Also, There is no such thing as a "commuter bike"  not as a category anyway.

THe commuter decides what he rides on or in to work.

My commute is 60 miles round trip every damn day.

Commuter bike as defined by me:
• Good on gas
• Comfortable to sit on (low seat, high bars, short reach)
• Good suspension
• Faired (fully prefered)
• Thin width (lane splitting in mind)
• Low-end torque
• Lightweight
• Durable

I have put 12k miles on my GS (mostly commuting) and 4k miles on my 600RR (commuting and play). Although the GS gets great gas mileage, is relatively comfortable to sit on, thin, lightweight, and obviously durable, I don't think it makes a good commuter. It lacks the suspension needed to negotiate imperfections in the road comfortably, there is zero wind protection which is really draining on long high speed commutes, and it chokes around 80mph with fuel starvation. I also find the GS seat and position squishes my nuts into oblivion and that's not fun for 60 miles a day. My 600RR obviously isn't any better, but for much different reasons.

I would really consider the SV650S the best bike I've ridden so far for commuting. It covers all of the things in my criteria pretty well. Have been looking into one for a while now and waiting until the end of the year when dealers just want to get rid of them. I'd throw the full fairing on it also.

I use the GS everyday.
Maybe L.A.  big city driving is different.  Here in LA (lower Alabama) the roads are all super straight and generally in good repair.  Maybe my nuts are kinda small too, cause I don't have an issue with them on my bike. God musta needed the extra skin for my huge....well....you know.

or maybe all of us are different and like different things... or maybe I am a victim of this Gstwin cult and can't fathom the idea of ever riding anything else....~now wheres my damn koolaide~

Quote from: roguegeek on September 08, 2006, 03:59:57 PM
I would really consider the SV650S the best bike I've ridden so far for commuting.

+1, but I think my '92 GS's seat was more comfortable than the SVS's for rides lasting an hour or longer (my commute to work is about 40 minutes, and it's about an hour to home with heavier traffic). Now that I can actually touch the ground, I'm going to look into a seat that's more comfortable.