AberdeenBikers

Why do you have your current ride (or rides) ?

I posted a question like this a few years ago, and just thought it was time for a new thread.

My current roads bikes… KTM 990 Adventure and a big panzer GSA.

Some may ask “why two of the same sort of bike ?”
Answer…”they are well different”.

The panzer is a well designed multi purpose bike, huge tank range, huge luggage carrying ability, comfortable, more than enough power for two up, and surprisingly easy to ride slowly or making a bit of progress.
But for me it lacks feel and feedback.
Yes I ride it most days, but I prefer riding my KTM.

The KTM…it is a laugh , tight precise steering and throttle, great feel, great feedback, inspires confidence on loose surfaces.
Why don’t I ride it every day you may ask…the chain, I loving hate exposing the chain to salty and or wet road conditions, I have had a couple chain snap in the past, not good if doing about 68/69 mph…also it is getting on a bit, looking a bit used…but it is a great grin generating ride, like all things that generate such pleasure, best to use with caution or you will get caught

Last year I used the Tiger 800 XC as a commuter bike most days. Very capable machine and ideal for the job. Easy to ride, very flicable and good gearing. A very sensible bike.

Sadly the Tuono did almost no miles last year, which is a crime as it is great fun to ride. Unrefined, Italian, unreliable......but..... oh man that engine, the handling and the noise.

Not the best 1,000cc naked bike out there, but in my opinion one of the most fun to ride.

1999 VFR800
Had a 1990 VFR750, came time to change it, or run it into the ground,... so I decided to change. I looked around, with a rough budget of 1600, there were some fine machines to be had off ebay.
Thought I might up my cc so looked at Aprillia Futura, nane for the price or at least like rocking horse poo and a bit rough.
Toyed with triumph speed triples , or daytonas. Plenty to be had for the money with lower mileages and a triple could be fun, sadly there were none even remotely locally to chuck a leg over to test for size, which was a concern 6ft and 16stone I didn't want to be teetering on a smaller bike.
Entertained monsters but decided against a naked bike, that and there were relatively few 900s
No RSV1000r for the right price, likewise VTR1000sp,
Thought I'd look at vfr800s (pre vtec) and lo and behold there were tons of the buggers, reasonable to low mileages, so now it was just a case of finding the right one, stainless pipes (as I'm picky that way) and what ever else some had on them.

Guess I'm just a honda v4 man through and through, maybe, down the line I'll manage to get my hands on a 749/999 or a crossplane R1.

Currently have a GSXR600 (2007) sitting in the garage. In a couple of weeks it will have metamorphosed into a Honda Crosstourer!

Why? Because I'm getting fat, lazy and old.

S1000R. Cheap, and comes with all the toys.

I have been using a 2010 650 bandit as a daily commuter, also had it around Knockhill for a track day last year, Good for a laugh, but need something with a bit more poke!


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Currently running a Beemer K75S as my daily but haven't bonded with it like my old R80 so will likely change for a Bandit or suchlike. Not a bad bike as such but its a bit bland and a bit too much for commuting. I'll decide once I've rebuilt the forks and got some decent tyres on it and see if it makes it better.
Now the A944 is nearly all 40mph, I'll probably use the Wee Suzuki GP100 on wet days and the restored DT175 on bonny days for work.
Still got the wee DAX Honda for sh*ts and giggles! Its also good for when the car goes in for servicing or mot as it goes in the boot so I don't have to rely on others or buses to get home and back!

I have a V-Strom 650 for many reasons.

- It has a cracking engine that pulls smoothly from low revs making town riding a doddle and is more than fast enough for me.
- It has ABS.
- It is very comfortable.
- It can take full hard luggage without looking out of place.
- The 19" front wheel makes a big difference on the crappy road surfaces.
- It cost £5500 brand new!!!

Big Kneed Al (master of the emergency stop & "stand up" comedian).

Street Triple (first 'big' bike) and Daytona...

Need to rationalise down to one bike this year, but completely torn and undecided in what to do...

Thoughts:

Love the Street for commuting and short rides. Hate it on long journeys because of lack of wind/weather protection.

