Good bike for larger riders, Ninja 650?

[beatr911]

Ok thanks, KLR and Budget burger off the list.
Added the Kymco 300i.
Trying to get this narrowed down to a few of the best.

Any more ideas?

What about bikes that are easily modifiable to suit larger riders. Like lowering footpegs and larger windscreen for Ninjette and CBR, etc. Are these fixes actually a solution for larger riders?

[sendler]

Originally Posted by sendler

It looks like low 60's might be possible. Write to this guy at Fuelly. He has 20,000 miles on his and is pictured wearing a full adventure style cold weather suit.
.
Burgmans are pricey when new but I have seen used ones for $4,000. The Kymco Downtown 300i is another one to look at for $5,600 new.

I meant low 60's mpgUS for the Burgman 400 which is pretty good. I believe the top speed could be in the 90's mph.

[DonBarletta]

Someone on here mentioned the larger Kymco scooters. If purchase price is a consideration, they can be had used in my part of America (central Pennsylvania) at deep discounts to new retail. Cases in point: last fall I bought a Kymco People 150 with 4,000 miles for $600, and this week I bought a Kymco GrandVista 250 with 160 miles for $2,000. So you might want to check the larger Kymco scooters as they seem to depreciate more than their Japanese counterparts.

[renault_megane_dci]

For a long commute bike, I would definitely go for a driveshaft or at least a belt because maintaining the chain would be a pain.

Do you guys get Honda 700 Deauville in the US ?
One of my colleagues has one and gets 4 liters for 100 kilometers. It comes with ABS too !

[beatr911]

Thanks! I'll check into the used large scooter market some more.

Yes the Deauville is here in the US, it's the NT700, based on the old V-twin motor not the new parallel twin efficiency monster. Funny though it is priced nearly as high as the ST1300. Shaft drive IS really nice but as gearing on bikes is consistently too low for maximizing efficiency, re-gearing becomes a problem.

My chain drive bikes get an automatic chain oiler. MUCH less hassle than spraying a can o' lube and you get the benefit of being able to re-gear. It's also a good use for used engine oil.

[redyaris]

Originally Posted by star_deceiver

You won't be getting 65mpg on the KLR at any speed over 45mph. You can go anywhere though!

70-75mph freeway speeds with stock gearing and a 130/90-17 rear tire give me about 45-48mpg. On a tour of Yellowstone I got 59mpg doing the speed limit of 45mph.

If you look at my fuel log for my 2007 KLR 650 you will see that I got 62.78 mpg over a distance of 938 miles, this is mostly commutting 84 km/day [52 miles/day] at speeds of 70 mph or more, and some gravel roads at over 60 mph. ocasional short bursts up to 100 mph!

[darcane]

I currently ride a Ninja 650R and I am 6'2" 230lbs. I find it comfortable to ride but I did convert to clip-ons (prefer being in a tuck). It is a great bike for the price. I typically get 50-55 mpg with no hypermiling.

I got a little better mileage with my old '96 Suzuki Katana 600. It was similar for comfort and power, just a four cylinder instead of a twin

[renault_megane_dci]

Originally Posted by beatr911

Thanks! I'll check into the used large scooter market some more.

Yes the Deauville is here in the US, it's the NT700, based on the old V-twin motor not the new parallel twin efficiency monster. Funny though it is priced nearly as high as the ST1300. Shaft drive IS really nice but as gearing on bikes is consistently too low for maximizing efficiency, re-gearing becomes a problem.

I think Redyaris's VT500 got some impressive numbers with stock gearing

Big scooters I don't really like unless you have some use for the automatic drive because it does costs mpg (10% between my Helix and my GN) and can see you stuck on the side of the road (no jump start possible, belts can happen to snap if out of maintenance schedule)

[stillsearching]

I didn't read any of the other posts FYI just the original post.

I'm your height but alot heavier - a Ninja 650 would fit you perfectly. To me the 250 feels small too, and a 1000 feels a bit big... the 650 feels just right. There is also a 400 but I couldn't test one, I dont know if the frame is like the smaller or larger or in between but not many places seem to sell them.

MPG is probably around 45-50mpg as reported by the biking tests i've seen. (I took notes while looking for a bike)

I would also look at the Suzuki SV650. It's no longer sold but is a very similar concept - upright standard riding position, sport bike styling (or remove fairings and go for a naked bike style, which you cant do with a ninja that i know of), V-twin torquey type power instead of a peaky racey 4cyl. Mileage will be even better than the Ninja 650 by 5 or more according to average biker reports everywhere i've seen (same magazines and such reported it about 5 higher than the ninja) - my friend never drops below 50mpg and he doesn't drive slow, 55-60 is pretty normal and I think he's gotten 63 at best. Power is the same, a fast bike by any car standard.


I've no clue why the SV650 isn't made any more, it and the Ninja 650 are almost in their own class of sporty standards, honda and yamaha have nothing like it that i've seen nor suzuki anymore.

[sendler]

Originally Posted by stillsearching

I didn't read any of the other posts FYI just the original post.

I'm your height but alot heavier - a Ninja 650 would fit you perfectly. To me the 250 feels small too, and a 1000 feels a bit big... the 650 feels just right. There is also a 400 but I couldn't test one, I dont know if the frame is like the smaller or larger or in between but not many places seem to sell them.

The Ninja400 is just a sleeved down 650. Same weight. Might as well get the 650. They are not sold in the USA.