Just passed MOD2 and bike recommendations
Discussion
Hi all,
Passed my MOD2 on Friday and am absolutely chuffed to bits to get it done after years of talking about doing it. Did my cbt back in December and then the 16 hours DAS course over the next 4 weekends. I was lucky enough to race motocross as a teenager and into my early twenties so found the bike control side of things quite easy (although having only ridden two strokes it took a bit of getting used to riding a 650 during slow manoeuvring as I’m just not used to so much engine braking!).
Got through the MOD1 no bother but the MOD2 was pretty stressful. I made a couple of daft mistakes on the pre test ride mainly due to not looking far enough ahead and ending up in the wrong lane etc. Nerves make you do weird things. My test was also booked during rush hour and it was raining. The instructor was in a car and kept falling behind so I had to keep pulling over for him to catch up.
I thought I’d failed at one point as I’d committed to going into a narrow road (with parked cars on either side), as I’d set off from the junction I see a van come into view coming the other way. I had had to stop and then squeeze by him. Typical, on all the times I used that road during lesson I never met another vehicle. I also doubted myself whether I was still on an NSL at one point but was well over 30 so no going back if I was wrong.
Get back to the test centre with my face tripping me thinking I’d blown it, only for the examiner (after much faffing about) to finally give me the good news. I only ended up with two minors in the end too. One for indicating too late and the other for following a car too close for the wet conditions.
All that being said, it was a great experience doing the DAS and even the CBT was good fun. I’ve been driving 12 years and it’s mental how many road signs you forget about so the theory test was quite educational, if a little eye opening.
Bike recommendations, i really like the naked bike style and something that’s a fairly upright riding position. Current favourite is a Yamaha MT09. Are there any others I should be looking out for? I learned on a Kawasaki z650 which was nice enough but sounded a bit dull. I don’t think the parallel twins sound as nice as the Vs or triples. Im not too keen on the triumph offerings plus they’re probably bit off the expensive side for a motorbike I don’t even need ha.
Passed my MOD2 on Friday and am absolutely chuffed to bits to get it done after years of talking about doing it. Did my cbt back in December and then the 16 hours DAS course over the next 4 weekends. I was lucky enough to race motocross as a teenager and into my early twenties so found the bike control side of things quite easy (although having only ridden two strokes it took a bit of getting used to riding a 650 during slow manoeuvring as I’m just not used to so much engine braking!).
Got through the MOD1 no bother but the MOD2 was pretty stressful. I made a couple of daft mistakes on the pre test ride mainly due to not looking far enough ahead and ending up in the wrong lane etc. Nerves make you do weird things. My test was also booked during rush hour and it was raining. The instructor was in a car and kept falling behind so I had to keep pulling over for him to catch up.
I thought I’d failed at one point as I’d committed to going into a narrow road (with parked cars on either side), as I’d set off from the junction I see a van come into view coming the other way. I had had to stop and then squeeze by him. Typical, on all the times I used that road during lesson I never met another vehicle. I also doubted myself whether I was still on an NSL at one point but was well over 30 so no going back if I was wrong.
Get back to the test centre with my face tripping me thinking I’d blown it, only for the examiner (after much faffing about) to finally give me the good news. I only ended up with two minors in the end too. One for indicating too late and the other for following a car too close for the wet conditions.
All that being said, it was a great experience doing the DAS and even the CBT was good fun. I’ve been driving 12 years and it’s mental how many road signs you forget about so the theory test was quite educational, if a little eye opening.
Bike recommendations, i really like the naked bike style and something that’s a fairly upright riding position. Current favourite is a Yamaha MT09. Are there any others I should be looking out for? I learned on a Kawasaki z650 which was nice enough but sounded a bit dull. I don’t think the parallel twins sound as nice as the Vs or triples. Im not too keen on the triumph offerings plus they’re probably bit off the expensive side for a motorbike I don’t even need ha.
Congrats 
You cant go wrong with an MT07 or 09 really, or something like a Triumph Street Triple. Look around for a nice couple of year old model and see how you go for first couple of years. Most of us like to try lots of bikes so no point wasting money in depreciation by new ones to start with.
You cant go wrong with an MT07 or 09 really, or something like a Triumph Street Triple. Look around for a nice couple of year old model and see how you go for first couple of years. Most of us like to try lots of bikes so no point wasting money in depreciation by new ones to start with.
