I love my bike but...

[tilt]

My new comute is over a hundred miles total a day 6 days a week and I dont know or have the funds to keeping doing valve jobs and I dont wanna put that many miles on my bike.  Im thinking of picking up a jap bike like a 600 or so, does anyone know about their maintanence cost or is their another bike that would be more suitable, and looks do matter and im not ready to make the jump to a touring bike so please only sport bikes.

[thought]

check out a sv650... you can find them dirt cheap, they last forever, parts are also cheap... and they can be easily upgraded to track toy with a few suspension upgrades.  and all you really need to do is to make sure you change the oil on a reg basis.  and on top of that, insurance rates for it are a joke... some of the lowest you'll find.

the other great thing about them is that whatever you think about doing to it... someone else has already thought of it, did the work, and did a write up about it too.

check out www.svrider.com and you'll see what i mean.

[10/10ths]

Budget?

Comfort?

Tires?

Valves?

Chain & Sprockets?

From a pure saving money perspective, a motorcycle will always be more expensive to operate than a small economy car like a Fiesta, Fit, Yaris, etc.

The Ducati will get expensive in a hurry.

But, even a Ninja 600 will eat you up quicker than you might think.

If you can put your ego aside and ride a "practical bike", something like a Ninja 250, Kawasaki Versys, Suzuki V-Strom 650, will be reliable and relatively cheap to run and fun to ride.

What's your budget?

A used first Gen Kawasaki Concours has a full fairing, shaft drive, and long valve intervals.

For  a bike with sport bike looks, long range comfort, and ease of ownership, try a Suzuki Bandit 600, Yamaha FZ6, type of machine.

Good luck.

[10/10ths]

Here's a great, cheap candidate:

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=671908

[Düb Lüv]

My new comute is over a hundred miles total a day 6 days a week and I dont know or have the funds to keeping doing valve jobs and I dont wanna put that many miles on my bike.  Im thinking of picking up a jap bike like a 600 or so, does anyone know about their maintnance cost or is their another bike that would be more suitable, and looks do matter and im not ready to make the jump to a touring bike so please only sport bikes.

EMSDUC.COM

buy his shims and redesigned keepers . his parts are made of tooling steel and half the price as OE ducati ones except the keepers. i just bought 4 openers and 4 closers $77 shipped priority.

he told me he did 2 years of track miles on his 4v was still in valve clearance spec.

i'm a believer. i would buy the keepers myself, but i plan on going with a different engine.

[He Man]

^^ i have a few thousand miles + 3 TDs on my keepers i havent checked them yet, but im sure they are within spec. if you look at the design and how they keep the valves then it  makes sense. bike still runs tip top. but after riding a 1098, it feels seriously underpowered. 


no doubt, I saw the new yamaha FZ8. that is defintely my next bike.

[NFJ79]

Look for around for a used Kawasaki Ninja EX500R.

[corey]

i say go oldschool.
cb750!

[rideserotta]

no doubt, I saw the new yamaha FZ8. that is defintely my next bike.

I just saw a new FZ8 at the local dealer. I'm not a fan of Japanese bikes but WOW. That one is really nice. I could see myself on it. Definitely.

[orangelion03]

Though not exactly for the same reasons, I recently purchased a Bandit 1200.  Valve adjustments are DIY simple.  Same for the 600, and they can be found cheap (and cheaper to insure).

Regards the FZ8...I thought I wanted a Ninja 1000 until I saw this beauty. 

[mors vito]

My previous bike was a 2008 Ninja 250, and they are very cost effective, lots of mods out there, cheap price/insurance, little maintenance, ~60-55 mpg, stylish, and they hit ~110 mph, but they are small.

[fastwin]

check out a sv650... you can find them dirt cheap, they last forever, parts are also cheap... and they can be easily upgraded to track toy with a few suspension upgrades.  and all you really need to do is to make sure you change the oil on a reg basis.  and on top of that, insurance rates for it are a joke... some of the lowest you'll find.

the other great thing about them is that whatever you think about doing to it... someone else has already thought of it, did the work, and did a write up about it too.

check out www.svrider.com and you'll see what i mean.

I second this post. I'm riding my Jap sbks right now because I can't afford the services on my Monster and 999. Hopefully I'll find the money soon. I miss riding them. But you can't beat the cost per mile of a solid Jap scooter. [moto]

[seevtsaab]

A couple thousand dollars will by an awful lot of shims, people!

I understand your logic, but, what's the reason for not putting miles on the Duc?

I figure the more you ride it, the cheaper it gets.

Doing your own maintenance is a must.

[akmnstr]

A couple thousand dollars will by an awful lot of shims, people!

I understand your logic, but, what's the reason for not putting miles on the Duc?

I figure the more you ride it, the cheaper it gets.

Doing your own maintenance is a must.

That's a good point.  Valve adjustments on a 2 valve monster are rather easy.  Still it will take you about 3 hours give or take a few to do every 5 to 6K miles.  A couple hundred into a valve kit and you are set there.  If you can handle the valve work yourself there isn't much reason to go to a Jap sport bike.  However I do think you could save much more by going to something that has shaft or belt drive, cheap tires, gets 50 mpg, and screw and lock nut type valve adjustments. 

[CETME]

You don't really need to adjust the valves every 6k, once everything is settled in, they don't really move much anymore. Just ride the Ducati and enjoy it.  It'll be tons cheaper to have ONE bike that you take good care of.