newbie looking for a bike,

[adrian74]

Hi folks, i just thought i would introduce myself before i start asking questions!, im an Irish fella living in the south west of England, been here almost 4 years, earning my living as a motorcycle mechanic in a main dealership, before this i was working in New York for 4 years as a mechanic in a honda dealership, been a motorcycle mech. and riding bikes since i was 16, i've had everything from harleys to gsxr's and now im looking for a bike to tour europe on, im seriously considering a 650 v-strom cause they are great value for money and are very reliable, i have a budget of about £3000 and i would be interested to hear what you folks would recomend, thanks in advance, Adrian.

[Flyingdoctor]

Hi, I'd recommend concidering a TDM. They're good value, reliable and do 50 MPG. They'll handle some gravel roads and are comfortable all day. The only problems are rectifiers on the early ones and availability of 18" front tyres on the road. You'll find a good one for £3000.

[trevor daly]

hi adrain74,and welcome.i was just wondering what kind of bike do you like?
dual sport or sport touring?let us know.i'm sure you will get some great advice from this post..

[jkrijt]

For touring Europe, any bike will do.
I have been touring in Europe on all kind of bikes, from a Honda CB125S (long ago) to a Harley TourGlide and a GoldWing and a lot in between.
On my homepage you'll find some travel reports about touring in Europe on several bikes that may interest you.

For the price you mention, I think the V-Strom is a good bike although I have never tried one but the test I've seen where very positive. For the same price, a lot of other bikes are possible. I am very happy with my F650GS, comfortable, reliable, very fuel efficient but for the same price you could buy an old GoldWing 1200 (like my other bike), reliable and with more luggage capacity, style and comfort but less fuel efficient.

With the very high price of fuel in most parts of Europe, the fuel economy would be an inportant issue for me.
I am sure you'll get a lot more suggestions about the perfect bike but in the end, you make the choice what bike you like.

[Walkabout]

Hi Adrian,
Keep reading into the mountain of threads that are in this forum; you will find every possible opinion on what to ride (and then you will decide for yourself anyway because we are all individuals!!).

Cheers,

Dave

[adrian74]

Hi again, thanks for all the reply's, i was looking at a tdm 900 in work last week flying doc, nice bike, and its one i'd consider.
Jkrijt i'll have a look at your homepage later on, should be some good reading in there!
Trevor the kind of bike im interested in would be a twin cylinder, preferably v twin, large fuel tank, able to carry a lot of luggage and good for 3 to 400 mile days, something like a strom or even an african twin.
P.s. would anyone here be interested in a 8 or 9 day trip thru Europe in summer 2008?

[Wheelsucker]

v-strom's are great bikes, a very well rounded bike. Just wish it was not such a behemoth.

[adrian74]

Well folks i done it, i bought a dl 650, it came into the shop a few weeks ago as a trade in, its light blue, k6 model, 2600 miles, rides lovely and i got it for a steal
I love how comfy it is and how easy it is to handle in tight spaces at low speed, and it will sit at 90 mph all day on the motorway.
Im taking it to the ace cafe in London in a few weeks with a friend who has a new tiger, and shortly after that im taking it home for a weekend to Ireland, sort of a dry run for my European trip next summer!