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I know you mentioned you have to stick with yamaha for the credit, but you should check out a Honda VFR800. It's the best of both worlds! Longer rides and not hunched over, but still a sportbike look and feel! My 1st bike was a CBR 600F4 and I was stretched way too much. Good luck!!

Your not the only one thinking of making a switch. Heavy and slow has its place, but something thats fast and handles well sure is appealing.
And Im old and fat.

Hi thumpjr

You need to think about what sort of riding you want to do. If you just use your bike for a bit of fun at the weekend and you like the concept, then a sportsbike might suit you. If you use it daily or for longer runs then it might suit, depending on how you feel about the more extreme position of some (though not all) sportsbikes.

I'm playing devil's advocate here, because I ride sportsbikes every day as my sole means of transport. I do short commuter journeys on them and I tour on them too with soft panniers. The riding position took a little bit of getting used to for longer journeys but these days I hardly notice it. On the other hand, there are some guys who find it just too uncomfortable for anything other than a fast spin at the weekend. As I said, it depends on you.

My other thought is that if your friends ride fast and you want to keep up with them, then you will probably need a faired bike. Many nakeds will do high speeds but on many, the wind will tear your head off if you try to hit them.

The Honda 600 is a great as a first sportsbike for someone like yourself with riding experience. The SV1000S (I'm biassed) is a brilliant all round bike. The riding position is not too extreme, it makes a great tourer, is good at commuting, but will give you performance riding when you need it. It's relatively low powered in comparison with many sports bikes but has oodles of torque. And it's a hell of a lot of fun.

If a company ever come out with a bike called a midlife crises they sure would sell a lot of them

They did. Its called a Harley Davidson.

The FZ6 or FZ1 would be a good bike if having Yamaha credit is the issue.

I like the Bandit 1250S, and after having very good experiences with ABS on my ST1300, and since the Bandit can now be had with ABS, that's what I want.

I've got a deposit on a Bandit 1250S ABS, and the sale price is $8800 (MSRP) out the door. A very good deal on a great motorcycle.

How about a Triumph Street Triple? Daytona 675 engine, streetfighter looks, not too expensive, an interesting alternative to Japanese 600-class standards.

I ride a Triumph Trophy for my long distance rides but, to be honest, as much as I love it, it's a big Piggy of a bike.

I recently added to the stable an SV650 (standard) for local commuting and I have to say...

I LOVE IT!!

Just did a weekend trip (the Trophy has a blown fork seal) and what a kick that puppy is! You should definitely give it a try/look see. I'm very happy with mine!

go for a standard bike. the riding position is key, and in the case of the FZ6, honda 599, or sv650, you still get the sport bike engine and zip while having a riding position for forgiving to your back. go with the fz6 or fz1 bike if you want to stick with yamaha. i personally like the sv650. great bike

I'm the same way, I'm 21 and have owned 2 cruisers and love the cruiser style but if i ever went to a "sportbike" style I'd def go with the SV650, bullet proof engine and easy maintenence and seeing people with 15,000 plus miles with no problems makes me fell good inside too. Good luck man