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[guest7]

A friend of mine recently asked my opinion on what bike could be slow enough that he wouldn't lose his licence yet handled well enough to be fun on a Sunday morning blast. Without hesitation I said "SZR660".

He went and bought a Yamaha SZR660 and after one ride put it straight back up for sale. "mind-numbingly slow" he opined.

Who was right in this situation? Did I sell him a bad choice? Did he forget all about the not-losing-your-licence bit?

Also, do you think anyone can come back from years of sportsbike riding to enjoying the modest speeds of our chosen engine format? Are any of you sportsbike and thumper owners and if so what do you think about the difference in the riding experience?

I get confused about this sort of dismissal of sporting thumpers when the same people often get all teary-eyed about thumper super-motos with the same (or less) horsepower. Is it an image thing?

The dark thought at the back of this is that we all might be fooling ourselves about our love of the thumper when when in fact we might all defect to hypersports machines if we gave them enough of a go 

GC

[guest18]

I would love a hypersports machine... but I would lose my licence 

Modern sports bikes are awesome, and basically (imho) far too quick to be used legally on UK roads. I would contend that anyone who rides a sportsbike and claims they don't speed is a liar.
The reason we ride/rode them is that they are thrilling and exciting (ie. fast), there is no other reason we would put up with uncumfortable riding positions, ludicrous fuel consumption, outrageous service intervals/parts prices/tyre wear etc etc.

Many thumpers can be ridden at (more or less) legal speeds, therefore if it is the excitement of vicious acceleration/huge speed you are looking for, then you will be dissapointed, if it is the fun of throwing a bike around on a twisty road then you're onto a winner.
The question a prospective owner needs to ask themselves is whether they wish to break the law by a large margin anytime they use their bike properly or whether they can live with the lower power/speed involved in not doing so...

[Mark]

I would love a hypersports machine... but I would lose my licence 

My licence would be the second thing I'd be worried to lose.

When you're out in a group and the adrenalin is flowing you got to win at all cost, I'd rather not be put in that position any more with the traffic about these days. Riders getting killed and hospitalised by the dozen on the roads around here through the summer. Laws of physics are against you at these modern high speeds and not a lot left for riders capabilities.(starting to sound like an old man now)

The biggest buzz you can get is to be the underdog on your roads on a 90mph thumper putting the big boys in their place.

Mark

[JOOLZ]

You did the right thing, the SZR should have fulfilled what he wanted, if he thinks he cant keep his licence with a hyperbike then he hasnt got any self control. I have ridden very fast bikes before but still prefer lighter handling bikes for riding round here. The ideal solution would be a thumper for everyday use and take up racing for your high speed kicks

[guest24]

Done both, got only thumpers now.

Best ride had to date is round the Isle Of Mann TT circuit on my SRX400 flat out from Kate's Cottage to Creg Ny Baa with 100mph on the clock knowing I had reached the bikes limit. I was in complete control and loving it. The mountain circuit with the early hairpin cranked over until your ear hair is wiping the grass is amazing. I am no speed freak, 100mph scares the willies out of me. Leaning over 'till you almost touch the ground at even 15mph is brilliant. Flicking left-right-left through some twisties is fantastic without necessarily having to go fast is fun.

Had CBRs of various sizes and guises and yes, they are fast, but can be described as antiseptic as you get to 100mph and it feels like 50mph. Everything is too 'easy' until that corner comes up a bit too deceptively quickly and problems may well ensue.

Ride a 'slow' thumper, and you know what you are doing even if you are going above legal limits.

So no Graham, you did not sell him a bad choice. Thumper everytime!

PS I ride faster now than I did when I was a teenager and had sportsbikes.

[guest868]

I sold my Hayabusa to buy my Tenere. I'd had the 'busa flat out a couple of times and it was truly fantastic. The machine was designed to cover distances at speed, and it did that admirably. You just had to decide to make the use of it, so your common sense dictated where you would wind it on.
It was sold because whilst I can live with points and fines, going to jail for a victimless crime was too bitter a pill to contemplate.
I still want to build a bike capable of 200mph, the only thing that stopped me derestricting the 'busa was that it was a K3 model, so the speedo only went to 185mph, with the stop just a little bit past that. No point in being able to go faster than you can acknowledge.
My first ride on the Tenere had me thinking 'WTF have I done?!', but gradually I got to enjoy it. I didn't go blindly into buying a single as I'd had them before. I do get satisfaction from being able to stuff it into back road bends harder and faster than I would have done the 'busa, but I can't do the 170mph overtakes on GSXRs like I did either...
That said I also have an original Speed Triple that I can go for swift blasts on to alleviate the speed need. Because it is a great rush.
My suggestion for your mate would have been an SV650 or an NC30.

