A2 Restricted vs A2 Stock

[IC3]

I did originally plan to buy a car, even though a lot of people were saying to just get a bike... insurance is cheaper, running costs and its more fun = no blackbox I've seen a few cars, ok back on topic...

I didn't really find any real answers to my questions during my googling ninja searches, so my questions;

- Does a restricted bike feel underpowered compared to stock 45-47hp bike?
- If I choosed to restrict a bigger bike, what bikes have power in low RPM's (MT07?)
- Which bike will be quicker around the corners, restricted or stock alternative?
- What bikes would you recommend in general? I'm thinking of; Kawasaki ER6-N, KTM Duke 690 and SMC690 (not sure if SM is a good idea for longer rides), Yamaha XJ6-N and MT07... I'm still doing my research of what I can get for 3-3.5k. I'll most likely be buying the bike at the end of the season...

So what are your opinions and experiences? The least I would go is probably Z300, but I'm over 6ft & over 12 stone so would Z300 be ok?

Edit:

I don't care about mpg, I'm looking for something fun and with a nice exhaust tone (SV650 suggestions incoming )

 

[IC3]

Put in for your bike test? Restricted are a bit meh

Why are restricted "meh?"
So would e.g. Kawasaki Z300 (168kg) vs 47hp XJ6-N (205kg) be a better choice? The weight difference is pretty big, 37kg and only 7hp more over the z300. So am I wrong to think that Z300 would be faster/quicker than a XJ6-N?

Wait a year and x(?) months untill you're old enough to do the A2 test, then look at what bike you may want.

6 months to be exact, I want to know what bikes to think about and search for earlier on. Bikes aren't as popular as cars, so its probably going to be trickier to find one.

put the traditional "restrictors" in?

Have you owned a bike before? I would say that if not, get the one you like the look of the most. You won't regret it and it won't feel under powered as you'll have nothing to test against.

If you have, I assume you're on A2 as you're younger (?) then it will definitely feel more powerful than a 50cc/125cc you've had before.

Yes, I've started off with a quad at the age of 9, it was a yamaha raptor 250cc (I wanted a cross/enduro, but my mum was against it...). I than had a moped at the age of 13-14 (I could legally drive it at the age of 14, that wasn't in the UK thou), I than had a different moped and after that I had a RS 125cc 2T for 5 months as I moved back to the UK and wasn't allowed to drive it here. So I sold it to my friend, I have ridden couple bikes such as; gs500, sv650, YBR125, Bandit 400, Chinese 200cc enduro offroad. I have had a lot of friends who loved to ride motorbikes and I was one of the younger ones in the group. But it was fun to go out on weekends with 10-15 people for slower rides without any speeding.

P.s. I've driven a BMW F650, but only around a small private parking and 1 lap around a offroad track. But the bike had road tyres which were rubbish for that offroad track, so after 1 lap I didn't continue as the bike wasn't mine. Does a Raptor 700R count? I drove that thing at the same day as the F 650, I was only 15-16 at the time. But it was so fun to drive the Raptor, such a imporvement over 250cc

So yeah, I'm not too experienced. But its not my first time...

 

[IC3]

The XJ6N develops 47BHP and weighs 206KG?

I hope that's the fully fuelled weight as my old Suzuki 1100 only weighs 232KG dry...

I'm giving the wet weight of the bikes, no point in giving dry. The XJ6-N factory without any restrictions has 78 hp 57 kW @ 10000 rpm, from my google ninja searches I've found out that a lot of bikes qualify for A2 with restrictions as long as they are below 94hp.

Back on topic:

Get something cheap to get all the stupid mistakes out of your system on and then pass your test before getting something decent.

By cheap what sort of budget are we talking about and what sort of bikes (e.g. gs500?) I mentioned GS500 as I drove it some time ago when I was younger, but it was only a short ride. I'm pretty sensible with riding, so people weren't afraid of lending me their bikes to test them out. But like I said before, only short trips which aren't enough IMO to have a valid opinion about a bike.

 

[IC3]

Can you still get an old cbr6 f3 or f4i and have them restricted or not any more?

No clue, I'll do a quick search...

The new breed of 300cc bikes look great. Far better choice than a restricted bigger bike. I quite fancy one myself as a 2nd bike to blast around on - the reviews have been great for them, saying they put the fun back into biking.

People often say 'get a restricted bike then you can just take the restrictors out when you pass' but personally I think its better to just get a bike designed for that power so you can rev it through, then just buy a bigger bike when you pass (getting a new bike is always fun!)

Yeah you can get a ninja 250cc for 1500-1600 after some negotiations

Bikes with 50ish BHP certainly aren't sow by any means - my little CB400 which had 50 something BHP when it left the factory 14 years ago will do 0-60 in 5 seconds, top speed 120 (not been above 90, kph that is but still had plenty of go) which isn't 'fast' for a bike but it's faster than 95% of cars on the road.

AFAIK restricting a bike only affects the top end power, or doesn't let you go full throttle, so a twin or something with plenty of torque should still be quick up to a ton or so.

Yeah, 47hp should be plenty for road use, I was thinking of re-buying a 125cc now. But in my opinion it would be a step back as my RS was de-restricted (don't tell anyone )