Commuter and tourer

[Duncan74]

I went Wee-strom. Actually the LAMS version to be precise. I'm 6'4" and use it for commuting between Tauranga an Akl, and TGA and Hamilton. Also toured north island in early January. DO a search you'll find the review thread I did and also a thread on the tour. Aside from adding a 12v socket under the seat and Givi panniers and cases, the only thing I'm looking to change is the tyres to something better on wet tarmac.
Did first 1000km in 4 days, less than a month until the 6000km service and still working almost flawlessly. I say almost as I was a muppet and left the park lights on yesterday meaning I needed to get a jump start, but that's my fault not the bikes.

[Phleep]

VFR800. Reliable. Effective. Almost fun

Can *mostly* second this.

Started riding again recently on a VFR. I commute everyday on it at peak hour and it is comfortable and sufficiently upright to not torture your neck lane changing down the Ngauranga Gorge. Also, IMHO, the combined braking feature comes in handy to increase reaction speed when lane splitting as I can use the rear brake pedal to start the front braking even if I am not poised over the front brake lever. ABS certainly helps avoid the back end getting messy too.

My only real complaint with my particular bike is that it sometimes decides to surge on a steady throttle which can make slow riding more challenging than it should. Apparently many suffer the same fate.

[LearnerRider81]

I owned a Kawasaki versys 650 and instantly regretted selling it when I did. Nice upright riding position, plenty of useable power, great handling and extremely reliable. 10k would get you an almost new one, regularly come up for around 6k. I also took the wife on the back a lot of the time, with no issue. Worth a look in my opinion.

I rode my mates 650 abs versy and its awesome good for big guys with bad knees as the upright position is very comfy tons of power too!! i completely agree with you on this!!