125s

OK - thanks for that.

 

I'll bear them in mind anyway - ta.

 

Suzuki GSR600.

http://www.suzuki-gb.co.uk/model.asp?id=108

 

I'm cool with that.

 

What you really want for commuting, of course, is one of these:

http://www.zoomerzine.co.uk/

They've even nicked my idea for advanced and environmentally-friendly fairing
materials (click "W+K" on the bottom link bar)

 

wicker fairings are truly the future, and you are clearly a style
visionary.

 

You're ahead of your time, aren't you, old boy.

 

Indeed. Not sure about the wicker lid, but I reckon there's a gap in the
market for raffia-work summer gloves

 

Weeell, not as extreme as many more modern bikes, I'd guess.

The clip-ons are mounted above the top yoke on FZRs and combined with
the low seat, made for a pretty comfortable riding position, certainly
less uncomfortable around town then the TL. Switching from the TL, the
FZR felt very sit-up-and-beg.

The only other modern sprots bike I've ridden was a Honda CBR600RR,
and to be fair the riding position wasn't as stretched out as the
TL's. It did feel abnormally tall, somehow, though.

 

FZR750? Ow01?[/QUOTE]

Hmm. Trouble with those is that they're both full-faired and I'd be
unlikely to get a low mileage one.

After having no less than three track days spoilt by mechanical
failures, I really don't feel inclined to buy anything remotely
elderly - it doesn't take much to dent my confidence.

 

I'd have one of them with the GSXR1000 motor in.

 

The Zed has many fine features, but top-notch suspension isn't one of
them. It's fine on a smooth surface but tends to jump around a bit on
very bumpy[1] surfaces. I reckon Champ's Gixer would be much better in
fact.

The Zed has a nice, upright(ish) riding position, so probably not what you
want. Why aren't you looking at modern sports 600s? If you want a naked
bike, the Aprilia Tuono might suit you.

[1] I don't just mean not smooth, but not terminally rutted either.

 

that'd be nice - I doubt they'll do it, though.

 

XJR1300?

 

XJR1300?[/QUOTE]

Nah, it's gotta have similar or even better handling; one of the main
reasons I'm not going to try the TL on the track any more is because
it *feels* heavy and ponderous in a track environment, especially in
the wet.

I think that combined with its sheer grunt, its age, and that godawful
clutch makes - for me - an intimidating package. It's a confidence
thing.

I suspect that there's a bit of rose-tinted-visor effect here: the FZR
turned a pretty cautions and law-abiding citizen into... into a fairly
average sprotsbike rider, come to think of it.

 

Actually, I may have been being a bit unfair. Having just come back in
from a nice little pootle around the Cotswolds I've made two interesting
discoveries.

1. It's handling a lot better than it used to, which I attribute to my
loss of weight. By implication, the suspension was badly set up before.

2. I really need another bike. I had a test-ride on a likely Tiger and
afterwards the Zed seemed loads of fun. Not that the Tiger wasn't but the
differences gave me a fresh persepective and reminded me what I liked most
about the Zed.

 

I noticed that on the web site earlier.

Nnnnnngh!

Question is, can I justify the extra 500 quid for insurance as well...

 

it's so cheap, it'd be rude not to.

what? My current multibike insurance is less than 500 quid in total -
I don't anticipate it going up at all when I buy a DR-Z400.

 

The 7R costs me about 250 quid TPFT. An equivalent quote from the same
insurer on a new DR-Z 400 SM is about double that.

I guess it's that much more nickable than a 9 year old sports tourer.
And worth twice as much (7Rs are pretty much BOGOF on eBay.)

 

yes, but a multibike policy wouldn't be 750 quid, I suspect - IME,
they tend to only cost a tiny bit more than the insurance on the
newest/most expensive bike.

I was forgetting you didn't have anything 1/2 decent.