What bike?

yariso · L Plate Warrior Joined: 17 Mar 2004 Karma :

Hello!

Nice forum! Ok, i have just passed my test. I have £2500 to spend on a bike, which will include insurance, so not much then!! Anyway i was wondering what sort of thing i could get for that kind of money? At first i was thinking maybe a CBR 600, Thundercat or maybe a Fazer, what are peoples opinions of these, and would i be able to get a half decent one with the money, bearing in mind a good £1000 is going to be taken up by insurance. Or as a first bike would i be better to get a 400? I like the ZXR 400 and also the VFR400. Basically i want something that is quick, nice handling and fairly cheap. Any ideas?

Robby · Dirty Old Man Joined: 16 May 2002 Karma :

well for 1500 you won't get a thundercat or fazer at all. You'll get a nasty old CBR6. Best avoided.
You'd get a nice sports 400... if you really want one of them.

A grand for insurance is a lot. How old are you, which test did you do, and any previous experience?

yariso · L Plate Warrior Joined: 17 Mar 2004 Karma :

I was roughly guessing at £1000, i am 27, no other motorbike experience, just passed my direct access. Is it worth getting a 400, or would i be revving the bollox off it to have any fun? Any other suggestions?

Robchester · Scooby Slapper Joined: 18 Feb 2004 Karma :

my mate is 22 no previous experience and just passed his DAS. Paying just under £700 for a GSXR600 1996 TPFT so you should get it under 1k

yariso · L Plate Warrior Joined: 17 Mar 2004 Karma :

Ok, so i looking at £1800ish for the bike- would CBRs and thundercats still be out of the question?

Robby · Dirty Old Man Joined: 16 May 2002 Karma :

I would expect so.

However, this is your first bike. Go for something cheaper, chances are you will crash in the first year, even if its just a little one. Better to crash a GS500 than a thundercat, much less to break.

Look at 500cc+ twins in that price bracket, you'll get a good bike for between 1k and 1500, and lose nothing on depreciation when you come to sell it in a year.

Where in the country are you?

yariso · L Plate Warrior Joined: 17 Mar 2004 Karma :

I'm in the UK. Reading some of the reviews on here (except urs :0]), the ZXR 400 sounds quite interesting, although, i don't know whether i would be too tall for it, at 5'11? Hmm GS500, worth a look, cheers, any more like this- bandit maybe?

neph · L Plate Warrior Joined: 17 Mar 2004 Karma :

I was in a similar situation to yourself last August. Ended up paying £1200 for a 1990 ZZR 600, and TPFT insurance for 180. To me its a good first bike, as I'm not capable of chucking it around corners yet, but there's plenty of power to get out of trouble, and I won't be to distraught if I drop it.

stevo as b4 · World Chat Champion Joined: 17 Jul 2003 Karma :

I think you would have to only want the bike for fun, or for sunday blasts, to go and get a 400cc sports bike as your first machine. They are generally suited to shorter people, as most 400's are fairly small. Considering you experience and budget, i would definately go for a more all round bike, like a 500cc twin/bandit etc. If you might want to do longer trips and commute, then you want a bike thats comfortable and that at least has a half fairing, unless you ride mainly in town. I would say that you could find a really nice CB500S or ER5 or GPZ500 for £1500, and also there are plenty of Bandits and Diversion600's around at that price. You might find a nice older 600, but most CBR's and FZR's etc will have had a hard life, and there are some tatty ones out there. At 27 i would be suprised if any of the above bikes cost you more than £1000 insurance at the most, but then having said that i was qouted £1872 for an SV650S when i was 21, so i dont know for sure. Ring round and get some hypothetical qoutes for some of the bikes your interested in, and then you will know if you can realistically afford them.
What bike did you pass your DAS on btw?

Adam_P · World Chat Champion Joined: 23 Jan 2004 Karma :

The insurance price will vary a lot from company to company. I rang round a shed load of companies and got quotes of £450 FC and £210 TPF&T, that's on a Fazer with no previous bike insurance. I'm 30, so I can't see your quote being much more, depending on the price of the bike and its age etc.

Have you thought about cost for clothing and other things, if you need them at all?
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yariso · L Plate Warrior Joined: 17 Mar 2004 Karma :

Robby · Dirty Old Man Joined: 16 May 2002 Karma :

Have a poke around autotrader, see if you like anything on there.