Love the Daytona for the acceleration and feel more like trying to be a more technically correct rider on it than I do on the Street. Love the wind protection on longer rides (e.g. Glasgow and back), but not that comfortable particularly on the wrists...

Options:

Sell one and keep the other... Hard to decide given I like commuting and riding up/down to Glasgow when I need to.

Sell both and buy something else... But what??? I've really no idea at this point. Swung everywhere between an 899, S1000R and a new Street. Decision point probably comes in May.

Yarek wrote:Street Triple (first 'big' bike) and Daytona...

Need to rationalise down to one bike this year, but completely torn and undecided in what to do...

Thoughts:

Love the Street for commuting and short rides. Hate it on long journeys because of lack of wind/weather protection.

Love the Daytona for the acceleration and feel more like trying to be a more technically correct rider on it than I do on the Street. Love the wind protection on longer rides (e.g. Glasgow and back), but not that comfortable particularly on the wrists...

Options:

Sell one and keep the other... Hard to decide given I like commuting and riding up/down to Glasgow when I need to.

Sell both and buy something else... But what??? I've really no idea at this point. Swung everywhere between an 899, S1000R and a new Street. Decision point probably comes in May.

Tiger Sport?

Due to a number of issues, like MOT failure and lack of time to spend refurbing the bike...my KTM has moved onto another home

Replacement...another panzer, but a wee bit different from the adventure bikes...a S1000R Sport, a black one, sort of a nippy panzer

Why...because it was available, probably as currently black is not an option on the B_M_W website or dealers, so no one had ordered one.

When I called the dealer to see if they had a K1300R...the answer was "no", so I asked what naked bike they had in stock.
The only one not spoken for was a black S1000R Sport...so I did a quick comparison with the K1300R.

The S is lighter, quicker acceleration, newer design and tech...so I just bought it.

First impression after the run from Inverness to Granton...acceptable
Nice smooth delivery and torque from next to no revs.

As I said earlier...so far I find this bike acceptable

Bought the Street Triple R because it was the right bike, at the right time and it was at the right price (nothing to do with the fact that I wrote off the CBR600....) And the owner did me a deal, needed something upright after fracturing my wrist from the crash last year but would still be fun to ride.

This in all fairness is a better bike in every way from the CBR600F, though at times I do miss the fairing of the Honda. But the Triple gives me a grin every time I open it up thanks to the duel Arrows.

What ever bike I have next will have to be truly awesome to beat the STR.

Due to a number of issues, like MOT failure, a few wee bits needing fixed and my lack of time/facilities to spend fixing the issues ...my B_M_W_ R1200GS Adventure has moved onto another home.

Replacement...an delicate wee Yamaha MT-09 Tracer, a wee bit different from the huge GS Adventure bike.

Why...when I was waiting for my lad to exchange his 50cc twist-and-go moped for a CBF125, I was bullied into have a ride on a MT-09.

Initial reaction: good looks, light, agile, quick off the mark, does not feel like a 200kg bike, more like a 150kg supermoto but smoother.

Then the day after my run I had a discussion with someone asking my thoughts about the MT-09, during that discussion my initial reaction sunk into my head and that got me thinking of replacing the GS.

So on Monday morning the deal was done.

Friday afternoon the swap was completed.

Now got over 300 miles on the MT-09, smiling for all of them, my current thoughts are better than my initial reaction apart from the screen, which makes a lot of wind noise/buffeting when traveling over 59mph.

Dave wrote:Now got over 300 miles on the MT-09, smiling for all of them, my current thoughts are better than my initial reaction apart from the screen, which makes a lot of wind noise/buffeting when traveling over 59mph.

My car makes more wind noise than your old GS!!!!

Big Kneed Al (master of the emergency stop & "stand up" comedian) wrote:

Dave wrote:Now got over 300 miles on the MT-09, smiling for all of them, my current thoughts are better than my initial reaction apart from the screen, which makes a lot of wind noise/buffeting when traveling over 59mph.

My car makes more wind noise than your old GS!!!!

Zathos can make more wind noise than all of us combined (no bike required)...and that is when he is stationary