Bike for a returning biker.
Discussion
Passed my test when I was 18, had a GPZ 600 as my first big bike, then a ZZR600 then an NC30 and finally a ZX6 before children came along. Fast forward 18 yrs, I'm 51 and thinking seriously about buying a bike again. Out of my old bikes I look back most fondly at my NC400, for me it was the most fun because of the way it handled, despite the 600's being faster.
The bike I keep coming back to is a Honda CB500F, the 2022MY. My reasoning is that its perfect for someone like me, right at the bottom of the learning curve, reviews suggest that its fun, which is what I'm after, just the fun of being back on two wheels again, I'm not bothered one bit about not having the fastest thing.
I do have a couple of friends with bikes, one has recommended something like a BMW S1000 as he says the electronics will look after inexperienced me ,and the other friend can see the sense of the 500 but thinks the lack of go will quickly become frustrating.
Just wondering what peoples opinions are?
Cheers .
The bike I keep coming back to is a Honda CB500F, the 2022MY. My reasoning is that its perfect for someone like me, right at the bottom of the learning curve, reviews suggest that its fun, which is what I'm after, just the fun of being back on two wheels again, I'm not bothered one bit about not having the fastest thing.
I do have a couple of friends with bikes, one has recommended something like a BMW S1000 as he says the electronics will look after inexperienced me ,and the other friend can see the sense of the 500 but thinks the lack of go will quickly become frustrating.
Just wondering what peoples opinions are?
Cheers .
There's no right answer. Having gone through something similar I tend towards agreeing with your second friend more and suggest something around 600-900, things like SV650's and MT07's have enough performance to be fun yet docile enough controls to forgive hamfisted inputs.
But the only correct answer is to get a bike you want to ride.
But the only correct answer is to get a bike you want to ride.
italian job said:
Passed my test when I was 18, had a GPZ 600 as my first big bike, then a ZZR600 then an NC30 and finally a ZX6 before children came along. Fast forward 18 yrs, I'm 51 and thinking seriously about buying a bike again. Out of my old bikes I look back most fondly at my NC400, for me it was the most fun because of the way it handled, despite the 600's being faster.
The bike I keep coming back to is a Honda CB500F, the 2022MY. My reasoning is that its perfect for someone like me, right at the bottom of the learning curve, reviews suggest that its fun, which is what I'm after, just the fun of being back on two wheels again, I'm not bothered one bit about not having the fastest thing.
I do have a couple of friends with bikes, one has recommended something like a BMW S1000 as he says the electronics will look after inexperienced me ,and the other friend can see the sense of the 500 but thinks the lack of go will quickly become frustrating.
Just wondering what peoples opinions are?
Cheers .
I'd suggest having a real think about what kind of rides you want to do.The bike I keep coming back to is a Honda CB500F, the 2022MY. My reasoning is that its perfect for someone like me, right at the bottom of the learning curve, reviews suggest that its fun, which is what I'm after, just the fun of being back on two wheels again, I'm not bothered one bit about not having the fastest thing.
I do have a couple of friends with bikes, one has recommended something like a BMW S1000 as he says the electronics will look after inexperienced me ,and the other friend can see the sense of the 500 but thinks the lack of go will quickly become frustrating.
Just wondering what peoples opinions are?
Cheers .
Obviously you've had quick bikes in the past, but there's a world of choice from riding a 250 trail bike around the lanes, touring on an adventure bike, riding like a loon on a real sports bike etc.
There's a lot of people around with very fast 1000cc bikes, but in the real world, how much time do they spend going faster than a touring 500 would go?
Your mates may be embarrassed when you turn up only 30 seconds after they do on a 30 mile ride.
OTOH, big soft bikes are easy to ride, it's true you can push your luck trying to keep up if your bike is really slow, like the 250 I had when I was young.
I'd say get test rides on diverse bikes. Bloke I worked with in your position bought a BMW R9T and loves it. Another has a big KTM., that suits him well enough.
I did the same about 2 years ago. I sold my ZRX400 in when I was 26 back in 1997 to use the funds for a house deposit, expecting to get another bike soon but that didn't happen.
At he start of the pandemic I decided that I needed to ride again, but I was concerned how rusty I would be. I took a test ride on a KTM790 Duke and was stunned at how far bikes and tyres had evolved. I was happier with naked as it was more comfortable and easier on my wrists. I'm pretty sure the electronics saved my arse a couple of times in the first 1000 miles, so I'd say a bike with a 6 axis IMU is a good bet.
