Best first bike

[Newbiker0507]

I'll be doing my DAS in January and will be looking to get a bigger bike immediately.

What are the general beginners big bikes? I believe in bringing myself along correctly as I'm playing with my life, and a small amount of cash, so there's no point in me getting an R1 immediately.

All the best,

James

[mooserx]

this question has been asked loads of times, its all personal preference, my first big bike was a cbr 1000f, some say a litre bike is to big, personally i think not if you're sensible, many will say go for a 600, but bear in mind most moden 600's will do well over a ton! a ton on a 600 is the same as a ton on a thou even though you get there quicker on a thou which is what catches most people out.

its horses for courses really, best thing to do is test ride the bikes you like and see which fits you and your budget best, it also depends on what you want the bike for, hooning or commuting.

if it was a 600 you were looking for try the yamaha thundercat, comfy and fast, there are so many bikes out there that you will eventually find one you like.
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[Wafer_Thin_Ham]

Bandit 6, ER6, CB500, ER5, Hornet 6, Fazer 6, SV650, SV650s, all make ideal first bikes.
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[Darth]

There are a zillion choices. A lot of it will come down to personal choice. I have only just passed and bought '98 GSX600F, mostly because it came up for sale was a good chunk below my budget and only a few miles away. Thankfully i am very happy with it for my first bike!
I was totally confused when i started looking though as there are so many bikes out there and having no experience with any of them i had very little to go on apart from

a. did i like the look of it?
b. could i afford it?
c. what did google have to say about it?

Look forward to many hours of staring at biketrader and ebay!

[Knacker]

GSXR
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Current: Gsxr 600 Srad - GS125 - DT125
Previous: K1 GSXR 1000

[t121anf]

[T0MMY]

Hayabusa


No, I'm from the old school of moving up gradually, I think you get more enjoyment that way as you get progressively more powerful bikes. These 17 year olds with sports 600s haven't got much left to look forward to really I would normally recommend a 400 like a CBR, VFR, RVF, ZXR, FZR, GSXR but they're getting hard to find and a bit pricey, that's why I got a CBR600

The obvious choice would be an SV650 in terms of something cheap, fun, practical and easy to ride and yet something you won't outgrow in 6 months
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ZX6R + CBR600RR

[Darth]

[Blau Zedong]

GSXR1100K
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[Clanger]

My first 'big' bike was the Honda Bros 400, nice little all-rounder, forgiving, solid and sturdy bike. When I got to the stage where I was flinging her about, blasting about everywhere at top end, I thought it best to move to another faster, lighter bike.

I opted for the sv650 afterwards because I like V-Twin engines.
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[T0MMY]

[Pernig]

I've never ridden an SV650, but everyone I know who has one/has ridden one has said nothing but good things about them. There's so many of them around too, so they must be decent bikes .
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[skiberd123]

am loving my cb400sf at the moment (had it about 2 weeks), was fairly cheap, looks chill of you dig naked bikes and sounds mildly arousing

[T0MMY]

That would be a good choice too, though harder to find a cheap one I'd say. I spent the summer in Hong Kong and literally two thirds of the bikes on the roads are CB400s, it was bizarre Always preferred the styling of the CB-1 myself though, which would also be a good choice of first bike
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ZX6R + CBR600RR

[mark83]

The more I think about it, the more I think that I should have started on a supermoto.
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Kawasaki ER6n -> Honda CBR600RR -> Honda VTR 1000 -> Moto Guzzi Norge 1200
Buy my Mercedes 350 Sport AMG Evo

[hmmmnz]

xr650 or a big light trailie
they handle being dropped with minimum fuss,
fast enough on the motorway, (not too fast)
get through traffic like no bodies business,
and require very little maintenance
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[Blue_SV650S]

People have mentioned SV650 as a first bike (I obviously have one) ... I am not convinced it makes for the best starter bike.

As standard, the brakes are lacking, and the suspension primitive, but more importantly than this, the V-Twin actually makes pulling away and riding slowly a bit of an art.

Now I love the SV650, don't get me wrong, but having ridden both, I think one of the parallel twins* make for a more forgiving initial bike.

As others have said, the SV650 is a fairly common first bike, so it is not like it is impossible to ride, but I honestly think it isn't the simplest bike to ride ...

... as an SV650 owner ... just my 2p ...

*CB500, GPZ500 etc
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The purpose of life is to fight maturity.

[pyx_e]

ER 5 FTW.
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Shiney!
Kawasaki: ER5, Versys, VN900.

[Azonicben]

Currently tooling round on a CBR400rr (nc29)
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Cbt-23/09/07.....Theory-16/09/08.....Das passed 10/10/08.....
Current bike- GsxR750 K4. Broken: Cbr400rr (Nc29) Sold: Hyosung GT125R

[Moonie]

Wait until you've done your DAS, see how you got on with the test bike and then sensibly ask yourself what you can handle.

Also what do you want your bike to do for you? There's no point climbing aboard a hardly movingson if you want to be blitzing the b roads.
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[G]

[MarJay]

SV650 is fast enough for any beginner. It handles well enough for any beginner. Its practical, comfy and fairly sporty.

Its the ideal do it all first bike, and the icing on the cake is its a twin.

Great bikes, I still miss mine.
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British beauty: Triumph Street Triple R; Loony stroker: KR1S; Track fun: GSXR750 L1; Commuter Missile: GSX-S1000F
Remember kids, bikes aren't like lego. You can't easily take a part from one bike and then fit it to another.

[gr82bthe1st]

cbr600f

they are sweeeet bikes!

but then again, im abit biased
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A2 passed 25/07/2008 --> restriction ended 25/07/2010
Yamaha Neos 50 --> Suzuki GN125 --> Honda CBR600F --> Yamaha MT-07
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[Seb]

My first big bike was a ZZR600, did everything I asked of it and never let me down once

Looking back though, I think starting out on a cheap lightweight shitter would have made me a better rider though.
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2010 Triumph 1050 Sprint ST

[Smooth]

You could go out and buy a Hayabusa, but you probably won't be able to get near the limits of whatever you end up with, so buying something cheap and basic will allow you to improve a lot without being too concerned about getting into too much trouble or damaging the machine.

They've no street cred and above 80mph there's not a lot of grunt, but a commuter 500 will manage 0-60 in ~5 seconds and do everything you need. cornering and handling are fairly good and a good rider could hustle one along quickly.

The CB500 is supposed to be better than the ER5, but they're relatively expensive and not that available.

The GS500 isn't great as standard, but the suspension can be upgraded with other Suzuki bike parts.

I would like a better bike, but I know that despite improving greatly, I've still not got the most out of the ER5.

If I did it again I'd still go with a 500 and then upgrade when the learning curve flattens off.
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