£3500 budget for bike

[Bozzie08]

Fingers crossed I pass my mod 2 in a few weeks.

If I do I have a £3500 budget for a bike. I don't want a new bike as I anticipate within the first year it will be a matter of time I drop it and I will be gutted if it's a brand new bike.

Firstly what bikes do people recommend. I'm looking at a few. Er6f, versys 650, hornet, fz6, bandit.....

Secondly, private sale or garage/shop? I know private would be cheaper but I'd like somewhere to hang my hat should anything go wrong. If I buy private it's sold as seen and would be gutted if it was full of problems.

Thanks

[P.addy]

You can get pretty much everything from a mint 125 to a decent quality mid 2000s 1000cc sports with that cash

Can't really see you going wrong with a newer FZ6 or Hornet

[Kol]

I reckons you could get a decent 2008 Street Triple R as a private sale for about £3.5K. Best middle weight naked bike out there
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Current bike - 2008 Street Triple R

[thepuma]

[Slacker24seve...]

[RhynoCZ]

[Wafer_Thin_Ham]

Can get a decent version of any bikes from your chosen genre for £3.5k.

Anything from a 4T 125 to a 2006 ZX10R...
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[thepuma]

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[Minty]

Is there a different budget for the insurance?
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[L12Mason]

I would have loved a street triple but that was just out my price range.

I bought 2007 FZ6 fazer back in may. I've done about 3000 miles on it so far and I really like it, the only downside is the clunky gearbox.

Used the er6n on one of my lessons and hated it so much I went back to the schools old battered er5.

[clancy]

I've never dropped a bike

I'd get a k5 gsxr 750 with that money
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[Slacker24seve...]

[clancy]

[Englishman]

For that money you can get a 2010 onwards (mark 2) Versys with ABS and under 10K miles. Two years ago I got exactly that for £3750 and love it.
I'd recommend ABS on your first bike, just as a safeguard because why not.
Enjoy shopping, good luck on your Mod 2.
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[instigator]

I really wouldn't recommend spending that much on something like an er6f, hornet, bandit or sv650. Those models haven't really changed since they were first brought out, no real change in performance over the years so finding a low mileage example for half that price should be your objective. Can't comment on the FZ6 as I think the S2 model did certainly bring some changes to the fazer line.

[Imperial_Maniac]

I've been on various motorcycles so far and I have never dropped any.

To help you, always put it in neutral when you want to reverse it, and always put your both feet on the ground before you stop the bike. There's no need to fight the gear lever. While you're aproaching the full stop point, just put in 2nd gear holding the clutch in, put both feet down, brake with the front brake, and then play with the gear lever to find the neutral.

You're gonna get better at the neutral finding. Take your time and don't rush anything and you'll be fine. Never apply brakes while you turn at slow speeds, that's the most common ticket to the ground for any beginers. [/quote]

What a crock of shit, never use the front brake at slow speeds, however you can use the rear as much as you like when you're turning at slow speeds.

[thepuma]

[RhynoCZ]

[Kol]

Front brake for slowing the bike and stopping, with a bit of rear if you like it. Rear brake is used in conjunction with the throttle and clutch to control the bike in slow speed manuvers, including slow speed turns. They teach you that on the cbt for god sake! Lol

As you get more advanced the front can be used to trail brake into corners and the rear to shave off a bit of speed mid corner safely.
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Current bike - 2008 Street Triple R

[Baffler186]

depends what you want, make sure you sit on a few to see the different riding positions. Down my way there are loads of ZX6r's with 35k milage for £1000 ish - if this suits you then it's a lot of bike for the money, providing it has full service history.

[anmelcos]

[Boxing]

If you drop it, you drop it.

Get some crash protectors and you should be OK with dropping it.

If you really want a bike you won't be bothered about dropping, go for a supermoto. But some of them blow up easy and have silly maintenance schedules so do some research before you buy.

[ScaredyCat]

[Bozzie08]

Thanks for the replies guys.

I'm ideally looking for something about 4 years old or less with less than 10k miles on the clock.

I'd prefer a faired bike also and quite like the look of the er6f for this reason I think.

I take my lessons on a bandit and don't care to much for them to be honest. I don't want a sports bike straight away I'd rather something I can learn on, if I go sports first I don't think I will learn as quick just my opinion.

[RhynoCZ]

Naked bikes are commonly easier to ride on because of the geometry of the frame and height of the bars in comparison with the seat height. Any naked 600cc in-line four will make you happy. I'd recommend you to go for a hornet, enough power to make you happy and still manageable with decent mpg and since it's a ''old'' honda, it's indestructible. You don't need to spend all your money for the bike, keep something for the fuel and spare parts.
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