Sportbikes similar to the FRS in principle?

[leevanf]

Hey guys, looking to get into the sportbike world.

Driving will generally be just cafe/weekend city fun. Not for daily commute, no highway runs. *(for now)

The BRZ is great because it fit the bill of a light, affordable, reliable sports car that focuses on driver engagement and fun for most environments, great focus on chassis design.

So, for all the seasoned motor riders out there, are there any light sportbikes that fit this design principle? At the back of my head, the most purist version i think is the KTM RC390? Just worried that it may be more of a track spec thing already. Another choice would be the yamaha r3.

Any ideas and wisdom you can impart on a motorbike to pick?

[NoHaveMSG]

I'd recommend going and sitting on each one to see which one has a riding position you could live with. I'd look at the 390 Duke over the RC. More upright position and feels like a dirt bike on the street. I have a 690 Duke, it is a blast to ride and it is very comfortable to ride all the time since you are not forced into a bent over position.

[p1l0t]

CBR 500R

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[bcj]

Have a look at the Kawasaki 400 as well.
I bought a new 77 Yamaha XS400 way back long ago. It had about the perfect power to weight to drag me around without feeling asthmatic.
I finally went to a 650 because the 400 wasn't great at 2-up riding, but that was a good few years later.

Oh, yeah ... get a used bike to learn on. And gear with proper CE armor. Don't cheap out there.

[Tcoat]

Lets start here... What bikes are available in the Philippines? No sense getting info on ones you can't get.

[leevanf]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

Lets start here... What bikes are available in the Philippines? No sense getting info on ones you can't get.

Most international name brands are available here, as far as i know, although the big 4 japanese brands are the ones with many service centers/dealerships. Yet with a smaller budget, im not looking at exotic brand level, looking at the more affordable sportbikes

Yamaha
Honda
Kawasaki
Suzuki
Ktm + husqvarna
Royal enfield
Ducati
Harley
Aprilia
Bmw




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[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by leevanf

Most international name brands are available here, as far as i know, although the big 4 japanese brands are the ones with many service centers/dealerships. Yet with a smaller budget, im not looking at exotic brand level, looking at the more affordable sportbikes

Yamaha
Honda
Kawasaki
Suzuki
Ktm + husqvarna
Royal enfield
Ducati
Harley
Aprilia
Bmw




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So the first 4 on your list then?

[leevanf]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

So the first 4 on your list then?

Yes

Heres an article i read that i found interesting:

VERDICT
This decision’s a simple one. If your life is all about corners or if you want to get into track days, take a close look at the Yamaha R3. It might just be the ultimate expression of “more fun to ride a slow bike fast than a fast bike slow.” But if you want a do-it-all street bike, Kawasaki deserves your money. The Ninja 400 is easy to ride and the 399cc motor is powerful enough to entertain even experienced riders. Somehow, you get all the benefits of small bike ownership without the usual negatives.

[bcj]

Well, there you go. Someone else agreed with me. Must have been a brain fart on their part.
I'd probably want to raise the bars somewhat for more comfort.

[IceFyre13th]

or maybe.....

[Irace86.2.0]

My 2012 Ducati Monster 796. I don't know if it is identical to the BRZ in concept, but I like it.

[qcbaker]

Originally Posted by leevanf

The BRZ is great because it fit the bill of a light, affordable, reliable sports car that focuses on driver engagement and fun for most environments, great focus on chassis design.

So, for all the seasoned motor riders out there, are there any light sportbikes that fit this design principle?

I don't mean this in a negative way, but almost any sub-600cc sportbike fits those design criteria. If you want more productive advice, you need to tell us more about what you actually want out of your bike. What are your long-term riding goals?

Just going off of "small, reliable sportbike", I think the best choices in the field right now are the RC390, Ninja 400, and the R3.

As far as riding position goes, the RC390 is the most aggressive out of them, so riding that will be less comfortable but it will better prepare you for riding a supersport or superbike if that's an eventual goal. The Ninja 400 is the least aggressive, so it'll be the more comfortable and easy to ride one. The R3 strikes me as somewhere in the middle. More aggressive than the Ninja, but not quite as "baby's first race bike" as the RC.

Engine-wise, the Ninja and R3 both have parallel twins with mostly linear power delivery but feel better the closer it is to redline. The RC is sort of the opposite. Since it's a single cylinder, it has more low-end power than the other two. So off the line, the RC feels more punchy and aggressive, where the Ninja and R3 would feel a little slower, but a bit smoother.

[xdavidx]

Originally Posted by qcbaker

I don't mean this in a negative way, but almost any sub-600cc sportbike fits those design criteria.

Just going off of "small, reliable sportbike"

I'm really glad to see we have our priorities straight on this car forum and are talking about motorcycles!
I totally agree that any of the sub 600cc sportbikes out today are all perfectly good, reliable, and capable for standard commuting duty in the Philippines. If it's your first bike, also keep in mind that you are going to scrape it, drop it, or total it outright. What gear you get is far more important as this bike will likely last you 6 months tops. Wrong (crap) or no gear and your injuries will last a lifetime (trust me, I know first hand). Good gear and you probably won't miss a beat.

Personally I'd get an R3, but my advice for you is to get whatever the cheapest used one you can get that was maintained properly.

[leevanf]

Originally Posted by xdavidx

I'm really glad to see we have our priorities straight on this car forum and are talking about motorcycles!
I totally agree that any of the sub 600cc sportbikes out today are all perfectly good, reliable, and capable for standard commuting duty in the Philippines. If it's your first bike, also keep in mind that you are going to scrape it, drop it, or total it outright. What gear you get is far more important as this bike will likely last you 6 months tops. Wrong (crap) or no gear and your injuries will last a lifetime (trust me, I know first hand). Good gear and you probably won't miss a beat.

Personally I'd get an R3, but my advice for you is to get whatever the cheapest used one you can get that was maintained properly.

Thanks! It really looks like a tossup between the r3, ninja400, and rc390. Reliability wise, im afraid for the 390 though. The r3 looks attractive.

My cutoff budget for a bike alone is 5,000 usd.
And 1,000 usd on top for gear.

A brand new ninja400 is about 6,000 usd
A brand new r3 is about 5,000 usd
A used ninja 400 is about 4,800 usd
Used mint r3 or rc390 is 4,300 usd
A used ninja 250 is 2,800 usd




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