Different Bike Suggestions

Tubes are a ball ache to be fair.

Puncture on the road and it's game over really. Looking at a repair or recovery. Like my mate on View attachment 451146his Norton last week.
I’ve always found repairing an inner tube much easier than a tyre. The patch usually is a permanent repair unlike sticky strings or mushrooms. We did on the mountain bikes have spare tubes and just replaced the through the day and repaired the leaking tube in the evening. I’d probably do this on the motorbike too.
 
It's easy on something like an MTB or an enduro bike you don't mind laying down. But who carries the tools on an expensive road bike with no storage or centre stand to be able to remove a wheel safely?

Dog turd repair is perfect on tubeless tyre. Wouldn't hesitate to use until tyre needs replacing, never seen one fail yet!
 
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Transalp has tubes. Show stopper for most of us…

wow - what a bunch of nobs - the africatwin 1000 had same issue - I thought the halfwits caught up as the africatwin 1100 gets tubeless the way KTM does it (with a belly band) so at least you can clean the wheels

quite like the way Yamaha sorted a cross between the two on the 1200 super tenere - ooh and a real cush drive !!!

1200.jpg
 
Why? My old DR650 has tubes as did all my pushbikes growing up. It never stopped me riding them. I rode my mountain bike to Sarajevo back in 97 that had tubes. I never knew we were not supposed to ride very far on bikes with tubes. I’m surprised I have managed to live this long.
Not that we're supposed not to use tubes, just that for most riders they're a major pain in the arse when you get a puncture.

I've ridden many thousands of miles on dirt roads all round the world on tubeless tyres and never felt I was missing out by not being able to reduce the pressures that much. And the upside of simple puncture repair is huge IMHO.

The one time I used tubeless (650 Sertao in Iceland) and got a puncture in the pissing rain, what a palaver...
 
If weight isn't an issue, how about an R1200r....failing that, I'm with Wessie and would suggest the Yamaha MT-07
 
If weight isn't an issue, how about an R1200r....failing that, I'm with Wessie and would suggest the Yamaha MT-07


if you ride in Buck and Berks the middle of the road where white lines used to exist 6 layers down beneath the stone chipping turd they call a road surface - is now loose chippings and a chasm of hell, wandering from 4 to 8" deep and from 3 to 18 inches wide - thus any 17" front wheel bike is literally death on wheels - a 19" front copes with holes, ruts, chasms and gravel far better - you then need long travel suspension to cope with the speed bumps and collapsed manholes - and as driving standards died out pre covid - you need a nice tall upright riding position, so you can more easily see to miss the idiots

so an MT-O7/09 or any silly wheeled bike is the wrong thing for British riders
 
if you ride in Buck and Berks the middle of the road where white lines used to exist 6 layers down beneath the stone chipping turd they call a road surface - is now loose chipping and a chasm of hell wandering from 4 to 8" deep and from 3 to 18 inches wide - thus any 17" front wheel bike is literally death on wheels - a 19" front copes with holes ruts, chasms and gravel far better - you then need long travel suspension to cope with the speed bumps and collapsed manholes - and as driving standards died out pre covid - you need a nice tall riding position so you can more easily see to miss the idiots

so an MT-O7/09 on any silly wheeled bike is the wrong thing for British riders
Fortunately, the OP lives on the Wirral and his 100 mile rides wouldn't quite get him down to the hellhole that is Buck and Berks.....
Christ on a bike (with 19" wheels probably) you spout some shite....
 
Most dealers have time on their hands now, so why not do the rounds & see what takes your fancy. Everyone on here will likely have a different opinion, budget & expectations.

Then draw up a shortlist, do the research, then make a nuisance of yourself & have a few test rides.

Dare I say, somewhere like the Superbike Factory might be a useful starting point, given the spread of brands they stock under one roof, just to help refine the search.
 
I bought a very low mileage, mint Gen 1 MT-09. It came with a full Akrapovič system, an Öhlins shock and some other accessories. I pulled out the fork legs and had my local race shop fit an Andreani cartridge kit and he remapped the engine to 117 bhp and 65 lbs-ft at the rear wheel. That was in late 2003 just before I came down with Long Covid and haven't ridden since.

Mike and his MT-09 (18 of 19).jpg
 
I bought a very low mileage, mint Gen 1 MT-09. It came with a full Akrapovič system, an Öhlins shock and some other accessories. I pulled out the fork legs and had my local race shop fit an Andreani cartridge kit and he remapped the engine to 117 bhp and 65 lbs-ft at the rear wheel. That was in late 2003 just before I came down with Long Covid and haven't ridden since.

View attachment 452245
Jesus, that’s a long time to have covid. 22 years. Hope you eventually recover.
 
any 17" front wheel bike is literally death on wheels
Do you know what literally means? Certainly anyone who rides a bike with a 17" front wheel will eventually die, but I doubt that the wheel size will be the cause of many of those deaths, even in the wasteland that is the Thames Valley. Bike magazine today said the Tracer 7 GT was their favourite bike of the three they tested for under £10k. Perhaps you should write and warn them.
 
Do you know what literally means? Certainly anyone who rides a bike with a 17" front wheel will eventually die, but I doubt that the wheel size will be the cause of many of those deaths, even in the wasteland that is the Thames Valley. Bike magazine today said the Tracer 7 GT was their favourite bike of the three they tested for under £10k. Perhaps you should write and warn them.


last time I rode a 17" Front wheel bike over roads I have used daily on my GS1200 for last 15 years, it made a very good attempt at losing control - it was rather alarming how eager is was to kill me - the GS just ploughs through with glee
 
last time I rode a 17" Front wheel bike over roads I have used daily on my GS1200 for last 15 years, it made a very good attempt at losing control - it was rather alarming how eager is was to kill me - the GS just ploughs through with glee

so a sample size of one case study gives you enough data to make a generalisation about all bikes with a 17" wheel?

I think your methodology needs a little tweaking in relation to external validity
 
so a sample size of one case study gives you enough data to make a generalisation about all bikes with a 17" wheel?

I think your methodology needs a little tweaking in relation to external validity
To paraphrase Maverick. It’s not the bike, it’s the rider. 😂😂😂
 
Honda NC750X - dct (new model - 2 discs up front) . Does everything and about 80mpg , not heavy , loads of torque , and words fail me on the 23 Litre frunk ... just great for the small shopping trip. Viewed as "boring" , but .............................
 
As an old fart (74) with a crap back,and a 29 inside leg,what would your suggestions be for another bike, I own a 2010 1200GS,in all honesty I only ride local, with the occasional 100+ round trip,Cheers Baza 👍
If you are wanting something smaller , lighter and more manageable I would try a Moto Guzzi V7 850 in one of it's guises , brother in law had a RE Interceptor which he sold to buy the Guzzi (which was so much lighter to move around ) .
Brilliant day bike and he easily did the NC500 on his
 


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