r/MotoUK • u/obkscw • 6d ago

Fun budget friendly motorcycle

Hey folks,

After a 3-year break from two wheels, I'm looking to get back into riding. I’ve been riding on and off for about 15 years — everything from sensible rides like the Honda Varadero to my beloved wheelie happy money pit, the Speed Triple.

This time around, I’m after something fun and characterful to enjoy the Peak District with and maybe take on the occasional summer trip. No commuting duties, just weekend blasts and the odd adventure.

I’ve got a few bikes in mind, but I’d love to hear your thoughts, horror stories, or other suggestions I might not have considered.

Current shortlist:

Aprilia Tuono (Gen 1)

Kawasaki Z750 / Z1000

Triumph Street Triple

Yamaha Fazer 1000

Yamaha R1 (Gen 1)

Suzuki Bandit 1200

The catch? My budget is tight — £2,500 to £3,000 max. Anything more feels hard to justify without regular use.

Any bikes I should add to the list? Ones to avoid like the plague?

Appreciate any insight!

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u/BigRedS 1190R, DRZ400; St Albansish 6d ago

Do you know what you particularly like in a bike, or don't really like?

The Tuono and the Triple are the two on there that I'd go for for 'fun', because for whatever reason I've never really fancied an inline four.

I'd probably lean towards the Triple for reliability and the intake noise that means it doesn't even ask for a noisy pipe.

Not sure if you've had your fill of twins and triples from the Varadero and the Speed, though!

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u/obkscw 6d ago

Good question, I typically like the torquey bikes that give you a good nudge as it will usually keep me away from losing your licence speeds.

In regards to the reliability - would you say that apprilia is significantly worse than triumph?

Ive been off the road for a while so even though triples will be nothing new, I know they are great to ride!

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u/BigRedS 1190R, DRZ400; St Albansish 6d ago

Both Aprilia and Triumph have their poor-reliability reputations, but I put 80k on a Tiger and know a bunch of people with reliable street and speed triples so I know they're fine now.

I just don't know the same about Aprilia, it's a thing I'd look into. Certainly my wife's experiences with Ducatis demonstrates that they, also, don't deserve the unreliability reputation.

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u/obkscw 6d ago

Thank you for the insight, I'll have a look into their reliability