Please help me to pick a bike?

BUDFORCE said:
I do like the look of the VFR's that have the under seat exhausts, love those.

I've never ridden a VFR, no doubt good bikes, probably better than an SV650 in almost every respect but that torque of the v-twin...
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You do realise the VFR800 probably has more torque than an SV650? :D The SV probably has a bit more low down but overall in the mid and top end the VFR will have it beaten, although it is carrying more weight.

And it's 108bhp vs 70bhp.

SV650's do sound nice, but the VFR is no slouch in that area...


I've not heard mine with me not riding it, but I'm sure it sounds exactly like this (being the same exhaust).
 
Are you averse to a slightly older bike? If not I'd suggest looking at the Aprilia ETV 1000 Caponord, I'm the same height as you and the dimensions are nearly spot on. Upright seating position, very good weather protection and seat (post-05 may need wind deflectors to stop buffeting at motorway speeds though), ABS, ~100bhp gives it plenty of poke and it's lighter than a lot of adventure bikes. There's a few common issues, mostly electrical but there's lots of info on sorting them if it's not been done already. Main problem is finding them, particularly the facelift version with ABS, but when they do come up it ought to be well within your budget.
 
Crowze said:
Are you averse to a slightly older bike? If not I'd suggest looking at the Aprilia ETV 1000 Caponord, I'm the same height as you and the dimensions are nearly spot on. Upright seating position, very good weather protection and seat (post-05 may need wind deflectors to stop buffeting at motorway speeds though), ABS, ~100bhp gives it plenty of poke and it's lighter than a lot of adventure bikes. There's a few common issues, mostly electrical but there's lots of info on sorting them if it's not been done already. Main problem is finding them, particularly the facelift version with ABS, but when they do come up it ought to be well within your budget.
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I'll brace myself for accusations of perpetuating a common myth but I'm not sure this is the place to recommend a second-hand Italian bike with, as you say yourself, a few common issues? Bearing in mind that the OP wants it for commuting so needs it reliable. Maybe my distrust is unwarranted but this would seem to be a gamble for a relatively inexperienced ride with only one bike.
 
Well, as you're braced... :) It isn't entirely a myth, but it's also rarely the horror story that a lot of people try to peddle - Aprilias aren't known as the Honda of Italian bikes without reason. Mine has done 4 years of year-round commuting and has only left me stranded once due to one cheap part failing, which could happen to any bike, and it was trivial to replace it myself. I recommend the Capo specifically as I have a fair amount of knowledge of it, but regardless of make and country of origin I'd take an older, well looked after bike over scraping the barrel just to get a newer one. Made that mistake with my last car, never again...
 
Crowze said:
Well, as you're braced... :) It isn't entirely a myth, but it's also rarely the horror story that a lot of people try to peddle - Aprilias aren't known as the Honda of Italian bikes without reason. Mine has done 4 years of year-round commuting and has only left me stranded once due to one cheap part failing, which could happen to any bike, and it was trivial to replace it myself. I recommend the Capo specifically as I have a fair amount of knowledge of it, but regardless of make and country of origin I'd take an older, well looked after bike over scraping the barrel just to get a newer one. Made that mistake with my last car, never again...
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Fair enough, I like variety so I'm happy to see that there are people out there riding the Caponard, look forward to spotting one :)

I just know I'm useless as a mechanic so I'm afraid of potentially temperamental Italian machines. That, and the Multistrada that I considered before buying the Versys 1000 was a few grand more expensive anyway.
 
IC3 said:
Wind becomes an issue over 100, closer to 120. 70-80 is fine, I could easily do 150 miles at that speed no probs.
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Cool. Is your SV650 the S version or N?

tom_e said:
Personally I'd go for the SV650S rather than the naked if you decide to go that way, it's a little less sat up but I can happily do my 50 mile motorway commute at a touch more than 80mph without wind or generally getting battered by the weather being an issue.
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Yeah, being a bit more leant-over than the VFR would do me no favours. I may end up going back on this one day! My neck is causing me problems as we speak, so if I was in that sort of riding position, I probably wouldn't be able to be on the bike at the mo.

arfoll said:
If you found the VFR800 leant forwards don't go for the SV650S (check cyle-ergo.com for me it's a noticeable 6 degree difference). VFR800 also has a lot more wind protection on it than SV650S. One is a small sports motorcycle the other a sports touring bike and that's pretty noticeable imho.

The VFR800 is what i'd go for but it's also likely the heaviest, most powerful and most costly in that list... and you'll have to get over the seating position. I don't remember the mirrors being too bad but that's easy to fix it with mirror extenders, they are pretty much invisible but add 1-2 cm which helps loads, i did it on my SV650s to clear my shoulders.
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Cool thank you, I'll bear that in mind.

Crowze said:
Are you averse to a slightly older bike? If not I'd suggest looking at the Aprilia ETV 1000 Caponord, I'm the same height as you and the dimensions are nearly spot on. Upright seating position, very good weather protection and seat (post-05 may need wind deflectors to stop buffeting at motorway speeds though), ABS, ~100bhp gives it plenty of poke and it's lighter than a lot of adventure bikes. There's a few common issues, mostly electrical but there's lots of info on sorting them if it's not been done already. Main problem is finding them, particularly the facelift version with ABS, but when they do come up it ought to be well within your budget.
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Not adverse to a slightly older bike, no. Some of the bikes I've looked at are circa 1999. I've recently spotted a nice example of a GSX650F for under £4k that is a 63 plate and has 3,000 miles on the clock...
 
Picked one!

Suzuki RF900R.
- Not upright riding, but comfortable to feel like I'm not really squished. Got used to the position quite quickly, and found the bike very nicely balanced.
- Plenty of fairing for protection from the elements, 80mph feels like 50mph, and thanks to an aftermarket screen, the wind goes right over my head.
- Extremely cheap.
- Goes like stink when you're considering I've moved from 47bhp to 120bhp.

zDMjb9I.jpg


Pleased! :)

Thanks very much for all your advice guys.
 
Guy at my old place had one and loved it even done a couple of track days on it and said it wasn't bad for a big old beast.
 
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