Commuter sports motorbike

[anthdci]

I'm sick to death of the useless local rail service. I commute 13 miles each way for a 9-5 job from city to city, so traffic is always terrible, parking expensive and hard to find so it makes zero sense to drive my car to work. To the point we sold our second car and me and my wife share one which she uses for work. So I am looking at buying a motorbike which will be comfortable to commute on, but that I can also enjoy and use at the weekend to do a few miles. I can park it in my garage at home, and at a secure store outside my office at work, along with being much quicker than any other form of transport with being able to filter between queuing traffic.

 

I really prefer the sports bike look rather than the cruiser. This will also be my first motorbike. I'm going to Florida for 2 weeks holiday in January so I'll be sitting my test after that and looking to buy as soon as possible after I pass. I don't expect to struggle since I have been driving for 14 years and cycling on the road for 5.

 

I had set my heart on a Kawasaki Ninja 650. Cheap enough to buy new or nearly new (they did a big revamp in 2017). Great mpg, shouldn't be too overpowered for my first bike. But in the last couple of days I've been looking at the Z1000SX, which is the 650s bigger brother, but rather than new or nearly new I'd been looking at 3-4 years old to make the price comparable. Both sports tourers so not too aggressive riding position. I'd suspect the z1000sx would last me longer before I'd want more from the bike, but it would be older to start with. Can anyone comment on either bike to help sway me, or maybe suggest something alone the same kind of lines from a different manufacturer?

 

Ninja 650

 

Z1000SX

 

 

 

[sc302 Veteran]

Go with the top one. The pegs on the green say you are in a laying down position/crunched over the tank.

 

 

The top you are also in a more laying over the tank than a typical cruiser but more so on the green.

 

 

Edit: just saw pics of riding position on both. Get either. But recommend the lower cc if a new driver.

 

Yamaha, Suzuki, and Honda are great competitors. Look at their offerings and see if they appeal to you

[Xahid]

7 minutes ago, sc302 said:

Understand looks and comfortability don’t go hand in hand. Sport bikes look cool and sporty but will get uncomfortable after a while. You may want to consider a cruiser instead. Being hunched over isn’t fun.

I second that, Sports bike are made for speed in mind,  while you can ride on cruiser motorbike for hours.

[Mando]

go with the 650 for your needs, more economical and cheaper to insure.

 

Also im assuming your over 21. if not your restricted to 250CC after passing your pt1 and pt2 and CBT etc test mate, but your probably fully aware of that  

 

http://www.geton.co.uk/motorcycle-training-licence/

[anthdci]

55 minutes ago, Mando said:

go with the 650 for your needs, more economical and cheaper to insure.

 

Also im assuming your over 21. if not your restricted to 250CC after passing your pt1 and pt2 and CBT etc test mate, but your probably fully aware of that  

 

http://www.geton.co.uk/motorcycle-training-licence/

yes 32, already passed my theory under advise from the training school I'm going to go with to get it done and out the way. (47/50 & 64/75) I'll get the cbt done my first weekend back. Then straight onto lessons for the 2 practical exams. 

 

57 minutes ago, Xahid said:

I second that, Sports bike are made for speed in mind,  while you can ride on cruiser motorbike for hours.

I just don't like the look of cruisers, i can understand how some people like them but I just don't. These bikes are more upright so seem to be an ideal midpoint between comfort and speed. It's not like I'm going touring for hours on end, I'm hoping my commute comes down to under 30mins and on a weekend it shouldn't be more than 90mins at a time.

 

1 hour ago, sc302 said:

But recommend the lower cc if a new driver.

 

Yamaha, Suzuki, and Honda are great competitors. Look at their offerings and see if they appeal to you

I thought the lower CC as a new rider to start with, but with my experience driving already, I know it's not the same but it's not like I'm new to the roads, I wasn't sure if it would be better financially to get a bigger bike that will last me longer before I feel the need to change it.

 

There is the third option of going for an older 650, which was called the ER6F. A 2013 with about 20,000 miles is about £3000 so half the price of the other two, meaning if I want to change after a few years I haven't spent as much in the first place. I am not sure how bikes handle mileage and what is considered high miles? 20k is low for a car, is it high for a bike?

