Good starter back after Direct Access

[drumlegend]

peteO said:

100 mile ride on the bike sounds like a good excuse to see your parents every sunday!..

stokes and folks mate. ive just got rid of my ninja and gave that a wash about every 6 months. if your commuting in winter prob a good idea to rinse it off every week or so to keep the salt off it but theyre not gonna disintegrate if you dont.

Well I used to go down on a weekend on my Rieju but that thing was slow and it took quite a long time.

It's a lovely ride in the summer with your head down but it does hurt my back over time. Would be a nice idea getting a sports tourer. What have you got instead?

[black-k1]

Good luck with the test. I hope it all goes well for you.

drumlegend said:

. (I'd rather work my way up, too many people get a big bike straight away and come off it)

I don't think there's any evidence to suggest that the rate of new riders coming off is proportional to the capacity of the bike. Get what you want, regardless of capacity, but just be aware of your lack of experience and ability. Get further training and take time to learn to ride safely before you try to ride quickly.

[jackh707]

Budget?

[drumlegend]

I will check them bikes out and see if I can get on cheap. Peferably one from a dealership so I know I'm not going to get a bike that's going to break on me after a couple of months.

That's ashame about your motorbike

I'm guessing you didn't bother claiming on your insurance then?

[drumlegend]

jackh707 said:

Budget?

It's not huge as the test is going to cost me a lot

I'd say between 1500 - 2000 but I think I will have to take out finance.

[drumlegend]

black-k1 said:

I don't think there's any evidence to suggest that the rate of new riders coming off is proportional to the capacity of the bike. Get what you want, regardless of capacity, but just be aware of your lack of experience and ability. Get further training and take time to learn to ride safely before you try to ride quickly.

I wouldn't be able to afford to take anymore training after the test haha.

I was just going to do the 3 day course, like I said. I've had about 4 years experience on the roads.

[peteO]

drumlegend said:

That's ashame about your motorbike

I'm guessing you didn't bother claiming on your insurance then?

no. it was my fault and no one else involved. lost traction and chucked me off... just havent got round to fixing it

for that price you should easy get a cbr600, thundercat, bandit with a few quid left over for gear

[drumlegend]

peteO said:

no. it was my fault and no one else involved. lost traction and chucked me off... just havent got round to fixing it

for that price you should easy get a cbr600, thundercat, bandit with a few quid left over for gear

That really sucks man and I bet it sucks having to go back to a 125

[Dannaz]

For what it's worth, I did my DAS in April at 24. Like you I was looking at R6's, ZX6R's and GSXR 600', these were all killer on insurance so I bought a Thundercat, this set me back £1800, that's bike & insurance, with no excess.

Not a bad bike imo, plenty fast enough for the roads, likes to rev, great on fuel getting 200+ miles to a tank and only 20 to fill, plenty parts about and comfortable on long rides out.

just my 2 pence for you.

[peteO]

Dannaz said:

For what it's worth, I did my DAS in April at 24. Like you I was looking at R6's, ZX6R's and GSXR 600', these were all killer on insurance so I bought a Thundercat, this set me back £1800, that's bike & insurance, with no excess.

Not a bad bike imo, plenty fast enough for the roads, likes to rev, great on fuel getting 200+ miles to a tank and only 20 to fill, plenty parts about and comfortable on long rides out.

just my 2 pence for you.

mate of mine had a thundercat that he used for commuting on. loved it.

[drumlegend]

Dannaz said:

For what it's worth, I did my DAS in April at 24. Like you I was looking at R6's, ZX6R's and GSXR 600', these were all killer on insurance so I bought a Thundercat, this set me back £1800, that's bike & insurance, with no excess.

Not a bad bike imo, plenty fast enough for the roads, likes to rev, great on fuel getting 200+ miles to a tank and only 20 to fill, plenty parts about and comfortable on long rides out.

just my 2 pence for you.

Thanks, I will check it out. It sounds perfect

[Dannaz]

peteO said:

Dannaz said:

For what it's worth, I did my DAS in April at 24. Like you I was looking at R6's, ZX6R's and GSXR 600', these were all killer on insurance so I bought a Thundercat, this set me back £1800, that's bike & insurance, with no excess.

