Sport bikes?

[Teslaesque]

Hi All,
I'm hoping that asking questions like this on the MOA forum isn't treasonous, but i'm feeling an itch for a sport bike. I love my K-bikes, and as long as I have safe space for them, they're not getting sold. Still, I think it'd be fun to get a small displacement sport bike and see what all the craze is about. I'm thinking I'll find something 600cc, and hoping that's not too much to handle when compared to my K100.

My real question is, can these things be USED? Aside from the obvious issues of rider comfort, are there any sport bikes that can be taken on a 2000 mile trip at the drop of a hat, like a BMW can? I want a sport bike, and I want to clock MILES. Is this an unrealistic desire?

Any advice or recommendations would be appreciated.
Thank you.

[BeemerMike]

A "sport bike" than you can ride 2,000 miles? Maybe you can explain what you mean by "sport bike".

[Teslaesque]

I realize how ludicrous the idea is. I'd like a bike that I can clock miles on without worrying that after a long ride, i just used up 3% of the bike's life. For example, could you run your Ninja 500 (a bike i've been looking at for a long time) on a 500 mile day without worrying about reliability?

[JavaD]

I found the F800S to be a great compromise with a little suspension tweaking.
An older SV650 could also be considered, same thing upgrade the suspension and invest in tires/wheels and track gear.
Any '90's JAP bike is also good, again.
MX is profound and the money to enter is cheap going this route, otherwise spend whatever makes you happy.
If you're looking for the most smiles per dollar, the Aprillia RS125 with a multi-day membership to a trackclub after a Total Control course.

[jdmetzger]

Nick Sanders rode a Yamaha R1 around the world, so I would say you can clock up plenty of miles on a sport bike, if you wish. Comfort may be an issue with the seating position but everyone is different, and you can always tweak things to make it more comfortable.

[BeemerMike]

I realize how ludicrous the idea is. I'd like a bike that I can clock miles on without worrying that after a long ride, i just used up 3% of the bike's life. For example, could you run your Ninja 500 (a bike i've been looking at for a long time) on a 500 mile day without worrying about reliability?

It's not a ludicrous idea . . . I just wanted to see what you meant by "sport bike". I can easily ride my Ducati 900SS on a 500-mile day (it may have 904cc, but it is practically the same as a 600cc sport bike). As for the Ninja 500, I'll soon find out. As soon as I can catch a weekend with reasonable weather, I plan to ride it 800 miles from Missouri down to Houston in a couple of days. Should be no problem. Water cooled. Won't be strained or anything. It has plenty of power.

I think any of the current 600cc "sporty" bikes should be fine. You just may want to pick one with less than racebike ergonomics so you can ride it for distance.

[Teslaesque]

Thanks! The only other thing I was wondering then, is what is the lifespan of these bikes? I've never seen a ducati with more than 35,000 miles on it. Same thing for most sportbikes. As I understand it, the strict tolerances necessary to build an engine that revs WAY up result in a short lifespan.

[BeemerMike]

Thanks! The only other thing I was wondering then, is what is the lifespan of these bikes? I've never seen a ducati with more than 35,000 miles on it. Same thing for most sportbikes. As I understand it, the strict tolerances necessary to build an engine that revs WAY up result in a short lifespan.


I think the reason that you don't see Ducatis and sport bikes with > 35,000 miles is that people just don't ride them on enough long trips to run the miles up, and not that they "blow up" before 35,000 miles.

[Mika]

Right tool for the job. Most Ducatis end up being lower mileage bikes because their sport bikes are narrow focused event type bikes. You will find Ducati ST and Multistradas with high mileage.

The lifespan of the this class depends on care and abuse it receives in use much more than design or manufacturing issues.

[john1691]

A lot depends on you. How tall/heavy are you? Will you be comfortable for that long on a shorter wheelbase, tighter seating position bike? Will you take the time or remember to lube the chain? If you dont thrash it like the typical 19-20 y.o. sport bike squid, there is no reason they won't last. A friend of mine rides Honda CBRs, has 4 of them, 3-600's and the 1100XX, which he rode from PA to LA and back along with me on my K1200RS. He easily does 600-700 miles a day on the 600's, the oldest of which has over 40k on it, and runs great, but with 4 bikes and not a commuter, he has limited riding on any one bike. Good luck and enjoy whatever you ride!

