Another "what bike"...
Discussion
I'm on the look out for a new bike, and would welcome some thoughts on what it should be!
My brief biking history consists of a Honda MT50 when I was 16 (back in 1989) until I passed my car test, then in 2009 I decided to get my motorbike licence and bought a new 2008 Triumph Street Triple. Unfortunately at the time I was building my house and in true grand designs fashion ran out of cash so the bike had to go. A couple of years later I bought a new 2010 Speed Triple 1050, but after only 500 miles I hit a deer and lost a bit of confidence so sold the bike soon after.
Fast forward to June this year, and a friend was selling his 2009 BMW 650 XCountry as he owned it for 5 years and only managed to do 500 miles in that time; I bought it and have used it pretty much every day for a mixture of commuting and fun. It wouldn't have been a bike I'd have chosen but it was really cheap and it has served its purpose of reminding my how much I love owning a bike.
I now am struggling to make my mind up on my next bike. I loved how the Street Triple was easy to handle, but at 6ft I always felt it a little small hence why I decided to buy the Speed Triple....although that felt like a tank in comparison. My maximum budget is around 10k. My riding consists of B roads for run, and a mixture of dual carriageway/city commute (which is one of the reasons I'm so keen on biking as it's pretty much the only sensible way to get into the centre of Edinburgh from East Lothian whilst avoiding public transport)
Here are the contenders -
BMW R9T - I initially really liked the way it looks especially with the aluminium tank, but I recently visited a local BMW showroom and I am not so sure now. The shaft drive and the boxer engine appeals.
Triumph Speed Twin - Again, I like the way it looks and by all accounts it's a really nice bike to ride
Triumph Speed Triple S - I've read that the 2018> models have shed a few pounds and are slightly more like the Street Triple to ride, apart from quite a bit more torque/power
Triumph Street Triple 765 S (circa 2019 as I would want it in black without the graphics that appeared on later model years)
Ducati Monster 1200 (circa 2019)
New Ducati Monster 937 - I wasn't particularly struck on the new Monster without the trellis frame, but I saw one yesterday at the Ducati dealer and it looks pretty good in the flesh (subjective I know). The benefit with a new bike is that I could claim the VAT back through my company. All the reviews state that it's a really nice bike to ride, and lots of fun, and could be excellent at town riding/filtering.
Any feedback on the above choices will be gratefully received
My brief biking history consists of a Honda MT50 when I was 16 (back in 1989) until I passed my car test, then in 2009 I decided to get my motorbike licence and bought a new 2008 Triumph Street Triple. Unfortunately at the time I was building my house and in true grand designs fashion ran out of cash so the bike had to go. A couple of years later I bought a new 2010 Speed Triple 1050, but after only 500 miles I hit a deer and lost a bit of confidence so sold the bike soon after.
Fast forward to June this year, and a friend was selling his 2009 BMW 650 XCountry as he owned it for 5 years and only managed to do 500 miles in that time; I bought it and have used it pretty much every day for a mixture of commuting and fun. It wouldn't have been a bike I'd have chosen but it was really cheap and it has served its purpose of reminding my how much I love owning a bike.
I now am struggling to make my mind up on my next bike. I loved how the Street Triple was easy to handle, but at 6ft I always felt it a little small hence why I decided to buy the Speed Triple....although that felt like a tank in comparison. My maximum budget is around 10k. My riding consists of B roads for run, and a mixture of dual carriageway/city commute (which is one of the reasons I'm so keen on biking as it's pretty much the only sensible way to get into the centre of Edinburgh from East Lothian whilst avoiding public transport)
Here are the contenders -
BMW R9T - I initially really liked the way it looks especially with the aluminium tank, but I recently visited a local BMW showroom and I am not so sure now. The shaft drive and the boxer engine appeals.
Triumph Speed Twin - Again, I like the way it looks and by all accounts it's a really nice bike to ride
Triumph Speed Triple S - I've read that the 2018> models have shed a few pounds and are slightly more like the Street Triple to ride, apart from quite a bit more torque/power
Triumph Street Triple 765 S (circa 2019 as I would want it in black without the graphics that appeared on later model years)
Ducati Monster 1200 (circa 2019)
New Ducati Monster 937 - I wasn't particularly struck on the new Monster without the trellis frame, but I saw one yesterday at the Ducati dealer and it looks pretty good in the flesh (subjective I know). The benefit with a new bike is that I could claim the VAT back through my company. All the reviews state that it's a really nice bike to ride, and lots of fun, and could be excellent at town riding/filtering.
Any feedback on the above choices will be gratefully received
Jazoli said:
There isn't really a 'bad' bike these days and others will recommend bikes they own or have owned without necessarily having experienced the alternatives.
Best just buy the one you like at a deal that works for you in reality.
^ This!Best just buy the one you like at a deal that works for you in reality.
Test ride as many as you can before deciding then go with the one you like the most.
