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Old     (natedogg)      Join Date: Aug 2011       01-15-2016, 2:12 PM Reply   
So I've been racing and riding motocross most of my life, ridden sv900. R1, Harleys etc. But I'm looking to purchase a street bike to commute 45 miles and have some fun on the weekends. I live in south texas so the weather is nice 10months out of the year. II'm torn between 600 sportbikes full fairing and something like a ducati hypermotard, or even a Suzuki sv v-twin naked bike. What do you guys that ride prefer or wish you had?
Old     (Andy_Mora)      Join Date: Oct 2012       01-15-2016, 5:08 PM Reply   
With my experience, and friends that ride, no matter what you get you'll wish you had something else. I think most guys would only be satisfied with a fleet of bikes. It's so hard to pick just one style.

Sounds like you'll be driving pretty far on a regular basis so comfort should really be taken into consideration. My friend has a hypermotard and seems to really like it - seems comfortable for long hauls and has amazing performance - sporty but not such a scrunched up position like a 600 sport bike. I don't know what the roads are like down there, but if there's mostly long straight roads as opposed to windy turns then you should get something bigger like a Ducati Diavel.
Old     (cwb4me)      Join Date: Apr 2010       01-15-2016, 5:54 PM Reply   
The Suzuki SV650 is coming back to the line up. My wife used to ride hers 300 to 400 miles a day. I rode a RC51 and it was a bit fatiguing after 200 to 250 miles. If I get another bike it would be the 650. I rode a Valkyrie for my cruiser bike and my wife rode a Heritage Soft tail as her cruiser. The Valkyrie was comfortable for long distance but even with the progressive suspension I added it still was a handful when getting agressive in the twisties. I would literally grind the pegs off of it. Once you've had a sport bike you have to lean towards a sport oriented bike.The SV650 was very economical,reliable abd affordable motorcycle. The insurance was more affordable than a Sportbike. It is also more comfortable to ride long distance. We used to live in Virginia and go to VIR regularly. The guy that taught the corner speed course rode a SV 650 with only suspension mods and slight engine mods and could run laps within a few seconds of the open class AMA Sportbikes with almost double the horsepower. I was quite impressed with it's potential. I would put the 650 on the top of my short list.
Old     (natedogg)      Join Date: Aug 2011       01-15-2016, 7:11 PM Reply   
The commute will be on I35 to Austin which is a straight road, but there are a lot of twisty roads around the hill country area i live. I am looking a 2010 Ducati Hypermotard next week its a 796 which seems like it should have plenty of power hopefully its as clean mechanically maintained as indicated.
Old     (meathead65)      Join Date: Sep 2006       01-15-2016, 7:52 PM Reply   
I ve owned three Hayabusas.... On 01,03 and last was the Gen 2 09.
If you want a sport/GT bike that can eat up freeway miles and still keep up in the twisties, they are a ass load of fun. Put a set of bar risers and a double bubble screen and you will be comfortable for hours at a time.
The biggest downside is every doucheweed who sees it wants to race you.
Old     (natedogg)      Join Date: Aug 2011       01-16-2016, 6:04 AM Reply   
Yea after researching the hypermotard 796, sounds like at highway speeds it would not be idea for too long with no windshield and the upright riding position. Add to the fact that it tops out at 132 mph is kind of disappointing haha.
Old     (cwb4me)      Join Date: Apr 2010       01-16-2016, 7:51 AM Reply   
The thing about Ducati's is parts availability. I have friends who have had to wait 3 to 6 months for Parts to get their bikes fixed. You're much better off with a Japanese bike for reliability and parts availability. Yamaha makes the FZ7 and the FZ9 both are comfortable and handle well. I also live in the Hill Country. I've taken the trip into Austin via 1431 and that's a nice twisty road. If your commute is 50 miles or less the Suzuki SV 650 can handle it easily. I've had my wife's bike up to 130 which is all it had. My RC51 would only go 168 but that's fast enough for around here. You need a low traffic mostly level and relatively straight and deer free road to go 160 or more for any distance.