[Teslaesque]

point taken. i'm 24 and feel like i should be riding a sport bike. i do, however, ride VERY conservatively. nubs are still on the edges of the tires when new ones get put on. i guess I should be looking for a sport bike I can afford to own forever...since noone is going to way to buy a sport bike with oodles of miles. Ducatis are out of my price range. I'm thinking about Honda VFRs. I really like the old ones...but am going to make sure that parts are readily available before I snag one.

[adamceckhardt]

A friend of mine has a Ducati ST4s. It's not a full blown sport bike, but it scratches his itch. IIRC its got at least 140 hp. He takes it in a few long trips each year and talks about how comfortable it is (he sold his K1200GT after taking the ducati) He also takes shorter afternoon jaunts through the canyons and often returns home with a performance award.

[pffog]

MY sport bike IS a BMW, and I do track days with the saddle bag brackets still in place.

Here is a vid of how to change a track bike to a touring bike

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BY7ArrqhOWE&eurl=http://www.sportriders.org/forums/showthread.php?t=10965&highlight=steep&page=2

[108625]

Nick Sanders rode a Yamaha R1 around the world, so I would say you can clock up plenty of miles on a sport bike, if you wish. Comfort may be an issue with the seating position but everyone is different, and you can always tweak things to make it more comfortable.

Nick's at it again, for the fifth time, on another R1. This time he's trying to take the longest route possible in the least time. Bike magazine is following his story.

Regarding sportbikes:
I used to ride a '98 Honda CBR600F3. It was a very comfortable bike I could ride all day. The seat was way better than the violator provided on my BMW. The only drawback to touring is you'd have to use some sort of strap-on fabric saddlebags, which is really more of a security issue than anything else.
It was absolutely the most reliable bike I ever owned and I've always regretted selling it (partly because the guy I sold it to wrecked it two months later).
I was actually looking to replace it with a VFR800 but I think the switch to "VTEC" screwed up the nice power curve of the old V-four, and I wound up buying my R1200ST (heavily discounted) instead.
The newer CBR600RR has a bit more aggresive ergonomics than the old ones, so if you don't like it you might want to try a used older model.

My wife has a new F800ST, I rode it and it does feel a bit like the Honda used to, but it doesn't rev-up and deliver nearly as quickly.

I'd have no problem hopping on the right sportbike and riding it any distance, and to be honest, most of them have far less intensive maintenance schedules than the average Beemer (like 20,000 mile valve adjustment intervals).
High-revving engines being short lived is a myth, too.

[john1691]

Come to think about it, my insurance company must think of my K1200S as a sport bike, my annual coverage was about triple the K1200RS. At 42 I think of myself as a sport rider, but the reality is I sport tour. I get right over to the lip of my 190 rear tires, but don't scrape pegs or drag a knee.

For sport touring, the VFR would be a good choice, plenty of power, fairly light weight, very reliable V-4. There are a bunch of aftermarket bolt ons as well, like after market hard bags, a variety of shields, etc. A '95-'00 would be very affordable as a 750, don't remember when they went to the 800. Many are single sided swing arm, 2002 or 2003 they went to the undertail exaust which looks pretty sweet.

You could always wait for the S675RR from BMW...........

[BuddingGeezer]

Engine reliability is not determined by rpm as much as by piston speed. A Honda CB600 @ 12,000 rpm has a piston speed of 3400 feet per minute. A Harley Dyna Glide has a piston speed @ 5000rpm of 3583 feet per minute.

A longer stroke engine has to move the piston faster in a revolution because it has to move farther. Usually the larger bore/longer stroke engines have heavier pistons, which causes more stress when that heavier piston traveling faster is jerked to a stop at the end of it's stroke.

Ralph Sims

[Teslaesque]

Well, I'm not going to wait for BMW's S bikes because even if I do, I can't afford them. The more I read about the late '90s VFRs, the more I like them. A CBR600RR, cool as they look, just seems a bit too useless for what i'd want it to do. In a perfect world, a Ducati would be the ticket, but fancy bikes get tipped in my neighborhood...

[lamble]

CBR 600s are the only real choice here, with your mileage specs and desire for sports bike performance. Voted in the UK as the best all-round sports bike for many years, across it's many incarnations.
Top seller, top performer on road and track, and you don't need the latest version to get a cracking good bike.

My fav sports bike..RSV Mille Factory, although the new 4 cylinder Mille could just blow my old V twin into the weeds. I'd not want to do big miles in one hit on it though.