Need advice on getting bike #2.

[JackFlash]

Thanks everyone for all the great information. That's a lot to digest. I'll check things out and have more questions as time goes on.

I was under the impression that a jump from a GS 500 to a liter bike would be huge for my level of experience. It's not that I don't like speed and quickness, it's that I like it maybe a little too much for my skill level right now. My way, is to stay away from temptations that could cause me pain until I have developed skills to handle them.

Still, I want feedback. A jump to an 800 would not be an irresponsible move for me at this point? Tell me more.

[JackFlash]

A jump from your 2-cylinder 500 to an inline 600 would be a huge leap. You're talking twice the horsepower' date=' at a minimum. I wouldn't recommend anything larger than that.[/quote']

This is exactly the kind of advice I'm looking for. When you suggest a 600, does that include 650's as well?

.

[Kmanlyst]

I was looking at a 636 but I really don't feel I am ready for it yet so I am going to tame the 650 first.

[Pokey]

This is exactly the kind of advice I'm looking for. When you suggest a 600, does that include 650's as well?

.

Vstrom 650 is calling your name, I'm telling ya man! They are so damn fun to ride and versatile, you would be smiling allot under that helmet.......ALLOT.

[Revelstoker]

This is exactly the kind of advice I'm looking for. When you suggest a 600, does that include 650's as well?

When comparing bikes, displacement is an indicator but should not be a limiting factor in bike choice.

Different kinds of bikes will make different kinds of power (torque vs hp) depending on their intended use and motor configuration (inline 4 or V-twin). How the bike makes power, how quickly and the amount of RPMs to do so matter far more than just CCs. (125c two-stroke single is a maniacal beast compared to a 2000cc flat 6 cruiser.)

In other words, a large displacement motor (think Harley-Davidson) can actually be easier to ride for a novice as they make more torque at lower rpms. More torque makes it easier to get off the line without revving the piss out of the bike. Many I-4 crotch rocket type bikes (600, 750, 1000cc) make a lot of power but they have to be spinning at 13, 14,15k rpm to do so vs a v-twin that might only rev to 9K rpm.

In general, sport bikes don't make ideal bikes for newbies for a variety of reasons that are not related to displacement.

It can be confusing but focusing on type of bike might make the choice easier. For example, the bike below is a 1200cc bike but would be perfectly fine for a newer rider:

[redkow97]

Yeah, displacement means a lot less than horsepower and torque.

A GS500 has maybe 40 hp on its best day, so a liquid cooled 650 twin is almost double the power, and a modern 600 is almost triple...

600's and 650's are pretty even on torque, but the 650 will make it much lower.

Air cooled engines throw in another variable. This is where cruisers lose power despite having big displacement. A 1200cc air cooled cruiser might make horsepower comparable to a liquid cooled V twin (sv650), but the 1200 would have considerably more torque.

FZ6 still sounds like a great upgrade from a GS500. Yes its a 600, but its cammed differently than a supersport bike. It makes less hp, with more mid-range power. Great for street use. There is a tangible difference between twins and 4 cylinders though. I prefer 4's at the track, but twins on the street.

[Mykill]

All bikes mentioned are great suggestions. Get a good deal on one and try it out. If you dont like it sell it and try again.

I want a second bike

[redkow97]

I am changing my philosophy on street riding in general.

It's no secret that I enjoy track riding, but aggressive riding on the street is risky at best, and often 'requires' illegal speeds.

With that in mind, my street-bike preferences have evolved into something that accelerates well, but outright performance isn't as important has day-to-day liveability.

My track fix will come from racing an XR100 at the break-neck speed of 40mph... I still want a street bike that I can take to the track two or three times a year, but a big twin or even an older Kat 750 can still be fun without setting lap records.

[LINK]

V-Strom.... I too have a very short inseam, and it is not a problem for me at all at stock height.

There are plenty of them out there at a decent price, even a left over new one, and the touring accessories, and upgrades are endless for the V-Strom.

I preferred the 650 over the 1000, but the 1000 will make you a great bike if you went that route, a bit taller though.

The Versys, I am still wondering if that would have been the best bike for me, all though I am very happy with my V-Strom so far, I still wonder...The Versys are tall too, keep that in mind.

