new job, new start, new comer, new bike?

[BUTTSAAB]

hi there, well here goes!

I have decided to buy a motorbike, but am unsure as to what to buy, my dilemma is i have a new job 50 miles away, my current 406 pinafarina would cost an arm and a leg in petrol if i drove that 100 miles a day so im thinking to buy a motorbike.

My experience with bikes is limited to driving mopeds and scooters and my budget is £2000.

i would be riding 100 miles a day and need something economical, dont care about power....yet.


Any recommendations?

Someone told me to get a 125cc, but then someone else said it wouldnt be powerful enough to drive on the motorway for that distance every day!

i also need help in whether i need a licence especially for bikes as im getting conflicting advice, one person says i wouldnt need a cbt cause i have an old school licence (im 28 by the way and am a bigg man, lol) another person says i do etc

Ill be driving on the motorway too so please guys some help and if possible some pointers on where i should buy a bike from, i live in herts if it helps!

Preferably id like something economical and cheapish, something new with some freebies!

[phantomtek]

You should look at maybe getting a commuter 500 (GPZ, ER-5, CB500, something similar) or a Suzuki Bandit 600 / Yamaha XJ600, all of which are good for tank range, have decent power to get you from A to B and also fun to have on weekends, trust me you will get hooked. You should definitely buy private, try eBay, BikeTrader and MCN. Also consider other forums, and their For Sale sections. Oh and adtrader/freeads too.

You may need a CBT, then do your theory test and DAS test, which will be about £500 all in. Then you will need the bike, lookin at around £1300 for a decent bike in this class in my experience. Then you will need gear and insurance, and then you are good to go.

These are just general pricings though, look around you might find a bargain but make sure it's a clean example, £1300 is around the 20k mileage in my experience too.

Ride safe and welcome to BCF.

[satellite]

When you say you have an old school license, do you mean you've passed your bike test previously?

If you've not passed your bike test previously you'll need a CBT to ride upto a 125cc and pass a test to go any bigger. There's a sticky in this section about the different types of license.

I can't really advise on type of bike but would suggest something bigger than a 125 and therefore DAS would be your best bet.
____________________
09 Ninja & some four wheeled rotary goodness.

[BUTTSAAB]

so 125cc out of the question then?

if i did go down the 125cc route would i still need ato do a CBT and DAS test?

By the way got a full car diving licence. The old school bit was just said to mention im getting older by the day!

Looks like ill have to sell the pinafarina first then eh?!

[satellite]

[BUTTSAAB]

apologise for my ignorance but why would you not consider it for that length ride?

is it simply because of the lack of power or because the bike wouldnt be able to handle it?

[veeeffarr]

You'll get eaten alive on a motorway on a 125.

Not enough power.

[satellite]

Also, you couldn't ride on the motorway with just a CBT so you'd need to do your full test. With your full test done you'd be silly to plump for a 125 especially for motorway miles
____________________
09 Ninja & some four wheeled rotary goodness.

[BUTTSAAB]

ok please explain a little more, if its a case of ill get shitted on by someone in a lada samara, i couldnt give a toss, if its a case of the bike would simply give up after a few days then fair enough.

I just want something that would get me from a - b for cheap and something thats not going to give me permanent groin strain!

[veeeffarr]

[BUTTSAAB]

ok fair enough, with that in mind then what could i should i look out for, im a biiiigg guy, about 5'11, 20 stone, need something comfy ish and on a budget as low as possible!

Got about £2000 but really want to get the whole works for that money including test, gear etc.

I was hoping i could ride a bike with L plates on the motorway, oh well looks like i ll have to take my test soon!

[satellite]

A 125 would be going flat out to keep up with motorway pace, if it would manage it at all. 125's are also more expensive than other bikes (they hold their value much better) , so given you need to ride on the motorway and you therefore would have to do your test, a bigger bike would not only suit the journey better but also cost you less to buy.

Obviously you'd pay more to insure a bigger bike and use a bit more fuel, but the bike wouldn't be screaming the whole time and therefore would cope better with the miles.

I know what you mean about the A to B bit, I've just got back into riding myself to do the commute thing. I'm the same age as you and chose to go the 125 route as my commute is about 6 miles a day. If it was 20+ I would have gone the DAS route and got a bigger bike.
____________________
09 Ninja & some four wheeled rotary goodness.

[BUTTSAAB]

its a shame eh? DAS route seems a bit pricey, was hoping to save money!

[veeeffarr]

[BUTTSAAB]

what age bikes would they be then, 1987, 1990 bikes?

any models in particular that stand out?

[veeeffarr]

[BUTTSAAB]

just had a look at them and none of them look particularly sexy apart from the gs500 but then again i didnt say anything about the looks did i?

[phantomtek]

If you are on this kind of budget, you aren't going to get a beautiful bike. More a bike that is reliable and does what you pay it to do. I am still recommending a Bandit, having more grunt than the 500s and good MPG etc.

[veeeffarr]

https://www.doering.co.uk/doering/photos/moon_on_a_stick.jpg

[BUTTSAAB]

what kind of bandit , bandit 600, and what is the mpg of it?

[veeeffarr]

[BUTTSAAB]

may stick with the gs500, they look pretty nice out of the bunch, what do you guys think?

there a guide as to what to look out for when buying a bike? specifically gs500??

what does the DAS test include? theory involved , how many days etc?

[phantomtek]

[BUTTSAAB]

again pardon my ignorance but why is there a DAS test, then one with theory, one without, which one do i need to just get on the blasted thing and ride like the wind?!!

[phantomtek]