Suggestions for a London commuter bike?

[Yasine]

I am looking to downsize from my CBR600 sport.

I really really like this bike, but it just isn't suitable for my route commuting through Central London.

Is there another bike a bit more filter friendly that you would recommend?

Ideally between 200 - 600cc and under £1500.

It doesn't have to look incredible and I don't mind an old bike. Just something that can be used everyday, handles well and isn't too wide.

Thanks in advance
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Yamaha XJ6N

[Rogerborg]

ER6s are starting to go for that money now.

I mention that specifically because they're still in production. The usual cry is "CB500" but some sellers seem to be under the impression that they're already offering an "appreciating classic" rather than an obsolete hack.
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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

[Amber Phoenix]

The usual suspects:-

Hoona CB/CBF500
Hoona NTV 650
Yammy Fazer FZS600 / FZ6
Yammy Divvy XJ6
Kwak ER6
Sookie SV650

All should set you back around £1-2k odd, depending on age, condition etc. So I'm sure you could find one of these in reasonable nick within your budget.

All should be roughly on par for cost to run, economy, insurance and all equally mundane to avoid the eyes of most London thieves. Certainly none are worth attacking an Almax/Pragmasis chain for. All nimble enough to squeeze through traffic.

Just bear in mind, most of these predate 2007, so will be hit by the ULEZ tax in 2020.
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Beginner Biker Adventures Blog
Yamaha FZ6 S2 2007

[Rogerborg]

Splendid point. The good news is the ER6 again - 2007 and 2008 models are going for £1500. I'm looking at eBay auction closing prices, by the way, not asking prices.
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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

[Beehive Bedlam]

Early Fazer 600.

[TheArchitect]

Funny, I was talking to a friend over lunch that I want something more sporty for my commute through London!

Inb4 practicality: I have friends who do practically the same route in and out of central London, one on a 2010 Ninja and one of a BMW K1600 with boxes bolted on. Just because it's London doesn't mean it's always wall-to-wall cars, there's always room to make progress if you ride smart.

Obviously MPG is a factor for you, but my GSR rarely gives me anything over 35mpg which I accept as pretty reasonable to be honest.

Edit: not intended to be a post aimed at helping answer your question.. just saying I'm looking to go the opposite way to you
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GSXR 600 K6 - Stolen
GSXR 600 K6 - Stolen
MT09 - Almost stolen

[Carvel]

Whats unsuitable about it?? They're as light and usable as anything else you'll buy. I commute on mine and it's a breeze.
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2002 Aprilia RSV1000R, Cbr600Fs, Mk1 B12, Vfr400 NC30...

Matt B: I can deal with crushed nuts to beat Ollie.

[G]

Why stick to low CC?

When I had a similar commute, after trying various options I found a K6 GSXR1000 to be the most suitable option.
Light weight and compact, but massive range of power, so can be lazy with gear changes etc.
Agile and acceptable brakes to account for the other commuters.

[inline4]

[Rogerborg]

Maybe "Central" London is a bit more London than the rest of London?

Just asking, OP clearly has some reason to want to change.
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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

[Copycat73]

easiest bike i ever used was a DRZ400 though the DTR125 came a close second .. but any sit up trail bike would do.. single or twin.
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[Undinist]

To be fair to the OP, lots of the 'improvements' to central London roads have made progress very, very challenging. So many huge new kerbs and islands...barriers and railings everywhere. And there's miles of fucking roadworks where all the cones make the lanes extra narrow. Some people ride in the roadworks and the cycle lanes, and kick the cones out of the way and ride on the kerb. But not everyone is up for that sort of thing.

GT550 is a good choice - shaft drive, ultra narrow, and you can easily flip the mirrors in and out to squeeze through those ickle gaps where only the cyclists go.

[gorillaonabik...]

I live in zone 1 which for any non-Londoners is as central as you can get and have just gone for a BMW 1300GT! However, as a Londoner, I get your point and I used to know a guy who commuted on scramblers. In London, his pavement hopping skills were awesome and was always the quickest guy on the road.

