A bit lighter bike

[fifthwheel]

Hi all I am riding a 2003 Fazer Foxeye 600. I am in my mid seventies and am finding the bike a bit heavy.

Its only 180kg so not a heavy bike as bikes go but would like a bit lighter machine.

I love the bike and am prepared to stick with it but open to suggestions for alternatives.

I wouldnt mind going down to a 250 as I dont ride very fast but I do like the acceleration and power

the Fazer gives. Ive done a bit of research but nothing jumps out at me as suitable as a lot of less powered bikes

are just as heavy as the bike I have.

I am not too bothered about being the first away from the lights but dont want to look stupid

having to tuck back in every time either.

Maybe what Im looking for doesnt exist. PS Dont want Chinese or Italian. Thanks John.

[dynax]

What about a Street Twin

maybe not just looked at the specs and it weighs 198kg it doesn't look that heavy as one of our club members has one and she was doing the cones like a pro yesterday

[husoi]

Best is to play a visit to Honda dealer and ask, then go to the sub brands like yamaha and suzuki

Maybe you need something nearer the ground instead of lighter. Most bikes over 500cc will be close to or over 200kg.

A lower bike will be easier to hold.

https://www.honda.co.uk/content/dam/local/uk/brochures/motorcycles/20YMBrochures/HUKMC2020RangeBrochureStreetTouring.pdf

[Marino]

Weight is not first and most important but how is spread over the bike. Much heavier bike with lower Center of gravity will feel lighter and easier to push and paddle around.

Some cruiser type will be easier to handle, just try there are some good looking bobbers

[Marino]

Hi all I am riding a 2003 Fazer Foxeye 600. I am in my mid seventies and am finding the bike a bit heavy.

Its only 180kg so not a heavy bike as bikes go but would like a bit lighter machine.

I love the bike and am prepared to stick with it but open to suggestions for alternatives.

I wouldnt mind going down to a 250 as I dont ride very fast but I do like the acceleration and power

the Fazer gives. Ive done a bit of research but nothing jumps out at me as suitable as a lot of less powered bikes

are just as heavy as the bike I have.

I am not too bothered about being the first away from the lights but dont want to look stupid

having to tuck back in every time either.

Maybe what Im looking for doesnt exist. PS Dont want Chinese or Italian. Thanks John.

 

I wouldn’t mind any modern day Ducati, those are modern myths about maintenance and quality.

One nice Diavel I wouldn’t mind

[Gerontious]

BMW F series from a few years ago. F800/850. with those bikes the entire weight is below the seat, including the fuel. so easy to ride and unusually for BMW were fully sorted from the first. Though the best years were from 2010 onward. Most also had belt drive so were almost maintenance free from that perspective. simple, balanced Twin engines. well made.

[Mississippi Bullfrog]

A friend has just bought a Honda CB300R which he is very happy with. It keeps up with the rest of us no problem and is not a heavy bike. He's not a huge guy so he wanted something lighter to handle.

[bud]

The ninja 300 might be worth a look. They also did a super light 250 a couple of years ago.

[SometimesSansEngine]

BMW F series from a few years ago. F800/850. with those bikes the entire weight is below the seat, including the fuel. so easy to ride and unusually for BMW were fully sorted from the first. Though the best years were from 2010 onward. Most also had belt drive so were almost maintenance free from that perspective. simple, balanced Twin engines. well made.

 

I'll be able to update more next week but I must say, when I picked an F800GT off the side stand last week I was amazed by how light it felt, even though it's meant to be a bit heavier than my wife's Tiger (and a lot heavier than my last bike)

[Guest]

Hi all I am riding a 2003 Fazer Foxeye 600. I am in my mid seventies and am finding the bike a bit heavy.

Its only 180kg so not a heavy bike as bikes go but would like a bit lighter machine.

I love the bike and am prepared to stick with it but open to suggestions for alternatives.

I wouldnt mind going down to a 250 as I dont ride very fast but I do like the acceleration and power

the Fazer gives. Ive done a bit of research but nothing jumps out at me as suitable as a lot of less powered bikes

are just as heavy as the bike I have.

I am not too bothered about being the first away from the lights but dont want to look stupid

having to tuck back in every time either.

Maybe what Im looking for doesnt exist. PS Dont want Chinese or Italian. Thanks John.

 

The wet weight on the Fazer is about 205kg......that's what you need to go by.

A CB500X would take it down to 195kg and a Versys X-300 down to 175kg.

The CB has 47bhp and the Versys 39bhp......so there's not a huge difference in that respect.

[Guest]

BMW F series from a few years ago. F800/850. with those bikes the entire weight is below the seat, including the fuel. so easy to ride and unusually for BMW were fully sorted from the first. Though the best years were from 2010 onward. Most also had belt drive so were almost maintenance free from that perspective. simple, balanced Twin engines. well made.

 

I'll be able to update more next week but I must say, when I picked an F800GT off the side stand last week I was amazed by how light it felt, even though it's meant to be a bit heavier than my wife's Tiger (and a lot heavier than my last bike)

 

Fuel under the seat on those I think.....so the weight is lower down.