[squirrelciv]

As some may be aware, my XT is in for surgery and I'm using SteveH's SV650 while she's under the spanners. Now the SV might not be a balls out there sports bike, but you could lose your licence on it quick enough. Truth be known, for the first few rides I took the windy road and enjoyed the bike. It really is a nice machine to ride. but now, a few weeks on... Can't wait to get my thumper back. Thing is, the SV is better than me. I quit before it does and as a result, it's all abit... soul-less. Thumpers make you work for every mile an hour, they groan if you're in the wrong gear and sing if it's all working.

[Ian]

Most people on this site "seem to know their own minds" so to read Grahams report of feeling of guilt (as I see it) is totally unjustified to himself. Next time...tell him to ride till he finds one himself he likes, or refuse to offer advice or help. Sad but a realistic approach nowadays

[Mark]

Most people on this site "seem to know their own minds" so to read Grahams report of feeling of guilt (as I see it) is totally unjustified to himself. Next time...tell him to ride till he finds one himself he likes, or refuse to offer advice or help. Sad but a realistic approach nowadays

Yeah, and you're lucky he didn't sue you on a 'no win no fee' basis.

[Andy M]

I worked with a lot of blokes who were in to sportsbikes. One stood out as the sort of guy who simply had to "win" at everything. His bikes were a sort of combined video game and top trumps set. His sole topic of conversation was how fast he'd gone and things to buy to go faster. One bloke was a decent clubman racer and took him to a track day. Conclusion: useless, simply wanted to totter round the corners then slam the throttle open. Gave up after the first part of the day because he was slowest and the conversation was a bit more technical than "Wow I went fast". He went on a "tour" and had to find a hotel for the night due to "dangerous weather". This was Southern Scotland in June and it rained for hour. When we last spoke he was on 9 points and his third bike in four years. The world of bikes will honestly be better off when this guy records another three figure official score.

They can teach monkeys to hold the throttle open, but it's pointless trying to explain to these video game riders how an Enfield or a Ural or anything that isn't a 150 mph plastic missile can be fun. Personally I've come to the conclusion I'm not actually into bikes, I simply use one to travel.

I think GC's choice was spot on, but I think you aren't trying to tell an airline pilot he might fancy a go in a Spitfire, you're telling a bloke additicted to Halo3-Revenge of the thing vaugely copied from Terminator about chess.

Andy

[guest7]

To be fair, the bloke in question used to run a Honda dealership in the 80s and now has a good on-line bike sales operation. The discussion we had covered all of the salient points of the bike's performance and capabilities so he should have known what to expect. He's also a good rider. However, I think he just isn't ready to give up the grunt and speed of the bigger bikes.

Some less experienced riders would, I'm sure, appreciate the ease with which a light thumper can be hustled down a twisty road (compared to the way that a larger bike can scare you shitless), but in his case he is more than capable of riding a sportsbike fast. He currently rides a VFR800, but has owned a very long line of faster kit like Ducati 888s, Blades and Gixers.

I thought the only good side might be that the SZR would be a cheap 'pass-on', but he has it on his website at £1200!

I did say to him that he would need a couple of rides to get into the thumper groove (wind it up and don't slow down), but he wasn't prepared to try and to be fair he does know what he likes.

GC

[Steve Lake]

Well I can honestly say that a reasonably tuned srx6 is just right for me, rider and bike reach their limit at about the same time which imho is ideal.
I can scratch round cadwell or snetterton, albeit in the slow or medium group, and generally manage to see off quite a few plastic missiles, who seem to use the 'get round the corner somehow then give it the berries' system.

no, #1, I think, you responded to the question in just the right way..... slow was it? maybe he should look at the GORDON video clip....
ok, Mike Edwards it a sh*t hot rider.....but he still needs a good fast machine to win on.

[SRXer]

Its why I sold my XJ550. Although I generally ride within the speed limits every now and again Id see a long straight and just be like, what the hell? and open it up.
I will get another thuimper as I know that having a bike that I love all the time due to its character/sound and feel will prevail over a blip of speed here and there.

[tj63]

I've just been out for a ride on the SRX400 after fitting a new battery, followed by a ride on the Fazer 1000 to check it out ready for a trip to Llandudno (two-up) next weekend.

I really enjoyed both rides - the SRX has all the character of the thumper, but unlike some others I don't find the Fazer soul-less, just different (and blindingly fast).  After the trip to the Mono Connection a few weeks ago, I definitely prefer the comfort of the Fazer for the long trips, but that's most likely because of the creaky old bones 

For pottering about locally, the thumper is brilliant.  After all, that's why I bought it in the first place.  Plus it often attracts attention when it's parked up, usually from bikers who have one or have had one.

Horses for courses....


Trevor

[el vencejo]

My other bike would probably suit....



A double thumper.