Hi


I will be doing my DAS in the next month or so and then am looking to buy a new or used bike.
I know everyone has tier own ideas as to what is the best bike but I would like some general advice
Criteria is as follows:

Usage:
Not for commuting
Weekend, summer toy
May go to France once a year

I want something that will not bite me in the arse and will allow me to learn and a bike that I can grow into and wont get bored with.
I don't want something that is going to be very tiring and hard to ride.
I am a sensible rider/driver, 32, Weigh about 11 stone, 5 foot 7"


From initial investigations I like:
Kawasaki Z750
Yamaha R6
CBR600

Questions:
Would the Z750 be hard to ride at speed, due to lack of faring and more up right position
Am I correct in what I am looking at?
What other bikes would be suitable?

Thanks

Jas

Jeeze m8... have you had any insurance prices yet!

I'm in the same situ as you... just getting back into it... but was wondering a bout the insurance costs for something that's worth riding...!

i could have posted exactly the same question... a little shorter though 5"6

Please have a search in the bike forum guys as this is the most commonly asked question, posted at least once a week! There are many many threads on what first bike etc with many good replies and discussions.

Again to mods, please can we have a sticky in here for this question as it is asked so frequently?

As above mate, there have been loads of threads on this, and we all agree that an R6 is not a good first bike!!!!!

Matt.

we all agree that an R6 is not a good first bike!!!!!

Matt.


:D I'm not sure we did ;)....but its a good read ;)

As above mate, there have been loads of threads on this, and we all agree that an R6 is not a good first bike!!!!!

Matt.

Beg to differ on that one ;)

Plenty of chavs falling off scooters to prove that size makes no difference (I've heard a few say that as well but not about bikes :D)

Most offs come from low speed manouvering and the bigger bikes mass catch many out whilst turning around in the road.

Training is the key IMO .As long as you've been adequately trained, then you can learn to be sensible about the performance and where to use it.

The 600 supersports class has loads of performance, but you have to wring the neck of the bike to get it, so it is no worse imo than a 600 hornet or fazer, In the litre class things are a bit different and you will not have to work for the performance. This is where the risk is !.

As for the Busa class, a bit to quick and a bit to heavy for most riders regardless of their experience :D.

I have a nice ZX7R for sale!

Chris thought you were keeping it?! How many miles has it done and how much is it up for?

Insurance shouldn't be too much of an issue as you are now just the right side of the magic 30. Don't ask me why, but that seems to be important for some companies.

Where shall I begin...

Q. Are you thinking of buying a brand new bike?

If so, then you've got a couple of things to consider - 1. A new bike will almost certainly mean that you'll need to take out fully comprehensive insurance (that's going to be VERY expensive with no NCB). 2. You might get a discount on insurance through a manufacturers insurance scheme. I know that Yamaha used to run a scheme (one reason why so many R6's were sold).

I don't want to suggest too many different bikes without knowing exactly what style of riding you have...

Certainly bikes to consider may be:

CBR600F/S
ZX6R/636A
GSXR600
YZF R6
YZF600 - Thundercat
Triumph Daytona 600

Try as many bieks as you can before you buy (demos are not guaranteed, but if you look like you'll buy...)

Good luck

G

Have you thought about a Suzuki 600 Bandit. That was my first bike and was very forgiving with lower insurance than those mentioned above. Plus they are fairly cheap second hand, and nothing ever went wrong with mine, or my mates one.
Fun, handles well and comfy for long rides to France etc. Still got enogh power to get you into trouble though! Keep it for a year and sell it for nearly what you bought it for. (hopefully!)

Dont get a sports bike as your first ride and become a statistic. Start slowly, gain experience, recognise where the dangers are, but above all, enjoy it!

Good Luck!

D.

Don't get a sports bike as your first ride and become a statistic



Already inspired with confidence :rolleyes:

Try a VTR1000 Firestorm, same ins group as the 600`s, same power (100ish bhp) but miles more torque & easier to ride! :D I found that moving from a CBR600 to a Triumph Daytona 955i was a revelation :D MUCH easier to ride quickly as I didn`t need to keep the revs to 8k plus to "make progress" ;)

BTW my Daytona is for sale ;) :D

Read thru the forum mate, as said above there is loads of threads on this. Everybody seems to want the R6 as their first bike. Glad I waited to get mine. Not the easiest bike to learn on. Would suggest something like a Honda Hornet/Suzuki Bandit type bike, altho they aren't very good on motorways. Or how about a Yamaha Thundercat? Bit more forgiving than the R6 for a new rider. You'll have fun on what ever you buy, I enjoyed my Aprilia RS250 just as much as I do my R6. Don't worry about getting bored of it either, lots of people say they get bored of 600 sports bikes easily and move on to 1000cc instead, but I very much doubt they could ride the 600 to it's limits let alone the 1000's. The 600's do have to be worked harder tho, but if it's just a weekend toy then that's half the fun of it and it annoys the bigger bikes when you go flying past them.

