So, whats next? A liter bike? Or perhaps a cruiser??

[JoeyDee]

Im curious what everyone's thoughts are after riding their 650 for at least one full season.. How many seasons will you wait to upgrade?? Where will you go from here??? Im about to make the leap myself..
I am 96% sure I'm going with a liter bike next summer.. However, I still will consider a 600.. I know the power bands are different, and top speed.. but basically same thing otherwise, minus some bells n whistles..
So tell me friends, where are your riding experiences leading you?? Or where do you HOPE they do? Happy Holidays everyone. Thank you!

 

[miweber929]

Im curious what everyone's thoughts are after riding their 650 for at least one full season.. How many seasons will you wait to upgrade?? Where will you go from here??? Im about to make the leap myself..
I am 96% sure I'm going with a liter bike next summer.. However, I still will consider a 600.. I know the power bands are different, and top speed.. but basically same thing otherwise, minus some bells n whistles..
So tell me friends, where are your riding experiences leading you?? Or where do you HOPE they do? Happy Holidays everyone. Thank you!

The first street bike I owned was '75 CL360 Honda at 16 years old. I then moved to a '79 XS650 Yamaha for several years then onto a '90 VFR750F around '94 as my first "big bike". After that I went onto mostly liter sport bikes for almost 20 years then "stepped back" to middleweights with a new leftover '11 CBR600RR in '13 and have (not really) looked back. I traded '07 CBR1000RR in on that 600RR after realizing as much fun as it was to go from 0mph to well over 100mph in second gear only (I rode an entire day in one gear to see if I could and yup, I could) it was hindering my fun to be constantly looking at my speedometer, paying the stupid insurance and paying speeding tickets.

I personally didn't find that much more fun in the big bikes because you spend SO much time and effert keeping them at semi-legal speeds and middleweights are so damn good nowadays you don't really miss that power you can't really use not he street. If all you want to do is twist your wrist and go like hell, a liter is fun. If you want to keep your sanity, and keep your license somewhat intact, and enjoy riding I would say stay away and keep seeing what it out there. The 650R is such a nice bike, fast enough to keep your attention, handles well, plenty of useable power, but still rideable on the street for an everyday bike; I don't know you "need" to upgrade quickly like the old days. I find myself gravitating towards twins and triples because they have such nice motors wrapped up in a very useable power band; liters cost so much to insure it's not worth the investment for the reward.

Now after saying all that I just picked up a used '16 KTM Super Duke GT a few weeks ago with 175hp, 105ft/lbs of torque wrapped in a chassis around 465lbs wet. It's insane, and SO much fun to ride, I forgot what it's like to ride something that wants to kill you at any moment. You feel so alive on it, however this bike also calms down nicely at semi-sane speeds and makes a great two-up sport tourer which is what I bought it for; because it's a twin you can ride it calmly if wanted.

If I was looking to move onto a different bike, I would take a serious look at the '25 Yamaha R9. It's not a huge HP bike but that 900 triple is a VERY nice power plant with tons of useable power, can be ridden in anger and is now wrapped in a chassis with some real sporting attitude. Plus it has a cruise control. That would be a nice step up from the 650 if you were looking to stay sport bike. Otherwise if you want to step out there are a ton of adventure bikes, the Africa Twin would be a choice, lots of retro rides, the Triumph Speed Twin would be fun...the list goes on depending on what you want the bike to do.

 

[Bran]

My ego wants a litre bike and I nearly bought a blade before my 650r. That said they're 60+ bhp I'd not use on the road. Even on track (in the UK our tracks are a bit querky) 600cc ish is fast enough unless your at Silverstone or donnington. Personally the 100bhp that most modern mid size bikes put out is ample on the road. Granted its rare to feel out of my depth but you can always pour bleach in your eyes before you head out for extra brown pants

 

[Leon752]

ZX-6R or a Harley Davidson. At the moment, I think the ideal situation is to have a super sports car and a cruiser at the same time, but obviously it is not realistic. In China, they are very expensive.
If I choose to cruise, I think I will need a liter-class bike. I really like the feeling of power they give me when I twist the throttle, but if it is a sports or NK, then a 600cc will be enough. I agree miweber's point of view: many liter-class vehicles find it difficult to perform to their full potential on public roads, which makes riding very tiring and depressing.(Actually I’ve never ridden a liter-class motorcycle. The largest displacement I’ve ridden is a 900cc Kawasaki Vulcan, followed by a GSX-R 750, )
If I had to choose the best ride of the year, it would be the one I rode on my CB190SS (yes a 190cc motorcycle), I remember laughing so much that day , so actually for me, if a motorcycle is beyond my control, then it is hard to enjoy it no matter how big its displacement is, which echoes the above point.

 

[Redrocket]

It's much more satisfying to ride a slow bike fast than a fast bike slow. Nobody can use a bike with 200+ bhp on the road and keep their licence if using only a fraction of the performance available and even then having so many electronic controls taming the power to make it usable. TBH I enjoy thrashing my CL500 twin (47bhp) more than riding my CBR except when I'm in the mood for a fast ride. What with potholes, speed cameras and and ever-worsening standard of driving these days I'll probably get something around 80-90 bhp but with a more relaxed riding position to replace my CBR next year. Something that is nicer to ride at moderate speed as well as at the top end.

