Best Toronto City Bike/Commutor/Touring?

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newt_101

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Anyone who lives in Toronto (or other big cities) knows just how bad the roads can get with potholes, construction, unpaved sections of highways, and the constant stop-and-go of traffic.
I currently ride a VFR, and as much as I love it, it's not the best bike for the city, nor do I believe that any sporty bike is (personal opinion).

I'm looking for something else - most of my riding consists of city/highway riding, and the occasional road trip (with 500km+ days).
I want something that is very low maintenance, highly reliable, cheap to maintain/operate/repair and fun to ride.

I've been looking at a lot of dual-sports (Suzuki DR650, Kawasaki KLR650, and BMW F650GS), but I've also always loved the naked standards (Kawasaki Z1000, Honda CBR1000, Speed Triple).

KLR looks bulletproof, but it's heavy, and I'd have to lower it as it's tall.
DR seems like an updated KLR and better in many ways except for it's range and comfort (could be an easy fix though...)
BMW I love but I've heard stories about parts/maintenance being quite high; perhaps it's just a rumour?

I've also thought of the Versys and VStrom but they both seem like touring bikes, and not so much ones that would laugh in the face of city-riding. I could be wrong...

The big-bore naked bikes seem like they are sportbikes without fairing, so I'm not sure how they (and my back) would fare with the constant abuse of big-city riding on a daily basis.

Any thoughts?
I basically want something to last me 'forever' as my VFR and Ninja 500 have done in the past.
 
I have a little KL250 (Super Sherpa, not KLR) & it's perfect for commuting around the city. Super light, indestructible, cheap on gas/insurance, & a bit more comfortable than a lot of the more dirt-oriented dual sports with those butt-floss seats.

Highway riding is so/so. I can sit comfortably on 500km days at around 115 indicated, but it would probably shake itself apart beyond that...I think if I was doing more touring than commuting, I'd want one of the bigger dual sports.

You definitely won't win any races, but ripping up & down the gears in a 250 makes you feel like you are :p
 
fastar1 said:
Honda NC700
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I like the idea behind the bike but other than being a scooter/bike hybrid with some great storage and amazing fuel mileage, I don't see how it would be great for Toronto roads. Seems like any other bike in that respect.
 
I love little bikes, started small back in the 90s, but I do like to tour, so something a bit bigger would be best. Going from a VFR to a 250 dual sport would be a little too much for me and my needs.
 
Ah well I dunno how supple the suspension is, just that it's not SS-stiff and a good upright seating position which I figured would be comfy enough. Anyways, no one can tell you which bike you will find comfortable.
 
NeilMcDuck said:
I have a little KL250 (Super Sherpa, not KLR) & it's perfect for commuting around the city. Super light, indestructible, cheap on gas/insurance, & a bit more comfortable than a lot of the more dirt-oriented dual sports with those butt-floss seats.
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Really like this bike. I've never ridden one before but seems like a fun bike that's perfect for the city or back roads. Not too pretty (sorry!) so looks like it can withstand a few knocks around and probably wouldn't get stolen as easily.
 
Pardon my ignorance, but why is the Viffer not good in large cities? It looks sporty, but The seating position is rather upright (compared to a SS); so wouldn't you want a Sport-Touring bike?

SV's are great in the cities, as they have decent low-end torque, but the twin's vibrations get to me after long-term highway rides. Naked standards are the way to go for low-speed riding, imo.
 
Kri$han said:
Pardon my ignorance, but why is the Viffer not good in large cities? It looks sporty, but The seating position is rather upright (compared to a SS); so wouldn't you want a Sport-Touring bike?

SV's are great in the cities, as they have decent low-end torque, but the twin's vibrations get to me after long-term highway rides. Naked standards are the way to go for low-speed riding, imo.
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VFR is a great bike, best one I've owned/ridden, but it has far too much fairings on it, which get nicked/hard to work on it without removing, plus the suspension is for a sports-bike, not a 'city' bike - which is what I'm looking for: basically something that can handle the city's BS situations on the road. Other than that, the VFR it's near-perfect, hence why I haven't bought something else since '01.
 
probably a sumo... or cruiser.

see here:
[video=youtube;2KEXI5GHoUI]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KEXI5GHoUI&feature=my_liked_videos&list=L LfuWYL10AcwwkJmi47hnO3g[/video]
 
azia said:
Really like this bike. I've never ridden one before but seems like a fun bike that's perfect for the city or back roads. Not too pretty (sorry!) so looks like it can withstand a few knocks around and probably wouldn't get stolen as easily.
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Hahaha...You know the expression "hit with the ugly stick"? Well, I think the Sherpa IS the stick.