Both can be lowered some with ease, and not at all expensive to do, if you feel the need.

Best of luck with your decision!

[Pokey]

V-Strom.... I too have a very short inseam, and it is not a problem for me at all at stock height.

There are plenty of them out there at a decent price, even a left over new one, and the touring accessories, and upgrades are endless for the V-Strom.

I preferred the 650 over the 1000, but the 1000 will make you a great bike if you went that route, a bit taller though.

The Versys, I am still wondering if that would have been the best bike for me, all though I am very happy with my V-Strom so far, I still wonder...The Versys are tall too, keep that in mind.

Both can be lowered some with ease, and not at all expensive to do, if you feel the need.

Best of luck with your decision!

Had a Strom 1000, but the 650 is the all around better machine.The Versys is sweet though, you dont typically win MOTY otherwise. Not having a centerstand does bother me however, but must be due to the belly exhaust. Either of those 650's are deceptively quick, and eat gravel, hardpack and rough roads for breakfast too.

[jnor]

Buying a motorcycle and choosing the correct motorcycle is not an easy task. Often, we are motivated more by what we think we want, instead of choosing the bike we need.

The first step in choosing a motorcycle is that you have to be honest with yourself. This is probably the hardest step of all. You need to honestly look at yourself and determine exactly how you are going to ride the bike. I know you have dreams of riding coast to coast, but are you actually going to do that? Maybe you have visions of dragging a knee around the corners – but again, is this something you will actually be doing? Is that something you SHOULD be doing?

You also need to consider your physical size and strength. If you are 4 foot 10 and weigh 70 pounds, that DRG2700 with a 32 inch seat height that weighs 1242 pounds probably is not going to be a lot of fun. If you are 6 foot 9 and weigh 400 pounds that 250 Ninja is just not going to fit you too well.

Try not to look at a motorcycle as a motorcycle, try to see it as a tool. Decide what the job is that you want to get done, and then choose the tool that fits the job.

Most important is how much are you going to ride the motorcycle.

Many people ride less than 4,000 miles a year. The choice of motorcycle is less critical for these people. The primary quality for these people is probably appearance. These people should start by choosing what they consider to be the nicest looking motorcycles. Once they have found a few that they like the next step is to see if they fit the bike. A great way to check this out is to try to back the motorcycle into a parking space. Trust me, if you are not comfortable and cannot backup the motorcycle you choose, you are not going to enjoy that motorcycle. You will be so nervous every time you show up at bike night you will not be able to have fun, so make sure you buy a bike that you can maneuver and handle in a bike night situation. Once you have found a motorcycle that you like and that fits you you have found what is going to make you happy.

Some people want to go fast. For some this means stoplight to stoplight, for others this means curvy mountain roads. In general, the better handling and faster the motorcycle, the less riding comfort. Todays sport bikes are amazing machines with spectacular performance. Are you able to take advantage of the performance of these machines? Are you willing or able to explore the lean limits of a CBR600? Maybe a naked bike like a FZ1 would offer performance that exceeds your ability without the discomfort of a sport bike. Once again, be honest with yourself and choose the bike that fits your needs the best, not the one that turned the fastest lap times in the latest magazine article. Trust me, the guys in the magazine will smoke you on whatever bike you choose. You are just not that good. You will go much faster buy improving your skills than you will by buying a faster motorcycle. The people who are looking to go fast also need to make sure the bike fits them.

The guys who want to be fast and the people who ride less than 4,000 miles have a pretty easy time choosing a motorcycle. Their requirements are not too difficult to meet. If you are planning on doing some serious riding the choice gets much more difficult.

Being honest with yourself is once again the most important thing. Often what we visualize doing and what we actually do turn out to be completely different things. Here are some questions you need to ask yourself:

•What type of riding will you be doing? Freeway, two lane, single lane, dirt.

•Will you be mostly riding in the mountains or in the flatlands?

•How long will you be away from home? One day? Weekend? Weeks? Months?

•How many miles will you actually ride each year?

•How often will you have a passenger?

•On overnight rides will you be camping or staying in a motel?

•Will you ride often in very rural areas?

All the above things need to be considered when choosing a motorcycle, and I stress again that you need to be honest with yourself about these considerations.

