New biker advice
Discussion
...not so much new as I haven't even got a licence yet!
I want to get into biking, but don't exactly know what I'm looking for - all the dealers I've been to have had their products to sell and, good though their advice is I'm not getting impartial advice and they're trying to steer me out of second hand stuff and into new stuff.
I know I can do CBT and direct access.
I've ridden a bit off road and in fields etc before.
I want something I can use everyday and go to work on - ideally I'd have something like a KTM trail bike style as I don't think I'm up to a superbike style - plus I'd be able to use it off-road at weekends.
Can someone please recommend a bike of this style maybe a few years old to look for?
What exactly do I have to do to get onto a bike with a decent engine size (I'm waiting to hear back from the bike school)? I don't want to be blown away by artics when I'm on the commute so I imagine I'd need something about 400cc?
I'll also need leathers and a helmet (but I'll probably be buying a new helmet for hillclimbing anyway so I trust that would more than suffice for road use too)
Can someone also give me an indication as to insurance costs too please
Thanks in advance
>> Edited by tuscan_thunder on Tuesday 18th April 14:47
I want to get into biking, but don't exactly know what I'm looking for - all the dealers I've been to have had their products to sell and, good though their advice is I'm not getting impartial advice and they're trying to steer me out of second hand stuff and into new stuff.
I know I can do CBT and direct access.
I've ridden a bit off road and in fields etc before.
I want something I can use everyday and go to work on - ideally I'd have something like a KTM trail bike style as I don't think I'm up to a superbike style - plus I'd be able to use it off-road at weekends.
Can someone please recommend a bike of this style maybe a few years old to look for?
What exactly do I have to do to get onto a bike with a decent engine size (I'm waiting to hear back from the bike school)? I don't want to be blown away by artics when I'm on the commute so I imagine I'd need something about 400cc?
I'll also need leathers and a helmet (but I'll probably be buying a new helmet for hillclimbing anyway so I trust that would more than suffice for road use too)
Can someone also give me an indication as to insurance costs too please
Thanks in advance
>> Edited by tuscan_thunder on Tuesday 18th April 14:47
As a first bike and along the style that you suggest, you may consider:
A BMW F650 GS - a cracking first bike
A Honda Transalp
A Ducati Multistrada, the 650 model - if your budget will strecth to it
The only concern with a KTM might be where you can get it serviced.
Apart from insurance premiums, don't be too put off by engine size. It's not what you ride, it's how you choose to ride it!
Enjoy....
A BMW F650 GS - a cracking first bike
A Honda Transalp
A Ducati Multistrada, the 650 model - if your budget will strecth to it
The only concern with a KTM might be where you can get it serviced.
Apart from insurance premiums, don't be too put off by engine size. It's not what you ride, it's how you choose to ride it!
Enjoy....
I had my first DAS lesson on a 500 and then did the rest of my test on an F650GS, which I bought after the first lesson.
You can pay anything depending upon the age and condition of the bike and it really depends on your budget and if you buy from a dealer.
I know very little about bikes and cars engine wise etc, so I buy from someone where I'll get a warranty.
If you don't have confidence in your own knowledge of the bikes, take someone with you who does and who can test ride one since you don't have a licence.
Personally, I go for something over 500 cc because you may get a little bored after a short while on anything less.
You can pay anything depending upon the age and condition of the bike and it really depends on your budget and if you buy from a dealer.
I know very little about bikes and cars engine wise etc, so I buy from someone where I'll get a warranty.
If you don't have confidence in your own knowledge of the bikes, take someone with you who does and who can test ride one since you don't have a licence.
Personally, I go for something over 500 cc because you may get a little bored after a short while on anything less.
One angle would be a Super Moto - however it may not be as simple as swapping wheels to go offroad on the weekend. I expect one ought to change the brake setup between road and off road, to prevent lots of front end lock-ups through overly powerful brakes. The gearing and therefore chain required length may also be different. Stig posted a similar one bike fits all conundrum in recent thread. To be honest I think you'd probably do better having two separate bikes, specific to each need.
Steve.
Steve.
tuscan_thunder said:
...not so much new as I haven't even got a licence yet!
I want to get into biking, but don't exactly know what I'm looking for - all the dealers I've been to have had their products to sell and, good though their advice is I'm not getting impartial advice and they're trying to steer me out of second hand stuff and into new stuff.
I know I can do CBT and direct access.
I've ridden a bit off road and in fields etc before.
