NC23 - Bad idea?

Would this be a bad idea as a winter hack/track bike?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3306250601...84.m1423.l2649

I really want something cheap and cheerful for the occasional commute...

[yorkie_chris]

Uncomfortable, highly strung, bit of a git to work on, hard to get parts, terrible riding position when there's no grip... what's not to like!

And the exhausts can fall apart for fun.

Howdo YC, something better sub £750?

[yorkie_chris]

Well winter hack/track bike is about the most opposite sides of the coin you can get.

Winter hack for that money, I'd have an XJ900, mine is working really well for me, but again parts are hard to get. And sodding useless on track. Plenty of dullvills, beemer bricks, etc about for that price too.

Best compromise might be some 90s race rep like an SRAD, lots of parts available, easier to work on, and you could easily raise the bars to make it a bit less of a handful in winter.

How far is the commute?

[squirrel_hunter]

Once you get used to it the position is fine. I covered a lot of miles on mine.

In my experience not much difference to work on then a SV. For example changing the front plug on a SV is a pain, the same as on the NC23 but there are 4 of them.

I have never had a problem getting parts for this model. However as it is around 20 years old non service parts might not be available from the local dealer, body work is the prime example. However David Silver Spares is the best place to try if your local pulls the "Grey Bike" card.

It is a cracking bike, but I wouldn't call it highly strung. It is an old bike now so consider refreshing the suspension at the minimum a service, if you intend to track it then Grahame France is the man to talk to. If using it through winter get some non sport tyres on it.

While the bike in the ad has a few body work issues on it the stainless pipes are a big plus. Those R&G's will do nothing. As a tip see if the speed warning light comes on and the color of the CDI, Gold is the best color.

Ideal winter hack to do a medium distance (30 miles) commute on is something like an early Kawasaki KLE500. Even 2005/2006 models only sell for about 1500 quid, so an older one will be considerably cheaper. All parts are available for them from your local dealer and things like filters and plugs, cables etc will be available from places like Wemoto.

They are based on the GPZ500 so are reliable enough and with the off-road bias and 19" front wheel they are ideal in snowy conditions. Useless as a trackbike and as someone else has pointed out trackbike and winter hack are usually poles apart so nothing really fits the bill as a tool for both.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/search/u.../cc-from/400cc

what about a old cbr600f something like this

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1992-Honda...item3a6b084eb4

numberplate is rather fitting as well

[mister c]

Mate of mine bought his missus one. She never got to ride it as he said it was one of the most fun he'd had on 2 wheels.

There is also an NC30 on there for about the same money.

My commute is 11 miles each way and the riding position should be fine I used to commute all year on the SVs and then an 07 CBR-RR.