Triumph, Honda or Kwacka?

**wkid_one** · 10th February 2004, 18:48

Originally Posted by moko

How about the Suzi SV650S?

Good call - vastly underrated bike.....and ohhhh for the nice Twin sound

**Zed** · 10th February 2004, 19:29

Originally Posted by doug green

Hey Slim
Test as many as you can and then make your decision. We bought the 2002 ZX636 as it is not as race orientated as the latest version & we mainly do road riding, the bike is awsome. All of the latest 600's are really race bikes with lights and would not be comfortable on long trips, If your riding is sports orientated and you do the odd track day then you cant go wrong with any of the latest 600's they are all so close and your choice will probably come down to which colour/price suits best. If you are doing a lot of road riding then the 02 ZX636 or the CBR F4i would be the better choice. The early Triumphs are supposed to be really bad and the latest are supposed to be a Huge improvement ( Bruce Anstey won Isle of Man on one ) other than that I dont know anything about the Triumph.
In the latest Performance Bikes mag they have a section on 600's and how good they are. The latest 636 will actually beat a ZX9 in a top gear roll on between 70ks and 150ks, so dont be fooled into getting a 1000 as you have higher running costs, insurance, costs of tyres etc.
Will be interested in YOUR CHOICE, so keep us all informed as to what you have tested and at the end decided to purchase.

Hi Slim, ditto what Doug said about making your own choice...test riding each one would help heaps (but take it easy until out of site of the bike shop )

Hi Doug, have you got a pic of that awesome 636 green machine that you could post? I'd be keen as to see it!

Zed

**SPman** · 10th February 2004, 19:52

Nah - go for the triumph

looks good in blue!

**Slim** · 13th February 2004, 06:46

Boyd called yesterday to say they had the 600RR in store for me to ride, but the weather was absolute cr@p all day and didn't clear as predicted until well after the bike shops shut.

But today is fine, so my bike is downstairs in the company motorcycle parking sheds (yes, we have 3 car-size covered bays for motorcycles to park!

) and I shall be taking the 600RR for a ride, followed by the Kwacka 636. If I have time, I'll trot into Road & Sport & see if they've got the SV650 for me to try too (I know they've got the 1000 demo bike at the moment cos they've got huuuuge signs in the front window to that effect).

An update will be provided tomorrow.

Doug G: I didn't think the CBR600F4i was imported into New Zealand anymore .... Do you know something I don't?

**Grumpy** · 13th February 2004, 07:18

Hey Slim,
Lot's of good advice here.Ain't buying a new bike great?
Something to think about though. I know this bloke who is a shocker for basing his choices on something he read in a mag, or something he heard someone say and even which bike has the most 'pose' value. The same bloke changes his bike's and cars like you wouldn't believe. It's always " it's really uncomfortable on a long trip" or " no good for pillions" etc etc...
Guess the point I'm trying to get to is everybody gets different things out of different bikes. Hell, there has to be a reason why they sell so many Harleys!
Test ride heaps and if it rings your bells, but it!

**Slim** · 13th February 2004, 07:48

I've had my current bike for 5.25 years, do you think it's too soon for me to get a new one?!?!?

Greg from Boyd called not long ago to see if I got yesterday's message and when I'd be in to test ride it.

I think opening our original conversation with, "I just test rode this nice little Triumph across the road yesterday ....." was a good plan for getting great service.

**spudchucka** · 13th February 2004, 14:14

After reading this thread I decided to go out and test one of these little beasties. The only one available locally was the current R6 Yam so thats what I'll comment on.

I was bloody well impressed to say the least. Being used to a 1000cc twin I was expecting the power to be disapointing - it wasn't. Although the delivery is very different to what I'm used to, the power available was excellent and very satisfying.

I expected to feel cramped - I didn't. The ride position was actually more comfortable than the TL. The pressure on my wrists was less and I didn't feel too big for the bike, despite being 6' 1" and 98 kgs.

The handling was unreal, total confidence in the bike after a couple of corners. The bike was light and really flickable, the brakes worked well and the suspension felt great on the standard settings.

Bottom line is I couldn't really knock the bike in any way, it just felt spot on. Would I buy one? Yep, no hesitation. While I would miss the raw V-Twin power delivery, the R6 was so refined I reckon I would soon just get swept away in the joy of riding such a fine machine.

Now I'll have to find a dealer with a 636 Kwak, 600RR Honda to see which of these pocket rockets is the ultimate.

**wari** · 13th February 2004, 16:39

Originally Posted by spudchucka

After reading this thread I decided to go out and test one of these little beasties. The only one available locally was the current R6 Yam so thats what I'll comment on

...

Now I'll have to find a dealer with a 636 Kwak, 600RR Honda to see which of these pocket rockets is the ultimate.

Thats actually a pretty good review Spud ... you oughta be putting some write ups in HERE for reviews

**spudchucka** · 13th February 2004, 19:17

The CBR600RR looks pretty flash with these cans!!

http://www.mickhone.com.au/moriwaki/cbr600rr.htm

**Firefight** · 13th February 2004, 19:41

Originally Posted by spudchucka

After reading this thread I decided to go out and test one of these little beasties. The only one available locally was the current R6 Yam so thats what I'll comment on.

I was bloody well impressed to say the least. Being used to a 1000cc twin I was expecting the power to be disapointing - it wasn't. Although the delivery is very different to what I'm used to, the power available was excellent and very satisfying.

I expected to feel cramped - I didn't. The ride position was actually more comfortable than the TL. The pressure on my wrists was less and I didn't feel too big for the bike, despite being 6' 1" and 98 kgs.

