WBSIB - Rebel 500 / Scrambler 400

[Diddums]

Well, I'll finally be buying a bike in the next few months after a year of absolute medical hell

I'm not keen on jumping on to a huge bike off the bat as I'd rather work my way up the ranks much like @khemist did. I'm not a speed demon, I would like something that I can enjoy at lower speeds too, at least until I know I can trust myself to behave

I want something that my shorty wife can ride too as I'm hoping she'll get in to it as well, therefore the Rebel is great as even Peter Dinklage could ride it. It's also cheaper, 100cc higher capacity, better dealer network and being a Honda, it'll be very reliable and less likely to be stolen (fairly important here in London sadly).

The Ducati however offers me another step to enjoy before moving up to a bigger bike, looks fantastic and my wife likes it a lot more so will be more likely to ride it. It'll probably be cheaper to insure as well, although this isn't that much of a concern as I approach 40.

My head is saying Honda, my heart is saying Ducati.

Whatcha fink motors? Anything I could be missing before making this decision?

Cheers

 

[Hades]

When you describe the Honda you talk about being sensible: dealer network, more reliable, less likely to be stolen.

When you describe the Ducati you talk about it looking fantastic and your wife liking it more.

Are you buying the bike to commute or have fun? After a year of medical hell I expect you want to enjoy life. On this occasion I'd say buy with your heart and get the Ducati.

 

[Diddums]

When you describe the Honda you talk about being sensible: dealer network, more reliable, less likely to be stolen.

When you describe the Ducati you talk about it looking fantastic and your wife liking it more.

Are you buying the bike to commute or have fun? After a year of medical hell I expect you want to enjoy life. On this occasion I'd say buy with your heart and get the Ducati.

All good points, the bike will be for having fun, I'll probably buy a scooter for commuting. It's starting to look at lot like a Ducati might be on the cards tbh.

 

[russell664]

Ducati, go with your heart.

 

[BUDFORCE]

Honda.

Ducatis are ****.

Well you asked for opinions......

 

[Diddums]

Lol, cheers

Unfortunately it's neither at the moment. I was meant to be doing my licence this week but got promoted on Friday to start on Monday. The new place isn't easily accessible by public transport so I'm going to do a 1 day CBT on a weekend and get a scooter. I'll still get the bike, but it'll have to wait for now unfortunately.

 

[tom_e]

Ducati, Hondas are in my experience great bikes but a bit I suppose sterile to ride.

Congratulations on the promotion.

 

[Diddums]

Ducati, Hondas are in my experience great bikes but a bit I suppose sterile to ride.

Congratulations on the promotion.

Cheers. Going by that same logic, I'm off to buy one of these tomorrow:



It goes against a lot of the advice I give others, ie. never buy a brand new 125 and always try for your big licence first but due to my circumstances I won't have time to do a full DAS any time soon. So if I'm going to get a 125, it's going to be a tasty one and this Aprilia looks fantastic. It's my me-to-me gift for my promotion

It's also a brand new model for 2022 so it'll be a bit exclusive at least. I was paying attention to scooters on the road yesterday and it seems 75% of scooters are either PCXs or Nmaxs.

 

[Mickcas]

Not critising at all but I'm just wondering why a scooter rather than a 125 geared bike.
Sure there are benefits to a scooter, some storage etc. But would having a geared bike not allow you to get plenty practice in.
Gears, clutch, slow maneuver practice and so on

 

[tom_e]

Not critising at all but I'm just wondering why a scooter rather than a 125 geared bike.
Sure there are benefits to a scooter, some storage etc. But would having a geared bike not allow you to get plenty practice in.
Gears, clutch, slow maneuver practice and so on

He wants to relive his youth, it'll have a big bore kit and a bean can exhaust soon enough...

 

[Mickcas]

He wants to relive his youth, it'll have a big bore kit and a bean can exhaust soon enough...

I did exactly that to an Aprillia sr50 ped when I was 16. Bought on of those fancy Gianelli exhaust and a 70cc kit. May have been 75cc, can't remember

 

[Diddums]

I did that for years as a wee lad, going 100mph on something designed to go 30mph is proper lairy

To answer the question - practicality and convenience. I want something in which I can simply stuff a lock and a few bits under the saddle, and have some weather protection as I'll be commuting.

And scooter transmissions keep the engine at the optimal rev range from standstill to vmax so they're a hell of a lot more efficient in terms of power usage. I rode bikes for years and will also be doing my CBT on a geared bike. I'll be buying something bigger in the coming months which will be geared, I just need a zippy little scoot to commute on.

