The only thing I'm not interested in is a super/sports bike. I'd have no licence by the end of the first week!

It's got to;

a) Commute the 6 mile round trip to work everyday while my knee's buggered
b) Look good (this is subjective)

Torn between

– a yamaha WR400/426/450, would give more weekend options and a set of slick wheels for the weekdays.

– and a triumph bonneville from the 70's. I like the feeling of having my walet violated to pay for extortionately priced spare parts, honest!

– something that doesnt realy do either particulalry well, a semi classic trail bike, yamaha XT250/500 etc

– anything shiny and noisy that overtakles me in the morning.

and a triumph bonneville from the 70's. I like the feeling of having my walet violated to pay for extortionately priced spare parts, honest!

You know you want one 😉

anything shiny and noisy that overtakles me in the morning.

Any old thumper from the 70/80's will do then…
Provided you get a maooosive stainless can on it 😉

Practical – a twist and go scooter!

A 70s bonnie is very nice but expensive and unreliable – you cannot rely on one for work – get a new bonnie instead if you want to commute on it.

How about a Suzuki SV650 nice twin growl to it.. fun when you want it to be and practical when it has to be..

Missus has got one and I rather ride that than my R6 🙂

twist'n'go and the sv650 both miss out on the looking good aspect!

twist'n'go's arent reliable either, the clutch's last 3k miles and the engines blow up as they spend 90% of their lives with the throttle pinned open to keep up with trafic. Had one when I was 16, never again, the CG 125 which replaced it was better in every concievable way, it went round corners without feeling like a blomange for a start .

I should mention my other mode of transport is an MG Midget, practicality and reliability aren't a priority 🙂

A 70s bonnie is very nice but expensive and unreliable

Expensive? yes
unreliable? not really with modern electronics on them

How much are you wanting to spend? I've had a Harley street bob for three years now, bought it from new, and it's been everything I hoped it would compared to some of the older Harleys I've had in the past. Some of the new Buells are quite saucy, and reasonably priced too. They no longer use Harley motors, so (dare I say it) are more reliable than the older models, and madder than a bag of monkeys as well. I've owned a couple of Triumphs, both new models and old, and to be honest, the new Bonnie's are far more reliable and will cost you a lot less to buy, run and maintain than a 70's model. One good point about Harleys is that provided you keep them in good condition and dont go overboard with the accessories (not everone appreciates tassles and 'live to ride' shi*e) you should always make your money back if you decide to get rid.

Budget's whatever I want to spend (within sensible reason). My outgoings are significantly less than my income at the moment and 'stuff' is more fun than a savings account.

If I realy wanted soemthing, £5k-£6k, but It'd have to be monumnetaly good to be 4x better than a 5 year old WR.

Practical – a twist and go scooter!

BURN THE WITCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Scooters are 2 wheels for car drivers FACTOMUNDO. People who love 2 wheels and have skills ride motorbikes FACTOMUNDO again.
Bedds anything is more fun to ride than a **** awfull inline 4 japanese bike. Even japaneses twins…

The OP if you can wait, Norton is coming back on the market apparently 😉
I'll try to get some pict done of angela this week end if you want.

i like this but then i'm a bit odd

I did have a quick spin on a KTM 450 recently & couldn't believe how much fun that was [around a racetrack at least]
Can't remember the model but I think it was Supermoto something or other

Norton's coming back? With a rotary or a comando? TBH I'd buy either, one for the luncay and one because its a comando.

If you fancy the looks of a Bonnie but want something that's reliable enough to commute on then how about a Kawasaki W650?

They (the new Nortons)were on the cover of MCN. Dont hold your breath.

Maybe a Suzuki DR400 would be more civilised as a road bike if you want an enduro machine?

I am a big fan of the old XT500 if you find a nice one at a good price.

Harley is not my thing at all but they sure hold their value well and more non-bikers seem to appreciate their 'style' than anything else bizarrely.

I commute on a R1150GS ADV but my journey is rather longer 🙂

Are you only commuting 3mls to then from work each day? Engine wont like that much in winter months.. + what weight / size of bike can you deal with, & do you want to use it for longer trips in coming years? Having traded down from a TL1000s due to knee ache / speed boredom, got an Africa Twin last year & haven't enjoyed a year as much since my first bike (+ another great forum). The 'big trailies' have superb comfort, general reliability (/legendary, in the Africa's case), touring ability etc., but are much down on power & fairly hefty. With salt going down soon, you'll be worked hard keeping corrosion at bay, which may mean a 'hack' bike if your not OCD with the cleaning.

here 😀

Luuuuurvely.

The KTM is a smr, but not road legal. For commuting duties not sure a ktm is a good option (plus you'll loose your license as fast as you'll do with a 1098)

v-strom 650
dual sport /do everything

loving mine

Well i will be having one of these when i scrape the cash together, a nice starter commuter that i dont think looks too bad.

I really liked the new Triumph Bonnie went i went to the NEC bike show last year. as well as several of the more classic styled Triumph bikes.

those and the Royal Enfields were nice and comfortable, but as an everyday prospect a RE, with its single cylinder, and 27bhp would get annoying/tiring after a while as a daily commuter if your on motorways.
Tho 6 miles you'll be ok.
£4000 new or so

You're right about Harleys. People (generally non-bikers) always want to tell you how theyve always wanted one, and owners tend to either be a bit up themselves or wannabee Hells angels. My wife is forever taking the proverbial, insisting on calling them 'Harley Gayvidsons', but still, I wouldnt want to ride anything else, unless I could afford something like a KTM supermotard as well, just for hooning about on for short distances.

