New to biking...
Discussion
...and before you say it, YES, I have read the sticky!
I'm aiming to do a my DAS license this year, and have a couple of bike questions..
1. What's the best bike info resource?
I'm thinking of the bike version of Evo Magazine here.. journalism you know you can rely on, and an informative source for helping me make my 'which bike' decision
2. What's the important mileage for bikes?
again, with cars there's generally the 50k mark, where cambelts usually have to be done, and a car under that is considered low-mileage, cars with more than that are considered longer in the tooth.. and yearly? cars usually based around 10k/year.. what about bikes?
3. Initial thoughts on the bike question are something along the lines of:
600 Hornet, 600 Bandit, Fazer?
don't want a small bike (but neither a 1000.. probably a bad idea for first bike me thinks!), want something reasonably comfprtable to do miles on (likely to go into europe a bit I would think), and able to take pillions reasonably well, and still fun!
like the streetfighter look (latest Hornet, Kawasaki KR1000 etc), like the superbike look (but seems they're rather uncomfotable/scary!)
thanks for any info/input/advice/etc etc
edit: just added a pic of my fav bike so far from the classifieds, purely for some bike-porn to keep things interesting!!
REALLY like the look of this:
I'm aiming to do a my DAS license this year, and have a couple of bike questions..
1. What's the best bike info resource?
I'm thinking of the bike version of Evo Magazine here.. journalism you know you can rely on, and an informative source for helping me make my 'which bike' decision
2. What's the important mileage for bikes?
again, with cars there's generally the 50k mark, where cambelts usually have to be done, and a car under that is considered low-mileage, cars with more than that are considered longer in the tooth.. and yearly? cars usually based around 10k/year.. what about bikes?
3. Initial thoughts on the bike question are something along the lines of:
600 Hornet, 600 Bandit, Fazer?
don't want a small bike (but neither a 1000.. probably a bad idea for first bike me thinks!), want something reasonably comfprtable to do miles on (likely to go into europe a bit I would think), and able to take pillions reasonably well, and still fun!
like the streetfighter look (latest Hornet, Kawasaki KR1000 etc), like the superbike look (but seems they're rather uncomfotable/scary!)
thanks for any info/input/advice/etc etc
edit: just added a pic of my fav bike so far from the classifieds, purely for some bike-porn to keep things interesting!!
REALLY like the look of this:
Edited by Pierscoe1 on Sunday 13th January 23:39
I would say there isn’t a direct equivalent to EVO mag, most bike mags (perhaps RiDE and TWO magazine excluded ) are fairly hardcore performance magazines compared to the average car magazine.
IMHO Bike mag is probably the nearest match to EVO and arguably the most informative.
Have a browse in WH Smiths…the weekly rag MCN is worth a nose as well, it’ll also give you a good idea of what bikes are realistically going for price wise
Mileage…well buy on condition more so than mileage, if your buying private you can tell a lot about the bike from the owner more so than a service history…look for signs of rust/corrosion if its been used a lot in winter or wet weather, not necessarily a problem if the bike has been looked after but pay accordingly.
Modern bike engines will take loads of abuse and run for many, many miles with the most basic of servicing(Ducati’s excluded!), the things to check for that wear out and cost time and ££ to replace are items such as chains/sprockets, chassis bearings(check swing arm , head races etc)
The choices you mention seem sound first purchases to me, that Hornet does look particularly nice.
Go for it and good luck
And to actually try and answer your questions... 
1)Go to Smiths (other printed media suppliers are available) and flick through all of the mags. Discard those with the dodgy phone lines in the back section. Discard anything with "latest 600 shoutout" on the cover. Realise you have no mags left. Put that MCN down as well, as its really not worth it. You really are better having a browse through Biker Banter for general reviews of bikes people own, and then having a flick round the MCN online reviews for specific bikes if something catches your eye. The mags are very much eye candy for general picking things up, and for reading about 20 bikes you'll never even consider. Thats their job
2) According to the dealers, about 4K a year. Swines. Service history is very important to most bikes, so its a multiple of 4/5 or 6K. They start getting cheap at 20K for no particular reason. You need to think about age as well, as springs and shock oil have age as well as mileage wear paths.
