400 or 600 ?

[BoYSiE]

Hi, im 17 and have been riding for just over a year (on the roads that is) i have an Rs125 at the moment, which is derestricted to 30 odd bhp, however, my mates have retricted sports 600, soon to be 4 mates at 17yrs old like me, but all on 600's.
I was wondering wheather to get an old'ish600, or a 400, ill have about £2000 to spend.
No doubt soon they will derestrict their bikes, leaving my 125 behind, so which way do i go.
What sort of speeds are we looking at for like a cbr400?
Jon

[Andy C]

i am in the very same situation as you , i have a RS125 and doing test soon and not sure what to get, i think its between zxr400 or if get more money zx6r which i might get back not sure still, i think you can get 140mph (dont quote me) out of a 400 but there loads of people on here you can ask about it and some might even tell you. £2000 should get you a 400 but may be hard to get a fair nice sports 600 for that, you never though could get a bargin
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99 RS125 --> 02 SV650s --> 03 Speed Four --> 92 RXS100 --> 93 CB400sf --> 01 CB600f Hornet

[priller]

£2000 will get you a tidy earlly gsxr600 that will do 160. 400 aint going todo much over 130.

[Mr noOdles]

im in a very similar situation,

and i heard if you do the A standard training you can ride any thing restricted to NO MORE than 33bhp

i also heard that you can ride Yamaha R1, THAT if you restrict it to 33 BHP

[priller]

[colin1]

if you are gonna rid with restrictions then get a 400

if you arent then get a 600

400's are old now yet are more expensive than a similar age thundercat (600)

rs250's are good for fun use but I'd only get one if i had a commuter bike too

rs250 may be similar power to a 400 but its gonna be a lot more fun

but maurice has just pointed out to me that his rgv250 cost more than twice as much to run as his vfr400

my commuter would be twice as cheap, to even it out
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colin1 is officially faster than god

[Mr noOdles]

in that case roughly how much will insurance cost on a honda VFR (restricted) for a 18 years old in a low risk theft area

just for TPO,

thk in advance

[colin1]

get an online quote with these

www.ebikeinsurance.co.uk
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colin1 is officially faster than god

[craigs23]

Get a 400, you'll drastically improve your riding skills as you won't have the straightline speed to cover up lazy cornering/road reading. In derestricted form, think performance in terms of average speed, rather than top speed.

[colin1]

on that logic, you'd be even better on a rs125, as it takes skill to to work the box to keep it in the 8k-12krev powerband, and you can go faster round corners cos its lighter. Its comfy to 80mph, but getting speeds any higher than that is a bit of an effort.

a rs250 wd be better still as its gonna have more pull out of corners than a 400
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colin1 is officially faster than god

[priller]

They way petrol's going I wouldn't buy a 250, your going to get around 25-30mpg.

[Misc]

If you don't mind getting a fast scooter with gears then get a rs250, But a better sports bike i'd say is a vfr or like you said a cbr the old by much cheaper & sound/look much better, Another 300 quid would get ya a r6 or gixxer now

[BoYSiE]

i didnt really want a rs250, wanted to get off 2strokes, even tho they r great and i havent had any problems with the rs125 yet, i want a 4T.
The plan was get a 400, without restricting it so i could beat all my mates on their retricted 600, but i didnt really wanna get a 600 (bout £3000 to not look out of place while riding with them) and restrict her down, and i not want to be let loose on a full power 600.....

Im eadging towards a nice cbr400 or zxr400, then when all my mates start deresticting their bikes, ill have enough saved to get a 600 (dont ask me how i worked that 1 out)

Thanks for your advise,
Jon

[G]

What sort of riding do you expect to be doing?

[Misc]

I would never restrict a 600 if i get a r6 or a rvf 400 i'd just want the proof by the certificate, It's still the same power just the throttle on a r6 is less so it will move about a inch:) & on the rvf i think it just makes the carb hole smaller not sure tho,

[Barney]

I wouldn't restrict an rs250, it's over 33bhp, restricting it wouldnt do it any good.

I would go for a 400, because you are going to need to insure the bike aswell, so it will be cheaper to insure than a 600.

With a restricted cbr400 to 33bhp i'm sure you will get over 100mph, just remember though, on your first 2 years, only 2 speeding tickets will lose your license completely. Tell that to your mates and you will definitely keep up!
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CG125|CB400SF|CBR600FX|Triumph Daytona T595|CBR929RR

[BoYSiE]

I will be doing alot of country roads riding, twisties, not long motoways, going on rides about 4 days a week, or when ever the weathers good.
Are 400's reliable, do they overheat?

jon



PS, i WILL NOT be getting a 400 restricted...

[BoYSiE]

[craigs23]

...plus actually having pidly little 400cc bikes out accelerate you

[colin1]

[G]

If you want a 'fun' bike I would go for the 400 - it will help improve your riding and will be more challenging to ride fast.

A sports 600 is a bloody fast bike these days - but this also means you have to be going warp speed before you've achieved a decent pace.

[Mr noOdles]

[akaDAVE]

I bought a ZXR400 as my first bike a month ago. It is spot on for 'fun' riding a few times a week and I've been learning very fast on it around the roads in my area.
Motorway trips are cramped but ok.
So I was also recently weighing up the 400/600 argument before buying it.
I think i will eventually get a 600 for longer range riding but I will be much more ready for it after the 400.
I found that for the money all the 400s were coming into the 98/99gsxr600 territory so it is very hard to decide, then you come to the insurance issue! aaarggghh!

[Rookie]

There IS cheaper out there. Call call call!!

I have been doing hypothetical quotes for a ZX6R as a 17 yo, and have been quoted around £800 lowest, on TPFT, but I haven't even called any companies yet.

[Andy C]

is the difference between a 400 and 600 really noticable? can a 400 keep up?
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99 RS125 --> 02 SV650s --> 03 Speed Four --> 92 RXS100 --> 93 CB400sf --> 01 CB600f Hornet