New bike, $14k ride away?

[Shifty]

Hi guys

Considering my options at the moment, thinking loosely (more wishful thinking) about buying a new bike, but MUST be new.

That cuts out all your 'cream of the crop' type bikes but I'm considering practical larger capacity bikes. Very open-minded but nothing 600cc or less please... and ideally nothing 'full sports'.

H**** CB900 - maybe a little pedestrian, but I do love these with twin headlights and big bars!!
H***** VTR1000 - had one, great bike, but never holiday at the same place twice

Kawasaki Z750 - a girl's bike
Kawasaki Z1000 - pushing price bracket? also i liked the older one more, I think?
Kawasaki ZRX1200R - have ridden a ZRX1100, pretty cool but I'm not sold on the current colour scheme? Also they don't really jump out at me as a 'cool' bike... even omitted from the list and had to add later, as I'd completely not even considered one!

S***** SV650/S - great bike but left wanting power-wise
S***** SV1000/S - maybe a bit too similar to the VTR... budget sports touring twin... I also don't go "wow, cool!"

Triumph Street Triple - heaps cool, but baby brother?
Triumph Daytona 675 - Seem to get rave reviews. 99% of people love the looks. Maybe a bit sportier than I'd like. Triumph reliability?
Triumph Thruxton - I love these, great fun to ride, but... maybe a little boring? A little bit "old man"? I think I'd get over it... and my mates would *never* understand!!

Y***** FZ6 - nice bike, awesome on fuel, bit boring to look at and fuck they vibrate through the footpegs, my feet go tingly
Y***** FZ1 - very cool. stretching the budget a bit? also don't want knowitalls telling me it has an R1 motor in it. I fecking know already. Now p!ss off.

So, any models I'm missing? Anything I haven't mentioned about a particular model? This will be my do-it-all bike.... commuter, scratcher, general transport on weekends, etc.

[robracer]

Kawasaki Z750 - a girl's bike

You need to learn how to unleash the power of a Z750 ...pfft then come back here & say that

Question.... why buy new? the value drops heaps as soon as you wheel it out the dealership door
you can possibly get the big banger you want second hand from some tosser who lost his licence cause he
couldnt controll himself

[Shifty]

You need to learn how to unleash the power of a Z750 ...pfft then come back here & say that

It's not that they're a "girls bike" as such, but I personally tend to turn my nose up at the smaller capacity version of most bikes. Smaller capacity models also tend to have lower rent suspension, less power, smaller brakes, and for me in particular torque is a big thing hence liking larger capacity bikes... I see a Z1000 and I go 'sh!t yeah' and I see a Z750 and I go "yeah not bad, shame it's only the 750".

I'm sure plenty of other members would agree.

Question.... why buy new?

A few reasons.... firstly, I like the peace of mind provided by a warranty... as well as knowing how a bike has or has not been treated (eg. some people do a thousand wheelies everywhere, miss gears, slip the clutch, ride the brakes, or use a brand new bike as a trackie and put the stock tyres & bodywork back on, etc)... also if I buy new and it's written off in the first 'x' period (depending on insurer) it will be replaced with another new one which is a nicety too.

the value drops heaps as soon as you wheel it out the dealership door

Yes and no. You really only lose the money if you sell the bike... same as losing money on the share market... you only lose the money if & when you sel whatever-it-is for less than you paid for it. As long as you talk a good deal, and plan to get a bit of use out of the bike, then I'm happy. There are people out there that'll pay the list price or very close to it... but they're idiots... so I'm going to be a fair bit ahead of them so really doesn't concern me. Plenty of bike shops around, so if I can't cut a deal then happy to burn a morning and leave it for another day at another place.

you can possibly get the big banger you want second hand from some tosser who lost his licence cause he couldnt controll himself

I'm that tosser who can't control himself... and honestly in this day & age you can get raped for being perfectly safe & reasonable.

[jewjew]

Shifty,

You say you want the do it all, commuter, fun, etc bike but then you slam the Z750. I'm 5'11, 110kg and commute daily on the Z750 (put shit on it again and i wont be held responsible for my actions).

Do you really want to pay more for the fuel, tyres etc for a 1000 or do you think it would cost less to run a 750? Do you think you will do 20,000 to 30,000 a year commuting? Do you want to sit a little upright (so your back still works when you get older)? Do you think you might be able to russtle up a 636 shock for the rear?

Buy a demo Z750....put a 636 shock onto it, add a windscreen, put on some pilot road 2ct's....go and have some fun and stop with the "i need a 1000 cause i wont feel good and i will have to hide my head at the cafe shit"

oh and btw, the z750 is a smaller capacity version of the 9 engine.

[robracer]

It's not that they're a "girls bike" as such

Thats better ... im spoilt as my little zeddy has an ohlins at the rear & the front end is off a Gixxer 05 thou so it is now the perfect package & bought standard second hand from another member from this forum the money saved on buying new was spent on upgrades & having heaps of cash left over

[ttc]

As soon as I read shifty's post I knew the z750 riders would come out of the woodwork

I was dating someone recently (stupid me) and they went on and on about their MV Agusta F4 (750cc).. When he pissed me off I liked to tell him my bike was bigger than his

Horses for courses, I bought the thou cos I like the look better and it had extra bits. Wasn't really a power thing

[Gosling1]

...This will be my do-it-all bike.... commuter, scratcher, general transport on weekends, etc....

that description fits a ZRX1200 perfectly. It can do all of the above, and do everything well. Its not a *pure sports* bike as such, but can still keep most sportsbikes honest. An early model Z1000 also fits the description, but if you want new, then you will have to change the exhaust system *immediately* !!

