Honda CBR 650F or Kawasaki Z 800 ?

[ALFREDO]

New Honda CBR 650F or new Kawasaki Z 800 ?

Or a good priced second hand Kawasaki Z 800 ? Or?

But in a price range, not higher than the Thai produced Ducati Monster = 400.000.- +.

That is the question.

(I not care the ABS or not ABS, I drive since 37 years and until now never a bike with ABS.

also, 2-3 of my accidents would a proper working ABS have prevented )

Edited May 11, 2015 by ALFREDO

[wowjudo]

there are plenty of used z800 with mods worth 50k+ and only 3k-6k ODO that goes for around 310k baht

cbr650f is harder to find but there are still few on the used market that go for 260k

or you get a brand new one

both bikes are good. z800 is naked tho and u will struggle after 160km/h with the wind. but the z800 is more powerfull (especially in the low-end range) than the cbr650f and has a smoother engine

the cbr650f is very comfortable and is also very smooth.

i used to own a z800 but sold it because i do not like strong turbulence at higher speeds + its abit heavy when you have to navigate through traffic jams

you can search for used bike shops like "maxsingburi" "101-bike" "tee thunderbike" "beez big bike" "kris bigbike"

they all have a big selection

good luck

[Crowleys]

facebook page www.bigbikemarket.com have lot of second hand bikes for sale

[English_M_in_Bkk]

Personally I prefer the Z800, and it will be my next bike. Yeah, it is heavier, but more HP and the engine is sweet.

Also, the Z looks better and has a really nice aggressive look, the new Hondas look bland.

[Rhys]

NEW is better, it is your history on the bike.

[BKKBike09]

There's also Yamaha MT07 as a CBR alternative. THB 299,000.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/801828-yamaha-mt-07-coming-in-2015/

[piston broke]

these bikes are way to big / powerful for the apauling roads crammed with idiots....

you'd be well advised going for something half the size....

[eisfeld]

these bikes are way to big / powerful for the apauling roads crammed with idiots....

you'd be well advised going for something half the size....

There are of course roads which are pretty decent and not crammed with idiots. And even in very populated areas with less than ideal roads people who got a bit of skill and experience can more than easily handle the two bikes in question.

Don't extrapolate from yourself onto others.

[Happy Grumpy]

Rent them each for a weekend.

The CBR650 is the least smooth inline 4 in existence.

[macknife]

these bikes are way to big / powerful for the apauling roads crammed with idiots....

you'd be well advised going for something half the size....

Mug. You clearly have no idea about Thailand.

[Lucky33]

I don't know about the Kawasaki but I have had a CB650F for about a week now and I'm very pleased with my purchase. Good out on the highway at speed but tame enough to ride around town with no trouble. As the former owner of a Monster, that's another ball game, a lot more exciting out on the road but not good for around town.

[eeeya]

I don't know about the Kawasaki but I have had a CB650F for about a week now and I'm very pleased with my purchase. Good out on the highway at speed but tame enough to ride around town with no trouble. As the former owner of a Monster, that's another ball game, a lot more exciting out on the road but not good for around town.

What monster did you have?. Care to go a little bit more in depth with your comparison? Is the 650 better for busy city work?

Thanks

[hansgruber]

I don't know about the Kawasaki but I have had a CB650F for about a week now and I'm very pleased with my purchase. Good out on the highway at speed but tame enough to ride around town with no trouble. As the former owner of a Monster, that's another ball game, a lot more exciting out on the road but not good for around town.

I've had the cb in my stable for a few months and it's by far the easiest and most for day to day use on Phuket in the stop/start. Panigale and 9t sat idle once I bought one. It's just a great bike for the traffic.

[Lucky33]

I don't know about the Kawasaki but I have had a CB650F for about a week now and I'm very pleased with my purchase. Good out on the highway at speed but tame enough to ride around town with no trouble. As the former owner of a Monster, that's another ball game, a lot more exciting out on the road but not good for around town.

What monster did you have?. Care to go a little bit more in depth with your comparison? Is the 650 better for busy city work?

Thanks

I bought the Monster 795 about three years ago right after Ducati opened their dealerships in Thailand. I had the Monster for a year and then I traded up for a Diavel which I still have. Both are a lot of fun out on the road at speed but neither one is very well suited for stop and go city traffic IMO.

The CB650F is a jack-of-all-trades motorcycle. Yes it would be much better suited for busy city driving, in fact I would go so far as to say there is no comparison. The Honda is perfectly happy puttering around town at crawling city traffic speeds while the Ducati would be getting very hot and not near as easy to putter around on. Also the Honda is much more comfortable to ride. For all around fun riding I would recommend the Honda but if you plan on spending most of your time out on the highway at cruising speed then the Ducati would be my preference.

[ALFREDO]

these bikes are way to big / powerful for the apauling roads crammed with idiots....

you'd be well advised going for something half the size....

I drove long time half the size in Thailand, a Honda CBR 400 RR Built 92/93, I drove that bike from 2000-01.2014, had a nasty accident, more or less without my fault.

You are right, that bikes strength is enough for Thai roads, if you not drive long distances.

