Considering Commute on Royal Enfield, Mad?

[mrdelmonti]

Cheers guys, got a long list of potential bikes that I'm starting to shorten. Top at the minute is the NC700X but I think I'll need to try and get a nice long test ride to see how I get on with it.

[badsanta]

Cheers, the problem with the ZZR is it's currently on 66k miles and certain parts are getting difficult to pick up/difficult to pick up at a reasonable price, I could also do with with a bit more fuel economy (yes i know, it'll take a lot of miles with better mpg to offset the cost of another bike, but it's a good excuse, plus with any luck consumables on whatever the commuter is will be a lot cheaper)


Herman just been looking at older CBs, don't suppose you know much about them do you?

94 cb500 197,000 miles no probs. Engine never touched apart from service occassionally

[cozmo1589]

I have got one of these, it's got a 535cc efi motor, decent suspension, Bembo brakes and will nudge 100mph on a good day but like has been said before, they are too nice for a daily commuter although capable of it and mine is purely a sunny day toy and so personally I'd consider something else.

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1388031388.922219.jpg (70.36 KiB) Viewed 1517 times

[Brads]

I soooo want a Royal Enfield,,

If anyone fancies a trade on maybe one of my scooters,, Lambretta or Vespa ! lol

I really want the new Army Green 500 Bullet,, oof, lovely bike.

The Café Racer looks lovey as well.

[mr_diver]

The list of bikes i'd consider:

Honda cb500 (old part fairing model not the new ones- like throwing money down the drain)
Honda Deauville- will run easily into high millage's- and i mean 200,000+ with a little care.
Honda Transalp- same as Deauville but without the inbuilt panniers.
Suzuki V-strom- I've got one with 50k on it and it's used year round and bomb proof.
Suzuki GS500- not stylish or fast but a good plodder.

You'd be doing 110 miles in all weathers. and 110 miles wet and cold on an un-faired bike cruising as 55mph will take a toll on you firstly but a bike like an Enfield being not far behind you.
Not in a million years would i consider a bike for my commuting duties that doesn't have:

Reliability - Something the Enfield's don't have when you rack up the miles.
A fairing - to keep the rain and wind off.
Comfort - Buy something meant to be taken distance's- something with known touring capability, yes some idiot took an R1 around the world but he likely wasn't comfy.
Fuel Economy- ok some bikes now are getting 80mpg (New Honda CB500 range) but the Enfield does it by not revving, typically not being ridden hard and not having any go in them. Get stuck behind a truck on an Enfield and your staying there...
Performance - not talking the best lap time, just some get up and go to complete overtakes with little effort.
Luggage - ok pretty much any bike can be fitted with luggage these days, but look at waterproof-ness and durability. Your traveling a distance and you don't want to get to work and find you uniform and lunch swimming in the top box.
Alloy wheels- oh hell as many parts as possible made of Alloy. Steel rusts, Alloy corrodes but more slowly. Spoked wheels are a pain in the arse for a commuter- they rust or you replace the spokes with fragile and quickly broken S/Steel.

Just my 2p worth.

[mrdelmonti]

Well someone has dragged up an old thread! Since I last posted here I've moved to Swindon bought an NC700x then the work dried up so the NC700x was sold.

Now looking for work a little closer to home.