 

an example sale

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/KAWASAKI-ER-6F-BLACK-2013-13-PLATE-22134-MILES-3295-00/142455163511?hash=item212afd4a77:g:yTQAAOSwbiFZR41i

[TFindley]

I recently changed my Suzuki GSR-750 for a Kawasaki Z1000SX.

 

The biggest reason for my change was to get my luggage room on the bike so that I might be able to tour to Europe this coming year. The touring version comes with two panniers, which are not quite as practical while commuting, but they're still damn good. As they're quick release ones its easy to take them off if I want to ride to work, or just run down to Loomies for a coffee and bacon roll, but I have the option of leaving them on if I'm going a bit further, need more stuff, or just want the bike to look bigger and better (it looks damn good with them on!).

While it is a sporty looking bike, the seating position is remarkably upright, making it a very comfy ride, especially over long distances, and the adjustable screen means you can still benefit from the wind deflection that sports bikers are used to. 

 

My only tip is to stay away from the so called 'comfort seat'. While I have not sat on one for any length of time, the comfort version is harder and less forgiving than the standard seat. Best to save the money and invest in a decent third party seat after the fact.

[sc302 Veteran]

1 hour ago, anthdci said:

 

I thought the lower CC as a new rider to start with, but with my experience driving already, I know it's not the same but it's not like I'm new to the roads, I wasn't sure if it would be better financially to get a bigger bike that will last me longer before I feel the need to change it.

 

There is the third option of going for an older 650, which was called the ER6F. A 2013 with about 20,000 miles is about £3000 so half the price of the other two, meaning if I want to change after a few years I haven't spent as much in the first place. I am not sure how bikes handle mileage and what is considered high miles? 20k is low for a car, is it high for a bike?

 

an example sale

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/KAWASAKI-ER-6F-BLACK-2013-13-PLATE-22134-MILES-3295-00/142455163511?hash=item212afd4a77:g:yTQAAOSwbiFZR41i

Experience driving a car isn't the same as experience riding a motorcycle.  A bicycle is also not the same.  If you have experience with a motorbike of some type, ok..if not lower the cc the better.  It only takes a small movement of your wrist to go from ok to wtf just happened to me.  A automobile, even one with 1000 hp, is more forgiving than a motorcycle with over 100hp to the wheel.

 

I like the 3rd option.  But yes 10+k miles is high on a used motorcycle.  Where a car would require a plug change at 100k miles, a motorcycle is at 10k miles (as an example).

 

Here is a sample maintenance schedule:

https://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/141/blog-post/motorcycle-service-schedule-run-down.aspx

[anthdci]

2 hours ago, sc302 said:

Experience driving a car isn't the same as experience riding a motorcycle.  A bicycle is also not the same.  If you have experience with a motorbike of some type, ok..if not lower the cc the better.  It only takes a small movement of your wrist to go from ok to wtf just happened to me.  A automobile, even one with 1000 hp, is more forgiving than a motorcycle with over 100hp to the wheel.

 

I like the 3rd option.  But yes 10+k miles is high on a used motorcycle.  Where a car would require a plug change at 100k miles, a motorcycle is at 10k miles (as an example).

 

Here is a sample maintenance schedule:

https://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/141/blog-post/motorcycle-service-schedule-run-down.aspx

yea i knew driving plus cycling does not equal riding, but I do expect it to help a bit with road craft. Ill do some reading about buying used. I am quite handy going round and checking a used car before purchase, but I don't have the first clue about what to check for buying a used bike.

[sc302 Veteran]

5 hours ago, anthdci said:

yea i knew driving plus cycling does not equal riding, but I do expect it to help a bit with road craft.

No it won't help....the only thing that it might help with is if you ride over and pay attention to where the holes and bumps in the road are....otherwise it is a completely different animal/experience. 

 

IN your thought process, flying a plane would be similar being that you have traveled those areas you would like to fly the plane to....it isn't the same experience and just like a plane a lot can go wrong much faster than in a car.  (panic, forget where the clutch and brakes are while your rpms and mph are going crazy...this has happened to me, thankfully I was only doing 20-30mph when I hit the gate).