My First Experience on a Bike...

If I was to consider getting a bike, something more than a 125, what would be the process of going through my tests?

I'm contemplating if it would ever be worth me going through it all (only in england till next december), and wondering what the costs would be like to cover the tests, equipment and bike?

I'd be using it over summer, university (sept-june) and next summer --> december.
 
Last edited:
mp3kla said:
My first time on a bike was when my mate had to pick me up in town in the summer.

edit. didnt realise how quick bikes can be, spec for the SV 650 S =

0-30 mph 1.34 sec.
0-60 mph 3.20 sec.
0-90 mph 6.79 sec.
0-100 mph 8.76 sec.
Click to expand...

I am a Suzuki SV650S rider , these bikes are very very easy to launch for a beginner.

Just back from a we blast along my local backroads.

The acceleration on a small bike like this is sublime compared to my 2.0L car you can easily overtake 4 or 5 cars in the time it takes to overtake 1 in the car.
 
mp3kla said:
wondering what the costs would be like to cover the tests, equipment and bike?
Click to expand...

If you do DAS, factor in:
£500 for training and test
£1000 for your gear (don't skimp on this. Better £1000 gear and £1000 bike than £100 gear and £1900 bike)
£10-12000 for a bike depending on what you want. £3k gets you a tidy first bike like an SV650 or a hornet or a binned-it.

You can get a decent bike for next to nothing though. I bought my F650 Funduro for £750 and it's spot on after I did a few jobs. It's tatty and miley but it saves me suffering arm ache in traffic on the RSV.
 
top tip for any big sports bike rider, lower your gearing, just no point have the 186 limiter kick in (read 178mph ish with speedo error) ...drop a tooth on front sprocket and the bike becomes pure evil.[/QUOTE]

Try an 130bhp (real not silly manufacturer speak, costs a lot to do it proply) 600 race bike with a 14-48 gearing (2 less than normal on the front), weighing in a 152 kilo's, thats evil :-)

if you think 150 mph is fast, try doing it round a corner :eek: :p thats what my speedo was reading round island bend at oulton yesterday :cool:

Get yourself out on track, these things are just plain silly on the road, good fun though :-)
 
Ok, I wouldn't be able to spend that sort of money on a bike though. Being a student and all.

edit - Having a look on autotrader and prices aren't too bad actually.
 
Last edited:
Flukester said:
...I know mine with mild tuning will run all the way to a real world calibrated 175 without any letup in pull before bouncing off the limiter, there is no ''sitting there willing the speedo to climb abit'.

..even more scary, that all takes place I guess in about 16 -18 seconds. (I know even a old shed like a FZR1000EXUP RU can get to 160 in 18.)


I think on a drag strip a Veyron would be mullered, just because by the time aerodynamics come into play (say 160ish mph) the veyron would be too far behind. Given enough room it would walk it however :)
Click to expand...

Granted, you have to stretch to real exotica to even have a chance at playing Internet Drag Racing with a litre bike, but looking at the figures, it would be closer than you think. The Veyron does 0-100 in 5.5 seconds and 0-186 mph in 16.7 seconds and the quarter in [email protected] or 9.8@150, your choice. Compare that to an '08 Hayabusa: 0-180 mph in 18.9 seconds and a 1/4 in 9.85 at 149.7 mph. Theres a video about of Norm Jackson doing consistent 9.3's@152 on a ZX-10R (stock but geared) for comparison as well and wiki has it as 0-170 in 15.5 secs.

Change the Veyron for a Koenigsegg CCR and it's closer again...1/4 in 9 seconds flat@146. Slightly less exotic, an Ultima GTR720 with a 1/4 mile time of 9.9secs@ 143mph terminal. Pretty even I reckon, if you ignore the price tags of the cars.
 
Nice figures, yeah I guess it's all pretty close.. I've been lucky to run with a 750bhp skyline and that was VERY fast.

Still, it's a cool thing to be able to buy something for 6 grand that can do that :)
 
Rilot said:
If you do DAS, factor in:
£500 for training and test
£1000 for your gear (don't skimp on this. Better £1000 gear and £1000 bike than £100 gear and £1900 bike)
£10-12000 for a bike depending on what you want. £3k gets you a tidy first bike like an SV650 or a hornet or a binned-it.
Click to expand...

