Another what bike

[LosingGrip]

I'm sure you lot get sick of these posts! But I'm not sure where to start.

Got a budget of £5,000.

Requirements...

600cc+
Large (I'm 6ft 4 and fat!)
Not a sports bike...made that mistake!
Not too bothered by age or mileage.

Previously had a Yamaha XJ6 and a GSXR 600. Both were too small really.

Will be used for fun only .

Edit 03/10

Change of plans. If things go to plan at work.

I’ve got £10,000 to spend on a car and a bike. The bike will be mainly used for commuting to work. 60 mile round trip. Used to park on-site for free and to avoid traffic.

Requirements are still the same, but something reliable. Roads are mainly A roads with 60mph speed limits. Bit of of duel carriageway at the end.

Will be used in all weathers other than snow/ice. So properly wanting something faired.

Again age and miles aren’t important.

Edited by LosingGrip on Sunday 3rd October 18:32

[Jazoli]

Could be anything really, but a Speed Triple 1050 would be perfect for the job! or a Superduke or Z1000SX, etc etc there's all sorts to choose from, twins, triples, fours, most folk will recommend their own bikes, just go and try a few, only you will know what you want, £5k will get you a decent example of pretty much anything.

Just put £5k into bike trader and ebay, filter everything out sub 900cc and take your pick

[dibblecorse]

Firestorm or SV1000 could be great options ...

[Cheeses of Nazareth]

CB1000 Honda

XJR1300

Both good bikes for big blokes, if you can cope with no fairing.

[Kent Border Kenny]

BMW GS 800?

[black-k1]

£5000 will get you a K1300S - see the other thread that's running at the moment.

Beyond that, a VFR1200, a Balckbird, a ZZR1400 or a Hayabusa. All very suitable for the larger gentleman yet offer road performance up there with sports bikes.

[Ho Lee Kau]

Hayabusa

[Jazoli]

Ho Lee Kau said:

Hayabusa

For a 6' 4" fat bloke? they are cramped like a sportsbike.

[Iminquarantine]

Jazoli said:

Ho Lee Kau said:

Hayabusa

For a 6' 4" fat bloke? they are cramped like a sportsbike.

I think it's more that the answer to any what bike is Hayabusa, although I'd also recommend turbocharging it

The unfaired CB1000 was mentioned above. There is also a faired CBF1000 in the price range. But could be anything; there is a lot of choice if you don't need to eliminate bikes with seat heights over 810mm like I did when I went bike shopping with similar requirements.

[Fozzie73]

A KTM may be worth considering? Adventure or super duke (990).

I didn’t like the idea at all until I rode one and still have it as a good fun (and comfortable - I have Adv) all rounder.

[black-k1]

Probably the best thing to do is to plug all the likely candidates into http://cycle-ergo.com/ to then get a short list. Start with your previous bikes to get a good understanding of what specifically works/is an issue for you, thus what you need to look for.

Edited by black-k1 on Thursday 24th September 10:26

[LosingGrip]

Bit of a bump! Still on the look out for something. Hopefully in the next couple of months.

I’m tempted by the Triumph Sprint 1050. I like the looks and the reviews I’ve seen appear good. Can get them fairly cheaply as well.

I did like the idea of the BMW K1300 but I’m put off by the horror stories of high bills etc.

Does anyone have any experience of the Sprint 1050?

[Ryan-nunm9]

Not a sprint owner but a lad I lived with had one from new, nothing but problems with it over the 3-4 years he had it. When running well it was nice to ride, but just nice. It does everything very well but isn't spectacular.

I know there's some bad reports on the K series, but I've run a fleet of 6 of them before and I've the K1300R of my own now. I've put over 50,000 miles on it in two and half years with the only none regular work required was; a new radiator and I'm just doing the ball joints on the front suspension now. I use mine for road and track coaching as well as the year round commute and pleasure rides so she gets a bit of abuse. I've no doubt it'll be pulling like a train in another 50,000 miles.

[CaptainSlow]

I had a Sprint 1050st for 5 years and 30k miles, I had no issues at all. I'd steer away from the BMW...sounds expensive.

[Jazoli]

You'll get a nice FZ1 for that, or an early Z1000SX (as mentioned back in Sept) it looks like you want a fully faired sports tourer, the Sprint is a good bike but they are either good or terrible reliability wise, I wouldn't want a K13 out of warranty, there's also stuff like the CBF1000, ZZR1400, VFR1200, and GSX1250, non of them are bad bikes or have terrible reliability, I don't think you can go far wrong with a Japanese bike.

[Stuart Fordyce]

Iminquarantine said:

I think it's more that the answer to any what bike is Hayabusa, although I'd also recommend turbocharging it

The unfaired CB1000 was mentioned above. There is also a faired CBF1000 in the price range. But could be anything; there is a lot of choice if you don't need to eliminate bikes with seat heights over 810mm like I did when I went bike shopping with similar requirements.

One of the requirements is fun. A CBF1000 is a good bike - I owned one for a few years before multiple issues made me get rid before it got into uneconomical to repair territory. They're not bad but getting on a bit now and for pure smile on your face riding, I would get something else.

[rodericb]

ZX12R 2006. Like this: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/KAWASAKI-ZX12R-B6F-Blac...

[LosingGrip]

Jazoli said:

You'll get a nice FZ1 for that, or an early Z1000SX (as mentioned back in Sept) it looks like you want a fully faired sports tourer, the Sprint is a good bike but they are either good or terrible reliability wise, I wouldn't want a K13 out of warranty, there's also stuff like the CBF1000, ZZR1400, VFR1200, and GSX1250, non of them are bad bikes or have terrible reliability, I don't think you can go far wrong with a Japanese bike.

I think a Sports Tourer is what I’m looking for the more I think about it. Although I don’t plan to do any touring as such.

I like the look of the Z1000SX. Will look into that a bit more.

Mileage wise...what would you view as high mileage?

[anonymous-user]

Go a bit retro - R1100S Boxer Cup. Very underrated as a 'real world' sports bike, but comfortable enough for 2-up touring.

[Neal H]

I’ve had an FZ1 Fazer for 10 years from new, and it’s been bullet proof. Very decent half fairing which offers good wind protection and with 150hp it ain’t slow! It’s been so good that I’m struggling to come up with a replacement for it.