Getting an R6 as a first bike?

[annndy]

I know it sounds a bit silly but... I've been looking through biketrader, freeads etc and pretty much all the 400s for sale are atleast 10 years old or older and cost around 1500-2000 for a nice one. Preferably I would like a newer bike and there are quite a lot of R6s which are only about 3-4 years old going for 3000.

I'm 20 at the moment so i would have to ride it restricted (which would hopefully mean i'd be able to get used to it first) and then when I turn 21 would be able to do AA and derestrict it. I know its a very powerful bike and i'd respect that and ride it carefully.

Anyway what do you guys think? All comments welcome.
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1991 Suzuki GSF 250 Bandit - 2001 Yamaha YZF R6 - 1998 Suzuki GSF 600 Bandit N

[MarJay]

https://www.bikechatforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=29300&highlight=r6+vs+zxr400

Read and absorb. There is some very important information in there. Also read the current thread about having a rich auntie!

Personally I would say that a lot of 400's are overpriced and you can get them cheaper. Don't get an R6 as IMO they are *way* to sharp for a first big bike.


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British beauty: Triumph Street Triple R; Loony stroker: KR1S; Track fun: GSXR750 L1; Commuter Missile: GSX-S1000F
Remember kids, bikes aren't like lego. You can't easily take a part from one bike and then fit it to another.

[Frost]

Yes the bike may cost you £3000, but thats also what the insurance would be. restricting an R6 would be difficult, expensive and would probably result in a horrible bike.
Higher capacity/sporty/newer bikes cost more to insure, the R6 is all of these. Newer bikes also depreciate alot quicker than old ones.

My advice is to buy a cheapish 400, save yourself a few 1000 on insurance then buy something else in 2 years time.

[annndy]

thanks for the advice guys i guess the R6 will have to stay a dream for a couple more years at least. 1 day it will be mine!!

I've always liked the look of the CBR400 NC29 Gullarm but its finding one about thats in good condition thats quite hard. I went into a Honda dealer and the guy said he's never had hold of a 2nd hand CBR400 coz people just generally dont want to get rid of them lol

I guess i'll just have to keep my eyes open, wish me luck!
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1991 Suzuki GSF 250 Bandit - 2001 Yamaha YZF R6 - 1998 Suzuki GSF 600 Bandit N

[mthorburn]

I was in the same position as yourself, was looking around for a 400, more specifically at the VFR/RVF's (Honda's). I really couldn't find a nicely priced one, all too expensive for year and mileage in my opinion. Probably because there are alot less of them on the road! Anyways, i ended up buying a Thundercat, very quick and is a good size. This was after i passed my DAS so wouldn't know about restricting these bikes. Got a really good deal on the insurance front too, £394 TPFT, first bike and just turned 21.
I reckon you should just wait till your 21 and get a bigger bike, instead of buying a big bike now and restricting it, then removing the restriction come 21/test pass.

[annndy]

I dont think i could wait because im not 21 for another 11 months which is an eternity when all i want to do is get on a bike!

Do any of you have or know what the RGV 250 is like?

I've seen quite a few of them going for a little over £1000 and i've been quoted about £470 for TPFT
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1991 Suzuki GSF 250 Bandit - 2001 Yamaha YZF R6 - 1998 Suzuki GSF 600 Bandit N

[Ste]

Honda Dealerships won't really touch the CBR400 as it is an imported bike and they don't want to get involved with imports. Keep an eye on eBay. Bike Trader and Ad Trader and you'll find one quite soon near you in good condition.

Not had an RGV250 but several people on here have done and really liked them. Not sure how well they will copy with the restriction as they're a two stroke. The bikes which will cope best with being restricted are those which are close to being 33bhp normally. I'd suggest getting something like a commuter style bike like a CB500 or something similar to start with and to get used to being on a bike, and then in a year or so get something more sporty and shinney looking. You'll be able to get insurance cheaper if you do lots and lots of phoning around, get yourself a copy of Bike Trader and call every insurance company listed in the back of it, and when you have got it down to the cheapest few call back and ask them if they can do anything to beat the others prices. Time consuming but it will save you money. Or you can speak to Danny on here (send him a PM or something) and he can do insurance finding for you and has lots of people who have been very pleased with his service. Believe he has his website running now which can be viewed here.

11 months is a bit of a long time, but as soon as you're 21 you can do the accelerated access and get rid of those 33bhp things legally. And it's better than the two years everyone else has to wait for.

Happy bike hunting and good luck with all the license stuff.

[Claud 14.7 to 1]

I've got a cbr400 gullarm, . I know, the sport 400s are very expensive, i would even say overpriced in alot of cases.

I bought mine in the Winter, when demand was less. Hence i got mine for 1300-1400 (cant remember). Its very nice bike. I haggled, but that goes with buying privatly. Buy privatly, becuase dealers selling 400s are insainly expensive.

You could look at Vfr400s, these are more common, and therefor cheaper.

Or you could pick up a non-sports bike, for considerably less, to get experiance on.

Insurance was 500 quid and im 19, if case you were interested/curious.