Newbie bike advice

[Bad_Moon_Rising]

Hi there,

I'm new to this site and new to riding so please be nice.

I passed my DAS 2 months ago (4 faults) after 2.5 days of riding having previously never ridden a bike before. So I'm looking to buy my first bike. I will be spending most of my time travelling between Merthyr and Cardiff commuting (40 mile round trip) but will also use the bike around the city as my main source of transport. I've done a bit of research into what bikes would be suitable I've come up with the following list:-

Suzuki Bandit (faired version)
Suzuki SV650 (faired version)
Suzuki V-Strom (faired version)
Yamaha Fazer FZ6 S2 (faired version)

Out of the above bikes i've kind of narrowed it down to the Bandit and the FZ6 due to the fairing and the relatively large tanks.(approx 19 litres)

Any experiences please?

many thanks

Seb

[silverelephan...]

Hi Seb! Congratulations on passing!

I can recommend the SV as a first big bike - I passed my test in July, picked up my SV in August and I'm having a brilliant time with it. Like you, I had narrowed it down to 4 bikes and I spent a day on my own (so I was going with MY opinion not anyone elses) going round a couple of local dealers looking at the bikes on my list. By doing that I managed to rule two of them out straight away then between the other 2 I spent a bit of time looking over all aspects of the bikes, and sitting on them getting a feel for the riding positions. I made my decision but walked away that day knowing that I couldn't go back to the dealers for a week and as the SV never left my head for the entire week I knew I'd chosen my bike (or had it chosen me?)

At the end of the day it's going to be your bike, you're the one that has to ride it and love it so although other people can advise you, you've got to make a decision for YOU. Good luck!

[Bad_Moon_Rising]

Thanks SE, so best advice is to test ride the four bikes I've narrowed it down to and make up my own mind??

Makes sense I suppose.

[NexusDragon]

I bought a brand new FZ6 S2 (naked) after passing my test, as much as I love the thing, I do wonder what the other bikes would have been like. If you can get a test ride on them, take the oppportunity!

At the end of the day all 600's do the same thing, its plenty of power for day-in-day-out use and for longer trips on motorways but think about comfort, practicality and features (big tank, friendly clocks). I went with the Fazer as it was a commuter and sporty looking too.
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DAS Passed 19th April 08. 07' YBR125 > Yamaha FZ6 S2 '08 > 1998 YZF600R ThunderCat

[muzzy]

Welcome to BCF

[Wise1]

[Bad_Moon_Rising]

THanks for your responses, I just need to find a weekend free to test these bikes.

What are bike dealers like for discounts? I think the list price for most of the bikes above is about 5k, any chance of getting a few quid knocked off like a car dealer or are they more rigid?

[Tonka]

Snap, me too!!!

I passed my test June and bought an SV. Actually I saw it in April when I did my CBT and put the deposit down there and then, as I fell in love with it!

Retrospectively it would have been sensible to actually ride the bike first, but I was limited by my size as to which bike I could have (the SV was lowered twice to fit me!). Riding position is another size related issue and you'll need to be comfortable for your commute - having said that you don't have to go too far!

My bike was pre-loved which is what swung it for me as it was 2 years old but had just 950 miles on the clock, so I felt I had a good as new bike. Given the current climate I would hope you could get a good deal on new or used - if you don't ask you won't get, so be cheeky and if you can't change the buying price enough try and get extras thrown in!

Enjoy yourself!
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'The core of a man's spirit comes from new experiences'
Suzuki SV650S (Clean); Yamaha XT250 Serow (Dirty)