Criteria *you* Use When Bike Shopping?

[mania]

All that recent hullabaloo in other threads got me wondering

if this might be a good thread?

Not a slagging match mind you

No need for anyone to mention why they don't like a certain type of bike but why they do

like the type they bought or are shopping for.

So out of interest what do *you* look for when shopping

for a motorcycle? Can be new or used

It is a given budget has its limits so we look within our budget I know I do

But in what order of importance are your checks?

Is looks the biggest thing?

Horsepower size?

Engine characteristics?

Brand name/loyalty?

Just curious & might be an interesting thread

Edited April 1, 2013 by mania

[loserlazer]

good thread mania.

I buy my bikes according to my needs and my environment.

I am living in Bangkok and sport commuting:) to work 6 days a week, i am planning to go to a track once a month and i like to go for touring once a month. It is hard to find thee three combination on a bike altogether so a do it all kind of bike is hard to find for me especially in Thailand where we have pretty limited options.

So, i have chosen honda cbr500. As it is a light perfect commuter with and city raver without any excess power and has good economy and less running costs.

It is OK on the track too as it offers plenty of zip and torque and most importantly a low stance sporty character, besides, if you crash it, you do not feel guilty as it is only 200 k thb not a 1 million baht bmw so perfect for track practice as well.

It is also Ok for touring between 140 kmh - 180 kmh perfectly. can go anywhere right now without revving the engine hard and good fuel economy again. Moreover, comfy for two up, has OK wind protection and has some space to stretch the legs sometime.

So, i bought my cbr500 as it is the best do it all bike in the market for that price that satisfy my needs.

I checked other bikes too like ninja 650 but it has more weight and excess power for city and harder to commute than a cbr500 and nearly 80 k more expensive. it might be better in track though but we cannot get all we want from this life necessarily all the time.

I am now looking for a 2007 cbr600rr to satisfy my needs on the track as with cbr500, it is not sustainable forever especially after i practice and improve myself. I think at the end of this year maybe after rainy season or maybe at the beginning of 2014, i will go for one second hand inline four 600 with plate. But, i will keep my cbr500 even if i buy an inline four as a commuter and do it all bike as it is a great do it all bike with good design although it might be more powerful, yes.

[Kwasaki]

Dunno what Criteria is when it come to motorbikes.

Here to stay in 2005 buying a truck was first on the list and made do with the mrs old Honda 125 nova 2 stoke, later I bought new a Dec 2007 Airblade twist and go for pottering around the village, at the time I thought it was the best looking scoot at that time, did not really think about it being dearest of the range then.

Just had its 5 year test with nearly 7000km on the clock.

Scoots are OK but as one of the many old bikers in Thailand just couldn't do without a normal size motorbike so in 2006 looked at a cheap CB400 in CM, with 2000 year engine and 1997 frame but it very iffy, liked the bike but was glad to get rid of it.

I now have a 2011 Versys 650 something thats just right for me now and keeps me happy, nice and legal, good on juice and range, and a lot of motorbike at a very reasonable cost.

If I had more dosh I would have different types of motorbikes for sure, mainly because me's like em.

Edited April 1, 2013 by Kwasaki

[dogpoo]

It has to be automatic!!

[Beardog]

I have a 650ER6n now. I like the power it has & Kawasaki is pretty reliable, But I also like the other Japanese bikes as much. If the 650 naked wasn't as nimble through traffic in Pattaya it would not be the right bike for me. It's width is the same as the Yamaha Nuovo I just sold. Weight is way different but so is the horsepower. If I had my choice here though I would have a 400-500 cb inline 4 the 650 & a liter bike with the inline 4 for touring. But that would be to much washing the bikes every week!

[thaicbr]

I currently have a 2011Cbr250 ABS. I got this bike for several reasons. 1st was its reasonable cost @ 109k baht, fully legal. 2nd was the ABS. 3rd was the comfortable riders and passenger seats compared to others. And finally the low fuel consumption. Does it do what I want. Certainly. Is it exciting.... sometimes. Is it powerful not so much.

