Cheap bikes for having some fun on

[_matt]

Hello lads,

Right, i live with some mates from Uni, all of us ride etc.
Looking for some cheap bikes to have a bit of fun on / learn stuff that isn't cruisers/commuters.

Talking under £600 a bike here so the choice is as follows:

Yamaha Diversion XJ600
Honda Varendaro 125 (for the mrs mostly)
Honda NSR 125
Yamaha XJ900
kawasaki zx6r
Derbi Senda Cross City 125
and lastly the infamous Aprillia RS 125.

For a bunch of lads in their 20's to have some fun on, which of these are likely candidates? All of us have only ever been on Cruisers or CG's/YBRs/Scooters

We're thinking the XJ600 and XJ900 are probly the best bets here but could use some input.

cheers, Matt
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1990 Yamaha XV 535 (Alive Again!) / 2007 Jinlun Texan 125-11 (formerly 2k3, wrong details, now going rusty in the back garden )

[Pie-Roe]

For me it's not about what bike it is, it's how much I paid for it.

Sure a zx6r costing 900 quid might be a good deal, but a 200 quid gt550 is more fun because if I slide it over or scratch it, I'll still get the same money back.

Incidentally I bought an rf600 (claimed 100bhp) put a set of superstickies, MOT, oil and filter and had change for 600 quid.
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Previous: GSF600, FZR600 x2, ZXR750, XT600 Tenere, CB125, CZ125, ETZ 250, ER5, CCM R30, DRZ400, RF600x4, RF900x2, GS500, VTR1000F, 640 SMC, CB250 NIGHTHAWK, GT550x3, GPX750 TE610, CB500, X11x2, SV650, ZING 125, TL1000R,CB250 Superdream, CBR1100XX

[Frost]

Fun and Diversions are mutually exclusive concepts.

[jjdugen]

ZZR 600. Looks old fashioned (in a Sean Connery kind of way, timeless), but has all the performance most people could actually get near to using... and..... (for some reason) dirt cheap.
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The CBR900RR has been sold. Aprilia Falco worms its way into my heart.
Try Soi 23 on Amazon for a good read.... Self promotion? Moi?

[Zen Dog]

[T0MMY]

I reckon you'd struggle to get a few usable ZX6Rs for under £600. Much better bike than anything else on your list though.

If you want really cheap but actually capable sporty bikes then you need to look at the unloved, overlooked ugly bastards.

RF600 and ZZR600 have already been mentioned, but let's not forget the shatteringly ugly GSXF600 as well. The earlier Jellymould CBR600s are quite cheap too, despite being decent bikes. Vincent had a thread the other day about one he saw that I think was about £600.
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ZX6R + CBR600RR

[bikertomm]

Lol, go half each?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/300760454353?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649
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07' Honda Hornet now full powaah! My guide on performing an oil change!

[Rogerborg]

Isn't a Divvy the very definition of a "commuter"?

If your budget is strictly under £600 then your choice is whatever's actually available, taxed, MOTd and in running order for that money locally.

I'm not sure why you're drawing up a shortlist, you'll have to nab the first thing that comes up at that price (looks out of window) I mean, if we ever see the sun again.

Anyway... GPZ 500.
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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

[J4mes]

Saw a guy riding one of these yesterday.

Thought it looked cool in an 80's retro kind of way

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/kawasaki-zx10-/261080227793?pt=UK_Motorcycles&hash=item3cc9981fd1

[ZaphodBeeble]

Divvy's are loads of fun. I had one for a short while which I nailed everywhere. Easy to get the pegs down, easy to handle. Not much power but that's kind of the point when you're managing to get past people on sportsbikes that don't know the roads. I really enjoyed that bike, I wouldn't mind having a blast on one again. I bought mine, a '94 model, for £550 with a few months MOT and tax. I put Bridgestone BT45s on it and some new brake pads and it was good to go. The BT45s are brilliant on the Divvy.
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Current bike: VTR1000F Firestorm. Previous: Firestorm (written off) - XJ600 Divvy - NSR125 - DT125 and a load of offroaders.

[jjdugen]

There are one or two Z's on the BCF forum as we speak, all at less than £600. Mine will be coming up shortly once the 'blade build is completed, all the toys, bagster and Kappa, well maintained, full tax / test, all consumables good and I will consider myself lucky to get circa £500 for her... (Would I post spam? Oh, absolutely not.....)
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The CBR900RR has been sold. Aprilia Falco worms its way into my heart.
Try Soi 23 on Amazon for a good read.... Self promotion? Moi?

[T0MMY]

Actually I reckon you could do worse than a Honda Bros or CB-1. My CB-1 is great fun on the road, perhaps more than the ZX6R and you can pick them up for peanuts. I also used to have a 400 Bros...£500, completely reliable and entertaining to ride despite the lack of muscle.

