suitable motorbike for a novice

E

emcf

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evening all,

I've recently passed my CBT (basic bike training) and have been driving a 125cc moped about - i'm absolultely loving it!!!!. I'm now wanting to do the direct access test (lets me ride a bike of unlimited power:eek: ). i am trying to think of what would be a suitable bike for me to get....something with a bit of oomph about it but not stupid levels of power as i don't want to wrap it round a lamp-post.

i'm currently thinking along the lines of a suzuki sv 650s or a bandit of some description....would these be too powerful for a relative novice? what about one of those groovy kawasaki ninjas?

i need a bike that is quite big as i'm about 6'2'' and 15 odd stone so don't want a puny 400cc effort and the bike has to be good for commuting thru london traffic as well as being fun on the country roads ......anyone got any recommendations/general advice for beginners?
 
The thing that Col just bought sounded like a good deal - Pan European or something...
 
KenHigg said:
The thing that Col just bought sounded like a good deal - Pan European or something...
Click to expand...


hmm...that's a tourer of some sort is it? I'm wanting something a bit more dynamic. a tourer might be a bit fat & slow for getting through the traffic in rush hour.
 
You'd be surprised how much oomph is in a 250 crotch rocket (Suzi, Kaw, etc) not much for extended distances, but do they ever scoot in traffic and short hops:eek:

I used to have a Suzi 550L which was a great little bike. 6sp, sportster frame. Lots of vibration on long hauls because of it's diminutive stature. I think Suzi makes a 600-750 sized Intruder, Honda has some smaller Shadows in that same range, I believe. I prefer Hondas (I ride an old GoldWing myself), but if I were you, I'd stay at or under the 750 until you have some experience under your belt.
 
emcf said:
a tourer might be a bit fat & slow
Click to expand...

I can see that being Col's riding style now that you mention it - :p :p
 
You need to think about what the majority of your biking is going to be - commuting or touring or racing etc. Are you going to ride all year round (like me:D )?

If you ride all year, you need to think about weather protection (from the bike), accessories like heated grips and heated waistcoat. When its -6c its a bit brisk going to work.

If you are a summer softee:D ;) and just want it for June to September mostly commuting with the odd long run. You may consider a Yamaha Fazer - either the 600cc or the 1000cc, both excellent and easy to ride for a newer rider. Or the Honda CBR range.

I would personally avoid the Ninja / Fireblade types at this stage, insurance will be huge and you may well kill yourself.

My bike, the ST1100 Pan European is more for touring - I go to France and/or Spain every year. It top speed is only 135mph, but is extremely comfortable for the 750mile-per-day trips, plus it has a 250 mile tank range. I also have a Suzuki 400cc that I commute mostly on (although I did bring the Pan today)

Also, I'd advise an advanced course of some description. I did one in the safety of Cadwell Park racetrack - set up like roads with different situations and I've done advanced lessons on-the-road with a police instructor. Well worth it.

Whatever bike you get - enjoy it, its a wonderful feeling if its done properly. Ride safe, and don't be bullied into pushing things too far by peer pressure, there's been 11 riders killed so far this year in Essex. :(

Keep us posted as to your progress

Col
 
ColinEssex said:
You need to think about what the majority of your biking is going to be - commuting or touring or racing etc. Are you going to ride all year round (like me:D )?

If you ride all year, you need to think about weather protection (from the bike), accessories like heated grips and heated waistcoat. When its -6c its a bit brisk going to work.

If you are a summer softee:D ;) and just want it for June to September mostly commuting with the odd long run. You may consider a Yamaha Fazer - either the 600cc or the 1000cc, both excellent and easy to ride for a newer rider. Or the Honda CBR range.

I would personally avoid the Ninja / Fireblade types at this stage, insurance will be huge and you may well kill yourself.

My bike, the ST1100 Pan European is more for touring - I go to France and/or Spain every year. It top speed is only 135mph, but is extremely comfortable for the 750mile-per-day trips, plus it has a 250 mile tank range. I also have a Suzuki 400cc that I commute mostly on (although I did bring the Pan today)

Also, I'd advise an advanced course of some description. I did one in the safety of Cadwell Park racetrack - set up like roads with different situations and I've done advanced lessons on-the-road with a police instructor. Well worth it.

Whatever bike you get - enjoy it, its a wonderful feeling if its done properly. Ride safe, and don't be bullied into pushing things too far by peer pressure, there's been 11 riders killed so far this year in Essex. :(

Keep us posted as to your progress

Col
Click to expand...

I'd say Col is the authority on this one - ;)
 
ColinEssex said:
You need to think about what the majority of your biking is going to be - commuting or touring or racing etc. Are you going to ride all year round (like me:D )?

If you ride all year, you need to think about weather protection (from the bike), accessories like heated grips and heated waistcoat. When its -6c its a bit brisk going to work.

If you are a summer softee:D ;) and just want it for June to September mostly commuting with the odd long run. You may consider a Yamaha Fazer - either the 600cc or the 1000cc, both excellent and easy to ride for a newer rider. Or the Honda CBR range.

I would personally avoid the Ninja / Fireblade types at this stage, insurance will be huge and you may well kill yourself.

My bike, the ST1100 Pan European is more for touring - I go to France and/or Spain every year. It top speed is only 135mph, but is extremely comfortable for the 750mile-per-day trips, plus it has a 250 mile tank range. I also have a Suzuki 400cc that I commute mostly on (although I did bring the Pan today)

Also, I'd advise an advanced course of some description. I did one in the safety of Cadwell Park racetrack - set up like roads with different situations and I've done advanced lessons on-the-road with a police instructor. Well worth it.

