Possible new bike...

[JonB]

Right with only 106 days til my 17th birthday I am already shopping for a big bike ready for when/if I pass my test.

I am looking for an inline 600 preferably, my fave being the Hornet, quickly followed by the bandit, went to V&J in Bridgwater today and they had a 2000 (X) Hornet with 9500 miles on the clock, the "CB600F" with nose fairing version in black (exactly the same as my Dads) for £3495, which, I thought was a bit steep.

Then over to Branson Motorcycles in Yeovil and I was recommended by the dealer to look at a 2001 (51) Bandit 600s, with nose fairing. Now, I liked this bike a lot but it had slight nose fairing damage which the man said would be fixed with some sort of mesh technology they use or something that makes it looks good as new, the damage wasn't *that* bad and I personally didnt notice it, til my Dad pointed it out for me, so I thought yeah thats cool. This was £2750 with 9,500 miles on the clock, I was talking to the dealer about it and he said because I have no Part Ex, paying by cash and need a restrictor kit fitted I could have the bike for £2700 with restrictor included.

Now, I wasn't looking to buy a bike yet as the amoutn of bikes for sale are still rare, but the dealer said if I wanted I could put down £1000 deposit to keep the bike back til whenever I pass my test, I also bared in mind that the Bandit is 1 insurance group lower, sorry, I have no photos.

Opinions?
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Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it?s worth.

[John]

Don't put down any deposit yet!

Make sure you compare as many bikes as possible.

Prehaps try the bikes at the dealers then compare them pricewise to privately sold bikes.

Someone else will give some better advice soon I'm sure, just don't rush into it.
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TT600 neeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeowwww!

[Sissy]

GET A SPEEDFLIGHT 2 125 U MORON MEGA FAST IT DOES BOUT 95 OR SO.. RACE PIPE ETC MAYBE 120.. PLUS NO GEARS SO EASY

[theftvictim]

Don't go straight to a 600 and a restrictor kit...

...go for a full blooded 400! Many people simply chose to ignore these, yet they don't know what they're missing out on.

From experience, I recommend the Honda RVF

When you're ready, then move up to the 600s

At least consider it

[zip70]

joke yeh?!!
bandits r nice
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gixer 6

[Keith]

You have plenty of time to shop for a 'big bike' so just keep looking. As John said, compare prices for the best deal.

A 50cc scooter to a 600cc naked sports is a pretty big jump mind, you probably realise that.

Have you considered insurance costs? Not sure what they'll be like on a Hornet/Bandit but I can imagine it wont be cheap.
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Aprilia RSV Mille R Edwards Replica - Aprilia RS250 - Suzuki GSXR600 Supersport Race Bike

[JonB]

Sorry, but I am not looking for a 400, call me naive, whatever, but I need a long termish bike as money won't always be so rosy in the future, I don't want hassle of buying more bikes. Also, I was advised by my doctor not to get a sports styled bike as I have severe back pain problems caused by rugby a couple of years back, so the "lean" style of riding a sports bike could aggravate it.

Also I already know what to expect from an inline 4 600, as I have rode my dad's hornet many times, so it won't come as a "shock" too me.

John, I am definately not putting a deposit down yet as I know I sods law would come in and I would find a better one, but right now this is the best one I have seen, I'll keep hunting though!
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Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it?s worth.

[JonB]

[mattfuzzy]

well i personaly wouldnt buy anything from v&j in bridgwater as the manager there is a first class grade a W@NK3R! mind u sayin that in bridgwater only other place to buy from is riders i think (which is mostly alpinestars and 600cc expensive top grade stuff, also funny enough being pretty much oposite v&j )

[JonB]

Yeah I went in Riders, full of Triumphs and Harleys...Oh I almost forgot...high price tags as well.
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Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it?s worth.

[Rollins]

Do you have a year's NCB on the scooter?
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"... I wouldn't mind doing 130 up to a T junction, but unfortunately my bike tops out at 120 which is gay..."
2005 CBR600RR

[cliff]

Bandit.
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Sweet reggae music.

[JonB]

Yes, if I don't crash between now and May 1st.

Also live in a very good postcode area.
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Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it?s worth.

[Ste]

I paid £800 at 18 TPFT for a '01 ZX6R in a good postcode with 1yrs NCB with lots of phoning around.

[Irezumi aka Reuben]

Dont Bandit's only cost about £3500 new? So I think you could get him down to £2500 easy on that deal. But your not going to be as quick as a Hornet, and if you cant trust yourself with your throttle (a personal thing you will know) then perhaps a naked bike will slow you down, that's a personal thing though.

CBR NC29 is better though!
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Pictorgraphicalfantastical

[yambabe]

Take your time Jon. Enjoy the shopping! One of my fave things to do is to go round bike shops sitting on loads of bikes to see which ones fit, which feel right etc.

Make the most of the opportunity to do this!
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Sod falling in love, I wanna fall in chocolate.

[Kickstart]

Hi

As mentioned above the Bandit is not that expensive new. Suspect you can get a better deal on a 4 year old one.

A woman at work managed to get a new Hornet for £4200 about 18 months ago.

Now is a very good time to get a really good deal on a bike as very few people are buying, but the trouble is that few bikes are for sale. If you wait 2 months you will have more choice, but also higher prices.