GPZ500s are more fun than they look too as they're pretty quick and have a noticeable step in the powerband but I think they're a little more pricey without being quite as good for your requirements (although better for practicality).
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ZX6R + CBR600RR

[_matt]

Hello folks!

The list above is stuff we've seen within 100-ish miles for the right price!
Really appreciate the feedback on this, looks like we need to give some of these guys a test ride then!
I'm leaning toward the Divvy myself since it sounds like a decent easy to handle bike.
Gotta go ride a GPZ500 later today (be nice if this rain packed it in though) so we'll see how it goes!

Thanks again folks, still open to more suggestions
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1990 Yamaha XV 535 (Alive Again!) / 2007 Jinlun Texan 125-11 (formerly 2k3, wrong details, now going rusty in the back garden )

[stinkwheel]

Look out for a mid 80's speedbarge like a GPz1100 or a GSX with far more power than the chassis can handle.

Or any FZR for far more handle than the engine can gear.

You'll pick up a first generation VFR750 for that sort of money too.

EDIT: Having ridden both, a GPZ500 is a better bike than a divvy in every way that counts.
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“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[Rogerborg]

[T0MMY]

FZR is a good call actually, they are dirt cheap but pretty capable.
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ZX6R + CBR600RR

[fozzym]

Got to be the ZX6R, I reckon you're talking about an F model which is a pertty good bike and being a sporty bike will be lots of fun.

Whilst sports 125 can be fun, its really not in the same league as a proper 600 sports or even commuter for that matter.

[T0MMY]

They're still vaguely desirable though...for £600 you'd be looking at one needing a fair bit of work unless you're lucky enough to find one with lots of cosmetic damage but good mechanicals (like I was )
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ZX6R + CBR600RR

[nick.h]

I sold my YZF750 for £500 It didn't look pretty, following it hitting the back of a mini, but it was tax's and MOT'd. Would of made a fun stunt/pissing about bike. I only paid £800 too
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[Italjet MM5A] ll [Rieju RS1 Evolution] ll [Suzuki GS500e] ll [Suzuki GSX600F] ll [Honda CG125] ll [Pug Elyseo 125] ll [Yamaha YZF750R] ll [Yamaha Thunderace] ll [Yamaha R6] ll [Triumph 955i] ll [Hayabusa RZK3] ll [Suzuki RGV250] ll

[T0MMY]

[Teflon-Mike]

OK, shit & Giggles Grant-Chequ Racer....

First I'd cross anything learner legal off the list, unless it HAS to be learner legal.

Simply because the market for them is over-priced, you wont get a bargain, and they tend to be expensive to insure for what they are.

If it HAS to be learner legal, I'd be thinking H100's, GP1125's, KH125's or RXS100.

Next I'd cross 600's off the list. SIMPLY because again, its the main-stream market, and while there are better priced bikes in it, they are still not always that well priced, and the 600 class IS insurance loaded.

And I'd cross the 400-Fours off the list as aged mine-field of grey-imports, run into the ground by previouse generations of Grant-Cheque-Racers!

Mining the manure heap for the hidden gems:-

SLR650.... big single with lots of potential. Could be a trailie, could be a motoard, could be a cafe racer, could be a rat, scope is limited only by your imagination.

As stock, its an unloved 50bhp 'commuter', bit like an F650 without the BMW pretentions; tough old Domminator motor, it was always a great city bike and a bit of a hooligans tool, before every-one HAD to have something orange & black to be a REAL holligans holigan.

Cheap to buy, cheap to insure, cheap and easy to live with, on a grant check, I'd be seriousely looking at them.

750's... the forgotten super-bike class....

Look hard enough you might luck in on an old ZXR750 for £600 ish, and probably be cheaper to insure than a ZX6R, if you fancy some real super-bike sports action.

PLENTY of cheaper Viffers out there; tough old boots, and still very good alrounders.

Older GSX750's, the great unloved tea-pot; offers more scope for messing, if you fancy some sort of budget street-fighter, rat or cafe racer, or to build a hard tail chop. Left stock, makes quite a useful all-rounder/tourer too, if you can get past the styling!

Honda CB750F2 (like mine) or Kwak 750 Zephy (even the 500 actually!) More old unloved. The 'retro' styling was the appeal in the day, an antithasis to the ever more dedicated race-replicas, and re-kindled the interest in street-bikes and muscle bikes paving the way for the Hornet and XJR1300 etc....

These days 'unloved' becouse they are old fasioned without being old; while falling between stools, NOT being BIG any-more, and not being small either.

My 750 'Four' cost me £450 taxed & tested eight years ago! Rather ratty, but ready to ride. There are planty out there now that cheap that are probably in tidier condition than mine was. Real bargain bikes and again, LOTS of scope to mess with them, in whatever direction, or just use as is.