 

[Mickcas]

I did that for years as a wee lad, going 100mph on something designed to go 30mph is proper lairy

To answer the question - practicality and convenience. I want something in which I can simply stuff a lock and a few bits under the saddle, and have some weather protection as I'll be commuting.

And scooter transmissions keep the engine at the optimal rev range from standstill to vmax so they're a hell of a lot more efficient in terms of power usage. I rode bikes for years and will also be doing my CBT on a geared bike. I'll be buying something bigger in the coming months which will be geared, I just need a zippy little scoot to commute on.

Makes sense. Especially if you've already got some experience too.

I remember getting past 75mph on my sr50 and the thing was shaking like crazy, never did it again

 

[BUDFORCE]

I dunno how the hell you guys managed to 70+mph on a 50cc.

I remember getting about 70 on a Honda GC125 thinking that wasn't too bad for a 125!

 

[Diddums]

I dunno how the hell you guys managed to 70+mph on a 50cc.

I remember getting about 70 on a Honda GC125 thinking that wasn't too bad for a 125!

Malossi MHR 70cc single pistonring, nikasil lined cylinder. Ported obvs, we're not noobs. Then a 28mm Mikuni Flatslide carburettor, and a whole plethora of exhausts to choose from. My favourites were Yasuni or Polini Evo. Then comes the transmission, so a Polini Evo variator, a Malossi MHR Deltaclutch and Malossi MHR final drive & belt. Stick some kevlar reeds in there and if you pop the engine and have to rebuild it (very likely) then you can stick a race crank in too, with race bearings. Mill out the crank cases while you're at it

If you really wanted to go all out you could remove the CDI and replace it with a Top Performances ignition. The downside to this is that you lose lighting but meh. Who needs lighting

20hp in mopedland was kindasorta the 1000hp club of Nissan GTR land, but we saw as high as 25hp. It was... exciting

 

[Diddums]

It's a lot bigger than I thought

Love it. This is the 200cc but apart from the engine it's exactly the same bike. Mine is slightly different colours, I pick it up on Saturday after my CBT. First impressions are that it's a pretty highly specced bike, it's comfy, nice and big, the only thing I found a bit questionable was some of the build quality. It's definitely not Honda levels of refinement but it's nothing major, I'm sure it'll be fine. £400 for a tracker too, plus £110 a year or something for a subscription. At least I can take it off and pop it on any bike if I want to. £4088 all in, not too bad tbh. I'll order a disc lock and chain lock this evening, then get it insured and whatnot ready for collection.

£21 a year tax




I'll do a proper write up once I've actually got it, not that anyone cares

 

[Diddums]

I dunno how the hell you guys managed to 70+mph on a 50cc.

I remember getting about 70 on a Honda GC125 thinking that wasn't too bad for a 125!

 

[Diddums]

So insurance is just LOL.

The cheapest I've managed to get so far is a shade over £900 from Lexham. 7k miles PA, commuting, parked on public highway at night, provisional licence and 0 years NCB. The perfect risk profile then

That's with a Biketrac tracker, a Pragmasis Protector 16mm chain & roundlock, Oxford Monster disc lock. No shortage of security.

I'll pay it this time around, but I need to get my full licence soon so I'm not stiffed quite to this level again

Some of them are real jokers though, just look at this

 

[tom_e]

I'll be interested to see what you think of it mate, were a long way from no name Chinese scoots there

Insurance actually isn't as mental as I'd guess it could have been, considering.

 

[Diddums]

I'll be interested to see what you think of it mate, were a long way from no name Chinese scoots there

Insurance actually isn't as mental as I'd guess it could have been, considering.

I'll do a little write up when I've got it, I think last time I was this excited I was waiting for Santa

Anyway, a few goodies arrived today:



That chain is NOT messing around. It's a 16mm 1.5m chonker of a unit. I was still contemplating going for the 19mm but that would've probably been overkill. The Pragmasis Roundlock is a fantastic bit of kit too, it's got no thin bits to get a pair of bolt cutters on, and it's got bearings in the middle so if anyone goes at it with an angle grinder, it'll just spin in circles. That with the Oxford Monster and the Biketrac system and I'm feeling a lot more confident. That said, I don't have anything to bolt the bike to so it can still be lifted in to the back of a van.

Will need to see if I can find something to solve that problem.