2nd bike for commuting?

[Ixion]

I don't think the real saving in having a rat bike are from fuel or tyres (though those help) . It will be more what you will gain on the main bike being mint and low mileage when you come to sell it/ trade it in. Commuting inevitably knocks a bike around. And expensive bikes usuall equal expensive parts, when it gets scraped, knocked over in car park, etc.

If your 'main" bike is already a rat, then it's not worth it.

[SwanTiger]

Buy a Hyosung!

To do 500km commuting on the GT650 it would cost approximately $35 to $40 including current petrol prices, servicing and tyres.

On a GT250 it would cost somewhere between $25 and $30 for 500km, again, including current petrol prices, servicing and tyres.

What is more, a GT650 compares favourably to a SV 650 on the technical sheet.

The GT250 is definitely a commuter / casual cruiser type of motorcycle and on top of that, an excellent sports bike to learn on, in my opinion.

The GT650 (naked, semi faired and fully faired) is "the" bike, it meets so many demands, commuting, open road, economy and more.

Now i'll wait for the Suzuki whores to pipe up. You Kawaturds shut the fuck up, Kawasaki are the ones who imported mine into the country and provide the warranty.

EDIT: To comment directly on a second "commuter" motorcycle, I'm in two opinions about that. Essentially you will be paying more in road user taxes, which has been pointed out, however $300 at maximum a year works out to $5 a week (spread out over the 52 weeks in a year).

Maybe a Hyosung Comet / GT 250 would suite you (the naked version), $35 - $40 weekly running cost when you account for current fuel prices, servicing, tyres and road user taxes.

Then again, this thread is well over 6 months old, so what have you done, if anything?

EDIT 2: THE KOREANS ARE COMING !!!

[Ixion]

Read a review of the 650 the other day, they reported very creditable fuel consumption figures, and an excellent tank range.


However, a 650 is rather large for commuting, and the question originally related to a second bike as pure commuter, in which context ubiquity is not relevent.

[SwanTiger]

However, a 650 is rather large for commuting, and the question originally related to a second bike as pure commuter, in which context ubiquity is not relevent.

True, however it could be a choice of new bike considering it has open road and commuting advantages.

[Ixion]

Yes, it seems to be a good all rounder. Ride to work ,powerful enough for touring and back road fun, and take the girlfriend out in the weekend .

Very much in the tradition of the old Briddish 650s, the Thunderbird, A10 and such. Interesting that the same capacity still seems the best all rounder.

Though as an all rounder it is up against the new Kawa ER-6F , also a very good all rounder by report.

Interesting also that we are seeing new models of these practical and useful all round bikes being brought out, an escape from the total concentration on race replicas. Maybe the motorcycling community is reestablishing itself .

[chickenfunkstar]

Buy a Hyosung!



Then again, this thread is well over 6 months old, so what have you done, if anything?

EDIT 2: THE KOREANS ARE COMING !!!

Cheers for the advice. I'd consider something like a GT250 if there were some older / cheaper ones out there. If I did get a 2nd bike, my budget would have somewhere around the 2k mark. They seem to go for around 5K which is probably about what the SV is worth.
About the GT650. To be honest i'd be really reluctant to swap a bike which over time has proven to be reliable, for something which is relativly new to the market. Maybe in a couple of years when i've moved on from the SV.

I've decided to just keep the SV as it seems to be a good compromise between performance / reliability / economy.