r/SuggestAMotorcycle

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I'm back (previously asked about private sale CB300R). I have compiled a list of potential bikes. Assume that I like the feel of each of these but have minimal experience with them. Which would you say is the best deal, or are there any bad deals here?

Top bikes would have additional dealership fees (dealer said I could get out the door with the red speed 400 under $4500.

This would theoretically be my first bike purchase. Super excited, but taking my time to make up my mind.

Hello,
I need help tryin to decide between mt 09 and tracer 9 base model.
I ride my mt 07 since 2018 mostly alone, now since 2 years ago i do some trips (600km 800km) mostly just weekends with my wife, we do country or secundary roads soo average speed its low and with my mt 07 we can handle fine for max 1,5h/2hours of riding straight but the main use of the bike its just small rides, commute and spirit riding
Now with almost 80000km its time to upgrade.
Should i just buy the mt09 instead of tracer 9 and with that money saved buy a comfort seat and some protection? Or buy the tracer 9 and already have a “better” bike in general? The tracer 9 is around 1300€ expensive.

Any feedback on both motorcycles would be appreciated.

i've had a versys650 for several years & have mostly enjoyed it. it was a great starter bike and to this day it serves me well. i'm thinking about replacing it with something bigger and more suited for longer rides, but i haven't ridden any other street bikes & don't know what other options to consider.

the main thing i like about the versys is it feels very nimble and stable to ride. at normal driving speeds and when inching through traffic or a crowded parking lot, i never need to focus on maneuvering the bike or focusing on the throttle. it just goes where i want it go and never feels like it wants to fall over. i'm about 6' tall & when stopped i can get the balls of both feet to the ground, but i have to lean to one side to get to a heel on the ground. that doesn't bother me, but it can be a little annoying when walking the bike. i wouldn't say the bike is too tall, but if it weighed more, it might be too tall.

most of my riding has been under an hour at a time, and mostly through town. the few times i've done extended highway time or country roads, it's been comfortable enough but not something i want to keep doing all day. the wind protection is just passable for extended riding & i think the riding posture is meh, though i don't have much to compare it to. maybe my body would adjust if i rode longer distances more often, and i want to ride longer distances more often, but it's hard for me to get excited about riding this bike on the highway or a country road for more than a couple hours.

i'd also like something a little more zippy. i wouldn't say this bike is underpowered per se. even on the highway, i can twist the throttle and get a quick 5-10 mph speed burst to pass someone. but it isn't getting my heart pumping like when i was new to riding, and the power never comes close to going beyond my riding ability.

i'd love to test ride a new versys1100, but nobody in my area (SE USA) stocks them. i'm also not sure what quality of life features to look for on a new bike for longer rides. my versys650 has a small digital screen for the speedometer and fuel guage. the RPM gauge is not digital. it doesn't have a charging port or cruise control.

TIA for any advice or feedback.

Hey there! Looking at a a new bike. I have multiple years of experience and am currently on 2 sv650s (that I’m fixing up) and a 2026 gsxr750.
I love my gsxr, but after doing a 30mph charity ride, my butt was begging for mercy and my bike was pissed at sitting at fan temp the whole ride.
I wanna get a cruiser to sit next to the other bikes. My top choices are the low rider s, bonneville bobber, abd sport chief rt. Coming from a gsxr750, I want a cruiser that has some nut and will excite me when I ride it (I want it to throw me back).

The Bonny is my favorite aesthetically. I just can’t stop staring at it. But I don’t know if the engine will give me the excitement I crave. Plus, I don’t plan to have bags all the time, but would occasionally like to be able to take it a few hours away with my camera equipment

The low rider I really only like for the engine. The new m8 is a killer engine. However, It doesn’t excite me otherwise and I don’t know if my budget would have me looking for a gen 1 m8 or a gen 2 h.o.

The Indian sport chief rt is awesome! I love the looks, the high quality suspension and brakes, the smaller bags. However, for such a big engine, it seems pretty down on power. I don’t know if I would regret getting it over the low rider considering the massive power difference abd the lack of at least having oil cooling. Plus the gearing is wicked short.

What do you guys think? I want a bike that can easily cruise at 80mph without stressing the engine. I wish the Indian engine had the specs of the low rider, or that the Bonny had the specs of the speed twin rs. They would be a no brainer. Who here has ridden then and can give some insight.

