Bike for everyday use

[Hal]

I am after some advice. I am sort of thinking of getting a second bike to use to commute to work, otherwise its another car for the wife. I have a journey of 40 miles each way. Maybe about 5 miles on motorway, and the rest on some nice country roads. I have Road King Classic and don't want to put 400 miles a week on this bike. A mate has just bought a Buell Ulysses. which looks good, I then thought of a BMW, I know some of you have one of these. I will be honest, I don't have a clue, I want something fun, easy to clean, upright position,reliable - you get the picture, Oh and I'm eligable for Saga holidays.

Thanks as always.

Hal

[chilly]

A mates just bought a new Guzzi 1100 not sure of the model name but its a good looking bike with straightish bars,good comfy seat,single side swing arm,spose you could call it a sports tourer,but it looks a good all round bike,maybe worth a look.I reckon its a better looking bike than the Ulysses as well,but of course thats a matter of opinion.

Good luck

Chill

[Hal]

Thanks Chilly, I will have a look at the bike on the web. Also like the BMW F800S about the price area. However, the wifes thinks I will get fed up riding to work every day.

I run a Honda NTV 650 as a daily ride & cover 400 miles a week, sometimes it rises to over 1000 miles a week. It's the most reliable bullet proof bike (V-twin - with shaft drive) I've ever owned - complete with aftermarket fairing & Givi topbox & panniers.

It may be on the cheaper side looking at the bikes you've mentioned, but I'd buy another one in an instant. Purchased it with 20K on the clock & it's now pushing almost 80,000. I change the oil every 3000 miles & that's my lot. Small enough to be nimble around town, but quick enough to top 100 on the motorway & criuise happily at 80 all day. £700 well spent!

I purchased a spare NTV incase my main bike broke as I couldnt do without it, but the spare has been sitting in the garage unused since I purchased it over 2 years ago!

[Moley]

Hi Hal,

I ride 40 miles each way to work every day - first thing to say is that it beats the hell out of public transport or the car!

Are you planning to ride through the winter - will make a huge difference to the choice of bikes that will withstand the crap thrown at them in a British winter?

Also - what sort of roads will you be on? My journey is complicated because I have 15 mins of twisty roads, then 20 minutes of fast heavy traffic motorway then about 25 minutes of really heavy city traffic. This mixed journey really limits the choice of potential bike as well.

I know loads about this sort of riding, which bikes "work", which ones will depreciate or cost lots to run etc.

If you can give me some more infor I'll see if I can help at all.

[Tones]

I used to run a Beemer R80RT
Twas 18 years old, used to cost about £150 each year to get thro the MOT.
Apart from the other usuals, V cheap bike to run.
Started first time, every time, never failed apart from once incident with a warped fron t disc. Quick change to cast iron discs, (boy do they stop you quick!!)

Usually pick up a good one for between £650 - £1000

[Hal]

Thanks guys, I did not realize the NTV650 is the Honda Deauville, I quite like that. My Journey is about 15 minutes on a motorway, than a nice 20 minutes on a normal A road, not too busy through countryside, and then a final 25 minutes around a smaller country type B roads . I think the spring and summer it will be a really nice road journey to work.

Moley the winter riding might be different, not sure if we would have two cars by then, the idea of the second bike is so we need only run one car. Of course with snow, then thats different, but I love riding the bike so would want to try and ride all year if possible. Not good at mechanics, so the shaft drive seems a great idea. I am a carefulf rider, not a speed merchant, so would I need ABS brakes. I appreciate riding the Road King is a totally difference experience, although my daughter thinks that if I'm riding all week, I will not want to take the RK out at the weekends. - Silly girl;)

I need to convince the wife, who thinks we should spend the money on a new car, a cheap Ford Ka for example that she would use, and I use the Golf we have and then get rid of our unreliable Fiat Punto. (We are at the stage where we are throwing money at an old car and its not proving cost effective at the moment). But I find the 80 mile a day journey in the car very boring.

As I type this I'm excited at the thought. I think this will be the best way to go. Don't want to spend more than say £6 to £7K max.

Thanks again.

[CrazyIvan]

Originally Posted by Tones

I used to run a Beemer R80RT
Twas 18 years old, used to cost about £150 each year to get thro the MOT.
Apart from the other usuals, V cheap bike to run.
Started first time, every time, never failed apart from once incident with a warped fron t disc. Quick change to cast iron discs, (boy do they stop you quick!!)

Usually pick up a good one for between £650 - £1000

I'll second that.

The K series are also very good every day transport and need even less maintenance. My last one (sold yesterday!) was 14 years old when I bought it and I had it for 4 years. Always started, stopped and passed the MOT with minimal attention. Cheap too. If I was in your position that's what I'd get!

[Steppenwulf]

Hi Hal, I've been looking at a bike that needs to do something similar and the one that really caught my eye was a Yamaha TDM 850. It's a 'sports adventurer' with a bullet proof engine, good reviews and a pretty healthy resale value, get a low milage one and in a couple of years of trouble free motoring it won't have cost a fortune. So why haven't I got one.... the wife is driving around in a new Golf

[Steppenwulf]

But then if you are wanting to spend 7k then why not get a KTM 950 Adventurer ;)

£7,000 would get you a really low milage (2-3k) 2005 from a main dealer!