Bike Dilemma.................

Tiger 800.

 

May I correct you. It’s the collective brain cell!

 

It can only be a Street Triple with that weight limit.
You wouldnt even need to spend 7k

 

A few years ago, I ran a BMW F650GS as one of my bikes. (Actually mine was an ex Danish Army one with military panniers and a gun bracket! I took the gun bracket off, as it seemed a bit OTT.) Not the later same-name twin cylinder version, but the earlier bulletproof Rotax single. It was versatile and comfy to ride, and ticked most of your boxes. Very reliable and did some quite long rides on it. Excellent on crap roads. Not sure what the weight was, but it wasn't heavy. There are also non-GS versions of the F650 singles, and the Aprilia Pegaso was very similar. Usually several decent ones on Ebay from 2K upwards, so no need to spend 7K.

 

Aprilia Tuono 1000 R Factory

And they're only going up in value

 

Works for me. Awesome bike, but a licence loser.....

 

For £7k you could get a Tuono V4 if you shop around, that is a licence loser.

 

But a lot less personality

 

I think you must be right: he's asking for something for crap roads and pootling round local lanes, and everyone is suggesting rocketships.

 

I went off this bit
So...... If I sold a couple of the bikes I could probably scrape together £7k for a bike I would enjoy and use a lot more. I want something chuckable, decent suspension, well under 190kg with a fat mid range (top end is irrelevant these days!). Would be nice if I could do some mods and servicing so nothing too modern, and not bothered about rider aids and umpteen modes anyway.

 

And I picked up on "nothing too modern", and "Riding would be for pleasure only so pootling around local lanes, a few 2 or 3 hour round trips on crap A and B roads, and the odd, slightly longer (150 mile each way) cross country hacks visiting friends overnight, all avoiding motorways as much as possible." I'm sure he doesn't want to spend 7K if he doesn't have to, but maybe I'm wrong. (It does happen occasionally.)

 

I can't disagree with you, Andy, although I loved its practical, go-anywhere feel. I traded mine in for a Yamaha TDM900: an ugly brute, but with a lot more power and a truly excellent twin cylinder engine which just got smoother the faster you went. However, by the time I reached my threescore years and ten, the Yamaha was unaccountably getting taller and heavier every year and harder to get out of the garage without fear of dropping it. And did I say I could never love its looks? (They had an excellent forum, by the way - Carpe TDM - which is probably still going.)
So I got rid of it and bought a new Street Twin, which looks and sounds like a proper motorbike, is perfect for my current needs, and copes well with the 3/4 mile track from the house to the road.

 

Would have to say street triple too but even that can get harsh on rough roads. Love or hate the looks, thought about a 790 duke? Ticks all your boxes!

 

@Helmut Visor there's a nice V2 blue and white one for around 4k near me on gumtree... can't seem to post a link though

 

Cheers Andy...... am going to be picky now but my order of preference is black (always the fastest), white then blue/red in equal last. Unless it's the one above of course but they're now outside my price bracket and rising. Never say never but am in no rush to find the right one