For BIG-bike kicks, there are a lot of under rated, under valued behemouths out there; ZZR11 is probably the favourite; though may struggle to pick one up in budget. Its the original 200mph mega-bike, and the budget Busa for shear speed.

Honda CBR1000 Aero, now hugely undesirable, but still offers 125bhp, 165mph performance for pennies. ZX10 probably a tad more. FJ12, probably more common.

Those monsters though are 'cheap' because they ENT cheap to run.

On a Grant Cheque.... sort of thing I would 'short term', and look to get for a summer euro-tour, and flog on when I got back and needed to pay off the credit card! As a daily rider, 30mph fuel consumption hurts on its own, without having to heft the service costs.

Scouring the bay for googlies, pondering other oddities that have headed my way over the years?

BMW K75! Daftly cheap. But a lot of bike for not a lot of money, and scope to do something 'different' with.

Honda VF65 'Sabre'... WIERD thing.... actually the precursor to the V-Max and the first 'Super-Cruiser'. 1100cc V-Four engine, it was 'briefly' the most powerful cruiser in the world. But, Honda trying NOT to be accused of ripping of Harley style, blended a VERY strange mix of 'traditional' styling with cutting edge styling! It has a digital dash, ISTR! BUT shaft drive, its a heck of a bruiser, that engine is a peach, and it hauls ASS for a cruiser! And 'sort' of handles by cruiser standards..... could for the right money, be a pretty good 'student' bike.... I mean your all on drugs ANYWAY ent ya!

MZ250's... yeah, GOT to be done as a Student.... OK, maybe not! They were the proto-rat of my era. People would often GIVE them away, and some-times they just couldn't, so you'd agree to take it off thier hands for a crate of beer.... then stick some fresh petrol in, clean the points clean the carb and fire it up, and go looking for a dodgy MOT place, and then see how far you could get using used chip-fat instead of two-stroke oil! LOADs of student laughs for almost no money!

Similar vein, Ural Dniepnier BMW R35 650 twin 'copies' with or without cast iron bath-tub side-car. Seem to be a bit pricey these days, but in my student days you could buy one brand new for about the same price as a Kawasaki KH125! Side-Cars can be removed, and with side-car gearing, the solo is remarkeably spritely to about 60... quite nimble (for a ninety year old design!) on the trails too!

With chair, they are a HOOT..... Handling is at best..... strange, and piloting one is rather interesting and certainly 'involving'! Always get attension wherever they go, and again, endless source of entertainment for not a lot of dosh.

Classic mopeds, especially step-thru ones are always good for a laugh, and on campus wheelie competitions!

There is LOADS out there, in the price range, and looking for ideas & inspiration just spotted loverly looking Yamaha FZ750 for £600, ready to ride.... that is FAR too sensible and would have been reaching for the 'phone if I was in your shoes...

Otherwise, looking for laughs, with a pretty wide remit; opening it further looking beyond ready to ride machines at spares or repairs machines and unfinished projects, putting in a little work...

Bargain basement is littered with stuff that offers opportunity for thrills, in many many ways.....

Really depends how brave, foolish, daft or plain SILLY you want to be really!

Just remember that being at Uni is SO you can BE daft, foolish and plain silly, and it doesn't matter... well not too much...
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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?'

[stinkwheel]

[Teflon-Mike]

https://i.ebayimg.com/t/Velosolex-Very-Good-original-Condition-2200-Serial-No-3622657-January-1965-/00/s/MTIwMFgxNjAw/$(KGrHqVHJDUE+Onb0rzvBQJn5()(g!~~60_12.JPG

(Genuine French Built 1960's Velo-Solex, BTW.... which are a lot more valuable than the Surbian licence built versions, of which a lot have popped up since the former soviet union has opened up)

THERE you go, a REAL pocket-money classic for campus!

Buy a black turtle-neck, and a pipe, as complimentary accessories, chinos or black jeans with turn ups, and a pair of brogues, and get all existential over a frothy coffee and a hash-cake!

Also pre-65 'Moped'... you can tune the fuck out of the engine and its STILL legally a 'moped'!

With all the weight on the front wheel... driven by a rubber wheel

More Scary than an RF900 with shot shock, knackered swing arm & head-race bearings and only one working brake caliper!

GOT to be worth £500 of any-ones money!

Oh yeah... probably run on sambuca or abasynth.... and get you 200 miles on a shot-glass of the stuff.... (Well, if you pedal assist )
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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?'

[Polarbear]

I can see you getting a 600 divvy for £600 but a 900? They are a much more desirable bike, and if you can get them for 600 quid you could make a profit on just about every one.
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Triumph Trophy Launch Edition

[Cheeseybeaner]