21 years old, need general 1st time advice

[Dave_M]

Hi, I'm new to bikes. Never been on one, not even a moped. I'm 21, I've been driving a peugeot 205 diesel for just under 4 years. Every time I drive it there has been a pressure building up inside me. I really want to get a bike for the speed and the adrenaline rush!!

Please tell me what bike you think I should get for a 1st bike. I think I want at least a 250cc bike, high reving, reliable. Noise is important, I've taken a liking to kawasaki ZXR400. Don't want a 2 stroke or anything that sounds like a chainsaw or just plain shite. Not trying to get myself killed so I don't need that much power. I'm used to 60bhp car and can still overtake shedloads of people, so I'm guessing a 33bhp bike is going to feel fast. But the whole point of getting one is for excitment so must be good fun to ride on. Maybe a get a 400 or 600 and have it restricted to 33hp? There are almost no 250cc bikes on autotrader compared to 600cc.

[Moonie]

If you want a 250 but not a 2-stroke then your probably not going to get that much bang for your buck.

Personally, I would look at the sports 400s, CBR, VFR, RVF, ZZR, ZXR, GSXR, the list goes on, there are absolutely loads. They can be restricted to 33bhp without much hassle, sound good, especially if you get a V4 like the RVF, and made about 55bhp from the factory, which will mean they probably still have about 48bhp now. At the crank of course. They are cheap to run, cheap to insure, and cheap to buy.

Also because they are often bought by new riders they may well already be restricted which will save you some effort.

Personally I would say that a 600 sports bike is alot too much for someone who has never ridden a motorbike in their life, and that when you learn on the 400 you will have to be very careful, it's not a car and if you come off there is a much higher chance of death/derious injury. However the bike will only go as fast as you want it to, so as long as your not intimidated by it then no worries

Main thing to look for when buying a 4 is scraped fairings, missing hero blobs, scrubbed tyres, loctited bolts, which are all signs of trackday thrashing.
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Don't practice it until you get it right, practice it until you don't get it wrong.
Presenting the one and only Chinkmobile

[Keir]

at 21 i would go and book my theory test asap, once thats done book a cbt and DAS as a package, when thats passed go and buy an sv650 (suzuki, 65-70bhp) and enjoy. dont fanny around with restriction crap.
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Current : '08 Yamaha FZ1s
Previous: '99 Honda CBR 600FX, 03 ZX636 B1H, 99 Fazer 600 (red), 02 GSX-R 600 K2, 00 SV650s (red), 2008 ZX10R, 97 Bandit 1200N, 04 ZX6RR K1H, 04 GSX-R 1000, 98 Fazer 600 (gold), 05 Madness 110 Pit bike, 04 CR125R, 00 SV650s (black), 06 KTM 625 SMC, 99 SRAD 600 track bike, 03 SV650, 98 Bandit 1200N, Bandit 600SY, 03 GSX-R 600 K3, 01 GSX-R 600, 01 Fazer 600 (black), VFR 400 NC30 x3, 78 Honda Dream, 00 Speedfight 50

[chris-red]

[iooi]

[Keir]

[Dave_M]

[Moonie]

ebay is your freind.
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Don't practice it until you get it right, practice it until you don't get it wrong.
Presenting the one and only Chinkmobile

[Spit-Fire]

[steppen22]

You DEFINITELY need some road experience on a velocipede first.

Everything about your first post says "boy racer".

A boy racer WITH experience is a fantastic thing to be.
A boy racer WITHOUT experience is just a short cut to A&E.

You do actualy need some skill to ride a velocipede, you realise? Can't just jump on and do 120 mph+

I'm just saying, be careful.
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no regrets, no retreat, no apology.
I've made mistakes in the past, and I apologise for FUCK ALL.

[iooi]

[Im-a-Ridah]

[Dave_M]

[sauluk]

Noise is important to you yet you drive a diesel 205?

[Dave_M]

[NexusDragon]

I was in the same position as you a year ago, I eventually decided to get it done so I went out and got the Cbt done, it was a good way of experiencing things on two wheels, and personally I think 125cc motorcycles are somewhat more difficult to ride. I had a Ybr125 for six months and even though I really enjoyed riding it, I just didn't find it useful for bigger roads or for dual carriageways.

Within six months of owning it, I booked my Das and passed (On a CBF600 training bike). I swapped the Ybr125 for a new Fazer S2, Thats a 140mph, 98bhp 600cc. I've gone from no experience to a 600cc in less than a year.

Do the Cbt.. see how you feel about riding, its not all about speed. Its about planning ahead, enjoying the ride and being safe. Naturally you can find opportunities to open it up if you really wanted, but I only do on rare occasions.
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DAS Passed 19th April 08. 07' YBR125 > Yamaha FZ6 S2 '08 > 1998 YZF600R ThunderCat

[Moonie]

[Dave_M]

[Tonka]

I did my CBT and DAS April / May and passed my test June. I'd put a deposit on my SV early April and just had to pass the bloody test. They delivered it to me all shiny and beautiful and I just love it!!