I rode the monster the other week and it felt small even for me at 5ft 8 so you might struggle. Lovely engine and riding position though.
The MT09s seem like abit of a bargain to me and the tracer model my mate has is comfortable without feeling like too much of a tank.
I know what you mean about the speed triple the best way I can describe it is that it feels dense 😂
The MT09s seem like abit of a bargain to me and the tracer model my mate has is comfortable without feeling like too much of a tank.
I know what you mean about the speed triple the best way I can describe it is that it feels dense 😂
Althebugman said:
The MT09s seem like abit of a bargain to me
It might have something to do with the gopping looks, I like to turn around and look at my bike as I'm walking away, I bought the facelifted eariler one and thought that was an ugly bugger, and they made it much much worse.Bob_Defly said:
Out of those listed, either the R9T or the Speed Twin. Both exceptional bikes, and streets ahead of the MT-09.
By what measure are those bikes streets ahead of the MT-09?Power? No.
Torque? No.
Power to weight ratio? No.
Handling? Not if you get the SP (still less money)
Technology? No.
Price? No.
Build quality? Yes.
Looks? Subjective.
Jazoli said:
It might have something to do with the gopping looks, I like to turn around and look at my bike as I'm walking away, I bought the facelifted eariler one and thought that was an ugly bugger, and they made it much much worse.
Yeah it's not a looker, but more power, more torque, better electronics, sexy up and down gear shifter, cruise control on the SP, better suspension.The 2021 model is a much better bike.
Beschy said:
Bob_Defly said:
Out of those listed, either the R9T or the Speed Twin. Both exceptional bikes, and streets ahead of the MT-09.
By what measure are those bikes streets ahead of the MT-09?Power? No.
Torque? No.
Power to weight ratio? No.
Handling? Not if you get the SP (still less money)
Technology? No.
Price? No.
Build quality? Yes.
Looks? Subjective.
None of the above are my style of bike but I have ridden the R9T and didn't think there was anything exceptional about it.
Many thanks for all the helpful replies. I will definitely need to sort out some test rides.
I like both Triumph and Ducati brands so I suspect I will go for one of those; the R9T is a great bike, but on reflection I'm not entirely struck on the looks, and the same goes for the Speed Twin (although to a lesser extent). All subjective I know.
When I moved from a Street to a Speed Triple, I liked the idea of a bike with a bit more presence but it did feel like a real brute compared to the Street; as mentioned previously I only managed 500 miles on it before a deer jumped out in front of me, so I really need to try the last of the 1050 models, which apparently feel lighter.
I really want to move on the G650 Xcountry, so an interim option might be a 2018 Street Triple 765 (I don't really need the RS spec and I like the gloss back paintwork without the decals), and then see where I go from there. I do however like the base Monster 1200.....
I like both Triumph and Ducati brands so I suspect I will go for one of those; the R9T is a great bike, but on reflection I'm not entirely struck on the looks, and the same goes for the Speed Twin (although to a lesser extent). All subjective I know.
When I moved from a Street to a Speed Triple, I liked the idea of a bike with a bit more presence but it did feel like a real brute compared to the Street; as mentioned previously I only managed 500 miles on it before a deer jumped out in front of me, so I really need to try the last of the 1050 models, which apparently feel lighter.
I really want to move on the G650 Xcountry, so an interim option might be a 2018 Street Triple 765 (I don't really need the RS spec and I like the gloss back paintwork without the decals), and then see where I go from there. I do however like the base Monster 1200.....
I came very close to buying this low miler 2018 striple S. but the owner was working out if it was derestricted yet.
In the mean time I bought a pre reg for £7.5 all in
https://www.castlemotorcycles.co.uk/used-bikes/ass...
In the mean time I bought a pre reg for £7.5 all in
https://www.castlemotorcycles.co.uk/used-bikes/ass...
black-k1 said:
Beschy said:
Bob_Defly said:
Out of those listed, either the R9T or the Speed Twin. Both exceptional bikes, and streets ahead of the MT-09.
By what measure are those bikes streets ahead of the MT-09?Power? No.
Torque? No.
Power to weight ratio? No.
Handling? Not if you get the SP (still less money)
Technology? No.
Price? No.
Build quality? Yes.
Looks? Subjective.
None of the above are my style of bike but I have ridden the R9T and didn't think there was anything exceptional about it.
Anyway, as the previous owner of an MT-09 I do have the ownership experience to back things up. Yes it's a great engine, really good. But the suspension is crap, the SP version doesn't really fix this. There are other build quality issues that you wouldn't find on the BMW or Triumph. I think the Handling of the other bikes is on par with if not better than the Yamaha, technology is a meh.
So having owned one, if I had the same money again and wanted something similar I would get:
same experience but better quality = Street Triple
better experience and better quality = R9T
calmer more retro experience and better quality = Speed Twin
As someone else said, all bikes are pretty good these days, but the MT-09 take too many mods to make it as good as the competition IMHO.
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