Bobber style first bike?

cmyk

Just wondering can someone help me out with the pros and cons of going for a bike like this as a learner, looking for instance at something like these...

http://www.adverts.ie/car/honda/other-honda/honda-vt600-shadow/999560
http://www.donedeal.ie/for-sale/motorbikes/2746157

I've had insurance quotes on the standard version of the bikes themselves, but are they effectively uninsurable in this sort of guise?

unklerosco

I converted my bike to a bobber and there's no difference to it's handling or performance. It's the same as the std bike. I gave all the mods I did to my insurer as I wanted the bike covered with all the extra work that was done on it...

Why don't u buy a std bike and mod it urself? That way u get the exact bike u want...

Mine before


and after

unclebill98

I absolutely adore that conversion.

cmyk

So do I, it's a beautiful job, I'd seen it in the owners thread. I just don't think I have the mechanical knowhow to do something like that, basic as it may be.

unklerosco

It's really not that hard.. helps if u have a garage and a dad that's been working on bikes since he was 12 but I worked on as much of it as I could with my basic skills.

eurofoxy

can i ask where you got the idea...everytime i see it i drool..

but to the op if you don't have riding experience don't get a bike that can't be dropped once or twice...
you might say it won't happen that you are careful, but it will... so my advice is get something that you don't mind dropping then in a few months when you have a good bit of confidence you can get the bike you want...

cmyk

eurofoxy wrote: »

can i ask where you got the idea...everytime i see it i drool..

but to the op if you don't have riding experience don't get a bike that can't be dropped once or twice...
you might say it won't happen that you are careful, but it will... so my advice is get something that you don't mind dropping then in a few months when you have a good bit of confidence you can get the bike you want...

Thanks eurofoxy, I have a low enough budget not to be able to afford anything too precious.

eurofoxy

you don't have to have a big budget, my first bike was a ninja 250, 1month after buying it i dropped it, ok it was my fault but i wanted to have it fixed...it was not cheap...

my gf dropped her virago 600 not all that long ago and now has a lovely dent in her pipes and a few scratches, but she does not care as it was only ever bought for her to learn on...so if it was me i would buy something you don't mind a few dents in, then when you get the confidence etc you can get what you want, or do what ever you like to the bike rather than buying a sweet ride straight off...

unklerosco

eurofoxy wrote: »

can i ask where you got the idea...everytime i see it i drool..

I saw a bobber on youtube one day and wanted one so I spent ages online reading up about em... The design changed a few times, www.madclowndesign.com did the paint and kept throwing different ideas at me till we came up with the one u see...

unklerosco

Gotta agree with eurofoxies points... The paint on mine cost half what the bike cost me, dropping it would not be fun...

Cedrus

The VT600 is on the large side for a learner but there are smaller options around. If you're keen on an inline V2, try and get a water cooled one, they don't look as good IMO but the back cylinder on an air cooled can suffer from overheating and if you're a newbie you might wreck it before you identify the noise. The low centre of gravity means dropping it will be harder and the seat height means that you can get both feet on the ground even if you're a shortarse. The low clearance means that you have to be careful with kerbs, potholes, grass down the middle of the road & about 1/3 of the roads in ireland, Same as all bikes just more so. If you only want a starter bike with a view to upgrade ASAP it might better to get a less specialised / more boring configuration that will be easier to sell on.