First "33bhp" bike.. choices?

[St0rmer66]

I'm looking to get a bigger bike around August time when I get my first year of NCB (20% off insurance is definitely a good thing!). I haven't passed my test yet but I'm going to be putting in for it very soon!

Anyway, I'm stuck between 3 bikes (though other choices would be greatly appreciated!).

- Kawasaki ER-5
- Suzuki GS500E
- Aprilia RS125 (derestricted to 33bhp).
- Something else?

The first 2 are relatively similar really, I like the look of the Suzuki better I think although the bigger exhaust on the Kwak is good too! Pretty even really. The Aprilia is very different in terms of looks and definitely beats them both IMO! Performance wise the Suzuki and Kwak are again very similar, I'm not really sure how the Aprilia would compare? They're so much different being a 2-stroke and also they're much lighter so I'd hope the acceleration would also be a lot faster!

I'm not really sure if the 2-stroke engine on the RS125 is worth the hassle though? It would mean a lot more maintainance and using 2-stroke oil which I'm not really used to, having a 4-stroke at the moment. But I'm thinking it would probably be a lot more fun to ride! I will be using the bike Mon-Fri for a very small (<5 miles either way) commute every day and then using it for fun in the country at the weekends!

Insurance on the RS125 would be about £350 TPO, the ER-5 about £440 TPO and the GS500 about £380 TPO.

I'm so sick of maxing out at 55mph on my current bike! Can't wait to get on something faster!

Any thoughts/comments greatly appreciated!
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:: Honda XR 125 L ('53) => Kawasaki GPZ 500S ('02) => Suzuki SV650S ('00) => Aprilia RSV-R ('51) ::

[JonB]

Definately not the RS125.
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Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it?s worth.

[Dark]

My first thought is what are you looking at using your next bike for? Are you looking at something reliable as your main mode of transport or is fun more important?
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My Bikes in order:- Yamaha RXS100 / Suzuki X7 250 / Yamaha RD350LC / Kawasaki
KR1S 250 / Kawasaki ZXR750 H2 / Honda C50 / Kawasaki ZX7R P5 / Kawasaki ZX10R / Suzuki GSXR 400 / Honda CBR1100 Blackbird & Yamaha FZR 600

[Itchy]

scrap that I missed the 33bhp thing.

Hornet 600s take the restriction well , CB500s kinda ok

[mrchips]

GPZ500 is a lower insurance group than the CB500 if I recall correctly.
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Northern Irish? www.nibikers.com

[Mark_petty]

I did my test on a Suzuki GS500E and I thought it was a good bike, they are quite nippy but i'm not sure what they are like with a 33bhp restriction, I think they are about 49bhp as standard
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[Rides: Suzuki GSF600sx]
[CBT: Passed] [Theory: Passed] [DAS: Passed]

[JonB]

Bandit 600's are cheap to insure and alright to restrict.
____________________
Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it?s worth.

[St0rmer66]

Needs to be relatively reliable because I will be using it nearly every day!

Don't really like the GPZ500 or CB500 .

I will get some quotes for the Bandit and report back!
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:: Honda XR 125 L ('53) => Kawasaki GPZ 500S ('02) => Suzuki SV650S ('00) => Aprilia RSV-R ('51) ::

[McGee]

[St0rmer66]

About £630 TPO for a Bandit! Bit expensive for me really.. .
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:: Honda XR 125 L ('53) => Kawasaki GPZ 500S ('02) => Suzuki SV650S ('00) => Aprilia RSV-R ('51) ::

[Simple]

Kawaski GPZ500s, like an ER5 but with a fairing for a bit of wind/rain protection, is tuned differently to an ER5,
bit more sporty than an ER5,

run well restricted.
plenty about second hand with the 33bhp kits already in them.

cheap to run, getting 40mpg to mine and thats commuting in town and hooning to bike meets,

have only needed to adjust my chain once in 5500miles.

has an interesting 2stroke esque kick at 7thou RPM.

bit ugly compared to other faired bikes but that's half the fun.

highly recommended bike, I ride mine every day in every weather condition, I commute, I do rideouts it does them all.

