View Full Version : SV sold, new bike.
So after 3 happy months together i decided the time had come to let the SV move on to a new home, as it just couldnt cut it on the straights with the GSXR's and CBR600RR's i ride with.
What i wanted from the new bike:
Sub £1500
Not a massive hike on the insurance
As Easy to ride and as Forgiving as the SV
reliable
Comfortable
Good acceleration and Decent top end
Good MPG
I narrowed it down to 2 bikes, ZZR600 or YZF 600 R (Thundercat).
both bikes seemed massively underrated, and had glorious reviews from past and present owners, but i just couldnt get past the hideous looks of the ZZR. Thundercat it was to be then!
Looked at a few dogs, before finally finding my new lady.
She's a last of the line 2003, in imho the best colour scheme available, As close to immaculate as a 9year old bike gets, and with all the right extras.
I had a quick test ride to make sure the dreaded 2nd gear failure wasnt an issue, and as soon as i was sure it wasnt, i handed over some money and brought her home.
http://i448.photobucket.com/albums/qq205/deangte/20120206_123336.jpg
http://i448.photobucket.com/albums/qq205/deangte/20120206_123356.jpg
Have only covered approx 100miles this last week, but after that initial "did i make the right choice" worry, everything finally clicked into place.
To say im happy with her is an understatement, as much as i loved the SV, the Thundercat just seems to "fit" me so much better, i feel so much more in tune with the bike, and as a result my riding is far smoother.
We shall see how well she keeps up with the "big boys" at the weekend! :lol:
Bluefish
10-02-12, 08:33 PM
Nice, bet it's comfier than the zzr as well.
JamesMio
10-02-12, 08:57 PM
I'll be really interested to see what sort of mpg you get... I'm half looking for the best bike to do 50 miles (round trio) of fast sweeping A roads on 5 days a week very shortly...
Blade mpg isn't great, CG125's mpg is outrageous but it'd be torture on a road like that..
fizzwheel
10-02-12, 09:31 PM
moved to bike talk
robh539
10-02-12, 09:40 PM
zx6r or a very under rated rocket zx9r from £1000 to £3500
Allegedly anywhere from 40-60mpg depending on riding. have done about 70mile out of this tank, will update after the weekend to let you know what i get out of her!
ZX9 is a very good shout, properly awesome bit of kit, although i dare say not as comfy as the cat is. Makes an awesome commuter, excellent wind/weather protection, and comfy as your favourite slippers!
robh539
10-02-12, 11:30 PM
well im bias :) I love the zx9r mental if you want it to be or a chilled bimble if can want to boring as its far to much fun to do really. Its actually (so i think) very comfy fine for commuting too, but never sat on a cat so can say. Looks sweet have fun dude, post up how you get on with the others.
Nice bike, I had one for 3 years before I got the sprint, expect to get Around 200 miles fron a tank of fuel, depending on how you ride but 40 - 50 mpg is easily gettable, you shouldn't have any problems keeping up with your mates, one popular and worthwhile mod people get are handlebar risers if you find that your wrists or knees ache after a long ride, depends on your height really.
Daryl. :)
First mod ( well apart from the HID i fitted already) is going to be setting the bike up properly for me. had a ride out today and when pushing on, it just didnt feel quite right, quite twitchy in the straights and heavy in the corners, suspension is set up for a 10.5stone 5'8" rider, whereas im 15stone and 6'1".
But aside from a very scary near miss involving ice, a hairpin and an oncoming 4x4, it was a great ride!
Oh, and MPG..... ahem, well, erm, I have been riding rather "spiritedly" shall we say, and had 165 miles from fill up to light on. Im expecting a decent improvement on that once i have balanced the Carbs and given her a service though.
Urbanfireblade
15-02-12, 05:17 PM
I've also heard the thundercats are great under rated bikes, yours looks very nice, like a big brother to an sv, how do you find the suspension under braking? Does it bottom out like an sv does?
Lovely bike, defo best colour scheme as I looked at alot of silver/gold and this looks miles better.
Cheers guys.
Doesnt bottom out under heavy braking, not even when it was at its standard ridonkulously soft settings.
Blatant whoring - but as someone mentioned colour scheme, this is kinda related.... changed the In Yer Face Yellow rim tape to a far more complementary Blue :)
http://i448.photobucket.com/albums/qq205/deangte/20120213_153311-1.jpg
The tape suits much better. I've thought about adding tape like that to my blue sv but decided against. Mainly this was because I thought I wouldnt get a uniform circle all the way round, did you find this difficult?
Specialone
16-02-12, 12:20 AM
Rim tape is like marmite, most hate it.
Cheapens the look imo, less is more an all that.
you can buy it in pre curved peices so its quite easy to apply although its still easy to go off track. i have one section i need to redo on that wheel, you can just see it a bit around the 8pm point.
Yeah i know rim tape is marmite, but a) i like it and its my bike :) and b) it means ill have two 17" glowing circles in cars headlights at night, and more visibility cant be a bad thing imo!
a) i like it and its my bike :) and b) it means ill have two 17" glowing circles in cars headlights at night, and more visibility cant be a bad thing imo!
Fair enough but at least get the same shade of blue, otherwise it looks as cheap as the yellow/green one. White might actually look better on that colour scheme.
If a driver's get's to see the reflections off your rims, it probably a bit too late.
Overall is a good looking bike in very clean and good condition. If it was mine, I would change the screen to a dark smoke colour and l get some clear indicator lenses with orange bulbs if someone makes them.
Enjoy the new toy ;)
Iv only had her 10 days gimme a chance! Lol when i get some free time ill be making a tail tidy, and fitting some smaller smoked indicators all round. screen is also on the list. whilst i dont find the iridium one totally offensive, i would definately prefer a dark smoked one!
As for the rim tape, the blue is about as close to the paint as it gets, and in fairness in the flesh its a pretty good match. and as for it being too late if a car can see the reflection, no way, you can see it from a bloody good distance away! Ill post a pic later if u get chance, show you what i mean!
Mark at Tesco is on his 3 Yam.
get 40+ mpg
SUPERSTARDJ01
17-02-12, 10:12 AM
Nice bike, but don't they rust on inside of the swing arm?
They certainly can do if neglected, i presume due to the chain adjuster design. But have had mine apart and isnt an issue with this one thankfully. it was ram packed full of crud though, so was cleaned up and coated inside with copper grease to make sure she stays nice :)
Wax oil is more suited.
Copper.grease is anti seize.
Whilst you are correct, Copper grease will do the job just fine, its in an enclosed area and is there simply to keep moisture off any bare metal, vaseline would do the trick if its all that was to hand!
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