After owning a few older grey import bikes. Waiting for parts. Engine's running rough. The Cbr is a great bike for the reasons I got it.

Maybe next year will upgrade. Possibly the Cbr500. They still tick all the boxes but with more power

Sent from my i-mobile i-STYLE Q6

Edited April 1, 2013 by thaicbr

[BirdsandBooze]

Back in England I'd buy anything that looked sexy and went like sh*t off a stick. Here we are very limited with our choices and I settled for an ER6N which, although competent, doesn't light any fires for me. My wife says pay the tax and buy what you want, but the parsimonious side of me says wait and see what gets made here in the near future. I'm not a Monster fan and the imminent Z800 is a little on the heavy side for me. Now the Kawa 636 at a reasonable price would float my boat

[wjmark]

Back in England I'd buy anything that looked sexy and went like sh*t off a stick. Here we are very limited with our choices and I settled for an ER6N which, although competent, doesn't light any fires for me. My wife says pay the tax and buy what you want, but the parsimonious side of me says wait and see what gets made here in the near future. I'm not a Monster fan and the imminent Z800 is a little on the heavy side for me. Now the Kawa 636 at a reasonable price would float my boat

Just curious - how could somebody not be a Monster fan?

Edited April 1, 2013 by wjmark

[BirdsandBooze]

Back in England I'd buy anything that looked sexy and went like sh*t off a stick. Here we are very limited with our choices and I settled for an ER6N which, although competent, doesn't light any fires for me. My wife says pay the tax and buy what you want, but the parsimonious side of me says wait and see what gets made here in the near future. I'm not a Monster fan and the imminent Z800 is a little on the heavy side for me. Now the Kawa 636 at a reasonable price would float my boat

Just curious - how could somebody not be a Monster fan?

Looks like it's been made from a Meccano set. There are much better performing and better looking bikes in the Ducati lineup.

[Almera]

So out of interest what do *you* look for when shopping for a motorcycle? Can be new or used

Decide on what criteria I want or need, test it, get informed about it.... then buy it if it is better than the competitors.

CBR250 is the best bike for around the city at the moment, in my eyes. So I have that. At the weekend I'm more family-man than weekend bike-tourer nowadays, but am casting my eyes over what's out there for a second weekend bike. Something good for touring, but is also fun. Probably a N650 as it is cheap n cheerful, and will only be used twice a month, if that.

I don't have the time to be working or stressing on bikes so need reliability and easy maintenance, have minimal riding time, so the cheap n cheerful Thai produced Honda's and Kawa's seem like the easiest, best bet.

I like life to be easy.

[GooEng]

in thailand sadly the governing factor is price.

i'm currently shopping around for a new bike and most of the bikes on my short list if i was shopping around in the UK are excluded due to the ludicrous costs involved. so it's down to the short list of bikes built here that escape the daft taxes....

after price it comes down to :

suitability for my use (daily pottering/mid range rides/scratching/possible touring)

is it any good?

appearance/looks/styling

in that order.

tending very strongly to a ninja650 abs at the moment although being swayed by recent posts in here of the M795 ABS... i mean ~440,000 baht isn't THAT much more than ~290,000 is it ???

[BSJ]

I don't think logic has ever come into it. If I see it and it makes my pacemaker run a little faster.....I buy it!

[wantan]

I don't know. Cannot say. Have no clue. Its all about money/taxes here in Thailand if you are not rich

So what are my criterias: Easy solid bikes for a good price. So i bought a CBR150. Its not my dream bike for sure. But choices are still very limited in Thailand these days. There isn't much that interests me up to 300k Baht. So i keep on waiting what the future brings. Most important criteria: It rolls in the direction i want to go. Also important: It doesn't look like a toy for men in midlife crises. And it should be possible to service it by myself. Still hoping Royal Enfield will get available...