I want something I can use everyday and go to work on - ideally I'd have something like a KTM trail bike style as I don't think I'm up to a superbike style - plus I'd be able to use it off-road at weekends.
Can someone please recommend a bike of this style maybe a few years old to look for?
What exactly do I have to do to get onto a bike with a decent engine size (I'm waiting to hear back from the bike school)? I don't want to be blown away by artics when I'm on the commute so I imagine I'd need something about 400cc?
I'll also need leathers and a helmet (but I'll probably be buying a new helmet for hillclimbing anyway so I trust that would more than suffice for road use too)
Can someone also give me an indication as to insurance costs too please
Thanks in advance
>> Edited by tuscan_thunder on Tuesday 18th April 14:47
Davel said:
...... Apart from insurance premiums, don't be too put off by engine size. It's not what you ride, it's how you choose to ride it!
So true!
I would say that engine capacity is not that important. What you need to establish is how you want the power/torque delivered. Do you want the top end power of a 4 cylinder bike? In which case just about anything of 400cc or more will keep up in all traffic conditions. Add a few more cc’s if you will do a bit of riding with luggage/passenger. Likewise, lots of motorway type work would probably add a further few more cc’s. (Possible Fazer, Bandit, Hornet?)
Do you want the low down torque of a twin/single. If so, anything of 500cc or over will keep up with traffic for solo work, but again, add a few more cc’s if you’re taking a pillion/luggage on a regular basis. (Possible SV650, F650, Monster?)
Smaller engines than those stated will keep pace with traffic, but are going to be a little more tiring to drive longer distances as they are having to work a good deal harder to deliver the performance.
IMHO, generally the more cc’s you add the easier the bike is to ride but the heavier the bike will be for slow speed manoeuvring etc.
Insurance will be cheaper if you go for something that is considered “boring” (even with larger engines) You also want to consider the running costs. Service intervals on bikes tend to be much more regular than with cars though the servicing costs are not that much cheaper. Likewise, larger bikes tend to need more of:- tyres, chains/sprockets, petrol etc. and the consumables tend to be more expensive for larger bikes.
The best solution is to make up a short list of the bikes you think fit the bill, then do some test riding to find the one that best suits you.
As regards helmet/leathers etc. Check out the BMF Show (20th/21st May – Peterborough) for lots of gear at good prices. (Also a good place to look at/sit on potential bikes.)
Whatever you decide, make sure you get lots of training. (You can never have too much training). The advanced road techniques taught be the likes of the IAM, RoSPA etc. are very good and will save your life! (They will also make your car driving better.)
Good luck with the CBT/DAS when you do it, and let us know how you get on.
Enjoy and ride safe
>> Edited by black-k1 on Tuesday 18th April 16:10
A word of warning! Are you really sure that you want to get into biking? Have you thought it through properly?
The point is that, once you've committed yourself by spending the money, buying a bike and passing your test, you'll find that you'll never look at driving a car in the same light again and, as an obvious fine-car enthusiast, you may not be prepared to risk stumbling across the realisation that the lure of a Fezza/Porker/Nobbly, or whatever, is an elaborately constructed mirage, nothing more than the product of the squillions of quid spent by the marketing departments of car manufacturers with an unending supply of product to shift.
The reality is that, no matter what you drive, be it Vectra or Veyron, your speed, progress (or, rather, lack of it) is completely dominated by (and therefore equalled by) the beige Mini Metro in front of you - in possibly 90% of modern UK driving conditions it is impossible to overtake in a four-wheeled vehicle. Now, you will rapidly (and I do mean rapidly) realise that, on a bike, it's different.....
>> Edited by sliced bread on Tuesday 18th April 18:58
The point is that, once you've committed yourself by spending the money, buying a bike and passing your test, you'll find that you'll never look at driving a car in the same light again and, as an obvious fine-car enthusiast, you may not be prepared to risk stumbling across the realisation that the lure of a Fezza/Porker/Nobbly, or whatever, is an elaborately constructed mirage, nothing more than the product of the squillions of quid spent by the marketing departments of car manufacturers with an unending supply of product to shift.
The reality is that, no matter what you drive, be it Vectra or Veyron, your speed, progress (or, rather, lack of it) is completely dominated by (and therefore equalled by) the beige Mini Metro in front of you - in possibly 90% of modern UK driving conditions it is impossible to overtake in a four-wheeled vehicle. Now, you will rapidly (and I do mean rapidly) realise that, on a bike, it's different.....
