Suggested fun first big bike?

Monkey Puzzle

Monkey Puzzle

Monkey Puzzle

Soldato
Joined
13 Mar 2006
Posts
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Hey all, I have my Mod 2 booked for Wednesday 12th November, so fingers crossed will be looking at getting test rides for a first big bike soon.

I'm looking for a bike that's fun, reasonably new-rider friendly and reasonable for commuting (17 miles each way, mostly A-roads, some through town), Insurance group 14 or below is bearable and budget for the bike (looking at 2nd hand) is up to around £5-6000 give or take. I don't regularly need to travel for hours at a time but comfort on motorways would be a bonus.

So far I'd like to test ride Triumph street triple R, tiger 800, BMW 800ST (though the V-twin suzuki GS500 I tried on the first day of Mod 1 training vibrated horribly until around 30 mph/3rd gear).

I understand triumph and BMW are quite good at giving test rides (including to new licence holders!). Is it likely I'd be able to test ride one of the Japanese bikes?

Any suggestions for other fun first big bikes to consider?
 
Kawasaki er6f if I was choosing today as first time big bike

personally id pick an older machine,it would be cheaper to insure ,plus god forbid if you ever dropped or came of it,parts would be cheaper to get/fix up

something around the £2000-£3000k mark but its upto you

if used/older maybe an sv650

cbr600
zx6r
r6
fazer600
 
I wouldn't blow £5 or £6k on my first big bike at this time of year, ide do a couple of grand max on a cheap nail to see me thru winter then invest a wedge in a decent bike next near when all the new models come out & folk rush to trade up.
 
I see where you're coming from about getting a cheap first bike, but I already have a varadero 125cc bike I'm keeping until late July to get the years no-claims on, so would rather get something decent that'll last at least a few years than get yet another bike to trade up! Plus I'd be then spending another load on insurance that I wouldn't get my money's worth from.

I thought this time of year is when bikes were generally cheaper 2nd hand?
 
If you want to spend that much on a first bike, you need to go to loads of dealers, sit on/grope/fondle/feel the weight of as many bikes as you can - a tiger will be very different to a street triple which will be very different to an F800ST.

I do a similar commute to you of 20 miles each way, and for any bike that'll be used daily during the winter, set £60 aside to get it ACF-50'ed.

Don't forget to allow a budget for kit, and I mean decent kit. 170 miles a week in the cold and wet will be miserable if you're cold and wet. I'd set a £4k limit for the bike (you can get some serious bikes for £4k) and £1k on kit - this being goretex boots at £200, decent textiles (£200-sky's the limit - mine are Furygan Titan jacket £270 and Duke trousers £200) a decent lightweight, comfortable helmet with pinlock - £150 upwards, Goretex winter gloves and/or summer gloves and Muffs (£100 for some decent winter gloves).

Test rides - I've just passed my full test and apart from the odd dealer, I have no issues getting a test ride on a street triple, or monster 821 for eg. The issue you'll have is most dealers have sold their demo bikes as it's end of the season. I can't get a test ride on an Aprilia Shiver for love nor money at the 3 nearest Aprilia dealers :(

Also - go to autotrader, put in £3500-£5000 and limit of 60 miles, and spend a few hours browsing, making a shortlist, checking fuel tank range (you don't want to be filling up every 2-3 days ;)), watching youtube vids to see if they sound nice and so on. Then go and sit on them at dealers and you'll end up with a nice little list of 3 or 4 bikes which you can then test ride and make your decision. I've done this and ended up with the CBR600F (FI model) and the Aprilia Shiver as my shortlist - just need to get a test ride on both to make my mind up.
 
Monkey Puzzle said:
I see where you're coming from about getting a cheap first bike, but I already have a varadero 125cc bike I'm keeping until late July to get the years no-claims on, so would rather get something decent that'll last at least a few years than get yet another bike to trade up! Plus I'd be then spending another load on insurance that I wouldn't get my money's worth from.

I thought this time of year is when bikes were generally cheaper 2nd hand?
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Good choice in 125 ;) :D

Yes they are cheaper, but only by a few hundred quid - there's less bikes for sale though, as people selling privately will wait until spring to sell.
 
Monkey Puzzle said:
So far I'd like to test ride Triumph street triple R, tiger 800, BMW 800ST (though the V-twin suzuki GS500 I tried on the first day of Mod 1 training vibrated horribly until around 30 mph/3rd gear).
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The GS500 is a parallel twin rather than a V. Singles and twins tend to be lumpy at low RPM, you need to avoid lugging them in higher gears otherwise you get chain snatch.

Have you considered the Yamaha MT-09? There are a few around that would just squeeze into the budget, or you could buy a new MT-07.
 
If you wanted the upright adventure style, tiger 800 you listed, look at the cheaper Kawasaki Versys 650. They're good bikes with a good engine. I had one for 18 months and enjoyed riding it.
 
TallPaul_S said:
If you want to spend that much on a first bike, you need to go to loads of dealers, sit on/grope/fondle/feel the weight of as many bikes as you can - a tiger will be very different to a street triple which will be very different to an F800ST.

I do a similar commute to you of 20 miles each way, and for any bike that'll be used daily during the winter, set £60 aside to get it ACF-50'ed.

Don't forget to allow a budget for kit, and I mean decent kit. 170 miles a week in the cold and wet will be miserable if you're cold and wet. I'd set a £4k limit for the bike (you can get some serious bikes for £4k) and £1k on kit - this being goretex boots at £200, decent textiles (£200-sky's the limit - mine are Furygan Titan jacket £270 and Duke trousers £200) a decent lightweight, comfortable helmet with pinlock - £150 upwards, Goretex winter gloves and/or summer gloves and Muffs (£100 for some decent winter gloves).

