Test ride-a-thon


bubbles

bubbles

New member
I've been looking into a possible future upgrade from my trusty MT and been out on a few demo rides and thought I'd share my thoughts:

BMW S1000R Sport £11,600

pros:

Performance
Clutch with anti wheel lock tech jobbie
Quickshifter
Amazing Brakes
Amazing Suspension

Cons:

Mirror Vibration??
MPG
Slight Shoulder ache after 1hr riding
Numb arse from seat after 1hr riding (fixable with gel seat £200)
Expensive to buy
Ongoing Expense


Suzuki GSX-S1000F (faired one) £9999 naked with ABS £9499

pros:

Performance
Slipper Clutch
Good brakes not quite as good as the BMW
Comfortable ride
Easy to ride
Sounds Awesome
No Aches

Cons:
Slight jerky throttle (got used to it fairly quickly) not as bad at the MT-09
slightly tricky to hold steady at speed in lower gears, always wants to pull
no quick shifter or option for
Didn’t ask about costs etc, was in a hurry


Triumph Street Triple ABS 675 (not R version) £8199

pros:

Easy to ride
Triple sound
Best handling bike i’ve ever tested
Great engine
Comfortable
Easy Clutch
Solid feel

cons:

Crap mirrors
brakes need an upgrade, R version would fix that.
No quick shifter, Rx version would solve that or option to R version


annual service £225 and 12’000 service £525


Triumph Speed Triple ABS 1050 (not R verson) £10000

pros:

Huge torquey grunt
Feels solid
Looks the bollocks
Great brakes as standard

cons:

Heavy clutch
No gear indicator
Heavy
Crap colour schemes for the next year or so
Expensive


Yamaha MT-09 ABS £7349

pros:

Great engine

cons:

Feels budget
Snatchy throttle in all modes even with ecu fix
average brakes
uncomfortable riding position
Demo bike seemed quite abused
Not as good as the MT-07


Honda CB1000R ABS £9999

pros:

Comfortable
Smooth engine
reasonable brakes
looks good

cons:

no gear indicator
a bit dull



The only bike I haven't been able to get hold of yet is the Kawasaki Z1000 which to be honest I probably won't bother as I think I've made my decision already.

For me the Street Triple is the best all round package and feels better in the corners than all of the above ( including the BMW :eek: ) and the power seems perfect for the road, the others just have too much of everything and seems like a waste.

Hope this is of some use to someone out there.........
 
F

foxracer

New member
Thanks for this, I was also thinking about what I would get next.... You've picked some good bikes there, the only other one I'd consider (personal choice!) is the Monster 1200S :D

However when I put the figures in to the insurance machine, it gave me back a horrible number :( I'll take a look at the STriple though now!
 
Nuggets

Nuggets

Member
what about an Aprilia Tuono V4 1100RR? It's supposed to be in the same league as the S1000R? They are re-vamping the triples soon so they might be a good second hand investment but get one new and the arse is going to fall out the value of it in the next year or so. They will be overshadowed by the new triple which is rumoured to develop about 140bhp.

There's a bloke in Australia who sells a plug in mod for the MT-09 jerky throttle, its jerky because of the close loop fuelling at low speeds, for emissions, the bloke sells an inline adapter that tricks the ECU into improving the fuelling at low speeds, it plugs in to the lambda sensor wiring.
 
bubbles

bubbles

New member
I avoided the Italian bikes after reading and hearing about running costs and service bills.

To be fair the Tuono is a little extreme to say the least, along with the KTM Superduke. I'm not "that guy" who wants to have the most powerful ride, I tried the BMW as a bit of a benchmark test to see what £11.5 k would get you compared to the other bikes.

I didn't really think about the value of the STR dropping with the launch of a new one, so thats something to take into consideration. To be fair though due to the popularity of the MT and the large numbers sold that will have an effect on second hand prices in a couple of years when lots start to pop up on the second hand market with people looking to upgrade etc.
 
bubbles

bubbles

New member
ReGo said:
I want to like the StreetTriple but those headlights... yuck! :S
Click to expand...
The looks seems to be a bit of a marmite thing, I'm not sure about them either. Riding it though, when i'm giving the STR some beans down a twisty country road I couldn't give a toss what it looks like.

It really is that good.
 
E

eriks

New member
i am going for BMW R nine T next season but keeping my fun-machine MT-07 for near-home activities
 
badger27

badger27

New member
I think I'm going to try the bmw s1000r sat on one and it just seemed to fit. Then its just the 11 grand to sort lol
 
Last edited:
N

Noggie

New member
badger27 said:
I think I'm going to try the bmw s1000r sat on one and it just seemed to fit. Then its just the 11 grand to sort lol
Click to expand...
I sat on one today, and a S1000RR.
Funny enough I was more comfortable on the RR, maybe it because I got my belly on the tank :)
I don't know what I'll get next, part of me wants a racing bike, the other part a bigger naked bike. and I guess the sensible part of me tells me to keep the MT.
So then the question is.....will I get a second bike????
 
Gaz2212

Gaz2212

New member
Changed my bike for the s1000r sport, its an incredible machine, nothing budget at all and super quick still with loads of torque
Go and test ride you'll love it
 
N

Noggie

New member
Gaz2212 said:
Changed my bike for the s1000r sport, its an incredible machine, nothing budget at all and super quick still with loads of torque
Go and test ride you'll love it
Click to expand...
The problem with that is that it will be hard not bringing it home, and being £20.000+ in my country, I really don't want to spend that amount of money right now.
 
D

Deleted member 20

Guest
If you can wait until next year, Triumph is about to announce a new Street Triple 800 RS w. 125-ish bhp, Ohlins front and rear, Brembo radials, 5 riding modes, gyros and advanced traction control and ABS, slipper clutch and quick shifter, TFT dash. Estimated price just north of £10K. Sounds like a hot bike to me :)
 
Last edited by a moderator:
badger27

badger27

New member
I've heard nothing about a triple 800 but i'd be interested to have a look at one . money being the big leveler i think a tracer is more likely but i'm going to ride the tripR and the beamer just so i can say i have , if all else fails i'll buy a street box suspension kit for the mt-07 after all she a danm good bike just a bit squidgy
 
D

Deleted member 20

Guest
Another hot for 2016 ride is this new 998 cc 270° crank p-twin delivering 94 hp / 98 Nm. Has ABS, TC, slipper clutch and fully adjustable front/rear Showa suspension, 19 L tank and a 400 km / 250 mile range. The 232 kg fully wet is some what on the heavy side.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
bubbles

bubbles

New member
I keep hearing rumours about larger capacity Street Triple, could be the bike for me if they get it right.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.


Top