Time for a change?

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Soldato
Joined
28 Feb 2006
Posts
5,168
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No longer riding an Italian
Ok, this is mainly random thinking out loud stuff...

Right,

I've been running some thoughts through my head:

I purchased my R1 in December 2008, I took it out on a 36 month 0% APR deal with Yamaha, the payments are about £180 per month, and I believe that kicked in, in January 2009, so I owe somewhere between £3600 and £4000 (a deposit was also paid).

The cost side of it is fine, I budget everything outgoing and although I'm not earning mega bucks, I'm comfortable enough, so paying for the bike for the rest of the term won’t be an issue.

Now, I keep thinking and looking at other bikes, nothing brand new (as my Yammy was), but second hand bikes - namely GSXRs (baaa baaaa follow the flock ;)), and I keep coming back to the same bike I had planned on getting before deciding on the R1 - going as far as putting a deposit on one - the 750...

I have no real issues with the Yammy, but I'm simply not using its full ability, which frankly I would only do on a track, or very empty private roads! And a recent article in Superbike magazine, about downgrading, got me thinking more and more.

My perceived benefits of going for the 750:

1. A lighter bike (my wrist is still an issue when moving the R1 – a future operation may help!)
2. Better fuel economy? I get between 112 to 120 miles before I hit reserve on the R1, and that's distance 'spirited' riding, on a composed run, I may see an extra 10-20 miles before reserve. I had assumed that the 750 would be better on fuel – although I am basing that on figures I read on MCN when researching my next bike back in ‘08.
3. Better riding position – I probably need to get a test ride booked to confirm this, as I’ve only sat on them in the showrooms, but the Gixxers have always struck me as being the most comfortable bikes, and although I can place both my feet flat on the R1, I’m on tiptoes when peddling it about and it never feels too stable; so maybe this will be better on the 750.
4. Lower costs? I would imagine that insurance and running costs will be lower, mainly tyres as I think the 750 has a 180 rather than the R1’s 190, but services may also be cheaper...
5. Not as naughty! The R1 is stupidly fast, as my recent stint on a private road proved – an indicated 185 and still a couple of thousand revs to go – the 750 will still be quick but a lower top end may help me to keep my license and freedom :D

Not sure what I’m looking for from this thread, I may go off the idea between now and home time, but I’d be interested to see if anyone has ‘downgraded’ from a litre bike to something with a lower cc, and how they got on?

In the meantime, I'm off to Bike Trader again :p
 
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Not my cup of tea those bikes, but a Ducati....... no, no, I mustn't :D

Edit: Just going back to the 750.. the handling is a good thing, I get the most fun from twisties now, so if it's better than the R1 in that respect, it's a step i nthe right direction...
 
I still love sports bikes, it's just I'd rather have something more suited for the road and my mind at the moment says that's not a litre bike - damn you mind!!!!!

Probably just work-related boredom bringing these thoughts on, but I love the look of Gixxers and I have a bad habit (with cars) of getting bored of them :(
 
We'll see I guess lol - me and my mad ideas :p

I was actualyl thinking of the K7 on wards model personally, but your model Fireskull is lovely, saw one in white on the way in this morning (driving the dull company car at the time though :() - maybe that's what brought this on lol.

:D
 
Trying to get a test ride booked - found an 06 750 in Triumph's Cheltenham branch, so will see if they can get it brought down to Swindon :D

Who knows, a test ride may put me off of the idea lol.
 
Bumping an old thread here!

After I thought I’d convinced myself to keep the R1, I still kept looking at other bikes, but every time I jump back on I get huge smile on my face and I decide that it’s still the bike for me, that was until the weekend...

I went for a long ride at the weekend with a couple of mates, about 9 hours in the saddle but only 300 or so miles, everything was fine until the return trip home, about 30 miles from Swindon my knackered wrist started to ache, and that pain has carried through to today :(

So I’ve now got another consideration to factor into whether I keep the R1 or not, and sadly this is something that will continue to be an issue up to, and probably after my operation (currently no date set for that!).