Servicing at the 4-6 mark, or every year, whichever is sooner.
3) Personal opinion is that first big bike ought to be something you wont commit suicide over WHEN you drop it. Probably wont be a crash (fingers crossed) but a bloody embarrassing 1mph when you're pulling up to lights, or parking it jobbie. Get yourself a shortlist, go to dealers (in the gear, as it makes a difference to how a bike feels), and sit on loads and loads of them. Make a shortlist for the comfy ones, and find a dealer that will be happy to let you play on them for a bit. It will help if you can prove you're serious about buying one, i.e. have got insurance quotes for the ones you originally looked at, and a rough idea of running costs. Nekkid or faired depends on the use you intend for it - if you have long trips in mind, go faired, if its short B roads and town, nekkid might work for you.
4)Get off your arse and do the DAS
1)Go to Smiths (other printed media suppliers are available) and flick through all of the mags. Discard those with the dodgy phone lines in the back section. Discard anything with "latest 600 shoutout" on the cover. Realise you have no mags left. Put that MCN down as well, as its really not worth it. You really are better having a browse through Biker Banter for general reviews of bikes people own, and then having a flick round the MCN online reviews for specific bikes if something catches your eye. The mags are very much eye candy for general picking things up, and for reading about 20 bikes you'll never even consider. Thats their job
2) According to the dealers, about 4K a year. Swines. Service history is very important to most bikes, so its a multiple of 4/5 or 6K. They start getting cheap at 20K for no particular reason. You need to think about age as well, as springs and shock oil have age as well as mileage wear paths.
Servicing at the 4-6 mark, or every year, whichever is sooner.
3) Personal opinion is that first big bike ought to be something you wont commit suicide over WHEN you drop it. Probably wont be a crash (fingers crossed) but a bloody embarrassing 1mph when you're pulling up to lights, or parking it jobbie. Get yourself a shortlist, go to dealers (in the gear, as it makes a difference to how a bike feels), and sit on loads and loads of them. Make a shortlist for the comfy ones, and find a dealer that will be happy to let you play on them for a bit. It will help if you can prove you're serious about buying one, i.e. have got insurance quotes for the ones you originally looked at, and a rough idea of running costs. Nekkid or faired depends on the use you intend for it - if you have long trips in mind, go faired, if its short B roads and town, nekkid might work for you.
4)Get off your arse and do the DAS
Welcome mate..im a newbie and with all the pills im poppimg right now you'd be lucky if i could answer wot's 2+2 nevermind the questions you are asking..but there are a lot of experienced guys/gals on here that have helped me out (and made me laugh) so im sure you will get sense out of them...regarding a bike mag..i've seen some nice bikes in Readers Wifes...dunno if that helps...
Welcome mate....enjoy.
Barry.
Welcome mate....enjoy.
Barry.
I've got a 2006 Hornet - did 3500 miles round europe last year over ten days - no aches, no pains, not even a burp of dissent from the bike. I love it. Here's the rub, though...I'm now a Honda convert, and there's not much choice in between their 600 engines and the litre bikes....oh dear.
I guess there's the GSX-R750!!
As for magazines, Bike. They even printed some of my holiday snaps!!
I guess there's the GSX-R750!!
As for magazines, Bike. They even printed some of my holiday snaps!!
randlemarcus said:
3) Personal opinion is that first big bike ought to be something you wont commit suicide over WHEN you drop it. Probably wont be a crash (fingers crossed) but a bloody embarrassing 1mph when you're pulling up to lights, or parking it jobbie.
Ah yes - the memories. Rolling up to the lights on my three day old Hornet last summer, let my (supposedly planted) supporting leg trail behind me a tad due to final roll forward of bike and "whoops it won't support me!", "bugger, mind if I arrest my fall by leaning on your car mate? crrrrunch/snap, er these wing mirrors aren't that strong are they? Help me up, there's a good chap, and we can talk about exchanging details - I'm sure it'll buff out". Happy days! Edited by Pugsey on Monday 14th January 17:56
I'll second that about dropping the bike, I managed to drop mine getting off of it on my drive after my first ride to work, no major damage done but I would have been a put peeved if it had been brand new. Fortunately the missus was able to pick it up for me (with not very much help from me I must add).