A motorcycle that suits you well on the freeway is unlikely to be much fun on a dirt road. If you are going to be spending 80% of your time on a freeway the obvious choice is a luxury touring bike like a Gold Wing or Electra Glide. If 80% of your riding will be on dirt a true dual sport like a KLR650 would be the best choice. Don’t buy into the marketing of the adventure touring bikes for dirt. Bikes like the BMW GS and Suzuki Vstrom are really not your friend off road. They are great for folks who might spend less than 10% of their time on dirt, but any more than that and the KLR is just going to be much more manageable.

Everybody loves riding in the mountains. Not every bike is well suited to riding in the mountains. While you can take any bike you choose on a mountain road, some are going to work with you and some are going to work against you. If you are planning on trailering your bike to the mountains you can get as sporty as your back and knees can stand. If you are planning on riding the bike to the mountiains you need to choose something that is going to have enough comfort so the trip to the mountains is not pure misery.

The amount of time you will be away from home will dictate how much storage space you need on the motorcycle. Anybody who plans on riding their motorcycle on a regular basis needs some storage space. As the day goes on temperatures go up and down and you need a place to keep the clothing required to keep you comfortable as the temperature changes. The longer a trip becomes, the more space is necessary. If you add camping to the mix your needs get much bigger. If you are planning on doing week long trips with camping involved you need the most luggage space possible. It is impossible to have too much space.

If you are going to ride really big miles every year maintenenace is a very important issue. A motorcycle that requires a $750 valve adjustment every 10,000 miles is probably a bad choice for someone who will ride more than 20,000 miles a year. Tires are also a very big issue. The more sporty you go with a motorcycle choice the more you will be replacing tires. Sport bikes can wear out a set of tires in 2,000 miles while some people manage to get 20,000 miles out of a set on a Gold Wing or a Harley. Once you have narrowed down your choices figure out how much money you will spend on maintenance over a year. This can make a more expensive motorcycle less money over the long haul.

Reliability is another very important thing for someone who puts a lot of miles on. Check the internet forums to find out what kind of problems other owners are having and find out how the manufacturer is handling them. Downtime is the worst thing that can happen to someone who really loves to ride, so don’t even consider a machine that is know to have some serious issues. You will regret your choice if you choose to ignore this. Try also to make sure you buy from a manufacturer that has plenty of dealers. No matter how reliable your machine is, eventually something is going to happen. When that time comes you don’t want to be 250 miles away from the nearest dealer.

Another thing many people do not consider is what type of gasoline does the motorcycle reqire. If you are going to be doing a lot of rural riding, finding 93 octane might not always be possible. Life can be much simpler if your bike can run fine on the cheap stuff.

There is a lot to think about when choosing a motorcycle. Hopefully this will help you choose a motorcycle that you can enjoy for many years. There is nothing worse than spending your hard earned money on a motorcycle just to find out that it really does not meet your needs, but if you look at your needs honestly you will find one that is perfect for you!

[jnor]

My opinion is the Versys...My favorite bike in over 40 years of riding. The only reason I don't still have mine is when my wife quit riding, we needed a bike to ride 2up some, thus the Vstrom.

My wife had a Versys also, I lowered both of them with a well made Speedy's lowering kit, lowered the front the same amount, with no ill affects on handling.....been to the Gap many times on the Versys. Storage, light weight great handling, decent power, and many windshield choices for wind protection, and great ergo's. I have a 29" inseam, and it was perfect after lowering it. I want mine back...

[Revelstoker]

Nothing against the Versys but if I was in the market again to buy a bike like that, I would have to give a serious look at the new Honda NC700. 80mpg and $7k new. Torquey motor with storage for a helmet in what looks like the tank is pretty attactive package.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZtaCdyrYwM

[cOoTeR]

Nothing against the Versys but if I was in the market again to buy a bike like that, I would have to give a serious look at the new Honda NC700. 80mpg and $7k new. Torquey motor with storage for a helmet in what looks like the tank is pretty attactive package.

