1st 'Big' motorbike

Kido

I've just done my direct access course and passed my 'bike' bike test now I need a bike. With it being my 1st bike I'm looking for a 2nd hand one. I'm only about 5'5 with short arms so a lot of bikes I can't ride comfortably. I'm now looking at Yamaha Fazers (600cc). Are they reliable? I'm thinking of getting a 3-4 year old one with very low milage (under 5,000) as I'll be doing about 10,000 and thought this would probably keep insurance costs to a minumum. Can anyone offer me any advice as to what to go for? Am I along the right lines or should I go for a newer one? Incase it makes any difference I should point out I'll be doing a lot of town riding, as well as motorways and when i finally get to work I'll be running it round the dreaded Multi-storey for 8 floors.

Any help is greatly appriciated.

Keith

Hi there,

Check insurance out, I found the Fazer to cost as much as my R6, I also find my current bike a tamer CBR600F to cost a lot more than the R6! (3 times as much)

The difference in cost between a 4 year old bike and new could be as little as £1500, with a new one you may also get the benefit of ABS brakes.

With 10,000 miles a year, you want something faired, this is why I go for a sports bike with full fairing, in winter heated grips make up for the cost of having them fitted (£90).

The Fazer is based on the old R6 engine, I sold mine with 53,000 miles on the clock. It was reliable and started on the button apart from once when the battery died during the winter.

Best thing is to get out and ride a number of bikes, I think the SV650S would suit a shorter rider, I find my CBR quite small and I'm able to put my foot flat on the floor, I'm 5" 10.

Also consider, lock storage, security (chain/ground anchor).

10,000 miles isn't going to be that fun on a bike, you may start to hate it, my bike doesn't leave the drive on a weekend now as I'm fed up of it by then! Seat comfort is something you'll want! Maybe check out Honda Deauville.

Enjoy it and stay safe
Keith

PS - when you've decided on a bike try and get a tank bag from Oxford. I've a magnetic one which sits on the tank. Not only does it get rid of carrying a rucksack but also if it goes tits up, you are sliding on your bag which could have any kind of object which would increase injury, if I remember correctly rucksacks also can cause a sliding rider to roll.

wazza

Considering you will be doing motorway riding and around 10,000 miles per year i would strongly recommend a tourer. You are sitting more upright and have better weather protection with the full fairing compared to a bike such as the fazer.

Since you are looking around 600cc i would strongly recommend a Honda NT650V Deauville. Looking at a 'Bike' magazine's article on best used bikes of the year 2006 the honda came 6th. Other bikes above it were 1000+cc BMW and a honda. Extract from the article..

'' comfort associated with larger capacity bikes, an unburstable engine, low maintenance shaft drive plus handling and brakes are what makes the NT such a great buy. Running costs are pretty low too - insurance group 10, 50+ mpg and lots more than 8000 miles from tyres.''

no known problems. look out for finish, alloys dulling and steel rusting which is typical on all bikes exposed to the elements

mjr600

I'd agree with the Deauville although it is known in the industry as 'Dullville', it is a genuine baby tourer/commuter and would be a great choice.

The half faired Bandit is a good bet, they are cheap, nippy and easy to ride, clutchless upchanges are possible with practice and they are utterly reliable. Just clean it in winter or it'll rot quicker then the Fazer. I put 30,000 miles on a 600 Bandit in two years and other than a new battery it ran perfectly.

Whatever you choose you will have a permanent grin for weeks, big bikes are great fun, I'm banned from bikes at the moment as a result of orders from the wife and daughter. My mate and his daughter were killed on a Blackbird in the Dales a few years ago so I've got to tow the family line for now.

Commuting is a dangerous event on a bike, make sure you are defensive, motorcross boots for kicking white vans, thick gloves for hitting wing mirrors and main beam on all the time. A loud can might be illegal but it ensures that drivers look in their mirrors. All my experience of big city commuting of course, you may suffer no problems with white vans, BMW or Merc drivers, no actually you will !

Kido

Thanks for all the advise guys. I personally like the look of the sports bikes. My brother has a GSXR600 which I love but the tank is too big for me to lean over. I feel like I'm lying on the tank and having to stretch to get to the handlebars. I looked at the SV650s but again found there was too much of a reach to the handlebars. I was going to get a Kawasaki ER6f but they've not been out that long and so are therefore not many 2nd hand ones around and I thought of going for an older bike with fewer milage on it might me better.

Maybe I should've pointed out that the 10,000 miles a year isn't as bad as it sounds as I'll be using the bike for a 35mile round trip commute 5-6 times a week. Most of it will be on motorways. I'm currently commuting on my brother's old CBR125 which is ok but isn't much fun on the motorways which knock about 15 mins off the time.

Keith

I'm suprised that the SV was too small for you, I'd heard they were good for shorter riders.

You should try and get out on as many bikes as possible, just check how much the dealer will want as excess if you crash the bike your on, one told me it was a 1k excess :shocked:

I'd avoid the Er6f the fuel tank is notoriously small, with a range of around 90 miles. This is something seriously to consider my CBR runs to a tank range of 140 miles. Sounds fantastic but I still fill up every other day!

wazza

Kido wrote: »

Thanks fo.............


Maybe I should've pointed out that the 10,000 miles a year isn't as bad as it sounds as I'll be using the bike for a 35mile round trip commute 5-6 times a week. Most of it will be on motorways. I'm currently commuting on my brother's old CBR125 which is ok but isn't much fun on the motorways which knock about 15 mins off the time.

leave 15 mins earlier :-)

lisyloo

My suggestion would be a Kawasaki GPZ500 (or ER 5).
I know it's not sexy and more tame that the other things your suggesting but getting one of these 600s is quite a big step up from your 125.
They have a low seat height so are quite good for smaller people.

I would suggest getting something cheap and cheerful for your first bike.

Advantages are
1) low seat height as already mentioned
2) bullet proof mechnically
3) A bit tamer than the other models but still plenty of spped and acceleration. I've had mine 3 years and I can do everything I need to do on it (and I do some fast accellartion sometimes).
4) I dropped mine twice and may happen to you with a bigger bike (maybe not). I did very little damage either time because of the fairing but it's not worth spending loads of money until you've got used to handling something bigger. Some of my friends were trying to get me to spend more but they now agree I made the right decision (mine was £1425).
5) You should get a good price on buying one and on insurance (my insurance is below £100).

vansboy

Have a word with Nick at http://www.forcemotorcycles.com he knows his stuff & sells ex Police/MoD machines.

He's got Deauville & all sorts there. At least the bikes will have been well looked after, right from the start.

VB

zappahey

mjr600 wrote: »

A loud can might be illegal but it ensures that drivers look in their mirrors. !

Are you sure? Unless you're talking about truly open, straight-through cans then the bike still isn't heard while it's behind your car, all the noise gets pushed out the back.

Anyway, I reckon nothing short of a nuclear explosion would make the average car driver use the mirror.