Motors Motorcycle Mayhem

Figured as much. Even 10 mins up and down two dual carriageway junctions at 65-70 was enough for me to be thinking "gotta try a fairing!".

 

Anybody up for a Bit-Tech-Bikers meet?

I've been mulling this over for a while now so I thought I'd see what people think...

Moriquendi

 

Congratulations RTT! I'm pretty sure all the best riders get 2 minors (not just because that's what I got, honest ) What bikes have you got your eye on? I'm currently leaning towards a mark 1 Yamaha Fazer.

I'd be up for that, once I finally buy a big bike

The three of us are all south(ish) england, so that wouldn't be too difficult.

 

That's what I was thinking, maybe summer-ish, giving RTT and Shuriken time to get bikes and get used to them, and any anybody else who wants to come along.

Moriquendi

 

Sure. I don't know anyone else that rides!

Dunno really. Most likely a 600 of some description. Not an all out sports bike as I need to use whatever I get for commuting too - that rules out CBR600s and similar. Although I could be tempted by a CBR600 F4i from a few years back, they dont look as extreme as the R6s / 600RRs / ZX6Rs / Gixxers etc, but I don't really know. I figured I might try out a Supermoto too as the riding position is high which could be handy for commuting?

What are test rides like? Easy to get if I just wonder into a dealership?

 

A semi-faired bike and crash protectors, are my recommendation. Everyone will drop their bike at the beginning, and the crunch of fairing and crumpled metal is like anti-Viagra to a biker!
Unless you have the confidence and ability to get your knee down, I wouldn't buy a hyper sports bike, as your first post-test purchase.
Bikers are a welcoming lot and most will accept bike and bikers of all shapes and sizes. However, there is a certain amount of vitriol against people with super-sports machines that wobble through the corners, have pristine knee sliders and whose outer edges of their tyres are tarmac virgins.

N.B. You may have the riding skill of Valentino Rossi, if so please ignore my ramblings!!

 

Yep, not interested in a hyper bike at all. They're far beyond my skills and not suitable for my requirements anyway. Plus I've not got a garage, so anything really nice would probably get stolen

Just that CBR600 F4i seems to be a fairly tame 600, in the same way that a Yammy Thundercat is/was to the R6. It's possibly the sportiest bike I'd consider, and it's only a slight consideration at best.

I am certainly no Rossi

How do you find your 650? It's on my short list, but I've heard stuff about the front cylinder being temperamental in the wet as it's right in line with spray from the front wheel. How has it treated you so far? Any truth to that?

 

TBH, mine is a 99 model, and there has been some issues in soaking wet weather, but this was partly down to the idle being set to low, a longer mudguard and some grease around the sparkplug also helped reduce this. The bike is great, light, good grunt and handles well; the insurance is also much lower than say a CBR 600 or Thundercat Hoooo!
What is your budget?

 

Interesting, thanks for that

Money's no object

 

Cool, you may of heard of this credit crunch thingy!!, you can squeeze some excellent deals out of the bike dealers, on a new or nearly new bike! Also the Honda Hornet is a fantastic bike.

 

My list of bikes that I'm interested in stands at:

Suzuki SV650
Suzuki Gladius
Yamaha XJ6 (the new for '09 one)
Yamaha FZ6 (faired version)
Kawasaki ER-6F / ER-6N
KTM 690 SMR
Honda CBR600 F4i
Honda Hornet 600
Edit:
BMW F800 R / F800 ST

Not all of them have fairings/screens however

As there's a KTM dealership about a mile from my house I wondered down there a few hours ago. They've just sold their 690 demonstrator, but offered me a demo on a freaking 990 SMT!!! I thought why the hell not, the more I can experience the better I can figure out what I want. So next week, assuming my license has been updated and returned by the DVLA by then, I'll be riding one of these for a few hours:



Yes, that's a 1000cc throbbing v-twin with 120hp! Thankfully it's nothing like a 1000cc superbike, so it shouldn't pull my pants down too much.



I have no intention of buying one

 

To be honest I don't think more power/bigger engine is necessarily any more dangerous. You can kill yourself just as easily on a 250/33hp bike as an 850/70hp bike. If you ride like an idiot you are going to end up getting hurt while if you ride sensibly you're just as safe on a bigger/more powerful bike. I understand why the insurance premiums are higher for high performance bikes, if you're the kind of person who will ride like a t****r the bigger bike is more likely to catch you out and the crash is likely to be more severe.

