Starter bike - Which one and why?

boredatwork82

Another thread, I have been toying around with this idea, for a couple of years now, but I have got my license , my IBT , so the next step is to get my bike. I don't have a clue. I am 6'3" 21 stone.

Looking at bikes like below: what would you knowledgeable people boards think?

http://www.adverts.ie/car/bmw/other-bmw/bmw-f650-st/8380370

http://www.adverts.ie/car/honda/other-honda/honda-cb500/8286949

http://www.biker.ie/forum/showthread.php?t=224071


Thanks guys

Wonda-Boy

Honda CB500 in a heart beat, great bike to learn on even easier to service yourself and bullet proof engine. And sell it quick when finished.

gerrowadat

First bike, all reasonable choices. My advice is to go sit on them. I've had my heart set on a few bikes that literally have changed my mind after 2 seconds sitting on them. Test drive if you can, but doing so on a provisional is nigh impossible I'm afraid.

Drop into one of the larger places like bikeworld and they don't mind you sitting on the bikes, see what kinda thing you're looking for. Stick your feet up on the pegs, figure out if you like the stance. Especially with being a big lad you want to make sure there's loads of room -- I did IBT on an SV650 and my legs were cramping after an hour on it.

fatbast

i have a cb500 and a kle500, reckon you are too big for a cb at 6 foot 3 a kle or transalp or that bmw f650 would be better. my kle is on adverts its an 07 model 11k only on it.

cantdecide

Have a piddle about on this site. It'll give you an idea of how well you'll fit on most bikes.

I always advise noobs to figure out what bikes you actually would love to own- maybe they're beyond you for now but use it as a basis for figuring out what you like rather than deciding to buy a bike suitable for a noob that you'll only want to shift in 3 months time. My second bike ever was a GSX1400 and I still own it.

Wonda-Boy

He be grand on the CB its not for life, starter bike 6-8mths tops.

Cienciano

Personally I'd go with the KLE cos it's the coolest bike there :cool:
But you're big, go to a couple of bike shops and sit on a few bikes, see what's comfortable

Sebatron3

I'm in the same predicament, all be it a nice one, deciding what bike to buy. Any experienced biker that I ask says buy a Bandit 600. A safe fun beginners bike. Surprised it isn't in your list?! But I think there's good advice on here though; to go to Bike World and sit on them for stance. I'm 6'3'' too so some bikes would suit other people better.

Pugzilla

I would also recommend a CB500. So easy to ride and a great bike to build your confidence on. Extremely reliable and decent performance for a 'commuter' bike.

You might feel a bit too big for it though. Maybe an adventure style bike would be more suitable in your case.

zubair

KTR1C wrote: »

I'm 6ft4 myself and Id be in the same boat when it comes to finding bikes I can comfortably ride without setting them alight.

:eek:

KTR1C

zubair wrote: »

:eek:

Ah now !!! That's just mean

Jimmy Bottlehead

From my extremely limited experience, I'm loving the Super Four and it's my first bike. I'm six foot tall and I'd say I could have a few more inches of height and it'd still be fine. Might be worth checking out.

goodlad

KTR1C wrote: »

Ah now !!! That's just mean

And hilarious

BlackWizard

I'm 6'3" and I'm comfortable on the Fazer 600, Honda Deauville and ZZR1400.

The ZZR isn't very beginner friendly.

Cienciano

Sebatron3 wrote: »

I'm in the same predicament, all be it a nice one, deciding what bike to buy. Any experienced biker that I ask says buy a Bandit 600. A safe fun beginners bike. Surprised it isn't in your list?! But I think there's good advice on here though; to go to Bike World and sit on them for stance. I'm 6'3'' too so some bikes would suit other people better.

A good bike and probably plenty to choose from in the marketplace. I wouldn't recommend it purely because I just find it so boring! Not necessarily a bad thing if you're starting out, but hard to get excited about it if you've been riding for years. If I was going with a mid range suzuki, I'd go with an SV 650.
The 600 bandit is the silver 1.2 vw golf of bikes!

Ayrtonf7

Only after getting my CB500 on the road. Im 6 foot 3 as well. Bike fits comfortably enough (I could probably do with being an inch or two shorter) but then again that's after moving from a CB250 so its obviously going to feel a lot more comfortable.

With regards to performance the lads have said it all already. Reliable, easy to work on, not to shabby when it comes to power and youl have no problem selling it (if you ever want to). Also at €1000 its a lot cheaper than the other two options.

Skill Magill

I've couriered on both the cb500 and the f650,, for a tall chap the 650 is the one I'd go for, its got a wonderful amount of torque that the cb doesn't have, you can wheelie it! That said, its more expensive when things go wrong, and you'd dwarf the cb, knees level with ears sort of thing.

Sebatron3

Cienciano wrote: »

A good bike and probably plenty to choose from in the marketplace. I wouldn't recommend it purely because I just find it so boring! Not necessarily a bad thing if you're starting out, but hard to get excited about it if you've been riding for years. If I was going with a mid range suzuki, I'd go with an SV 650.
The 600 bandit is the silver 1.2 vw golf of bikes!

Having spent the evening reading posts about the Bandit 600 vs SV650 I can safely say i will be getting an SV650. There's a few second hand ones floating around online too. It will look great next to my black 1.6 vw golf! ;-)

Cienciano

Sebatron3 wrote: »

Having spent the evening reading posts about the Bandit 600 vs SV650 I can safely say i will be getting an SV650. There's a few second hand ones floating around online too. It will look great next to my black 1.6 vw golf! ;-)

Good choice, definitely a cooler bike :cool:
But go to somewhere like bikeworld if you can and sit on a few, or go to the link in cantdecide's post, handy site

zubair

Sebatron3 wrote: »

Having spent the evening reading posts about the Bandit 600 vs SV650 I can safely say i will be getting an SV650. There's a few second hand ones floating around online too. It will look great next to my black 1.6 vw golf! ;-)

Good choice, but then I'm biased . Any questions about the SV feel free to ask or send me a PM. Were you looking at the curvy or the pointy (a test to see if you've done your research )

Sebatron3

zubair wrote: »

Good choice, but then I'm biased . Any questions about the SV feel free to ask or send me a PM. Were you looking at the curvy or the pointy (a test to see if you've done your research )

Hey Zubair, curvy or pointy? Ok it seems I failed the test. I know that SV650 is a less sporty version, more naked even, and the SV650s is sportier with fairings. Am I on the right track? But which is the curvy and which is the pointy?!

goodlad

2004 and up on the S version is pointy