First 600CC Bike recomendations

IronFire

IronFire

IronFire

Associate
Joined
18 Oct 2002
Posts
910
I am currently doing my direct access and am trying to work out what bike I should settle for if I pass. I have decided that a 600CC bike is probably going to be the sensible price/perfomance point and have been looking at second hand Honda CBR600 Fs. The local dealer has one but is asking for allot as it has been tweaked but they also have a second hand standard CBR 600RR 2007 plate for £500 more.

I am not sure if I would be biting off more than I could handle as a first bike with the 600RR, does any one have any recommendations ?
 
aproctor said:
CG125
Click to expand...

LOL, perfect first 600cc bike recommendation!

I'm hoping to do my DAS soon, i think the CB600F looks like a pretty good all-rounder, although I hear the fuel range isn't that great. What year is the bike you were looking at?

The other bike that I really like is the NT700v Deauville, it looks perfect for allround use + some nice long trips around Europe :)
 
Honda hornet, CBF600, Suzuki Bandit? The choice is yours. If however you want a sportier bike then you cant go much wrong with the CBR F's. The RR might be a bit too much for a first bike though.

Also bear in mind that the insurance group for a CBF is 11, CBR is 14 & I think the RR is group 18
 
Yamaha YZF thundercat, good bike with great tank range.
More like a sports tourer than an out an out racer like the CBR600RR.
Still delivers almost 100hp, but is a lowish insurance group.;)
 
I looked at the Deauville a while back, and they seem extremely overpriced when you can get a decent BMW K100 or K1100 for much less money. You shouldn't have a problem insuring them either as they're not particularly fast for the capacity nor desirable to thieves, but 90hp from the K100 is plenty to get you into lose-your-license territory pretty quickly. Only drawback would be the weight but it doesn't really detract from the handling once you're used to it, just be very careful at low speed - there isn't a K which hasn't been dropped at some point, including mine.
 
drz 400 sm might be worth a look would make a great first bike imo, cheap new and 30 months 0% at the moment .
 
nozz said:
drz 400 sm
Click to expand...

If he's looking at CBRs, I don't think a DRZ is a valid alternative, good bikes though they are.

CBRs are excellent bike and you can't go far wrong with them.
Any of the 600cc bikes from the last decade are a good buy. ZX6R, R6s, GSXR600s etc etc. but I would certainly consider something a little less focussed than the RR model or any of the highly strung bikes.

Why a 600cc I-4 though? You should be able to get an SV1000 or one of the other 1000cc V-Twins for the same sort of money and they are a much nicer ride with less dancing on the gear-lever needed to make good progress.

Take a look. I think you'll be surprised at the prices of the bigger engined bikes and they tend to be easier to insure due to being less prone to being ridden by idiots.
 
i would look at somethin a bit more tame for your first year like a Suzuki SV650S this is what i am currently doing to allow me to go for something a bit more powerful in the next year and get the most out of it.
 
Amps said:
i would look at somethin a bit more tame for your first year like a Suzuki SV650S this is what i am currently doing to allow me to go for something a bit more powerful in the next year and get the most out of it.
Click to expand...

If he is sensible I think a 600 inline 4 is a fine first big bike. They are pretty tame until you get upto around 10,000rpm.

Someone mentioned a DRZ400SM and that is what I chose as my first big bike after a CG125. I had a blast with that bike and I'm thinking of selling my ZX6R to get another!
 
touge said:
If he is sensible I think a 600 inline 4 is a fine first big bike. They are pretty tame until you get upto around 10,000rpm.

Someone mentioned a DRZ400SM and that is what I chose as my first big bike after a CG125. I had a blast with that bike and I'm thinking of selling my ZX6R to get another!
Click to expand...

DRZ400SM looks like fun :D

Buy one as your first bike!!!
 
Your main options are Suzuki Bandit, SV650 or GSXR, Yamaha Fazer or R6, Honda Hornet or CBR derivatives but that excludes the Kawasaki stuff. What type of riding are you going to be doing ? As this will pretty much narrow the choice down, also what sort of budget are you looking at ?

The Bandit/SV/Fazer/Hornet are prime DAS targets, if you go witht he SV it's cheap to run/insure and the torque is great but you need to decide if twins are for you. The GSXR/CBR RR/R6 is a little more of a handfull, the Fazer since about 03 has got the R6 engine and like the R6 you need to rev the whatsits off it to actually get anywhere, this is a little annoying if you're used to the older engine where it actually made a little more power lower down the rev range but lost out on the top end.
 
rsatd said:
Seriously good recomendation here, get some experience first maybe 6-12 month's or so THEN go for something bigger.
Click to expand...