How about a CRF250 or maybe a YZF250? Plenty of low-down grunt, incredible turning circles and lots of pavement-hopping potential?
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FZR400 (blown engine), ZXR750 (blown engine), ZX6R (accident), CBR600 which had engine issues after which I learned to change gear..., CBR900, CBR924 (stolen), CB600, CB1300 (everything blew up), BMW K1300GT (written off, hit from rear while stationary), Bandit 1250 for a couple of months, Triumph Sprint ST 1050 (nicked) and somewhere in there, I wrote off a Ducati 748 at Cadwell.

[G]

[G]

[Rogerborg]

[M.C]

[c_dug]

I've been commuting through the heart of London for a bit under 5 years now, I've done it on a CBR600F, an XJ900 Diversion, a CBR125, an SV650 and my current VFR800 Vtec.

There has been no noticeable time difference between bikes.

There has been less stress though, personally I found the least stressful to the the CBR600 with no mirrors, and the most stressful probably to be the Diversion due to the wide bars.

What I'm saying is pick a bike you'll enjoy, don't expect to save much time though, as a relatively new rider London isn't fun, too many kerbs, police, coaches, dumper trucks, traffic lights, speed cameras etc...

It does get fun, but it takes a bit of time to acclimatise, when you know where to filter, where the typical police hot spots are, where the usual traffic pinch points are etc... Then you might start to enjoy it, regardless of what bike you're on.
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[Yasine]

I get the feeling from the responses in this thread that you should ride whatever you want as long as you like it regardless if it's not 100% suitable. And I don't there is anything wrong with that.

I was just looking for suggestions of bikes you can use everyday relaxed without having to lock it with massive chains etc. Before I used to have lots of scooters which looked tired but mechanically were great, and I have parked them up in high risk areas overnight unlocked many times and no one touched it lol.

I am still learning about bigger bikes hence why I was after you're expertise in naming a few makes/models. And some of the suggestions given are good. I have been looking at things like Suzuki Bandit, the older Honda Hornet etc

Upping the budget to 2k can get you a smaller Kawasaki ZX250 in decent nick and other nice bikes such as CBR250.

Would you say the ZX250 and CBR250 are good bikes?
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Yamaha XJ6N

[.....]

[Rogerborg]

[Yasine]

[el_oso]

The ZX is a twin yes and the CBR250 is a single.

I've also had a few bikes through central London. K5 Gixxer thou was probably the best. The two downsides were it's expensive to run, tax, insurance, petrol (not actually that bad ~40mpg), tyres. The clutch was also fairly heavy and would give a bit of wrist ache. A newer one with a silky smooth and light hydraulic clutch would be better.

I currently ride a CBR250. It's ok. It's light, but doesn't feel that much lighter than the gixxer. The bars on it are huge. The mirrors are even wider and at such a height that they perfectly knock car wing mirrors. It really isn't good at getting through small gaps.

What bugs you about the CBR600. Seems like a very good choice from my point of view. I'm considering replacing the CBR250 with the MSX125.
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Duke 390
Previous: '05 XR125L | '96 XJ600S Diversion |'05 Suzuki GSXR1000 | '05 Honda CBR125-R | '97 YZF 600R Thundercat | '11 Honda CBR250
Car: Jeep Wrangler 4.0L

[chris-red]

I prefer 'tall' bikes better turning circle (usually) and you can see above cars to plan you route through easier.
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[Alpineandy]

FWIW, In over 30 years I was never a regular commuter by bike (the Tube is safer with a few pints in you) but regularly did the occasional commute (4 to 6 times per year). Between various sports bikes, naked, classics etc the one I found best was a dual sport (a Honda XL650 Transalp). Not an inspiring bike but very usable.
Probably not much real difference in speed of journey but sitting that bit higher allowed me to plan a route through traffic a little easier and it was more comfortable. But not comfortable enough to make me a full time commuter...
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