I don't have any good photo's of my first bike (2003 Yamaha Fazer 600 blue) or my second (2005 Kawasaki Z750S black) but I have these - 2007 Honda CB1300S 2008 Honda CB1300 2009 Yamaha FJR 2012 Yamaha FJR 2007 Ducati Monster S2R1000 2013 Suzuki V-Strom 650 2015 Suzuki V-Strom 650 (still got this one) For one reason or another I loved them all (as we do)
That Hondas a nice looking bike especially with the fairing off,love the look of the Monster,i had a test ride of the 1200s but like many people i found the position of the rear pegs an annoyance if you ride on the balls of your feet and there is nothing you can do about it because they are part of the frame,they have sorted this out with the new 1200R which i would love but the price is just silly but that Ducati twin is so addictive especially with the termis on
I preferred the naked Honda to the faired one, there was less buffeting to the helmet (ahem !) and it looked better too. When I got back into biking in 2003 after a 20 year lay off 3 of us bought bikes but I couldn't get on with the Twins my mates bought when I had a shot. Their SV650 and 600 Ducati's weren't as smooth as my Fazer and it put me off that type of bike for many years. I think that's why I had a run of Fours for 10 years. That's all changed now though thanks to the fun I had with the Monster...... never felt grunt like it ever !! I think I only ever used the first 4 gears as I couldn't hold on after that I'm now a Twin fan... i'm on my second V-Strom and apart from a hankering to own a Street Triple I reckon i'm done with inline fours. There's a Ducati dealer round the corner from where I work which would be handy for servicing but like you said, the price of the new 1200's is mad I think both my bikes together cost less than one.
Thanks TrophyCat, The FJR I liked a lot, I liked the power initially (144 bhp) and how smooth the ride was, everything seemed really painless, it would cope with long days out no problem. I regularly managed days in excess of 500 miles without complaint, the power screen was a great gadget at first and I grew to rely on it to reduce buffeting whatever speed I was doing. Then I took it to The Alps and that was the start of the demise of the big bike. Sure it got me there in 2 easy days but manhandling it around the twisties was a bit of a chore. I stupidly part -ex'd it for a brand new one in 2012 when Wigan Yamaha were doing a deal but within the year I had offloaded it for a Ducati. The weight of it just pulling it out the shed started to annoy me too, I was convinced i'd drop it one day. Servicing was no more expensive than any other bike i've owned and they never let me down mechanically but they are (imo) a bit boring...... nowhere near the fun I have with my V-Strom and now more so with my Street Twin. I do miss the shaft drive though
i felt the same about the Pan European i had,i could ride all day on it but didn't have any clue what the back tyre was up to,it was a bit like riding a magic carpet, ok to begin with but i did find it a bit boring after a while too
Ive had the cb1300s and also first edition m900 monster too. The CB was too sleepy for me but well built!
Here's a few of mine: Brand new VFR 800 - piece of cr*p Picture taken just after I had picked it up after dropping her on the Stelvio Pass. 2007 Bandit 1200 Ltd Edition: R1150GS - mine was the black one. Duke ST2 in the Auvergne - fabulous bike: R1150R - another great twin: 2010 Bonny T100 - much modified - still don't know why I sold 'er: Valkyrie flat 6 - Oh the noise she made !!! 2013 KTM 1190 Adventure:
My first bike. Did around 1,000 miles on it in 12 months. 900 were pushing it. PS not my actual bike. But the same.
My V-Strom is a keeper Bikerman..... i've got it just as I want it, it's going nowhere. Without doubt the best value for money bike i've had, it sit's nicely in the shed beside my Street Twin... two very different bikes but I love them both for different reasons.
My pleasure Bikerman. Before 2015 the 650 V-Strom had a rather short service interval at 3500 miles ( I was doing about that on trips to the South of France). This used to cost me a right few quid at the dealers as it was constantly there. My recently bought 65 plate has 7500 mile intervals now which will help reduce running costs. The 20 ltr tank will return over 240 miles easily or 300 if you ride slowly (no fun in that though). I feel that everything is cheap for my V-Strom (compared to my previous bikes), insurance, tyres etc... it's well off the radar for thieves too as it's one ugly mofo, this definately helps reduce the premium. A new one can be had for £5500 (Euro import) or around £6000 for a UK one, second hand they loose quite a bit as they are relatively cheap to buy new. I sold my 13 plate for £3000... it was 25 months old Don't want to bore the good peeps on here to death with photos of Jap crap but i'll pop up a couple of my 13 plate. It's been everywhere whereas my red one is new with only 700 miles on it so far.
Hey dave, st2? I had one of those too, what a cracking sportsbike, err I mean tourer! Did an r1150r too just after the duke and that was a good bike too but just sooooooo ugly!
My mate totally swears by his (1000cc) V strom. I think he try's to make a mockery of the 'other' leading brand of adventure bike!!
