Thinking of buying a commuter.

[ducmeister]

Yes, I'm thinking about buying something to rip up and down the freeway to work on so that I don't have to keep putting fuel in the 4WD.  Sorry Big but I just can't bring myself to put all those kms on the Monster for no fun factor (it really is a boring run) so I'm looking at something like a GS 500F that's cheap to buy and run.  I can get one brand new for $8k on road and from what I hear they are pretty bulletproof.

Thoughts appreciated...

[dragonworld.]

Maybe this will do?? A commuter and a Ducati, what more would you want?? [moto]

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Ducati-Single-90cc-Motorbike-1968-NOS-Parts_W0QQitemZ160256390113QQihZ006QQcategoryZ102691QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[ducmeister]

Maybe this will do?? A commuter and a Ducati, what more would you want?? [moto]

Hmmm... I'm not sure how it would go down the ring road alongside a row of B doubles.
On the other hand, a project could be a bit of fun .....

[dragonworld.]

Heh, heh, heh. Gotcha???

[DosVerde]

Just a side thought - hopefully not a threadjack - with the imminent introduction of LAMS into Victoria whats that going to do with the price of bikes. Are 250's going to plummet in value while mid size bikes going to hold their value better?

How has this gone in other states when LAMS was introduced?

[bigiain]

Just a side thought - hopefully not a threadjack - with the imminent introduction of LAMS into Victoria whats that going to do with the price of bikes. Are 250's going to plummet in value while mid size bikes going to hold their value better?

How has this gone in other states when LAMS was introduced?

Didn't happen here in NSW, 18 year old "2007 compliance" Babyblades still go for $8k, prices of sporty edgecase bikes like RVF400s and SZR600s skyrocketed, and the "normal" 250's (GPXs ZZRs Spadas CB250s BabyBandits etc) didn't seem to change much at all. Some of the more "pedestrian" mid sized bikes have become much more common (ER5s, GS500s) and sell brand new for around what the "boy racer" newbies pay for their repainted grey-import CBRRR250RRRRRRRs...

My girl picked up a learner legal 2 year old ER5 with just under 1600km on the odo in pretty much mint condition for $4k a couple of years back.

big

[bigiain]

Yes, I'm thinking about buying something to rip up and down the freeway to work on so that I don't have to keep putting fuel in the 4WD. 

A friend on mine bought a Sachs MadAss 125 last weekend - he worked out if he rider it to work on average 4 times a week instead of driving his not-very-tweaked Nissan Silvia, it'll pay itself off in just under 18 months just based on petrol and insurance. 2.7L/100km on the bike compared with 12-15L/100km in the car, coupled with a medium length commute and $1.70/L (the Silvia _has_ to run ultrapremium) makes the numbers pretty easy to justify $3.5k on the bike and it's $90/year rego...

You probably won't be happy on a freeway with something as sensible/slow as the MadAss (it's still running in, but he says it's pretty much topped out at 90kmh), but on the other hand if you're replacing a 4wd, the 4.5L/100km that my Spada gets is likely to be a similar magnitude of saving, and you can pick up Spadas for ~$3k these days and they'll _easily_ cope with freeways... My girls ER5 is almost the same bike as the GS500 (just with Kawasaki stickers instead of Suzuki ones ) it gets ~5L/100km when I'm riding it, a little less (like 4.7 or so) when she's babying it along...

Add the numbers up, if you drive more than 20km or so each way, and are currently doing it in even a nice modern and efficient 4WD, Ill be amazed if you don't find a "sensible commuter" bike will pay for itself very easily. It's when thoughts of "sensible commuter" end up heading towards "maybe I'll get a sensible 600cc bike like a GSXR600 instead of an R1 or Fireblade!" and end up with the $1500/year tire bill and $2000/year for full comp insurance that it all stops making sense...

big

[Dockstrada]

You cant beat china for cheep been told it has a Suzuki donk so it couldn’t be to bad

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/HYOSUNG-gt650r_W0QQitemZ140243889020QQihZ004QQcategoryZ32625QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[ducsport]

Or you could keep it in the family :

http://www.frasermotorcycles.com.au/Ver05/fm_used_details.php?id=2206

I'm sure you could bargain this one down to the same as a new GS500?

[ducmeister]

You cant beat china for cheep been told it has a Suzuki donk so it couldn’t be to bad

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/HYOSUNG-gt650r_W0QQitemZ140243889020QQihZ004QQcategoryZ32625QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Sorry Dock, Korean aren't they, and not really my cup of tea.

Or you could keep it in the family :

http://www.frasermotorcycles.com.au/Ver05/fm_used_details.php?id=2206

I'm sure you could bargain this one down to the same as a new GS500?

Now that's more like it.
What sort of mileage do those things get?

[dragonworld.]

The Hyosungs are "sorta" like the SV 6fiddys but aint. A mate who races in the Twins class on a SV650 and some people from the SV club got together with and had a side by side engine tear down with a blown SV650 motor and a Hyosung 650. 
Similar but not the same.
Although not finished to the same extent of the Suzuki motor (eg polished combustion chambers, rough casting surfaces) its still an effective motor for its design use. (Korean cars compared to the Japanese??)
If you reckon Korean cars are crappy, go and have a look at the new i30, very nice, and top value!!

As a bare bones everyday, cheap commuter bike, I'd probably consider one of them. They were pretty sad when they first arrived in Oz with total electrical loom/system failures and a number of engines going bang as well but they have come a long way and seem to be a reliable bike now. Albiet at lower spec (brakes, suspension etc) than the opposition. [moto]

Worth a look.

[Dockstrada]

Sorry Dock, Korean aren't they, and not really my cup of tea.

Now that's more like it.
What sort of mileage do those things get?

Korean manufacturing in China

sore one at eastern creek weeks ago he was doing good [moto]

[ducsport]

What sort of mileage do those things get?

ducmeister, it has the same 620 motor as the monster and my 620 sport. My experience is about 4.5L/100km taking it easy, or 6.5L/100km when out  [moto] with other DMF members ducsport

Like I said, keep it in the family, and out of Korea, Japan, China, Outer Mongolia or wherever else

[ducmeister]

ducmeister, it has the same 620 motor as the monster and my 620 sport. My experience is about 4.5L/100km taking it easy, or 6.5L/100km when out  [moto] with other DMF members ducsport

Hmm .... the plot thickens (or gets more expensive).