A bike for hooning about on ...

Motorcycling
1

Well, this is exciting. Having finally given up on my dreams of finding a compromise bike that would work for me as well as my wife, I now have a Suzuki Wee-Strom. This is our ‘us’ bike.

It’s ‘fine’ for day-to-day use and brilliant for 2-up riding and touring (I’ll post a review later this week) but I find it uninspired and dull to ride on my ‘hooning’ rides. This is to be expected though, and was part of the plan.

The next part of the plan is the important bit - I’m looking for my second bike to complement this. Ideally, I want to find something that would do for the day-to-day riding, commuting to work, and weekend / evening thrashes. Track capable is optional. I’d also like something that I can learn to wheelie on.

At the moment, I am looking at the following:Hornet (2007 onwards) - had one of these before
Triumph Street Triple
CBR600F (I have the Book of Lies for this) - had one of these before
Honda FMX 650Yamaha MT-03
I’d like something that I can afford and afford to insure and as an example, the best quote I can get on a CBR600F is £600 per annum TPFT at the moment.

My budget for the bike is around £3500 - £4,000 - but I need something that I’m not going to need to put money into non-service costs for the next 6 months / 4000 miles. I want to be looking for a bike that has good tyres, good chain, etc. and I don’t want another Cat-D because that had a lot of unseen problems hiding under fairings.

As a reference point, I loved the Hornet and the CBR600F and those are my current leading choices. The Triumph is on the list because it looks like a fun hooligan bike, but I’ve not been able to test one yet.

What other bikes should I be considering for a fun ride for B roads and commuting - no motorways ? I looked at the KTM Superduke but they’re quite pricey for the most part.

I considered a Ducati Monster, but (and I’m waiting to be flamed for this) I’m just not enjoying the V-twin on the WeeStrom. I miss my screaming IL4 style of riding that the Hornet illustrates so well.

Any other similar bikes to the above that I should consider would be appreciated!

2

BMW F800R 2009. You can pick one up for around 4K. I picked one up just over a month or so ago for 4200 from Vines in Guildford for exactly the same reasons you are looking for, except for tracking. It’s a parallel twin though so it doesn’t have that maelstrom in the top end. I thought this would keep my license safe but I find myself hooning through traffic more on this thing than I did on my old CB1 :S Definitely worth a test ride.

3

Thanks - I’ll definitely add that to the list.

The one thing that always puts me off of BMW is the long term cost of servicing and parts - they do tend to be more pricey than the equivalent Japanese bikes. I’m not sure how it compares to the Triumph though.

4

From what you’ve said above, its got to be a 625 smc… or 690smc if you can find one for your budget…:wink:

you can do all the above plus a bit of green laneing :slight_smile:

5

Lol Terry… are you trying to covnert everybody? :stuck_out_tongue: :smiley:

P.S. Booked a test ride on a 690smc Sunday just to make sure and landlady’s back so getting permission to use garage tonight! :smiley:

6

Bandit 1200 is defo a hooner.

Cheap.
Many stunters use it.
It will tour.
I reckon it could do 3up without any issues other than seat space. :smiley:

Heavy at 210kg, but it shifts its weight with the amount of torque it has.

7

Never riden a Honda FMX 650, but from what I’ve heard it’ll be as dull and uninspiring as the ‘Wee Storm’ - if not more so. I’d take the Hornet over the FMX any day.

Have you looked at other supermotos? As Terry says, ticks all your boxes and more… :slight_smile:

8

Hmm - that’s interesting.

The Hornet was MASSIVE fun, and I’m still tempted to go that route, but something different would be nice.

I’m just not really up on what supermotos are what, and that’s what’s put me off. I’m googling now though :slight_smile:

9

KTMs are probably your best bet as Terry said above - 690 SMC has ‘hoon’ written all over it - probably worth test riding one. Only down side of supermoto is that they don’t like motorways, but they do love twisties and filtering - and wheelies :smiley:

10

There aren’t a lot of 690s on Autotrader, and they do look quite a bit more expensive than my budget. There are a couple of 625s about, but a long way from me, so they’ll be difficult to test ride.

Might be worth saving that search on Autotrader :slight_smile: Thanks !

11

That’s one of the issues I had with the Bandit - it’s pretty heavy and it’s quite long / wide. I’m looking for something more for just fun riding now that I’ve got the WeeStrom for everything else.

12

Do what I’m going to do… Test ride a 690 to see if you like the SM style and then choose the different engine based on other users feedback…

Having talked to Terry about his 625 at lengths, I think it’s the right one to go for me and within my budget…

13

I would have said that you can’t get better than a

KTM 690 SMC or Duke

They weigh pretty much the same as a vespa 125 but run like a sports bike through town. :stuck_out_tongue:

14

Recon this could be within your budget :wink:

http://www.ktmforum.co.uk/bikes-bits-sale/83174-690-smc-58-plate-sale.html

15

So how did the ride go ? :slight_smile:

16

Was good… took me a while to get comfy on the bike and I’m still quite apprehensive of the different riding style but was good fun… :smiley:

I’m positive I’m not riding it properly (within the correct revs) but I’m sure it will come with time when I buy one… But I did find myself grinning and then looking down at the speedo doing 39mph!!! IF only the demonstrator had had an aftermarket can on - just does not sound the same beast without it!

Landlady has given permission so I’m on the hunt for one now… :slight_smile:

I do have a little voice in my head saying - go for another test ride to make sure and might do that next weekend if I haven’t found something… Am still debating the XR650 mainly because of maintenance/ reliability but these are all still minor decisions I have to make - the big one has been made - I’m getting one :D…

Fun part of the day was the sales guy tell me that the 690 needs servicing every 6000 miles… yeah right!!!

17

Took me a while, totally different ride to a IL4 once you get use to the way to ride em it will keep you grining

Think the 690’s are 4.5k, few on here will correct me :slight_smile:

Good news with the landlady :cool:

18

To the OP- I’d recommend you try the MT03. It is ‘only’ a single and top end isn’t going to set the world on fire but it’s no slouch accelerating as long as you have the right mods in place- the standard bike is a bit too pedestrian for spirited riding IMHO but it is transformed with some nice free-flowing Akra’s and some subtle gearing changes.:wink:

KTM’s are great but I found the MT is not as flighty or twitchy as the average KTM and you don’t get back from a ride feeling like you’ve been straddling an super-charged ironing board. Yes it’s not as full-on but ask yourself really how full-on you want to be all the time ? :slight_smile: The MT is still seen as ‘just’ a first big bike by most who’ve never ridden one, so you will probably be able to get a bargain. They are an unbelievable 7.5k new now but much much less secondhand.:ermm:

19

I’ve not managed to find a KTM to have a go on yet, but I do have a ride on a Street Triple planned for next weekend, even though that’s at the very top end of my budget (and then some…)

Problem I have with the MT-03 is that by the time you add those mods, you’re up at KTM / Triumph prices. Akra’s aren’t cheap :smiley: I’m still seriously considering it just for the fact that it is well different to anything else I’ve owned, but I do wonder how it will do on ride-outs and stuff where there is a bit of highway work.

20

Head down to P&H in Crawley… they have KTMs there for you to try :slight_smile: