Hi Chubzilla and welcome to the forum Even after 40 years of riding, I did a professional riding course after buying my new Triumph. This helped with setting up the bike after being observed riding, and although hard, get some feedback on good/bad skills. If too expensive, spend some time on figure eights, hill starts, and emergency braking in a safe area. Good luck
Thanks bud, I am considering more training next year, my instructor does advanced training aswell so after a little experience getting used to the bike I definitely want to improve my skills. I know I have to work on my clutch control as I keep dropping the clutch like in a car but was slowly coming around to releasing the clutch a lot slower/longer
In my opinion a naked bike is a good option for you first couple of post-test years. Machines like the Bandit are capable, fun, cheap, easy to live with, and ideal for developing your riding skills. And if you should drop it or get dumped on your arse they are relatively cheap and easy to fix. My wife passed her test three years ago and we bought her an MT07 as a first bike, which she absolutely loves and it is a hoot to ride. It is true that there is nothing like riding a sports bike. However, they are not great for honing your skills as a newbie, require a level of skill to get the best out of them and are expensive to fix when you throw them up the road.
Those are some good points, especially about fixing costs, I've always loved naked bandits. Your misses is lucky, mt07 is a really nice first bike!
Thanks, I was organising a lift to buy a daytona 650 and ride back from Scotland but seller pulled sale half a day early (guessing as no one had bid yet and I wanted to make sure I could actually get up there) Gutted but not the end of the world, have started looking at sv650's from the advice on here (and will keep my eye out for daytona 650's aswell as that's the dream)
I'm still in love with the daytona 600/650 but the only reasonably priced one with most of the mods I would do anyway is 350 miles away but because of all the great info on here I knew I had to at least consider other bikes, I had half hour before work so popped into my local bike shop (yamaha) and they had a couple used bikes sitting out back so I thought I'd get a feel and sit on some of the more sensible first big naked bike choices. Bandit 650 - very comfortable but felt tiny. SV650 - was way too small and not as comfortable as the bandit. SV650 gladius - I know it's updated sv but felt bigger and I actually preferred the way it looked over the older sv. Fz8 - felt comfortable, looked good and great size, obviously bigger engine too but cost an extra 60-80% than the others. There is still a couple bikes I want to look at - kawasaki z750, 600 bandit, gsxr 600 k1&k4, daytona 955i)
2.5k maybe 3k for something which already has a couple mods (heated grips/aftermarket indicators) I'm 5"11, 18st. I sat on a fz8 (the naked fazer) and it felt nice, I've looked and the 600 version with fairing comes just inside my budget but if I'm honest I really hate the look.
To be honest mate you will not have your first bike for very long, I bought a cheap Suzuki GS500 for my first big bike and I did not like the look or the colour! When I was riding it I did not care as I was having so much fun! Sold it with in 6 months for more than I paid for it then the excitement for bike shopping started all over again. Whatever bike you choose you will enjoy and when you are bored sell and move on.
Maybe a Honda CBR 600F? quick bike higher in the rev range but if ridden sensibly (ish) can be quite tame (ish) due to it being an inline 4..??
My mate has just passed and got a 03' cbr600 and he loves it That makes sense, I want to be sensible but get bored easily, what was the gs like power wise, not for flat out speed more so for riding at motorway speeds and acceleration as I'm not the lightest My mate has just passed and got a 03' cbr600 and he loves it, obviously supersports are going to quicker more fun but costs and looks come into it too
The GS 500 is a budget commuter and would be too small for you, i grew out of it quickly and I'm 5'7! Go into it thinking your first bike is a stepping stone to you next bike that's what I did and I have enjoyed each bike In different ways, whatever you choose, enjoy, ride safe to your capability and if you ride with other people ride your own ride not they're ride.
I passed on a DT250 years ago under the old testing regime which was a bit of a joke compared to today's system. I only bought the bike as a cheap alternative to the 10- mpg commute of the XJ12 I had at the time but was instantly bitten by the bug. It was some bite as I went straight out and bought a Z1300, £2300 (bank loan) from Bol'Dor Kawasaki in Doncaster. You could do that then, no cc or power limits to worry about, how times have changed. Can't remember how much the insurance was but it must've been less than you might imagine. That sounds like a recipe with a death wish but I got on well with the big 6 and was quite a staid rider in the early years. That all changed when I discovered sports bikes. Prior to the the new SS in June this year the smallest road bike I've ever owned was an early Fireblade at 893cc. Many will advise starting small but I would say it's down to the individual rider and finding a bike you're comfortable with is more important.