Don't worry about getting bored of it either, lots of people say they get bored of 600 sports bikes easily and move on to 1000cc instead, but I very much doubt they could ride the 600 to it's limits let alone the 1000's.

I've had my ZX6R for 3 years and even though i've been riding big bikes(750 and above) for the last 20 years (on and off), I feel i've learnt more from this bike in this time than any other bike.

I chose this bike as I didn't want the bulk of the litre class bikes. Whats the point in having all that power if you are only quick in a straight line ?.

The problem with going for a cheap bike in the 600 class) is that they come with cheap suspension.

Straightline performance may be cool , but good handling inspires confidence (and does make you ride quicker)

The 600 Hornets/Bandits/SV650 (which I think is the best of all of them) come as standard with cheap suspension units. There is very little you can do with them apart from discard them and get some expensive ones.

The supersports bikes comes with half decent ones with loads of adjustments in preload, and compression & rebound damping as standard.
I swapped out the standard SV650 shock off my mates brand new bike a couple of weeks ago for one off a ZX6R as it has scope to set it up to handle. It transformed the back end of the bike, but there is little he can do about the front end apart from change the fork oil, and springs as they are cheap units as standard.

Built down to a price, not up to a standard, If your not happy with what you've been given, its going to cost £££ to change it, not just a few tweaks on the adjusters :(

I had a 2003 Hornet last year for a month as a loan bike and it had a cheap setup on it as well, it was downright scary on the corners when pushed a bit, I couldn't wait to give it back :rolleyes:

Ash

A good friend of mine is planning on doing the Direct Access thing this year, my advice was to have a look at the Suzuki SV650, IMO an ideal first bike, actually a very good value bike first or not.

i went staright to an R1...best thing i did- saved faffing about with small bikes that i would have wanted to get rid of soon after buying one.

Tiggs if you think thats clever telling new riders to go straight for a 1000cc sports bike then let me tell you its not :rolleyes:

First of all how old were you when you got this R1 as your first bike? How much did the insurance cost you?

An R1 maybe suitable for some old fuddy duddy to go straight out on who will never take it above 5k revs anyway but hardly what you would advise for some young throttle happy Rossi wannabe to go out and buy as a first bike :rolleyes:

i was in my 20's, insurance was free via yamaha link and i thrashed the pants of it once i stopped wobbling around....i thought SN was all for "spped doesnt kill" blah, blah?

edit to clarify......it wasnt my first bike as such- i passed my test on a 125DTR about 8-9 yrs before......but it was the first thing i had ridden since then. The bloke at motorcycle city was very help and showed me which side was gears/brake and what the left/right bar levers did, etc....and off i went.

No but an inexperienced rider that is throttle happy and put on a 1000cc 150bhp+ motorbike is not going to last 5 minutes.

You were obviously very lucky or a skilfull rider :rolleyes: Oh and as for thrashing the pants off an R1, you sure? I found it very difficult to find anywhere with the space that could cope with me thrashing my R1, as 170mph isn't too achievable in many places and nor is red lining it in any gear with the acceleration that provides. An R1 is not easily thrashable unless you have a runway or equivalent to run it on or plough straight into a wall/lampost/on coming vehicle etc. Quiet stretches of motorway are about the only place capable of thrashing an R1 on the road.

"throttle happy "

i dont know what that means? learning how to use the throttle is part of a bike test- if you can pass a test but not know how it works then tough luck.

i was neither lucky nor skillfull, i just went slow to start with....an R1 will poddle along (again, by using the throttle) As i got better i went quicker, never fell off at speed- in fact only time i dropped it was at 2mph in a car park) once i was to fast for the road i went on track days, in the 3 yrs i had it i avaraged 30 track days a year so by the time i sold it i was a very fast rider- i would suggest faster than 95% of non-racers, it was certainly unusual to find myself far from the top on a track day (normally top 10 in the fast group)

my point being that i bought a bike not knowing which side the gear lever was on (let alone whether its down for up or up for down) and progressed to being a very fast track rider......all on the same bike. and my R1 was as happy to do 170mph down the staright at Spa as it was to wobble away from the bike shop when i got it.

T

You can't work out what throttle happy means? Let me explain then, its what the majority of young guys are when they pass their bike test, its where they want to get on a big engined bike (in comparison to the 125 they have learnt on) and open the throttle to see how fast it goes. Many don't realise what they are in for and that the back wheel on an R1 will spin out sideways even if given a little bit of throttle on a slightly greasy road surface.

I rode 10 years in all weather and conditions before I got my R1. The R1 still tried to bite me even with 10 years of experience under my belt. For example in top gear at about 50mph opening the throttle (without changing down at all or trying to 'thrash' it) to go past a car on a wet road, the back wheel spun on several occasions and I soon learnt to control it. That never happened on any of the previous bikes I had riden as they simply didn't compare in terms of sheer power. It was the experience that allowed me to control those situations. Had that happened to me with little or no experience while on the R1 I would have had crashed most probably. However the lesser classes of bikes don't have that 'bite' in the situation I describe above. Yes any bike can bite if ridden like a total nutcase but what I am trying to explain is that an R1 and the like can bite you even when ridden comparitevly safely due to the sheer power the back wheel puts out with the slightest blip on the throttle. You do that manouvre on a 600cc sports bike and the back wheel is not going to spin out like that, like my ZX6-R never did.

