£4000 all rounder - commuting/touring/weekend blasts

spp said:
I'm also looking at a daily commuter to keep the miles off the S1000RR. My budget is also around 4k. I was thinking of a VFR800. Used to have one a few years ago, and have fond memories. Very comfy, although was quite pricey on the services I seem to remember.

Another bike you could consider is the suzuki GSF1250S? Comfy, good range, cheap.
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Get the 5th gen 98-01 they didn't have vetch and had gear driven cams so cheaper services and reliable as hell
 
TallPaul_S said:
Yes, you are correct. MCN isn't. :D

Here's a 2007 model with ABS, not many have it but some do, thanks
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I've seen them cheaper than that, may take a while, depends on how long you can wait?.

MCN is a bit of a comic, absolutely full of typos and errors. If a dysgraphic chippy like me can spot them, then they must be bad! :D
 
Tefal said:
Just remember though they're HEAVY. Like most in their class, if your having issues were your locking and dropping a presumably quite light small bike how are you gonna handle something weighing near quaternary of a ton and with much more inertia, and brakes in a different league in terms of power
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I currently ride a GSX650F, which is 235+Kgs, certainly doesn't feel like it.
 
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Weight of 230-240kg should be fine, the CBF1000 is the same weight, and the v-strom 1000 I rode is nearly that much.

I do love a light clutch though, I must admit. The only filtering I do is past lines of cars, no tight filtering so even a 1200gs would be fine :D
 
I was in pretty much the same boat last year, ended up with a Caponord. Post-2005 have ABS as standard and I can get 220 miles out of a tank. Might be worth a look?
 
TallPaul_S said:
Weight of 230-240kg should be fine, the CBF1000 is the same weight, and the v-strom 1000 I rode is nearly that much.

I do love a light clutch though, I must admit. The only filtering I do is past lines of cars, no tight filtering so even a 1200gs would be fine :D
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im thinking more if you're counting on abs to save you from locking up and skidding, cause abs cant save you in all situations.

get the brakes checked on your bike theres either something wrong or your gonna end up flipping over the bars when the wheel doesn't skid lol
 
Kreeeee said:
Very true. Anything with stop/starts and filtering will be a ball ache with its heavy clutch and size/weight.

Motorways won't be an issue.
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yeah, i like my commute quiet country roads :D

the CBS is quite good for dragging the brakes though.

didnt know the blackbird had a heavy clutch thought it had the same hydraulic clutch as the vfr?
 
Tefal said:
yeah, i like my commute quiet country roads :D

the CBS is quite good for dragging the brakes though.

didnt know the blackbird had a heavy clutch thought it had the same hydraulic clutch as the vfr?
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No idea what's on the VFR, but the two Blackbirds I've ridden both had the same nasty very heavy clutch.
 
spp said:
Another bike you could consider is the suzuki GSF1250S? Comfy, good range, cheap.
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Cheap... and feels it.
Had one for almost 5 months. SOOOO happy to get rid of it.
It was just so 'meh'. Hated the design and dash display anyway, but everything was just.... :(
Yeah... not even a sentence I care to finish, it was that dull and uninspiring.
 
ttaskmaster said:
Cheap... and feels it.
Had one for almost 5 months. SOOOO happy to get rid of it.
It was just so 'meh'. Hated the design and dash display anyway, but everything was just.... :(
Yeah... not even a sentence I care to finish, it was that dull and uninspiring.
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Haha fair enough! Maybe one to avoid!
 
um are you sure you want to get a 165bhp 230+kg bmw with only a years riding experience :o I'm sure you can take it easy and be ok but where's your bike progression going to go from there?

What bikes have you tried out so far and have you tried out v-twins and triples? I find inline-4's boring as ---- at normal road speeds, probably ok as a track weapon but meh.
 
Thanks for all the sugestions so far, at the moment the list is looking like:

K1200S
Sprint ST
NC750X (if only to dismiss it)
CBF1000


Really, the choice comes down to either a newer model 600 or an older, high spec 1000.

There's bikes like the newer CBR600F which are around 4k for a 2011 model, or even stuff like the Aprilia Shiver - a 2013 model for £4500! But winter use on something this would worry me.

Then there's also different stuff like the KTM 990 adventure. I might be able to stretch to £5k as it'll take a little while to look at bikes, so might be nearer xmas by the time I find what I'm looking for.
 
That's the best thing with an old banger/winter hack,just ride them through all the bad weather and pile the mileage on without worrying about devalueing it

You might need to spend a little to overhaul the brakes and suspension but I'll be cheaper to insure and pickup second hand parts for

Newish machines are nice as long as your prepared to look after them well
 
DanF said:
um are you sure you want to get a 165bhp 230+kg bmw with only a years riding experience :o I'm sure you can take it easy and be ok but where's your bike progression going to go from there?

What bikes have you tried out so far and have you tried out v-twins and triples? I find inline-4's boring as ---- at normal road speeds, probably ok as a track weapon but meh.
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Haha that is true. So far I have ridden (mostly test rides):

MT-09
MT-09 tracer
MT-07 (only at very slow speed so not a proper test ride)
Ducati monster 821
Suzuki 1000 v-strom (new model)
Suzuki GSX-S1000

+ my own 50bhp 14k rpm CB400.

So everything from a 50bhp screamer with no power under 7k rpm, to a lazy, torquey as hell from zero revs litre v-twin, to a 115bhp triple, and a 145bhp IL4. Plus an italian 115bhp v-twin.

If I had a choice, it would be a v-twin - all the way. However, unless you want an Aprilia or a Ducati (which I do, very, very much - but not the best for doing 10k+ a year in all weather) there's not much choice. KTM? The old 1000 v-strom is a horrible beast, the new one is great though.

I agree about IL4's, a 600cc IL4 is bottom of the pile for engines, as you have to rev it to get any power, but they'll do 60+mph in 1st so by the time you're in the fun zone in 2nd/3rd... you're doing naughty speeds. I love the little 400cc IL4 as red line in 1st, 2nd, then 3rd and you're only doing 70-80mph! :D

A v-twin around 100-130bhp would be purrrfect. But what out there has that?
 
Sv1000?

And I don't find il4's dull to ride,you just need to stick on a nice sounding can,600cc il4 you have to thrape a little but 1000cc il4 has so much more torque
 
wazza300 said:
Sv1000?

And I don't find il4's dull to ride,you just need to stick on a nice sounding can,600cc il4 you have to thrape a little but 1000cc il4 has so much more torque
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IL4's are very smooth so that makes then good for traffic, I agree about litre IL4's, the GSX-S1000 I rode was awesome fun, torque everywhere and in spades, was grinning like a chshire cat after that test ride! It didn't need to be revved to be nice and quick, but 600 IL4's just aren't my thing really. I love a bit of torque.

Also I know what you mean about winter hacks - my intention was to keep the CB400 as a cheap winter hack, and put money away to buy something special (probably a multistrada) around this time next year. But this 2nd off, identical to the first has got me peeved a little. It'll be repaired and back on the road in no time, but it's made me lose some confidence in the bike. It's not as if I've hardly ridden it either, I've done around 8000 miles since January, plus 7000 miles on my varadero, so that's 15000 miles in all weathers in less than 18 months.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, the ONLY thing I'd change about the CB400 is ABS. Oh and maybe some more power, but that's not a must.
 
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