones. Dont work that way. As said, you buy a bike to ride, not sit on at traffic lights. Height from floor to seat is not that relevent; what is more important is the 'reach' from seat to foot-peg and handle-bars.

Here, dirt bikes with very tall seats, also tend to have very tall suspension, lifting the footpegs an equally large distance from teh floor, and the distance from seat to foot-rest can be tiny, and cramped; while low seat cruisers, often have 'foreward rests' set a long way ahead of the seat, and while seat to floor may not be much, seat to peg can be longer than little leg!

So dont go by pre-conceptions or first glances; you have to straddle them, and sit them as if riding, and waggole handlebars, flick at switches, make motorbikie noises, get carried away and fantacies your favourite biking movie scenes, and then appologise to the salesman...... to find WHAT FITS YOU.

We could chuck a bunch of bike makes and models at you to consider, but it wont help much; BETTER to just go do your shoe-shopping, with an open mind, and see what you like, what takes your fancy and what feels 'right' when you play with it.

WHEN you come to 'do the deal', or possibly before, you ask salesman to let you push it around the car-park, or if they have a used one, wheel that around see how manageable it is.... end of the day, what they going to say; they want your money, and if that clinches it, they'll let you do it! Its NOT an uncommon sort of request, and you are actually more likely to get a 'yes' to that sort of request than you are for a test ride at many places!

So go have fun; get touchy feelie with stuff, enjoy the journey of discovery finding the 'right' bike for you; stop trying to solve problems before they are one; and stop over thinking it all... Stop Thinking - Start Riding! Its a doing thing, not a thinking thing!

And often the journey is more satisfying than the destination... which tends ultimately to be 'back home'... you dont need all the answers or before you set out, or a detailed route-map... you CAN make it up as you go along, and detour as things catch your eye, IF you have an open mind, and the mind set to enjoy the journey.
____________________
My Webby'Tef's-tQ, loads of stuff about my bikes, my Land-Rovers, and the stuff I do with them!
Current Bikes:'Honda VF1000F' ;'CB750F2N' ;'CB125TD ( 6 3 of em!)'; 'Montesa Cota 248'. Learner FAQ's:= 'U want to Ride a Motorbike! Where Do U start?'

[amywamy555]

See thats the sort of response I was hoping to get on here It sounds like silly questions but when you're new to it some things that seem obvious to experienced bikers are things that I just wouldn't think about!

My Sachs did have a small turning circle, I have bad memories of trying to rotate it on the stand to get it out of my garden and down the driveway to the road and it being near impossible to turn through wheeling it, on my own. So thats why the Yamaha was much better for me in that respect!

My comment about the bike being too heavy was because it fell on me twice and it almost broke my Dads back trying to help me escape! I now realise, it was probably because the seat was too high that it fell on me as I lost my balance. I suppose the weight thing was concerning me because I assumed it would fall on me again, but I shouldn't be planning this to happen

Any bits of info are useful and much appreciated! We all start somewhere...

I think the main motivation of moving back to biking is that my commute in the car is so damn boring...biking is so exciting from what I remember!

[amywamy555]

See thats the sort of response I was hoping to get on here It sounds like silly questions but when you're new to it some things that seem obvious to experienced bikers are things that I just wouldn't think about!

My Sachs did have a small turning circle, I have bad memories of trying to rotate it on the stand to get it out of my garden and down the driveway to the road and it being near impossible to turn through wheeling it, on my own. So thats why the Yamaha was much better for me in that respect!

My comment about the bike being too heavy was because it fell on me twice and it almost broke my Dads back trying to help me escape! I now realise, it was probably because the seat was too high that it fell on me as I lost my balance. I suppose the weight thing was concerning me because I assumed it would fall on me again, but I shouldn't be planning this to happen

Any bits of info are useful and much appreciated! We all start somewhere...

I think the main motivation of moving back to biking is that my commute in the car is so damn boring...biking is so exciting from what I remember!

[guile]

Go try an ER6 - they are short, light and cheap compared to Fazer etc

[Matt B]

[matto]

One of the Honda 'commuter' twins would fit pretty well I reckon.

CBR500r CB500F or CB500X... did you mention a budget?

[slowlydoesit]

[thewhyoffry]

Had a go on a Suzuki Gladius today. Nippy enough and idea for a shorter rider. Maybe worth a look?

[sensi5446]

GPZ 500s does me for commuting Good on motorways and around town, seat is more a upright position, small enough for filtering and you can pick up a nice one for under £2000.

[Pigeon]

[Rogerborg]

We're going to need to know your inside leg measurement, and whether you've got money your budget, otherwise we'll just be spunking out bike names.

CB500! Dullsville! Blandit! NC700!
____________________
Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[Az]

BMW F650GS is good for 65mpg and looks comfy, although i've never ridden one so unsure of how comfortable it really is but the reviews seem positive to.

Honda NC700 has a low seat, good mpg (60-80mpg) but are pretty slow in my opinion, so you may get bored of it pretty soon.

The new(ish) 500 twin hondas is a good suggestion and so is the MT-07 with it having very positive reviews.

I really want to test ride a MT-07 if i can as i'm seriously considering it as my next bike. Although the seat doesn't look very appealing and it only has a 14L tank which isn't ideal for commuting… its styling, price and reviews are all appealing. Unsure of it's mpg, but being a 690cc twin, i doubt it's going to be horrendous on petrol, maybe similar mpg to an er6n (650 twin with similar power figures) which has an average of around 50mpg on https://www.fuelly.com/motorcycle/kawasaki/er-6n which isn't too bad for a big bike.

The honda CB500X/F and CBR500R look okay and sound like they're a bit on the boring side but, have good fuel consumption (60-70mpg). They are also pretty heavy bikes, especially for a bike producing only 47bhp. But may be ideal for you, besides the weight of course… which is irrelevant once you get moving anyway and with a relatively low seat it may be more manageable than your previous bike.

[mentalboy]

[Ribenapigeon]

How about the new yamaha MT-07. Its around the five grand mark and more interesting than the CB500.

Or an XJ6 divvy or an SV650 faired. They can both have lower seats fitted.

[Pigeon]