Pugsey said:
Ah yes - the memories. Rolling up to the lights on my three day old Hornet last summer, let my (supposedly planted) supporting leg trail behind me a tad due to final roll forward of bike and "whoops it won't support me!", "bugger, mind if I arrest my fall by leaning on your car mate? crrrrunch/snap, er these wing mirrors aren't that strong are they? Help me up, there's a good chap, and we can talk about exchanging details - I'm sure it'll buff out". Happy days!
PMSL !!! 
thanks for the comments everyone.. all good stuff.
one more thing, is there a Parkers equivalent for working out what I should be paying for any given bike/year/mileage combo?
[quote=Pierscoe1one more thing, is there a Parkers equivalent for working out what I should be paying for any given bike/year/mileage combo?
[/quote]
Yes there is but its a load of rubbish...buy MCN and you get a much better idea of the proper market value of the bike your interested in.
[/quote]
Yes there is but its a load of rubbish...buy MCN and you get a much better idea of the proper market value of the bike your interested in.
podman said:
Pierscoe1 said:
one more thing, is there a Parkers equivalent for working out what I should be paying for any given bike/year/mileage combo?
Yes there is but its a load of rubbish...buy MCN and you get a much better idea of the proper market value of the bike your interested in.http://www.motorcyclenews.com/MCN/bikesforsale/
or the Bike Trader web site at:
http://www.biketrader.co.uk
Hi there and welcome to the fold!
I too am very new - I passed my DAS one week before Xmas - you have to do it - it is brilliant. You will be surprised at how much you can learn in 2 days, especially if you already drive a car.
I went out and bought myself a naked bike. I had considered the Hornet, Bandit, Fazer like you. However, I clapped my eyes on a bright orange Triumph Speed 4 - a 600 bike with 100HP. Absolutely love it - it's a naked bike but just a bit more special - not so many of them around and it creates a lot of interest.
Seriously quick - I haven't dared get it past 8K rpm yet!
As for dropping it, I had my 1st drop in a bloody jet wash!! Imagine my embarrassment. Was whelling it backwards (me sat on) having washed it. Thought it was in neutral but it was in gear - Down I went!! Fortunately it has crash bungs fitted so no damage done
Good luck!
Simon
I too am very new - I passed my DAS one week before Xmas - you have to do it - it is brilliant. You will be surprised at how much you can learn in 2 days, especially if you already drive a car.
I went out and bought myself a naked bike. I had considered the Hornet, Bandit, Fazer like you. However, I clapped my eyes on a bright orange Triumph Speed 4 - a 600 bike with 100HP. Absolutely love it - it's a naked bike but just a bit more special - not so many of them around and it creates a lot of interest.
Seriously quick - I haven't dared get it past 8K rpm yet!
As for dropping it, I had my 1st drop in a bloody jet wash!! Imagine my embarrassment. Was whelling it backwards (me sat on) having washed it. Thought it was in neutral but it was in gear - Down I went!! Fortunately it has crash bungs fitted so no damage done
Good luck!
Simon
Re: Bike mileage, most bike engines are designed to run as long as a car engine 100-200k miles, the clutch can last 100k miles (light vehicle), the oil on my SV650s is only meant to be changes every 18 months according to manual!.
In other words most riders never come close to wearing a bike out by mileage, however you can start screwing things up by not cleaning stuff, keeping the chain in a horrible state. The chain can be a good indicator of the health of the bike, if it is slack and poorly lubricated its indicative of somebody who does maintain the bike well.
In other words most riders never come close to wearing a bike out by mileage, however you can start screwing things up by not cleaning stuff, keeping the chain in a horrible state. The chain can be a good indicator of the health of the bike, if it is slack and poorly lubricated its indicative of somebody who does maintain the bike well.
sshenton1975 said:
I passed my DAS one week before Xmas - you have to do it - it is brilliant. You will be surprised at how much you can learn in 2 days, especially if you already drive a car.
Is that all it takes?!?!?!?wow.. wasn't expecting it to be that quick.
I'll be wanting to do an all-in sort of course, inc bike hire etc..
anybody have any recommendations for this in the leamington/warwick area?
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