New Bike Suggestions

amx

amx

amx

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2 Dec 2005
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I've already owned an SV650S and FZ6 (current bike) but, I'm looking to change. I've had long term loans of a Bandit 600 and Bandit 1250.

My bike is mainly used for commuting, but it does get used for the odd Sunday blast with friends, travelling distance by motorway and touring (UK + Europe in the future). I may also look to carry a passenger in the future, so luggage could be useful.

At the moment, I'm considering the Honda VFR 800 VTEC, BMW F800ST or Triumph Sprint ST 1050 on an 06 plate or newer.

Does anyone have one of these bikes? Can you offer an opinion? Does anyone have any other suggestions for something I have not considered?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 
i'm a massive fan of the Triumph Speed Triple / Street Triple atm

friend of mine has the older Speed Triple and its lovely, so based on that i would probably go for the Triumph

plus its got the "british" marque :)

i dont like BMW bikes too much, and the VFR just isnt pretty (imo)
 
if it was just a commuting / fun bike, I'd definately get a street triple, it's an awesome piece of kit.
 
I'd go for the Triumph, and like RiPz I'd go for the street/speed triple seeing as you seem to prefer naked bikes (I've got a Daytona, which is lovely :p), only thing against them for long trips would be lack of wind protection, so if that was a really necessary item then I'd definately be test riding the Sprint ST, not actually ridden one of the 1050 triples, but if it's even half as good as the 675 (and logic dictates it'd be at least a little bit better) it's a lovely engine :)
 
I prefer faired bikes, the only naked bike i've ridden is the Bandit 600. That's what's attracted me to the Sprint :)
 
Fair enough, managed to miss the S and somehow thought the FZ6 was naked, now I feel dumb :p

Definately ride the Sprint then, triples rock :p
 
I would stay away from the Sprint.

A few years back a m8 had a Sprint RS, which is the sporty'ish version of the ST. Within a year of use every fastener had turned to dust, alloys gone furry, it was quick shocking. Overall build quality was really really bad. If you looked close up it looked like every part had been robbed from another bike and just chucked on with no care to detail.

Then there was the ride itself, the triple on this sporty guise was flat, boring and the handling bouncy and wheelbarrow like

I have not ridden the ST, but I guess a ST of similar age would be a lot worse.. maybe the newer ones are different animals.

If you still want to 'play' with m8s on sunny days maybe the VFR is the best bet, it is meant to be one of the best do everything bikes about, plus you get Honda build quality.

Are you sure you don't want something more sporty though ?, it's all give and take with comfort though.
 
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I had a VFR 800 for a day as a loan bike and it was awesome.

First impression was it felt very big but I think that was just the fairing as once you get moving you don't notice the size, the handling was great, ABS seemed to be much better than on my Hornet :confused: and when you open the VFR up it screams like an F1 race car:D
 
Id say go for the VFR also, ST would have been first choice but as soon as u say motorway No No for Street Triple lol unless you have a neck like the guys in worlds strongest man :p
 
get a hyperbike... (though that depends on what your commute consists of)

comfy, fast, great motorway eaters. plus they have the best name in the world.
 
Snax said:
get a hyperbike... (though that depends on what your commute consists of)

comfy, fast, great motorway eaters. plus they have the best name in the world.
Click to expand...

if you mean a Busa / ZZR1400 then they are good bikes.. but kinda big jump from a SV650 / FZ6... they do munch miles though and are comfy.

they are both abit heavy through constant town traffic though, you feel abit knackered in no time.
 
i have a 955 daytona and the build quality talked about in an earlier post must have been ether ironed out or just the guys bad luck. In the 5 bike i have owned this is by far the best for reliability comfort and look, I even test rode a 1050 before buying this one and it was just as good and even more comfy
 
How did you get on with the SV?

'Cause I was going to suggest an RSV Mille.

Have you seen the price of these on the used market now?.

It's a ridiculous amount of bike for your money.

Even some of the "special editions" like the Haga reps and more sought after "Edwards" reps are plummeting in price. And thats just the early models.

Check out the price of the facelifted 03/04 bikes now too, silly money!!!!

I can certainly vouch for the grin factor of these machines, having owned one for over 5 years now. :cool:
 
I had a vfr800 vtec a couple of years ago, and thought it was a brilliant bike. It was very comfy, handled well, and had a enough power to have some fun without being over the top. Had a good range too with the big fuel tank. The headlights where the best I've ever had on a bike too.

There are some bad points however. Some people have reported that there is some issue with jerkiness while at low rpm (not your usual injector jerkiness most bikes have). There's a large thread dedicated to it at bikersoracle.co.uk in the vfr/techincal section I seem to remember. I never noticed it, but there are plently of people who have. Some bikes are better than others when it comes to the vtec engaging. Mine did so relativity smoothly although there are plenty of people that complain about there's, must be down to the particular bike. Mine used to overheat in hot weather stuck in slow moving traffic, and it doesn't help that the radiators are side mounted, so filtering doesn't really bring the temp down. My local honda garage couldn't fix the overheating problem either (althougth they replaced various parts). The bike also had a couple of other issues so I got rid in the end. Shame as I really liked it.

edit: The V4 sounds lovely even with the stock can.
 
It's a shame you need it so new as the 5th gen VFR is so much better than the vtec all things considered. I rode them back to back and chose a 5th gen which is worth it for the cam whine alone imo.

So on that note I say for the Sprint ST.
 
The vfr800 is a V4 yeah? Does it engine brake like the SV? I am leaning towards either a vfr or triumph faired of some sort!
 
depending on your commute, surely vtec in traffic wont be fun.
have you considered a bmw tractor bike?
 
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