Not a bad bike imo, plenty fast enough for the roads, likes to rev, great on fuel getting 200+ miles to a tank and only 20 to fill, plenty parts about and comfortable on long rides out.

just my 2 pence for you.

mate of mine had a thundercat that he used for commuting on. loved it.

I have used mine to commute 5 days a week since purchasing it, it's been faultless, only issue is bent foot peg and clutch lever (my fault dropped it on street :-( ) I highly rate it, despite not having much to compare against other than a GAS GAS EC300.

[drumlegend]

The place I live has a locked compound but I've been advised not to park it in there due to thefts but the only other place I could park it is in the car park. Is there any decent security methords for motorbikes.

I don't want to have another bike being stolen. It was heart breaking the first time it happened. They don't care that you have worked so hard to pay for that and they just wreck it and sell it.

[Dannaz]

Plenty of security methods, Almax chains, Pragmasis Chains, alarmed disc locks and Ground anchors for home.

[Yamahadivvyrider]

A decent Yamaha thunder cat would be a good choice..

[peteO]

drumlegend said:

The place I live has a locked compound but I've been advised not to park it in there due to thefts but the only other place I could park it is in the car park. Is there any decent security methords for motorbikes.

I don't want to have another bike being stolen. It was heart breaking the first time it happened. They don't care that you have worked so hard to pay for that and they just wreck it and sell it.

this is why im after a cheap stter. im in an apartment at the mo until mid next year. i have a car parking space but its out in the open. im just gonna chain it to a lamp post and put chain and lock/alarmed disc locks etc on it. if i get something for 300-350 and it gets robbed im not gonna cry where as if it was a 2k bike i prob would

[Dannaz]

Although I run a Thundercat and agree with the above, another good choice would be a Triumph TT600, I found these to be cheap to insure and buy at the time I was looking, just non local to me at the time, the Tcat was on my doorstep.

Early ones had bad fueling, but this was sorted on later ones or could be sorted on the early ones with a free Tune ECU map.

Also highly rated for handling and reliability.

[drumlegend]

peteO said:

this is why im after a cheap stter. im in an apartment at the mo until mid next year. i have a car parking space but its out in the open. im just gonna chain it to a lamp post and put chain and lock/alarmed disc locks etc on it. if i get something for 300-350 and it gets robbed im not gonna cry where as if it was a 2k bike i prob would

Done a bit of research and one of the best tips I've seen is chain the lock to the frame rather than the wheel and keep it off the ground so they can't freeze it and sledge hammer it.

[Mr OCD]

For £1500 ... a Thundercat defo. ... perfect as a new rider bike, cheap to run and insure, excellent on fuel and a lot of fun... most will be very very tired now. So buy with care. I commuted, toured, tracked and scratched on mine for over 40,000 miles in three years ... top bike. Buy on condition and maintenance done - not mileage.

Watch out for rusty downpipes (most will have stainless now) and the dreaded 2nd gear failure... stick it in 2nd and open the throttle hard and see if it pops out of gear... slow down, and try it a few times... other than that they are pretty tough bikes. Front calipers need plenty of cleaning / maintenance to stop them sticking, rear subframes rust (steel) and the headlight is st.

[drumlegend]

Mr OCD said:

For £1500 ... a Thundercat defo. ... perfect as a new rider bike, cheap to run and insure, excellent on fuel and a lot of fun... most will be very very tired now. So buy with care. I commuted, toured, tracked and scratched on mine for over 40,000 miles in three years ... top bike. Buy on condition and maintenance done - not mileage.

Watch out for rusty downpipes (most will have stainless now) and the dreaded 2nd gear failure... stick it in 2nd and open the throttle hard and see if it pops out of gear... slow down, and try it a few times... other than that they are pretty tough bikes. Front calipers need plenty of cleaning / maintenance to stop them sticking, rear subframes rust (steel) and the headlight is st.

Sounds like too much work :P