Obligatory "Test Passed, Now which bike?" thread

[Commuter_Tim]

5 minors but I have an irrational fear of tests, so meh, pass is a pass.

I've been weighing up my needs in a big boy bike for months now, and I figure number one priority is being able to service as much of the bike myself as possible.

Could someone suggest which bike offers easiest home maintenance?
1-2 Cylinder, basic electrics but nothing too fancy?
(FYI its a full license so can ride anything, but preferably nothing too thirsty!)

EDIT: Budget being £1-2k less the better tho as it will be living outside
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The above post is most likely nonsensical.

I ride a Bandit 600... badly.

[Musketeer]

budget?

well done btw
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Current Bike: Yamaha XSR900 Previous bikes: Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade, Kawasaki ZX-6R Ninja, Aprilia RS125 2-stroke

[wr6133]

Cheap running the usual list..... CB500, GPZ500,ER5, ......... GS500 . They go on and on better than the Duracell bunny and costs peanuts to keep on the road.

Could get a nice ZZR in the lower end of your price range. IL4 but all that means is a couple extra spark plugs. Not the most fuel efficient though but not a full on crazy thirsty beast. Can go like stink if you need it too but also will take you sedately in comfort. They made it for years and years meaning parts are plentiful and cheap.

Been noticing lots of BMW F650GS (the single) under 2k recently no idea as to service costs but they get very good MPG.... maybe worth a look if that kind of thing floats your boat.

Or just go nuts and buy a GSXR 750 SRAD. You know you want too

Congrats on the pass

[Commuter_Tim]

Ahh did not know the BMW was a single Cylinder, will need to check that out.

I didn't know until now that the GPZ and ER5 are twin cylinder too, much appreciated

Does any one of those you mentioned have more of an upright "CG" style seating position do you know?
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The above post is most likely nonsensical.

I ride a Bandit 600... badly.

[wr6133]

BMW like to confuse there is also a 800CC twin called the F650GS, I'm sure rogerborg can educate more as he owns one, my knowledge is no more than noticing how cheap some of the singles were selling for and wondering what's the catch because they on paper look like awesome value for under 2k

I'd buy a ZZR 600 in your shoes but I'm biased I have a ZZR400 and love it. The 500 twins are probably more sensible with your requirement list.

[wr6133]

[Old_Steeve]

I have recently rediscovered the delights of older bikes and revel in the fact a couple of carbs and some valves that people other than inspector gadget can get to has vastly reduced my rate of visiting the rip off merchants currently masquerading as dealers.

I have just bought an old GPX750R that was £500, goes 140mph and costs £90 a year to insure and makes me grin from ear to ear. They never had a particularly good rep but they are quite a fun bike to own and run. The handling is nowhere near as bad as I seem to remember evereyone saying it was.

All things are relative really. If your quest is for speed I am guessing any twin will bore the pants off you after a few months. I did greatly enjoy my time I had with an SV650 a few years back though and the wildest man in bourneo would find perpetual delight on TL1000.

If only they still made 2 strokes. Wheelying Elsies was always the perfect cure for years of being shackled by L plates.

[trevor saxe-coburg-gotha]

A grand should buy you a pretty damn decent cb500, with all consumables in dedent nick, and a mileage of about 20k. Yeah I know they're a poxy half litre soft-tuned twin with unshakeable school bike learner / utility bike boring commuter connotations - but mechanically they're almost unkillable, and tend to run forever. So for every accusation of dull and bland, there's some consolation in their dependability and affordability. Regardless, they have a quite 'neutral' seating thang - thus in keeping with the cg125. Plus you could always stick a new can on it - to give the illusion of ahem performance. The Fuel exhaust, with baffle removed, is a bit of a larf. You'd like that.

Or, thinking a bit more laterally, at the upper end of your budget you could maybe - *maybe* - get a w650. There was one for 1.8k on ebay last week - a little bit weathered, but oddly the better for it. Again, soft tuned - and with a good rep for reliability (although to be fair, this will be as much if not more down to the fact that old men own them as it is kawasaki's engineering and build). Only down side with this bike is it'll not let you shirk your cleaning duties, and will probably require a steady diet of preservers - e.g. ACF50 - if you're going to all-weather commute the bugger.
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"Life is a sexually transmitted disease and the mortality rate is one hundred percent."

Mobylette Type 50 ---> Raleigh Grifter ---> Neval Minsk 125

[trevor saxe-coburg-gotha]

Ooh! Ooh! - look at this:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Honda-CB450-CB-450-1972-1-owner-low-miles-in-mind-blowing-standard-condition-/221584140005?pt=UK_Motorcycles&hash=item339771a6e5
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"Life is a sexually transmitted disease and the mortality rate is one hundred percent."