Test rides - I've just passed my full test and apart from the odd dealer, I have no issues getting a test ride on a street triple, or monster 821 for eg. The issue you'll have is most dealers have sold their demo bikes as it's end of the season. I can't get a test ride on an Aprilia Shiver for love nor money at the 3 nearest Aprilia dealers :(

Also - go to autotrader, put in £3500-£5000 and limit of 60 miles, and spend a few hours browsing, making a shortlist, checking fuel tank range (you don't want to be filling up every 2-3 days ;)), watching youtube vids to see if they sound nice and so on. Then go and sit on them at dealers and you'll end up with a nice little list of 3 or 4 bikes which you can then test ride and make your decision. I've done this and ended up with the CBR600F (FI model) and the Aprilia Shiver as my shortlist - just need to get a test ride on both to make my mind up.
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Cheers for the advice.

Did you test-ride the street triple, and if so how's the wind-blast on A-roads/motorways? (I'm around 6'2-6'3") I keep reading rave reviews of the striple but worry it would be too cold and miserable blasting around at 70 in the cold and wet!

I have a secondhand aerostich roadcrafter suit that I've thoroughly waterproofed with wash in nikwax and spray on scotchguard and silicone spray. No more looking like I've got a continence issue when I get to work! :). I need some decent winter gloves though (have some held ones with goretex that have waterproof inner but are cold and get waterlogged).

TallPaul_S said:
Good choice in 125 ;) :D

Yes they are cheaper, but only by a few hundred quid - there's less bikes for sale though, as people selling privately will wait until spring to sell.
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Yep. A nice dependable comfy bike. :) Shame that overtaking over about 40mph isn't on the cards, and I work in an elderly area, meaning I get stuck behind old dears doing 40 down the A-roads.

Dogbreath said:
The GS500 is a parallel twin rather than a V. Singles and twins tend to be lumpy at low RPM, you need to avoid lugging them in higher gears otherwise you get chain snatch.

Have you considered the Yamaha MT-09? There are a few around that would just squeeze into the budget, or you could buy a new MT-07.
Click to expand...

The MT09 looks nice, but I keep hearing it has snatchy throttle response for low speeds/traffic, which doesn't sound great for a bike after my test.Sadly the MT07 looks pretty small for my size.
 
you would feel the windblast I bet with a triple,no or tiny screen,same with the mt09 without fitting big aftermarket screen

would a drz supermoto be anygood? its tall
 
wazza300 said:
you would feel the windblast I bet with a triple,no or tiny screen,same with the mt09 without fitting big aftermarket screen

would a drz supermoto be anygood? its tall
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Probably not tbh! unfaired and 39bhp doesn't sound like that much fun. Even the street triple could have a small screen to lessen windblast I guess. Thanks for the suggestions though, much appreciated.
 
I'm 6 foot dead and find the striple ok, I'm a bit big on it. Once you get used to it you don't notice but jump on a larger bike and the striple will feel like a toy afterwards. I did a 2 week tour on it and found it fine just maybe a bit cramped. There's very little wind protection but that's actually a nice thing, all the air hitting you is clean with no turbulence around your head or shoulders. You'll just need a very waterproof setup to stay dry on long fast cruises.

The tiger 800 is also great, it's such an easy bike to ride and suits a taller rider. The stock screens aren't great, I found there was a fair amount of buffeting at speed but there's probably aftermarket screens to sort that out. Come summer it's actually nice to have some air on you, just the wet or really long rides where some shelter is nice.

Striple has the more exciting engine while the t800 is just very smooth everywhere, it'll pull top gear from tickover with no issues.

I had a short demo of an mt-07 and found the suspension was awful, it's totally budget with very bad fork damping. Might have been a one off.
 
I haven't tested a street triple, mainly because it's out of my budget and I'd only want one if I did!

I did my das on an er6n and although we only got up to 50mph, I had less wind noise in my helmet than on the varadero, I think the small screen directs most of the air at my head whereas on a naked bike it hits your chest as well.

I'm 6ft 3 and the mt07 I tried was a little small, same with the nc750 - the mt09 felt a nice size though.
 
Monkey Puzzle said:
The MT09 looks nice, but I keep hearing it has snatchy throttle response for low speeds/traffic, which doesn't sound great for a bike after my test.
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Yam finally dealt with the snatchy throttle with a revised throttle map which is available as a retro fit upgrade, course, it'll be pot luck whether or not the previous owner took it to be remapped or not.
 
wazza300 said:
Kawasaki er6f if I was choosing today as first time big bike
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Please don't get this. I have the er6n as a hire bike, and its worse in every single way to the fantastic sv650.

I have a street triple as my first bike and it's fine if you're not a moron.
 
£500 quid on a ford KA for the winter, save up till March/April is with us then buy a bike.

UK winters wreck bikes, mainly due to the 500 giga tons of salt we tend to put down now. ACF does not help your brakes or drive train one bit, and if you want to save your wallet and repair bill you will to be washing them down on after every other ride. This stops being fun around after the first week of salt being sprayed. Then buy a superduke :)
 
winters don't wreck bikes aslong as you wash the salt off regularly

I agree though that some bikes/fasteners do tend to corrode more than others,but in general if you look after it and spray it with wd40 it will survive
 
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