 

[Bran]

further to my earlier comment about pouring bleach in your eyes (and I'm not recommending it) today's ride over the moors to Grassington was interesting, as I said to my mate, due to mist and fog, I wasn't scared, you need to see something to fear it.
I had the CBR sliding and spinning up yesterday in the cold n damp, so the 94BHP is ample thanks!

 

[JRinKtown]

Lately I was getting tempted to change things up. Different bikes style encourage different riding styles, so I thought hmmm, how about that Triumph Thunderbird Storm for sale locally. It's a 2016 1700cc. Love the looks. Went to see it yesterday, but I'm not sure. It might be a bit too big and heavy for my tastes. I like a bike I can throw around a bit, but hey, I said I was wanting some change, so...?

That said, I still love my cb650f 2018. Perhaps I'll just do some further modification to create some change. I also have a CRF300L that I modded for better handling and power.

 

[Motojack]

its gona have to be a litre bike for me before i get to old. but I would like to do more adventury off roady stuff as well

 

[enshiu]

Went for an ADV and dissapointed. Still got it for off road. Got a MT09 after that

 

[FinCB650R]

Im curious what everyone's thoughts are after riding their 650 for at least one full season.. How many seasons will you wait to upgrade?? Where will you go from here??? Im about to make the leap myself..
I am 96% sure I'm going with a liter bike next summer.. However, I still will consider a 600.. I know the power bands are different, and top speed.. but basically same thing otherwise, minus some bells n whistles..
So tell me friends, where are your riding experiences leading you?? Or where do you HOPE they do? Happy Holidays everyone. Thank you!

3rd season starting with CB650R and don't really grave anything more. Just drove my friend's -25 Kawa Z900 couple days ago and even that has too much power for my taste. - I did however buy a new project bike, -92 CBR250RR MC22. As much as I like to ride, I do like the tinkering and DIY.

 

[Cláudio Nogueira]

Hello.

After nearly 4 years and 35kkm on my beloved CB650R, I trade it for a CB1000 Hornet.
Very happy so far. Better bike in all aspects, maybe except looks. Very easy and friendly bike, considering what the numbers suggest! Power delivery is smooth and friendly but after 6krmp...!!!
The bike is very sharp and precise, very easy to hadle and ride around city.
I'm loving it...

 

[Redrocket]

That's one on my radar for sure. My CBR650R is in for the last of its service plan services layer this month; I may well get a trst ride. It'll be the standard model for me....

 

[EZFLYER75]

After 9 seasons and 43500 km on my 2016 CB650F also got a 1000 Hornet. Did only 80 km ride from my dealer home (weather is crap) so far liking it. More power, easier to cruise at 100-130 kph. Need more km to ride to fully understand the bike.

 

[Cláudio Nogueira]

After 9 seasons and 43500 km on my 2016 CB650F also got a 1000 Hornet. Did only 80 km ride from my dealer home (weather is crap) so far liking it. More power, easier to cruise at 100-130 kph. Need more km to ride to fully understand the bike.

Niiicce colour

 

[Leon752]

Hello.

After nearly 4 years and 35kkm on my beloved CB650R, I trade it for a CB1000 Hornet.
Very happy so far. Better bike in all aspects, maybe except looks. Very easy and friendly bike, considering what the numbers suggest! Power delivery is smooth and friendly but after 6krmp...!!!
The bike is very sharp and precise, very easy to hadle and ride around city.
I'm loving it...

View attachment 15735

This looks really good are all Honda motorcycles sold in your country full power versions?

 

[enshiu]

I was looking for a ZH2 black/red same as mine CB650F
or a Tracer 9gt+

 

[Cláudio Nogueira]

This looks really good are all Honda motorcycles sold in your country full power versions?

Yes, we have all full power versions and limited versions are also available options for A2 licence owners.

 

[Redrocket]

Me, I'm getting a new NC750X. I had a 2020 one, so have skipped one update. At last it has decent brakes and instruments....

 

[MacRoadster]

Me, I'm getting a new NC750X. I had a 2020 one, so have skipped one update. At last it has decent brakes and instruments....

Are you replacing the CL500?

I never liked the NC750 engine. Too short on RPMs. 😆
But its seems to be a good tourer/commuter.

 

[Redrocket]

No, I'm keeping that and selling my CBR650R. At my age it has become too uncomfortable to ride far and I never really was an inline four fan, though I have enjoyed it and will miss the acceleration. Then again my licence will be happier....The CL is not really up to the distance touring I want to do, necessarily involving M-way and equivalents. In some ways it is similar to the NC - it can be ridden a lot more quickly and with a lot more fun than the spec sheet suggests....😜 I know that the NC has engine characteristics a bit like a turbo diesel - the trick is to change up at peak torque and just ride the torque wave. Also they have prodigiously reliable motors - an earlier 700 version did 300,000 miles on the original motor before the owner retired it from despatch duties and bought another.