Following on from my ABS motorbike thread, the Fazer has gone to another owner, for me to save up a bit and get a bike early next year. However, the mid is always active and I am eyeing up potential alternatives (which have ABS)- maybe even get a few test rides this summer before taking the plunge next spring.

Any recommendations? Have you tried any of the above?

Cheers!!

My dads got an ER6f and loves it, although being a parallel twin it's a bit vibey and you need to be in the right gear.

Honda make good bikes that do the job well, albeit not always with the most excitement.

Yamaha FZ6 is a good bike and IMHO the more exciting bike to ride out of the three.

I'd get the FZ6 out of the three.

Have you considered a Honda Hornet with ABS?

I borrowed one for a few days and I thought it was fantastic and loads of fun; and that's even with me riding 1000 sports bikes for years.

Depending on your budget, you could also look at a Triumph Street Triple 675, although I don't think they do one with ABS.

How about the new Ducati Monster 796? That can be specced with ABS.

Watty – Member
How about the new Ducati Monster 796? That can be specced with ABS.

These seem to be getting good reviews in the press.

budget around £3k- cant stretch to new!! So about a 2006-2007 bike probably.

Their all good bikes, but the ER6 isone of the best all round bikes I've ridden. Really capable at scratching of cruising. I like it a lot.

There's 3 years 0% on a few Kawasaki's at the moment… 😀

Have you considered a kawasaki Versys or a Z750?

I've had a ride of a Z750 and they have more torque that the 600's, but I think the insurance is about the same.

A quick look on the autotrader website has brought up a few in your budget with low miles on them.

I've rode bikes for the last 13 years and I wouldn't get too focused on ABS IMO.

The best saftey mod I ever bought was a weekends advanced training 🙂

although being a parallel twin it's a bit vibey

Crikey, you would need a good hold on your teeth if you rode my single then!!

anagallis_arvensis – Member

although being a parallel twin it's a bit vibey

Crikey, you would need a good hold on your teeth if you rode my single then!!

🙂 lol

I'm comparing it to a 4 cylinder, although to be honest my main bike is an SP1 v twin, so I'm used to a few vibes 8)

The Eeyore is a very nice bike… Everyone thought it was going to be an SV competitor but it's pretty different, much more laid back. I wouldn't have had one 5 years ago but I wouldn't say no to one now.

But, obvious contenders should be Hornets and SV650s, both available with ABS and both brilliant.

ABS isn't all good, if I had ABS I wouldn't be able to tell people the story of The Time I Rode Into A Policeman And He Wasn't Very Happy. So, just say no to fantastic safety features.

I fancy a BMW F800s when I get tired of the CBR600RR & can afford the BMW.

Versys gets good reviews, if I had the cash my pic at the mo would be a hornet 600 with abs,
PJ

What about a real bike with the correct number of cylinders like one… Ok I'll stretch to 2.
And forget about ABS, it's like inline four… Car stuff…
The ER6 seems to get the favours of every single driving school here (except for the CER who prefers the new BMW 800). 2008 can be found new at 4990€ so probably a lot less second hand. And how dare you call a parallel twin 'vibey'

And how dare you call a parallel twin 'vibey'

Shouldn't that be "How very dare you?" 😉 lol

I've got an Aprilia Futura and I love it. Vtwin character, forgiving, reliable (mechanically, had a few issues electrically) anmd incredibly comfortable.
if the styling's not your taste an SL1000 Falco is the same engine in a different frame.

I've got an FZ6, it's a nice bike and I'm very happy with it. The bike I had prior to this one was an SV650, another great bike. I thought about the ER6, but fancied a change and didn't want another 2cyl bike.

Not much help really – I looked at all the options, test rode some of them, read loads of mag reviews, and they all looked pretty similar – nothing stuck out as being much better, but no stinkers either. In the end I chose the one that looked best 🙂

I think it's hard to buy a bad bike these days.

They are all pretty good and it can be such a personal choice.

I love my SP1 to bits and think it's the best thing since sliced bread, but my mate thinks it's rubbish 🙁

I tend to favour V twins or IL4's, but my Dad loves his ER6.

Shouldn't that be "How very dare you?" lol

Really?

peajay – Member
Versys gets good reviews, if I had the cash my pic at the mo would be a hornet 600 with abs,
PJ

hopefiendboy – If you get a copy of June's BIKE magazine, there is a really good write up on the Kwak Versys with suprising results 8)

Only 0.24's slower tha a GSXR750 around a track!!!!

And nearly as quick as an R6 on the roll on from 40 to 100mph. R6 did it in 13.4's and the Versys did it in 13.9's.

It seems to get rave reviews for pretty much everything to be honest.

Looks to be a bit of a dark horse 🙂

I have put 28k on my ER6F and also ride a Aprilia RSV1000. The ER6 is a solid economical bike that is still fun. Nice low weight and wide bars make it a joy to chuck into corners or around town. Very good fuel consumption, mine dips to 50mpg in town or abusive country lane riding. Usually get 60mpg and I've seen over 70mpg being careful. Very comfy for longer distances and the power is plenty. It can be wheelie happy once you start getting it in the power band out of corners and ring it's neck. I've used mine for everything from solid London commuting, long distance motorway/a road commute and long Sunday rides. It's comfortable for 300 mile rides with no second thought.

Only downsides is it's suspension really suffers if you try to ride it hard after jumping off a decent sports bike. If you're smooth with transitions between corners/brakes/power then it rides fine. But you wouldn't expect anything different as it's just a commuter. Despite being quite soft sometimes the ride quality is about bouncy and not as smooth as it could be. Don't expect other similar bikes to be any better though.

In 28k the only issues I've had is rusty ignition coils, (common issue with many bikes – worth checking they are well greased once you get any bike) and the exhaust header pipe snapped – apparently a common issue. Both sorted under warranty.