‘Several cool bikes but one premium...’
There’s nothing like the feeling of a brand new bike. Zero miles. Seat uncreased by someone else’s bum. The joy of running in, that first service... My mate just bought a Tracer 900 GT and is utterly beside himself with glee. Don’t be disheartened if your bank balance doesn’t stretch to a spanker, though. Even if it does, you should consider used. There hasn’t been a duff new bike in the last 20 years and if you buy, say, a 2010-model R1200GS you’ll ride it just as fast and in as much comfort as the newest R1250GS. But you’ll be less precious, meaning you’ll ride it more. It’ll depreciate less, and it’ll be cheaper to insure too. And insurance is the top thing with older bikes. Most firms see a 20-year-old machine as a classic, but some do classic policies at 15 years – so your Daytona 675 or ZZR1400 could qualify for a cheaper policy. Better still, on some classic schemes you can have multiple bikes but the premium is based on the most valuable/biggest risk. So you insure your 675 then can add a classic moped to the scheme for nowt. And if it’s old enough for tax and MoT exemption, it’s like free biking.
Recently, a pal of mine had been having issues with the clutch on his Suzuki GSX-R1000 K1. He kept complaining that it felt heavy with poor modulation, and it was starting to take the shine off his rides. He replaced clutch plates, both the frictions and steels, as well as the springs, but it made no difference. Then it was pointed out that it might be worth looking at the cable, as his GSX-R had been fitted with a pattern item. With nothing else left to try, he replaced it with an original Suzuki part and voila, it was spot on! Problem solved. Sure, the Suzuki cable was £46.39 and the pattern part just £7.95, so you can see why the cable had been fitted but you get what you pay for. The cheapo cable was will have been made in the same way that cables were 60 years ago, whereas the genuine item will have had to meet much tougher criteria, to a spec that requires a PTFE liner with a high-quality steel cable with a robust outer.
Keep in mind the same thing when it comes to levers. In my experience there is nothing better than a standard control lever at giving the best feel. There are some tasty looking and nicely engineered items out there but remember, there is a reason why you’ll never see a GP bike with shorty levers fitted.