First Bike - CBR500R vs Ninja 300ABS what else?
Discussion
Honestly, don't bother with something around 40-50bhp, the 500r is 47bhp. Granted I do a lot more miles than you, but you WILL get used to the power very quickly.
I went straight from 6 months on a 125cc, did DAS and got the CB400, I realised when I was using full throttle in 2nd gear and it no longer felt that fast that I wanted something more powerful.
Limitations of a 50bhp bike are quite a few - motorway cruising isn't fun. My bike is 8k rpm at 80mph. Also strapped down with luggage when touring the top end is noticeably slower. 0-60 it's quite quick, 5 secs, but over that it's not that fast.
Advantages - you can rev to the redline in 1st/2nd/3rd and not be doing illegal speeds. How fun that would be on a parralel twin, I'm not sure. it's fun on a 14k rpm limit VTEC IL4 though
Get something around 80-110bhp, something new will have TCS which will keep your safe to a degree. Modern 100bhp bikes are easy to ride, I test rode a Ducati monster 821 a month after passing my test, on a dull and damp November day, in sport mode, and it didn't kill me.
I will say though, my little CB is perfect for what I bought it for, 200 miles of commuting a week. Not enough power to worry about when it's wet/cold, 55mpg and 200 mile tank range, under £100 a year insurance, is faultlessly reliable, and dirt cheap to run. I'll be buying a 2nd bike for touring/weekend riding very soon, probably a 135bhp Aprilia Tuono v-twin. I'l be keeping the CB for commuting duties though, I may retire it in a few years but for now it's going nowhere.
I'm also 35, we at least have the self control to ride a more powerful bike
MT-07 is a great little bike, 74bhp is a good amount of power, bear in mind that's not that far off double the CBR500R's power. If you're tall though it may not suit you, I'm 6ft 3 and it was a little cramped for me.
I went straight from 6 months on a 125cc, did DAS and got the CB400, I realised when I was using full throttle in 2nd gear and it no longer felt that fast that I wanted something more powerful.
Limitations of a 50bhp bike are quite a few - motorway cruising isn't fun. My bike is 8k rpm at 80mph. Also strapped down with luggage when touring the top end is noticeably slower. 0-60 it's quite quick, 5 secs, but over that it's not that fast.
Advantages - you can rev to the redline in 1st/2nd/3rd and not be doing illegal speeds. How fun that would be on a parralel twin, I'm not sure. it's fun on a 14k rpm limit VTEC IL4 though
Get something around 80-110bhp, something new will have TCS which will keep your safe to a degree. Modern 100bhp bikes are easy to ride, I test rode a Ducati monster 821 a month after passing my test, on a dull and damp November day, in sport mode, and it didn't kill me.
I will say though, my little CB is perfect for what I bought it for, 200 miles of commuting a week. Not enough power to worry about when it's wet/cold, 55mpg and 200 mile tank range, under £100 a year insurance, is faultlessly reliable, and dirt cheap to run. I'll be buying a 2nd bike for touring/weekend riding very soon, probably a 135bhp Aprilia Tuono v-twin. I'l be keeping the CB for commuting duties though, I may retire it in a few years but for now it's going nowhere.
I'm also 35, we at least have the self control to ride a more powerful bike
MT-07 is a great little bike, 74bhp is a good amount of power, bear in mind that's not that far off double the CBR500R's power. If you're tall though it may not suit you, I'm 6ft 3 and it was a little cramped for me.
Edited by Tall_Paul on Saturday 4th June 11:35
How about a Triumph Street Triple? America has them so I assume you do too?
Comfortable riding position, been around since 2009 so affordable second hand, powerful enough with a playful chassis so even experienced riders find it a fun bike to ride.
I loved the time I spent on mine, couldn't fault it for a short commute or weekend warrior.
Comfortable riding position, been around since 2009 so affordable second hand, powerful enough with a playful chassis so even experienced riders find it a fun bike to ride.
I loved the time I spent on mine, couldn't fault it for a short commute or weekend warrior.
CaptainSlow said:
MudwiG said:
XJ6N is looking like an option, think ill have to take for a ride
You'll be wanting to change that within 12 months. 
I can only speak personally but the XJ6n is surprisingly heavy for its 77(ish) bhp.. The engine is still a modified FZ6 engine which is naturally pretty buzzy..
Personally, if i'm gonna have to rev a bike then at least give it some decent headling bhp that is worth chasing..
