View Full Version : Shaft Drive Bikes
Anyone had any experience of the following bikes:
Kawasaki z1000st , Yamaha XJ 900 Diversion, Honda Deaville, Kawasaki GTR 1000's, and Honda NTV650.
Just any details of problems with the bikes, things to look out for and reliablity...
Cheers. :D
Anyone had any experience of the following bikes:
Kawasaki z1000st , Yamaha XJ 900 Diversion, Honda Deaville, Kawasaki GTR 1000's, and Honda NTV650.
Just any details of problems with the bikes, things to look out for and reliablity...
Cheers. :D
You thinking of gettting a winter hack mate :?:
You thinking of gettting a winter hack mate :?:
That would be the plan, as I start a new job in Jan and its a 100 mile round trip. As I'd rather not ruin the SV with it I was thinking about something else.
mysteryjimbo
22-12-04, 01:27 PM
I class my SV as a winter hack as it is a budget bike....... Just give it a good coat of WD40 and its all set.
Looking at getting something sporty next year......
Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo - I think how I see my SV is different to you.....
Flamin_Squirrel
22-12-04, 01:41 PM
My dad is getting a Deauville (tonight I think) so I'll let you know how it is.
A well looked after modern chain will last, it seems though, so I don't think that shaft drive is at all essential.
Steve H
22-12-04, 01:43 PM
Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo - I think how I see my SV is different to you.....
Good Man. Whilst it may not be exotica, How dare anyone refer to the SV as a winter hack?!
To the Tower with them. :wink:
My dad is getting a Deauville (tonight I think) so I'll let you know how it is.
A well looked after modern chain will last, it seems though, so I don't think that shaft drive is at all essential.
I guess he passed his test then!! nice one
Flamin_Squirrel
22-12-04, 01:49 PM
He certainly did. With no minors as well. Damn show off.
excellent, so he'll be showing you up on rideouts and stuff soon then :P
My dad is getting a Deauville
In white, with full hard luggage. Get some nice reflective strips for the luggage and a white lid with a reflective strip. He'll be the fastest one filtering.
I've seen a few guys with these, and they really do look like the police. Scary stuff
Dan
Flamin_Squirrel
22-12-04, 02:06 PM
excellent, so he'll be showing you up on rideouts and stuff soon then :P
Ehehe, yeah right. "HOW fast were you doing back there? What were you thinking overtaking that car?!"
Dan - I've no idea what colour the bike is.
Sid Squid
22-12-04, 02:19 PM
Z1000ST: Not common when new and getting long in the tooth now, could be a problem finding one you'd want to buy. Likes plenty of fuel and oil even when in good nick, so therefore expensive to run.
XJ 900 Diversion: Rot like mad, a bit cumbersome, many of them buzz a bit, cheap though and comfy, plenty of ex-dispatch ones around so not hard to come by, usually have knackered brake discs. Don't buy anything rusty, they can be horrible.
Honda Dullesville: Possibly the most boring bike ever, (sorry Embee), but it does what it says on the tin and very well too. Good, cheap ones aren't common.
Kawasaki GTR 1000: Same story as the Z1000, very comfy and quick though, behind that fairing is a wonderful place to sit on a cold, wet motorway, not cheap to run.
Honda NTV650: Better than a Dullesville, but not by much, loads of truly awful ones about, usually have lousy brakes, buy very carefully.
Also consider a GT550 Kwak, extremely plentiful, very very cheap, and when bought wisely, long lasting with low maintenance, can do 200 miles on a tank if you're careful. If you want buying advice specifics ask away, I have loads to tell.
gpz500s is nice for commuting, has a good tank range etc if you weren't bothered about shaft drive, can get some bargains with them.
Steve H
22-12-04, 02:36 PM
If we are going down that route, you may want to consider a Kawasaki ER5. very cheap and does the job.........although you may need to consider an aftermarket screen. Not the worst looking bike out there either.
mysteryjimbo
22-12-04, 02:40 PM
Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo - I think how I see my SV is different to you.....
But it is the cheapest of the cheap when it comes to budget bikes......therefore if you wanted something to use as a commuter all year round, wouldnt you buy something cheap and reliable?
Cheers Sid... lots of usefull information there... :D
Class post...
:winner: \:D/
IIRC the ER5 is a GPZ500S... Just from a diff market...
I rode an NT650 for my DAS. Lovely bike - and the instructor was impressed with it's reliability 60,000+ miles on it. But then he services his bikes regularly!
The GPZ I loved - rode it for 4 years and it was fine, servicing was about 30quid a time if you do it yourself. 70mpg @ 90mph(ish) ad it was fun as well. All round nice bike - but be careful they do rust!!!
Stu
the gpz is basically a faired er5, but as its for commuting I think faired would be better..
a few engine differences but not much else.... I learnt on an er5 and bought a gpz, nice bike, altho they don't make em anymore :(
Well i reckon an ER5 would be a good choice (u can get fly screens for em)
Iv seen em as low as 1200 quid, for a fairly new one in decent nick too.
Reliable as hell, cheap on insurance and slim enough to fit through the gaps in traffic (fairing can be a bit hefty in the middle of a traffic jam).
Plus, parts are 10 a penny aswell, check out ebay, its loaded with em.
Had a few rides of one before i got my SV, id say rather nice (seeing as though i hadnt ridden anything apart from a CG beforehand)
Nippy handling and not too heavy, that or a naked Honda CB500.
CB5's will be more expensive, but they do have the superior honda build quality :lol:
How about a CB650 X reg.. 500 quid.. ono...??
Looks a bit naff.. but hey if it goes..
