madbikeboy
9th March 2009, 08:33
Measuring tire life using a wristwatch or a week planner is getting old, as is having to sit on the side of the road while the cramps subside, so Scoot is going to a new home soonish. Answering the question unasked, a litre sports bike is too much.
In the dawning realisation that a CBX1000 is possibly the wrong commuting tool (I have video surveilance on the fast garage, and I still worry), and that I can't survive two days in a row in the Mini sitting in tidy queues, ranting - I've been looking at alternatives.
I've narrowed the search to a KTM SuperDuke (well, actually, I keep coming full circle back to the SD), I've discarded the alternatives (k9 GSXR1000 - more stupider, Blade - ugly, R1 - ugly, GSXR750, GN250, too much to handle).
Okay, so here's the crux of the problem. When you take a test ride, you spend 30 minutes riding carefully since the bikeshop owner is probably with you. What I need is 3 days, riding it in the rain, trying to lash a laptop bag to the impossibly small tail, getting someone brave to sit on the bitch pad, a quick ride with the boys on a Sunday to work out if it's too slow. A long ride to see if I'm can live with the seating position, a windy day on the hubba bridge, and a quiet stretch of road to see if scraping the numberplate off gets boring. Is it possible to ride sensibly, or does the bike incite you?
So, it's up to you lot to either enlighten me, or I take an expensive risk.
The other really troubling decision is the adult rating. The SuperDuke R has all sorts of nice bling, Akra's, nicer brakes, wheels etc. But, the dollar difference is huge - I can get a normal one, get some Yoshi's, carbon wheels, and still have enough change for servicing for a few years. Is it worth the extra?
MBB.
In the dawning realisation that a CBX1000 is possibly the wrong commuting tool (I have video surveilance on the fast garage, and I still worry), and that I can't survive two days in a row in the Mini sitting in tidy queues, ranting - I've been looking at alternatives.
I've narrowed the search to a KTM SuperDuke (well, actually, I keep coming full circle back to the SD), I've discarded the alternatives (k9 GSXR1000 - more stupider, Blade - ugly, R1 - ugly, GSXR750, GN250, too much to handle).
Okay, so here's the crux of the problem. When you take a test ride, you spend 30 minutes riding carefully since the bikeshop owner is probably with you. What I need is 3 days, riding it in the rain, trying to lash a laptop bag to the impossibly small tail, getting someone brave to sit on the bitch pad, a quick ride with the boys on a Sunday to work out if it's too slow. A long ride to see if I'm can live with the seating position, a windy day on the hubba bridge, and a quiet stretch of road to see if scraping the numberplate off gets boring. Is it possible to ride sensibly, or does the bike incite you?
So, it's up to you lot to either enlighten me, or I take an expensive risk.
The other really troubling decision is the adult rating. The SuperDuke R has all sorts of nice bling, Akra's, nicer brakes, wheels etc. But, the dollar difference is huge - I can get a normal one, get some Yoshi's, carbon wheels, and still have enough change for servicing for a few years. Is it worth the extra?
MBB.