thinking of upgrading soon, but what to ?

i've got a vfr 800, pre-vtec

probably the best bike ever made - the connosieurs motorcycle! kinda like the original nissan sunny, does the job with minimum fuss, and will still be going when you're a pensioner!

the vtec has issues around the 6-6.5krpm mark where the power drops, and it's heavier than the pre-vtec!

the engine is virtually the same as in the RC45, and a V4 with a naughty can is probably the closest thing you'll get to the noise of a MotoGP bike, sounds absolutely incredible.

the finish is first rate, the components are some of the best around, and they are ultra-reliable.. if you need to do any sort of miles i would recommend it in a heartbeat.

the sprint st is much more attractive, more power and less bulk, but the quality just isn't up to the vfr, several owners over on the vfr club who traded up to sprint's have got rid of them because of build quality and reliability issues.

all you need to keep a VFR on the road is high quality oil, filter and occasional valve clearance checks - more so if you rag it! it's an expensive service at a dealer but you can learn to do it yourself and save £400! i read recently in a magazine that someone had managed to keep one going for 852,000 miles!

[fizzwheel]

Originally Posted by Warren

ive just thought .. . GSX-R750 ?

anyone got any reveiws on these compared to a SS600 ?

I've got one. Mines a K5, does everything I want it to. Scratch, Commute, or Tour no trouble. I dont get sore wrists or a bad back. Its more comfy long distance than my SV is.

The one thing you might be scupered on is the seat height. Its rather tall. Certainly taller than an SV, After having sat on a 695 I reckon its taller than that as well. The newer K6 models are smaller though so that might be worth a try.

Originally Posted by kwak zzr

VFR prob the best all rounder.

And Pricey.

CBF1000 is a fine bike that would do all that you could ask and more.

Busa??

Get an RR, you know you wanna the new 07 model looks pretty sweet

[northwind]

Good suggestion Jabba, CBF's a really smart package. I've only ridden the wee one though, but the spec's genius.

have you seen the CBF ?

it needs some serious plastic surgery to make it "road legal" to the taste police.

thought of the RR, but alas, its too similar to what i have at the mo.

I hate these bloody threads.

Scroll. Yes. That will do. Scroll.

And that. And that. And, clicky, that's nice. And, google google... oooh...mmmm..ahh, and then someone posts up that matt black special edition Gixxer thou. And then its all Tuonos and Falcos


Christ. Buy a new BMW K1200R. I dunno.

'03 Blade it is then. Last of the best 'Blades in my opinion (Though I far prefer the '98 for looks obviously. )

Take you time and get a minter and you'll never look back. I'm 5'4" with about a 30" inside leg and I found the seat height fine. Take an inch out of the padding and it's even better - kinda locks you in behind the tank adn you feel much more intouch with the bike. Well, that was what I found on doing it to mine.

From '00-'03 you do lose a little on the underseat storage - on mine you can pretty much fit a couple of bricks under there! As for the 'flip-up' pillion - the seat (or cowl if fitted for single occupancy) is hinged just behind the rider and on a spring. So, turn of the key and ping, up flips the seat/cover and just a simply push for it to close and lock.
Really handy if you only have one hand free adn no fiddling with taking a seat of cowl off.

Comfort wise - did the run from Northampton to the Ardennes in a day for the Ring Trip this year with no issues at all (Ok, maybe a bit of finger tingling). The only person who was as comfortable I think was Lurcher on his Gixxer 750 K6 - so perhaps on a par there.
We also had a few windy moments and from the comments of one of the guys behind me everyone was wibbling to different degrees, but the 'Blade was rock solid.

Personally I'm not a high rev rider - except on the track where I can really use the bikes range (though on the Ring I think 4th was the highest I got to apart from the home straight). Yet I don't find it cumbersome when pootling round town or through villages - in fact to be brutally honest - I actually find the slow speed control more balanced and lighter to handle that the SV.

Aftermarket stuff - there's loads out there for the 'Blades, go knock youself out.

Looks, well, I prefer the earlier, blunt more brutal looking ones, but it's a personal thing. It either does it for you or it doesn't - can't advise there really.

Reliability - it's a Honda!

Servicing intervals are kinda short compared to some - but they're really easy to work on and everythings fairly accessable once you get the plastic off. And for much of it you don't even need to do that. (That's paraphrased from one of our mechanics who is a 'Blade veteran.)

OK, so some call it bland - but you already own a 'Honda Bland' bike - so you know that it really means a bike that will do everything you ask of it, yet still be capable of much more. It won't kill you, unless if you ask it to do something dumb, but it's a great teacher with always more to give as your riding matures to take it on.



Um... not that I'm biased at all. :P

[northwind]

Originally Posted by Warren

have you seen the CBF ?

Yeah, it's a big ugly thing. But that's OK, everything that's not an F4i or a 916 is pretty ugly in my book, it's just a matter of degrees