First *Proper* bike?

[95Theses]

Hello everyone,

I'm 32 and recently (September) moved back to London. I'd never had a bike before but the traffic was killing me so I took the plunge.

I did my CBT and then picked up an '09 YBR125 to practice on. I live in South London and am going up to Chelsea each day, about 10 miles each way. I do the trip up on the A3 to Putney to get some practice on busy dual carriageways and I come back another route to practice other roads so with other trips on the weekends I've done a couple of thousand miles already.

I've really got the bug now and I feel comfortable and safe getting about so I'm going to put in to do my test. To be honest straight away I'd be happy enough doing the test on my 125 and getting a 33bhp bike to start with, I've no great desire to hoon around like a loon and get myself killed, but the 2 year wait to step up again seems a bit excessive if you are doing decent mileage.

So, anyway, I've been looking at what bike to get. I want something that I can commute on but also something that I can take to Brighton and Birmingham where I have friends. Also, I'm really looking at taking a fortnight in summer to go on a riding trip round Europe and ideally I'd like something that can do all that.

I don't want anything too big and heavy (I'm 5'10") especially stepping up from the YBR, I'm not concerned about speed and I don't really want something cramped like a sports bike for doing long distance. I would like some fairing and an upright (ish) riding position.

Speaking to a couple of mates who ride alot they have suggested getting either a VFR750 or a ZZR600 because they reckon I could do distance on them, they aren't too lary unless you really rag them and aren't too massive.

The VFR looks pretty big to me, and the ZZR looks a bit lairy, but I'm far from an expert and wondered what other bikes people reckon I should look at.

Budget, about £3k, don't want to spend much more than that for a couple of years because knowing my luck I'll drop the bloody thing.

Thanks

[Teflon-Mike]

Doing commuter miles, the old favoiurite commter twins will probably be the more useful. CB500, GS500, ER5, GPz500. SV650.
ZZR6, VFR750, great bikes, and fairly newbie freindly, but cranking up the higher miles you suggest, they'll take a fair bit of maintenence and cost, just to weave through traffic, where the air-cooled twins tend to be in thier element, and not wear out chains and tyres so readily.
Still up to long hauls. Lack of fairing needn't be such a big downer, it emphasises sense of speed and puts less plastic at risk in city traffic!
And you can still fit one, if its really important, if it dont have one already.
____________________
My Webby'Tef's-tQ, loads of stuff about my bikes, my Land-Rovers, and the stuff I do with them!
Current Bikes:'Honda VF1000F' ;'CB750F2N' ;'CB125TD ( 6 3 of em!)'; 'Montesa Cota 248'. Learner FAQ's:= 'U want to Ride a Motorbike! Where Do U start?'

[multijoy]

£3k is a reasonable sum for a first bike- I'd be inclined to look to spend only half that, especially for London!

The list is pretty endless, though- late 90's sports/sports tourers are always worth a punt. (CBR600F, thundercat etc- see this thread for further discussion on those bikes)

You might want to investigate the nineties fazer 600's as well, and possibly the CBF600 if you have acute insomnia! The biggest point is to make sure you get as many test rides as you can to make sure you're comfortable with the position of the bike- what works for some doesn't work for others.
____________________
'11 CBF1000A, '99 C90, '98 CB500
silky666: He rode amazingly well considering his bike is the weight of a small van and had slicks on.

[Dilyan]

Got a Thundercat (600 cc) as a first bike. Its a decent bike, you can get a good deal on these. For about 2000-2500 (looking at Y-reg, etc.), its a nice size, comfortable and cheap insurance.

[Parp]

I am in the same position, what to get next that is similar to the YBR, but with a bit more poke.

[N cee thirty]

have a look for yamaha fazer 600 around 99,seen some very cheap and very easy to handle
____________________
'00 Aprilia RS50 > '92 Honda CG > '99 Yamaha Fazer > '91 Yamaha RXS > '79 Suzuki X5 > 01' Honda Cg > 07' Honda Cg > 82' Kawasaki Z200 > suzuki gsxr 400 gk73a > honda vfr 400 NC30 Mod 2 Passed 09/06/2011

Jewlio Iglesias wrote: I actually did vote BNP once

[Slacker24seve...]

Any of the half faired bikes like the Hornet, Fazer, SV650, the dull CBF600 and the even duller Blandit would suit; with the exception of the CBF you could get a very tidy example with middling miles and FSH for half of your budget.

With a whole £3k to spend I'd be seriously considering a nice, late CBR600F though

Try a few. Your shortlist is pretty much every typical 'first big bike' and unless you buy a dog you can't really go wrong
____________________
Triumph Daytona 675 track bike + girlfriend's Honda Hornet 600
Selling a hack/winter bike for less than a grand? PM me.
Banger rallies are ace