Bandit build quality is not that good, and the 600 seems worse than the 1200 (and the 1200 is not good).

Riding position I can understand what you are saying. However also have a think about slightly more sporty riding positions depending on the distances you intend to cover. A slightly more leant forward position will take plenty of weight off your back, while also meaning you do not have to hang on when going at a reasonable pace.

Oh, and I take it this is how you intend to get to Cadwell . That will probably be rather a long and sore journey for you.

All the best

Keith
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Traxpics, track day and racing photographs - Bimota Forum - Bike performance / thrust graphs for choosing gearing

[JonB]

Hmmm, well reliability is of course, very important for me, I can not afford to have a bike off the road for long periods of time as the bike is only mode of transport for me.

I would look into buying brand new, but with the insurance on top I would be scraping the barrel. Right now the money i have available to me is £5000 in a premium bond my parents set up when I was born. About £600 predicted for savings from work (I spend too much on useless things). Hopefully, about £300 for my moped.

I want some money in reserve for new tyres etc, insurance the year after (though, can save up) and the intensive course which will cost £500 max, so I don't know if I could realistically afford a bike brand new.

Oh yeah and somehow this is my proposed way of somehow getting too Cadwell.
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Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it?s worth.

[Irezumi aka Reuben]

Just remembered that a new Bandit 650 is coming in so you could probably get a BRAND NEW 2004 model for nearer £2800-3000 with some haggling, they will want shot of them and as I said theyre not worth much. And there is a new Honda Hornet coming out this year as well.

I's suggest you do some more reasearch into the prices of these bikes and see if you can get a test ride (or get your dad to compare his bike to a Bandit). Seem's if you wait a while you will be in a prime position to buy a new (but significantly cheaper 'old' bike) or a very slightly used and cheaper used bike.

I think that dealer is definately trying to catch you out by at least a few hundred squid!
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Pictorgraphicalfantastical

[Josh]

Just as a slightly random suggestion, what do you think of the ZZR600?
And seen as you have time to look around I would suggest looking further afield as well to get an idea of the bikes you like best and their "dealers price" as opposed to just the very local ones.
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04 Suzuki GSX-R 600 K4 - Sex on wheels :>
https://img58.imageshack.us/img58/6178/sig6dc.gif

[Kickstart]

Hi

£5k is a fair amount of money, especially with the £1k extra you will have.

However I would not spend it on a new bike.

You have had a years experience on a small and light bike, but the weight of a larger bike can still easily catch you out.

Personally I would say try and pick up a tatty 600 Bandit for £1k, and with a further £1k on lessson and insurance you should still have £4k in reserve. Bit of experience and you will have more idea of what you really want from a bike.

All the best

Keith
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Traxpics, track day and racing photographs - Bimota Forum - Bike performance / thrust graphs for choosing gearing

[instigator]

I wouldnt buy new either, nor would I buy from a dealer m8. You're paying over the odds, and most likely, you will drop it. The large weight of a 600 will catch you off guar (has done to me on a heavier 500)

[mr.z]

I'd personaly not bother with a new one either, just a liability, worth £500 less within minutes... better a low millage half a year old bike if you can find one...

IMO the bandit, while it was revoloutionary when it came out is not all that good compared to newer bikes, dont get me wrong its still bloody good, the fact they still sell loads of them is a clear sign... but anyone i've known who has had one has spent allot of time fighting off rust, (one with a selection tooth brushs) and those that didn't had lumps of fuzz with tyres after a worryingly short time.

Have you had a try on an sv? triumph maybe? z750? motoguzzi?
don't underestimate the wonders of big trialies, if ou spend allot of time on country lanes they make short work of stupidly bendy back roads, comfy in town, great rideing position... maybe not the same cool factor of sports/neked bikes

Kickstarts suggestion of a cheeper starter bike is a very good idea, payed £900 for mine and loved it, didn't make a mess of it but if i had it would have been allot less of a problem had it been £4000 worth as it happens got most of the money i payed back, because most older bikes don't depreciate all the much.. and the other thing,
when you've had whatever you get for a couple of months you'll slowly work out what needs to be different about it, rideing position, handleing quirks, practicality or lack of, farings, ground clearance, trackdays?? motorway ability e.t.c.
maybe nothing, maybe minor, maybe enough to warrent a totaly different bike...

Have fun looking though, its allways great fun going to perve at bikes in a showroom
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>RidingSkills<->Tech Tips<->MyBikes<

[JonB]

Thanks for the superb advice, I do know what I want though, I need something that will be good after my 2 year restriction is up, which is why I have chosen to ignore the 500 twins this time. This ensures I won't want to buy a bike with more power later on as I believe the Bandit pushes out 80BHP and the Hornet 95BHP.

I have also been thinking about the Fazer 600, but these seem very hard to come by, any reasons why they might be rare?
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Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it?s worth.

[Claud 14.7 to 1]

Older (or indeed newer) Cbr600f. Does everything, and should be comfy enough for your back. Try it out first.

And I recon it'll be the only one you won't want to get rid of in 2 years .

Cheap/cheap parts. £2k* for a good 'un. Older ones are very reliable.

Full fairing for high speed comfort.

*(or less/more, depends on how much you want to spend)