Advice please - lightweight tourer?

[goatpants]

st 1050

[Dailaughing]

Excellent suggestion but I definitely wouldn't trust myself on in of those:-(

[Tractorwackyracer]

Or you could buy the real thing a gs 1200 !!!

[billinom8s]

Simple solution - make her get a license and her own bike.

Winner, winner, chicken dinner.

[Dailaughing]

She has done the CBT and we are practicing for the direct access sometime late this year or early next. I suspect that for longer trips it might always be two up but for local stuff hopefully we can get her an er-6 or something. Or maybe we'll both end up buzzing around on little 1980s 250s.

I just got back from riding a pan european. I have NEVER before hated a bike but that one I do. Position, wind noise, weight, seat, vibration all horrible. The weight of the thing was a lurking presence every time you came up to a junction or considered that you might have to stop in a queue. Grunt was good and the mirrors were excellent but after an hour I was in more pain than I felt on the day of my accident. Legs, bum, back, shoulders and palms. Really disappointed as I thought I couldn't afford one then got a stupidly high settlement from his insurance and got all excited about having a proper tourer.

The Deauville never excited me but it was cheeky and cheerful, relaxed and fun in a gentle way. The Pan was a monster with few redeeming features. It wasn't even anywhere near as refined as I expected but that could have been the particular bike. I'm glad I rode it but mystified what people see in them. Quite genuinely as I pulled back in at the shop I wanted to jump off and let the thing fall as I walked away.

[forestcat]

Mt-07 tracer is coming soon
there's a demo day next month at castle combe for the MT range pop up and try them all ;)
plus they have an area for test rides if you dont have your full licence yet, so she could try the 07 (better than Er-6) ;)

[Dailaughing]

Already planning to go to Castle Coombe for that day for both me and others in the family. I am sure i saw a tracer last week and I can see it would be a good light tourer in 700 guise so I'll check it out for future reference. Unfortunately no way we can afford it for me let alone as an occasional bike for her (budget settling at about £3,500).

[graham22]

I see Badger mention my name earlier on and yes, I'll vouch for a VFR750/800 as a mid size tourer any day of the week.

Can't comment on a Dullville but have had experience of a Translap which my brother in law had - gotta say it's the most sluggish thing I ever rode, even compared to a CB500 my sister had at the time (he got cheesed off as she kept leaving him every where on when they were on the 2 bikes).

Whilst a quite spin on the DV may have been cheeky, probably solo. I'd hate to think what it would be like when you are pushing on for a ferry, 2 up laden with 2 weeks of holiday kit! But saying that if you really want something slow, get the Tranny.

Apart from the lack of self restraint, I guess you are happy with the ZZR, why not just get another & use yours as a donor for tyres, brake pads, consumables & ebay the clocks/panels etc. Afterall, the ZZR has midsize tourer written all over it!

Also get the missus her own bike in due course, she'd be less nervous using it rather than damaging yours. I wouldn't know how tall she is but how about an older trail bike, something she can learn to fix & understand plus it could be a fun bike for a couple of lanes in the winter for you?

[Dailaughing]

My legs cramped on the ZZ-R and although it is a great sports tourer it is not a great tourer in my book. The VFR looks like it has that same semi-sports position and throttle response. I haven't tried one for that reason but would if I saw one locally.

I did do the test ride with pillion (no luggage) and pulled out onto the dual carriageway (which was a bit busy) thinking how sluggish it was but then looked down and saw I was doing 85 without even trying to. I get the point about rushing for a ferry but at the same time that's sort of what I want to NOT do. It's a very different sort of biking which I didn't understand until I tried the Deauville. That twin engine sound may bug me long term though.

[badgerKDD]

VRF 800 for sale in West Briton this week only wants just under 1000 for it too. Give me a text if you want the number I'll have it at home later.

[Dailaughing]

I see it. I'll try to get down to look at it but everything tells me it won't suit. Pillion pegs look very high and seat not exactly spacious (edit: much better on older one though). Rider seating at least semi-sport (lowish seat and high pegs) and economy poor from petrol and servicing.

It does seem to be the older version though (non=VTEC) so should be a bit cheaper to maintain.

If he'll do a view tomorrow I could pop down to Hayle after...

I think too many people have recommended it to me for me to ignore it.

Ta

[MellowYellow]

Have you noticed that if you put 'RT' into tourer you get 'torturer'.

[graham22]

I see it. I'll try to get down to look at it but everything tells me it won't suit. Pillion pegs look very high and seat not exactly spacious (edit: much better on older one though). Rider seating at least semi-sport (lowish seat and high pegs) and economy poor from petrol and servicing.

It does seem to be the older version though (non=VTEC) so should be a bit cheaper to maintain.

If he'll do a view tomorrow I could pop down to Hayle after...

I think too many people have recommended it to me for me to ignore it.

Ta

It's a Honda - the ergonomics work. A lot of the 'smaller' suggestions above (CB/GS500 etc) would simply feel cramped. I've found a Fireblade to be comfier than things like RF900s of the time, despite the FB bars being below the top yoke - sorry but it's a typical Honda thing.

OK - I'm not the tallest person 5'8" but having broken my left leg 3 times over the years I do suffer but I still managed Falmouth to Strensham Services (225miles) in one entire go - feet didn't come off the pegs, even the lights in Truro were both green!

If you didn't look at it last night & want a 2nd set of eyes then let me know.

[Dailaughing]

It didn't work out as we ran out of free time and had to make a decision. Deauville picked up yesterday. Having ridden it 200 miles since I can only repeat what I sort of said before "It's biking Jim, but not as we know it". I enjoy the bike but in a different way. A bit like the difference between snorkelling compared to bombing around in a RIB. I love both but one relaxes me and is less likely to shorten my life.

I still miss that in-line four sound though.

Thanks again to all who commented. It didn't change my end decision but it did mae me more confident in that decision - knowing I had looked at the alternatives thoroughly.

[Fbf]

Sounds like you got the right bike for you.

Regarding the ER6 you was thinking of for the missus. I had a 650 2009 versys and toured on that, essentially the same setup but more wind protection and lower. Must say the versys was a good budget machine and economical, not the best build quality but not bad. I was getting well over 60mpg with a one tooth extra sprocket on the front, best I got was 68mpg and that was fully loaded with top box and panniers, tent and all the gear, still enough torque to sit it on the back wheel in first 2 gears with the extra tooth. would tronce along all day long at 85mph.

The early ones suffered from vibration but mine was quite smooth however my mates that was the same year vibrated badly so it seems to vary from bike to bike, the revised late models are fine.

If you are looking for something cheap and cheerful for the missus, get her a GPX500 or a KLE500 (detuned gpx lump) but the earlier carbed versions. Bombproof engines, seen many with over 100k miles on them and still going strong