Well if all goes correctly I will have one of the worst commutes in california so obviously due to economics will be doing it by moto. Unfortunately recently sold my hypermotard 1100 which would not have been well suited due to the 90ish mile range anyways. But that money is long gone. Currently I have a 2014 TE511 with supermoto wheels all decked out with oil breather, big brake, lowered suspension, steering damper, and all that fun stuff. Otherwise I have a supercharged ford lightning that gets a whopping 15-20mpg max. and no carpool lane. I guess I could tough it out via the truck a couple days a week, and possibly re-gear my 511 to 15/39 or 38 and just run it. I would HATE the slab miles of 70-80mph down I880 or I680 but its all I got right now and it is not quite paid off. Plus the truck was a very very recent purchase. I would have to even with flipping between the 511 and F150 change the oil on the husky 2x a week. Get fuel on each end also. Otherwise I am thinking of finding something simple like a ninja 300r or ninja 250 to just save fuel and be cheap on insurance. I could also pay off the husqvarna but will be cutting into my housing budget unfortunately and the idea would be to get a friend to be a roomate and find a place in sillicone valley but lets be honest, anything with a garage is like 2500-3k and we are technicians not engineers . Any help or advice?
you can find 80s or even 90s japanese 4 cyl bikes very cheaply..1000 or 1500...they have good handling and performance and are cheap..
I would like to get something fuel injected so probably 2003 or later. I have considered maybe a used fz6 or r1 or something of the sort, but funding is tight.
Suzuki SV650 - cheap, reliable, good mpg, and tons of them out there. Can't remember what year first FI but I believe its around 2003 or so.
2003 was the first year for efi. I agree with the sv650s idea. They were around forever and if you ever care to, there is a ton of aftermarket. Another id look at are a kawasaki versys or ninja 650. They'll last forever, good on gas, and like the sv, not boring. Yamaha fz6's can also be found in this price range. There are a ton of options in this range. Craigslist your price range and pick one
SV650 is good would prefer something a bit more modern I had a ninja 650r which was not a very well built bike, but the kawasaki versys seem very good. I would love to get one but they hold their value extremely well. The problem is whatever I get will be devoured by miles so it must be an expendable bike and easy resell every year.
Hey bro...look at a used 600 sportbike tons of them out there very cheap if they have a few scratches on them, good gas mileage, and you also get the fun of ripping it around when you want to...even if the fairings are tore up take them off and make it a naked street monster! they last forever ive seen them with over 50k and no issues..
Budget is unknown as it goes up daily (make more money) but at the same time if I were to get hired next week I would have a much lower budget. I would like to spend between 3-5k on a bike. BUT it would be a very very very very tight 5k. What if I go huskybmw and get a terra or strada 650? Those are out there and when you can buy new for 6500? they should be around 4500ish right?
Well, your quandry is cheap, fuel injected, and willing to be trashed. Hey you bay area guys have no idea what a long commute is! 100 mi/day is cake in So Cal. I had a 2001 SV650s (well it still lives in my garage since my honey owns it now) with almost 40,000 miles on it that runs great. Oil changes every 3000 miles, handles good, parts are everywhere. My Dad has a TR650 Strada that I've put a good 20 miles on. Great bike too, but not what I'd call a daily commuter since it's only really good up to 70 before the single gets a little buzzy. The SV is good to go up to 135 and stable as hell. If I was you keep your budget at 3k or less and get a decent used SV, Bandit, 600 rice rocket, or something along those lines. Later carbed bikes run fine and get great mileage so it may not be necessary to limit your choices to FI bikes.