Mobylette Type 50 ---> Raleigh Grifter ---> Neval Minsk 125

[Commuter_Tim]

[MC]

Congrats! I got 5 minors too

ER5 gave me backache, but the main reason not to have one is that they're incredibly boring, and actually have really dodgy brakes (rear drum). A Bandit's a Rolls Royce by comparison

2k can get you some really nice bikes, a tidy Hornet for around or probably a bit less than that figure for example.
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Yamaha MT-03 '08 (crashed)
Honda XR-125L '04

[Rogerborg]

You won't get much of an F650GS (single) for under £2K, and certainly not the twin.

I was going to suggest V-Stroms, but they're holding their value surprisingly well.

A classic, maybe, but think about parts. On that basis, think popular bikes with plenty of pattern parts. CB500, Bandit, SV650S, Divvy, check out WeMoto to verify.

Maybe Dullsville, but if you want low maintenance, buy on condition not model. Stainless downpipes, good chain, sprockets, tyres, brakes, get one that's not needing anything done to it and you won't have to do anything to it, innit.
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Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[trevor saxe-coburg-gotha]

[MC]

The guy obviously wants a grand for it, the fact it hasn't sold in 20+ days says it all really. I'd offer £800.
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Yamaha MT-03 '08 (crashed)
Honda XR-125L '04

[UncleFester]

Just coughed up £850 for a mechanically sound but cosmetically 'used' 1996 Cb500 Twin.

Came with crash bars, bagster tank cover, heated grips, good Bridgestone BT45 tyres, new clutch, FSH ( and a new MOT and service ) a top box and a small Givi screen. Pick it up at the weekend.

There's loads of choice but as above, i'd walk away from anything that already needs work as you can guarantee that whatever it needs now it is going to need that and more later.

Purposefully chose something that wasn't nice and shiny so that when i drop it ... all i'm adding is extra patina instead of losing value.

If you wanted a shiny example, you can pick them up but the price seems to double ... not sure i'd want a £2000 CB500 ... there's other nicer bikes for that kind of money. At least if you spend half of what you have, you have the other half for anything you might need like tyres / brakes / service parts / insurance etc.

As for it being dull and boring, compared to the YBR125 its replacing, dull and boring is relative
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2017 Z1000SX

[Commuter_Tim]

Hmm, gives me something to think about, cheers fellas.

Looks like you are all correct, for parts availability I likely will need to go with one of the 'staple' bikes.

I messaged the CB500 guy, he said hes out of the country atm so could explain why its still listed.

Hopefully he is just one of those stupid people like me who replaces parts before their time on really old bikes, and that its not a complete shithouse.
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The above post is most likely nonsensical.

I ride a Bandit 600... badly.

[Commuter_Tim]

Rather than clutter the forum with another noob request thread, I'll see if anybody could help here...
https://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/NTc1WDEwMjQ=/z/nUQAAOSwrx5UWg9i/$_86.JPG
https://www.gumtree.com/p/suzuki-motorbikes/suzuki-bandit-600/1087643860

[wr6133]

Without seeing feck knows about the damage to the collector box but I'd budget a new one as if it's an easy fix why has he not done it.

The custom seat (so custom anyone can buy on eBay), stupid headlights and anodised red bars would put me off. It kind of screams owned by a chav (backed up by Mr tracksuit in the background). Chav's don't treat bikes well.

I may be clouded though I don't like bandits, I'd rather a CB500 if I went shopping for a naked, commuter type thing.

[nowhere.elysium]

It's a very clean-looking B6, but it's still a B6 - they're prone to being owned by the mechanically retarded.

Of the choices you'd brought up (and bearing in mind my hatred of I2 bikes), the CB500 is probably the best bet. B6s are OK, but you're best taking someone who knows spannering to have a look at it - clean != functional.
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'10 SV650SF, '83 GS650GT (it lives!), Questionable DIY dash project, 3D Printer project, Lasercutter project

[Val]

Congrats and you can look at the GSF650 within your budget too, personally I do not mind to get Cat C or D one, this looks nice one to me, bare in mind this less than 10k miles bike, IMO the key buying second hand bike is low mileage:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Suzuki-GSF-650-SK5-2006-06-DAMAGED-REPAIRABLE-/171526768578?pt=UK_Motorcycles&hash=item27efcac7c2

https://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/MTIwMFgxNjAw/z/3xIAAOSwEK9T397A/$_57.JPG
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Adrian Monk: Unless I'm wrong, which, you know, I'm not...
Yamaha Fazer FZS 600, MT09, XSR 900

[trevor saxe-coburg-gotha]

Dommies - wow.

I just couldn't. EVER.
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"Life is a sexually transmitted disease and the mortality rate is one hundred percent."

Mobylette Type 50 ---> Raleigh Grifter ---> Neval Minsk 125

[wr6133]

[Old_Steeve]