Five months of biking..........but still a newbie

[dar]

Hi All,

Just thought I would say 'ello to you all after finding this forum last night

I only passed my test last September after taking a 5 day direct access, so I'm still a noob to motorcycling but I've still managed to get through two bikes in that time!

I first thought about biking around 10 years ago but never got around to doing anything about it till last year when I bought my first bike, a 'S' plate Suzuki GSX600F, a month before I even took my CBT / Theory test.
I took my test at the begining of Sept and passed, even though I thought I'd failed after putting my foot down in the dreaded 'U' turn so basically gave up on the rest of the test. Apparantly I had put my foot down before actually turning into the turn so this was just a minor mark on control.
Never felt so happy as I did when the tester said I had passed, but wouldn't go through THAT again!!

Got a few weeks biking in before the weather changed but all the time I was off my bike I still looked at what was around for sale until last week when I came across my new purchase, a dream of an 'X' plate Kawa ZX7R with 10k on her. Love at 1st sight
Being a pretty large chap I'd found it difficult to find a bike to fit, but who cares what they look like when a bike looks as nice as the 7Rs' do

Anyway, just thought I'd say 'Hi' and thanks for a decent UK bike forum.

Dar

p.s. Will post some better pics when the weather breaks

COME ON WEATHER.......................BREAK!!!!!!!

[Zimbo]

Welcome Dar, not much wrong with the 7R, one of the most planted front ends of it's era! Enjoy!

[angryjonny]

Watcha...

I did my DAS in August so like you I'm still a newbie. I ride every day though and I can feel myself getting more confident and capable.

How did you find the GSXF? It's on my list of potential purchases for when I upgrade in the Spring.

[alone]

angryjonny, they're good bikes. Mine only faulted once (well, twice if you count the crash!), and it just needed a new starter motor.. That was at around 30,000. After I picked one up from a breakers it ran fine. Covered between 20/25,000 miles in the time I had mine (just under a year).
They are big heavy lumps. So don't drop it cus it's a bitch to pick back up.
I rode a '99 GSXF750 (now back on the '89, which I actually prefer, feel kind of smoother) restricted. Could cruise all day at it's limit of about 95 with the kit in, and I'd comfortably make 130miles between fill-ups.

I found it was certainly a good bike for me. Always believed it's better to throw yourself into the deeper end- In that if you can become quite good at riding a bike fast, that's not meant to be, then riding a fast bike fast will become much easier (and I found it was, anyway). If you follow what I mean... There's a lot more bike to move, so moving a modern sports bike will be a doddle.
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Bikes; '06 Triumph Sprint ST 1050 (for sale) - '95 BMW R1100GS

[angryjonny]

Cheers. I have an ER-5 at the moment which is great for pootling around London on, and the occasional jaunt further afield, but I'm moving out to Berkshire in a month or so, so I'm going to want something a bit more capable for the commute. I'm really looking for a combination of economy and comfort for the daily commute (but still happy on the motorway) and performance for the weekend jaunts. I can't justify two bikes *and* a car, and I do need to keep the car. The 750 appeals more than the 600 to be honest, but I'm just a bit worried I'll regret getting one that ends in F rather than one that ends in R.

[dar]

Mant thanks for all the welcomes

I found my GSX600F perfect for a first time bike, basically it's a faired bandit and they get really good write ups. Fuel economy was top notch, the insurance was very cheap and the comfort was perfect for me.
On the point of getting a 750 instead of a 600 I would stick with the 600 as the 750 has only a small amount of mid-range grunt more than the 600 which in some bike reviews is basically un-noticable.
The first mod to do would be a double bubble screen, if your 6'2" like me, this totally removed all the wind rush in my face
You could do a lot worse than this as your first bike, you could also do better but end up paying more for a better bike that every tom dick and harry has!

I only traded her in because of two things:

1. It wasn't sporty enough for me. Having quite long arms I found myself in quite an upright seating position but this also added to the comfort, so I guess that should be a positive.

2. I get bored with things very easily, although every time I rode it I came back with a smile on my face

Hope this helps,

Dar