So You've Got £1000, New Biker - What Bike?

[StevenF]

Title says it all really. I'm still learning at the moment but thinking of selling my car to get a cheaper one and buy a bike for £1000 or under if possible. Just wondering what you guys would go for?
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My Project - Honda CBR 600 F2/FM

[Flip]

By learning, do you mean that you are on L plates and looking for a 125?

[StevenF]

[steve32]

you can buy mine for £600
https://www.bikechatforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=189670&highlight=
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suzuki GSX 600F katana .: ~my bike up for sale~ :.
CBT = Completed
DAS= Working on it - theory test = Passed

[Dan Random]

Did my DAS end of Sept 08, got a ZZR600 the week before Xmas 08, crashed it June 09, then got a Thundercat the week before Xmas 09, so i'm hoping it lasts longer than June this year...

ZZR was '94 E2 14k miles for £950, T-cat was '97 17k miles for £1100.
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'94 ZZR-600 - R.I.P. 6th June 2009
'97 Thundercat - Where there's life, there's hope...

[No More Names ......]

Is a car essential ... or could you buy a car come the winter, thus putting you in the 1000 - 2000 bracket, which will buy a lot more bike ... just an idea ...
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Flip Wrote: You're a bloke, you don't need kids. You need a vehicle, someone to shag, a dog and a shed. AKA Cuntdudes life and ambition ... A ++

DOD Wrote: It was very interesting - the desolation of some of the areas of that city is quite remarkable. Shows what terrible town planning can do.

[StevenF]

Dan - How did you find the ZZR600 as a first bike? Most of the ones I've seen have been slightly out of my price range.

[No More Names ......]

New bird it is then ....

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Flip Wrote: You're a bloke, you don't need kids. You need a vehicle, someone to shag, a dog and a shed. AKA Cuntdudes life and ambition ... A ++

DOD Wrote: It was very interesting - the desolation of some of the areas of that city is quite remarkable. Shows what terrible town planning can do.

[crowe]

I got a V reg Kawasaki ER5 for a grand (good condition with only 8000 miles!). A great bike for a first big bike (especially to tide you over until you can afford/feel ready for a bigger bike).

My next bike will be a Kawasaki er6-f

[arry]

Obvious questions to ask would be:

What sort of bikes are you into? Sports, faired, half faired, street, touring, supermoto?
What do you intend doing on the bike most of the time - what's it used for? Pleasure/commute, Motorway blast, back road twisties, touring?
What type of rider are you? Lazy, aggressive, fast, slow?
What do you want out of a bike? Torquey, revvy, reliability, economy?

There's a ton of bikes under a grand - you need to narrow the search fields

[StevenF]

I like most kind of bikes, sports, naked and sport tourers. The bike would be used for a mix of things as well - comuting, pleasure and i hope touring as well, also something that would alow my girlfriend to come with me and be fairly comfortable would be nice
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My Project - Honda CBR 600 F2/FM

[arry]

[chris-red]

For a grand I woud buy an old hornet or steelie CBR600 I think.
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Well, you know what they say. If you want to save the world, you have to push a few old ladies down the stairs.
Skudd:- Perhaps she just thinks you are a window licker and is being nice just in case she becomes another Jill Dando.
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[BlackStallion]

I haven't actually rode it yet, because i've just got to pass my mod 2, but i bought myself a 1996 Bandit 600 for £1000, and it was in great condition for it's age, was well looked after. I mainly went for the Bandit because it ticked all the boxes that i wanted it for

I researched into the bike for a good while, got peoples opinions, spoke to Bandit riders themselves, and it all paid off. I looked around for a good Bandit at a good price, i didn't jump in at the first one i saw, i looked at other similar bikes to, just for comparison, like the Hornet, and i even looked at a CBR600, just to get an idea of the differences between a naked bike and a sports bike

It all depends on your tastes, but if you keep your eye on a certain bike, look into it, get some information and feedback on it, find out the advantages and disadvantages of the bike and then if you find out that it meets your requirements, give it a shot, and start looking around and viewing them, in time you'll find the one you want at a good price.

I looked at 7 Bandits, and travelled over 70 miles for one, to look at it, but went away disappointed. Then, the 7th Bandit i looked at, just did it for me, the owner was a nice lad who had looked after it and given it love and attention for the 2 years he had it, it had new tyres fitted, it had just been through a full service and even had a few modifications that were a bonus, like braided lines, wavey brake discs, renthal sprockets and an end can that sounded awesome

The lad had all the paperwork, the manual, previous receipts from parts, services etc... He made a log book of everything that was done to it, all the MOT certificates and tax discs were all there. That's something you should look out for, the paperwork and the bikes history, it's important mate

Not being biased, but if you like naked bikes, i'd say a Bandit 600 would be a good choice

[el_oso]

[el_oso]

[Dan Random]

[whackamole]

Bikes I've had so far since DAS a few years ago -

Ducati Monster 600 V reg - Don't bother, never worked, left me heartbroken and unable to trust Duc's again. Nice looking and sounding though. Shite ride due to leccy problems making it cut out at speed. Didn't half improve my reaction time though!

Yamaha Fazer FZS600 03 plate - Best of the Fazer bunch, as has newer styling with older oomph. Cracking bike.

Kawasaki GPZ 500S (old!) - Awesome learner bike. Loads of fun. Rides like a toy. Shift up the gears and it's gentle as a scooter, hoon into the red zone before changing and is a right laugh. Low seat height and light but did find high winds and motorway miles a bit of a pain due to lack of weight. Bloody good fun though.

Honda CBR 600 F '98 steelie - (current ride) Belter of a bike. Has been neglected in winter and, like with all of my bikes, never seen the back end of a trickle charger. Still fires up with a little coaxing regardless. Great bike, reliable, solid, great mpg, again if you ramp up the gears gives a very sensible commute, waz up the gears for big fun times. Top bike. If you like sports this is about as all round as it gets and very much loved even by the most experienced of riders.

If you want cheap, I'd go for the GPZ (also very forgiving). Great little bike. Sports, go for the CBR, or an all-rounder with a more upright position the Fazer.

That's my two penneth going off my few years experience.

Be good.
W
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Be nice.

CBR600F

[Clanger]

I would highly likely go the same route again as I did after doing the DAS, I went out and bought myself a newly imported Honda Bros 400cc from Boxhill Motorbikes.

I took a mechanically minded friend and we looked over a few different bikes just out the container, and I chose my bike, and bought it. For about £1,200.

Four years later, and after much tlc and loving and respray I sold her to a nice old gent from Wales for a little bit more.
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Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter won't mind - Dr. Seuss