>> Edited by sliced bread on Tuesday 18th April 18:58
Guys,
Some truly excellent advice there.
My daily commute is about 25miles each way so long distance riding's not a major concern, at least for the moment.
I think a supermoto style bike would be my preference, but I'll need to try out a few different bikes to see what's comfy-est. My mate has a 250 race-rep Yamaha thingy which he plays about on and a few motocross things, so I could try them out on our farm roads, just to get a feel.
Being totally honest, I don't know much about bikes at all so all this is new stuff to me. I've always fancied getting a bike and now it just makes more sense than before.
I'm pretty sure I want to get on a bike but I can get a loan of a bike to do my CBT and I think by doing that it'll either put me off (from my wallet's point of view that'd be a good thing!) or reinforce my thoughts. I've done the IAM test for cars and have been an observer too but I'd do the IAM bike test too.
Thanks again for the advice and keep it coming!
I think I'd really be looking to spend about £2500-3000 on a bike plus leathers - am I in a reasonable ballpark for something to get me started?
Some truly excellent advice there.
My daily commute is about 25miles each way so long distance riding's not a major concern, at least for the moment.
I think a supermoto style bike would be my preference, but I'll need to try out a few different bikes to see what's comfy-est. My mate has a 250 race-rep Yamaha thingy which he plays about on and a few motocross things, so I could try them out on our farm roads, just to get a feel.
Being totally honest, I don't know much about bikes at all so all this is new stuff to me. I've always fancied getting a bike and now it just makes more sense than before.
I'm pretty sure I want to get on a bike but I can get a loan of a bike to do my CBT and I think by doing that it'll either put me off (from my wallet's point of view that'd be a good thing!) or reinforce my thoughts. I've done the IAM test for cars and have been an observer too but I'd do the IAM bike test too.
Thanks again for the advice and keep it coming!
I think I'd really be looking to spend about £2500-3000 on a bike plus leathers - am I in a reasonable ballpark for something to get me started?
As well as doing your CBT on a loan bike, you can also loan a 500 cc for your DA, so you don't really need to buy a bike until you've done your test if you're not totally sure - and then you can test ride any bike that you wish.
After my first lesson on a 500 I just knew that this was what I wanted to do, so after taking advice on this forum, I bought a s/h F650GS and did the rest of my test on my own bike.
The advantage there was that I was learning on a bike with larger bars and easier turning control and I was getting more confidence on my own bike but with the instructor there for when things went wrong. The fact that it had ABS too was a plus when doing the emergency stop!
But beware - biking is very addictive!
Oh, from memory, I think that I paid about £2,500 for mine. It was low mileage, well looked after and came with a top box and FSH.
>> Edited by Davel on Wednesday 19th April 09:55
After my first lesson on a 500 I just knew that this was what I wanted to do, so after taking advice on this forum, I bought a s/h F650GS and did the rest of my test on my own bike.
The advantage there was that I was learning on a bike with larger bars and easier turning control and I was getting more confidence on my own bike but with the instructor there for when things went wrong. The fact that it had ABS too was a plus when doing the emergency stop!
But beware - biking is very addictive!
Oh, from memory, I think that I paid about £2,500 for mine. It was low mileage, well looked after and came with a top box and FSH.
>> Edited by Davel on Wednesday 19th April 09:55
You should be able to hire a small bike for the CBT.
£2500 should be more than enough to get you started. Don't spend all your money on the first bike as you may find that the style of bike you originally liked doesn't suit your type of riding, and you may want to change pretty soon. Likewise, if it's only a hobby at this stage, don't go overboard on the kit. Check out the likes of the Ride magazine tests to find kit that is both functional and inexpensive.
Either way, do your CBT and your DAS. If, at the end of that, you have no interest in motorcycling then at least you'll have the licence should you change your mind later.
Best of luck.
David
tuscan_thunder said:
I think I'd really be looking to spend about £2500-3000 on a bike plus leathers - am I in a reasonable ballpark for something to get me started?
£2500 should be more than enough to get you started. Don't spend all your money on the first bike as you may find that the style of bike you originally liked doesn't suit your type of riding, and you may want to change pretty soon. Likewise, if it's only a hobby at this stage, don't go overboard on the kit. Check out the likes of the Ride magazine tests to find kit that is both functional and inexpensive.
Either way, do your CBT and your DAS. If, at the end of that, you have no interest in motorcycling then at least you'll have the licence should you change your mind later.
Best of luck.
David
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