I need help choosing a new bike, so many to chose from!

[Astronomelix]

EDIT: For anyone viewing the post I managed to get hands on the xsr900 and decided to go with. It looks and feels similar to the 700 but is just a bit of a chunkier bike. I love it, great bike, great price.

Hi everyone, I'm new to the forum and I thought this would be a good place to ask some fellow bikers for advice. It's going to be a long post, because I don't have any biker friends in real life that I could share my accumulated thoughts with and I accumulated a lot of them!

I'm not exactly a new rider, but last time I was on a bike was more than a year ago. I'v been riding for more than two years and I've had the pleasure to ride bikes the likes of cbr600rr, mt125(my first bike), xsr700 and 2011 cb1000r.

I have a budget of maximum £7000 and I was surprised to see how many awesome bikes I can get at that price range. In fact there are so many that I just feel lost trying to even narrow it down to 3 bikes.

After the cbr600rr experience I have to say that I absolutely love the power that this bike can deliver, but sport bikes are not my thing, its not too comfortable on a longer ride, seating position is too aggressive and it's scary when the weather is not so great. All being said I am in love with a sport look on a motorcycle so I would like a sporty looking bike. This lead me to naked motorcycles immediately.

Current bikes that I am considering are: xsr900, cb1000r 2016, cb650r (right on the budget), mt09, mt07, scrambler, z800 (BIG maybe), and more bikes that I already forgot.

I love the looks and feel of the xsr700, but the bike is relatively small (I'm +5.9), I didn't have a chance to see the 900 model in person, I don't know how much bigger it is than the 700 and all dealers with the 900 model are really far away from where I live. In terms of looks, it's exactly what I'm looking for, I know that it's very powerful at the low and I'm not sure if that would suit me. I like to ride aggressively and I like going fast, but from what I read, seen and heard about the 900 it's a complete wheelie machine. I'm not looking to wheelie every time I open up the throttle, but I want to have the power available when I need it. A question for anyone that experienced the 900, how delicate is the throttle on standard and the B mode? I've seen quite a few reviews and it seems that the B mode could help with the throttle management. How much bigger does the bike feel compared to the 700? If the 700 was a bit bigger of a bike I would definitely go for that one. Plenty of power, great looks, super smooth ride and good price range.

My first choice was the cb1000r, the neo cafe look of the new models hits the spot for me. Unfortunately they are over the budget, but I have found some pretty good looking 2016 models with low milage that are around 6500. The experience with a 2011 model wasnt the best. The bike didn't look good, it seemed very heavy and clunky, completely not what I was expecting. It had more than plenty of power going higher up, which is what I would like my bike to have. I'm undecided about this bike.

Right after the 1000r there is the option of the cb650r in the neo cafe look, a brand new one goes for 6999 which could be an option, but I'm not so eager on a brand new bike, Im okay with used bikes that are in good condition. I love the looks, it doesn't look much smaller than the 1000 and it seems quite tall even though the seat isn't as high. I think this one is second on my list after the xsr900.

As the mt125 was my first bike, I have special feels for mt bikes. I was looking funny on the bike as its not too big, but it was really fun to ride! Awesome first bike. So automatically I looked at the mt07 and the mt09. I think the 07 looks very nice, but again, just like the xms700 it seems a little too small for me. As for the 09 i didnt do too much research on it yet. What are your opinions on the 09?

I saved the z800 for last because I've only discovered the bike yesterday. In terms of how it looks, it's an awesome bike, very heavy though at 230. I might be tall, but I don't know if I'm 230kgs heavy. I think 200 is where I should draw the line.

I really don't know what to go for and I need to purchase one relatively soon, I will be using it to get to work daily, but also when the weather is nice I'll be taking it out for longer rides (4 hour or so)

What are your thoughts on these bikes? Did you have any experience with them?

Thanks!

[stinkwheel]

Have you had a go on a Speed triple?

I'd imagine that would push all your buttons.
____________________
“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.

[Astronomelix]

[Polarbear]

[recman]