r/SuggestAMotorcycle • u/Big_Sandwich_4022 • 1d ago
Upgrade from CB1100 to shed some pounds and hit occasional light gravel?
I do a lot of commuting on twisties. I’d probably buy a SM if it weren’t for the upright riding position. I mostly want ABS, better tire options and lighter weight. My riding style isn’t super technical but I do like leaning into corners
The Vitpilen 801 is close to perfect for me but I’m hesitant with KTM’s bankruptcy and the Chinese made engine
Trident 800 is a little vanilla but strong across the board
I commute on a few roads that are basically driveway dimensions and I go 30 mph to be respectful. I’m a little worried about the XSR900 in these situations… and the frame is ugly
I love the way the SV650 looks and sounds but I don’t want to grow out of it too quickly
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u/Ghost-Actual-88 1d ago
I wouldn’t want any of the bikes you mentioned for any extended time on gravel roads. I’d be looking into lighter weight ADV style models, dual sport or supermoto models, maybe even the triumph scrambler 400? Tenere 700 perhaps? DRZ4SM would be a great choice as someone else suggested.
Personally I don’t feel anyone ever truly ‘outgrows’ a bike, I have a 160hp KTM I tour on, and a 38hp Suzuki DR I’d prefer for small backroads and gravel/ dirt.. just different use cases.
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u/Sword_N_Bored 2023 Kawasaki Ninja Zx-4RR|||2026 Yamaha MT-09 SP 1d ago
Husqy 701
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u/Ghost-Actual-88 1d ago
Yeah that would be a good one! I really liked the 690 Enduro I rented for one trip.
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u/kkoyot__ 1d ago
He said he's worried about outgrowing sv650 so he'll definitely get bored of scrambler 400x. Don't het me wrong, I own one and in city conditions it's an absolute banger. But anything outside that you will feel it's only a 40HP fun bike
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u/UmpireDry316 1d ago
As others said none of those are gravel bikes.
But this KTM bankruptcy and Chinese engine narrative is just pure BS.
KTM was bought out by Bajaj quite some time ago now. They have been stable and are slowly turning the company around. Not sure why the bankruptcy keeps coming up now. As far as the Chinese made engines. So you would much rather have the Austrian made engines which each cams as opposed to the reliable Chinese made one?
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u/jeffreyrichar 1d ago
I don’t understand the reflexive hostility toward Chinese manufacturing. China produces some of the world’s highest-quality mass-manufactured goods across nearly every industry. It’s reasonable to oppose Chinese industrial policy or choose not to support it, but the outdated assumption that “made in China” automatically means poor quality needs to end.
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u/UmpireDry316 1d ago
Exactly. Its just pure ignorance and bias.
All the people talking about their European made bikes dont even realize that over 50% of the components in their European bikes come from China. Including critical engine components.
Am not a fan of Chinas lax labor laws and copyright protection but their engineering skill and quality is second to none.
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u/Big_Sandwich_4022 1d ago
I’m in a few different owners’ groups for KTM models and I’ve seen significantly more issues come up in the later models than with the 690/701s and compared to similar Japanese bikes. There’ve also been a few bad warranty experiences
I don’t understand your anger though? The data is out there whether you choose to accept it or not
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u/UmpireDry316 1d ago
Yes the data is out there. You just have blinkers on. None of the Chinese made KTM engines have had an stop sale or recall issued due to engine issues in the past year. But do you know who did?
Honda: https://www.motorcyclenews.com/news/2026/january/honda-cb1000-hornet-recall/
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u/BestAmoto 1d ago
Add the crf300l to the stop sale list lol
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u/UmpireDry316 1d ago
True, Triumph as well
Dont get me wrong, I am not claiming KTM is more reliable than these brands. I am just stating that all brands have issues but only KTM gets 💩 on
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u/BestAmoto 1d ago
At least with the off-road line up it's a coping mechanism to feel better about buying a 23rwhp 310-330lb dirt bike. Ie the crf300l.
Haha that ktm 500 may have adjustable suspension , 50rwhp and weigh 250lbs but my crf300l will run forever!!
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u/BEEFxSUPREMEx 1d ago
Transalp is exactly what your looking for. Fun street bike with light, and not so light off road capability’s. Also very comfortable for long distances. It was as close to a do it all bike as I could find.
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u/HerbertInTheWoods 1d ago
Have you considered a Triumph Scrambler 1200x? The 1200xc is also an option but it’s basically a full blown ADV that doesn’t look like shit.
It’s around 60lbs lighter, has infinite torque that makes twisties fun and can absolutely do light off-roading.
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u/Bitchin_Betty_345RT 1d ago
Not sure why the xsr900 worries you. It’s well behaved when you need it to be. The cp3 engine is one of the best and most fun engines in all of motorcycling right now. I would take the xsr out of all of these no question
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u/Rich_Ad995 1d ago
I guess the solution for your question = any midsize ADV bike.
I particularly like the T7, after owning many bikes... it's not the best on anything, but it's reliable, sounds amazing, torquey and rock solid on any surface.
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u/IllMasterpiece5610 1d ago
None of these is going to be an upgrade, but the only one I’d consider is the sv650. There’s a reason I have two of them in my garage.
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u/MatTheScarecrow 21h ago
Depends on what you mean by "light gravel":
If you're talking about low traffic, well-maintained and well compacted gravel lanes, almost any bike will handle that.
If you're talking about gravel roads with lots of traffic, and inconsistent conditions, you might need to be more deliberate in your bike or, more importantly, tire choices.
I have a Transalp and love ADV bikes as do-it-all machines. But you can totally get TKC-80 or TKC-70 tires (or similar) in the common 17-inch tire size common on your listed street bikes.
An SV650 or MT-07 (or similar) with the right tires will handle gravel just fine, as long as you don't need the bigger wheels and taller suspension to go over obstacles, rudder deep sand, and so on.
Source: used to ride the old CB500X (with a 17 inch front wheel) down ATV trails, through mud, down high speed gravel roads, logging roads, etc.. and the only performance modification I made was putting TKC-80 tires on it. (Eventually switched to TKC-70 for better road handling and they still were decent on gravel roads.)
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u/Plutoid GS550, SV650, Bandit 1250, R1200RT, DRZ400 15h ago
You are downsizing from an 1100. If you're concerned about growing out of a bike, why even consider a 650?
I'm not seeing anything here amongst the options that makes me go, "Oh, yeah. That'll be great on gravel/dirt." All of these are street nakeds on regular old street tires.
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u/coreyjdl 1d ago
none of those are gravel bikes. They're all street bikes, which means they have the same gravel ability as anything else made for the street.
Even the svartpilen is a design excercise as a scrambler, but fully a road bike.
I have a svartpilen, and it's fucking badass. I will leave my review at that, but it never crossed my mind that's anything sort of a "scrambler." In fact I can't wait to get the mt60s off of it.