[SometimesSansEngine]

Fuel under the seat on those I think.....so the weight is lower down.

 

It is indeed, the hump you'd normally expect the fuel tank is the battery and airbox.

The quirk is that the fuel gauge only gives you a reading when the tank is below half full. If it's above half full it just basically says "your fuel level is something between half and fully filled". Something to do with the shape of the tank makes giving you an actual reading impossible ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[Gerontious]

Fuel under the seat on those I think.....so the weight is lower down.

 

It is indeed, the hump you'd normally expect the fuel tank is the battery and airbox.

The quirk is that the fuel gauge only gives you a reading when the tank is below half full. If it's above half full it just basically says "your fuel level is something between half and fully filled". Something to do with the shape of the tank makes giving you an actual reading impossible ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

it becomes more accurate as the level drops. so from full to half.. its really quite rudimentary. but once below half it sorts itself out and is both accurate and reliable. when it says you have 10 miles left. believe it.

[Guest]

Fuel under the seat on those I think.....so the weight is lower down.

 

It is indeed, the hump you'd normally expect the fuel tank is the battery and airbox.

The quirk is that the fuel gauge only gives you a reading when the tank is below half full. If it's above half full it just basically says "your fuel level is something between half and fully filled". Something to do with the shape of the tank makes giving you an actual reading impossible ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

BMW!

They can send a riderless bike round the track but can't get a fuel gauge to work!

[SometimesSansEngine]

I had a friend who was into cars and got an Alfa Romeo once. He said from the outset he knew what was going to happen and what it was going to be like to be an Alfa owner, but he simply had to get it out of his system otherwise he'll always wished he'd owned one.

I see my BMW the same way

[Gerontious]

Fuel under the seat on those I think.....so the weight is lower down.

 

It is indeed, the hump you'd normally expect the fuel tank is the battery and airbox.

The quirk is that the fuel gauge only gives you a reading when the tank is below half full. If it's above half full it just basically says "your fuel level is something between half and fully filled". Something to do with the shape of the tank makes giving you an actual reading impossible ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

BMW!

They can send a riderless bike round the track but can't get a fuel gauge to work!

 

it does work.. if you have just filled the tank do you really need a super accurate device to tell you that you have just filled the tank? really.

this quirk is entirely due to its odd shape, with three distinct 'sub-tanks'. and the position they were forced to put the sensor.

its accurate where it matters.

Edited August 10, 2020 by Gerontious

[SometimesSansEngine]

I'll freely admit to having range anxiety.

Took me a while to accept that when I had one bar left on my Kawasaki I actually had loads of miles left to go, and still had about 35 when the fuel gauge started flashing.

A fuel light on in the car brings me out in sweats Compared to my friends who go "that means I have about 50 miles to go yet"

[WD-40]

Honda CBF250?

[Bianco2564]

Don't know how you feel about older bikes?

I would suggest an RGV 250 (cos ive got one) its only 150kgs with 60hp so good performance , but not really a practical daily bike and kickstart only.

How about a grey import 400, around 160kgs, low seat and fair performance.

CBR,GSXR,ZXR etc

[fifthwheel]

Honda CBF250?

 

Got to say I really like the look of the CBF 250

[The Hitcher]

Hi all I am riding a 2003 Fazer Foxeye 600. I am in my mid seventies and am finding the bike a bit heavy.

Its only 180kg so not a heavy bike as bikes go but would like a bit lighter machine.

I love the bike and am prepared to stick with it but open to suggestions for alternatives.

I wouldnt mind going down to a 250 as I dont ride very fast but I do like the acceleration and power

the Fazer gives. Ive done a bit of research but nothing jumps out at me as suitable as a lot of less powered bikes

are just as heavy as the bike I have.

I am not too bothered about being the first away from the lights but dont want to look stupid

having to tuck back in every time either.

Maybe what Im looking for doesnt exist. PS Dont want Chinese or Italian. Thanks John.

 

I wouldn’t mind any modern day Ducati, those are modern myths about maintenance and quality.

One nice Diavel I wouldn’t mind

 

Sorry but after owning a modern Ducati I can attest that they’re not quite myths, build quality is fine but not quite up there with a Japanese bike, servicing is more expensive but isn’t more often and they seem to be engineered not quite as well.

If I was going Italian again I’d go for the Aprilia.

[learningtofly]

What about a Street Twin

maybe not just looked at the specs and it weighs 198kg it doesn't look that heavy as one of our club members has one and she was doing the cones like a pro yesterday

 

Yeah, the Street twin's probably not the best of shouts. The Street Triple is, though - I went from one to the other and couldn't believe how light the triple was in comparison.

[fastbob]

I would strongly recommend an ER5 . Marvelous little bikes that just keep going .

[fifthwheel]

I would strongly recommend an ER5 . Marvelous little bikes that just keep going .

 

[fastbob]

I would strongly recommend an ER5 . Marvelous little bikes that just keep going .

 

 

I'm buying another one tomorrow .