Insurance for me is £190pa and it's as nippy as I need for now - I can overtake and accelerate to my heart's content, but I know I'm gonna want a faster bike by next year!!

.....trying NOT to join the spill counter, cos it's not pretty and it's not clever !!
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'The core of a man's spirit comes from new experiences'
Suzuki SV650S (Clean); Yamaha XT250 Serow (Dirty)

[The Tot]

If I were you, I'd read THIS MONTH'S (Sept) edition of BIKE It's really useful and summarises the arguement which we have here.

New biker irrespective of 33bhp/DAS license wants new bike. Bike suggests:

98 RVF400 -£3500
05 SV650 - £3500
98 ZX6R -G -£2500

Feedback from the 3 newb riders

Rider 1 - 21 year old lad, passed test at 17, riding for four years. Rides Honda Bros400. Bike of choice was the ZX6R because it had comfort speed and reasonably good handling. 2nd choice was the RVF, comfortable despite size and quick enough, downside was the high price and cost of SERVICING (working on a V4 with a very complicated gear driven cam system will be the end of your bank balance compared to working with an IL4 or V2).

Rider 2 - 29 year old lassie, did a DAS, got an R6, dropped it a fair few times and also dropped the ZX6R test bike - what a dozy bint. Preferred the RVF. So feedback taken was DON'T get a bike that's too large to handle! She dropped it on the U turn on a hill probably because she wasn't used to the size and weight distribution. Chances are that it weighs about the same as the ZX6R (180 dry).

Rider 3 - experienced rider.... was only there to pay for the food and tea. ZX6R was his choice.

My suggestion is to assess your skill first before you can make a reliable and informed choice. These three bikes handle completely differently and would require different techniques to get the best out of them. Speed isn't everything... engine character, handling, suspension qualities, spare parts, maintenance and servicing MUST all be a consideration.

For me, it was a matter of getting used to the engine power delivery on my ZX6R. My ZXR250 had a stupid powerband characteristic of its 4 stroke screamers. Adapting to the ZX6R was relatively quick... the weight of the bigger bike took about a day to get used to, but everything else, the rate of speed of scenery change has generally been quicker.

I'd say just get a 600cc sports after your DAS, particularly if you're a big lad... take a bikesafe course which WILL improve your riding and awareness and sharpen up on your techniques... and lastly learn to tame your right wrist. The throttle on bigger bikes DOES NOT SERVE as a power switch OK!

On 600's or any supersports, when it comes to riding them, DON'T be goaded into chasing faster riders on their bikes. It's too tempting and if you ride beyond your skill and ability, YOU WILL KNOW ABOUT IT. If you're addicted to speed, PLEASE be aware that 600's can top 150-160mph so LEARN to use your brakes properly. Just because you ride a supersports doesn't mean you have to ride at 100% all the time, so remember that.
Hope this helps.
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The Tot 2019 Z1000SX - 2007 R1
Never argue with autism

[Keir]

[Dave_M]

Hey thanks for those comments they are awesome. Ya I would definitely not want to be doing 160MPH on a sports bike! But I would want to redline it a lot. So it would be much easier to get out of control compared to a SV650, which I know is still fast but it's easier to handle I expect. I know I want a sports 600, the SV650 will remain the sensible option for now

I'm not that big. 180cm (5.9 feet) and 78KG. So I'm guessing I could fit quite well on most bikes.

I went for a ride today on my old bicycle. It's been maybe 6 years since I've been on it. I just wanted to make sure I could still ride it lol. Ya it all came back right away. Was nice

I went to a bike school to ask about 6 day DAS course and including test it was over £1000! But I found another place to do it: 1 day CBT + 4 days DAS £565.00. Do you think I could get away with only 4 days DAS? I've been driving for 4 years, I passed 1st time it all comes naturally to me I feel like I've been driving my whole life.

[rac3r]

You are an inexperienced rider (so am i) because you've never even ridden a bike or you may not have even sat on one before do your cbt first before using all your money and then if you still want to go fast get an RS125 to build up your experience then jump on to a bigger bike once you feel you are ready. Thats what i did, i went from wanting an r6 to wanting an SV but then just did my CBT and bought an RS and i'm glad i did because you'll learn a lot more that way.
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Bikes : 2006 CBR125R - 2004 Monster 620ie - 2004 ZX-6R B1H - 2005 Monster S2R 800 - 2011 Street Triple - 2009 Streetfighter 1098 - 2014 ZX-6R 636

[hornetmike]

why does the car keep coming up ? ,once you get the bike cars are not important , only use mine for surfing.
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87 Honda CG 125 - 97 ER5 - SR 50 -81 Z250- 96 CBR 600 F- 94 GPX600R 88- GPX 400R- 87 GS 125 - 2006 Honda CB600F- 2003 ER5 - Honda CBF 1000 2009 - Honda CBR 600 RR 2011
Current BMW R1200GS 2010

[Dave_M]