No it's not a good recomendation. He is currently doing his DAS which means he will carry out his test on a big bike. A CG125 can only crack 60mph with the wind behind you, it is no more safe than a big bike with a sensible rider.
 
rsatd said:
Seriously good recomendation here, get some experience first maybe 6-12 month's or so THEN go for something bigger.
Click to expand...

I don't see a problem with anybody owning a 600cc sports as a first bike. Ride like a knob and you'll die, this applies to all bikes no matter how big the engine is. A 125 is a poor recommendation in my opinion.

The most sensible option would be a 500cc commuter, the bikes you will do most of the DAS course on. They are cheap, reliable and reasonably pokey; certainly enough to smoke nearly all the cars out there off the lights.

My choice wouldn't be a super sports like the 600RR, hard to live with day to day and sometimes a real pain in the arse (literaly). The main problem I find with them is that they are only working at their best when you're riding them at full tilt, with a 600cc machine this is bloody fast and still nowhere near what it can really do. So I go down a step and get myself a thundercat, SV650 or similar if a 500cc bike wasn't good enough.

I had an NC30 for a while, I started off on a 125 then went to a BROS 400. I ended up chucking the NC30 at the scenery and nearly smoked myself back in june, I'm still waiting for my tibia to fix itself. I am back on my BROS 400 now and really enjoying it, I will be getting another sports bike soon but its going to be naked with risers and bars to make a better everyday bike.

So think carefuly about what you want to use the bike for and how you're going to ride i.e. sensibly or for thrills. You'll be able to make a decision on whether a sports bike is for you :)
 
IronFire said:
I am currently doing my direct access and am trying to work out what bike I should settle for if I pass. I have decided that a 600CC bike is probably going to be the sensible price/perfomance point and have been looking at second hand Honda CBR600 Fs. The local dealer has one but is asking for allot as it has been tweaked but they also have a second hand standard CBR 600RR 2007 plate for £500 more.

I am not sure if I would be biting off more than I could handle as a first bike with the 600RR, does any one have any recommendations ?
Click to expand...

I can only recommend one, as that’s all I had, but the Kawasaki Ninja ZX6R (636cc) was a perfect first bike for me, and I don’t see any reason why it wouldn’t for you.

Insurance was a bit high, as expected (new rider, no alarm and pap post code), the extra 37cc puts you into the same tax bracket as the 1000cc bikes – but it’s still only £65 for a year.

Tank range was anywhere from 110 to 130+ before reserve, and that was good for another 20 to 30 miles, so not too bad.

Servicing was cheap enough, £114 for inspection (4000 miles), £160 for the next service at 7500 miles (fluids, oil, filter plugs, grease etc), can’t give any more costs as mine was wipe out by a people carrier :(

Best of all the bike looks awesome and the performance matches it – I also found it’s not one of the ‘common’ bikes you see, and often there were only 2-3 at the bike meets I went to.

When I was looking to buy, I considered everything that sports 600s had, read as many reviews as possible and whittled it down to the CBR600RR or the Ninja; the latter won as it was supposed to be more usable around town (that extra 37cc being the key apparently), which is where I’ll be riding during commute.

Scort.
 
mr jamez said:
My choice wouldn't be a super sports like the 600RR, hard to live with day to day and sometimes a real pain in the arse (literaly). The main problem I find with them is that they are only working at their best when you're riding them at full tilt, with a 600cc machine this is bloody fast and still nowhere near what it can really do. So I go down a step and get myself a thundercat, SV650 or similar if a 500cc bike wasn't good enough.
Click to expand...

Although a valid opinion, I really don’t agree; I had no issues whatsoever with my Ninja, it was always easy and a joy to ride in any condition or surrounding, and as for a literal ‘pain in the ass’ I never suffered any aches, even after long 150+ non stop rides.

A friend of mine has a K4 GSXR 600, and before he bought it almost every person he spoke to about bikes told him some variation of the “sports bikes will cripple you” story, yet he has also had no issues with discomfort, and he’s over 6ft.
Not that I’m denying some people may have issues with the riding position, it just seems that the general consensus on sports bikes is that you will get aches, when that is often far from true.

Just going back to your comment on being hard to live with day to day, I take it you mean mechanically and lack of storage as well – these I agree with, but I would expect any high performance vehicle that is not looked after would give you problems, and as for storage, I use a backpack :D Wouldn't mind under-seat storage on the next bike though, as in, can store more then the tool kit.

Scort.
 
I just passed my DAS a few weeks ago and was in the same situation as you. I ended up buying a Bandit 600 and from the short time I have been on it I would say its plenty for a new start :)

It was cheap too, I bought it second hand (P reg) for £750 with a brand new MOT and some tax left on it. Insurance was £150 TPFT which was very cheap. I am hoping to get out on it again tonight since the weather is decent and maybe go for a run on Saturday.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom