SV -> Fazer -> ?

Suggestions on something similar? Had an sv650s 3 years ago, had a fazer
600 last year. I want to stick to a sensible-ish 600 otherwise the
insurance man will roger me.

It seems everyone at some point has owned a bandit, are they any good or
am I likely to think its a big slow heavy lump?

The hornet sounds crap, or maybe its all the evangelists that own them
that has put me off.

 

The hornet has got a great write up in What Bike mag..


ken

 

Mash wrote

I can scare meself silly on mine before I have even got the choke off.

Mind you I could always adjust the mirrors I suppose.

 

I'm an SV owner so you can take what I say with a kilo of sodium chloride.
I had a go on a Bandit600 and it was utter shite. I'd rather own a Vauxhall
Chevette. I also had a go on a Hornet 600 and it made me wonder what was
for tea whilst trying to scare myself on it.

Please bear in mind my opinions are probably worth less than fly shit around
here.

 

These 'mirrors'?

 

Muck wrote

Yeah, there is two of them. Vanity mirrors I think they are cos all you
can see is your elbows and as you get going they turn in automatically
so you can see yourself screaming.

 

I tried a B12 the other week, and found it distinctly tame, compared to the
'beast' I was expecting, so if the 600 is like that, only with half the
cubes, I personally wouldn't fancy one.

The Fazer however, I've found to be a surprisingly decent bike, given its
budget origins; it's an excellent choice, if you liek scratching on
backroads etc.

All I can fault it on, is the atypical 600 need when pushing on hard, to
have to keep going up and down the box... this is the only reason why I'm
considering getting something like a CBR1000 imminently, instead of sticking
with this.

 

JackH wrote

Sounds about right. It is a modern cooking 600 so it is quicker than
any but by no means outstanding when chasing other bikes. The
suspension is built for the ring road not Mallory park. The brakes will
lock either wheel if pull/press hard enough but need more than a
fingertip to happen in the first place. The seat is wide enough not to
be too much of a pain for the first 3 hours but not so wide you couldn't
be active if you were that way inclined.


Negatively: I think the centre of gravity is a little high for the very
slow speed commuting slaloms and the cargo area could do with being just
a touch flatter, it's a bugger when you have a bag full of cans.


Positively: I think the only thing that could possibly be exceptional
about it is the gearbox as mine is still slick enough to impress me and
I know its history. The new ones must be like they are made out of
Teflon.


It is a very ordinary bike, don't for a moment think otherwise.

 

I need to try one, to slag it off with any justification... I've just found
that with both the B12s I've tried so far, they're quite unwilling to be
hounded round fast twisties compared to a lot of other bikes, not least the
Fazer, which, if it had a bit more grunt so I didn't have to keep cog
swapping on really hilly tight stuff, would be nigh on ideal for what I
want; it's a pukka scratcher, albeit one that if the price hadn't have been
right, I'd have overlooked.

Had the B12 been a bit more of the torque monster I'd been expecting, I
might have given it a bit more slack, but as things stand, I've been very
disappointed and uninspired by the ones I've sampled.

 

JackH wrote

If you have a go on one and you are honest about it and accept it as the
"budget sports tourer" that it is sold as then you will be hard pressed
to be critical. Quite the contrary I would wager.


Although to be fair I have no idea what you mean by "hilly". See I live
in Sunny Essex and we don't do hills round here. You get hills next to
valleys and poor people live in valleys so we don't do those either.

 

**** the evangelists.

I had a go on a Mk3 Fazer on Wednesday. It was pitiful. I had blast on a
Hornet a bit back and it was much better. The smart move is try 'em all of
course. Have you checked though just what the difference on inswearance
would be between a 1200 Binned it and a six? Depending on your 'profile' it
may not be that bad. Now those *are* fun. Or what about an older
supersprout 600?

--
--
Nidge
ZX6R J2 Stunning in zit yellow. KX 125 MX 'I'm snot green -fly ME'. A few
bits of CB500S in Norwegian Parrot blue. BOTAFOT#63 BOMB#5

'Just because I don't care doesn't mean I don't understand'.
Homer (Simpson).

 

I suspect not... not given the B12 looks pretty much identical, chassis
wise.

Feel free to try my Fazer if our paths ever cross again... I think you may
find it a tad more flickable and involving, if you choose to punt it at
great speed, point to point, cross country.

That's not sun... that's them burning off all sorts of nasty shit, on Canvey
Island... that, and joyriders torching motors, just up the road from your
place.

We don't do hills here, at least not in the sense of Wales etc.

It was just something that struck me the other day, as I was trying to make
progress up a particularly twisty hilly climb on the A251, just north of
Ashford... "I'm having to change gear more than I'd ideally like to, to keep
it on the boil up here...".

Invariably me just being picky, but I think the time has now come, having
done almost five years on 600s, to expand my horizons (1), and a CBR1000
appeals more than most, as we speak.

I'd have an FZR1000 EXUP, bar the fact the riding position cripples me.

(1) Or at least piss off into distance at a more rapid rate

 

JackH wrote

Well I do so hate to bring evidence in to support any arguments I make
but I have just had a look at the manual and they say that you can
expect 170-180 miles out of a tank for the 12. Now just ask yourself,
what sports bike worthy of the name does that sort of economy?

We all have a yen for a bigger bike.

Every time I have tried anything other than thinking about it has become
painfully obvious that despite my desires, my riding habits and places
are such that a nice little 250 pocket rocket would satisfy 99% of my
needs absolutely and if I were at all sensible that is what I would own.

 

Thought about a Guzzi Le Mans? Different, can be ridden quickly, also
can be used as a tourer and, importantly, classic insurance.

Don't believe the 'panic it's Italian' naysayers they're easy and cheap
to maintain and aren't as bad as some will have you believe.

Not sure of your price bracket but £2000 - £3000 will secure a very nice
one.

 

Having owned a Bandit previously, I'm quite interested to have a go on
the new 650 version. I'f they've managed to put some of that 'extra
50' low down, I might ba tempted back.


--
John (jsp)

SV 650
Black it is
And Naked

 

Well the chap I got this off, reckoned the range on it was about 200 miles
per tank, with 20 miles of reserve when the fuel light first flickers on...
I had it come on at just over 100 miles yesterday... I suspect I'd end up
getting something similar with a B12...

Having said all that, I've started to do quite a good line in 'off the
power' wheelies on it, of late, which probably isn't helping the economy all
that much.

I think with me, it's a bit more than just the usual desire to go bigger and
supposedly better; I'm finding that I want more torque as I get older...
swapping cogs every two seconds is fun at times, but at others, I just want
to 'roll it on', as it were, and whilst the Fazer is more flexible than a
lot of its contemporaries, it's not quite the torque monster I *think* I'd
now be happier with.

I don't want something that is an out and out racer, and in the absence of
the finances for a half decent Pan, I reckon a CBR1000 is the best all round
option I can aim for, especially as I can insure one for not much more than
the Fazer, which in itself is dirt cheap on that score.

If the riding position was a bit more accommodating, I'd definitely be
considering an FZR1000 EXUP, as I was very impressed with the amount of poke
the last one I sampled, had.

If I can find a suitable replacement, the Fazer will be back up for what I
paid for it (£1000), later this week, if anyone fancies a cheap bike for the
summer.

 

Hooligan wrote

Jesus wept you lot are hard kin work sometimes, it already is a cooking
engine.

From the HBoL:

The oil-cooled motor was lifted from the curiously styled GSX600F but
tuned almost exclusively for more mid-range and low down power and
torque......
......The 1200 Bandit followed the same recipe, this time using the old
oil-cooled GSX-R1100.


I rather suspect that the market demands any extra horses are added at
the top end.

 

JackH wrote

I am extremely embarrassed to have to admit that despite some of my very
best efforts the least I have managed on a full tank is 140 miles to
reserve. Although, in my defence I was doing a lot of short shifting
and coming out of third before it hit the ton to enjoy the full width of
the power band in 4th.

 

Oh I don't dispute it's a crakcing engine and I thoroughly enjoyed
riding it. But.. with the wife on the back I just wanted a bit more
low down for those quick gettaways etc.

The SV does this beutifully, but Mrs P says it's not as comfy. tbh,
when I got the SV is was a close call: SV of GSF.

I'd like to think the poke is a bit more.

Possibly, or at least that's wha tthe manufacturers aim for.

--
John (jsp)

SV 650
Black it is
And Naked

 

I haven't ridden a fazer I liked, too average for the money.

They are heavy at >200kgs although surprisingly easy to chuck around.

The SV650S is a lovely bike to ride, it goes well, stops well, sounds
lovely, looks nice (mk1 is nicer IMO) and goes round bends well.

--
Martin:
"For a minute there, you bored me to death."
VTR1000 Firestorm
TDR250 http://ukrm.net/BIKES/Yamaha/tdr250.html
martin dot smith nine zero three at ntlworld dot com