I don't think it's a bad bike but I think its one that you could grow out of pretty quick.. It's neither grunty nor particularly powerful but is still heavy.
edit - for comparison, The old Kawasaki GPZ500s which in itself was always a pretty friendly affair, had similar power (I'd wager much better midrange) and a good 30kg lighter. I had one for commuting and for more than a few weeks, that would be the minimum I'd want...
Edited by Fire99 on Monday 6th June 12:56
Fire99 said:
edit - for comparison, The old Kawasaki GPZ500s which in itself was always a pretty friendly affair, had similar power (I'd wager much better midrange) and a good 30kg lighter. I had one for commuting and for more than a few weeks, that would be the minimum I'd want...
When I was 18/19 I had a GPz500s. All my mates were running around on 500s, 600s and 750s but I never had any trouble keeping up with them in the twisties.I was living near Manchester at the time and used it daily for a 21 mile commute into work and could often do it in 21 minutes!
I also toured on it so up to the Lake District and down to the Glastonbury Festival.
Owned it for over two years before it was stolen from a pub carpark in Didsbury, IIRC I put abot 30-40K miles on it.
It was a really capable bike at the time, an absolute joy to ride and very easy to service.
TheExcession said:
When I was 18/19 I had a GPz500s. All my mates were running around on 500s, 600s and 750s but I never had any trouble keeping up with them in the twisties.
I was living near Manchester at the time and used it daily for a 21 mile commute into work and could often do it in 21 minutes!
I also toured on it so up to the Lake District and down to the Glastonbury Festival.
Owned it for over two years before it was stolen from a pub carpark in Didsbury, IIRC I put abot 30-40K miles on it.
It was a really capable bike at the time, an absolute joy to ride and very easy to service.
I had one as a 2nd bike for commuting and it did very well indeed. The worst I could say was that it was a bit rough on idle but apparently it was effectively half a Ninja 1000 engine that was working backwards, or something or the other.. (as my bike mechanic told me)I was living near Manchester at the time and used it daily for a 21 mile commute into work and could often do it in 21 minutes!
I also toured on it so up to the Lake District and down to the Glastonbury Festival.
Owned it for over two years before it was stolen from a pub carpark in Didsbury, IIRC I put abot 30-40K miles on it.
It was a really capable bike at the time, an absolute joy to ride and very easy to service.
Anyway I ragged mine to death and it never complained..
EagleMoto4-2 said:
Guy at work has an Er6. Sounds like a lawn mower when he starts it up! Even though we had Er6's as learner bikes, my instructor said don't get one.
he was probably right; I have one - and If I knew when I bought it what I know, then I probably would not have bought it.My next bike will probably have more than more than two cylinders, and also more fairing. In fairness to myself - I don't think it's something I would have spotted on a test ride, I've really only decided these things over a longer period of time riding it.
phatmanace said:
EagleMoto4-2 said:
Guy at work has an Er6. Sounds like a lawn mower when he starts it up! Even though we had Er6's as learner bikes, my instructor said don't get one.
he was probably right; I have one - and If I knew when I bought it what I know, then I probably would not have bought it.My next bike will probably have more than more than two cylinders, and also more fairing. In fairness to myself - I don't think it's something I would have spotted on a test ride, I've really only decided these things over a longer period of time riding it.
Berz said:
What's the issue with them? I got one recently as my first bike and it's been fine so far, just wondering if there's something I should be looking out for.
couple of things. Most of them not the bikes fault at all - so I don't think anything you should look out for. What I should have done was listened to the advice i was given at the time and bought a cheap 600 or something to find out what suited me. - Mine has a buzz about 3/4k rpm - scouring the forums leads me to believe it's common(ish) - TBH I've gotten quite used to it now, but it was super annoying for the first couple of months that I owned the bike for as it seemed to right at about round time
- its very blowy above 70mph - having only had a 125 before that would only do 60, I hadn't realised the benefits of fairing...
- Personally, I find the engine braking a bit full-on- think 4-Cyl would suit me better
- Pegs a little high - probably should have been braver and got a taller bike so that my knees were a little less bent.
boxxob said:
one of those poxy little slab of plastics (aka fly screen) in front of the clocks, plus a helmet designed for roadster/naked bikes can take the edge of the wind-blast.
yes - I bought a new helmet and that helped, think the old one was a little big (and a little old) - so I got quite a lot of wind noise. - it does have a little screen, so not totally naked Gassing Station | Biker Banter | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff