First bike for a mate with £2-3k

[Speed addicted]

One of the lads i work with is going to go for his bike test this year, and will have around £2-3k to spend on a bike.

Pretty much everything I'm interested in would be crap for a first bike. So I've suggested:
SV650
600 Fazer
Triumph Speed Four (street triple is too expensive, but he likes the style)
Honda Hornet

Anything else I've missed? Thinking something fun but manageable. Fairings are quite expensive on pretty much everything and first bikes are likely to get dropped at some point so I've avouded anything fully faired.

[Wildfire]

For a decent starter bike and not too badly prided. Kawasaki Z750R

[Speed addicted]

Wildfire said:

For a decent starter bike and not too badly prided. Kawasaki Z750R

Good call, I knew Kawasaki did something more fun than the ER

[Mastodon2]

One of my mates has an SV650 as his first bike, it's nice enough like but after a few months I think he'll be wanting more power, but it depends what he wants I suppose. For a decently made bike that will get you to work economically enough, make a nice noise and take you along a decent road quickly enough it's a good choice. I rode my friend's bike though, and while the noise is nice and the V twin torque was pretty satisfying to use, but it lacked top end power, just when it felt like it was getting going along an open road, it was hitting the limiter.

I think a Honda Hornet would be a good choice based on the criteria you've given us. Relatively drop-proof, cheap parts, should be reliable etc, and plenty fast enough to keep him happy once the initial "holy st" sensation has worn off when you ride it to the redline through a few gears. It's a detuned CBR600F engine I believe, it revs high and makes most of it's power in the top end of the rev range, which imo is ultimately the most satisfying style of engine, I love a screamer.

[Speed addicted]

Yeah, he's had some fast cars (tuned suburu's etc) and is 30ish so has calmed down a bit. We both work on oil rigs so no need to commute, its just a fun toy with some possible touring later.

Main criteria is fun while allowing him to learn.

[jcelee]

I still rate my 2003 registered (but 2001 model) Honda CBR600F as a good starter bike. Very forgiving, lightweight, quick with great handling and braking. They are very well made and available from around £2000.

[cat with a hat]

Fazer fz6 s2... great all round bike thats easy to adapt to and has plenty of linear power for a beginner (98bhp)

[ZX10R NIN]

I say a GSX-R 750 great bike decent power good handling

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2015...

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2015...

Or a ZX636R

Commuter version
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2015...


One of the sweetest 600's built
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2015...

All of these are great bikes to start on plus their handling will be better than a SV650 for example

Edited by ZX10R NIN on Sunday 31st May 00:09

[Ilovejapcrap]

jcelee said:

I still rate my 2003 registered (but 2001 model) Honda CBR600F as a good starter bike. Very forgiving, lightweight, quick with great handling and braking. They are very well made and available from around £2000.

Ditto,

Can't go wrong

[CaptainMorgan]

Fazer, something with a decent amount of poke so he'll not get bored too quick.

[apness]

Bandit 1200. Reason being needs a lot less effort to get moving. Good torque, quite heavy, cheap to buy and run for that budget. Good solid bike. I had all the 'you need a 600' spiel when I passed my test but a 600 can be crazy quick if you wring its neck so you get in as much bother. With the bandit you can tickle it along in any gear and it won't complain, then take the time to use the torque a bit more. Relatively easy to get more power out of too.

[exgtt]

apness said:

Bandit 1200. Reason being needs a lot less effort to get moving. Good torque, quite heavy, cheap to buy and run for that budget. Good solid bike. I had all the 'you need a 600' spiel when I passed my test but a 600 can be crazy quick if you wring its neck so you get in as much bother. With the bandit you can tickle it along in any gear and it won't complain, then take the time to use the torque a bit more. Relatively easy to get more power out of too.

Agreed, they sound lovely with a pipe. Also a Speed Triple worth looking at, easy riding posision, lovely torque, not that focussed.

[Digitalize]

Hornet 600 all day long. I own one! Lovely bike.

[The Turbonator]

There's the Honda Cbf600n which is similar to the Hornet but with only around 75hp.

I've been looking at a Suzuki Gsx650f for my first big bike.

You can still get an older Street Triple for as little as 3 grand though. It will be an older model with the circular headlights and mileage of around 25,000 but you can still get them for that budget.

[DuraAce]

R1.

he'll be bored on a 600 in no time and will end up trading it anyways.

Cut out the middleman, straight onto the R1.

[AceOfHearts]

How about a Ducati Monster or 750ss?

I had a 750ss as my first bike and loved it

[Tall_Paul]

He'll want to check out insurance - anything with a fairing (apart from sport tourers like the CBR600f) will probably be out, insurance will be half the cost of the bike.

A street triple might just creep in at the top of his price range, so would an aprilia Shiver if he fancies something Italian.

[Speed addicted]

Think the monster may be a little small, street triples are into the low 3s for high milers. I do think it's a pretty much ideal bike but they're too much cash for something nice.

Faired sportbikes are likely to cost a fortune to fix after the traditional newbie carpark drop, and insurance for a new rider is pretty high.

[Prof Prolapse]

Ilovejapcrap said:

jcelee said:

I still rate my 2003 registered (but 2001 model) Honda CBR600F as a good starter bike. Very forgiving, lightweight, quick with great handling and braking. They are very well made and available from around £2000.

Ditto,

Can't go wrong

+2

[Wedg1e]

Prof Prolapse said:

+2

+another... I ride with two guys on 600Fs, one from 1997/8 and one from 2002 and both are holding up well. The older one has carbs and the later injection and the later one looks more modern (the earlier one is reminiscent of a similar-era VFR from the front, as you might expect). The frame on the older one has a few rust spots around welds but is far from rotten.
They may have half the capacity of my bike but both can accelerate faster out of corners, although they're up and down the box on a twisty road whereas I just stick in top and use the grunt - I guess it's good practice at picking the gear to suit the conditions
Big enough to be a big bike on the road but light enough to be manageable when moving around the garage, plenty of spares and a ready resale market, get one bought