Ok I've whittled it down to four!

[beatts]

Hi all,

Am about to spend around £4500 on a new toy, and I have whittled it down to one of these four. Any advice would be greatly received.


triumph Tiger 900 (2000 model) £4200

Yamaha TDM 900 (2004 model) £4500

BMW 650 GS dakar (2002 model) £4200

Honda Transalp (2003 model) £4000



The type of riding I want, is from these style of bikes I.e more upright, and not too concerned with massive speeds.

I will be doing a lot of touring around the highlands, and the lakes etc this year and may even venture north for a blast around sweden later in summer. Therfore I want something that is comfortable, can eat the miles, reliable and can carry a bit of luggage.

All thoughts welcome

ta

Beatts

[Zoffo]

How long are your legs? The Tiger is pretty tall but a nice bike for a moster trailie

[dainesefreak]

My quick opinion;

Yam - Decent enought but a bit bland.

BMW - Good reviews but only a 650.

Honda - Same as the Yam and a bit long in the tooth.

Triumph - Good reviews, 900cc's and a bit different.

Make of that what you will.

[mr.z]

Test ride them!

I have a transalp, any specific questions feel free to ask... these were designed for lankey europeans and for twisty roads, the twistyewrs the road the better, so easy to handle its silly... the arica twin is the slightly more off road, more powerfull and more well supported after market parts wise than the TA, worth a look. The stock seat and windscreens are pants.

Goose has a triumph.. (tis nice)

The bmw is ok up to 70, then itwill struggle, apparently quite smooth for a single, but imo not powerfull enough for distance (hard work at least)

I looked at the tdm, nice bike, sportyest of the lot, very underrated + overlooked bike...
____________________
>RidingSkills<->Tech Tips<->MyBikes<

[beatts]

thanks chaps

for zoffa

I.m 6ft 1 so tall bikes not really a prob, also 15st (could do with eatin less pies too!)

I tend to favour the triumph and the TDM at this stage

[stinkwheel]

Trumpet or TDM to my mind. You can get loads of touring bits 'n pieces for the TDM so I would proabably go for that one. The Tiger would cope with green lanes a bit better but it is still really a road bike when it comes down to it.
____________________
“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[G]

As stink wheel said, presuming you're staying on the roads, I'd go for the Tiger/tedium. Their engines will have a bit longer legs for lazy touring.

I would try and get test rides on the two and see how you feel; a lot of this sort of thing is down to personal preference, as we're not talking bike a turns in slightly faster while bike b has 2hp more .

[Fellony]

Why did you count out the v-strom? i see lots of people on them.
____________________
A2 License
'92 Honda CBR400RR NC29

[mr.z]

[EuropeanNC30R...]

Slightly off-topic, but won't all TL1000-engined bikes have the same gearbox life expectancy as a TL-S/TLR? That would be enough for me to put me off one.

[G]

[WildGoose]

tiger

but i own one , if you decide on one, get the 955 not the 900, its a much better bike, and you can easily get one on your budget, mine was 3995 for an 02 model with 20k miles, saw much lower mileage ones about for a few hundred more

bmw is a thumper, so will be quite vibey over distance i would imagine, and transalp is slow compared to the other two

tiger may cope with gentle green lanes but i wouldnt fancy it, its definately a road bike through and through, the engine is perhaps too much for off road, in my opinion anyway, i'd feel totally intimidated by it

on the road however, 90mph is only 6000 rpm in top gear, the seat is comfy, the tank gives me 180 miles to reserve (another 30 miles) and i like revving it, careful riding would probly return much more, sounds good lights are a bit shite standard

had a brief look at TDM's just found them boring, didnt ride one though! so im not really at liberty to say, look very commuter-ish though
____________________
So in other words, he stopped you for being flagrantly in posession of a motorcycle in direct contravention of the Hippies, Darkies and People Whose Face I Don't Like The Look of (Police Powers) Act. 1976

[mr.z]

[beatts]

Hi

Wild goose, thanks for the info. I definately think I will go for the Tiger, I had spotted a 900cc model 2300 miles for £4k but I will have a look around for a 955cc

How many miles are they generally good for, any things I should look out for????

Cheers

Beatts



the new fazer looks mighty fine too!

[WildGoose]

i dont know them in depth enough to tell you about problems

Marjay on here will probly be the best for that

as far as i know the 955 lump is solid as a rock

the massive bar ends on the tiger will be the first to go down, so check them carefully for marks, as well as the brush guards

walk away from a damaged tank, as thats probly a bloody expensive thing to sort out given the shape of it
____________________
So in other words, he stopped you for being flagrantly in posession of a motorcycle in direct contravention of the Hippies, Darkies and People Whose Face I Don't Like The Look of (Police Powers) Act. 1976

[stevo as b4]

Id go for the TDM9 every time! It depends on if you can see past it's slighty wacky looks, as the bike is far better to ride than it is to look at! Its barely much slower than a V-strom 1000 anyway, and i like to think of the TDM900 engine as CB500 engine on steroids! It also apparently sounds very good and loud with some race cans on, and if you fit a Power commander to stop the popping and banging, then it should make nearly 80bhp at the back wheel!

[inkorea]

Get a Honda Africa twin 750. It's the best bike in that class. But it might be a little difficult to find. The BMW 650 lacks power by the way.

[inkorea]

Get a Honda Africa twin 750. It's the best bike in that class. But it might be a little difficult to find. The BMW 650 lacks power by the way.