Mine is pretty old & beat up which doesn't help either, but like you said, I never have to worry about it getting stolen or knocked down. Plus I make all of your bikes look better, just by parking next to you!

I think most dual sports are like that though (KTM/BMW aside) which makes them ideal for daily city commuters.
 
I think there isn't really an answer to this question because no bike is the best at everything. In the city/commuting going light and nimble is a good move so a small 200ish CC dualsport, a DRZ400SM or go even awesomer with a 690 Duke would do it nice. Touring though - you probably want something more substantial, bigger engine, more comfortable etc... So ultimately, something has got to give, you got to lean one side or the other a bit.

This is why you need to own at least two motorcycles right?
 
I have a DL650 (wee-strom) that I commute with through Toronto every day. Works well for the commuting and is comfy enough for the 500+ km weekend rides.
 
Either one of these, but with handlebars instead of clip ons, a locking top case and a removable windscreen + soft bags for touring.

7174763730_4b6a36e019_z.jpg
 
skip said:
I have a DL650 (wee-strom) that I commute with through Toronto every day. Works well for the commuting and is comfy enough for the 500+ km weekend rides.
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+1, I love my Wee. Very comfortable for any kind of riding, whether stuck in traffic or ripping along the highway. A heavy beast, but well worth it.
 
Surly touring bike would do all that quite well. If you want something motorized though, it's really up to you how much you'd like to compromise in those three criteria laid out in your post. A lot of people tour, carve up back roads, and commute on all kinds of bikes. I do it all on a Bandit, but I'd be happy to do it on a dual-sport, a sumo, a sport naked (like an SV or something like it) or an adventure touring bike. If you want something that'll go on forever, a DL or KLR might do the trick but I've heard Guzzi make some seriously reliable bikes and of course the usual suspect: Honda.
 
skip said:
I have a DL650 (wee-strom) that I commute with through Toronto every day. Works well for the commuting and is comfy enough for the 500+ km weekend rides.
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I'm looking for the same thing as the OP and I'm going to get a 650 v-strom. I'm interested in the versys but it doesn't seem as comfortable and roomy (I'm 6'3"). One thing about the 650 v-strom, though, what's up with that pipe/muffler!? It's hideous.

I think either of these would be great commuters and all rounders and seem to be uniformly highly regarded.

I've thought about a KLR but they are pretty ugly (to me) and old tech (which isn't necessarily a bad thing...), just doesn't seem as interesting.
 
I had a VFR and a KLR for a few years each and both are awesome bikes. The KLR is great on gas, had a nice high seating postion (great view over cars) and has an awesome turn radius coupled with the spoked wheels which all make it a great bike for the potholes and so on.. but it is gutless on the highway. Personally, anything with a forward seating position is also less than ideal, because of the lower seating position, poorer turn radius in the city, body position for long rides etc...

That said... another vote here for the DL650 as the all-round perfect commuter bike. It is extremely low maintenance, incredibly reliable and very cheap to insure, operate or work on with a huge aftermarket support. And it's just ugly enough that no one will steal it. They really do laugh in the face of city driving and do long touring also very well. Good for gravel roads, potholes, bumps and so on... 400km/tank also is a nice help. Once you get used to it, it's not that heavy, and becomes pretty nimble in the city.

smacdon said:
One thing about the 650 v-strom, though, what's up with that pipe/muffler!? It's hideous.
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yes, it is hideous. It's also really heavy. The best aftermarket exhausts I've seen for this bike are the Staintune and Akrapovic. The Remus sounds awesome, but looks meh...

I like the Akrapovic the best.
silencieux-adaptable-slip-on-nh-dl650-v-strom-abs-2004-2012-echappements-akrapovic-akrapovic.32297517-90229585.jpg


Here's my old bike with the Staintune.
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