Also a little more money but what about an SV650S? lots of torque for a 33bhp'er.
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Insta - FemFeral

[JonB]

But I bet you did that on a shitty online quote thingy.

When I was 17 with 1 year NCB I paid £307 TPFT for my Bandit, just by ringing around loads of companies.

Now i'm 18 with 2 years no claims i'm paying £220 TPFT.
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Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it?s worth.

[riichy]

zxr400
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.......... PLOD ............ zx636 2004

[derbisenda16]

get either an Aprilia RS250 or an R6. First is proly the best. if u want speed get a 2t. Consider the Cagiva Mito.

[McGee]

[lilredmachine]

What?! An RS250?

He's riding EVERY DAY.

1)it may be wet sometimes
2)He'll be on a 33hp restriction
3)he needs a bike that'll get to work and back without needing a rebuild
4)fuel consumption is astronomic
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Bikes: too many, too much for one man to maintain anyway.

[St0rmer66]

I don't like the back end on the GPZ, makes it look very dated IMO. Apart from that it's not bad, but it really does put me off it .

Would love an SV650 but they're about £1k more expensive than my other choices and the insurance is pretty high too..

Would love a ZXR400 too! But finding a decent one for the price I'm willing to pay is a bit hard, they all seem to be early 90's with huge milage . Also insurance is high again..

Yes I did them online, does it really make that much difference by ringing up? . I knew it was cheaper.. but not that much!
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:: Honda XR 125 L ('53) => Kawasaki GPZ 500S ('02) => Suzuki SV650S ('00) => Aprilia RSV-R ('51) ::

[derbisenda16]

[derbisenda16]

[St0rmer66]

derbisenda16, I think they're right on the 2stroke thing! I can't afford for it to be unreliable! I'm only a student and I can't be spending huge amounts on it either, I need something that is gonna take a bit of punishment every now and then and still keep on chugging !

Maybe when I'm a bit older and have more cash on my hands I can pick up something like an RS for fun . But then actually I'll probably get a ZX6-R or ZX-10R (or similar) eventually!
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:: Honda XR 125 L ('53) => Kawasaki GPZ 500S ('02) => Suzuki SV650S ('00) => Aprilia RSV-R ('51) ::

[McGee]

[St0rmer66]

Yeah, as fun as they probably are and as great as they look (I'm not disputing that, I would love to get one!) I can't really afford for it not to be reliable unfortunately!
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:: Honda XR 125 L ('53) => Kawasaki GPZ 500S ('02) => Suzuki SV650S ('00) => Aprilia RSV-R ('51) ::

[Simple]

[St0rmer66]

I was just using ebikeinsurance.co.uk since it's pretty easy to change the details for a different bike and I've found them to be fairly cheap compared to a lot of others! When I actually get around to insuring a bike I will definitely ring up though!

I tried doing a quote for what I have at the moment (Honda XR 125 '53 plate on TPO with Bennetts) and the online quote was something like £350 for the situation I was in (I changed my details a bit to make it more like I was back in last August) but I'm paying £225 at the mo!

If I rang up ebike, not even to haggle, would it still be cheaper than online anyway? I will definitely ring up a few though when the time comes .
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:: Honda XR 125 L ('53) => Kawasaki GPZ 500S ('02) => Suzuki SV650S ('00) => Aprilia RSV-R ('51) ::

[The Tot]

Anything up from an XR125L is a good thing. That bike is utterly shit for long distances, although it has never stopped me before.
I was paying 440 in london TPO at 17 for my XR, and dropped to 180 in loughborough.

For a 33bhp suggestion, i've now got a ZXR250 which i can say is a significant improvement over the XR and i just finished a 1000 mile tour of the south coast of england on it. PM me for more details on how to make the most of your XR.
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The Tot 2007 Yamaha R1 4C8 2002 Yamaha FZS1000 Fazer &
www.youtube.com/Titot182 for your bike gear reviews and pop punk covers
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