Buying new

[MC900]

Since ive been looking at bikes ive been tempted to buy a brand new one for my first big bike. Im guessing that most of you will advise against buying new since you can get some good 2nd hand ones, but im thinking (havent fully decided yet) of doing it on pcp and keeping the bike after paying it all off.

My main question is what do you guys think is the best 600cc(ish) to buy brand new right now? Ive been offered a kawasaki er6f with 0% apr and i could get a sv650. Also ive seen the yamaha mt-07 which looks awesome, but are there any others you guys think are better?
____________________
Current Ride: Fazer 600 (02) & YBR125 (07)

[Polarbear]

If you buy new, and I have for many years, remember.....

1. You will have to have fully comp insurance.
2. Get GAP insurance.
3. Plan on keeping your bike a good while.
4. 0% is a good deal however you look at it.
5. PCP might not be as good as a straight 0% repayment, do your figures.
6. Buy something you will continue to enjoy. An SV does not come into that category, a Street Triple does.
7. Enjoy whatever you decide to buy.
____________________
Triumph Trophy Launch Edition

[Matt B]

Polarbear hit the nail on the head. You want new then it's your money so go do it, but find a bike worthwhile keeping for a few years. You may well get bored with an ER6 or an SV rather quickly.
____________________
stinkwheel: He had an animated .gif of a cat performing fellatio. It's not socially acceptable. It can have real life adverse effects on other people.

[wristjob]

[Beehive Bedlam]

I would only buy a new bike (not a commuter) to live in the garage and ride it only on sunny days.

Have a secondary bike a commuter to pile on the mileage use and abuse every day.

But as above only you are going to be paying off the finance so only you can make the decsion. Personally I wouldn't buy a brand new commuter style bike to use as a work horse when there's plenty to choose from on the second hand market.

[Rogerborg]

Counterpoint, I wouldn't keep a new bike sitting in the garage depreciating away. It'll be losing money hand over fisty whether you're riding it or not.

And OP's new bike is going to cost a grand as soon as the key is turned, so do be sure that you're getting one that you can live with for years. Thing is, you're only going to know that with a basis for comparison, so I'd really strongly dissuade you from buying new and getting the "Ooh, new rider, no test rides" fob off.

There are plenty of used 600/650 bikes out there for £1000 - £1500 that aren't going to cost much to own. So, you get the wrong one, no big deal, sell it and try another. Almost anything is cheaper than taking the depreciation hit on a new bike then finding that you can't get on with it.
____________________
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

[kramdra]

[Beehive Bedlam]

[jimbopea]

I have an er6f which i had new on 0% finance last year.
I'm happy with it, still quick enough and servicing costs haven't been to bad. decent fuel economy and not too bad for two up riding. I haven't ridden a street triple or mt07 though.

[G]

Why do you think you'll want to keep the bike at the end of the hire period?

Most don't for their 'first big bike' I'd say.

If you want a bike with 'new technology' - for instance the latest litre sports bike, then you have to go new.

Or if you want a bike primarily because you enjoy the act of having an expensive new thing you can pretend you own (as of course it's not owned by you) in your possession, sure a new bike is great - I don't deny it IS nice.

If you think you might enjoy riding a bike and don't expect to need any of the particularly shiny extras on a top of the range bike, I'd go cheaper and use the money saved for 'riding'... as well as that you're more likely to enjoy using your bike as you should be less worried about getting it scratched etc (even if that just means where you are parking it etc.)

[kawakid]

I bought my last 2 bikes from new.

I know everything that has been done to them and how they have been looked after.

I got an ER on finance, something I don't usually do as I hate debt, but at 0% it was a no brainer.

I also paid some insurance in the event I was made redundant to cover the payment, this only cost about £6 per month, something I did myself not through Black Horse.

The ER is a good bike, not the quickest though, I use mine as a commuter and I would and will buy another one. Mine is 7 years old now and as soon as it starts to cost me lots it's going.

If I could get 10 years out of it I would be very happy.
____________________
I've a twin and a 4.

[P.addy]

None of those are worth buying new.