Hi all! I've currently got an sv650s that I will love and own for many years to come, but the thing isn't the most comfortable for longer rides. I'm now looking for something more comfortable for longer rides, and preferably more modern as well.

Thing is, I'm a short dude at 173cm (5'8ish) which means most if not all ADVs are not an option as they are just uncomfortably tall. And frankly I just hate how most of them look.

So now I'm looking for a middleweight sport tourer made after 2016. Creature comforts such as cruise control are welcome but definitely not a must. Would preferably finally own a bike with ABS though.

Currently on a gz250 coming from a vstar 650 and i love it. Its small, got the gas mileage going, and is so light and easy to move. I live in an incredibly hilly area, and am stop and go on some real weird roads with curves and inclines all over. The 650 was way too bulk and i felt like i was controlled by its weight the most, i almost feel like i could bunny hop the 250. But i want to be able to use the freeway, its like a 20% use case. Any ideas yall?

Hey peeps, so my ZX6R motor blew about a month ago, that was a terrible experience so now i’m buying new so I can make sure maintenance is done correctly. I don’t want a litre bike currently so I am stuck on these two, obviously both have their pros and cons. My main riding is just for fun on some back roads, and majority just the highway with my friends. The 660 clearly has amazing tech and is comfy, however maintenance will be more, reliability is nothing compared to Honda, and if anything happens it will be a while till I can ride again due to parts availability. but the 600RR… I mean it’s a I4 and screams, I can put a quickshifter on, and not to mention the reliability. Both models are 2026 brand new and are 13k OTD. I am aware I could find better deals at other places but I have been looking for weeks and honestly I don’t mind the price. Anyone here have either, any experience with them? (In Houston Tx if it helps)

Hey, new poster here! I am a 6'1 new driver about to purchase my first motorcycle. As a kinda broke PhD student, things like reliability, maintenance costs, and gas (especially in the LA area) are high priorities, as well as highway comfort and maneuverability. This is because I drive from Pasadena to Hermosa Beach frequently (mostly heavy traffic on the highway, with some city driving at the end and legal lane splitting). Because of this, it seems like an ADV is a good middle ground that has a windshield, good gas mileage, good comfort for someone taller, and okay maneuverability. Is this a fair conclusion, or are there other styles that may be better? Thanks in advance!

Hey everyone, I have a '26 S1000XR and I want a second bike with a bit not character, style and that'll be more fun/cool to ride to the coffee shop. The SXR is a incredibly perfect machine for traveling fast comfortably on two wheels - it just lacks character. I had a XSR900 Which was again an incredible machine but lacked character. This is what I'm considering adding to the garage:

Triumph Speed Twin 1200RS
Triumph Thruxton RS
Triumph Speed Triple 1200RR
Kawasaki Z900RS Cafe
BMW R12 Nine T (R12S ideally)
Ducati Monster 1200S
Ducati Diavel
MV Agusta Superveloce
Indian FTR Carbon

I live in SoCal, can ride all year long. Not looking for the fastest, just something cool to complement the clinical perfection of the SXR. I would consider the XSR900GP but I suspect it'll be sterile feeling like the regular.

Thanks for any suggestions!

Both bikes felt amazing on the demo ride. KTM is more intense but feels a little stiff, while the triumph felt smoother and more refined but a little less exciting (while still being very exciting nonetheless).

I know I’d be happy with either one, but I’ve gone through bikes way too quickly in the past few years and want to finally settle down long term with a purchase.

95% of my riding is local city streets and twisties. No commute but would like to be able to do 1-3 hour stints on the highway on occasion to go ride in other areas.

Subjectively I prefer the looks of the KTM pretty heavily, but the Triple isn’t bad either.

I currently have a 2018 cb500f.

i live in a major world city with bad traffic, and use it 80% of the time to commute. it’s great and light for zipping in and out of traffic and is super maneuverable.

the rest of the time is day trips out of the city, and ~ 3 big multi day/week tours a year, a mixture of highway, but for the purpose of finding the great twisties wherever I go.

yes it’s small to tour, but it does just fine, I can keep up and overtake n highways, and hold all my gear to camp etc… I’m not a “you need a massive litre bike to even think about touring” kinda guy.

that being said, the slightly older and smaller tiger sport 660 better for my purpose, or will I regret not paying the extra insurance/initial cost for the 800 (price/size/weight my main concerns)

thanks!

