What next ?

[Hitcher]

The Moto Guzzi Breva 750 has a good low seat as well. However my "yardstick" struggles with anything other than cruisers (5'2" dripping wet). Despite popular opinion the SV650 has quite a high seat height.

Some bike shops claim there are suspension and seat mods they can do -- but you've got to buy the bike first and take your chances. It's nice to see that customer service is alive and well...

[MadDuck]

Hey Hitcher

oh well me 5'2 fully dry and no way in hell I buying a cruiser!

I take my chances I guess cos if customer services meet me ..they WILL give service believe you me :sneaky2:

I will look at breva though cos you just never know. You cant tell me all Jap riders are 6ft tall

[Jackrat]

They are a love em' or hate em' type thing but you might have a look at BMWs Rockster.There is a bit of a blerb about them in the latest BRM.
According to the write up they have an optional low seat.
I quite like the bike but then I like a lot of weird things, an they sure are weird looking.
Anyway have fun looking mate.

[moko]

At the moment Cagiva Raptor is looking good ...but one can not have too many ideas

Cagiva are notorious for spares supply problems,and even bike supply problems.I dont know their situation but the factory seems to be in a constant state of chaos.One of our bike mags had a Raptor and loved it,then it broke down and was off the road for weeks because even the importers couldn`t get any sense out of the facrory,shame as it puts a lot of people off,and that`s in Europe let alone N.Z.Monster`s another great bike but you need to keep on top of the serviceing and no Ducati is cheap,guy in a recent mag article paid £600 for a full service ($1800!!).SV`s a great bike,especially the new fuel-injected ones with the ally frame.I`ve got a mate with short legs and he could touch the ground on one.BMW F650 is worth considering if you want a European bike,you can get those with different seats,lowering kits e.t.c.,and dont let any dealer charge you any extra for those things if you buy from new,new Honda CBF600 has adjustable seat,bars and pegs too but I`m not sure whether you get that model or not.You can get just about any bike seat chopped,my Fazer had a good couple of inches taken out by the previous owner and you`d only know it`s a non-standard seat if you see it parked next to a standard bike.

[FROSTY:Me]

Try the cb600 hornet.
The bike hire place in town has a few from their fleet for sale.

[moko]

Try the cb600 hornet.
The bike hire place in town has a few from their fleet for sale.

Good bikes,early ones had 16 inch front wheel and a lot of people cant get on with the quick steering.Also they`re very thirsty which with the older smaller tank is a pain in the arse.900 Hornet is a brilliant bike,very well balanced and dont let the fireblade motor put you off,it`s got a nice flat power curve,great to ride,feels more like a 500.They got cheap here because they`re nothing special to look at and not significantly better than the 600 to trade up,sales figures are low,my mate got something like 20% off list.I really like his bike but still prefer my Fazer and that`s the big Hornets problem,it`s good but not as good as it could have been.More important to you is that the seat height is lower than the 600,same as the 1200 Bandit has a lower seat than the 600.Oddly 900 hornet is one of the best bikes I`ve ever ridden in city traffic,so well balanced and plenty of low down grunt.

[magnum]

hi,from what ive seen and heard a sv650 would be a good buy.maybe you should try one out,best of luck.steve,go green!!!

[MadDuck]

Well Moko

Funny you should mention 900 Hornet cos I saw one in the big smoke on Saturday and fell in love I think it would suit me but I would need to test ride it.....but due to lack of any interest I walked out of said bike shop with credit card still in the red. But am now thinking I should go back.

In fact of the FEW shops actually open on Saturday the two I went too showed extreme disinterest. One had the a Monster just like Lyndas which looked pretty hot as well.

[Ms Piggy]

Well Moko

Funny you should mention 900 Hornet cos I saw one in the big smoke on Saturday and fell in love I think it would suit me but I would need to test ride it.....but due to lack of any interest I walked out of said bike shop with credit card still in the red. But am now thinking I should go back.

In fact of the FEW shops actually open on Saturday the two I went too showed extreme disinterest. One had the a Monster just like Lyndas which looked pretty hot as well.

