You have around £2500 to spend on a bike, what do you buy?

[slowside]

In the vain of many self-felating ‘I’ve passed my MOD2, what bike should I buy’ threads, here is another.

I have an ever revolving shortlist of the usual middleweight 600s, but I thought rather than asking for suggestions which will throw up the same list of sensible post-test bikes, I’d ask what YOU lot would buy if you had the cash spare to see if there were any interesting options I may be missing (if that just so happens to be a sensible middleweight 600 post-test bike then fair enough).

[Fisty]

I bought a Hayabusa for £2500
And a TL1000R for £1800.
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Quietly and consistently taking the piss.
TL1000R | Hayabusa | ZXR400 | TL1000S | Bandit 400 V
Fatter and faster than Fret

[redeem ouzzer]

600’s are for baby loser nerds. I refer you to Fisty’s musings above. Get a real man’s bike.
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Be a REAL MAN!

[NJD]

At a decent used dealer £2500 is a lot of money to play with, but that depends on if you've gained the A2 or A license?

Depends what type of bike you want: sports, commuter, sport touring, touring, adventure, off-road etc.

You're going to want to set aside a budget, and some time, for basic servicing when you get whatever you buy: part of inheriting a second hand bike.
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The do it all, T̶h̶e̶ ̶b̶r̶o̶k̶e̶n̶ ̶o̶n̶e̶,̶ ̶T̶h̶e̶ ̶b̶i̶g̶ ̶l̶u̶m̶p̶,̶ ̶C̶h̶o̶n̶g̶ ̶N̶o̶o̶d̶l̶e̶

[The Shaggy D.A.]

Depends, what do you want a bike for? Commuting? Peer acceptance? Sons of Anarchy role playing? Wannabe Rossi? Steve McQueen fence jumping? Polishing? Hipsterbation?
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Chances are quite high you are not in my Monkeysphere, and I don't care about you. Don't take it personally.
Currently : Royal Enfield 350 Meteor
Previously : CB100N > CB250RS > XJ900F > GT550 > GPZ750R/1000RX > AJS M16 > R100RT > Bullet 500 > CB500 > LS650P > Bullet Electra X & YBR125 > Bullet 350 "Superstar" & YBR125 Custom > Royal Enfield Classic 500 Despatch Limited Edition (28 of 200) & CB Two-Fifty Nighthawk > ER5

[Alex A]

A 2002/2003 R1.
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Current: Ducati Panigale R / Ducati Streetfighter S / Suzuki GSX-R1000 L5

[GSTEEL32]

Later shape ducati 750 or 900 SS.

[slowside]

[notabikeranym...]

If it was my first big bike I'd buy an R6 because that's exactly what I did.

You can get a 5eb for less than 2.5k

[Easy-X]

I recently passed and got the full A... and then got an A2 bike It suits my needs though. I was quite surprised that a few of the 600 to 650 bikes I was previously looking at weren't earth-shatteringly more powerful than the bike I have now...

Anyhoo, after my dismal failure at resurrecting an old Fazer 600 I think I'd probably go for one of those (a working example though) and use the money left over from this mythical £2500 to really give it a good service.

I quite liked it - even though I only sat on it and turned over the engine - and generally ppl's opinion of it was it was a great all-purpose bike.
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Husqvarna Vitpilen 401, Yamaha XSR700, Honda Rebel, Yamaha DT175, Suzuki SV650 (loan) Fazer 600, Keeway Superlight 125, 50cc turd scooter

[wr6133]

GSXR 1000, what's the worst that can happen?

[Kawasaki Jimbo]

[Ste]

Two stroke KTM enduro bike.

I say KTM but it could end up being a different brand if I found a good deal.

Completely impractical as a commuter bike.

[Kentol750]

Hornet 900 or Fireblade, again.
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Some bikes.

[stinkwheel]

I'd buy a blackbird, service the brakes and re-spring it.

Or potentially an early VFR800 and do the same and fit an adjustable fork cartridge off a CBR.

Or an early alloy framed CBR600F and give the brakes and suspension a full overhaul and fit some sensible luggage.

There's a theme here. Get a mid 90's early 2000's Honda sports tourer, sort out the brakes and handling.
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“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[slowside]

[kgm]

Vfr800/sprint st as I'm not really into out and out sports bikes. Blackbird just doesn't fit me ergonomically unfortunately. Arms are too short.

Failing that a Fazer or early tuono.

[Evotion]

A Honda CBR600F.
Looks great, superbly well made, comfy and easy to ride.
I loved my one and in many ways it was a lot better than the Panigale which replaced it,

[MarJay]

£2.5k? Not sure. For a first bike I'd probably go for a Hornet or Fazer if I didn't want a full on sportsbike.

However ZX6R's seem to be great value at the moment, not sure why. I saw a 2008 for sale recently, mint, with 21k on the clock for £2500. That is CHEAP for what you're getting.
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British beauty: Triumph Street Triple R; Loony stroker: KR1S; Track fun: GSXR750 L1; Commuter Missile: GSX-S1000F
Remember kids, bikes aren't like lego. You can't easily take a part from one bike and then fit it to another.

[slowside]

[slowside]

[Easy-X]

[Tdibs]

Something to do the TET with and/or a 1L V-twin. Most likely a falco.
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Previous : 09 Vanvan 125| 02' Sv650s || Current: 1999 Xj600n | 1992 DR650 RSE | 2005 Fazer 1000

[MarJay]

[slowside]