Best beginner road bike

[Nutty9000]

Hi all,

I'm exploring the possibility of getting my first road bike.

Besides a couple of dodgy scooters and a couple of hours on a Harley Davidson replica in Thailand, I have zero experience riding bikes.

Like many on here, I'm a bit of a speed freak so don't want something that'll wip me up to silly speeds in no time; ideally I'd like a bike that's comfortable for long distance, has a good range, is rewarding at low speeds, yet is a good commuter bike.

Does anyone have any recommendations please?

Many thanks

[RizzoTheRat]

Have you already got a licence and which class? If you haven't there are now several tiers of licence that limit you certain power/engine sizes depending on what test you do.

If you have a licence, the stock answer is an SV650 or CBR600f, but quite frankly there's a massive amount of choice and not that many wrong answers.

[PTF]

TT600 is worth a look too. Cheap as chips to buy and surprisingly good.

Bit f'ugly though

[Nutty9000]

RizzoTheRat said:

Have you already got a licence and which class? If you haven't there are now several tiers of licence that limit you certain power/engine sizes depending on what test you do.

If you have a licence, the stock answer is an SV650 or CBR600f, but quite frankly there's a massive amount of choice and not that many wrong answers.

Thanks, no licence at all other than car licence atm. With a standing quarter of '11.5 at 125 mph', the CBR600f may be a little too nippy for a starter bike?

[Prof Prolapse]

Budget would be helpful.

They're all fast mate, especially as a newbie. So I'd not be worrying too much about that.

Distance comfort tends to come from posture so something at least partially upright, I'd say at least a partial fairing is important as well. Requirements for commuting are similar but you just don't want something massive for filtering.

Low speed rewards is quite personal. I'd say you want low down torque, not an all out sports suspension set up, and if possible an interesting engine configuration.

Just some ideas; Ducati Supersport, Yamaha MT-10 tourer, Suzuki GSXS-1000F, BMW R1200 RS, BMW S1000XR, Triumph Street Triple. Some fit your criteria better than others however. Best bet as I newbie would be to try and blag some test rides.

That or just buy an ageing CBR600F or Triumph Street triple. That's a pretty safe option too.

[Nutty9000]

Ok great stuff thanks Prof (and all).

[Prof Prolapse]

Nutty9000 said:

Thanks, no licence at all other than car licence atm. With a standing quarter of '11.5 at 125 mph', the CBR600f may be a little too nippy for a starter bike?

Yeah but this is motorcycles, "They all do that Sir".

My st slow 235kg, automatic, 94bhp Africa Twin does a quarter mile in an alleged 12.5 seconds. I know a second at the top end is a long time, but bear in mind this is the motorcycling equivalent of a Toyota Land Cruiser.

[RizzoTheRat]

Worth reading up on licence categories, if you're under limited to what category you can take, and as you have to the test on a schools bike for the bigger categories the costs tend to go up which may limit your options too.

http://www.geton.co.uk/motorcycle-training-licence...


Plenty of people pass their test and buy a litre sports bikes without killing themselves but IMO it makes more sense to buy a fairly generic 600 to ride for a year or so until you know what kind of riding you want to do (commuting, weekend blasts, track days, touring holidays, etc) and what kinds of bikes you're interested in. The 600 will hold it's value well so you don't really lose much financially doing this.

[MotorsportTom]

Prof Prolapse said:

Nutty9000 said:

Thanks, no licence at all other than car licence atm. With a standing quarter of '11.5 at 125 mph', the CBR600f may be a little too nippy for a starter bike?

Yeah but this is motorcycles, "They all do that Sir".

My st slow 235kg, automatic, 94bhp Africa Twin does a quarter mile in an alleged 12.5 seconds. I know a second at the top end is a long time, but bear in mind this is the motorcycling equivalent of a Toyota Land Cruiser.

Just checked for reference, a 1998 R1 will apparently do a 1/4 in 10.2 seconds and 131mph.

OP that's a bike with 50(ish) hp more than the CBR 600 and a bit less weight. The R1 and CBR600 are completely different animals to ride.

Depending on budget I would be looking at a CBR600F, you get such a better quality bike for your money than the equivalent SV 650 although both are very good bikes in their own right.

If you have half a degree of sense then self preservation will stop you being a complete fool when first riding. A saying that stuck with me was "you have two bags, one filled with luck and an empty one of skill. Try to fill one up before the other empties"

[tjlazer]

Just buy the bike you want straight away, no point poncing about on some ridiculous budget piece of crap that you are only riding 'because it's your first bike'. I bought a brand new street triple when i passed my test, still riding it 2.5 years later and no inclination to change. Sign up for as much training (track/road based) as you can when you have your bike, that will give you plenty of confidence and real experience. It's all about road time though so if you plan on taking your time get a 125 and ride it plenty, I did 6 months on one before i took my test and learned a lot...others will argue the other way but it makes the transition far easier and you gain plenty of mechanical and physical understanding of how bikes work, countersteering etc before you ride anything that can do big speeds (as above basically any bike of 500cc+ can compared to a car).

