First big bike?
Discussion
Hi
I'm after some advice. I'm looking for my first big bike to play on at weekends and commute on a couple of times a week into london.
Taking into account insurance and budget and fuel economy I have limited my field to a CBR600F 2001, Triumph Daytona 600 2003, Honda VFR 800 2003 or Suzuki SV 1000 S 2003.
Given that I want something sensible to commute on and something that is fun on the twistys what would you go for.
I'm 6'2 as well so something else to consider.
Thanks
Chris.
I'm after some advice. I'm looking for my first big bike to play on at weekends and commute on a couple of times a week into london.
Taking into account insurance and budget and fuel economy I have limited my field to a CBR600F 2001, Triumph Daytona 600 2003, Honda VFR 800 2003 or Suzuki SV 1000 S 2003.
Given that I want something sensible to commute on and something that is fun on the twistys what would you go for.
I'm 6'2 as well so something else to consider.
Thanks
Chris.
Well done!
Traditional advice is to look for a unfaired first bike, as you will drop it - I know
The CBR6 is a very forgiving bike and an excellent choice, but how about something like a Hornet? The SV you mention would fit the bill, but what about a 650 instead of the 1000? All of the bikes you mention will be surprising quick as a first bike
I'm only 5'8" so I'd recommend sitting on as many bikes as you can
Traditional advice is to look for a unfaired first bike, as you will drop it - I know
The CBR6 is a very forgiving bike and an excellent choice, but how about something like a Hornet? The SV you mention would fit the bill, but what about a 650 instead of the 1000? All of the bikes you mention will be surprising quick as a first bike
I'm only 5'8" so I'd recommend sitting on as many bikes as you can
Tiffer said:
Taking into account insurance and budget and fuel economy I have limited my field to a CBR600F 2001, Triumph Daytona 600 2003, Honda VFR 800 2003 or Suzuki SV 1000 S 2003.
Given that I want something sensible to commute on and something that is fun on the twistys what would you go for.
Given that I want something sensible to commute on and something that is fun on the twistys what would you go for.
I would suggest that all the bikes mentioned would fit the bill of combined commuter/weekend fun, but they would all do it in different ways.
It very much depends how you like your vehicles to deliver their performance. For me, I like lots of torque, thus tend to go for larger, slower revving engines, so the SV would be my choice. (Or one of the other larger capacity twins on the market – I have a Honda Firestorm) Those that like their performance delivered with loads of revs would likely prefer the 600s, with the VFR sitting somewhere in between.
The SV will get through fuel/tyres/chains quicker than the others thus will likely be the most expensive to run and I think it may be worth checking into the servicing costs of the VFR (Aren’t the VTEC engines expensive to service?). Having said that, both the VFR and the SV are physically bigger than the 600s and thus may be a more comfortable fit. The SV and especially the VFR are also likely to offer a slightly better “distance” option should you, at some point, wish to make the occasional long distance trip, perhaps with pillion/luggage.
What I would suggest is that you beg, steal, borrow a test ride on any models you are thinking about buying. As they are all very different in they way they deliver, you may find that they simply don’t fit the way you ride. A friend of mine, who was brought up on smaller 4 cylinder engines (400cc then 600cc) never came to terms with a Firestorm he bought as he was regularly bouncing it off the rev limiter. – Not the way to ride a big V twin. He ended up selling it and going back to a CBR600 and was much happier.
Whatever you choose, take some time to get to know the bike well and take some advanced road training.
Ride safe and enjoy.
black-k1 said:
Tiffer said:
Taking into account insurance and budget and fuel economy I have limited my field to a CBR600F 2001, Triumph Daytona 600 2003, Honda VFR 800 2003 or Suzuki SV 1000 S 2003.
Given that I want something sensible to commute on and something that is fun on the twistys what would you go for.
Given that I want something sensible to commute on and something that is fun on the twistys what would you go for.
I would suggest that all the bikes mentioned would fit the bill of combined commuter/weekend fun, but they would all do it in different ways.
It very much depends how you like your vehicles to deliver their performance. For me, I like lots of torque, thus tend to go for larger, slower revving engines, so the SV would be my choice. (Or one of the other larger capacity twins on the market – I have a Honda Firestorm) Those that like their performance delivered with loads of revs would likely prefer the 600s, with the VFR sitting somewhere in between.
The SV will get through fuel/tyres/chains quicker than the others thus will likely be the most expensive to run and I think it may be worth checking into the servicing costs of the VFR (Aren’t the VTEC engines expensive to service?). Having said that, both the VFR and the SV are physically bigger than the 600s and thus may be a more comfortable fit. The SV and especially the VFR are also likely to offer a slightly better “distance” option should you, at some point, wish to make the occasional long distance trip, perhaps with pillion/luggage.
What I would suggest is that you beg, steal, borrow a test ride on any models you are thinking about buying. As they are all very different in they way they deliver, you may find that they simply don’t fit the way you ride. A friend of mine, who was brought up on smaller 4 cylinder engines (400cc then 600cc) never came to terms with a Firestorm he bought as he was regularly bouncing it off the rev limiter. – Not the way to ride a big V twin. He ended up selling it and going back to a CBR600 and was much happier.
Whatever you choose, take some time to get to know the bike well and take some advanced road training.
Ride safe and enjoy.
bouncing a V Twin off the rev limiter is a pretty easy thing to do, its when you start bouncing the bigger inline 4s of the limiter that you need to start thinking ' what am i doing?'
good choice with the CBR600 should keep you happy for a while, certainly fast enough for your first big bike, and not too much power to catch you out so easily.
Edited by YamR1V64motion on Saturday 10th June 18:32
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