MitchThomas Posted May 16, 2022 Posted May 16, 2022 Afternoon Guys, I'm new to riding and looking at getting my first bike. I am currently torn between an R3 and R6, open to everyones thoughts and opinions. looking at a 2017 R6 and a similar age R3. Now i know what some of you may think, why would i get an R6 as my first bike. As i am new to riding my thought process behind it being, if its all i ever know then that's what i will be used to riding, hopefully that makes sense. So my logic being there will be no difference between jumping on the R3 or R6 as i have no experience on either bike. i have watched countless reviews and thoroughly done my research so not going in to this completely blind. the R6 seems to be a good all rounder from what i can see. I'm looking for a bike i could quite happily commute to work on during the week but also enjoy the country side at the weekend. I am quite a sensible guy so not looking to go round the M25 100mph+, just looking to save a little time and enjoy my commute to London a little more. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Moderator Cynic Posted May 16, 2022 Moderator Posted May 16, 2022 Commuting to london i think i would take the r3 of the two. The r6 will be a very frustrating bike to ride in built up areas with heavy traffic. Constantly resisting the bikes need for speed as they come alive as it were quite high in the rpm. The r3 being a twin will give you a more relaxed trip and being able to use much more of the engine will be a better ride. Real world on real roads unless your being a complete arse neither bike will be any quicker outside of a trackday. Depends if you can cope with all the "oh you should have bought....." from the spectator gallery. In my opinion, for a city commute, an old divvy600 or fazer for 500 quid would be my choice for city/commuting work. Putting miles on it wont matter, will scrape 50mpg and if you fall off on a slippy roundabout in the rain. Who cares.
MitchThomas Posted May 16, 2022 Author Posted May 16, 2022 8 minutes ago, Cynic said: Commuting to london i think i would take the r3 of the two. The r will be a very frustrating bike to ride in built up areas with heavy traffic. Constantly resisting the bikes need for speed as they come alive as it were quite high in the rpm. The r3 being a twin will give you a more relaxed trip and being able to use much more of the engine will be a better ride. Real world on real roads unless your being a complete arse neither bike will be any quicker outside of a trackday. Depends if you can cope with all the "oh you should have bought....." from the spectator gallery. In my opinion, for a city commute, an old divvy600 or fazer for 500 quid would be my choice for city/commuting work. Putting miles on it wont matter, will scrape 50mpg and if you fall off on a slippy roundabout in the rain. Who cares. you are completely right, i'm not looking at it based on speed as no matter which bike i get I will be doing the same speed on the way to work. Luckily the shortest part of my journey is in a built up area, 2/3 miles at most in Ealing. That's one thing i am worried about, if i go for the R3 will i be left wondering what it would have been like getting the R6. the R6 has always been a dream bike of mine, grew up being taken out on the back of one from a young age so i guess thats why im more in favour of that. maybe the best thing would be to test ride each bike and go from there.
Moderator Cynic Posted May 16, 2022 Moderator Posted May 16, 2022 Yes ride them both, although it will be skewed by the fact the r6 will feel like a ferrari back to back so probably ride the r3 first.
Jules65 Posted June 16, 2022 Posted June 16, 2022 I've just bought a 2012 XJ6 S, which a great all-rounder. It has the detuned R6 engine, but still shifts. Really comfortable, good around town and loves the open roads. I've got the half-faired version. Worth a look..
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