Help me choose a bike!

[samjlevy]

Hey everyone!

I'm moving to the south of Spain next week and want to get a motorbike out there. I've currently got a 2016 ZX6R that I was thinking of taking with me, but I don't think it will be suitable for what I want to use it for.

Budget is around €10k, but would go €2k higher for the right bike.

My use case is that my office over there is a 50km commute on motorways each way, and I'd probably want to do it on the bike 2 or 3 times a week, I want to do the odd track day as Jerez is only a couple of hours away, so maybe 3 or 4 track days a year, and then the rest of the time would be mountain roads and just general fun riding. I'm 39 so my back still works, been riding for around 17 years.

I've narrowed it down to a few bikes, but open to suggestions:

KTM 890 Duke R: Test rode one a couple of years ago and absolutely loved it, just concerned about reliability, especially as I will be putting quite a lot of miles on it.

MT09 SP: Also test rode one a couple of years ago, but it was a 2020, so not the newer model. Liked it but preferred the KTM, but I wouldn't have issues with reliability? I also see the new 2024 model is now out with quite a few changes so that could be an option, but probably over budget.

GSX-S1000: I quite like the look of these but not sure how much fun it would be compared to the KTM?

Heart is saying KTM, but head is saying anything but a KTM.

Any help would be appreciated!

Edited by samjlevy on Tuesday 14th May 23:13

[A500leroy]

600RR?

[samjlevy]

A500leroy said:

600RR?

Ideally not a sports bike, after doing a big ride on the ZX6R yesterday I definitely want something a bit more comfort.

[Omaruk]

Firstly you lucky bugger, absolutely brilliant biking in southern Spain all year round . I’d go for the Suzuki

[airsafari87]

BMW S1000R
Tuono V4
Tuono/RS660

[Bob_Defly]

Motorways and trackdays suggest something with a bit of a fairing. I used to commute on an MT-09 and motorways are a pain in the arse on it.

What about the new GSX-8R?

[samjlevy]

Tuono V4 is a good shout but they are quite pricey in Spain. GSX R8, I might as well keep the ZX6R if I was going down the sports bike route, also seems like a bit of a downgrade power wise?

[Bob_Defly]

samjlevy said:

Tuono V4 is a good shout but they are quite pricey in Spain. GSX R8, I might as well keep the ZX6R if I was going down the sports bike route, also seems like a bit of a downgrade power wise?

I don't think the GSXR8 has super sports ergos, although I could be wrong.

[Skeptisk]

Keep the ZX6R and buy a big scooter for the commute?

[boyse7en]

Bob_Defly said:

Motorways and trackdays suggest something with a bit of a fairing. I used to commute on an MT-09 and motorways are a pain in the arse on it.

What about the new GSX-8R?

Or the Yamaha XSR900 GP?
MT-09 mechanicals for the reliability, and a nice practical fairing for motorways. Also looks the dog's cojones on track

[Krikkit]

boyse7en said:

Bob_Defly said:

Motorways and trackdays suggest something with a bit of a fairing. I used to commute on an MT-09 and motorways are a pain in the arse on it.

What about the new GSX-8R?

Or the Yamaha XSR900 GP?
MT-09 mechanicals for the reliability, and a nice practical fairing for motorways. Also looks the dog's cojones on track

Fantastic bike but well out of the OP's budget for now

[samjlevy]

boyse7en said:

Or the Yamaha XSR900 GP?
MT-09 mechanicals for the reliability, and a nice practical fairing for motorways. Also looks the dog's cojones on track

I like that!

They aren’t hugely over budget and it’s a new bike. Just not sure how comfy it would be for the motorway miles.

I’ve also been looking at a KTM 1290 GT, not sure if it’s maybe a bit too GT?

I’m still leaning to the Duke R with a screen, just the reliability is putting me off, but I’ve wanted one for a while.

Edited by samjlevy on Tuesday 14th May 17:36

Edited by samjlevy on Tuesday 14th May 23:14

[black-k1]

You can get a decent 2018/2019 H2 SX for 10k and those can be flashed to over 215bhp but will still average around 45mpg.

[A500leroy]

NT1100?

[samjlevy]

black-k1 said:

You can get a decent 2018/2019 H2 SX for 10k and those can be flashed to over 215bhp but will still average around 45mpg.

Very heavy bike though, also very fast!

[black-k1]

samjlevy said:

black-k1 said:

You can get a decent 2018/2019 H2 SX for 10k and those can be flashed to over 215bhp but will still average around 45mpg.

Very heavy bike though, also very fast!

I must tell Mrs k1 that she's married to Superman because I don't find it particularly heavy.

Have you ridden one? The weight is pretty average for sports tourers in the same league and significantly lighter than the big tourers. It's also similar to the weight of the large adventure bikes so popular with many.

[Skyman]

boyse7en said:

Bob_Defly said:

Motorways and trackdays suggest something with a bit of a fairing. I used to commute on an MT-09 and motorways are a pain in the arse on it.

What about the new GSX-8R?

Or the Yamaha XSR900 GP?
MT-09 mechanicals for the reliability, and a nice practical fairing for motorways. Also looks the dog's cojones on track

That gets my vote. Wow at the price and spec point.

[samjlevy]

black-k1 said:

I must tell Mrs k1 that she's married to Superman because I don't find it particularly heavy.

Have you ridden one? The weight is pretty average for sports tourers in the same league and significantly lighter than the big tourers. It's also similar to the weight of the large adventure bikes so popular with many.

265kg is heavy for my use case, not something I would want to be tracking, a Ninja 1000 would probably be a better idea for me. I won't be touring on the bike, it will be used to get to my office, the odd track day and hooning around some mountain roads.

Ideally I want something light, like the MT09 / Duke R, but something that I can also use for 300km's of motorway riding a week.

Edited by samjlevy on Tuesday 14th May 23:14

[samjlevy]

I’m kind of veering to a newish Tuono V4 (Non factory), seems to have better wind protection than most nakeds, a more upright riding position and can still do the odd track day on it. It’s way over budget but a lot of bike for the money. Heart is still saying Duke 890 R, but I think doing the 50km motorway journey a few times a week may be a bit annoying!

[Biker9090]

You may want to search KTM Camshaft Failure on Facebook, there's an entire group dedicated to top end failures there....

Personally, I'd choose the MT09