now what???

[AnotherGeek]

Hi Folks,

Looking for some help to be kicked into making a decision.....

I took up riding for totally practical reasons
I've been pootling around London on my CG125 for 2 years, in all weathers bar snow. Managed to let my CBT expire, found a training school (all the east London ones seem to have closed), retook it, flew through Mod1. Then got drowned near Basildon test centre as it went cats and dogs while taking my Mod2 (after only 7 or so hours on a larger bike).

Despite the trauma of a complete white-out (visor and spectacles fogged) and returning to the MPTC wearing more water than a freshly dunked mop, I passed .

A nod to the training school (near Basildon) who I think were brilliant, I wont mention the name in case I offend some rule about advertising, though if there is somewhere round here to recommend training schools, point the way, and I'll write them up, they were superb.

and so to the problem......I'm buying new

I *want* a Ducati Streetfighter, but quite surprisingly no insurance company will give me a sensible quote (the best offer was 8.5K ).

So something smaller and more reasonable then..

I considered the 696, but then realised: yes, it's a Ducati, but it's not the one I want, I'm just going to get fed up with it not being a Streetfighter.

Thus: a workhorse that gets me in/out and around town, but has enough to boot me up the arse and have fun riding for the sake of it when time allows.
Plus the fact that I like a naked bike, I'm not a big faring fan. go reliably for 2-4 years until the insurance companies realise I'd be much happier on a Streetfighter.

I have surfed the intertubes till my eyes are crossed and browsed the fora for inspiration and the stand out seems to be the CB600F Hornet(with ABS).

So I took one for a spin, yes, it's easy, yes it's comfortable, yes it's fun, but it just seems like the default choice, almost *too* sensible.

Do I buy the CB600F Hornet? Yes or no?

If no, then what? pros and cons.


Apologies in advance for the rambling introduction and long winded way of asking a simple question.

Thanks in advance for the feedback.

As for ABS, to avoid the potential flame war, my route is heavy traffic, middle of London, silly side streets, and bad drivers and frequently bad riders (scooters particularly) and f'in cabbies. If I only have to conduct one heavy braking manoeuvre or emergency stop a day, then it's a good days riding. Just today, transit man barrelled out of a side street into my path. very wet road, brake, front wheel lock, slide,wobble, squeeze sphincter, release, straighten, reapply, relax, spill avoided...just. ABS is all to the good IM(ns)HO



A.Geek

[FreshAL]

Hornets are stonking bikes, you won't regret it.

If you're talking ABS, I presume you're looking at a post 2007 bike. That's putting out over 100bhp - about 7 times more than your 125 and about double the bikes you did your Mod1 and Mod2 on.

Wind up the revs and there's more than enough there to put a smile on your face.

go for it

[pinkyfloyd]

you need to try a few more naked middleweights before you can make a sound descision.

the hornet is a nice bike. but there are others, kwack do the EN6 which is a great naked bike with a decent amount of grunt. i've had a go on one and found them very comfortable and they feel bigger than they are. yammy do the fazer which has great reviews, and their XJ series is always worth a look. and suzuki of course has the gladius which has the benifits of naked looks with a grunty v twin.

with the duke you will probably find its not really suitable for london with the stopping and starting in london traffic. and as previous ducatti owners can testify. you'll spend a lot more on the bike getting it fixed.

have a look around and then make a choice. sometimes the bike you want isnt always the bike you get right away.

i want an SV1000 but im riding around on a gsxr 750 instead because its what i can afford
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Teflon-Mike:I think I agree with just about all Pinky has said.

[Teflon-Mike]

First 'Big' bike?
Whats the ecconomics?
CG125 is dirt cheap biking.
100bhp Hornet, has about ten times the power, usies about four times the fuel, and kills tyres about twenty times faster, and they cost about five times as much. JUST an indicator.
Performance COSTS.
If you were comfortable hacking accross the metropolis on the CG, for what it costs to do it, might be worth hanging on to JUST for that job. (£15 a year to tax; Insurance probably less than you'll save taking 'And Commuting' clause of big bike policy; & fuel saving probably justifies its annual over heads plus some)
It gets frustrating riding about town having all that power and not 'really' being able to use it, and knowing you are squaring off expensive rubber, so when you DO get the chance to use it, handling is all to pot, OR you have to chuck rubber away even more often to keep them in shape.
If you have the money; they fair play, but its a VERY big leap when you step up to a big bike, and can be a bit of a shock, when you find out how much they cost to run.
On which basis, my initial advice is to think carefully and do some sums.
Bench-Mark I suggest is the Honda CB500 twin. Its the 'Big' CG125.
Its nothing special; but it is big biking on the cheap. They are a lot less demanding on the wallet than a four-cylinder bike.
Check one out and do the sums on teh cost of ownership, and use that as the reference to weigh up the alternatives.
Hornet sounds like a good bet, but then a VFR would probably be good too, maybe a Bandit or Fazer.
And if you do some maths on the viability of the commuter + big bike idea, you might not need stick to a 600.
For some reason, people seem to think that 600 is a good starting capacity... bigger displacements intimidate with the idea that he bikes must be that much larger, heavier and faster..... not strictly true. 1200 bandit has probably less power than a ZX6R. R1 is probably lighter than a ZZR600....
Its the 'kind' of bike and its charecter that is more important than its displacement.
Looking at naked or muscle bike styles, that tend to have softer power delivery and de-tuned motors, they can actually be less demanding or intimidating than thier smaller capacity siblings with more 'peaky' motors demanding more revs to make them move, encouraging more.... err... spirited riding!
anyway, bottom line is we cant make your choices for you.
And we cant really advice better without a better idea of what you have to work with or what your priorities or expectations are.
Best I can suggest is start by looking carefully at the CB500 as the 'My First Big-Bike', then weight that up against your CG125, and the Hornet, then look at the Bandit, & Fazer, and alternatives from there. And DO think about the two bike option.
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My Webby'Tef's-tQ, loads of stuff about my bikes, my Land-Rovers, and the stuff I do with them!
Current Bikes:'Honda VF1000F' ;'CB750F2N' ;'CB125TD ( 6 3 of em!)'; 'Montesa Cota 248'. Learner FAQ's:= 'U want to Ride a Motorbike! Where Do U start?'

[Clanger]

If its the streetfighter style that interests you, why not look around the classifieds for an older bike that has been modified into the style you like. Look in Streetfighter magazine.

That way you won't have to spend excess money on insurance or making certain modifications, because they will have already been made. Plus the insurance should be much lower, especially if you find an older bike.

Sorted!
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