Whatever bike you get - enjoy it, its a wonderful feeling if its done properly. Ride safe, and don't be bullied into pushing things too far by peer pressure, there's been 11 riders killed so far this year in Essex. :(

Keep us posted as to your progress

Col
Click to expand...

cheers col,

i'll be mostly using it for commuting and just driving around town, no touring but may consider taking it round a track once in a while and the odd spurt along the motorway.

hopefully i'll manage more riding than june-sept, although maybe not in jan/feb! never heard of the heated waistcoat though. might be a good idea though - i was coming back from rugby training tonight and was feeling a bit chilly at 30mph...god knows what it'll be like in the depths of winter.

i did my cbt with get-bike and will do the DAS with them too - the instructors seem a good bunch who know what they are talking about....may well do some sort of advanced course too as unfortunately i've only got the one life!

no worries re peer pressure...hopefully i'm old enough to resist that.

i'll have a closer look at the fazer/CBR bikes...seen a few on the roads and they look the business...hopefully something around insurance level 10-12 will be the one i get...not too powerful but enough fun. one day i will get to the kawasaki ZX-10R!!:eek:

i'll let you know how i get on.
 
rak said:
As suggested in another thread , wouldn't this be something for a beginner :

http://www.usatoday.com/money/2005-06-14-hydro-cycle-usat_x.htm
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looks a good idea but may be a bit too quiet for my liking! i'm not sure how many hydrogen pumps we have in blighty...seen a few LPG pumps but they are few and far between. although $3 (about £1.50) for 100 miles is fantastic value - a big engined car probably burns that amount of petrol sitting at the lights for 1 minute!
 
emcf said:
..seen a few LPG pumps but they are few and far between.
Click to expand...

Here in the Netherlands it's quite common to run cars on LPG, although its becomming less and less popular. Diesel starts to ake over.
But actually ,I have never seen a motorbike on LPG. Might be a new market !:rolleyes:
 
How about this one?

desertbike.jpg
 
right...to re-instate a motorbike thread instead of hijacking other threads

phase two of project learn to ride a motorbike commenced today with a geared conversion course. my ped is twist and go so i found gears pretty hard going.....i was thinking so much about them i was forgetting about simple stuff like turning off the indicator. guess it'll just be a case of getting used to it and it will start to happen automatically. got assessed for the DAS course too, need 3.5 days training for that, one more day on a 125 then i get two days on a 500cc bike:cool:

SJ McAbney said:
How about this one?

desertbike.jpg
Click to expand...

not sure that i need the stabilisers....but i guess i jumped the gun a bit today and walked out of the bike school having put down a deposit for a yellow bike without stabilisers....

suzuki sv650s
 
As a large sized person myself I would stay away from crotch rockets. They are murder on the back for a large framed person.
You can usually pick up somthing second hand in the 500 to 750 cc touring bike. Check your local police to see when or if they auction off their used bikes. They are generally a good deal an have usually been maintained well.
 
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statsman said:
As a large sized person myself I would stay away from crotch rockets. They are murder on the back for a large frame.
You can usually pick up somthing second hand in the 500 to 750 cc touring bike.
Click to expand...

Ditto (except for the largish bit :D )
 
emcf said:
right...to re-instate a motorbike thread instead of hijacking other threads

phase two of project learn to ride a motorbike commenced today with a geared conversion course. my ped is twist and go so i found gears pretty hard going.....i was thinking so much about them i was forgetting about simple stuff like turning off the indicator. guess it'll just be a case of getting used to it and it will start to happen automatically. got assessed for the DAS course too, need 3.5 days training for that, one more day on a 125 then i get two days on a 500cc bike:cool:



not sure that i need the stabilisers....but i guess i jumped the gun a bit today and walked out of the bike school having put down a deposit for a yellow bike without stabilisers....

suzuki sv650s
Click to expand...

Good luck on the DAS. I did it in 1996, a freezing day in January:rolleyes: . The gears will happen automatically in time, stick with it.

My little 400 was in for a service the other day, and the company gave me a a new sv650s for the day.
It was very good, a high revving engine, 6 speed so there's plenty of gears to choose from! I found you need to be in exactly the right gear all the time, the torque was not very forgiving:rolleyes: With no wind protection, I found it was fairly "breezy" out on the dual carriageway, also I missed having somewhere to carry stuff. On my 400 I have a huge underseat area that swallows a laptop and shopping, and the Pan has the 2 panniers each capable of taking a full face helmet.

Ignore the remarks about being a "wuss" if you have heated grips - believe me, in biting winds and cold they are a godsend, as is a heated waistcoat - I use that for long trips during winter. This is mine.

Get this book. - its the bible of motorcycle riding, ignore the "police" bit, police riders are the most advanced and safe you will learn alot, this is their riding techniques shown. It explains everything and is just brilliant, it will help you before and after your test. It is the way to ride a motorcycle. Remember the learning doesn't really start till after you pass the test.

Ride safe - keep alert;)

Col
 
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Ignore the remarks about being a "wuss" if you have heated grips - believe me, in biting winds and cold they are a godsend,
Click to expand...

But what about the backs of your hands?:confused:
oh and please don't mention religion in the cooler;)
 
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