Lower capacity bike - a breath of fresh air ?

[cbrtrxtdmvfrD...]

After years of litre bike ownership and with i suppose the media associated with all the changes to the motorcycle licence laws and new bike introductions to meet the criteria for this i decided to down-size my cylinder capacity to a 625cc KTM around 6 months ago and to be honest is one of the best motorcycling decisions i have ever made - i can really ride this thing and i mean really ride it - not just a passenger on a flying rocket anymore but fully engaged and yes i can use full throttle in many places without all hell breaking loose like it did on the R1 - Any one else ever thought about this ?
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Right' O

[m3-paul]

I might get an old 600 for the winter. I had an fzr600 and it seemed that half of the time the throttle was fully open . On the fireblade I don't need to work it anywhere near as hard and when I do push it in to the red it is going far far harder than my little old 600 could even dream of.

I get where you are coming from as i also take out my tzr250 frequently and can thrash it everywhere without the thoughts of imminent doom but I think I would miss the buzz of the bigger bike if i got rid so ideally having a 600 as well would allow me to choose depending on my mood.
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Yamaha TZR250 - love the smell of TTS!!!!
CBR900RR Fireblade - so much fun

[map]

I have got an old CB500 for winter (I did a thread).
Loving it atm.
Far more engaging.
Brings a to my face.

Although I'm still on a learning curve to get the best out of it.
Cold mornings and dark evening country roads do not make the best places to push things too far.
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...and the whirlwind is in the thorn trees, it's hard for thee to kick against the pricks...
Gibbs, what did Duckie look like when he was younger?

[J.M.]

I think the 90-100bhp mark is about right.

60-70bhp feels very slow. 120bhp feels too much.
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2004 R1 & 2018 XSR900

[pinkyfloyd]

I downsized from a Honda Firestorm to a new shape XJ6N. Lost around 25 horses and I do love the bike. Its so much easier to ride around town than the storm was. Fair enough it lacks grunt in comparison but its still good fun and is a hoot opening it up.
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illuminateTHEmind wrote: I am just more evolved than most of you guys... this allows me to pick of things quickly which would have normally taken the common man years to master
Hockeystorm65:.well there are childish arguments...there are very childish arguments.....there are really stupid childish arguments and now there are......Pinkfloyd arguments!
Teflon-Mike:I think I agree with just about all Pinky has said.

[P.addy]

[Blau Zedong]

100 bhp is the bare minimum needed for modern roads.

Small bikes are folly.
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18:54:48 Rob Fzs: jews don't give away stuff for free

18:54:59 Rob Fzs: unless its their clothes/ hair/ golden teeth

[-]

I still have a YZF750R for the big 4 stroke thing but get my kicks on 250 2 strokes now, a TZR250 2MA and a TDR250.

I get more smiles from actually being able to thrash something along a flowing B road than using under half the performance of a 1000cc sportsbike.

[1cyl]

[J.M.]

[woo]

kinda agree

i just bought a piaggio zip 50cc 4 stroke for £300 works fine and runs fine and costs nothing to run
one tank of petrol for the R1 is 4 tanks of petrol for the piaggio zip.

max speed is 38mph and maybe 40mph going downhill lol

did an oil change for it in the weekend and it only cost me £10 for the oil and was piss easy to do, i couldnt believe how black the oil was, just cos i can ill probably change the oil every 1000 miles as its cheaper to change the oil than it is to get a burger king meal!

i just filled up with a full tank of petrol and it cost me £4.40, so thats 127mpg

its great for only town riding but the R1 is for anything else, i might get stickers and call this one gollum aka smeagol

you cant get any slower than a piaggio zip 50cc 4 stroke!
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Elen sila lummen omentielvo!

[ian505050]

My opinion is that 35bhp to about 80bhp is the most fun for the road.

[G]

[pinkyfloyd]

[Matt B]

[MarJay]

I've been saying this for years. The most fun I've had on the road has been on a 250 two stroke. My Street Triple is about as quick as anyone could need a bike to be on the road, and anything more is just willy waving.

Even on the track a 1000cc bike isn't as much fun as a 600 IMO.
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British beauty: Triumph Street Triple R; Loony stroker: KR1S; Track fun: GSXR750 L1; Commuter Missile: GSX-S1000F; Cheap project: CBR900RR FireBlade
Remember kids, bikes aren't like lego. You can't easily take a part from one bike and then fit it to another.

[evoboy]

I like having an 1100.

All my other bikes are >250cc, so after riding those around all the time , getting out on something with alot more grunt is fun. Gives the whole 'ripping your arms out' experience all over again.
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Suzuki GT250 x7------- Fazer 600------CB250RS------Aprilia Rally 70----- Bandit 600

APT Motorcycles

[garth]

I enjoy slow bikes, and I enjoy fast bikes.

I'm sure if I could afford a decent RGV or RS250 it'd be about perfect for me for a fun road bike.

I've no problem riding my gsxr every day, but it's not good for my license. Currently I'm on about 6bhp, I just trundle along, it's quite nice (Unless you've got big distance to do, quickly).

Versys was still the best real world road bike I've ever had, when the prices of gen2's come down which aren't anywhere near as fuck ugly as the gen1's, I'll probably buy one for a commuter.

[Irn-Bru]

My perfect garage would be a KTM 690 SMC, a 300cc 2stroke enduro bike and some sort of GS1200 type touring bike... don't really see the point in a superdupersports bike, at least not on my local roads, I imagine my fillings would get rattled out and I'd be forced to stick to the A1
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KTM 990 SMT & Suzuki DR-Z 400 SM

[G]

[stevo as b4]

TBH most of people on here that advocate the fun factor in small capacity bikes or low bhp (not always the same thing) have at least one big/bigger bike too.

Very few people with full licences and access to reasonable insurance would stay with a learner legal or not much over that category of bike.

So the correct answer as someone said is both, a big cc powerful bike and one or more smaller nimble and light fuck load of fun type bikes as well.

Of course some folk on here that own a smaller bike do so because it's an off roader or competition off roader. And I could be wrong but you cannot really buy or effectively use 1000cc or 100bhp on a green laner, MX track, or for clubman enduro or trials use?

[1cyl]

[Irn-Bru]

I love the comments on that video, so much crying from people. It's his bike that he worked for, he can do what he likes with it you freaks
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KTM 990 SMT & Suzuki DR-Z 400 SM

[Nick_Giles]

.
I have a 600 Hornet (98 ish BHP)

TBH The bike is far, far more capable than I am.! But then again I have only had a full ticket for 18 months and I am 52. So while I may wish to ride 'quickly' I have no desire or the skill to charge round like a missile. It would end badly for me sooner rather than later.

I say 'quickly', but that word has different level of meaning depending upon who the person is.


Nick
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Peter Cook: "I have learned from my mistakes, and I am sure I can repeat them exactly".

[Clutchy]

an sv650 FI with a full system go fast exhaust is what 80hp? (MCN sv figures are apparently wrong) while people call it boring, is perfect for a light person like me, but 2 up its sooooo slow! Could just be because I've not ridden a great deal else.


A ktm 690 or drz 400 is my next bike, they look so fun.

But giving the sv a handful gets you into license losing speeds fairly quickly.

I'd like to own every bike class at least once in my biking career, then will I be able to make a proper decision.
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Malaguti F12 Phantom-Dead, Suzuki AY50- Dead, NRG power DD LQ, CBR125.
*33 BHP restriction up on 10/12/14* Current bikes/car: SV 650 S/ MKIV GOLF
Guide to pass your test with no lessons!