I will always say that an R1 and any 1000cc sports bike is too much for an inexperienced rider no matter how restrained they think they are or how good a rider they think they are.

"The bloke at motorcycle city was very help and showed me which side was gears/brake and what the left/right bar levers did, etc....and off i went" LMAO!!! :D :D :D I like it!

Good reply Tiggs, it just shows what a sensible approach to large capacity powerful motorcycles can accomplish. They have loads of potential & a bit of time spent learning the bike & using its performance bit by bit can see an experienced, confident rider using a bike properly that he has "learned" on rather than spending 20 years riding scrap, buying an R1, blade, ZX10 etc, thinking you can ride properly & ending up a statistic cos they`re not used to the leap in performance :( Please don`t anybody take this as a dig at them :D

It`s not what you ride it`s how you ride it :D remember that when I pass you on my 1200GS ;)

"That never happened on any of the previous bikes I had riden as they simply didn't compare in terms of sheer power."

and heres the problem......the first time it happened to you was on an R1......the first time it happened to me was also on an R1 (down the straight at Goodwood on my 2nd trackday in a storm, span up for a good 50 yards at 100mph plus)

so at that point neither of us had had an R1 spin up in the wet before....and neither of us fell off.....i fail to see how yo were better ready for that than me.

as for ppl just pinning the throttle to see what it will do....well they are morons and can ride into a hedge for all i care......but do they exist?

i was full of the big "i am" on my first day with the R1 but at no point on my wobble home did i "see what it'll do" by wacking the gas on....and if i had and i'd hit a truck then i'd be one squashed muppet.

20 years riding scrap? How about actually spending 10 years moving up all the classes and enjoying each one for what they were and learning to corner and throttle control on different size/weights/performance bikes? I had sports 250, sports 400, sports 600 then to the R1 and now im on a gixer 750. I got 170 displayed out of the 600 so its not exactly a slouch of a class. The diference comes with the delivery of the power.

I enjoyed every one of those bikes thoroughly and would have missed out had I gone straight for an R1. I am on a 750 now as its the class I skipped and am thrilled to bits with the gixer. It handles better than any of the other bikes I have owned by a long way. I will return to an R1 or equivalent when I feel like it.

If you think going for an R1 straight off is good, fine but you are missing out on a lot of other very good bikes and experiences.

"If you think going for an R1 straight off is good, fine but you are missing out on a lot of other very good bikes and experiences."

its all relative........i had the experience of spinning up the back wheel of an R1 at Goodwood at a time when i could have been riding a CBR400 and chasing mopeds.

Not about being ready, you can't be ready for it as if you were ready it means you were expecting it to happen and therefore take action so it wouldn't happen.

I didn't say I had never had the back step out on me, just not in those circumstances, ie going fairly slowly and accelerating in top gear. I have had the back end go loads of times in the time I have been riding.

Its about not panicking and not grabbing the brake or changing gear or any rash change in action.

The difference was Tiggs that that sort of incident would have sh!t me up as a newbie and I would have probably braked or tried to do something to counteract the bike snaking out on me. However I didn't because I knew easing off on the throttle and nothing else was the best thing to do. That wouldn't have been my instant reaction as a newbie.

The R1 is also a lot less forgiving if you make a mistake than say a 400 sports simply because everything happens so much slower on a lesser bike such as braking and acceleration and you have more time to counteract mistakes.

Two differing views, I can see a heated debate ensuing ;)

BTW going from a Sports 600 ,whatever one it may be, it`s still a hell of a jump to an R1.

when i could have been riding a CBR400 and chasing mopeds

That comment just shows what you little you know and what you have missed out on :rolleyes:

No chasing mopeds when I had my 400, I was outriding fireblades and 916's on the back roads out of Hastings up from the A21 because its a fantastic bike for scratching. They were mighty surprised and thought i'd dropped a 600 engine into the frame. There was nothing modded about it apart from full race system.

it`s still a hell of a jump to an R1

Not really bearing in mind I had 170 out of the 600 and could ride it more to its limit than most people can ride a 1000cc to its limits.

That comment just shows what you little you know and what you have missed out on :rolleyes:

No chasing mopeds when I had my 400, I was outriding fireblades and 916's on the back roads out of Hastings up from the A21 because its a fantastic bike for scratching. They were mighty surprised and thought i'd dropped a 600 engine into the frame. There was nothing modded about it apart from full race system.


cool- same for me- i was out doing the same on a bigger bike.....PERSONALLY, i would have felt silly riding a small bike....therefore, i was doing what you did on a bike i liked......i also never had to buy and sell cause i kept the same one.

T