(5’11, 190lbs, 32 inseam if I had to guess)

TL;DR: Looking for a modern retro bike for city commuting and the occasional short tour. Something comfortable. Must have ABS. Is a Guzzi V7 reliable enough to take road trips with? Is a 2014 Honda CB1100 too much bike for me?

Now for the long version. Apologies for long-windedness. Some background:

Me: 30 year old woman, 5'11", 160lbs. I live in Queens, NY. I commute in the city, and like to take trips upstate to visit family, go camping/hiking, or hit the twisties. I ride two up a lot.

I've been riding for a year. I've been diligent with my parking lot drills and slow speed practice. I've developed more skill and comfort riding than I honestly expected to have at this point. I am not really a hooligan or a speed demon, I just like to get from point a to point b reliably on two wheels.

My MT-03 is very much at home in New York City. It's light, nimble, and reliable. It was right in my price range when I bought it. NYC is dense even compared to a lot of other cities. I couldn't really imagine having anything with much more power unless I was really trying to get into trouble.

However, it's kinda cramped for me. I didn't have enough experience to notice when I first started, but now it's pretty obvious. If I ride for more than an hour, I get pretty uncomfortable.

In addition, I ride two up with my partner a lot, and the bike can do it, but isn't really designed for it. I get a lot of fork dive, and I'm constantly sliding forward into the gas tank. The MT-03's seat design is kinda notorious for this anyway, and the two-up use case really highlights this issue. I've outfitted the seats with aftermarket pads that attatch on top. It helps, but it doesn't get rid of the problem.

I've also been taking lots of trips out of town this summer, and it's very striking how small and unplanted the MT-03 feels when I'm on a proper interstate as opposed to going 45-55 on the BQE. Riding on the hutch feels like the aisle of man. The MT-03 goes from being perfect for its environment to a puny speck of dust in an avalanche.

Needless to say, I'm starting to think about upgrading. Something that still does well in the city, but can take me (and a passenger) out of the concrete jungle comfortably. Looking to buy used.

I do really like the sci-fi hypernaked style, but I have increasingly felt that a retro-modern bike is more my speed. Call me vain, but I think it's easier to throw a decent outfit together with moto gear that pairs with a more classic looking bike. Also, I'm kinda over the vibe of 180° parallel twin. I'm not as interested in a cafe-style bike as I am a standard roadster. Something about the Triumph and Royal Enfield just doesn't do it for me.

Aesthetically, I adore the Moto Guzzi V7. I love the style, the transverse V-twin, and as a paisana myself, I love the italian swag. But when I imagine getting stuck up in Vermont or someplace with some weird electrical issue and no MG parts or dealers in a 300 mile radius, it sends a chill down my spine. I worry about the cost and availability of parts that might need replacing.

I'm interested in some of the middleweight retro modern japanese bikes, but the XSR700 and CB650r are kinda out of my price range. I'm unsure how comfortable those bikes (plus the z650rs which is more affordable) really would be after a few hours on the saddle.

I'm very into the discontinued and underrated Honda CB1100, but I worry that it may be too much bike for someone with my level of experience. It would be a challenge to find an opportunity to try riding one. But I'm very attracted to its UJM styling plus its reputation for being easygoing and comfortable. And on the used market, the prices in my area are perfect. If Honda had released a CB800 or something alongside the 1100 and it had a similar fit and finish, there'd be no question about it being the winner. Is the CB1100 too much bike for me with only a year of experience? Would it be too cumbersome in a city environment?

I'm offroad curious, and would love to go moto camping, but I'm not terribly inspired by the whole vibe of ADV bikes. I think a Versys 650 would be a practical choice, but again, swagless. I don't hate the NC750, but I don't want a DCT bike and the manual versions don't come with ABS.

Maybe I have too many conflicting requirements, and something's gotta give. Do I renounce my vanity, and accept my fate to ride a middleweight sport tourer? Do I sacrifice urban nimbleness for touring comfort and highway stability? Do I find a way to raise my price range? Do I dive headfirst into a heavyweight like the CB1100 fresh off of a year of experience riding a 300? Do I place my faith in a Moto Guzzi to get me home after a long trip?

In about a year or somethint, I will be going to college and I am thinking about buying a motorcycle. So far I have zero riding experience but I will be improving on that with 125 and 50cc motorbikes. Any advice for an affordable bike to get that is between the 250-400cc range once I go to college? (preferrably naked bikes)