That fat-tyred Suzuki is horrible.

I'm coveting a triumph street triple at the moment. Just need to find 6k down the back of the sofa so I can buy one!

Brother_Will

I hope you are joking ?

If you want commuter you want a CG125.

We have a shiny black VTR-1000 FireStorm and an Aprilia RSV Mille for sale at the mo.
The fit into the look nice/shiny/noisy/pass you in the morning catagory.

Both twins so fun to ride and sound nice. And to be fair, they only go as fast as you twist the handle – but they WILL go fast if you want them to.

If you want fun though, I can HIGHLY recommend a Honda XBR500, if you can get hold of one. A 500cc single based on one of their old trail bikes. Sound fantastic, excellent fun to ride and parts are cheap should you need them and they are a comfortable riding position. Lovely, lovely bikes – I really miss mine…

Speed triples are horny, Street triples ditto, and a fair bit cheaper. Sometimes regret getting rid of my street triple, but I dont think my license could have taken the inevitable kicking.

Weird stuff – Yamaha – SR500 (thumpertastic), TDR250, V-Max.

But really? Have a look at the current stock list on MadeInItaly's website- they've got a nice Ducati 450 for 5k, and an SD Darmah for 3.5k- you're not going to lose money on something like those…. theres' some really nice kit on there….

I know the engine wont like it, but realisticly its no worse than doing the same number of longer trips, it just means more wear than you'd expect for a bike of any given milage.

Any my knee hates those miles even more at the moment! Knee op £2k, engine rebuild £600.

Not too keen on the big trail bikes, my dad's had a few and I never saw the point, the only time they came into their own was on a roadtrip to scotland where they were big enough for the motorway but smaller than the 1150gs on potholed the b-roads.

Damit now I want three bikes! A cheep t'n'g scooter for destroying on the commute, a 400cc trail bike for the weekends, and a bonnie for the summer 🙁

If you want fun though, I can HIGHLY recommend a Honda XBR500, if you can get hold of one. A 500cc single based on one of their old trail bikes. Sound fantastic, excellent fun to ride and parts are cheap should you need them and they are a comfortable riding position. Lovely, lovely bikes – I really miss mine…

I've got one of them – an SJ with wire wheels:

they've got a nice Ducati 450 for 5k, and an SD Darmah for 3.5k- you're not going to lose money on something like those

You will if you commute through the winter on one.

If you look toward the SR500 you can always get a srx 600 as I said above very nice, thumperastic noise 😀
etc etc
Have a look on srx600.net for galleries…

Great little bike that can go for cheap o the beay…

they've got a nice Ducati 450 for 5k, and an SD Darmah for 3.5k- you're not going to lose money on something like those
You will if you commute through the winter on one.

aah, I glossed over that bit.

thisisnotaspoon – Member

Damit now I want three bikes! A cheep t'n'g scooter for destroying on the commute, a 400cc trail bike for the weekends, and a bonnie for the summer

Therein lies your problem. a suitable bike for the commute will not be much fun at weekends.

The only bike I ever see that makes me think I'd like a go on it is a Harley V-Rod

Therein lies your problem. a suitable bike for the commute will not be much fun at weekends.

Mehhhhh……………..

Might just go for the trail bike, modern reliability, noisy, fun, quick enough, and easy to fix (only one set of piston rings to replace, etc) and I can piss off ramblers to an even greater extent at the weekends 😀

thinking about buying myself at the mo …

Ducati Monster doing it for me, but also like the look of the Street Triple

want a low seat and high bars – brother in law has a street bob, nice bike.

a HD though, nee offence, like …

Suzuki still do those SV650 jobs ?

How about a Yamaha MT-03? I think it's a great looking little bike which is meant to be great to ride as well. I quite fancied one as a 2nd bike to play around on but sadly at my height i can't comfortably ride most motorbikes. You can pick them up pretty cheaply now as well.

I'd recommend a Vmax like i ride but for commuting it would make no sense as the fuel tank is small and the mpg not exactly frugal either. Lots of fun though – at least until you come to a tight bend….. Mine took a brand new Porsche 911 Turbo off the lights twice in a row the other month (childish i know but lots of fun) so it's still got some grunt despite its age.

Anyone know anything about yamaha xt-250's from the 80's?

Ticks all the boxes,
– classic (well its a twin shock with wire wheels, close enough)
– thumper (although not a big one)
– simple
– off roadable (possibly???)
– get the frame PC'd, rattle can of heat proof paint on the crankcase and voilla, its ready for winter 🙂

and dirt dirt dirt cheep 🙂

Oooh, epicsteve. Nice. Mine had the nasty modular wheels, rather than the spoked ones and it was black.
Like this, in fact:

So, how much fun do you have setting car alarms off as you ride past? 😉
(The guy who used to do the MOT *always* asked if the exhaust was legal because of the noise it made. It was, of course…)

The Micron 2-into-1 on mine isn't all that loud. Nowhere near as loud as the supposedly road legal Motad on my CBR600 anyway!

I used to lust after the electic start CB125TDC when I was a youth (I had the ealier and faster, but lest pretty CB125TB) so I've always liked the look of the alloys that your bike had, however on the XBR the spoked wheels do look good. Mine need a good clean-up/rebuild though.