OV9

I like the Street Twin but the Thruxton 1200 will allow you to pose around just as well and will keep you entertained for far longer I expect.

I like the Thruxton and the Bonneville as well tbh, the original reasoning for the Street Twin was mostly budget and thinking that starting on something a bit low power would be a good idea but that's already starting to come unstuck with the Z900 being considered.

On the trackday I did earlier this year there was a guy with a Street Cup. 50-odd bhp and he was having a whale of a time.

NotoriousREV wrote: Thu Aug 09, 2018 5:05 pm On the trackday I did earlier this year there was a guy with a Street Cup. 50-odd bhp and he was having a whale of a time.

Which proves absolutely fucking nothing Dave.

He might've been on medication or had some kind of disorder for a start.

A closed track is not the A38 in traffic and the thrill of constantly wringing the 50hp out of a 200+ kilo motorcycle would soon seem like a bad idea when you could've bought one with the same size engine that makes twice as much power.

I'm willing to bet actual money that this anecdotal simpleton would've been having an even bigger whale of a time on a thruxton 1200 anyway.

evostick wrote: Thu Aug 09, 2018 5:42 pm

NotoriousREV wrote: Thu Aug 09, 2018 5:05 pm On the trackday I did earlier this year there was a guy with a Street Cup. 50-odd bhp and he was having a whale of a time.

Which proves absolutely fucking nothing Dave.

He might've been on medication or had some kind of disorder for a start.

A closed track is not the A38 in traffic and the thrill of constantly wringing the 50hp out of a 200+ kilo motorcycle would soon seem like a bad idea when you could've bought one with the same size engine that makes twice as much power.

I'm willing to bet actual money that this anecdotal simpleton would've been having an even bigger whale of a time on a thruxton 1200 anyway.

To be fair, the 25 stone bloke on the MT-10 was also having a whale of a time. I don’t know what this proves.

NotoriousREV wrote: Thu Aug 09, 2018 6:40 pm

evostick wrote: Thu Aug 09, 2018 5:42 pm

NotoriousREV wrote: Thu Aug 09, 2018 5:05 pm On the trackday I did earlier this year there was a guy with a Street Cup. 50-odd bhp and he was having a whale of a time.

Which proves absolutely fucking nothing Dave.

He might've been on medication or had some kind of disorder for a start.

A closed track is not the A38 in traffic and the thrill of constantly wringing the 50hp out of a 200+ kilo motorcycle would soon seem like a bad idea when you could've bought one with the same size engine that makes twice as much power.

I'm willing to bet actual money that this anecdotal simpleton would've been having an even bigger whale of a time on a thruxton 1200 anyway.

To be fair, the 25 stone bloke on the MT-10 was also having a whale of a time. I don’t know what this proves.

That track days are a generally a whale of a time perhaps?

Seems reasonable.

I'd have fun on my rattly Fazer I bet, but there are plenty others I'd rather take.

I get the appeal in lazy twins but I know it would frustrate me, even my Fazer at least had enough to annoy hot hatches.

Test rode a CB500X, Versys 650 and a V-Strom 650 today. Spent about 20-25 minutes on the CB500X and Versys and about 40-50 min on the V-Strom. A few initial thoughts from my limited time on them:

The V-Strom is the most complete of all three - easiest to ride and has the best sounding engine of the three. Difficult to fault in any way really, I just worry that it's almost too competent and I'd get bored of it, like I did with the SV-650.

The Versys had a nice rev hungry engine, but I was surprised how much the engine vibrated. Not annoying on a short test ride, but I imagine on a long day riding it might get a bit tiring? Grabby brakes too, but it had only done a few hundred miles, so they may still be bedding in (and I probably could just adapt to being a bit more progressive with front brake application). I didn't find the seat comfortable. It did have a lovely drivetrain though.

Am I being overly critical for a biking newbie? All three are bloody brilliant in reality, I'm just nit-picking a bit.

CB500X. Lovely riding position, very comfortable seat and the height of the bike was spot on.... perfect for me at least. Felt the most nimble and fun of the three. Despite the power deficit over the other two, the engine liked to rev and felt plenty quick enough. Though the engine was a bit lacking in character. The gear selector on this one felt a bit vague too.

Going to try and get a test ride of a Tracer 700 next and maybe the F800GS (If I can climb up onto one).

I don't think you're being too fussy at all. As we all say - buy the bike you can't live without. If there are niggles from Day One, it won't get under your skin and sure as hell won't get used.

I assume there are good deals to be had towards the end of the summer season?

mik wrote: Sun Aug 19, 2018 11:53 am I assume there are good deals to be had towards the end of the summer season?

December/January is when you get the best finance deals generally (0% or low interest plus loads of extras)

Seems dealers are selling their demo bikes now, the V-Strom I tested was for sale at £6300 (it had only done a few hundred miles and they're normally £7500 new)

Are sports bikes totally off the radar? I know roads are different etc but it was the CBR that really made me 'get' bikes.

If a bike doesn't excite you on some level it's not the one. SV/VStrom are old tech, as is the Kwak tbh. Fine machines but not exciting IMO. I quite liked the Tracer 700 actually but that's just me.

Demo bikes get hammered too, you'd have to get a lot off to tempt me tbh.

Guy at work has a CB500X, nice machine again but he's a plodder so it suits him. They go well but you have to cane them, which feels at odds with their aim.

Marv - please just try a 600 sports before spending money. Please.

JLv3.0 wrote: Sun Aug 19, 2018 6:41 pm Are sports bikes totally off the radar? I know roads are different etc but it was the CBR that really made me 'get' bikes.

Sports bikes arent really suitable for the road trip ideas I have in mind so yeah, they're off the radar.

Sorry to disappoint

I already really enjoy riding anyway... I'm pretty sure I 'get' it too, otherwise I wouldn't have bothered going beyond CBT.

I used to ride 500 kms a day on the Honda, and have done many times on the BMW. Open your eyes, young Marv! Don't discount something you haven't tried.

When it cools down here, I'm visiting my mate in Oman (450 kms away) and you can bet your ass it's on the BMW

Whilst they're usually a bit shit when it comes to carting around luggage, a sports bike can be a great machine for doing big miles on.

I did over 3k in a week down to Italy and back on a zx636 without any issues. Used a Ventura backpack thing. Was great. Saw 280kmph on the clocks a few times as well.

Exactly

Marv - the problem is you're looking at bikes that really aren't very interesting. You're not a kid and the cars you choose to drive are clear proof of what you like.

Just try one and give it back if you hate it. But you're testing bikes that are boring you ON THE TEST RIDE

In fact just typing all this has got me tweaked up about clocking some kms up on the Bimmer on a decent size trip