Had a look at XSR900’s? Uses the same 3 cylinder as the MT09 I think. Here’s a link just in case you don’t think it’s sporty enough 
https://youtu.be/vImKRlkibvI
https://youtu.be/vImKRlkibvIDodd90 said:
Had a look at XSR900’s? Uses the same 3 cylinder as the MT09 I think. Here’s a link just in case you don’t think it’s sporty enough https://youtu.be/vImKRlkibvI
Hadn’t heard of that bike before. That’s a proper smart looking machine. I like the retro look. https://youtu.be/vImKRlkibvIMy recommendation would be to see if you can ride a couple to find what really tickles your fancy. I thought I wanted either a V-twin or triple for character, and settled on a Ducati. Having ridden a few bikes (and I'm in the same boat as you finding parallel twins boring) I think I chose wisely.
Ultimately ride what you fancy - don't let anyone say it's too much or too fast, the throttle works both ways.
Ultimately ride what you fancy - don't let anyone say it's too much or too fast, the throttle works both ways.
Gilhooligan said:
Bike recommendations, i really like the naked bike style and something that’s a fairly upright riding position. Current favourite is a Yamaha MT09. Are there any others I should be looking out for? I learned on a Kawasaki z650 which was nice enough but sounded a bit dull. I don’t think the parallel twins sound as nice as the Vs or triples. Im not too keen on the triumph offerings plus they’re probably bit off the expensive side for a motorbike I don’t even need ha.
Besides the sound how was the Z650? Was it vibey? The Duke 790 and MT-07 have 270 degree cranks so sound different to 180 degree parallel twins.
carinaman said:
Besides the sound how was the Z650? Was it vibey?
The Duke 790 and MT-07 have 270 degree cranks so sound different to 180 degree parallel twins.
I learnt on a Z650 as well, it was a fine, pretty smooth engine, pulled pretty well. Just dull.The Duke 790 and MT-07 have 270 degree cranks so sound different to 180 degree parallel twins.
I rode the 790 Adventure and it didn't feel any different to the Z really.
carinaman said:
Besides the sound how was the Z650? Was it vibey?
The Duke 790 and MT-07 have 270 degree cranks so sound different to 180 degree parallel twins.
It did feel a bit rough imo. Bags of low down torque although I got the impression it doesn’t rev out very well (although having only ridden it on a lesson, I never got it close to the 10k limiter ha). The Duke 790 and MT-07 have 270 degree cranks so sound different to 180 degree parallel twins.
Yeah been reading up on the 270 deg crank parallel twins, they sound like they’d be pretty good. My budget is probably 5k so more likely to get the mt07 rather than the 09.
Congratz on the pass!
Most decent ones have already been mentioned.
- Duke 790
- Street Triple
- MT07 / 09
- Z900? Since you found the z650 a bit dull
- Husqvarna vitpilen 701?
I started on a Yamaha XJ6 and it was great for learning on. Very low seat height which puts you at easy if you're a shorty like me.
Enough power to get you into trouble, but sensible enough to manage it properly.
They handle well and very reliable, I put 20k miles on it in less than 2 years and never missed a beat. Sold it with 37k miles as I fancied a change.
You can pick up a decent one for around 3k, leaving you with 2k to pick up very decent kit etc.
Test ride as many as you can and take it from there you wont go wrong with any of the suggestions here.
Most decent ones have already been mentioned.
- Duke 790
- Street Triple
- MT07 / 09
- Z900? Since you found the z650 a bit dull
- Husqvarna vitpilen 701?
I started on a Yamaha XJ6 and it was great for learning on. Very low seat height which puts you at easy if you're a shorty like me.
Enough power to get you into trouble, but sensible enough to manage it properly.
They handle well and very reliable, I put 20k miles on it in less than 2 years and never missed a beat. Sold it with 37k miles as I fancied a change.
You can pick up a decent one for around 3k, leaving you with 2k to pick up very decent kit etc.
Test ride as many as you can and take it from there
you wont go wrong with any of the suggestions here.Gilhooligan said:
Yeah been reading up on the 270 deg crank parallel twins, they sound like they’d be pretty good. My budget is probably 5k so more likely to get the mt07 rather than the 09.
I went from a 360 degree parallel twin to a 270 degree one and the sound is very different so definitely don't discount them until you've tried.Speed Triple is the usual favourite for fans of naked bikes, but the Ducati Monster is well worth a look.
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