Thinking of upgrading my aging Fazer 600....and recomendations?

Master Skooter

Master Skooter

Master Skooter

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Current use a 98 Fazer 600 as my daily commuter, roughly a 45 mile round trip & used all year round.

It was a hand-me-down from my old man, and even though my riding history has been purely sports bikes it's been a good little bike (although imo dog ugly). The engines strong (Thunder Cat derived), and breakings pretty good (same as the original R6).

I'm toying with the idea of replacing it, as it's starting to feel a little rough around the edges (almost 60k miles). The typical Fazer vibration around 5-6k has recently become a lot more noticable through the seat, to a point where it annoys/feels uncomfortable.

Just wondering if anyone had any thoughts on a decent replacement? Not looking to spend a huge amount, probably 2k tops.

Wondering if I wanted the same type (half sports/half tourer), or something a little more upright (even considered a BMW *shock - horror!* lol). I do like to have a bit of a scratch, are there any bikes that give the best of both worlds?

Or should I just buy a Aprillia RSV Thou and be done with it :P

Cheers
Scott

P.S. The NSR in my sig is my long term WIP track bike/dry weather toy if you were wondering ;)
 
Sv 650?
It's slightly more upright than a sportsbike, but can still do a little scratching.

CBR600F, as above but with Honda reliability.

What do you think the RSV would be like on your daily commute?
If you think it will be comfortable then I'd go for that :D
 
FZ6s make fantastic commuters, and still retain grin factor, so you need to ask yourself what's the cost/benefit/risk of replacing it. It's done a lot of miles, so if anything was going to go pop it would have done so by now, and by the same token it's not worth an awful lot. You already have a playtime toy in the NSR....

Before you scrap it, check the engine mount bushes- I once had a Bandit 1200 that I chopped in when it developed a worrying vibration. When cleaning it for the dealer I noticed two of the mounting bushes had corroded away, so it would have cost me pennies to fix the issue after all. Regretted selling that one....

On the other hand there are still lots of bargains around for £2K. You could get a decent nick CBR6 or suchlike. I just bought an ABS BMW R1200S yesterday, with full BMW service history and 29000 genuine miles (i.e. just run in), immaculate and with a warranty, for £2695 for commuting on, as my other two commutable bikes have let me down recently. You'd still be taking a risk, but there's still a lot of decent hardware around at the lower price ranges, despite people hanging on to their bikes longer, simply because dealers flog stock cheap to keep business moving.

EDIT: When's the camchain due a swap? That could be a valid reason to chop the FZ in.
 
I did think about an SV650, is there any difference in riding position between the older & new ones?

I don't think the RSV would be very happy being used during the winter lol

Not thought about a CBR, might be a good call.

Want something newer than the Thundercat.

I did think about a Tiger, after reading about them in MCN...VFR another good call.

I'll check out the mounting bushes, cheers for that.
 
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Are you looking for a bike with a £2k tag or is that a rough limit of how much you want to spend, or will you be trading in too?

SV650 is a decent enough bike, but you won't get an S for the money, and its ugly without the faring lowers.

VFR800s won't be available for your money if you want something newer than a thundercat.

ZR7 could be had for your money but you may as well just get an SV as it would be easier to sell on.

CBR/ZXR/GSXR won't be in your reach if you want something newer than a thundercat.


I have a '99 VFR800 that I commute on and i'm pretty confident that I wouldn't want anything much less tourer-ey for a decent commute, which yours is.

IMO the VFR is king of the sports tourers for commuting (but obviously i'm biased), the thundercat would come close if you prefer the I-4 layout, then the CBR600f if you don't mind the extra insurance, and then the half faired SVs/FZs.

If you got a CBR-RR, ZXR or GSXR, a) your wrists would hate you forever and b) you'd never sell it with being high mileage and used in the winter.
 
My friend used to have a Yamaha Thunderace, very comftable and quick as hell. great bike and bombproof build quality.

As mentioned you cant go wrogn with the VFR either, just finding a nice one for you price limit.
 
As the proud owner of a Hornet 900 which I bought for £1800 with 20k on it, I'd recommend one of them! Great position, bags of torque and does everything you ask it to.
 
Bat said:
As the proud owner of a Hornet 900 which I bought for £1800 with 20k on it, I'd recommend one of them! Great position, bags of torque and does everything you ask it to.
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Do you commute on it? How do you find it at motorway speed or in cold weather?
 
CGrieves said:
I just bought an ABS BMW R1200S yesterday, with full BMW service history and 29000 genuine miles (i.e. just run in), immaculate and with a warranty, for £2695 for commuting on,
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Eh? whats wrong with it? Thats about half the price of cheapest R1200S that I can find! You cant even find R1150's for that price.
 
Sagalout said:
Eh? whats wrong with it? Thats about half the price of cheapest R1200S that I can find! You cant even find R1150's for that price.
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Nothing that I can see! Had a fantastic hoon on it this morning, it's a surprisingly quick motor for a WW2 design, really not what I was expecting.

I'll be keeping to the dealer service schedule in order to keep the warranty though.

I did hear the shop owner complaining to one of his staff they they put it up for too low a price, but in the current climate, stock that sits around doesn't benefit anyone, so he prices everything to sell and keep stock turning over.

It was a difficult decision- right next to the BMW was a mint 11000 mile GSX-1000 K3 for only £800 more. But I don't need any more sportsbikes, especially not for commuting!
 
Mohinder said:
Fazer Thou?

Same sort of attitude (obviously), but bigger, quicker, prettier. I love mine. She's called Floella.
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Can you get a Fazer thou for £2k though? That was my initial suggestion but I checked ebay etc and didnt see any under £3k.
 
ZX-10R said:
Bandit 1200?
GSX 750f

I'd prob stick with the Fazer though and give it a good overhaul
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deffo not a gsx750f, it's an aweful aweful bike... even when released let alone now

also not a thundercat, it's just too old... even a well looked after one will feel very dated

how about a SV1000 :), can get them just over 2k for a 2003 model or later with reasonable milage, would be a nice commuter tool and with some race cans would sound like thunder. a ton of bike for the money
 
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