MakeEverything
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| posted on 17/2/10 at 06:12 PM |
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I used to commute 50miles each way on a TL1000R and its hard work in the traffic.
Something 750 / 850 is ideal. 1200 is just too big to throw around the traffic.
The 600 Bandit was the best commuter bike i had. Im 5'10 though.
You might like the Africa Twin?
Kindest Regards,
Richard.
...You can make it foolProof, but youll never make it Idiot Proof!...
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franky
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| posted on 17/2/10 at 06:14 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by MikeCapon
Don't whatever you do buy a chop style bike. You'll be put off bikes forever as they don't go, they don't stop and they
don't go round corners either. Perhaps a slight exageration but you want a proper bike.
At 6 foot odd forget the baby Jap sports bikes. You'll be best off either with a streetbike (Bandit if you must, Fazer 600, Honda Hornet, Kawa
ER6) or something more trailie like an Africa Twin or a Transalp. Avoid singles if you're going to be doing regular commutes. They tend to be a
bit vibey and don't like being spanked. Oh and they are not quick either.
A sports bike is a pretty focused machine, to the extent that they are not too comfy and very easy to hit license busting speeds very quickly.
Sweeping generalisation.... Don't buy anything Italian. Reliability, depreciation, parts supply... Sounds familiar?
All this is IMHO of course.
And last of all ride as if everyone else on the road is going to try and kill you. Sooner or later that will save your life.
That was a sweeping statement about Italian reliability and about 30 years out of date
I would say that though as i've got a Moto Morini Corsaro Veloce, never had a problem and all parts/back-up are fine
I'd agree about avoiding a chopper though, you can catch the Ghey off em just by looking at them
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oliwb
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| posted on 17/2/10 at 06:32 PM |
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How about a BMW??? I had an old F650CS (single) for the first 6 months after passing my test. I then got a secondhand Triumph Daytona (4 cyl not
triple) which I loved but was too easy to go fast on! I've now got myself (a year ago) a new BMW F800GS. Its amazing. You sit nice and high
its a parallel twin so something a bit different does 80 mpg £66/year road tax, £250 insurance (23 yr old 1 yr no claims). You sit nice and high
above the traffic and its mega comfy! The only problem is you'd probably struggle to find one cheaply as people like them a lot! You might get
one of the new F650GS's though which is essentially the same but toned down a bit.
I tried a few others including bandits and SV650s's but found them to be very uncomfortable (SV) or far too generic. I almost went for a Ducati
Monster S4 but was put off when the dealer couldn't actually start it when I turned up for a pre-arranged test drive!
Oli.
If your not living life on the edge you're taking up too much room!
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robocog
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| posted on 17/2/10 at 06:40 PM |
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If your not a full bike licence holder yet
Get your CBT done (informative good fun day out)
Get a CG125 (they are made of pure win)
£15 a year tax and an easy 100MPG
Will do 65 MPH all day long on the flat, so Ideal for short commutes
Biggest uphill round here has me drop to about 50 if I don't tuck in a bit
only has 11 HP when new, but they don't weigh much so acceleration from lights is good and nible/agile if you need to filter
4 stroke and V low tech, very very forgiving and nothing that will write it off it you drop it
(unlike the plastics clad sports style ones)
Heard bad things about the Varadero 125 - in that it was quite weighty and gutless engine
I like the look of them and had a sit on one and it was a fair bit taller than the CG, which has benefits and drawbacks I guess
eg better view ahead- quite important for a new commuter, but not so great as far as wind resistance goes when you only have 11hp to atrt with
We have had one come in at work (in a salvage yard) that was written off beacuse it had been dropped (lots of broken plastics) the only CG's I
have seen written off at work - really were written off and unridable
Do test and sell on CG for the same amount it cost you if you get the bug- as they seem to hold their price really well compared to the Chinese
clones
I love my CG's and am sure I will still have one when I get my big boys licence :-)
( I now have 2 of them!)
Regards
Rob
Edited to add at 6 6 on a CG it will look like you are riding a monkey bike so maybe something more off roady is going to be a better fit
Got a V tall mate who's into greenlaning at weekends and I couldn't get onto any of his bikes....waaay to tall for me, would have needed
stabilisers and a ladder
IIRc had a couple or XLR's and and XR?
Not sure if he'd "jacked them up" or whether they were std size
[Edited on 17/2/10 by robocog]
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Dangle_kt
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| posted on 17/2/10 at 06:59 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by The Venom Project
Fantastic bike, I had a Lightning Long, this is a very good V twin, 1200CC, lots of torque, loads of power, the best handling bike I have ever owned.
Very well designed. Don't let the fact that Buell are no longer trading put you off getting one.
[Edited on 17/2/10 by The Venom Project]
he is 6ft 6, it would be like riding a large wedgy buells are tiny - amazing, but tiny.
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steve m
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| posted on 17/2/10 at 07:00 PM |
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CBR 400 woukd be very small for someone 6'6" as i am only 5'3" tall and have ridden one quite a bit, and would say very
tailererd for my size
Steve
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l0rd
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| posted on 17/2/10 at 08:10 PM |
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Thank you all for your interesting contributions.
As a newbe on this, I will not go mad. I am quite a calm driver in general with only a few mad moments like once a month.
All i need is something that will get me from work and back without too much hassle.
I cannot do an enduro, as i normally try to get to the office in a tie.
I quite like something with a bit of style as well.
I am too fussy 
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BigFaceDave
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| posted on 17/2/10 at 08:17 PM |
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At 6' 6 I would forget the Sv650 as I once sat on one and it was tiny (im only 6'1) as oliwb has said BMW F650 is a very good option and
should be a much better fit also as I think has already been mention tdm800 transalps africa twins etc.I work with a chap who is the same height who
has a africa twin and finds it spot on for 6 footers! And of course there is always a Honda C90! I have heard of people tuning them to do 250mpg!
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Peteff
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| posted on 17/2/10 at 08:30 PM |
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A Suzuki GS500, Kawasaki ER6 or similar is a good commuter bike but if you want comfort and easy riding get a scooter like the Yamaha Majesty, Piaggio
X9, Suzuki Burgman or any of the mid range scoots, 250cc to 500cc twist and go with room under the seat for your helmet or lunch and will cruise at
70mph. I rode a Peugeot 250 for a while last year and it was so easy you didn't even have to think and there's some cover from the weather
as well so your trousers don't get wet in a shower.
yours, Pete
I went into the RSPCA office the other day. It was so small you could hardly swing a cat in there.
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