First Big Bike

[Appleby]

Evening all,

I was wondering if I could pick your collective experienced brains! I passed my DAS Autumn last year however work commitments prevented me from getting my own bike (it would have been sat in a garage for 6 months!) but now all that is out of the way and I'm starting to look.

I've done some research but not really chatted to anyone so I wondered what your opinions would be. I've been looking for a naked 600cc ish bike, things like hornets and bandits. Main use is for riding for fun however it would be nice to head to work and back on it occasionally. I did my DAS on an 08 CB 600 which I found comfortable and nice an easy to ride (so hornets are good!). I also got to go out on a 500cc Suzuki (sorry not sure on model) which was much older, more knackered however very much still fun!

What's a good budget to set for a first bike (I know this could vary crazily). I started looking at a couple of grand, but adding a little extra budget seems to get so much more, however threads like this make me a little nervous about buying a newer bike with no experience!

These are the sort of things I've been looking at:
GS500
Bandit
Hornet

I love the idea of something like the newer hornet, should hold its value well, ABS and decent immobilizer, but in head vs heart, head says go cheap until you have some experience!

Also lots of questions about buying a bike! Will a dealer be worried about doing a test ride with little experience? How have you found dealers to be when negotiating prices (any wiggle room)?

Any stories or wisdom from buying your own first bike?

 

[Appleby]

Kawasaki er6
Yamaha Fazer 600
Suzuki Sv650

Thanks for this! I will add these to the list to look out for!

lots and lots of good stuff

I've run quotes on the bikes I put up, all pretty reasonable. I don't have to worry about running up massive mileage as I've already got cars for my daily commute. (Although yes I will be running the bike up to work and back occasionally).

As the creator of the dropping your bike thread I feel I should add:

The general consensus is you'll drop your first bike... and your second... and third... and most likely all of them. Or you'll never drop one... or you'll hit oil and drop it first week like me.

Basically don't worry about dropping it, It may or may not happen

Nah I'm happy with my CBR600F as my first bike. Dropped it first week putting my foot down in a patch of oil. No damage though, so it's all good. All great suggestions above and it does seem that insurance is the biggest factor in the UK.

I already dropped one of my bike schools bikes First time out on a big bike, doing a U turn I panicked a bit grabbed the clutch and killed all momentum, bike was already leaning and I wasn't ready to catch it. I ended up just laying it down in slow motion.

I found a few insurance quotes I had would require them to phone you once they had taken payment to confirm your details, yeah weird. Then they would say "Oh because you're a new rider with little/no experience the insurer has put the price up £xxx, do you still want the policy?".

I'm now waiting to get a refund from said insurer/broker as it was ridiculous to take money then ask for more.

Which insurer was this? One to avoid for everyone!

My first bike was a Street Triple, very closely followed by an SV650S, and both are great bikes for a first time rider.

Street Triple is one of the reasons I wanted to learn to ride! (Used to live very close to a Triumph dealership when they first came out!). I have a feeling insurance may rule this out as a first bike though!

 

[Appleby]

Lots of good info guys! Keep it coming. I had started looking at cheaper bikes (bank account breathes a sigh of relief) till you came along Paul. Street triple £450 fully comp so not much more than a hornet!

Where do you guys look for bikes? I've tried the usual suspects that I would for cars (PH, Gumtree, auction sites etc.) however not so clued up on where to look for bikes?

 

[Appleby]

Autotrader d'oh! Should have really thought of that!

 

[Appleby]

Ideas coming for lots of bikes so thanks for that! I've set up searches in all the main places! I've run a few more insurance quotes too!

What should I be looking for if I go and see a bike? Obvious ones are signs of drop/crash damage, paperwork in order, and a HPI check. Anything else? General tyre condition, bike starting first time? Anything to look out for?

 

[Appleby]

So thanks for all the helpful advice here guys! I have have finally got a bike! I had a look around all of the options suggested here (and a few more) and have taken advice on board. I decided to go fairly cheap and simple to start with and have bought . . .

A Ducati Monster M600! I pick it up on Saturday and will get some pictures up when I do! I can't wait!