Passed my mod 2 now need some help shopping

[Barton316]

Hi guys,

Finally passed my mod 2 on my 3rd attempt.
(1st failed for going to fast round parked cars and 2nd was going through a red light at a pelican crossing...yeah i know.)

Feels good to have finally passed and the anxiety and stress and vanished. Now I am super eager to get my ass on a nice big bike as I am currently going from Leicester to Nottingham every Monday and it isn't too fun on those roads trying to crawl past a lorry.

Here are the dealers I am looking for. I have 4 grand to spend (via finance) and Ideally something with some weather protection would be ideal. I'm on the A2 license so it will need to be easily restricted.

Sites i'm looking at

https://fasttrackmotorcycles.co.uk/used_motorcycles.php

https://www.castledinemotorcycles.co.uk/html/used_bikes.html

https://www.arnoldsmotorcycles.com/Locator.aspx

I wont be able to go through a private seller as I need to use finance.

[Rogerborg]

Gratz.

So, you want us to look through 100+ bikes and pick the best one for your requirements?

I'm thinking perhaps you could shortlist a few, and maybe tell us your typical use (commuting vs fun, how much dual carriageway / motorway) and any size or weight limits.
____________________
Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[Nexus Icon]

Four grand (or pretty damn close) will get you a brand new SV650S or SFV650.

Perfect starter bikes, easily restricted and cheap for spares and insurance.

If you go down the used route it's all about which bike gives the best value at any given time. Get out and sit on a few bikes in the dealers, it might focus your choices a bit.
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Greetings from Shitsville!

[Barton316]

Roger I threw the links in case anyone saw a bargain that my untrained eyes might not have noticed.

I'll mostly use it for commuting to and from work which isn't that far if im honest however commmuting to nottingham and back will be a bit further. I dont have a size or weight limit though, I suppose I just want the best possible all round A2 bike money can buy. At the minute I have no idea what it is worth looking for. I've been looking at the versys and sv650 as well as a cb500FA for 4gran (1000 miles).

[Nexus Icon]

Of those 3 you'll get better MPG from the honda but arguably more comfort from the Versys and more fun from the SV. The truth is they'll all do the job you want.

The Kwak twin is said to be more vibey than the Honda but I've no imperical data to back that up, only hearsay. The SV (and SFV) has a lovely sounding engine (with a slip-on can) and vibes are minimal.
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Greetings from Shitsville!

[Val]

4k is good budget, if its financing why just do not buy a new one?

Honda CBF500F on monthly finance will be around your budget. And sometimes you can get better financing offers from dealers directly.
____________________
Adrian Monk: Unless I'm wrong, which, you know, I'm not...
Yamaha Fazer FZS 600, MT09, XSR 900

[Barton316]

[Rogerborg]

I would consider new with your budget.

If you're intending to stay legal, and are on A2 for 2 years, then I would suggest a CB500 variant.

The local Honda dealer has a 0 mile pre-reg CB500F for £4K, which is £1K under list, so that's your big depreciation hit taken care of if you can find something similar locally. In 2 years time, it's not going to matter that you're the "2nd owner". There are also dealers offering them for £4.5K with a box-and-panniers luggage pack and free national delivery.

Native A2, no need to dick around with restricting. Some ropey build quality on the 2013 ones, so make sure it's a proper 2014 model (10th character on the VIN should be 'E').

With the Suzukis it doesn't really matter about the year, they never update the bikes anyway.

I'll note that the SVF560 (Gladius) got some really rather good reviews when it came out in 2009, much like the MT-07 is getting now, but customers stayed away in droves for no real reason, so it's a buyer's market for them.
____________________
Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[Barton316]

Cheers for the help. I'll probably nip down my local dealers when I get some spare time to have a look. See if I can squeeze any prices down.

[Barton316]

Does anybody have any knowledge of using credit cards? I've seen a lot of 0% credit cards going but I haven't a clue what the catch is. Some are saying 0% purchase and others saying 0% balance transfers. I'm thinking it might be cheaper to get a 0% credit card and buy a bike on that rather than paying extra for a finance deal.

[Matt B]

[Baffler186]

[Baffler186]

have a look here https://www.moneysupermarket.com/credit-cards/purchases/?goal=CC_PURCHASE&goal=CC_PURCHASE
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Current: 2009 SV650 S, 1990 Kawasaki GT550
Previous: 2009 CBF125, 1998 GSF600, 2004 FZ6 Fazer, 1978 CB400a Hondamatic

[Barton316]

I'm currently doing my teacher training as an unqualified teacher at the moment so I'm fairly certain that I have the appropriate job security. It seems a lot of cards are 0% and you can get 36 months for balance transfers but the purchasing is about 18 months max. Does anybody know the difference exactly?

[Baffler186]

https://www.moneysupermarket.com/credit-cards/what-is-a-balance-transfer/
____________________
Current: 2009 SV650 S, 1990 Kawasaki GT550
Previous: 2009 CBF125, 1998 GSF600, 2004 FZ6 Fazer, 1978 CB400a Hondamatic

[Barton316]

Which one do we think would be better?

https://www.catalyst-findit.com/index.php?c=9834758d208cc60917aba7103b2685a0&dest=details&id=392060&w=750&h=n&PHPSESSID=ba0950f818758a112bf9d7191498ee98

or

https://www.catalyst-findit.com/index.php?c=9834758d208cc60917aba7103b2685a0&dest=details&id=324282&w=750&h=n&PHPSESSID=ba0950f818758a112bf9d7191498ee98

[Val]

[Matt B]

[Barton316]

Well I'm not the one to ignore good advice. Went down to my local suzuki dealer and told them about the pre reg sv650's and they agreed to the 4k price. So think i'm gonna be getting myself an sv650! Excited now.

[Rogerborg]

Neat, at that price it's more a question of "Why not?"

Prepare yourself for the hate though.

Oh, I'll start! Have you actually ridden one? They're quite leany-forwards, I can't get on with the position.
____________________
Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[Barton316]

Yeh I sat on the bike and they did seem to lean a bit more forward as with the handle bars being crunched in. Seemed fine for me, worst comes to worse I can always get some straighter handle bars and raise em?

[Rogerborg]