Zed thou, Fazer thou or ZX6R?

[nrml76]

I am planning to take advantage of the 0% finance offers available at present and get myself a new bike for the first time (if you discount a little 100cc bike I got as a student). My Zr-7S just doesn't have enough poke, when I am in the mood to push it a bit harder.
I had my heart set on a R1, but after trying one out for size at the dealers showroom, I feel that in the long run, the sporty riding position will be difficult to live with and it won't do the carpal tunnel syndrome in my right wrist any good. This brings me to the more practical alternatives I have considered; the new zed thou and the fazer thou. I prefer the looks of the current zed to the fazer (eventhough it is not attractive as the model it replaces), but the half fairing on the fazer would probably make it a far more practical bike for everyday use. The wild card alternative is the zx6r. Having never ridden a full on sporting 600, I have no idea what it will be like for everyday use.
I need to whittle this list of 4 down to 2 to test ride, with the view to buying one. Trying out all 4 would just make it too confusing to decide. What would you choose to test ride if you were in my shoes? It has to be fun to ride and versatile too. I am about 5 feet 8 inches tall and I will use this bike to commute about 100 miles a day for a significant part of this year, in addition to riding for pleasure when time permits. I tend to avoid riding with groups even on weekends and holidays, and track days will be few and far between.
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Everyone who lives dies, yet not everyone who dies has lived. We take these risks not to escape life, but to prevent life from escaping us.

[mad4it028]

my friend just bought a new zx6r ive had a few goes on it and its quick very stable and pretty to look at on the down side my wrists were hurting after only 10 miles or so and in the normal riding possition i couldnt see the clocks but then i am 6'3"
hth a little carl
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always looking to buy bikes crashed ,unfinished projects,none runners pm me
currently riding kawasaki z1000 only bike ive ever loved

[Itchy]

You can always buy the more upright version of the bike you want and then just sort of the non sporty bits,

Ie Fazer and Thundercat, are fairly indentical cept the fazer has awful suspension too soft sort that out and you can probably corner just as hard and as fast , but without the absolute top end which is worthless anyway ie my CBR 162 top end , I've only been to 155 and I don't visit Europe very often.
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[St0rmer66]

[Villers]

Just to reiterate, Ive got the 2006 version of the ZX6R. If you have any wrist/back/neck problems then unless you are blasting about it will turn you into a waddling cripple. Luckily I suffer from all three of those but Im not a long distance rider and Im hard as nailz so I can just about put up with it.

Very, very, very fun bike tho
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RS125 > CBR6 > SV650S > ZX636R > GSX1300RZ Hayabusa > 06 RSVR Mille > SV1000S > Street Triple 765 RS

[G]

Just a thought...
You shouldn't really be getting wrist problems on sports bikes!
Back problems, maybe .

Putting weight through your wrists reduces control and smoothness riding the bike. Arms should be around about parallel with the road and loose enough that you can flap your elbows without changing the course of the bike.

Of course most of us don't end up riding quite like this; on the last IAM observed ride I did I found myself tensing up all time with arms far to straight; and this on a supermoto style bike.

[nrml76]

I tend to get a numb right hand when after riding for some time with an open throttle, leaning forwards tucked behind the fairing. Sometimes I have to ease off and flex my wrist to ease the numbness. I should get it operated upon, but I can't get the time off work it would take to recover from the operation at present.

The fazer and the zed are increasingly looking like the most likely candidates. I will probably try them both out over the weekend. Many thanks to the kind folks who took the time to post their views.
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Everyone who lives dies, yet not everyone who dies has lived. We take these risks not to escape life, but to prevent life from escaping us.

[colin1]

test ride them
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colin1 is officially faster than god

[hmmmnz]

i think the z1000 is by far and away the best looking.
(im not a fan of plastic) but ifyou are then the zx6 might be for you.
especially if you are on the slighter side of things
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