My first three bikes after passing were GPz 500's. Solid bikes and unlikely to have been thrashed to hell and back. Very comfy - first long trip I ever too was a 250 mile haul to my parents - was within five miles of their house before I realised I hadn't actually stopped I was enjoying the ride so much.
A friend has a Diversion 900 that he uses for commuting - about the same distance as you. Swears by it. Very reliable and comfortable, will also stand being neglected throughout the summer too and still be raring to go come winter.
To second Sid's comments though - he did say you need to carefully look them over, but get a clean one and look after it and they'll repay you in kind.
Sid Squid
22-12-04, 04:46 PM
A GPZ500 isn't the same as ER5, they have engines which are derived from the same unit but share nothing else. (OK, maybe some washers or something).
ER5s are great, their secondhand values are very low, I don't think anyone is ever going to suggest that you'll get excited riding one, but they are excellent at what they do, and when you consider the money that they go for, are a better bet than the CB500, which, whilst it is undoubtedly a fine bike, is little different but costs more, it would be fair to say that the CB probably handles slightly better and is a dab quicker, but if either of those were important to you, you'd probably not be considering either would you.
I thought that a shafty was the order of the day? Isn't that what Grouchy wanted?
I thought that a shafty was the order of the day? Isn't that what Grouchy wanted?
Who's Grouchy?
And I'm lookin into a NTV...
vtwinner
22-12-04, 04:52 PM
Go for the Divvy, worth visiting the website alone tales of speed on the mighty Divvy are well:
[/url]http://groups.msn.com/YamahaDiversions
Cloggsy
22-12-04, 05:22 PM
Honda Deaville
My missus would like one of those :roll:
Cloggsy
22-12-04, 05:24 PM
Well i reckon an ER5 would be a good choice (u can get fly screens for em)
Sythree's got an ER5 ATM... Ask him :wink:
I've got a 2002 Deauville. That was the year there was a facelift with slightly bigger panniers, linked Nissin brakes (excellent) replaced Brembo (suffered a lot of "warped discs"), lighter engine internals, better clutch, better headlight. Engine slightly smoother than the earlier ones, but needs careful carb balancing (once set it doesn't go off though).
Around 2003 there was a spate of paint falling off engine cases, but mine's OK and later ones are too.
Very few mechanical problems, apart from the above Brembo disc probs (I think it was actually a caliper/pad problem because the Nissin brakes use exactly the same discs and I've never heard of a problem with one), and high traffic use on early ones caused early wear of clutch plates (better plates on 2002 onwards).
Ownership; easy as pie to ride, very light controls (clutch lighter than SV), rock steady handling, quite flattering really. Not a rocket-ship, but makes reasonable progress, cruise at the legal limit will give you near 60mpg. A bit heavy. Very comfy, 200ml range on a tank and no aches. Engines seem pretty much bomb-proof.
Did I say really easy to ride?
You need a different screen, std ones look swish but blast the air onto your chest/shoulders, and lots of wind-noise. Most folks use the Honda high screen (I do, works quite well but it is ugly), but the MRA vario screen seems to be a new popular favourite, around £80 I think.
Comes on Michelin tyres as std, made of granite, last long but don't grip well in wet, Bridgestone BT011E and 020 are good tyres for it, though there is a slight issue of some rear 020 tyres touching the mudguard on full bump so Bridgestone won't "recommend" them on 02 onwards bikes (plastic bits were changed then), they still work fine though.
I like mine, just so easy to ride. Did I say that before? :lol: :lol:
Next year's Deauville-meets-Deauville is in the Black Forest
http://www.deauville-meets-deauville.com/start/default.php?lg=en
Last year's was in Luxembourg.
http://www.dmd-2004.com/
UK website
http://pub6.bravenet.com/forum/show.php?usernum=447396530&cpv=2
(Average age of owners = 47 :oops: :oops: )
People say it's boring (Hi Sid :lol: ), that's usually people who don't own one. If you appreciate a bike that's easy to ride (I said that), works, doesn't break, no chain :lol: , comfy, reasonable weather protection, built in luggage, economical, lasts forever, and is easy to ride, you'll like it. If you haven't got one, or want excitement, it's boring.
If it's a winter shaftie hack you want look for a GT550. Mate of mine had one for over 70 000 miles, all he did was change the oil and plugs, never washed it even. Sold it for the same he paid for it 3 years later!
His first job in the UK was as a courier in London....
Well i've seen a NTV and what a lemon... scored forks, stuffed head bearing, rusty oil filter and lack of oil change, maybe even petrol in the oil. The guy didn't even give it clean to get rid of the cobwebs. I'm looking at 300 quid in parts before i've even started, I have not idea how he got it though the mot with that head bearing... Rust... worn tires... Tax till Jan... very clunky gear box...
Oh and the centre stand was missing???
Plus he can't find the V5...... walk away...
jimmy4237
25-12-04, 01:26 PM
I've still got my old 2 owner GPZ500 1999 model in red (mint & 25K on the clock). can't seem to get rid of it though - no bugger wants it up here in Scotland...
Anybody here interested??
SV - 42 mpg (120 miles per tank)
GPZ - 55mpg (200 miles per tank). It's even been to Ireland and the Isle of Man TT twice.. Comfy as hell, cheap to insure, it even got two new tyres and a new chain on it for pete's sake, as well as a full 2:1 S/S Nexxus exhaust system......
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=9808&item=4513708226&rd=1
Single cylinder and belt drive!
Well not sure about that one... though I'm still keepin my eye's open.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=9808&item=4513708226&rd=1
Single cylinder and belt drive!
what do ppl think about this? good bike or nightmare? too old? the description is brief the from the pic it looks in reasonable nick.
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