[thaicbr]

Back in England I'd buy anything that looked sexy and went like sh*t off a stick. Here we are very limited with our choices and I settled for an ER6N which, although competent, doesn't light any fires for me. My wife says pay the tax and buy what you want, but the parsimonious side of me says wait and see what gets made here in the near future. I'm not a Monster fan and the imminent Z800 is a little on the heavy side for me. Now the Kawa 636 at a reasonable price would float my boat

Just curious - how could somebody not be a Monster fan?

We'll personally I'm not a big Ducati fan. And the 795 is tiny....probably would not fit.....and as for that ridiculous redline.....:D:D:D:D

Sorry I couldn't resist

Sent from my GT-P1010 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[yankee99]

In the not needed big bike catagorey. I looked for the bike i am going to get the most miles out of. Comfort and enjoyable to ride. I can sit on my bike for hours without having to stretch my legs or worry about my arms aching. Then speed, reliability and cost of up keep.

[ClareQuilty]

Less than 6,000 baht.

[RubberSideDown]

It has to be a bike to which I have a visceral response- it needs to be something both within and above my capabilities depending on how it's ridden (so I can improve my riding skills), and it has to make me want to get on it and ride without a destination in mind (basically riding it just to ride it, for the joy and thrill of it). Unfortunately in Thailand that also means it's going to be expensive, but that's one of the prices we riders have to pay to live here (at least resale value stays reasonably high if you can keep the hard parts off the tarmac).

I don't particularly care how it looks (as long as it suits me ergonomically), and the manufacturer itself means nothing provided they have a reasonable reputation for quality.

[eezergood]

NOW its price! Before it was form over function every time the good old days

[JonnyF]

For me it depends what it's for. I've got a couple of locally made workhorses for the daily jobs, but I consider them to be an essential part of living here so I only care that they are reliable and easy to maintain.

If we get those type of bikes out of the way, I think this thread was aimed at the type of bikes you buy for pleasure. For me, it has to be a bike that is fun to ride and makes me smile. That means it performs well, looks good, sounds great. Obviously it needs to be reliable as it's no fun breaking down half way though a trip. And it has to represent value for money. I don't mind spending money but I hate wasting money and buying a bike when I know half the sticker price goes towards some ministers Benz would really stick in my throat. I may do it eventually, but I haven't reached that point yet (even though I can feel my resolve weakening). I don't really care about convenience for these 'fun' bikes, if it ever had to sit in a garage waiting for a part for a couple of weeks then I would accept that as it's essentially a toy, not a daily means of transport.

There are some bargains out there that meet these criteria, but they're few and far between.

[VocalNeal]

Ideally.

Handling,

engineering,

style,

comfort,

equipment,

uniqueness,

heritage/company,

range

Reality.

Is it here?

Ideally Bimota DB9 Brivido

Reality Versys

Quirky Monster 400 (For BKK)

[Rickster]

Ideally.

Handling,

engineering,

style,

comfort,

equipment,

uniqueness,

heritage/company,

range

Reality.

Is it here?

Ideally Bimota DB9 Brivido

Reality Versys

Quirky Monster 400 (For BKK)

I'd have added the 2013 MV agusta F4-RR if you hadn't had 'comfort' in your crieria!!!

But in reality, according to your criteria, i'd opt for the 2013 BMW K1300R Dynamic Edition!!

Edited April 2, 2013 by Rickster

[VocalNeal]

I'd have added the 2013 MV agusta F4-RR if you hadn't had 'comfort' in your crieria!!!

But in reality, according to your criteria, i'd opt for the 2013 BMW K1300R Dynamic Edition!!

I was going to add the HP2 to my list but I'm getting a bit "mature" for the stretched out riding position and need something a bit more "sit-up-and-beg"

Sport bikes are nice but in traffic below say 100 and definitely in the city I find I have too much weight on my arms.

[JonnyF]

I'd have added the 2013 MV agusta F4-RR if you hadn't had 'comfort' in your crieria!!!

But in reality, according to your criteria, i'd opt for the 2013 BMW K1300R Dynamic Edition!!