I do love the R1 to bits, but the weight is now starting to cause my wrist grief – it wasn’t body weight either, as I’ve got into the habit of getting my elbows almost level with the bars, so my weight goes through my arse and legs. I’m also toying with the idea of consolidating a few debts when clearing off the finance on the R1 – so per month I’ll be better off, but I will be committing to a couple more years of debt; but that’ll be cleared once I get my injury claim payout so it’s not long term imo.

So, rather than just swoon over pictures and write-ups, I’ve decided to now start trying the bikes I’m considering as alternatives, and this weekend I shall be taking out the new Triumph Daytona 675 :D I’ve heard great things about it being ideal for the road etc and a couple of mates who have tested them/own one, have said how much better it is over some of the Jap i4s.

An update to follow (if my goldfish memory remembers to post here :D)
 
Thanks for the suggestions guys.

The wrist damaged in the accident back in 2008 is the only one that played up, and I’m pretty confident it wasn’t down to anything more than the ongoing problems, as I said I can position myself so that very little weight is going through my wrists, and I’m not a heavy front breaker either, so there’s no force from that.

Hopefully I’ll get to test it for an hour or so, take it on routes I ride the R1 on, but I’m pretty set with sports bikes at the moment, nothing else really interests me (yet) enough to buy outside of this type.

I’ve been told I’ll miss the power of the R1 though, but I’m sure once I get to chucking something else around the twisties, I wont mind :D
 
Just a quick post about the 675 test ride from today:

Amazing bike, so many good points, I can really understand why it was/is getting rave reviews.

The engine was fantastic around town, I could happily leave it in third and still be able to pull well enough, whereas the R1 would be in first, maybe second at a push, even in 6th at 50 (not in town of course :p) there was a noticeable pull. It must also sound the dog’s danglies too, as I turned quite a few heads as I passed, and that was with the standard can! What I could hear on the thing sounded pretty nice though :)

As expected I wasn’t blow away by the straight line performance though, coming from a litre bike I knew I wouldn’t, it seemed to hit the limiter very quickly but didn’t feel like it was really going anywhere; a glance to the speedo confirmed a little more then the posted NSL (it was a clear road btw!); I took it to the limiter in 5th but it was the sort of speed the R1 would hit in 3rd :D

The riding position was fantastic, it’s always felt like a tall bike when sat on it in the showroom and I was a little concerned that my short arse wouldn’t reach the floor with flat feet, but with full kit on it wasn’t an issue and my heels were only slightly off the deck (a cm at most). I actually felt a lot more comfortable on this than the R1, life savers were easier for some reason and although I only got to ride for an hour, there were no real comfort issues.

Handling was sublime, having such a light bike made it a doddle flicking it through the twisties, and much as I fancied going knee down on it, a £1,000 excess made sure I didn’t even try! Honestly though, it felt amazing, even with the harsh suspension (see below).

The brakes were immense! I’ve never tried the daddy that is Brembo yet, but the callipers and pads on the 675 certainly did the trick, with amazing initial bite, they actually make the R1’s feel a little washed out now (maybe I will give in to sintered pads for that….).

Bad points:
The suspension was a little too firm for my liking and could have done with a little softening, as I was kicked out of the seat on at least one occasion on a local B road and a couple of bumpy corners didn’t inspire a lot of confidence.

The bike really needs adjustable levers, the clutch only seems to operate in the last few millimetres of movement, even though it was set for the correct free-play – but this could be down to test ride abuse…. maybe.

The throttle seemed really ‘baggy’ – you would move the grip about 1/8 of the way with nothing happening – but again, this could be down to abuse?

The ‘trellis’ frame under the seat got really hot and made my legs very uncomfortable when stationary.


Having popped my test ride cherry now, I’m keen to try a few more – RC8, 10/1198, I may even see if I can test a few Gixxers :D
 
Oh, and as I cheated on the R1, I decided to cheer it up:

5x0vx1.jpg


Luminous yellow rim decals of love :D
 
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