Divvy 600 Replacement advice

[justinp]

Hi all

I posted this on the old club site, but thought I'd try here too for opinions:

I am thinking of replacing my Divvy 600 and wanted to see if people had good advice for a next bike.

I have had mine for 4 years. Mostly I use it for short-mid length tours (getting out of London on). That includes heading up the motorway cruising at 85-ish for 2-3 hours straight, or once-twice a year touring around some windy A roads for a few days.

The one thing about the Divvy which I have NOT liked is the buzz/vibrations in the handlebars. Especially on motorway stints, after an hour or so when I stop and take my gloves off my fingers are buzzing (don't know how to describe... tapping the finger tips gives them more of a buzzy feel). Foam grips helped this a little but its something I really want to avoid in my next bike.

So I'm looking to get a newer bike though, which can do the same things as I have done on my Divvy. Also:
I want a fairing - wind/cold protection
I want a middleweight bike - around 600cc seems to suit me fine (one suggestion was go for a Divvy 900, but I want a lighter bike)

So do people have advice/suggestions?

I was leaning strongly to the FZ6 - I love the look and power characteristics. However, one or two reviews I read seemed to say it has vibration issues, and seeing as this was the main thing I wanted to improve on from my Divvy, I wasn't sure.

Anyone out there have had both the Divvy 6 and the FZ6 and can comment?

Altenatives I have thought might work include:

Suzuki SV650S
Suzuki V-Strom
Suzuki Bandit S 600
Honda Hornet S 600
Honda CBF 600
Other suggestions pleae

So any advice - on the vibration issue in the FZ6, or other suggestions to replace my Divvy 6 Are greatly appreciated.

Thanks

-Justin

[alpaholic]

justinp said:

Suzuki SV650S
Suzuki V-Strom
Suzuki Bandit S 600
Honda Hornet S 600
Honda CBF 600

Nothing specific about any of the bikes except the Bandit has lock nut adjustment on the valve clearences. So no cams to come out and no shims to sort out. If that's important you you it's worth knowing. However, I'm not sure a B6 is 'different' enough if you're actually looking for a change. (I bought a B12 because it was similar to the D6)

[Welsh Ade]

What about a Kawazaki Z750

[Welsh Ade]

Honda VFR750 or 800
BMW Fundura 650

[Welsh Ade]

Honda CBR600

[Welsh Ade]

Yamaha
FZ600
FZR600
FZS600
YZF 600 Thundercat
FZR600RR Genesis
YZF R6

[2old2boogie]

Yamaha FZS600.

;D

[HRHpenfold]

all bikes vibrate, my Fazer 600 definatly does, but not in the same way that my divvie does

maybe you aught to have a look at the Honda Deauville, its a twin which will feel a lot less buzzy it will still vibrate though, but will have the fairing and shaft drive

[swerve9031]

For me it has to be a Fazer 600 of some variety.

I can't really justify the 1000, so the 600 will be fine. Decent riding position, not leaning on my wrists all the time.

Well thats how I am feeling at the moment, but we will see when the time comes.

Peter

[HRHpenfold]

fazer 1000 is less vibey than the 600, but all bikes vibrate ;D

[popey]

Kawasaki ER6F sounds perfect for you if your looking for a light all purpose bike

or something complely different

KTM640 - Thats a vibbey bike i'm told. But not buzzy vibes. It has a 28Litre fuel tank so you can go miles and you could even enter the Dakar.

David

[billywhizz]

Your divvi 6 and the vibes, might help if yo check the carbs are balanced correctly, and handlebar weights are 'heavy' enough. My 600 only realy got my hands tingleing IF i sat at 4000rpm for a while.
all other revs where ok.
I changed my divvi for a Fazer 1000, :)which is surprising 'light' to ride, and carries weight low, often think it ain't that different in weight until you lean it over a bit while stationery !

The kwak 750 i found even more buzzy than the divvi.
The FZ6 is definatley quicker, but revvy, and would suit your requirements i think.
bandit 650 ? or TDM / Tiger

[CD]

If the KTM floats your boat what about an old BMW GS1100.

Or (heaven forbid) a Divvie 900. Similar fuel cons much better go and soild as a rock to ride. I use a counter steering style and hardly notice the weight difference. Though getting it out of the shed can be fun.

