First Bike Suggestions Please

[staningrimsby]

Hi Everyone,

After passing my mod 1 yesterday I am waiting for my date for Mod 2 then hopefully will have my full un-restricted licence so I am starting to look at life after the baby Varadero. I am 45 years old so no longer a boy racer and stand 6' 4" so feet on the floor at the lights should not be an issue.

I am not really into full blown sports bikes like the R1 or Fireblade but do like sports tourers such as the Triumph Sprint ST 1050, I also like the look of the Suzuki V-Strom 650 and 1000 and also full blown tourers such as the Yamaha FJR 1300. Having said that I also like the look of the Suzuki GSX 1400 but fear the lack of fairings on a run could be a bit windy.

I am open to all suggestions with the exception of full blown race bikes and I'm not really a cruiser person either (don't want to offend anyone there just not my thing).

As its a first bike I really don't want to spend more than around £3000 so please post me your suggestions and help out a new biker

Thanks in advance,
Stan.
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When you have removed the impossible the improbable however unlikely has to be the truth.
1986 Yamaha DT 80 >> 2009 Honda Varadero XL 125 >> 2003 Suzuki V-Strom 1000

[mattyfattyboo...]

Bikes are quite personal, depending on your size, shape & what you fancy really. Draw up a short list and go looking at them is the best advice I can offer.

Have fun!

[Mark 37]

What bikes does you training school have?

My school had FZS600, Translap, SV650, ER5 to name a few. He let me ride all of them to see what I liked and what fitted best.

That at least let me choose what kind of riding position I wanted, sports, touring or sport tourer.

I also went to a couple of dealers to see what else I could find.

In the end I opted for the same kind of bike I trained on, FZS600 sports tourer.

Cheers,

Mark
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No matter how fast light travels, darkness was always their first.

[Wonko The Sane]

I've sat on a V Strom and despite having had and liked my vara the 'strom felt a bit big and bulky but I have been on my ZZR for a year so I've got used to a completely different riding position.

The 'strom is essentially a big vara so you should find yourself happy on it, other option is the BMW GS or Honda Transalp
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[staningrimsby]

[MC]

[staningrimsby]

I have a 2009 125 Varadero and a local bike dealer has offered me a straight swap for a 2000 W plate Suzuki GSX750F with FSH and they assure me its in excellent condition but I don't really know much about them.
____________________
When you have removed the impossible the improbable however unlikely has to be the truth.
1986 Yamaha DT 80 >> 2009 Honda Varadero XL 125 >> 2003 Suzuki V-Strom 1000

[Itchy]

2005 CBR600F, it was the last year of fully adjustable suspension.

Or a 918 Fireblade.

It is a bike which isn't a full on sports bike but can mix it with the sports bike. It can tour, it can commute, it is reliable, it is a Honda.

It can do anything you ask of it and more (Sjaak took his 918 off road)

I've even seen people change the top yoke and put conventional bars on them.

It is a bike for everyman... you just have to put up with everybody saying oh its a good all rounder as it doesn't have the craziness of the GSX-Rs the headshaking terror of ZX10/6Rs. The discomfort of the CBR6RR.
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[P.]

[Pol Anorl]

Mk 1 blade.
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[UnspeedySam]

BMW R1150R because I hate chains and love big twins. Test ride one...maybe you'll like it .

On the more mainstream end of the scale, you could get a really nice VFR800 for that money.
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Riding: BMW R1150RT `02 bought mildly crashed
Fixing: Also the BMW as I get less broken bits
Gone: ZZR600 '00, TRX850 '97, RXS100 '93, JS125-6B '07, BMW R1100RS '93, Kawasaki ZX-6R-J2 '01, Honda Bros NT400 NC25 '88

[lardcore]

Seeing as you're a giant among men you might find taller bikes more comfortable. A lot of it depends on how you will be using it. At 5'10 I find my FZS600 a little cramped but only due to the knees being bent too much, I would prefer my legs being a bit more straight (cycle-ergo.com is a very useful site for comparing seating positions on different bikes)

See if you can get a test ride at the dealers after passing your test - at least that might give you an indication of direction you want to explore.

[staningrimsby]

[Wonko The Sane]

[lardcore]

[wr6133]

Consider a ZZR. Comfy and sedate when needed but also has a turn of speed when wanted and even a crap rider like me can whip it round corners fast.

Your 3k would buy a nice ZZR600 with change left over.

[Slacker24seve...]

'Sports tourer' and '£3000' in the same post an nobody has mentioned a VFR?
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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

[staningrimsby]

[Knacker]

[Wonko The Sane]

[Rogerborg]

[grr666]

Yup, I had the same trouble, despite offering the full cash asking price
as an up front 100% deposit I still couldn't get a test ride anywhere.
I'm 41 and have my own business in addition to owning several properties
outright. I'm definitely good for the money. Cut no ice with them though.
Bought privately in the end.
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[Baffler186]

[Robby]

You don't need to get your perfect bike right now. It's common for newer riders, including the more mature type, to change bikes at least every two years.

I wouldn't go for something really powerful right away. Whatever bike you have, you get used to the power very quickly. If you get used to something with 120bhp, then anything else will feel slow.

It sounds like you're interesting is just about anything that isn't a full-on sports bike or a cruiser. There's a lot of choice available to you. A V-strom or Transalp will be like a more powerful version of your Varadero. A VFR750 or 800 will do distance in comfort, but they are quite powerful so I wouldn't go for one right away. A big muscle bike like an XJR13 or a Bandit 12 would provide plenty of grunt, but I would go for a Bandit 600 first.

After a 125, anything with more than 50bhp is going to feel powerful. The difference is that up to about 80bhp you can make silly mistakes. Above 80bhp you have enough power to inadvertently spin up the back wheel coming out of a corner on a damp road. Might not lead to a crash, but it'll scare you.

[Slacker24seve...]