frugal bike

hi all,

i'm a miserly young student git and I need a cheap bike to commute on
in the dark months ahead.
don't want this to turn into a gs5 v e5 vs cb5 thread (yes I read the
FFAQ). In the past I used a cg125 but am now scared by not being able
to go 70mph (i.e. keep up with traffic), and the woeful lights.

so needs
- 70mph+
- bomb proof
- good lights
- good availability of spares
- cheap tco

looking at above mentioned and gpz305 (though posts here put me off!),
old cb250 /rs
it would be nice if it fell in the < 400cc tax bracket
Bennetts offers me < £220/yr insewerance for all the bikes I've fed
it,
looking at max £500 for the bike

any bikes I've missed worth looking at? anyone looking to offload one
of these bikes in the near future?

thanks in advance
peter

 

I've got a Honda CD250U as a town and occasional semi-long distance
commuter hack. Does 80-85mph, cruises at 70 if you want (though 65 is
less arduous) and does 70+mpg.

They're tough as old boots and available surprisingly cheaply.

The CB250N that replaced it is basically the same bike in a new set of
clothes, but pricier.

I was toying with selling mine recently, as I have a surfeit of bikes.
I'm in SW London.

 

wrote

A Honda.

It is interesting you should use this as an example as it is one of the
most pertinent you could choose and really does show the difference in
knowledge between those who have actually owned a particular marque and
the MCN readers in these parts and further how little you have read
before you posted.

Good luck, you'll need it. Although tbh it is a piss poor substitute
for having a clue.

 

Kawasaki Z200. So long as you're not bothered by an ineffectual front
brake.

 

In communiqué
<1hry8sn.no6yb918ptzt4N%>, The

That reminds me that when 'the project' is finished I have to turn my
attention to SWMBO's 'K' reg. CB250.

--

+-------------------------------------------------------------+
| Pete Fisher at Home: |
| Voxan Roadster Gilera Nordwest Yamaha WR250Z |
| Gilera GFR Moto Morini 2C/375 |
+-------------------------------------------------------------+

 

thanks The Older Gentleman, unfortunately I'm up nr Birmingham (which I
should have written in the original post sorry), a bit far. I'll keep
an eye out though.

 

nice to see the old ukrm wit and charm is alive and well.

 

wrote

That'll be good advice wrapped up in a warm dry coat of wit and charm is
you please laddie.

 

I had one of them. It was extremely reliable and did exactly what was aksed
of it. I just find it was one of the most forgettable bikes I have ever
owned. Nothing to get excited about at all.

 

yep i've never disputed the good advice part, notice how I keep coming
back to the group with ever more questions?

 

cheers, Iooks just the ticket

 

http://acenet.ifrance.com/z200.jpeg

--
_______
..'_/_|_\_'. Ace (brucedotrogers a.t rochedotcom)
\`\ | /`/ GSX-R1000K3 (slightly broken, currently missing)
`\\ | //' BOTAFOT#3, SbS#2, UKRMMA#13, DFV#8, SKA#2, IBB#10
`\|/`
`

 

<snip>

ng mine recently, as I have a surfeit of bikes.

Curses, he got off the hook ;-)

 

Some people are just mad.

 

True, I had it when I was a student. They do around 70~90mpg and 82mph if
you thrash the balls off it.

 

In

Be a nice little run out for it then eh?

 

ha escrito:

What about Suzuki DR350? Trail bikes tend to have cheap insurance.

ebay.co.uk has right now two of them: a "low mileage" one currently at
500GBP, Item number: 170070647600 (the 150 quid one is not road legal)

 

Therefor an MZ350 would be perfect?

 

As darsy says, they tend to be stolen, and secondly, decent trail bikes
are *never* cheap.

There's no point in looking at an Ebay auction and saying: "There,
that's cheap," because all the significant bidding happens in the last
two minutes.

Better to look at completed auctions, if you want to know what they
fetch.

 

In uk.rec.motorcycles, belched forth and ejected the following:

The proper "old school", yes, but you'll never find that anywhere in
recent history.

If it'ds proper pisstaking you require then I cannot suggest more highly
that getting an actual life, you'll find an abundance of it.

<deletes the "festering dogshite" tirade>