[alpaholic]

chirodave said:

If the KTM floats your boat what about an old BMW GS1100.

IIRC with the early GS's you have reliablity issues with the Late GS you have finish issues.

I think the most recent 'good' GS was the R100GS or R80GS. But then you're going well back into the 90's.

A rather informative UKRM thread on BMWs: tinyurl.com/yubkmw

[HRHpenfold]

alpaholic said:

chirodave said:

If the KTM floats your boat what about an old BMW GS1100.

IIRC with the early GS's you have reliablity issues with the Late GS you have finish issues.

I think the most recent 'good' GS was the R100GS or R80GS. But then you're going well back into the 90's.

A rather informative UKRM thread on BMWs: tinyurl.com/yubkmw

Really, i thought that the early oil heads had drive shaft problems and problems with the diode board

early pre 97 oilheads had gearbox problems, later models (1150) with servo brakes can have problems with the brake servos, the finnish problems are related to salt that effects all bikes, its just beemers can get used and abused, i have seen mint 10 year old models and rough 2 year old models

[alpaholic]

fazerian said:

the finnish problems are related to salt that effects all bikes, its just beemers can get used and abused, i have seen mint 10 year old models and rough 2 year old models

I think that's correct, I suspect the poor finish complaints from BMW owners come because they expect a perfect finish, which is understandable given they're paying twice as much for their biking as evryone else.

Certainly BMW used to to make bikes with a perfect finish, with the GS being a current best seller you'd think the'd have the volume of sales to make something spot on again - and maybe they can.

[CD]

I think like any bike, do your homework, look for a good service history and quiz the owner about the above issues.

[justinp]

Thanks for the various advice

I seem to get the impression that a twin engine has less vibration (or less vibration problems) ? Is this correct?

I might try to compare a Fz6 with one of the suzuki twins (SV650 or V-Strom 650 I'm thinking about) if I can find a shop with both I can test ride.

-J

[HRHpenfold]

justinp said:

Thanks for the various advice

I seem to get the impression that a twin engine has less vibration (or less vibration problems) ? Is this correct?

I might try to compare a Fz6 with one of the suzuki twins (SV650 or V-Strom 650 I'm thinking about) if I can find a shop with both I can test ride.

-J

err depends ;D

they can be, but they will have different vibration, less tingly and more throbby ;D

Am test riding a BMW F800st at the weekend, maybe worth a look as they are light, give good protection and have a balancer shaft, maybe worth a look ;D


f800riders.org/forum/

[CD]

Plain singles vibe unless rubber mounted (MZ strokers shake badly but none gets through to the frame). Modern 4 stroke singles have balancer shafts.
Parallel twins usually vibe like mad as they are basically two singles trapped together. The Japanese put in balancer shafts. Some were ok others less so. The Yamaha TDM 850/900 has a one up one down and I think a small balancer shaft so they have v twin like lower pulses.

Fours have a balanced crank in that the pistons going up balance those going down, but they also have a rocking action and harmonic vibes which show up on Diversions. Some have balancers to fix the smaller vibes that get through on Diversions.

90 degree V twins have a perfect mechanical balance, but they dont fire evenly so create a torque vibration so feel lumpy at low revs.

V twins that are less than 90 degrees vibrate so either have balancer shafts or clever offset big ends (Honda Transalp/Africa Twin). Harleys just vibrate.

Boxer twins shouldn't vibe as both go in and out together & should cancel, but both big ends can't be in the same line so they get a small rocking vibration.

The new BMW 800 has a triple throw crank and a third con rod which moves a rocking weight. This weight cancels out the vibes caused by the pistons. Simple & effective.

Radial 4 cyls are in perfect balance and have even firing pints so smooth and smooth. V4s should also be smooth. Nobody makes a radial 4 but it would look cool especially a 2 stroke.

Also need to consider servicing costs. Honda VFRs need to have valve shims checked at 15000 miles. They never need adjusting but if they nare not checked the warranty is void. The job costs £500 plus parts. They also have to be serviced every £4000 ml or warranty void.

Beemer boxers need less servicing so are not quite as costly as they might at first appear. Otherwise go for an older carb fed bike & service it yourself, which is one reason I ride a Diversion 900.

[popey]

Triples are very smooth and vibe free, and the build quality on a triumph is good. well it is at the moment...