Now that I'm used to my 850cc/70hp bike I would like something bigger, my next bike is likely to be (hopefully!) an R1200S or ST but that's not so that I can ride it any faster, the 850 will go quite fast enough thank you, I just want something that is more comfortable cruising at motorway speeds.

So I would suggest not disregarding a bike just because it has a big/powerful engine. Whatever bike you buy it's going to take some getting used to, my opinion is that above a certain power it doesn't really matter how big and powerful it is.

Moriquendi

 

Absolutely, they'll only do what you tell them to. Ditto for cars, just as easy to be dangerous in a Fiat Panda as it is in an M3. I've a healthy fear of death so I have no intention to go and do anything silly, my license and health are too important to me.

Is your 850 not comfy at motorway speeds? We talking "engine comfyness" or actual "bike comfyness"?

Also I forgot to say Moriquendi, the 400 i was on was happy to do 30mph in 3rd at 4k RPM, compared to your 2k RPM

Do independent shops do tests/demoes btw? Any idea?

 

We're talking engine comfyness, my bike has 5 gears at at 70mph in 5th it's at 4500-5000 rpm which is higher than I would prefer, on the motorway there's no need for monster acceleration and I would like a 6th gear to reduce the engine speed and therefore fuel consumption, I know the engine has the torque for it. The newer R1200S and ST have 6 gears, are lighter, more powerful but also have better fuel economy, however, BMW only make 1200cc boxers now ( they do make a R900RT but it's police only so I cant buy one)

I don't know whether independent dealers do test rides but it cant hurt to ask. BTW have you looked at BMWs? They have quite a range of different types of bike, they keep their value well and are renowned for lasting for ever. They also tend towards more practical set-ups, the steering geometry tends to be less twitchy than other manufacturers counterparts which might suit you for commuting. Perhaps this is personal bias but take a look, also, my experience of BMW dealers/service has been exceptional, very very helpful.

Moriquendi

 

Test drive it now!!!!!, these KTMs are actually a great commuter bike, due to their high ride height, and flatter handlebars that provide excellent low-speed agility. Watch the wheelies in the lower gears

 

Ah ok, gotcha re: engine/gears. Makes a lot of sense. Try a racey 4 cylinder... fancy 7.5K to do 70 in 5th? XD

I was followed on a R900RT by my examiner lovely thing it was

I forgot to add the BMW F800 R and F800 ST (not F800 S) to my list earlier. Beemers are lovely bikes, I spent a lot of time on the BMW stand at the NEC Motorcycle show last year, and at Excel this year. They look incredibly well made and yeah, I know how they are renowned for being pretty much bullet proof

Yep. I sat on one today and the ride height is great, and crucially I can get my feet down on one too - I'm a bit of a shortarse at 5'8" and a bit. The 690 is on my list for similar reasons - wide bars, high ride height to see over traffic and great economy if you ride sensibly. Just not sure how I'll get on with with the 690's single cylinder. They're meant to be smooth and nicely balanced though! However, I fear that they'll be revving pretty high to do 70mph motorway work ( )

The 990 SMT is pretty expensive though at £9,600. Not sure I'd want to plump that on a first bike. Depends if I fall in love with it I suppose XD Plus would I want to store such a nice bike outside? Hmm :/

 

Interesting, I was under the impression they didn't let mere mortals buy them, I'll have to check again, it's going to be a long time before I can afford to change bikes anyway.

One of the things that was an absolute requirement for me when I bought my bike was that it have a shaft drive, as I didn't want the hassle of chain maintenance.

Moriquendi

 

Nah apparently they're available to the Cops and agencies such as the DSA. Freaking huge things they are, it was pretty intimidating to see it in my mirrors

Chains much bother then? I figure they must need lubing at least weekly, cleaning a little less frequently than that, and replacing every 5k miles or so?

 

Ahh, that explains it then. They are big, it's identical to the R1200RT but with a smaller bore, probably looks more intimidating because of the fairing.

Chains need adjusting every 500 miles too but they also fling sticky, oily crud everywhere, it's just something I'd rather do without. The only maintenance I have to do with my shaft drive is change the oil every 12,000 miles.

Moriquendi

 

Was going to post this in the demotivational thread, but meh...