See if you can get a test ride on either one of these. They both have heaps of grunt, the ZRex handles well for what is an old design, and I think you would find either bike able to do the things you want.

[Shifty]

Shifty,

You say you want the do it all, commuter, fun, etc bike but then you slam the Z750. I'm 5'11, 110kg and commute daily on the Z750 (put shit on it again and i wont be held responsible for my actions).

I didn't slam it, it's just not me. Having owned a VTR1000 as my 'do it all' I am rather accustomed to and very much like "off the throttle' torque hence the bigger capacity. If I was after an extension-on-wheels I'd be buying a ZX10R or similar but I think purely by my list of bikes you can see that I'm after something I can enjoy, but has an air of sensibility about it. That's not to say that the Z750 isn't a cracker of a bike - shit I love GPX600s, so a Z750 is a wet dream compared to one of those - but I guess I'm well known for liking to change my mind a bit and I'd rather not have in the back of my mind "shoulda bought the big 'un".. which I guarantee you I will do given that it's my daily bike and some time, somewhere, I guarantee you that I will feel the need to knock it back one more gear whereas on the 1000 I wouldn't have. Yes that's lazy but hey less gearchanges is more fluidity & it's easier to ride torque than race an engine... as a long-term ownership prospect it's also worth noting that #1 the gearing on a Z750 would cause it to rev more everywhere (might not seem like much, but based on other bikes maybe 10-15%? over the 150,000km life of a bike that's an extra 20,000km less wear on the engine... without taking into account that the Z750 also gets worked harder and revved higher again to compensate for the slight difference in power.

Do you really want to pay more for the fuel, tyres etc for a 1000 or do you think it would cost less to run a 750? Do you think you will do 20,000 to 30,000 a year commuting? Do you want to sit a little upright (so your back still works when you get older)? Do you think you might be able to russtle up a 636 shock for the rear?

Being conservative I'll do 30,000km a year. When I had my VTR, I didn't *ever* ride somewhere that involved an overnight stay and I still did 26,000km on it in 5 months... given that I've now got a car which I occasionally drive to work on rainier days I guess anywhere from 30,000-50,000 wouldn't surprise me. Tyres and fuel are a fact of life, and not really central to my decision-making (within reason), about four tanks of fuel a week and tyres every second month are something I'm accustomed to.

Buy a demo Z750....put a 636 shock onto it, add a windscreen, put on some pilot road 2ct's....go and have some fun and stop with the "i need a 1000 cause i wont feel good and i will have to hide my head at the cafe shit"

Buying a demo... hm one of those bikes where people aren't used to them & slip clutches, crunch gears, rev them when cold, etc etc? False economy saving money buying a bike like that, if you ask me. Oh and changing shocks on a new bike? No thanks... short of lubing the chain and maybe fitting some braided lines or one or two dress pieces as time goes on, I don't want to play spannerman. I've done plenty of that over the years with both cars and bikes!

oh and btw, the z750 is a smaller capacity version of the 9 engine.[/quote]

Yeah but the Z1000 is a bigger capacity version of it

[Ratmick]

Don't go the Hornet unless you like Mr Bland...

...don't get me wrong, it does nothing wrong, it starts first time, stops well, goes well enough...it's just lacking something .

If you're going to screw around with the headlight and put a twin headlight set in just remember all the surplus wiring on the Hornet terminates INSIDE the headlight (the main reason it's huge). You pull it off and replace it with a you-beaut twin light set you're going to have about 7-10 connectors to re-house and hide.

...and you'll need new pipes, it's too quiet .

Mick

[Phil]

i'd be grabbing a test ride on the Z1000 and ZRX.

as a commuter the zrx would be better with that plateau of torque - any revs any gear and you away. It will also "hang with the sporties" in all but the most extreme situations and it looks cool.

[Nelso]

I test rode the ZX12, SV1000, Triumph, FZ1, Hornet, even a Ducati M9 st4 and non of them came close to the feel (fun and performance) of the Z1000 and I only payed $15 k ride away on a new bike that retailed for 17 + on roads (back in '06). Do a bit of haggling and see how close the cost comes to your budget and then weigh up whether the difference is worth missing out on your preferred bike. Or, if it is a long term bike, divide the difference in dollars by the number of years or kms you will have it and the price per year/km won't seem so bad. Best advise is to ride everything on your list and get a feel for each bike, then you will know the one you want.

[Wattie]

you really like to stir the pot here.

maybe you need an unobtainuim 900,

very nice bike, full ohlins suspension, motoGP brakes, cheap replacement parts, $10,000 ride away, cheap insurance,
250HP, runs on LPG Gas, has flip down handlebars, upright for commuting, flip them down for scratching.
it comes with a choice of 3 pipes, all included, you just slip them on and off.
never needs servicing.

and its not just an extension like a ZX10R

[robracer]

[quote="Ratmickit's just lacking something .Mick[/quote]
Yeah it's not a kwaka

[Shifty]

you really like to stir the pot here.

maybe you need an unobtainuim 900,

very nice bike, full ohlins suspension, motoGP brakes, cheap replacement parts, $10,000 ride away, cheap insurance,
250HP, runs on LPG Gas, has flip down handlebars, upright for commuting, flip them down for scratching.
it comes with a choice of 3 pipes, all included, you just slip them on and off.
never needs servicing.

and its not just an extension like a ZX10R

Now now be serious. I don't think any of my 'demands' are that unreasonable... really just want something that's new, reliable, cheap-ish (not Hyosung cheap!), and that I won't regret having bought at some later stage. If it makes everyone happy I'll take the 750 for a ride too

[rooster]

Go the Rex and join the club of extremely happy campers, doesn't do any one thing brilliantly just does everything. I am not biased at all