Value Bike Feedback

I agree !! the M600D would have been in the hunt ! may not have beat out the SV but wouldn't have been last place either I bet ! I vote for a recount !

Gimme a play! If you want cheap fun, grey-market an Aprilia RS125, tune it and blow everyone into the weeds, scare dogs and old folks, and die with a smile on your face!

Good Article!

But do you get the feeling MO did this just because they felt they had to? It seemed a little rushed, but a fine job nonetheless.

I'm surprised more riders didn't enjoy the KLR- I had a crapped out one briefly, and it was a great bike for the city. Also, at $4999, you can't beat the value.

I'd like to see a budget sportbike review- EX500, Monster 600, 250 Ninja, SV650, GS500, and the MZ Skorpion. (How come honda and yamaha don't have budget sportbikes?) Do the whole schmeer- dragstrip, canyons, racetrack laptimes.

That would be very useful to new sportriders, ans well as informative to those of us who race on a limited budget.

Let me know if you need a (crash) tester!

Gabe

The only thing "cool" about the budget monsters is the $.50 decal that says "Ducati". An SV650 with $800 of suspension work will make short work of ANY monster model, and the looks grow on you.

Oops! I'm not a narcissist!

I just accidentally put my name in the subject box. Well, maybe I am a narcissist, subliminablely.

Those two bikes were of fit in ahead of the 883 along with the Bandit 600, Marauder, the DR650 would of been a better choise for the daul sport. I think they only wanted one bike from each manufactor and Kawasaki was the klr650. It was a nice test and brought out different points of different style bikes. Reality if I was going to spend almost $6k on some of those bikes I could by last years model of a katana 600. It would be a new 2000 and this is still 2000 at least for a couple days. But you could walk away with a 2000 Bandit 1200 right now for $6.5k. I would guess you could get a ZR1100 for the same it would be worth waiting a couple months to have some extra $$$. It would of been nice if they used the nija 500 instead of the Klr650 since it should of come in second or at least should of. Suzuki and Kawasaki make the best and most budget minded bikes so they should of come out 1-2 in my mind.

A Dozen Dealers?

You say a dozen dealers within a 100 miles of you? Can you say oversaturation? I bet none of those dealers are too damn happy with Harley Davidson settin up so many stores. Ya got half the damn town walkin around in fringe?

Does Buell make a grass catcher attachment for the Be-Last?

Again no ZR7

This article would have had more interest if MO had picked some fresh meat for this test. What were you guys thinking? No need to include a ZR7 (a new model that has attracted attention from smart people other than us), lets give em another test of the Nighthawk. Yep Nighthawk it is, ya know, ya just can't write enough about that darn loveable 750. Man, I can't believe you left out the Monster 600 too.

Please no more retread bargain blaster stories about bikes we are all to familiar with. If this is the best you can do I would rather see a story about that nice intern/book reviewer Danielle.

How is it that the 883 and CB750, both unchanged in the last decade, changed positions from the last value bike shootout? There's nothing like consistency in reviews...

The Bandit 600 would have been a nice inclusion, if slightly redundant with the SV650 on hand; the normal unfaired ZR-7 is a more important one to include (certainly compared to a heavy grunty 650 dual-sport; maybe a DR-Z400S next time?)



Fairly obvious story idea: Since you're still comfortably fond of the Nighthawk 750 as a benchmark, why not have a dedicated head-to-head contest with the ZR-7? (Your "rational" comrades over at Interactive Motorcycle did this ages ago....) Maybe bring the SV650 as a mixer if you want/have to, but the purpose would be better served by a one-on-one comparison.

The answer to your question is that they had to have a reason to rereview these two bikes, not to mention the KLR. Since they have been around for ten years unchanged (hardly a reason to review them) and since we already know all there is to know about these models (even less reason to review them) then the only reason left is that they mysteriously changed positions since the last test. Guess they had to retest the suckers to figure out what was up. Those unlucky enough not to know all there is to know about these bikes could always go back and read the original test.

ZR-7 questions..

Do you own a Zr7? My local dealer is getting in the "s" model in feb.. (I NEED the fairing) but doesn't allow demos.. what kind of "real-world" experiences have you had on the 750? Is it a good commuter?

tourer? gas mileage? all serious questions..

I mean.. at 6600.00 out the door and down the road..

TO MO: We ALL know how the harley looks/runs already don't we? I mean, all we have to do is read the "frugal flyers" review from a couple years ago..why the hell wasn't it (ZR-7s) included?

Long live the cheap bikes!

I've got to agree with you. Seems like MO (and other moto journalists) prefer to do reviews of more expensive and exotic bikes. Probably a lot of the readership prefers to read them too.

For my time, though, budget bikes are where its at. Show me how to make my SV into a weekend touring machine and I'm happy. Better yet, help me figure out how to get an extra ounce of enjoyment out of the Ninja 250 in the garage without trading it in and I'll be estatic.

Uh.... The ZR-7 costs way more than their $6,000. maximum budget. Remember the word "Budget" in the title?

Actually the msrp for the faired 2001 is 5999.00 which puts it under their cap.. the "out the door and down the road" price above is incl.tax title and license.

The unfaired version from 2000 is 5499.00 and also under the cap.

I'd just like to read how it fares against similar (750cc) bikes..

Enjoyment...

can be derived from you Ninja by getting new suspension, good tires, and getting some track time.

It's a great track bike once set up, and if you crash it, big deal!

You SV can be made into a weekend tour bike with a cheap windsheild and a duffle bag bungied to the seat. Plus, you need to ride it somewhere!

Hope that helps!

So this was a good start

So this was a good start writing about bikes that work good for everyday. I was getting tired of reading about 600 sport bikes. All of them made out of the same mold and the difference so minute that you can only tell on the track. No one could ever say that comparing the 883 to the KLR was splitting hairs. Yes your comparison is flawed only because each persons priorities are different. Each one of us could list the bikes in our own order. Lots of folks have only ridden one or two bikes. Right now new riders seemed to be funneled into a couple diferent catagories. There are multiple options available to us and these 6 bikes did cover quite a spread.

One bike that should of been test, I wished was tested was the SV996!

Oh ya Suzuki forgot to make it. It would of been nice could of been but then what the hey.

This shootout, and the common theme of the reader

feedback tells me that the manufacturers are serious about attracting new riders. American motorcyclists are not getting any younger and unless Honda, Suzuki, Harley, etc. are tooling up for bass boats and Winnebagos, they'd better start marketing to Gens X and Y. By the looks of it though, they're doing fine. Almost every make has multiple entry-level bikes in almost every genre. MO could do multiple multiple-bike shootouts to review them all. When I made the transition from dirt bikes to street bikes in the late 80's, there were only a few outdated entry-level bikes to choose from. Now there are modern, exciting bikes to fit every taste and budget. Back then you had all of 2 choices in riding gear, full leathers or levi's and a biker jacket. Today, the aftermarket is as strong and diverse as the motorcycles themselves. The motorcycle industry is stronger than it's ever been, and I like it!