[HughiusMaximus]

Nutty9000 said:

Thanks, no licence at all other than car licence atm. With a standing quarter of '11.5 at 125 mph', the CBR600f may be a little too nippy for a starter bike?

My first bike post DAS was a 2001 CBR600f and would recommend it as a first bike if the owner isnt a complete numpty.

It can be quick, but only if you want it to be. Two phase power band means that if kept under 7k rpm then its very manageable.


Just my opinion.

[Ed.]

HughiusMaximus said:

Nutty9000 said:

Thanks, no licence at all other than car licence atm. With a standing quarter of '11.5 at 125 mph', the CBR600f may be a little too nippy for a starter bike?

My first bike post DAS was a 2001 CBR600f and would recommend it as a first bike if the owner isnt a complete numpty.

It can be quick, but only if you want it to be. Two phase power band means that if kept under 7k rpm then its very manageable.


Just my opinion.

I got a 2001 cbr600 as my first bike, it was good and way more competent than me but after a few months I found the two phase power band a pain. In the lower band I wanted it to be faster but found the higher band too manic for normal road use.
I switched to big v twins for more linear delivery but will try 4 cylinders again later.
You can always change bikes if you don't get on with it.

[HughiusMaximus]

Ed. said:

I got a 2001 cbr600 as my first bike, it was good and way more competent than me but after a few months I found the two phase power band a pain. In the lower band I wanted it to be faster but found the higher band too manic for normal road use.
I switched to big v twins for more linear delivery but will try 4 cylinders again later.
You can always change bikes if you don't get on with it.

Yup, I kept mine for a year then moved on to a Triumph Daytona!

[Tiggsy]

I had a 99 R1 as my first bike after a DT125 I took my test on. Perfectly fine.

If you cant NOT go at stupid speed then you're a danger on any bike!

[bozzy.]

OP, what’s your budget?

Also, what are you built like? Tall, powerful director or not?

(P.s this isn’t a covert sexual advance)

Edited by bozzy. on Thursday 19th April 07:21

[Ho Lee Kau]

Nutty9000 said:

RizzoTheRat said:

Have you already got a licence and which class? If you haven't there are now several tiers of licence that limit you certain power/engine sizes depending on what test you do.

If you have a licence, the stock answer is an SV650 or CBR600f, but quite frankly there's a massive amount of choice and not that many wrong answers.

Thanks, no licence at all other than car licence atm. With a standing quarter of '11.5 at 125 mph', the CBR600f may be a little too nippy for a starter bike?

CBR600F is certainly quite nippy for a beginner, I remember this myself. :-) But it is a very friendly bike and comfortable.
But, yes, there are other bikes to consider as well.
Another standard answer from my side is Triumph Street Triple R.

OK, now I have read the original post to the end. :-)
I add that I find my 2002 CBR600F4i a perfect commuter/beater bike!
It's good for "canyon carving" as well, just have to keep it on the boil, meaning a lot of 2nd gear riding, like any 600 basically.
I never found it, as someone said, slow as a flat fart. It's more than quick enough when necessary (I have 15/46 final gear, that helps).
It's "extra" comfortable because handlebars are fixed above triple clamp.

Edited by Ho Lee Kau on Thursday 19th April 07:40

[essIII]

I bought a Ducati 749s as my first bike. It's uncomfortable, has a heavy clutch and boils my testicles on every ride. But because it was a bike I actually wanted, I took it out at every opportunity and made extra effort to take care of it.

Having said that, a street triple would probably have been more sensible!

[Dog Star]

I would even say a litre bike is a reasonable thing to get as long as you are not of the "ooh I'd kill myself on that"/"I'd get nicked speeding" mindset, they're easier to ride than 600s.

RizzoTheRat said:

Plenty of people pass their test and buy a litre sports bikes without killing themselves

EG. Mrs DS, R1 after one of those 3 day courses, she'd never touched a bike before. If only she'd actually ride the blasted thing these days.

[Rubin215]

I'm still a big advocate of bandit 600/650's, ER6's and XJ6's.

Enough power, enough comfort, enough brakes, enough handing etc.

You have years ahead of you to build skill, get faster/smoother, find your dream bike so start simple and work upwards.

[sjtscott]

My present to myself after passing my bike test - Brand new ZX-6R. Went straight from crappy riding school CB125/GN125/SR125 to this as I passed just before direct access would have been required - done on purpose. Still here over 21 years later.