Maybe you should just hop on & flick it off the stand an see how much interest you get then!

[moko]

Well Moko

Funny you should mention 900 Hornet cos I saw one in the big smoke on Saturday and fell in love I think it would suit me but I would need to test ride it.....but due to lack of any interest I walked out of said bike shop with credit card still in the red. But am now thinking I should go back.

I was suprised at how easy it was to ride,despite the Fireblade motor,admittedly de-tuned,it`s a big pussycat.They need a good couple of minutes to warm up,my Fazer is pretty much jump on and ride off 10 seconds later.I did the same thing on my mate`s Hornet,while the prat stood there watching and said nothing,stalled it straight away then it was snatchy and jerky for the first couple of minutes,me thinking "this thing`s a piece of junk"Once warmed up it was brilliant and I was carving through the traffic effortlessly,felt like a different bike.Give it some stick and the growl will have the hair standing up on the back of your neck.I`m used to a fairing and think I`d at least stick one of those nose-cones on it if it was mine.Brakes are really sweet as well,in fact it`s a pretty impressive machine all-round.One thing though is that for some reason known only to themselves Honda put too-long chains on them so check out somethings been done about that,sounds bizarre I know but there`s a good owners site (Hornets Nest)that has featured this and Honda`s efforts to wriggle out of it with several owners.Apparently the cure is simply to have a link taken out of the chain but as I say check it out before you buy,if you buy and take a look before going to any dealer to get your facts right see what they`ve got to say about it first,anything like our local dealer they`ll deny that there`s a problem.

[moko]

Just read a great review of a 750 Breva in the mag I write stuff for sometimes.Guy`s done 50,000 k`s since last May,long-distance commuter.He had a Guzzi before that was so bad he took them to court to get his money back.They made him an "out of court offer" of what he`d paid for the old one,and ridden for 6 months in between breakdowns,against a brand new one.He got the breva,by then Aprilia had taken Guzzi over and sorted out Guzzi,they`ve since poured serious money into a re-built factory.Bottom line is the bloke`s dead chuffed and he`s had no trouble at all with it.Mag`s only just out but they put some of their articles on-line after a wek or so if you`re interested, www.usedbikeguide.com give it a look in say a week or so and most of the article may well be up there.

[FROSTY:Me]

Has anyone seen or ridden one of those 650 twins out of taiwan.
They seem to be light and narrow -Might be an option for you madduck
mind you with that driveway of yours maybee a 2 wheel drive would be better

[James Deuce]

hhmmmm..3 days, thats 3 days going and 3 days coming back with having a good snoop around in between.

Thanks for the comments but not sure about time off work blah blah blah. That ferry crossing now looks like not a good option unless I have BIG bungies.

I obviously have (just a few) months to sort myself out. May even fly done and hire once there so I can just cruise the Sth Island for a while.

Ratchet lock tie downs. You'll need two, maybe 3 and a couple of old rags to protect the paintwork. The Ferry lads will strap the bike down for you.

Ride down - it is huge fun - I have been all over the country on an RG250F, and a GSXR250.

[MadDuck]

hhhmmmm xjxjxj...how you know about my wicked driveway huh ?

Yes I need rocket launcher to go up and very very very good brakes to go down. I saw a Breva on the weekend Moko but I think it is too much of a reach across the tank...boobs get in the damn way. Guess they didnt think of that when they designed the thing!

Maybe you should just hop on & flick it off the stand an see how much interest you get then!

Yep Celtic I might just do that as the bikes domino on top of each other I would get such a damn laugh !!! Put my "White" helmet on and skulk into the night......

Oh and thanks Jim2...I will post seperate for my run to CHCH. Cos it is a seperate subject me thinks. It is looking like I will do it and a great chance to catch up with some Kbers south of here later in the year

[FROSTY:Me]

well now lil lady as I recall there was this evening with the worlds WORST fish and chips.
Baby bikie wanted to try an assault on ya driveway with my bike