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Question for the motorcyclists here

BMW K1200 - reliable, no chain to worry about, anti-lock brakes, heated handlebars good screen.

and -- big enough to be seen and not forced off the road.

above all comfortable for a commute - the last thing you need is to be hunched forward and get wrist ache.
 
Just thought I'd revisit this to thank all of you who offered advice as to whether it should be a Ducati or a Buell, a Triumph or a BMW. After much deliberation, a deposit has now been put down on…………… a KTM 640 LC4 Supermoto. Don't ask how we got there, but I'm looking forward to picking it up next week, just in time for the office move.
 
Just thought I'd revisit this to thank all of you who offered advice as to whether it should be a Ducati or a Buell, a Triumph or a BMW. After much deliberation, a deposit has now been put down on…………… a KTM 640 LC4 Supermoto. Don't ask how we got there, but I'm looking forward to picking it up next week, just in time for the office move.

Nice choice!!! a little left field after your original shortlist! But get some pics up when she arrives!!
 
I just spotted a Ducati Mike Hailwood series 1 replica on there for £27k!! That was the alternative when I bought my Jota, think I went for the wrong bike :(
 
Should have gone for this bad boy, bit over budget so you might have needed to sell the wife, kids, house etc but worth every penny :thup:

http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C395672

Nah, it's not orange & it's not a 180! :)

Nice choice!!! a little left field after your original shortlist! But get some pics up when she arrives!!

Well, it's physically big with wide bars and…. yeah alright, it's a bit of a jump. :D Let's see if this works.

media
 
I know you were, but as per my original response I'm happy that I can keep that particular risk to an acceptable minimum. I realise you can never completely account for driver's stupidity, but having been taught years ago to think for them as well as myself I'm as happy as I can be that I should be able to keep myself out of trouble, but I appreciate your concern for me. :thup:

Hats off to anyone that rides a bike day in day out nowadays on these congested roads. Mate in the RAF commutes an 80 mile round trip on his CBR600 everyday, (unless the weather is really crappy) and has never been knocked off in 7 years of doing it, had a few close shaves mind you. But definitely the best way to deal with all that heavy traffic.

BTW that new bike looks the mutts nuts :thup: What colour did you get it in?
 
I used to use a BMW K series 1200; 70 miles each way daily - comfortable bike. It replaced a Yamaha FJ1200 also a great comfortable bike.

Great reliability, no chain, heated handle-bars, anti-lock brakes and big enough to be seen. Not great on fuel.

You won't want a Duke, it'll rattle apart if used daily and you will consume chains and sprockets.
 
Hats off to anyone that rides a bike day in day out nowadays on these congested roads. Mate in the RAF commutes an 80 mile round trip on his CBR600 everyday, (unless the weather is really crappy) and has never been knocked off in 7 years of doing it, had a few close shaves mind you. But definitely the best way to deal with all that heavy traffic.

BTW that new bike looks the mutts nuts :thup: What colour did you get it in?

That colour, the photo is of the actual bike. :D
 
Does that go off road as such as well ?

Is it a road/trail mix type bike ?

Look more "meaty" type bikes
 
Does that go off road as such as well ?

Is it a road/trail mix type bike ?

Look more "meaty" type bikes

Change the front wheel to a 21" job and put some knobbliest on it and it could. It's a supermoto which is basically a hybrid of a road bike and a motocrosser. There are meatier bikes but I decided for the rerun to two wheels that a smaller, lighter bike would be a better starting point. If it goes to plan I'll buy a meatier one next year but keep this as a winter commuter and keep the other one for best.
 
Work is shortly to be moving to a location far more suited to commuting by motorcycle so I am considering going back on 2 wheels and looking at secondhand bikes. Because of my size I would not be looking at any of the race replicas, but more in the BMW F800GS or R1200GS mould. However I'm open to alternative suggestions. The Ducati Multistrada or the Buell Ulysses look interesting and would potentially be within budget (5k max). Anyone got any experience of these two and any thoughts on them or suggest anything else in a similar vein, perhaps an XJR1300 or similar? Thanks.

A couple of my ex shop customers had gs1200's and couldn't speak highly enough off them. One toured Europe on one. Good solid commuter but can be hard on rubber. One swore by metzler durance but they were only good for 6k, the other used maxis which were a little harder wearing on the rear at 10k
 
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