Best courier bike..Dilema...

[ziggatron]

Hi I work as a self employed motorcycle courier currently subbing for one of the london firms.

I pay £90.00 a week for the use of a 2013 Honda NC 700 and to be honest it's a great work bike for round town. Tank storage is very handy, does 70mpg and reasonably nimble with enough of a lock to work your way through sitting traffic and tight spaces.

And also, I REEEEAAALLLY like the ABS, and believe me in London it gets used surprisingly often.

But it's still £90.00 per week. - which is a lot.

It also ties me exclusively to the firm, which i don't like as there are a few other opportunities out there which, were I not tied to the firm exclusively, may benefit me.

Most of the work I do is short traffic busting journeys - sub 10 miles.

It's volume as opposed to distance - again which I would aim to change to a degree.

So here's the rub.

I don't think a bike exists that would be the top candidate for distance work and also town work - So that accepted - which single bike simultaneously does the best in both catergories.

If I could, I would get the tourer for the distance and the 600cc for the city - but I can't - I need the best of both.

I have been riding for 25+ years on and off and I have been lucky enough to have owned many of the top sports bikes TL1000s, R1, FireBlade, Yamaha Exup, zzr1100's and a couple of hayabusa's - I aslo had a Suzuki BKing for a while - if any of you are familiar with that. Went to Paris for lunch one day on a whim. Superb.

But these bikers were all for SDP not for working.

When I worked as courier 10 years ago, I rented cb400, Kwaka 550, Honda (big red tank of bike cant remember the name - weighed a tonne.) and a Bros 650 (favourite) - they were all absolute bangers.

I am looking for bike with <20000 miles costing between 3700 - 5700.

Here's some links to ones I am looking at with the dealer I am going to deal with.

My favourites are the Diversion and the BMW R1150.

http://www.somanybikes.com/used-SUZUKI- ... ter-631066

http://www.somanybikes.com/used-BMW-K12 ... ter-614587

http://www.somanybikes.com/used-cars-ol ... ter-665378

http://www.somanybikes.com/used-cars-ol ... ter-683196

http://www.somanybikes.com/used-YAMAHA- ... ter-699206

http://www.somanybikes.com/used-SUZUKI- ... ter-660253

http://www.somanybikes.com/used-YAMAHA- ... ter-578899

http://www.somanybikes.com/used-BMW-R11 ... ter-654384

Ant thoughts or opinions would be welcomed.

[AlunL]

Think the Pan is probably the most popular for distance work... And I followed Nick on his and city driving isn't an issue.

[brummieadam]

bmw will cost you a million billion quid for parts and a service , resiliant but very expensive all round , not ideal imo , boring to ride and expensive , ok if you are getting paid enough

what else we got ? a gsx ? based on the older ones expect 40,000 before trouble and 80 before its ruined , suzuki finish isnt the best ( i own a suki )

fazor will be fun , once again doesnt come across as the ideal bike , loads of choise and spares but a little fast and uncomfortable for an everydayer

A FRIGGIN DUKE!!!! are you mad nononononononNONONO[url]NONONO[/url]
broken down weekly would be a step up , daily is more likely . There has never been a duke that doesnt turn italian after 6 thou no matter being a courier hack , expect the AA the the RAC refuse to cover you after calling them out so often . mention elecs or clutches or top ends and i generally burst into tears

Yam tdm is half way there , cracking bike , 50 thou before tappity top ends and 60 its need another engine time , fun to ride , hope you arnt short of leg

suzu muscle moped burgman , respected by the goldwing owners club so might be ok ? dont really know about this one , i suspect rather good but then mop heads are perhaps the very best courier bikes in town once you crack 200cc , distance could pi55 you off due to the screaming engine at 80 odd mph

but getting to brass tacks , shaft drive is everything , screw scot oilers shaft is your best friend . Really you want either a low miles pan or being honest another nc as its a silly good bike ( just sold my vt500 shadow ) and has been around the other side of forever . Bit of a shyte to work on engine wise but the rest is spot on . If you were not in London id be saying goldwing as you cant go wrong ( dont drop it ) as a true 100,000 mile bike but its a big un so pan europe is slightly more liveable and an nv flickable

But someone else may say something else

[Steve Lee]

I think this question has been asked many times on here.
I know 'cause I asked it at least once !!
I agree with the majority of comments.
BMW are great, but fall apart too quickly
It needs to be Japanese - Honda is my current bike
Not so dissimilar to you - I have a NC 750X
Had it 16 months and done 75K miles
It can do long distance, if you change a few things - like seat and screen
I regularly do 400 - 600 mile round trips and can still walk afterwards
I would like a 'bigger' bike, but.....?????
That's my contribution, take it as you wish
All the best

[brummieadam]

It can do long distance, if you change a few things - like seat and screen
I regularly do 400 - 600 mile round trips and can still walk afterwards
I would like a 'bigger' bike, but.....?????
That's my contribution, take it as you wish
All the best

Dont we all . I think theres that little thing in the human brain that demands more . Those moments when you are 2 cars behind a bus and you notice the road straighten knowing if you have the grunt to get past the cars before they move out to sight the straight bit of road you will already be gone ..... that thing in the back of your mind that says ``if i had a little bit more`` . Its the grass is greener effect , im not sure its accurate .

[bramble43]

I've used a wide selection of bikes over my many years doing this and the pan European is always my choice.
I do mostly distance work in the continent but it is fine in the cities, if your work is mainly short city work though, why not buy your own nc700 instead of letting the company profit from it?

[AjSidneyco.com]

i just purchased the best courier bike ever, never get tired riding it.....actually thats the wrong word . never get bored of riding it tired yes very from holding the f*** on. its an arm wrenches

[bramble43]

Don't think I'd fancy heading out to Paris on it.