How would you break down the £1000 gear? ie how much for a helmet, how much for boots, gloves, leathers etc?
 
eidolon said:
How would you break down the £1000 gear? ie how much for a helmet, how much for boots, gloves, leathers etc?
Click to expand...
Helmet £150-£300, get a decent make but more importantly one that fits
Boots £140ish - Ive got Sidi Vertigos, very popular boot
Gloves £30 - £120 - Ive got Alpinestars Tech Road, quite expensive but great all year round gloves.
Leathers £300-£1000 new, I got very lucky and got a set of Dainese leathers which had only been used once or twice very cheap, they were literally brand new condition. I had planned buying new but I think I paid less than £150 for these.
I'd also get a back protector £30-£130 and a neck warmer £5.

edit: Ive also got some textile gear and a pair of draggin jeans, paid about £80 for the jeans and a similar figure for the textile jacket which is handy for trips around town.
 
eidolon said:
How would you break down the £1000 gear? ie how much for a helmet, how much for boots, gloves, leathers etc?
Click to expand...

Hmm, that depends on what fits.

£200 lid
£200 Jacket
£150 Trousers
£100 Gloves
£150 Boots
£100 Armor

+ change for some waterproofs

You can get away with spending around £500 really. Decent leather jacket and jeans can be had for £150 - £200 all in. Gloves for £50. Boots for £100 and Lid for £100.

I say £1000 because people always forget the gear when getting in to biking. Good gear will last a long time.

I have for summer:

Dainese 2-piece with 3rd party armor and back protector
Sidi boots
Alpine Stars Gloves
Craft lid

And for winter:

Frant Thomas cordura suit
Alpine Stars Black Rain boots
Alpine Stars Gloves
Caberg flip lid

Most of that gear has lasted me getting on 5 years.
 
I wish I had the money to get another big bike, It would probably be a RSV as I love my 750 and they say the RSV is the 750 Twin for the road :p, Although I love my suzuki's so a TLR would be an option aswell, but id need some more cash to throw at its handling.

Did see a looovely RSV not a mark on it 4k miles go for like £3.5k like 2 months after I got my gsxr 750, was nothing much in me getting the 750 or the RSV just I fancied a change from a twin and was no RSV's available at the time.
 
Boots, gloves, leathers etc I would ask around friends/family/work etc first. You will be amazed at the amount of people who have bike kit that rarely/never used it and generally they have quality kit too :)

Depending on if you plan on riding in the winter you will need winter kit too, although thats just another pair of gloves and a textile jacket.

You don't need the latest custom fit kangaroo leather race suit :) just get a nice set around £250-350. I would recommend RST or Heine Gericke.

Helmets are important... in that they fit you well, if a £100 fits perfectly but the £300 one is a little loose then get the £100 one. £100 fitting helmet is safer than a £300 one thats loose. Besides, there's no proof a £100 helmet doesn't protect your head aswell as a £450 helmet that Rossi uses, you tend to find the more expensive ones are lighter.
 
Sagalout said:
This is so true. My business partner just bought a Nissan 350Z GT - ok its not in the same exotica ballpark as the ones above, but its still a fairly quick car. We went out for a drive in it a few weeks ago and whilst it is quick and sounds nice, somehow its just not exciting. Its just far too sanitised. At the time I was still a bit jealous because the weather was being crap and I hadnt been out on my bike for ages.

Then I went out at the weekend with st0rmer and we did a quick 115 miles around the dales on my GSXR750 and his new SV650 and realised why I love bikes so much. Nothing compares to the thrill of a fast ride on good roads in good weather, and whilst that might not happen all that often in the UK (at least last summer) its a treat thats worth waiting for :)

A bike, especially a sportsbike, is just a raw explosion of power and noise, and learning to harness that is so much more rewarding that being cocooned in an airconditioned, power steering and brake assisted car. I love everything about them - the wind blast, the airbox roar, the sound of a 14k revving engine, even the smell when I open the garage.
Click to expand...
Was good fun :cool: . Shame my bike isn't so good in a straight line, you had to hold back quite considerably I expect! But I was trying pretty hard around the corners to make up for it a bit. Suspension is a bit too soft though to really push it. Can't wait to get a "proper" sportsbike!

Love the sound of a V-Twin, but I need to try an Inline4 to compare how they ride..
 
I remember my first experience of a proper bike too! At the time i was 16 and on a 50cc, we didnt go fast fast but for someone used to 40mph then 3 times that was incredible, a friend of mine kept asking me to go on the back of his 600, i know he is an awesome rider and safe (managed to keep up with a mille and a 999R on the bends while on an rs125!!!!) but i just dont trust anyone else's riding other than my own for some reason, hate being pillion with a passion!

Cant wait to get myself back on 2 wheels, even considered a 125 to commute to work on just to get back out on 2 wheels until funds allow for a ferrari killer :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom