Motorway commuter

[JonE]

Evening all,

I'm mulling over a new job offer, it will add a fair few miles on my current commute of 4 miles each way to 25 miles each way 20 of which will be motorway, my current commuter is a 350 Enfield which is an obvious no and my ageing vfr needs some TLC so I'd be looking for a no thrills sensible-ish motorway commuter, I'd like around 60mpg, £2000 budget..... recommendations please.

Cheers

Jon

[xX-Alex-Xx]

Why not fix up your VFR? Perfect for the job.
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DILLIGAF

[stinkwheel]

Toyota Yaris Diesel.
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“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.

[kramdra]

Fix the VFR. 60mpg is not a sensible use of time.

[UncleFester]

[wr6133]

Marjay is selling a nice sorted VFR for your budget.

I dunno if I'd want a diesel car for that commute, my diesel mini takes 10(ish) miles to get up to temp on my commute, you'd be ragging the thing cold for almost half the journey, day in day out that can't be good for longevity.

[ThunderGuts]

Not far from the M25/That London so presumably commuting traffic will be suitably busy (albeit less so in the short term), so I can see the appeal of two wheels rather than four. That said, wet/salty motorways must be a good way to trash a bike quickly as you've got spray coming at you from cars, plus that kicked up by the bike itself - great way to wash lube out of the chain and get salt into all the little nooks and crannies. If it's purely for commuting, I'd be tempted by an NC750X, although you're probably looking closer to £3k for one - you'll get probably north of 80mpg out of it, it's got a storage bin where the fuel tank is (handy for locks/lunch etc.) and a bit of weather protection. Dull as dishwater to ride but if it's just for hacking up and down the motorway I imagine the understressed nature of that bike is ideal.

As an aside, and I'm sure you've weighed all this up, but I'd be thinking very carefully about changing jobs right now if you're fortunate enough to have a stable one. There's quite a bit of economic uncertainty and who knows what the next 6-12 months will bring; if you're newly employed and your new employer finds they need to shed staff, I imagine it'll be the last in that'll be first into the crosshairs.

Edit: MarJay's VFR would be a solid shout too though Not that I'm VFR biased or anything
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TG.

[MarJay]

I am selling my VFR800. It will do 55mpg on my commute, but that is a long motorway run with admittedly a bit of town work at the end.

It has a Givi wingrack with a large Maxia top box and monokey panniers, heated grips, Nitron shock and an Oberon clutch slave cylinder.

I would keep it, but ULEZ.

I don't have an up-to-date picture, I'm taking it for an MOT today so I'll take a few when I'm out.

Here's a pic when I bought it (around 18 months ago):
https://cdn.bcf.44bytes.net/files/vfr_small_174.jpg
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British beauty: Triumph Street Triple R; Loony stroker: KR1S; Track fun: GSXR750 L1; Commuter Missile: GSX-S1000F
Remember kids, bikes aren't like lego. You can't easily take a part from one bike and then fit it to another.

[blurredman]

Why is the Enfield a no?
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CBT: 12/06/10, Theory: 22/09/10, Module 1: 09/11/10, Module 2: 19/01/11
Past: 1991 Honda CG125BR-J, 1992 (1980) Honda XL125S, 1996 Kawasaki GPZ500S, 1979 MZ TS150.
Current: 1973 MZ ES250/2 - 18k, 1979 Suzuki TS185ER - 10k, 1981 Honda CX500B - 91k, 1987 MZ ETZ250 (295cc) - 40k, 1989 MZ ETZ251 - 51k.

[The Shaggy D.A.]

[colink98]

Maxi scoooooootttaaaaaaaaaaaaa ?
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PCX125 (stolen) - CBF600 (current)
Ride it like you stole it.
ride sensible and not like an idiot and you wont get 6 points in one week.

[garth]

I was in the same position recently and I bought a MK1 V Strom 650, 20k on the clock, new tyres, Scott oiler and givi screen, handguards, heated grips. Cost me sub £1500.

Big tank range. Good weather protection. 65+mpg. Nimble, quick enough. Sounds quite nice with a full system (£200 new)

Quite happy with it.
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You ain't a has been if you never was

[kramdra]

[gbrand42]

Honda Dullville NT700
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Yamaha RD50M, Honda C90, Yamaha RS100, Yamaha RD125LC, Honda XL125 V9 Varadero, Honda NT700VA, Honda VFR800X, Honda CRF1000L, Honda ST1300 Pan European

[1198]

Old zzr. I paid £950 for a 1990 one (ZZR1100 c1) eight years ago. It’s cheap to run and maintain, quick and all day comfortable. I’ve done 50,000 miles on mine in the interim, including commuting to Scotland and Portsmouth from South Yorkshire, trips to the Nurburgring. I only wanted one for a few months to satisfy the urge but now it’s the first bike I’d haul out if the garage was on fire!
Did I mention it’s fast by the way?

[garth]

Too slow for a motorway commute? Mine sits at 85 no bother, and that's visor up. It's license friendly, which was a consideration for me. Pointless being happy to sit at 100mph if you lose your license in the first week!

Suspension isn't top notch, but I find it more unrefined rather than soft. Better than that of a bandit or hornet for example.

For 1500 notes it was the best I could think of/find.
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You ain't a has been if you never was