The handling was unreal, total confidence in the bike after a couple of corners. The bike was light and really flickable, the brakes worked well and the suspension felt great on the standard settings.

Bottom line is I couldn't really knock the bike in any way, it just felt spot on. Would I buy one? Yep, no hesitation. While I would miss the raw V-Twin power delivery, the R6 was so refined I reckon I would soon just get swept away in the joy of riding such a fine machine.

Now on my second R6, would have to agree with you SC.

Firefight

**Firefight** · 13th February 2004, 19:55

Originally Posted by Slim

I've had my current bike for 5.25 years, do you think it's too soon for me to get a new one?!?!?

Greg from Boyd called not long ago to see if I got yesterday's message and when I'd be in to test ride it.

I think opening our original conversation with, "I just test rode this nice little Triumph across the road yesterday ....." was a good plan for getting great service.

Hey Slim, if you have not made up your mind B4 Andrew and I are next down
Hams, you can take my R6 out for a spin, thats should be about a week (mind you sometimes these Physics Boys can be a bit unreliable

)

Let me know F/F

**Slim** · 14th February 2004, 14:55

So I went test riding bikes yesterday. What a revelation.

The CBR600RR was the first ride of the afternoon. I was told to try & ignore the lack of legroom and weight on wrists and to remember not to grip the bars, and sent on my way.

It's a beautiful bike, a bit on the small side, but the weight-on-wrists problem wasn't as bad as I imagined it would be and my legs fit the tank much better than they did on the TT600. It handles wonderfully - very light and flickable and ready to take corners much faster than I would on my CBR6. I started to have loads of fun after the first couple of corners.

Loads of power all the way through, with no huge "power band" to deal with, which was nice, and plenty of power even in top gear, to pull out & pass slower traffic without having to change down. The only other thing to note was that the engine noise is a little bland - there's no satisfying growl when you accelerate. But hey ho.

But the ergonomics are cr@p!!! It didn't matter where I sat on the seat, my lower back was being slowly killed, and by the time I got back to the shop, it was definitely scratched off my list of possibles.

When I hopped back on my own bike again, it felt like I was hopping on a Goldwing!!!

Then across the road to Hamilton Motorcycles to try out the Kwacka 636. Initial impression once mounted, was that it's physically slightly larger than the 600RR and while the ergonomics were generally far better, the pegs were too high. The handling felt heavier after the 600RR but still far & away much better than my own bike and the brakes were crisp and effective, especially after the 600RR's spongy-feeling ones. Power delivery was good and the engine had a satisfying growly sound to it, but there was too much vibration transferred to the handlebars (a first for me). Whether I was still having problems from my ride on the 600RR or not, I don't know, but my back didn't seem to appreciate this ride much better than the last one, and I noticed there was a bit more weight on my wrists too.

My memories of the Triumph are of a slightly more accomodating riding position although not as comfy as my own bike, and of less power than these 2 that I've just tried, but the brakes were great & the handling good. Unfortunately, the demo bike is now down in Wellington, so a 2nd ride for comparison is uncertain.

There's a 2nd hand, 7000km, one lady owner, SV650 in Boyd that I'm going to give a try, and I'd love to take you up on your offer, FF, but the next couple of weeks are busy or my shifts are not condusive to a ride during the week, but I'll definitely keep an eye out on the Ride Out forum & give you a yell if I can join you again.

**moko** · 15th February 2004, 08:55

Originally Posted by doug green

The early Triumphs are supposed to be really bad and the latest are supposed to be a Huge improvement ( Bruce Anstey won Isle of Man on one ) other than that I dont know anything about the Triumph.

Agree with all you say Doug on the best choice for Slim with a test-ride of an Sv a good idea as well.As for the 600 Triumph,it was a disaster when the first ones came out,handling and fuel-injection problems had the first run back to the factory and first ones even had a new frame retro-fitted.Real knock-back for Triumph as on the whole they`ve got a great reputation and being British are made with our crap weather in mind and tend to look better than Jap bikes after a couple of winters.Latest 600 is a brilliant machine,how about the 600 Speed Four Slim?Dont know if you get those in N.Z.but they sell well here and are something a bit different.For anyone who hasn`t seen one they`re basically "Streetfighter" style,same as the sports bike but with straight bars and a weird looking bug-eye mini-fairing,you`ll either love the looks or hate them.Come to that how about a new Fazer,latest one has the R6 motor tuned for a bit more mid-range and you`ll find it a lot easier to handle and less intimidating than a sportster.

**moko** · 15th February 2004, 09:05

Originally Posted by Slim

My memories of the Triumph are of a slightly more accomodating riding position although not as comfy as my own bike

How about the Speed Four,same machine,"roadbike" riding position?

There's a 2nd hand, 7000km, one lady owner, SV650 in Boyd that I'm going to give a try, and I'd love to take you up on your offer, FF, but the next couple of weeks are busy or my shifts are not condusive to a ride during the week, but I'll definitely keep an eye out on the Ride Out forum & give you a yell if I can join you again.

Be sure and check which model,latest one has more angular styling ,fuel-injection and reckoned to be a better machine than the older one.
Not sure if I`ve been in Hamilton Motorcycles or not,had a look in the one that sells Buells and one across the road.Your bike salesman are a lot better than ours,if you`re not spending money they dont want to know you.Bloke in the Buell shop was a gent,answered all my stupid questions anyway then came back and showed us around some more bikes even though he knew we were just taking a look and not buying.I had an argument with the head salesman of the cowboys down the road from me over whether the CB500 was water-cooled or not,he said definately not,and they`re a Honda main dealer,scary.We were looking at a pile of crap he was trying to sell me stashed away out the back and I asked why the radiator was missing,that`s how it came about.