I am buying a new bike!

[Assomazzo]

Hi all,

I have decided to get a new motorbike, for no particular reason other than that I think that I deserve a treat and that I am about to pay the last instalment on my current Honda CB500X.

On my shortlist are the Honda NC750X DCT, the Yamaha Tracer 700, the Suzuki V-Strom 650 and the Kawasaki Versys 600. I mainly use my pride and joy for a fairly short commute to work and for the occasional long ride with mates, although I am hopeful that if I go for a bigger bike I will ride more for leisure and maybe one day go on a longer touring trip.

If I get a decent deal part exchanging mine I might even be able to stretch my budget and go for a Tracer 900, or the 1000 version of V-Strom or Versys. What do you guys think about the bikes on my shortlist? Any owners who can give me an informed opinion?

Thank you in advance!

[Val]

[Rogerborg]

What is it about your current bike that's stopping you doing all the things that you're telling yourself you'd want to do on a different one?
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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

[Wafer_Thin_Ham]

[Evil Hans]

How long can you own a bike before you stop being a 'new biker' ... or was this a really short finance deal?
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Triumph Sprint ST 1050. And it's Red.

[Assomazzo]

Thanks for the replies everybody. Val, I hear you when you say that the best nike is the one I'll like that's very true... Problem is I like them all!

Rogerborg, there is little about my current bike that's stopping me doing the things I'd like to do, mainly the size of the engine really. Bottom line it's more about the excitement of riding a different machine I guess, and Evil Hans I don't think that how long you've been riding necessarily makes you an experienced biker. I have been commuting on a motorbike for the past five years, however it's always been a fairly short ride and although I have been for longer rides with friends that hasn't happened very often. Riding, perhaps like driving and many other things, should be an ever developing skill I thin. That is just my opinion mind you, but yes I think of myself as a relatively new biker in that respect.

The tracer 700 is a strong candidate but I am somehow fascinated by the DCT in the Honda NC750X. I will test ride a few machines and I will be greasing the wheels of capitalism, it's a dirty job but someone has to do it I am afraid.

Cheers everyone!

[Polarbear]

[Kentol750]

Rogerborg makes a good point, why change? Nothing on your list is better than the cb really. Few more ponies, more weight, torque ..meh. ....it's not advice you want, cb500 to r1,10r,gixxer though or fireblade...then yes, but otherwise, just pick a colour you like!
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Some bikes.

[155mph]

[Barnoe]

Going off the list of bikes your after there doesn't seem to be much difference to what you already own?

So your basically wanting a bigger engine with the sounds of it.
ive never owned a 500, but i cant imaging there being a massive difference to a 600.... not enough to start over with more monthly payments anyway :/

If you dont enjoy long rides on your current bike then the bikes your looking at wont be much better either.

Just my opinion of course
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You know you are old when you're told to slow down by your doctor and not the police.

[pinkyfloyd]

[Barnoe]

[pinkyfloyd]

[Teflon-Mike]

[Azoth]

I'm of the view that it would be a luxury purchase, and the way to know whether it's within your budget would be to simply check if you have enough money to buy it. If you have to buy something on finance or take out a loan, it isn't really yours. Sadly, there is precedence for this. A lot of people who used to ride superbikes in the 90s and early 2000s don't ride at all now. There are minor but significant details in bike choices, which are often overlooked. For example, the CBR600 is and was a great bike, for beginners and experienced riders alike. But compare the price of a rear tyre and new chain on one of those with that on a 500 parallel twin... At some point you have to ask yourself what's the point in owning one, if you can only afford to keep it for a short time, don't want to run it hard, and it only comes out in summer to show to your mates. It's a final calculation everyone seems to make, and sooner or later it kicks the bucket in people's life priorities. The whole thing becomes a 5-year 'phase' in retrospective.

A Japanese guy in his 50s I knew once, who used to be someone in a famous Japanese rock band but had settled for a boring accounting job to fund his travels overseas, told me he didn't have a single guitar these days. He used to have bikes and guitars, but now he had no bike and no car, either. He wasn't short of money. In his words, 'I don't collect things, I collect experiences'. He was more interested in hiking and backpacking than anything. Another Japanese guy, motorcycle engineer for Yamaha in Asia, an experienced amateur race rider, etc. told me his dream bike was the Yamaha SR400, because of its simplicity, etc. Sooner or later high-maintenance plastic baubles lose their sparkle. If it took you 5 years to pay off a CB500X, it's something that bears a little more thought before joining a race to keep up with the Joneses, who will probably flog their Striple soon because back tyre vs baby clothes anyway.
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Safety in numbers