2012-2013 Honda NC 700 X riding impression promotional video - YouTube

Kind of neat but I don't really like the idea of a push button shifter on a sport bike. Riding a bike requires a lot of attention and multitasking. Some people just can't multitask and are afraid to try to ride a bike because of learning how to shift. An automatic bike will take that away and allow people to not be as scared and jump on the bike when they can't pay attention to traffic and working the controls. People may hop on it thinking its the same as riding a bicycle or driving a car.

[CBBaron]

Buying a motorcycle and choosing the correct motorcycle is not an easy task. Often, we are motivated more by what we think we want, instead of choosing the bike we need.

If 80% of your riding will be on dirt a true dual sport like a KLR650 would be the best choice. Don’t buy into the marketing of the adventure touring bikes for dirt. Bikes like the BMW GS and Suzuki Vstrom are really not your friend off road. They are great for folks who might spend less than 10% of their time on dirt, but any more than that and the KLR is just going to be much more manageable.

Your recommendations were excellent until you recommended a KLR650 for dirt

Current KLR650 is only slightly better suited for offroad than the Vstrom and BMW 800GS. A KTM EXC would be more inline with best tool for the job, while WR250R or KLX250S would be the more common models. The KLR tries to be a good enough adventure bike and decent off-road bike at a budget. The KTMs are street legal dirt bikes.

However the rest of the article make sense.

I bought a bike based on budget, fit, and utility. I'm tall with a long inseam so small bikes and supersports are not comfortable. My riding is mostly urban commuting with significant freeway riding, some fun paved roads and not infrequent excursions on dirt and unmaintained roads. And I wanted a bike with some water proof luggage to run errands and carry a laptop on my commute.

When I found a good deal on a Vstrom it was a perfect fit.

Many bikes would work for me, some maybe even better. But I would be hard pressed to find better without spending much. much more.

Craig

[redkow97]

How do KLR's do in the highway?

I seem to recall a buddy of mine being mad at his brother for running his KLR at 85 on the highway for an extended time period. The implication was that 85 for that long was abusing the big single.

[jnor]

Nothing against the Versys but if I was in the market again to buy a bike like that, I would have to give a serious look at the new Honda NC700. 80mpg and $7k new. Torquey motor with storage for a helmet in what looks like the tank is pretty attactive package.

2012-2013 Honda NC 700 X riding impression promotional video - YouTube

Did you know that these are built on a scooter platform ?

[cOoTeR]

You got sumptin' against scooters' date=' Bub? :cracksnuckles:[/quote']

I knew it wouldn't be long until the scooter Nazis would show up after that post.

[Revelstoker]

Did you know that these are built on a scooter platform ?

No, it is a scooter on a bike platform. But yes, I know the NC700 and Integra are the same chassis. http://motorcycles.honda.com.au/Urban_Scooter/NC700_integra

It still doesn't change the fact that you can get a quality bike, that looks pretty cool, gets 80mpg, torquey motor and capable of handling most motorcycling duties for $7k.

With most bikes priced from $14K-$20k, a person could get one of these and a nice track bike or even a dirt bike for the same amount of coin.

[LJWalter]

Triumph Sprint! Comfortable riding position, power, agile. Perfect mix of rocket & sport tour. At least worth a look

[oldschoolsdime92]

[oldschoolsdime92]

Triumph Sprint! Comfortable riding position, power, agile. Perfect mix of rocket & sport tour. At least worth a look

I had an 02 for a long time. Hated the maint schedule

[JackFlash]

UnclePunk's niece is selling her barely used FZ6.

I'm not ready to buy one today. I'm just beginning my research on what to move up to.

I think you should keep the GS and buy a tank/tail bag kit and put another season on it... Save your money' date=' do some track days.[/quote']

That is pretty much the plan. I won't be ready to upgrade until the end of next summer.

I bought a set of bags to carry all the things you shed, from beginning your riding in the chill of the morning and riding into 70 or 80 degree temperatures.

Track days? I'm really wanting to check into that.

.

[JackFlash]

Triumph Sprint! Comfortable riding position, power, agile. Perfect mix of rocket & sport tour. At least worth a look

That bike gets my attention but I don't think I'm ready for such a leap from my little 500. It is on my dream bike list along with the FJR, Connie 14, and a BMW K1600GT. We can dream, I suppose.

.

[Strictly Street]

Interesting thread....