I need a faster motorcycle

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Caporegime
Joined
13 May 2003
Posts
34,586
Location
Warwickshire
Hi all

I'm currently riding a Yamaha YBR125 and although it's great (sorta), surprise surprise I'm growing slightly weary of the lack of pace up hills and the obvious lack of overtaking abilities. Around town it's brilliant, but any sort of incline and any sort of fast road, and it's getting a bit boring.

So I'm after a recommendation please for a 'first big bike' (I think that's what they call it!). My usage will be a daily commute of 13 miles each way along mainly rural NSL roads, with the occasional weekend outing to Shropshire or whatever.

£3k is my realistic maximum. I think I want a sports tourer (do I?), so where should I be looking? I know very little about larger bikes.

I've heard about Suzuki SV650s and GSX600-Fs. Do these sound sensible?

Thank you.
 
Well that didn't take long! :D

I preferred the sit up nature of a naked commuter than the sportier bikes when I was test riding for my first, I weighed up I'd be filtering in heavy traffic and not giving it some on a sunny day so the awkward blind spot checking of the sports bikes was out. The twin in the SV was effortless with its torque but I settled on a straight four bandit for the economy. Top tip don't get anything with carbs, fuel injection seems more dependable.
 
SV650s, GSX650F, ER6F, ER6N, XJ6, GSR 600.

With £3k at this time of year, you'd probably pick up a nice Yamaha XJ6 (which would be my first choice if I had to make it again)

Don't bother with ABS unless you have proper warranty/guarantee :p
 
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KTM Duke or superduke. If you are looking to get something to run through winter then i wouldn't even bother spending anything over £1500 less than that. British winters are not good to bikes. Especially when our local councils chuck 1/4 the planets salt down in 10 weeks.

Bandit (parts are cheap as chips) or a CB500.
 
I find the SV650S pretty boring, but I am comparing it to the Street Triple so it's probably a bit unfair :p

I learnt on an XJ6 and don't recommend them either as they're also pretty uninspiring.
 
my zx6r was my first big bike,was perfect so much so I still have it

I like the look of the er6 though I think if I was choosing today id pick that,but there's some great old school late 90's/early 2000 model sportsbikes out there,perfect for first timers,they tend to be less sports focused as the modern machines,more comfy/better riding position,plus parts are cheap and so is insurance
 
1995-1998 CBR600F - £1500. Spend the rest on insurance, gear, petrol, beer.

Cheap to insure, ebay is saturated with spares, loadsa grunt, great fun, super comfy, confidence inspiring.
 
I presume you've done your tests? If so, why the hell are you still on a 125!! :eek::D

What sort of use will the bike need to cover? Commuting/fun/how many miles a week? Edit: you said in the OP. 130 miles a week commuting means a single fil up week for anything.

I'm looking around the same price as you for my first big bike (coming from a varadero 125), here's my shortlist:

If I have a 200 mile a week commute:
BMW F800ST
Yamaha FZ6 Fazer
CBF500
Sprint ST 1050

Shorter commute (100 miles a week)
Honda Hornet
Honda CBR600F
Street Triple
Aprilia Shiver

I spefically don't want one of the "budget" or "starter" nakeds, like the er6/gsx650/bandit etc, I want something a bit nicer. You'll notice a lack of sports bikes in there, I ruled out anything over £7-800 insurance - daytona/gsxr600 etc are all £1500+ insurance, where as all the above ar around the £500-700 mark for me. 33 year old, just passed test, 0 NCD, 10k per year. Funnily enough stuff like the BMW K1200s (160BHP warp speep mothership) and CB100R (naked warp speed rocketship) are only about £800 insurance for the year... :o

Oh and I also want fuel injection and ABS if possible (winter commuting) hence why theres no older bikes in there. An extra grand will get you into some really nice stuff, Ducati monster 696/796/Hypermotard, Aprilia Dorsoduro etc. the £2-3000 price range is a weird one, there's not that much choice.
 
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I learnt on an xj6, it was a nice bike with plenty of speed although not as much as the others out there.
 
XJ6 is booorriingg.

Honda Hornet or CBR600F would be my suggestion. Comfy, quick and fun, great engines, they eat miles for breakfast.
 
Oh and OP, totally with you on the lack of pace on NSL roads - round town it's great but get stuck behind a car/lorry doing 45-50mph even on a wide single carraigeway and on a 125 you need about 10-15 seconds to make an overtake, after nearly 4000 miles it's starting to get old.
 
There is no correct answer to this. You need to test ride different bikes/engines and see what you prefer. Personally I won't ever go back to an IL4 engine as I much prefer the 'thump' and sound of a twin, but there are so many good middleweight bikes around now that you really do have a fantastic choice :)
 
I find a Hornet very easy to ride, enough power when you need it and can get a half faired version to protect against the elements a little.
 
Use your head,you can make big mistakes by following your heart

Best advise is to test ride them if you can,nothing worse than having a bike that you always fancied and it turns out to ride like a pig
 
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