Suggest bikes for me to test ride

[TheDemonLord]

Might I recommend a bicycle. Ride it for a year, and the Gixxer will fit you better.

Nah, Big CC Sport Tourers are looking more like an option

[Moi]

Just a thought...

Tourers and panniers can be problematic when commuting, however don't some have removable panniers so then the bike would be no wider than normal - also, big tourers are often shaft drive, so no messy chain...

[rastuscat]

You could do worse than a GS1150 BMW, or even a 1150RT. Panniers. top box. Plenty of reliable torque. I'd recommend the 1200 of each, but maybe they're not in your price range.

And considering you talked up a Busa, maybe you're not looking for a mature riders bike.

[Gremlin]

Might I recommend a bicycle. Ride it for a year, and the Gixxer will fit you better.

Perhaps you need to spend time on vorb.

Here, we simply recommend a bigger engine/motorcycle/whatever... not less

[TheDemonLord]

You could do worse than a GS1150 BMW, or even a 1150RT. Panniers. top box. Plenty of reliable torque. I'd recommend the 1200 of each, but maybe they're not in your price range.

And considering you talked up a Busa, maybe you're not looking for a mature riders bike.

Well thats the thing - I'm relatively young so maybe want to enjoy the time when I convince myself that I need a 200+ hp death machine to commute on... but at the same time, the 50+ Km I commute means that I want to be able to work when I get there

Decisions, Decisions.

I will say that Shaft Drive is slightly appealing (the whole low maintenance part)