First post and asking advice please

[dsolds]

Hi All, Dom here,

So, looks like I'm getting back on a bike after 10 years of life as a car driver. The Mrs, at her tender age of 45 has taken up lessons and has bought herself a Yamaha R3 in readiness for the test pass. So I am under instruction to get myself sorted with 2 wheels, and therein lies the issue. I have no idea what to buy? Kind of hoping some people on here would have some ideas for me.

So, I'm not up to date with the bike scene, models, what's good etc and I really am struggling to find a bike I actually want to buy, hence asking for some suggestions / recommendations please.

I like:
Naked bikes
Shaft drive - this is quite important
Shed loads of torque
Bikes that don't weigh more than a London Bus.
Upright riding position.

I don't like:
Too much fairing. I prefer the wind, feels more like I'm riding and helps keep speeds down a bit.
Chain drive. Mess, maintenance and a ball ache I can easily live without.
Loud exhausts. Just not for me unless they are connected to a V12.
Monkey shagging a football riding position - too old for that.
Honda linked braking system. Really can't get on with this.
Bobber style bikes, rat bikes or bitsa style. I know, picky.

So, what would be good? To be honest I would have another XJR1300 but looking to get as close as possible, just with a shaft drive. I find the FJ a bit too bulky and heavy so of the 2 I would still go for the XJ.

I'm not a big tourer, more pleasure riding at the weekends. Just something for a nice ride out, no track days and no behaving like the public roads are a race track. Budget would be 4-5k.

What do you reckon then? Thanks in advance.

Dom

[Teflon-Mike]

Shaft Drive, naked, not a bobber/chopper...
Those criteria sort of narrow down the choice a bit.. plenty of shaft drive bikes with full touring fairings about, plenty of shaft drive cruiser/bobber/choppers about; plenty of chain drive nakeds... BUT only thig that leaps to ind thats not a cuiser, is a aked, and has shaft drive, plenty of grunt and half reasonable upright ridig position, that springs to mind is.... Moto Guzzi.. V7's are not unduly heavy either. O/H's slightly dated V75 is actually lighter than a lot of 500 comuter twns, and carries its weight rather well; and feels like a super-charged 125 on steroids, o the road.

Only little niggle is they are.. well.. a Moto-Guzzi! Really. Worth a look though.
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My Webby'Tef's-tQ, loads of stuff about my bikes, my Land-Rovers, and the stuff I do with them!
Current Bikes:'Honda VF1000F' ;'CB750F2N' ;'CB125TD ( 6 3 of em!)'; 'Montesa Cota 248'. Learner FAQ's:= 'U want to Ride a Motorbike! Where Do U start?'

[Alpineandy]

[bamt]

Guzzi sprung to mind for me too - or how about a BMW R1200R?

[dsolds]

Thanks chaps.

Guzzi - good shout, I hadn't thought of them. 750 twin, so plenty of torque. Nice looking bike. Going to take a look at one on saturday now.

Belt drive, no idea. If it's as low maintenance as a shaft then fair enough.

BMW I hadn't considered, well not that model. Have to go check on it.

[arry]

[trevor saxe-coburg-gotha]

If not belt-averse, XB12.
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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

[lingeringstin...]

Vespa or something like that Suzuki Burgervan type thing.

I know both of these are totally unsuitable to your tastes but it did remind me of a conversation I had with a kid recently. He was admiring my rather terrible 40 year old shitty MZ and made noises about wanting a bike of his own someday.

I pointed out that at that very moment I was covered in oily crud, working on my bike rather than out riding it. I pointed out that any fashionable young person would be wise to choose something that you can reliably push a button on to get going and that wouldn't cover your expensive troosers in grime and oil as you went, and would be cheap and easy to maintain.

When you think about it most "motorcycles" as we think of them are horrible and costly to run. They're unsafe, uncomfortable and such a design would never pass anybody's health and safety criteria these days. I've often wondered why we're all still looking at an early 1900's velocipede design when something scootery-based does everything so much better these days. You can sit comfortably on a nice modern 400 or 600 scooter with low centre of gravity and carrying capacity doing motorways all day long without looking like a shitting frog or needing to have physiotherapy for your lifestyle choices.

Sad but true.

[Polarbear]

[Alpineandy]

[angryjonny]

Find a crashed FJR1300 and streetfighter it

[MahatmaAndhi]

It's long in the tooth, but what about a Honda NTV650?
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2008 Aprilia Sportcity 250

[Kentol750]

BMW R Nine T.
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Some bikes.

[Polarbear]

I agree with the Adventure bike route.

Big BMW's, Triumphs, Motoguzzi's, Hondas are all shaft drive. All pretty pricy as well.

I had the Triumph Tiger Explorer, loved it but the tax man loved his pound of flesh more so one of my bikes had to go.

A lot of the cruisers are shaft drive, at least they were, Would have to go and check which is or isn't now.

Get a Rocket 3 before they become history.

Oh, how about a Yamaha V Max? Always fancied one myself and they are on the turn as an appreciation classic if you get one un bastardised.
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Triumph Trophy Launch Edition

[stevo as b4]

For me if they are in budget, it would have to be a Motoguzzi Griso 8V! Fairly modern and have a better suspension and brakes set up than many shaft drive nakeds.

A mint mk1 V-max could be cool, but a tidy std one would probably be quite pricey now, and I want a bastardized special which doesn't look a fraction as good as a std one.

There's a few old 90's shaft drive Jap nakeds, but a bike of that age for a fuss free weekend rider is not what you need, and if the budget is 5k I'd be looking for something much newer and as much bike as possible for the cash.

[Tracer1234]

Bimota Tesi 3D RaceCafe

Meets most of your specs...

Naked, Shaft, Torque, does not weigh loads.

https://s20.postimg.org/bs96129n1/Screenshot_2017-06-22_at_23.41.24.png

https://s20.postimg.org/3lh69hjkd/Tesi_RC.jpg
____________________
Riding: Yamaha MT-09 Tracer Occasionally Riding: 08 Suzuki SV650, Potato: 2011 Yamaha YBR Custom.
Used to ride: 2015 Yamaha MT-09 Tracer (smidsy) 09 Triumph Street Triple (P/X'd) 08 Yamaha YBR (Sold)
CBT 04/14. A: Mod 1 & 2 13/04/15

[techathy]

[Polarbear]

[Tracer1234]

[kgm]

[dsolds]

[Ste]

[Tracer1234]

[155mph]

[angryjonny]