Once a week commuter

[MATTT]

Reached the 2 yr itch and want to swap the bike ,currently riding a 110cc Cub,previously had a Honda CD175,Yamaha RXS100, Serow 175,250 superdream

The shortlist was Suzuki van van ,but would prefer the 200
Honda MSX125 or enfield 350
I think the Enfield might be out the window soon

It has to be up to £1500 approx,light,very good for tight filtering ,tend to go for older less modern style of bikes
Cheers
Matt

[trevor saxe-coburg-gotha]

Well you can cross the vanvan off cos it'll be a while before there are any 200s in the £1500 bracket. And if the Enfield is out, that just leaves the MSX.

Okay - thread completed.

NEXT.
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"Life is a sexually transmitted disease and the mortality rate is one hundred percent."

Mobylette Type 50 ---> Raleigh Grifter ---> Neval Minsk 125

[DrSnoosnoo]

[linuxyeti]

Hi

As i replied on the other thread, and pasted here ..

[G]

Normal answer - Cat C/D GSXR1000 .

Might be useful if you mentioned the type of journey you have and your priorities.

[Rogerborg]

+1 to not writing off Enfields. 350 or 500. The 350 is more Orfentic, but the 500s, especially the AVL and beyond, are a bit more user friendly.

We may beat our breasts over their idiosyncrasies but they're perfectly usable bikes, and work well for filtering: they feel lighter than they are, are narrow, torquey, and have a great turning circle.

Parts are also cheaply and readily available direct from India. Insurance is pennies, and my 500 returns 80mpg+ and 200+ miles to the tank pretty much irrespective of how it's ridden.
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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

[MATTT]

sorry it was a bit ambiguous,saying old and mentioning MSX too
The £1500 budget isn't set in stone,its just a rough amount i've decided,the last few bikes have all been sub £800,as ive got a few other bigger bikes this is purely for the commute.Use wise,its mainly single carriageways,one long stretch of dual carriageway,which is normally gridlocked,cant even filter on the cub in places if the driver has decided to sit one side or is in a big truck or something.

I guess the later efi Enfield sounds a better bet

[UnknownStuntm...]

I had a C70, then a VanVan 125. Was a marked upgrade. Round town it was lovely. Anything over about 50 was 'optimistic' though, so after a year or so I chopped it in again. Cheeky little fella though, lots more road presence than the C70 even for a tiddler.

[Whosthedaddy]

[linuxyeti]

[woo]

depending on how far you need travel it sounds like your better off with either public transport or a bicycle
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Elen sila lummen omentielvo!

[NJD]

So are we recommending bikes for £800 since that's what you've got ready to act now and can afford to spend on a bike or are we recommending bikes in a price bracket that you don't have on the market ready to buy now but won't be by the time you've got the money saved?

License?
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The do it all, T̶h̶e̶ ̶b̶r̶o̶k̶e̶n̶ ̶o̶n̶e̶,̶ ̶T̶h̶e̶ ̶b̶i̶g̶ ̶l̶u̶m̶p̶,̶ ̶C̶h̶o̶n̶g̶ ̶N̶o̶o̶d̶l̶e̶

[UnknownStuntm...]

[Teflon-Mike]

For essentially occasional and I assume relatively low use... why not open up the field a bit?

I always used to chuckle at My Gran raving about the MPG she got from her Nissan Micra, when she only pottered to the post office once a fortnight and didn't have to fill the petrol tank between MOT's! It wouldn't have cost her many more pennies in petrol to run a gas guzzling Caddilac.. and probably cheaper, saving tax and insurance and the like, to have no car & called for a chauffeur driven Limousin whenever she wanted to go anywhere!!!

On which sort of principle; you might be able to consider anything from a 1920's Douglas 3&1/2 right up to a Kwak H2!!

So, taking the Enfield idea; rather than an old 'fashioned' modern bike; why not look at real old bikes?

Picking Old Trumpets as a base line; £1500ish aught to be able to get you a pretty usable Meriden Co-Op T140, which is one of the less loved late Bonnies, with a few more modern conveniences like 12v electrics, cast wheels and a disc brake; or puts you in the ball-park for some of the older 'more' classic 350 & 500's. I spotted a rather sweet 'Bathtub' 350 tiger at a meet a month or so back with a for-sale sign on it, that probably wouldn't have begged a huge hike in budget; While you aught be able to pick up a pretty usable Tiger-Cub 200 single. All of which are pretty well supported in the classic world and for low miles occasional use, practical classics... if that notion inspires.

Going Italian; the venerable old Moto-Guzzi V50 is still a rather useful practical classic, that actually has performance to match modern commuter twins, as well as being rather nimble, and benefiting from being well supported, and having shaft drive. Throws something like a Morini 3&1/2 into the frame, as well, or going contemporary a Ducati M600. OR even, opening a different flavor can of worms; a 'classic' scooter! Vespa 200's that cant be ridden on L-Plates, seem to avoid some of the silly prices other models command.

Old airhead BMW's make pretty practical classics, and the less loved smaller displacement ones don't command such silly prices, but you'd find more modern K100's and K75;s in budget as well as even more modern tele-lever boxers.

Going Jap; 'practical' classics abound in all shapes and sizes and prices; though those with more obvious 'classic' cudos or actual style tend to fetch a premium, and support isn't necessarily as good as you'd assume.... but still, plenty of choice, and my favorite 'targets' would probably be another 70's air-cooled two-stroke trailie...

With limited use and miles lifting the burden of how much cost and hassle it is likely to be to live with and earn it's keep; pretty much anything goes.. and as an 'itch'? There's no hurry... you can bide your time to find something interesting, and you dont have to marry it! If it doesn't work for you use it until something else comes along you like the idea of better.
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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?'

[DylanMitchell]

Honda MSX125 can be a good option for you.
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Texas Used Bikes

[G]

[MATTT]

[Alpineandy]

It may be a bit too big but a Zephyr 550 has an older look and (I believe) is pretty reliable/useable etc Plus they come up at a reasonable price...
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The above comment isn't necessarily the truth and anyone that says it is, is only correct if it's the truth or they're bigger than me.

[thx1138]

[MATTT]

Decided I should sort out a bike I already own,it will save me having to sell something too
Yamaha Yds5 1968
Put some tyres on and sorted the electrics