I was going to add the HP2 to my list but I'm getting a bit "mature" for the stretched out riding position and need something a bit more "sit-up-and-beg"

Sport bikes are nice but in traffic below say 100 and definitely in the city I find I have too much weight on my arms.

Helibars (or equivalent) help a lot with this.

I changed the clip-ons for aftermarket bars that are an inch higher and a fraction closer to the rider. Makes a huge difference to comfort. I'm considering height adjustable rearsets next but I can't decide if that's a 'step too far'...

It's relatively inexpensive to make a supersport bike much more comfortable if that's what you want. And you get to keep the performance and handling.

[wjmark]

Looks like it's been made from a Meccano set. There are much better performing and better looking bikes in the Ducati lineup.

We'll personally I'm not a big Ducati fan. And the 795 is tiny....probably would not fit.....and as for that ridiculous redline.....:D:D:D

Sorry I couldn't resist

Being a novice on big bikes, I certainly don't want 100hp or more. And being short as I am, the lower seat height of that Ducati (esp the 696) is particularly appealing.

Are there any other medium sized bike that is particularly suitable for us smaller folk? I want more power than a CBR500 but a lower seat height (and maybe less power) than a CBR600.

A few years ago I sat on a Monster 696 and fell in love. It felt like my old CBR150, but with 60 more HP (never rode it - just sat on it).

I would love a more reliable, less exotic bike than a Ducati...

But what????

[loserlazer]

cb500x for you vjmark so you can do it all and throw some knobbies and go to the jungle trail:)

[VocalNeal]

I changed the clip-ons for aftermarket bars that are an inch higher and a fraction closer to the rider. Makes a huge difference to comfort. I'm considering height adjustable rearsets next but I can't decide if that's a 'step too far'...

It's relatively inexpensive to make a supersport bike much more comfortable if that's what you want. And you get to keep the performance and handling.

I agree but if buying a brand new bike one might as well chose the correct bike in the first place. Then again I suppose the thread doesn't say "new"!

I'll have to sit on my bike and see how much difference 1 3/4" makes.

[JonnyF]

I changed the clip-ons for aftermarket bars that are an inch higher and a fraction closer to the rider. Makes a huge difference to comfort. I'm considering height adjustable rearsets next but I can't decide if that's a 'step too far'...

It's relatively inexpensive to make a supersport bike much more comfortable if that's what you want. And you get to keep the performance and handling.

I agree but if buying a brand new bike one might as well chose the correct bike in the first place. Then again I suppose the thread doesn't say "new"!

I'll have to sit on my bike and see how much difference 1 3/4" makes.

I've got the correct bike, but the bars were a bit too low

I'm not going to switch to a different style bike to fix something that's so easily fixed for a few thousand baht. No bike is going to fit like a glove straight off the showroom floor and it's nice to tailor the ergonomics to your requirements especially when the cost of doing so is so low in comparison to the bike itself.

For example, I had the seat reshaped as well - it sloped forwards too much and pushed me into the tank resulting in my balls getting fried on a hot day I had it leveled out a bit for 300 baht. Much better now.

Re. the bars - I can highly recommend it, it's amazing the difference it makes

[B1ade]

For me its always been horsepower, speed and thrill. Basically, when you fire it up does my heart pound, if it does im good to go... until recently.

I spend a lot of time on Phuket, I bought a new Ducati 848 in july 2010 (pre-evo) and I still have it now, but im riding it less and less, I still take it to samui, malaysia GP and so on, but its not for pottering around phuket, too much traffic, riding position is uncomfortable at low speed and so on. I picked up a d-tracker 250 last week while i wait for the ducati hypermotard announcements/prices and I have to say, its put the smile back on my face when riding locally, hell of a lot of fun, right power and comfort for around here! So now my criteria depends on where im using it..

[eezergood]

Heart pounding just driving around Patong - every lunatic trying to kill us

[B1ade]

Heart pounding just driving around Patong - every lunatic trying to kill us

I left Patong for that very reason, id ride 2500kms from patong to KL and back, up in the highlands and so on, then be most at risk down nanai haha

Edited April 2, 2013 by B1ade