Hi all

I could really do with some help choosing a bike. I passed my test this Summer and now want to buy a bike.

I thought I should go for a beginners bike, like a Kwak ER6F, but friends and my instructor keep saying that I will get too bored with this sort of bike too quickly. I hired a R6 for a weekend and had a real hoot on it but suffered with wrist ache (which I suspect would lessen with time as I got used to this kind of bike). I live in London, so you have to assume that a fair bit of my riding would be in town. Would I be foolish to go for a sports bike as a first bike? I've even thought about going for a 750 as I am a fat lad weighing in at 17 stone. Help please! :confused:

I have a GSXR 750K1 and i am fifteen and a half stone the suzuki has a longer wheel base than a R6 so it isn't as hard on the wrists,I bought a 600cc as my first bike but found after 6 months i wanted more power the 750 fits the bill it is good in the town and awesome on the twisty's has plenty of power for bigger guy's hope this helps.

Mate had similar problem - he had an R6 and hated it, like a damn toy. so he bought a secondhand CBR600 and loved it, it did everything race, tour, etc.

if you want something even more sit up and beg what about a Fazer 600 or a Honda Hornet - can be had cheap as chips now.:)

Thanks for the advice people. I'll be test riding a Fazer soon and will be contrasting it with a sports 600. Lots of people have suggested going for a CBR 600 and one or two have suggested a GSXR750! Anymore advice appreciated.

kawasaki 636 A1P, the first of the 636...top allround bike and physically larger than the other 600's

Kwak (again) z750...cheap and funky

1998-99 cbr 600 - last of the steel frames - great alrounder

Yam thundercat - bit more sports touring and distontinued but good bikes.

Fazers, hornets all good...bandits are a little dated now.

Definatley go for a 600, you don't need or have the experience for a bigger bike.

If you are looking for comfort go with Fazer, hornet, or Bandit.
If you are looking for looks and performance then go with 600's.

I learned how to ride on a sports bike. as long as you have the licence then you will be fine with sports bike

Hi mate

Sitting upright is the way forward for me because comfort is everything. I've just bought a Yamaha TDM 900 having scratched around on a 650 Triumph classic since I passed my test a year ago and I love it :)

I do subscribe to the school of thought which says you outgrow your first 'real' bike quickly but that also depends on your attitude and how you perceive risk (very interesting article on that very subject in this month's 'Bike').

If upright's your thing have a look at:

- TDM
- Suzuki V-Strom (650 or 1000)

Try plenty and take your time in making your decision.

Cheers
Kav

My advice would be to ignore sporty bikes as you will find that a good rider will be quicker than a bad rider on a 1000cc sports bike. My experience to date has been that something like a VFR/TDM/VSTROM/Fazer/Bandit would be ideal and once (even if) you feel you are held back by the bike (very very unlikely) then move onto something more potent. How about something like the CBF600/1000 which is plenty fast enough with nice easy handling along the way. I had a CBF600 for the day and thought it was excellent in normal road use and really really enjoyed myself. I must have a go at the 1000cc next.

I find that my sports bike is awful until you give it some stick so if you intend using your bike a lot I would assume that other sports bikes would probably be the same. Be big enough to buy what works for you rather than following the crowd.

Any modern bike you pick will be better than you on the road so try a lot, dealers would love to make a sale this late in the year.

I firmly believe that you buy a bike for the purpose you intend using it for hence I have a few lying around.

Thanks for the further advice everyone. I thinks that's enough to keep me going for a while..

go for a gsxr they are the best i had a k2 600 mate had r6 too light frount end for my likeing

On the otheer hand get an old bike - cheap, cheap insurance (only need TPFT) and if you decide you don't like it any loss will be comparativley small (coompared with recent bike :lol1: )

Something to think about...

Mick :D

The upright bikes are (in my experience) easier to ride than sports bikes. I went from a CBR 600 to and SP1 and whereas the SP has been my favourite of all the bikes I've owned I think I would have been better on an upright bike initially (my last bike was a Z1000 - great fun). I would suggest riding for a year on one of these. Something like a 900 Hornet maybe, I think that the bigger engined bikes are easier (more relaxed) to ride. If insurance is an issue (when isn't it I suppose!) then stick with a 600. Try and sit on as many as poss and test ride too if you can - always seems to be difficult though.
Happy riding!

I passed my test 2 years ago and after I passed, I brought a Honda Hornet 600 FS (brought on Ebay for 3k, 2500 miles on the clock and p/x'd it in March for £2.6k). I had this 18 months and did 10k miles on it. I commute into London everyday, so like you, I need a bike thats "flickable". In March, I brought a new CBR600F. Pretty much the same as the hornet, but I wanted fuel injection and fully fairings. I love it and I have done 6k miles on it already. I have Givi hard lugage which is great to store my helmet and carry laptop, etc.

Really temped by the VFR 800, but the 16k cost put me off.

I'm not a professional rider and the CBR suits me. It's fairly fast if you want it to be (quicker that my STI), but still quite easy to ride.

Oh, forgot to say a few things;

My father in law has a 2003 Fazer which I borrowed for 3 weeks (and last Friday when I got a puncture). It's a really good bike, but I wanted a fully faired bike. However it did fell really upright after riding the CBR for 6 months.

I rode to France in July and I had no problem with the neck / wrists. You do get used to it / harden up :)

Goto the bike show at NEC end of this month Motorcycle show - Bikes, Scooters and Accessories - 27th October to 5th November 2006 (http://www.motorcycleshow.co.uk) , this will help make your mind up.