Time for a change

[Taipan]

Don't like the looks of the AT or the Tiger, really. The 900 GT Pro is okay....Does the 19" front and block rears not hinder 'spirited' riding?

GSXSXSXS1000GT

Yea I've looked at those and the Kawa SX1000 but not really drawn to them. I sat on the Suzuki at the NEC a couple of years ago and it felt massive.

The main reason I'm drawn to the Tracer is that I know 90% of it. I love the engine and I like Yamaha's. It handled great on the test ride and its much more of a bike than the MT. Granted the front on the new one looks odd at certain angles but I already own an MT ffs

Someone mentioned have both, but I don't have the room or the funds.

There’s a video somewhere of Couchy on his Africa Twin on a track day and his riding is somewhat spiririted!!! You don’t have to like their looks to start with but as they win you over, you,ll buy into the looks as well.

[Supermofo]

Maybe it's cos some of us started riding at a very young age rather than when we were older, I dunno. I first got on a bike at 12, I didn't own a car until I was 28. I rode everywhere, in all weathers, for all my needs. For me the thought of being without a bike horrifies me. I totally get other people being able to give up, but not riding genuinely makes me unhappy. Bikes are part of me/my youth, something that's mixed up in all those teenage/early 20s memories. Lol when the doc told me my left hand might never work again I was looking at all sort of conversions (no clutchless bikes then) rather than giving up. But that's just me, I find it inconceivable.

Having said that nothing wrong with giving it a break. It's just not for me.

Reading your post though I'm struck by the impression of going on the same/similar routes and not feeling it. Sounds like you need a change of routes/places as much as anything else. There are places I ride for the road/ride, others for the place itself, scenery etc. I try and mix things up by sometimes picking a new destination and having a purpose to the ride so to speak.

Buy a hack.

There's a lot to that. I note the OP says about having a clean bike and it's something that spoils my ownership of bikes in recent years to an extent. I avoid riding in bad weather now as my bike is mint and I hate cleaning bikes. When I only had a bike they got washed once a week/maybe a fortnight but they were ridden in all weathers so bolts got furry, things got mucky and it didn't matter as they were a fun tool to be used, like a car but way better. Now I'm overly precious and it does spoil things. Ideally bikes are there to be ridden not idolised, not that I practice that now. But I should.

So maybe buy something with a few miles, not mint and use and enjoy it rather than worry about how clean it is, it's liberating. It's partly why I'm eyeing a F800 winter/take the Mrs out on bike for cheap so I don't care about actually using the bugger

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

Panigale!

Nah, sounds more like time for a proper supermoto, though I don't think anyone makes them anymore.

[Supermofo]

Yea I've looked at those and the Kawa SX1000 but not really drawn to them. I sat on the Suzuki at the NEC a couple of years ago and it felt massive.

The main reason I'm drawn to the Tracer is that I know 90% of it. I love the engine and I like Yamaha's. It handled great on the test ride and its much more of a bike than the MT. Granted the front on the new one looks odd at certain angles but I already own an MT ffs

Playing devil's advocate and all that, changing from a MT to a Tracer if you're struggling for mojo is a bit busmans holiday. I know what you mean about the GSXS GT as they feel big compared to mine as does the Ninja SX but my Bro's SX is a hell of a bike to ride, comfortable and fast as fook. I rode an MT and a Tracer, admittedly from the generation before, when I was buying and I'd set my heart on one or the other. That was until I rode the naked GSXS, and for me it wasn't even close, I preferred the Suzuki for almost everything. I'd been suckered by years of mags saying the MT was amazing and the Suzuki was so/so, the GSXS 1000 was about 10th on my list, even behind the 750, till I rode one then I couldn't stop thinking about buying one.

Not just me that's weird, my bro tried a brand new 2024 Tracer and preferred the F900 BMW (which was cheaper by a long shot on pcp) and the 2020 Ninja 1000SX he eventually bought.

Not saying buy a GSXS or that the SX is better (although I'd have either over an MT platform personally) but I would advise trying some different bikes to ride, you might find something you hadn't considered much is perfect for you. Hell who knows but a Guzzi V85TT might float your boat over anything else if you tried it. There are so many bikes out there and if you are struggling with desire for riding getting a 90% same bike seems nuts.

