Hi All Starting a new job April and I'll need to ride twice a week on A41 (dual carriageway) M25 and M4 into Chiswick. I intend to do this March to December as much as possible and any days above 5° in Jan/Feb. Current thoughts are: KTM 890 SMT Tiger 900 GT Pro BMW I test ride Monday Tracer 9 GT I'm having a sudden strange thought about Tueno . Thoughts please.
Having suffered teh A41 for years, the ability to manoeuvre was more important than power so the lighter and more nimble the better over power but cant really help more than that in terms of choices
I’d want something with higher bars than a Tuono for filtering through slow moving traffic and too thirsty given the figures my bud was getting. I did commute for a while on a BMW Rt1150, took the panniers off for filtering through. I found it heavy when slow moving and a bit too bulky. I’m starting to commute again soon and I’m considering: Honda Transalp V Strom Versys.
The small 660 Tuono does really well on fuel and offers better wind protection than the ktm 890 (not smt) or street triple. It's extremely agile and nimble, but obviously only 100hp compared to 200ish in the big one.
Used to do the M4 into Chiswick daily on a MTS1200/12600 and also often to Southwark Bridge Road (near Borough Mkt) via A3 and A3200 past Waterloo - even when roads were gridlocked no issues filtering, it's all about timing. Always first away from lights and a good way to start the day
Get something fun because it gets very boring very quickly dodging all the cagers sat on their phones. Good luck.
Thin, loud and powerful. Easy to get feet down. Maximum vision. Personally - based on 2 years as a courier, also a couple living in London - I wouldn't want a fairing. I believe with a big, growling, low-revver, drivers can tell where you are and respect you, whereas with something revvy they're not sure where you are, and think you're a kid, so disrespect you. Too manouverable and when it gets frustrating you can be tempted to take unwise risks.
I'd agree - I've done ~60K commuting on a Cagiva V-Raptor fitted with the same motor. All the ancillaries are falling apart but the motor just keeps on going - change the oil every 4k & check the valves every 30K. Easy speed as well.
I’ve just picked up a f850gs and it’s great for doing some miles in comfort on. The engine is surprisingly punchy and it sounds good too, it’s tall which helps seeing your way through traffic. It’s a bit top heavy though but on the whole I’ve been very impressed with it.
Get a 675 with a nice loud arrow on it Cheap as chips, easy/cheap to maintain, easy to manoeuvre through stationary traffic and sounds epic when you get a chance to open the throttle.
More fun on a413 to beaconsfield and onto motorway, same distance as a41. Talking to someone the other day does this journey and uses a monster, never had a problem and uses it rain and shine
A bike I've fallen in love with recently, after hiring one for a few days in Madeira over the xmas break, is a Yam Tenere 700, absolutely loved it. Narrow and felt very nimble too. The twisties on the island are very tight and very steep. Also rode it through Funchal city centre quite a bit, ie filtering. Did well on their motorways (although didn't do a huge amount of that). The only thing i did find is that it's quite a tall bike. I'm 5'11" and was just a bit off from being flat footed.... felt taller than my GS. Bulletproof by all accounts. Oh, and the engine sounded cracking, the sort of noise that would be heard by others whilst filtering (agree with the point made above about noise types)
Tracer 9 GT looks a lot of bike for the money, just seen one at a dealer I bought from in the past: Motorcycles: 22 YAMAHA TRACER 9 GT (lincolnshiremotorcycles.co.uk)
Honda NC750 has to be the right choice for that mixed commute. Nimble and light in traffic, yet comfortable at speed on the Motorway. They are actually quite fun too, and relatively cheap.