The sound was also fun, without gaining to much speed in a short time.

Also, I gained weight a lot and 650 - 800 ccm motorbike is fitting well with my volume.

My experience in driving, helps not always but often.

Edited May 13, 2015 by ALFREDO

[WingNut]

Sorry guys, buy frankly I don't see any of this as a real legitimate comparison. You are generally comparing the CBR650F, a 650cc bike that costs 300,000 Baht, against two other bikes (the Z800 and the Monster) that both cost roughly 1/3 more than the CBR and have 20-30% larger engines. To make a fair comparison I think one needs to compare the CBR650F against other bikes of the same price and size class. There really is only one comparison that makes sense in Thailand for the moment and that is the Kawasaki ERN. Otherwise you can compare the Z800 against the Monster if you would like to make a comparison involving those bikes.

If it were me though, I wouldn't make a half way jump from a CBR650F to an 800-900CC bike which is only going to have marginally more horsepower. I would make the jump right up to a liter bike. Then you would really feel a difference. I realize now that is also a much bigger price jump going from around 300K to 600-700K, but I am not really in favor of bikes that are somewhere between a mid sized bike and a full sized liter bike.

Maybe eventually Yamaha or Suzuki will start making 600-650CC bikes in Thailand, but so far I don't think that is on the table.

Perhaps the one other bike you want to add to your comparison is the Benelli 600CC bike. I think prices are roughly as follows:

Benelli BN600-J...............................289,000 THB
Benelii BN600-I................................295,000 THB
Benelli BN600-GT............................344,000 THB

[BKKBike09]

^ It's a legitimate comparison, at least in terms of OP's question which appears to be "I don't want to spend more than about THB 400,000 and am thinking of either CBR 650F or Z800". A lot of decisions are ultimately driven by price. I'd REALLY like a Hypermotard SP but I'm not willing to pay over a million baht for one. On basis therefore of what is available for less than 400K, Z800 is a logical contender along with CBR 650F (although if it were me I'd take CB 650F over the CBR).

Depends also what sort of riding the OP wants to do. Below THB400,000 there are now a lot of choices, covering lots of different riding requirements. I also like the Suzy V-Strom 650 (350,000 I think) but I'm not so sure how well-suited it would be for BKK traffic.

[WingNut]

Yes, from a purely cost driven perspective I agree. The choices aren't that wide at under 400K.

[eeeya]

scrambler ducati for bkk traffic.. under 400k (starting). Ive only sat on one and its tiny!

[eisfeld]

I would not recommend the Scrambler for BKK traffic because of the heat. BKK is too much stop and go.

But the OP didn't say he'd drive in BKK so I would suggest he consider this bike too.

Here an updated list in no particular order:

- MT-07

- CB®650F

- Z800

- Benelli 600

- Ducati Scrambler

If stretching the budget a bit you can also consider the MT-09 at 435k.

[eeeya]

Regarding the heat.. one tuner in BKK is wrapping exhausts. I guess more for looks, but I wonder how much it would reduce the heat.

[eisfeld]

Yea that heatwrap is just for looks. I doesn't help at all. The heat from the exhaust does not hurt me but the engine itself. Also on the left side where no exhaust is.

Note that the exhaust pipe already has a heat shield where you could get close to it.

The only thing helping might be a heat shield next to the cylinder but that would probably look pretty ugly.

[Lucky33]

Ducatis are great bikes but they do get hot in city traffic.

[andrewrooney]

I personally really like the CB650F, if I ever get some money that might be my next bike . Seems like a really good all-round bike that is compact and light enough for city riding but has good power for longer trips also. I also like the look of it, too.

Of course, the Z800 is a fair deal more powerful, and some people prefer Kawasaki styling. If you're not going to be riding it in the city, the extra weight might not bother you. Maybe try to test-ride both?

[ALFREDO]

Personally I prefer the Z800, and it will be my next bike. Yeah, it is heavier, but more HP and the engine is sweet.

Also, the Z looks better and has a really nice aggressive look, the new Hondas look bland.

I would not recommend the Scrambler for BKK traffic because of the heat. BKK is too much stop and go.

But the OP didn't say he'd drive in BKK so I would suggest he consider this bike too.

Here an updated list in no particular order:

- MT-07

- CB®650F

- Z800

- Benelli 600

- Ducati Scrambler

If stretching the budget a bit you can also consider the MT-09 at 435k.

I personally really like the CB650F, if I ever get some money that might be my next bike . Seems like a really good all-round bike that is compact and light enough for city riding but has good power for longer trips also. I also like the look of it, too.

Of course, the Z800 is a fair deal more powerful, and some people prefer Kawasaki styling. If you're not going to be riding it in the city, the extra weight might not bother you. Maybe try to test-ride both?

Yes, from a purely cost driven perspective I agree. The choices aren't that wide at under 400K.

So, I try it in a step higher again, (under 500.000 B.) my a bit different question.

Please read here.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/826754-ducati-monster-821-yamaha-mt-09-kawasaki-z-800-which-one/

[Oil Baron]

That's a cool looking bike! She looks a little bit like a Triumph scrambler I had years ago.