[KungFooBob]

Panigale!

Nah, sounds more like time for a proper supermoto, though I don't think anyone makes them anymore.

https://www.ducati.com/gb/en/bikes/hype ... d-698-mono

[Supermofo]

Panigale!

Nah, sounds more like time for a proper supermoto, though I don't think anyone makes them anymore.

https://www.ducati.com/gb/en/bikes/hype ... d-698-mono

I note KTM have struck back with even more horses, a whole 2 bhp more, its like the 90s/00's sportsbike bhp war again

https://www.motorcyclenews.com/news/new ... 690-smc-r/

[KungFooBob]

Yeah, but it's a KTM and they'll be selling new ones 50% cheaper next year fucking you over on the resale value/trade in... that's if it's not eaten it's cam by then.

[tricol]

there are so many bikes out there and if you are struggling with desire for riding getting a 90% same bike seems nuts

Not quite what i was saying. I'm not picking the Tracer because it is familiar, it's because I like the engine and the handling and they just happen to be things I'm already used too.

I know what I like looks wise and that rules out quite a lot. I also dont have the time to test another 4 or 5 bikes given how thin on the ground dealers are these days. There's only 1 Yamaha dealer left in all of Greater Manchester.

[Pirahna]

Yeah, but it's a KTM and they'll be selling new ones 50% cheaper next year fucking you over on the resale value/trade in... that's if it's not eaten it's cam by then.

To be fair, it's the 790/890 motors from a couple of years ago that ate cams.

I keep looking at KTM but the way they handled the cam debacle plus everything that's gone on since puts me off. I still fancy a test ride on a Super Duke though, if the dealer is still around.

[Taipan]

Yeah, but it's a KTM and they'll be selling new ones 50% cheaper next year fucking you over on the resale value/trade in... that's if it's not eaten it's cam by then.

To be fair, it's the 790/890 motors from a couple of years ago that ate cams.

I keep looking at KTM but the way they handled the cam debacle plus everything that's gone on since puts me off. I still fancy a test ride on a Super Duke though, if the dealer is still around.

640s were no better with their “chocolate clutch bearing of doom” and KtM consistently denying warranty claims. KTM, as a manufacturer have ways been shysters, but they do make exceedingly enjoyable bikes…

[Pirahna]

they do make exceedingly enjoyable bikes…

I owned a 990SM for a couple of years in the 00's, put a lot of miles on it and never had any problems. I've ridden a bunch more of their road bikes and owned a couple of off roaders, they've all been great fun to ride.

[weeksy]

they do make exceedingly enjoyable bikes…

I owned a 990SM for a couple of years in the 00's, put a lot of miles on it and never had any problems. I've ridden a bunch more of their road bikes and owned a couple of off roaders, they've all been great fun to ride.

Of that there's no doubt, they seem to make something that others can't seem to match in some ways, from the 690 SMC-R to the 790 when it came out with QS/blipper and all the fancy electronics. Obviously they have some quirks and 'character' but they really give a little 'something'

[KungFooBob]

I was chatting to a fella with a very early 790, he put some mega miles on it, early on it had an oil leak that was fixed under warranty and never returned. He reckons the issues with the later bikes is that the crank cases to barrels to head oils ways are too small and the castings are so bad that they don't always line up fully, meaning the oiling to the head is even more marginal.

[Pirahna]

It's the early 790/890's that give problems, later ones are fine. Tomcat has just put a few miles on his very early 790 without issue, so they're not all crap.

[tricol]

Well a decision has been made. Thanks for all the replies. Always a risk when you make these kinds of posts because I often doubt myself when I don't need too.

[Pirahna]

Well a decision has been made.

You're off to the KTM dealer for a test ride. A good choice.

[Dodgy69]

Benelli or Enfield.

[tricol]

Too small, too slow, and I don't like how they look.

[KungFooBob]

Too small, too slow, and I don't like how they look.

Enough about Dodgy's testicles, what do you think of the bikes he's suggested?

[tricol]

I'm saying no more