So the K8 750 is history after being t-boned by a young driver. I’m left feeling unsure what I should replace it with. I don’t want another middle-weight bike. I want to go back to big torque/power, but I don’t know in what style. Sports, city, touring? I love all three, perhaps Adventure as well.
Claire and I had a great time touring around Cornwall earlier in the year on a Suzuki Bandit SAGT. That bike is seriously impressive and seriously underated imo. More torque than you can shake a stick at, amazing in town, very comfortable and convenient. I couldn’t imagine owning a bike like this before now to be honest. Then there’s sports-bikes, I love them. Who doesn’t like launching off from the lights with enough power to embarrass supercar owners?
Superduke is an awesome bike. I loved it when I reviewed it a couple of years ago. A possible, and very cheap to pickup now no doubt.
Streetfighter looks very nice, but it seems to sit in the middle a little too much for me, i.e. not a racer, not a tourer. I could be wrong, I did ride to Italy and back on a 750! It’s also mental expensive, so you might as well look at a 1198 and get the extra bonkers-speed. I’m still not convinced I want to go beyond the £11k mark. There’s so much more at risk.
Glad you enjoyed the Bandit, and I couldn’t agree more with your view about that bike.
Having owned the 1250SA version for three years and done 35k miles on it, I absolutely love it, my only regret is when I bought it I didn’t know the GT was just around the corner and about to be released :crazy: Bought it for £5k brand new, incredible value and for the amount of fun we’ve had on it, it’s paid for itself many times over. Never missed a beat, totally reliable and an absolute dream to ride. What surprises me is I seem to be the only one on this forum who has one :hehe: (apart from Ginger, assuming he’s still got his)
So what did I vote for? The Aprilia (only kidding, Bandit all the way )
If you enjoyed the Bandit and plan doing a bit more touring and longer distance riding then try the new Hayabusa. I tried one last weekend and it’s a big improvement over mine. The brakes are good being the same as the GSXR1000, the handling is much lighter and the engine is smoother. It almost feels like a more chunky GSXR1000, can still be thrown around and feels fun and sporty but has a useful pillion seat, plenty of storage room and massive torque. If you thought the Bandit had torque you need to try the Hayabusa
If you’re considering the 1250 Bandit but also Litre sportsbikes then you really should give the FZ1 Fazer some serious consideration.
Also as previously mentioned, the Hayabusa along with the ZZR1400 & Sprint ST, maybe even the VFR1200, assuming you can get over the instinctive gagging reflex every time you open the garage door… :sick:
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