Newbie seeks first bike

Hello,

I have been lurking in this newsgroup for a while now, and found it jolly
entertaining and informative... and as of 1145 yesterday morning I find
myself in possession of a full unrestricted bike licence.

I now need to go and spend some money on a bike. I need to ride the 40 miles
each way to work , and varying times of day, mostly on dual carriageway but
with the last 6 miles consisting of congested London streets.

I have been thinking of something along the lines of a new SV650S, or a
Bandit S, or a CBF600S or even a Deauville, and I can spend up to £4000-5000
ish. I would appreciate any thoughts on what bike I should buy. I don't want
anything too flashy as I have to use it almost everyday, winter and summer,
and I also have to insure the bloody thing.

Thanks in advance,

John

P.S. Also If anyone out there is looking into DAS training in the North
Kent/Essex/ East London area I can thoroughly recommend
www.probiketraining.com

 

Save the big wedge for the next bike, would be my instinctive
response. You passed today, now the learning starts. If you are
venturing into London on a daily basis, the odds are stacked against a
newbie. The bike will take punishment or be nicked ...

IIWY, I'd go for a used Bandit 600S. It'll do all you want it to do
and have a bit of fun at weekends too - and there's plenty of them,
they're strong and capable. Pick one that's a couple of years old
with FSH and away you go. Let somebody else carry the depreciation of
a new bike for you, IYSWIM.

Oh, and welcome to the dark side.

|;-)|

 

Shouldn't that be ;-

--
Spete
www.gimmemoney.mine.nu
www.spete.homeip.net

Occasionally, I'll be consistent

 

SV, no question. But try 'em all out first.

 

Gamma5, YKIMS.....

Or a 4 yo CBR6

Or a CB500S

Depends what else you want to do apart from commute. If the answer's
"nothing" then the dullville sounds fine, but I'd be tempted to get a £3k
2/hand sports 600 like a CBR and just have fun...

Dave

 

Listen to Pip, he's right.

 

John Allen secured a place in history by writing:

Get a cheap (ie ~3 year old) mid-range non-sports bike - Fazer, Hornet, CB
500, Bandit etc. You will learn a lot more wringing the nuts of one of
these than buying anything quicker or more focussed, you won't cry as much
when you bin/drop it (you will) and it's less likely to get nicked (hence
cheaper to insure). In your first licence year you just won't appreciate
anything better because you'll be too terrified to get anywhere near the
limits of more serious kit. This is entirely normal, says nothing about
your ability as a rider and choosing something sane doesn't expose you to
the (widely held, and certainly by me) perception that a lot of sports-bike
riders passed their test yesterday and have wasted a lot of money on
something that might bite them through inexperience.

You'll have a blast, and when you start feeling you want something more you
can trade up. You may well not feel the need. Personally, I've ridden all
of them and I'd go for the Fazer, although the Hondas (and particularly the
CB) are likely to survive winter riding better - but there's not a lot to
separate them and a test-ride will help, if difficult (dealers are not keen
on licences that started yesterday :-( )

 

Passed a few weeks ago myself and picked up a SV which will be used for
commuting and fun, and haven't regretted it for a second. Obviously depends
on what you're after though. The forums on this site are dedicated to the
SV so you may get a feel for whether it's the bike for you or not ....

http://www.sv650.org

Good Luck with whatever you go for!

 

My last bike was a Bandit S and I would thoroughly recommend one. For
the riding you are doing they are comfortable and perfectly capable.
They can be a hoot at the weekend too.

The SV is also an excellent bike, although I've not ridden the faired one.

Both my bikes went through the winter and with regular rinsing down in
the winter have coped well.

Get a scottoiler.

And if you are commuting 40 miles through the winter, make sure you get
some decent kit.


--
John

SV650
Black it is
and naked

 

Hello delurker.

DO NOT BUY A DEAUVILLE

Cheap as poss. Like wot Pip said. You *will* drop it in the 1st year
of ownership, 'specially in London.

You don't want to drop anything nice ;-)

ER5, Hornet or CB500 ? all decent commuters. You might find the B6 a
bit top heavy, but YMMV.

Cheers

Paul.

 

You could do worse than my 1999 Kawasakii ER5. Green with 9800 miles from
new. I taxed it last week and MOTed it today, it's green and in Mid Wales.
You can blast about (compared with a learner bike) on it for the next few
months, run it through the winter and probably only drop about £300 on it
before buying something more exciting next spring. I want more than £1449
for it.

John

 

In uk.rec.motorcycles, John Allen said:

Bandit, but I'd go for a "previously enjoyed" model. The learning curve
will be steep in London but there's no better training ground IMHO.

No problem.

Enjoy.