Last edited by cwb4me; 01-16-2016 at 7:53 AM.
Old     (PureWakesurfing1)      Join Date: Sep 2012       01-16-2016, 8:59 AM Reply   
Dude, get a proper sport bike and have some fun on your commute!!! I raced club and AMA (now MotoAmerica) and instruct on the track, primarily on a 600, but I purchased a 2010 Kawi ZX10R for $4 grand which I rode to commute on the street, and LOVED it. The bike has plenty of power, but the engine and clutch is so smooth that you never feel out of control. It's mild at 150 hp, but can be tuned to near 190 when you're ready for some more power. In my opinion, the 09+ Kawi's slipper clutch are unparalleled and make shifting on the street so enjoyable (if you can call it that). I personally can't stand the twins on the street, there's too much torque for my liking as I'm taking off from a light or slowing down. I can't stand the honda's, the suzuki's are nice but the seat hurts my butt after a while, the R6's will put you over the tank, and rev high, but I love em on the street too. I could be biased, since I race one also. Go sit on a bunch of Jap bikes at a dealer and see which one feels the best. I bet you'll love the new Kawi's. Great thing is there are ton's of them on CL with low miles for around $4K. Oh, Ducati's - love em or hate em. I'm in the hate em group. I can't stand the dry clutch sound, or the reliability (but racing is a different story).
Old     (natedogg)      Join Date: Aug 2011       01-16-2016, 10:41 AM Reply   
I worked at woods fun center in Austin in 06 and rode some of my fellow salesmans' zx636 and rr 600 but to me the r6 and gsxr had the most comfy seat, I'm working in fayetteville arkansas for the next week and there is a nice fz9 2014 for 5800 on cl. I guess the 3 cylinder has the in between torque and power band of a v-twin and a 4 cylinder, but I wonder about the upright position on the highway. I've been told you better have strong neck muscles haha.
Old     (natedogg)      Join Date: Aug 2011       01-16-2016, 10:43 AM Reply   
Quote:
Originally Posted by PureWakesurfing1 View Post
Dude, get a proper sport bike and have some fun on your commute!!! I raced club and AMA (now MotoAmerica) and instruct on the track, primarily on a 600, but I purchased a 2010 Kawi ZX10R for $4 grand which I rode to commute on the street, and LOVED it. The bike has plenty of power, but the engine and clutch is so smooth that you never feel out of control. It's mild at 150 hp, but can be tuned to near 190 when you're ready for some more power. In my opinion, the 09+ Kawi's slipper clutch are unparalleled and make shifting on the street so enjoyable (if you can call it that). I personally can't stand the twins on the street, there's too much torque for my liking as I'm taking off from a light or slowing down. I can't stand the honda's, the suzuki's are nice but the seat hurts my butt after a while, the R6's will put you over the tank, and rev high, but I love em on the street too. I could be biased, since I race one also. Go sit on a bunch of Jap bikes at a dealer and see which one feels the best. I bet you'll love the new Kawi's. Great thing is there are ton's of them on CL with low miles for around $4K. Oh, Ducati's - love em or hate em. I'm in the hate em group. I can't stand the dry clutch sound, or the reliability (but racing is a different story).
I've always had an affinity for the zx10 love the lines of the kawi.
Old     (seattle)      Join Date: Mar 2002       01-16-2016, 11:29 AM Reply   
My personal favorite street bike is my VFR. Not big on the sportbike riding for street but love racing my Ninja on the track. Lot of good suggestions here. If i were going to look at another street bike it would be the KTM 1190 adventure. That bike is amazing and can literally go anywhere.
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Old     (motogod77)      Join Date: Aug 2008       01-16-2016, 12:39 PM Reply   
Been off WW for a while . . . . glad to be back! Take it from a fellow rider and get yourself a test ride on the Yamaha FJ09. Even if you rile it out it deserves a hard look and quick test ride. I have had two R1's, CBR1000's, Baggers, dual sports, etc and I currently have 7 bikes in the garage today.

