The buying a new bike blues

[carlmalibu]

Hello all

I HATE THIS planning to buy a new bike lark; I'm getting a 5k lump sum on my 18th birthday (savings inheritence etc.) and I obviously don't wanna spend it all but I'd like to buy a new bike with it ( and afford to insure myself on it) at the same time I just got myself a job as a pizza hut delivery boy, which is fun and pays money.

So I have a weekly income now and a big amount of cash fairly soon but I can't work out what to do!

Bikes on my possibles list have been
sv650s - apparently gets boring, and not a good all-year-round bike
zzr600 - looks a little small for me
bandit 600s - don't know much about it but looks interesting
gpz500 - seem a little "cheap"?
Diversion - don't know much about this either
a beamer650gs - don't know much, probably too expensive or insurance is too expensive

I need fairly affordable insurance, a comfortable riding position that a pillion wouldn't mind either, a decent kick of speed/acceleration with a 33bhp restrictor on it and something I can use all year round without worrying.

Any ideas people?
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Shine on, you crazy diamond
CB500, woop.

[Keen]

Honda CBF500/600, or if you want to spend less, maybe the older Honda CB500. Any of those are cheapish to insure, have honda reliability, will take a pillion and you in comfort no problems and will be pretty fun to ride at the same time

I would also suggest a more powerful practical 600, maybe a hornet or fazer, but the insurance will be costly at 18 I expect
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"he who makes a beast of himself gets rid of the pain of being a man"- Dr. Johnson

[mark83]

Get an ER6n in black - original.

If you don't wanna fork out the cash, get a suzuki gs500 as its tough as old boots and nippy when you twist that right hand.

Otherwise, the gs650 bimmer is a top bike and not bad as a short-distance tourer for those weekend trips to france. (although at 50bhp might not be for you if you get bored easily.......)

either way, good luck. and i'm sure you'll love whatever bike you end up with.


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Kawasaki ER6n -> Honda CBR600RR -> Honda VTR 1000 -> Moto Guzzi Norge 1200
Buy my Mercedes 350 Sport AMG Evo

[G]

The SV is pretty ‘boring’ to me – however in comparison to some of the other bikes listed it will still offer more.

The ZZR is fairly low but definitely not a ‘small’ bike.

Riding position is very much in the arse of the rider – for instance I actually found a RS250 better suited to me than a CBR600!

What about a zx6 (pre 2002), thunder cat or CBR600.
Restricted, the power is going to be pretty similar on all of these.

If you prefer a naked look, how about the hornet or fazer; both of which have a bit more top end go than the bandit or SV, but still with a quite friendly power delivery.

[carlmalibu]

well to say a day riding an old RS125 and my bum feels ok, but when I was training on CGs and SRs I was number than a numb thing when I got off.

anyway, hornets will be a bitch to insure won't they? and have a shocking tank?
Never really looked at fazers, or thunder cats. I don't know what to consider!

Can't test ride either with being so young and nobody I know really has bikes I could jump on and take for a spin.
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Shine on, you crazy diamond
CB500, woop.

[Cillit-BANG]

Yeah, real bummer your getting all that money and your having to buy a bike I'd hate that.

For £2-3K you could pick up some cracking bikes, the market is your oyster at the moment.

Personally, I'd buy a mint Ducati Monster or 900ss. But thats just me.

[carlmalibu]

I don't want to blow it all and I probably wouldn't get insured on either of those bikes!
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Shine on, you crazy diamond
CB500, woop.

[G]

Both of those bikes are probably fairly cheap to buy and insure - I'd say for a reason, but that's another matter .

Will you have a years NCB when you're 18? I've seen some 18 year olds get pretty reasonable quotes on a few year old sports 600s (thus I mentioned them) when they've got a years NCB.

[smartwhitelig...]

Have a Yamaha FZS600 and love it. New biker, and like said previously, delivers power steadily. It is a bit clunky at lower revs, but open it up, and there is more than enough power for me. Mine is 02 plate and got it for £2100. You have plenty of choices out there, but may be worth narrowing your choices and getting a few insurance quotes on these, this may swing your decision.

[_Will_]

Z750S!
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Past -Honda qr50 | 2004 Peugeot Tkr s 50| | 1996 Yamaha XJ600s Diversion|

[Itchy]

its not the bike its what you do with it that counts ,


Sunday was a bit of a hack rally 4 v old hacks , with 3 newer bikes. I was 50BHP down on the biggest bike there a fazer but still managed a nice little lark on it, but hey a 50cc would have done ok on those roads.


a few litres of FS365 should prevent too much rot though bikes rot anyway ,
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Spain 2008France 2007Big one 2009 We all die. The goal isn't to live forever, the goal is to create something that will. In the end, your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it is worth watching.

[yambabe]

OI! My bike might be a bit old and scruffy but it's not a bloody hack.......

Going back OT, I think you're approaching it from the wrong angle carl.

Instead of thinking "what bike shall I buy with this cash" I suggest you start visiting bike shops and just looking at, sitting on, testing (if you can get a test) all sorts of stuff.

The more bikes you look at, the more one or possiblly a couple is going to start standing out to you and saying "yes, I am the bike for you".

Then you start looking at how you can afford it..........
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Sod falling in love, I wanna fall in chocolate.

[carlmalibu]

but I know my budget (around 1500) and I can't get tests on any bikes at 17.

The problem with my no claims is the underwriter that MCD insurance put me on was 125 only, so even if I was to change my policy with the same insurance company they need to change underwriters, i.e cancel my policy and start a new one.

I'm annoyed that this wasn't explained to me previously.

What this means is that unless I wait till June/July to change (I honestly don't know if my bike will last that long) then I lose my x months worth of no claims.

IRRITATING.
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Shine on, you crazy diamond
CB500, woop.

[carlmalibu]

ok the more I look at the yammy FZS fazer, the more it appeals.
Is this gonna be fun for me solo or with a pillion? how would it compare to, say, a diversion? or a zzr? (the other two I'm considering)
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Shine on, you crazy diamond
CB500, woop.

[froggeh]

buy a hornet

[extreme3d]

[Simple]

[extreme3d]

[G]

[mchaggis]

[extreme3d]

[lilredmachine]

I enjoy winding the SV round to 11,000 RPM. Comes with a nice howl. It has plenty enough power for larking about with, especially now the roads aren't friendly towards anything with more than about 30hp. If you are hopping off an RS125, even a restricted jobby will feel fast.
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Bikes: too many, too much for one man to maintain anyway.

[syl]

[Simple]

[carlmalibu]

well said Simple. I'm not complaining about being given money you silly people. Who can complain about a free lunch? It's just all the decisions that annoy me.
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Shine on, you crazy diamond
CB500, woop.