Spend 2k on a mid range 600, FZ6, hornet, SV and get used to running a big bike around, learn some basic big bike control skills and see where you are at next summer.

[iooi]

[G]

[Beehive Bedlam]

[kramdra]

"Space miles" in terms of bikes are GOOD. Bikes rarely do enough miles do damage anything but some imaginary book price. Ive seen a few bikes with 100k on the clocks, but its exceptionally rare. Im over half way (and Im keeping the cbr6 atleast 8 years or 100k miles)

As for comment about servicing - almost everyone that buys new or from a dealer will keep going back for service. Very few new bikes are maintained by the owner.

[stevo as b4]

I've done both new and used, and indeed back in the day (16years ago) I wanted to go out after DAS and buy a brand new bike with cash as my first option.

The big thing that stopped me was insurance costs. Not many people would buy new without FC insurance, and for me it was £1800-2000 for a policy on a £4-5k new bike, so look into prices first.

Secondly a used bike can be a lot more fun, especially if you want to mod it, work on it, and also improve your riding without being precious over a new bike. This might me partly the point that G is getting at.

I wouldn't want to or feel confident doing much work or seriously modifying a new bike, and with something under warrenty your very limited in this respect.

But finally, I think there's a useful place for 0% APR deals on new bikes, and if it's a daily rider to get you to work in all weather's you'd be mad not to take advantage of a cheap new bike deal, with ABS and the other nice to haves etc.

But in buying a new bike, and with the aim of keeping it a few years to get good value from it, you should get a bike that isn't just a tool for the job, but something that is a bit exciting too if possible.

[Rogerborg]

[kramdra]

[Keir]

I wouldn't buy new having just passed my test as you will do something silly that damages it - this may be a simple forget the side stand, get caught off balance or just fall off.
Get some experience for 6 months or so then consider new.
____________________
Current : '08 Yamaha FZ1s
Previous: '99 Honda CBR 600FX, 03 ZX636 B1H, 99 Fazer 600 (red), 02 GSX-R 600 K2, 00 SV650s (red), 2008 ZX10R, 97 Bandit 1200N, 04 ZX6RR K1H, 04 GSX-R 1000, 98 Fazer 600 (gold), 05 Madness 110 Pit bike, 04 CR125R, 00 SV650s (black), 06 KTM 625 SMC, 99 SRAD 600 track bike, 03 SV650, 98 Bandit 1200N, Bandit 600SY, 03 GSX-R 600 K3, 01 GSX-R 600, 01 Fazer 600 (black), VFR 400 NC30 x3, 78 Honda Dream, 00 Speedfight 50

[stevo as b4]

Off topic but mileage depends on the bike and the condition it's in generally.

Some highly strung two strokes can only be re-built a finite number of times before things like bearing housings get loose and crankcases get chewed up and damaged.

Buying a bike that's known for being solid at high miles, like a Honda CBR1100XX for example is a whole different story. It's probably been a cherished tourer for years and looked after buy it's owner before and after taking him/her all over Europe etc. It'd be hard to buy a low mileage Bird these days anyway, so I would not look at mileage as a valid reason to buy or avoid such a bike.

[Musketeer]

I don't really think that OP is here to change his mind about buying new. It's every time the same thing and OP is not that special to be different than other new riders without money. When you have no cash just passed your test it must be very tempting to get a new bike. It's a stupid thing to do, but when you have a choice of not having a bike at all or having a brand new one that you don't really own but at least you can ride it what would you do?

All this "I'm going to keep the bike for years" is just a bs excuse. The bikes like SV650 or ER6 will keep you happy for months, not years.. Later (most likely in a year time) having an amount of outstanding finance that is same or more than a value of the bike is going to be a problem when you decide to change.

OP, if you have at least £1-1.5k of your own, saved money for a bike, don't buy a brand new one. I know you're not going to listen, but I had to say it.
____________________
Current Bike: Yamaha XSR900 Previous bikes: Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade, Kawasaki ZX-6R Ninja, Aprilia RS125 2-stroke

[Rogerborg]

Right, we're just clearing our consciences.

[Polarbear]

[Val]