FJ09 is an impressive machine for 10K. The bike does a lot of things very very well.
Old     (cwb4me)      Join Date: Apr 2010       01-16-2016, 1:12 PM Reply   
It really comes down to what motorcycle fits you comfort wise the best. At 5' 6" I didn't even consider the Valkyrie when I was choosing a cruiser. Then a friend said if you don't try it you'll regret it. I rode BMW,Harley Davidson,Kawasaki,Suzuki and Yamaha cruisers. I liked the looks of the Yamaha the best. After I tested the Valkyrie looks didn't matter anymore. Do yourself a favor and try a number of bikes. The lighter the bike the easier it transitions from side to side and it will carry more corner speed. The bigger the cc the power will increase. V twins have linear torque and in line 4's make more horsepower. So make a big list and you can't go wrong.
Old     (sandm01)      Join Date: May 2010       01-17-2016, 8:49 AM Reply   
yzf600 to start, 2 zx6's(echo the sentiment on the '09's clutches being the bomb) and currently on an '11 1000ninja.

betting the roads you commute on are somewhat straight in texas. I would not ever do a true track bike again for a commuter unless you live on some twisty canyon roads. the riding position gets very old quick. the 1000ninja and many of the other upright variants I have found to be a good compromise between a sporty look, great power but yet still a more comfortable riding position for daily use. fz09 was on the short list when I bought the ninja.

buy the bike that is going to fit well with whatever riding you will be doing the majority of the time. no bike is going to do everything well. figure out where you want to compromise based on the majority of the use.
Old     (cadunkle)      Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: NJ       01-19-2016, 9:12 AM Reply   
An old Honda CB does it for me. On the list to restore some day is an H2, but I'd be afraid to ride it 45 miles daily as a commuter in rush hour. You're one selfish liberal away from destroying parts that cannot be replaced. Anyhow, my ride...

Old     (jarrod)      Join Date: May 2003       01-22-2016, 10:08 AM Reply   
I've owned 8 sport bikes now. In my experience, none of them are good for commuting. The riding position and limited visibility make the ride less comfortable and as a result, you'll ride it less. A couple of thoughts to share:

If you're going twin, you'll need a lot more CCs to match the power of a 600 CC inline. 1.5 to 1 roughly. In my opinion, the Ducati Hyper is a GREAT commute by, but you need the big motor. It's a canyon carving wheelie machine. The lean angle is limited, so on the track you would need some mods like rear sets. But its fast and fun and handles great. And you get the Ducati rumble. Also, I've owned a 748, 848, and 999s. None of them were difficult to get parts for. Just expensive.

I switched from inline jap bikes to Ducati's. The sound, the low end torque, and the open, dry clutch give the bike a really cool feeling. The aesthetics and attention to detail add a lot of pleasure.....like driving an exotic car. Also, on most Ducs, the brakes and suspension are far superior.

A friend of mine just bought a KTM SuperDuke and swears its the coolest bike ever. You get the more comfortable upright riding position, which if you're a dirt rider, you'll probably appreciate, better visibility, and the powerplant of a superbike.
Old     (dougr)      Join Date: Dec 2009       01-22-2016, 10:35 AM Reply   
we need to know more about the expectation of riding you want to do with it when not commuting if you are just commuting and using it for a daily transport, there are many options better than any sport bike. The sv650 may be one of the best platforms, and very easy to set up for all conditions, but may be under powered if you plan to cruise the highway. Now i would buy a bmw gs1200, by far the best bike i have ever ridden for long rides (not for performance) and you can take it anywhere. to work or camping, great product. As for sport bikes, if you plan to really use it outside of commuting, get something in your skill range. being a former AMA, WERA, CCS racer and Fast tracks instructor (now just an old man in the racing world) the most fun you can have is having a bike you can squeeze all the juice out of it without killing yourself. SO weekend warriors who get to the mountains or twisty roads usually never use the bike anywhere near its limits and you could set up an SV 650 with a peneske triple clicker, have traction dynamics re valve the forks, put an exhaust and a power controller and kill it on the weekend, track it and still enjoy commuting . for CEAP
Old     (psudy)      Join Date: Dec 2003       01-22-2016, 1:37 PM Reply   
I second the Hyper 1200. Bad ass bike. if you don't like the wind, put a windshield on it.

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