I've loved it and swapped the 790 for a 1290 Superduke when the 790 was in for its first service
Go and test ride a bike and see how you feel after. I bet it won't take long before you have one in the garage
At he start of the pandemic I decided that I needed to ride again, but I was concerned how rusty I would be. I took a test ride on a KTM790 Duke and was stunned at how far bikes and tyres had evolved. I was happier with naked as it was more comfortable and easier on my wrists. I'm pretty sure the electronics saved my arse a couple of times in the first 1000 miles, so I'd say a bike with a 6 axis IMU is a good bet.
I've loved it and swapped the 790 for a 1290 Superduke when the 790 was in for its first service
Go and test ride a bike and see how you feel after. I bet it won't take long before you have one in the garage
It depends what you want to do. Commute? Weekend fun? Long distance? B roads?
I still have a re-yearning for a motorbike, it never leaves you (even after retirement - perhaps it even gets stronger.
For me, if I went back, it would be for short journeys, or B road wandering (not blasts). The ease of just pulling over to stop anywhere has great appeal.
Bikes? Well, there is of course electric bikes, such as the Zero range. Expensive and not particularly visceral. Probably an ‘adventure’ bike would be my choice, I always fancied a V4 Honda. My personal choice would be a Honda of some flavour. Sat Navs and automatics are available options, of course.
I still have a re-yearning for a motorbike, it never leaves you (even after retirement - perhaps it even gets stronger.
For me, if I went back, it would be for short journeys, or B road wandering (not blasts). The ease of just pulling over to stop anywhere has great appeal.
Bikes? Well, there is of course electric bikes, such as the Zero range. Expensive and not particularly visceral. Probably an ‘adventure’ bike would be my choice, I always fancied a V4 Honda. My personal choice would be a Honda of some flavour. Sat Navs and automatics are available options, of course.
It sounds like you got more fun from handling than you did from just pure speed, so I'd that's still the case, look for something slower or smaller capacity again, but that gives a great sensation of speed. It's also less likely to bite if you do make an error with the acceleration input.
The rider training is always a good shout, worth looking at any Police run Bikesafe days in your area perhaps? Really good for road riding!
Good luck with whatever bike you end up with (but if you want to revisit old haunts, I'm selling my NC30...
)
The rider training is always a good shout, worth looking at any Police run Bikesafe days in your area perhaps? Really good for road riding!
Good luck with whatever bike you end up with (but if you want to revisit old haunts, I'm selling my NC30...
) 
t out of me to start with.italian job said:
at the moment a test ride is a pretty daunting prospect.....dont laugh....
Get a couple of refresher lessons in with a riding school. I done a couple hours after a good break just to get the feel for things again. As others have said there’s plenty of middleweights out there to choose from that are both easy enough to ride and docile and wil give enough power to make easy progress past cars aswell.Having done similar recently - I'd suggest reading up, go to a large indie and sit on a load of them
Buy something that you won't lose much money on because it isn't until you've ridden for a while that you'll know what you like
I'd recommend a 600 naked as a starting point in your position - MT07, ER6N, Ducati Scrambler etc
Buy something that you won't lose much money on because it isn't until you've ridden for a while that you'll know what you like
I'd recommend a 600 naked as a starting point in your position - MT07, ER6N, Ducati Scrambler etc
Really appreciate the responses... plenty to think about...should have said from the outset, what ever I have will be for fun, ride outs with friends and hopefully longer road trips in the future. I'll definately do the training first then spend some time sitting on stuff in dealerships prior to test rides. Thanks again.
italian job said:
Possibly a good idea to sign up for some training as a first step, then a test ride might actually be worthwhile, at the moment a test ride is a pretty daunting prospect.....dont laugh....(0
I had a session before getting back on a bike. The instructor suggested I go out on the road on a bigger 70 bhp bike after some of the exercise ground stuff like riding slowly beside the instructor as they walked along. I found it really useful and fun. I'd recommend it.italian job said:
Out of my old bikes I look back most fondly at my NC400, for me it was the most fun because of the way it handled, despite the 600's being faster.
Neevsy in the link said:
It handles really nice.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mrx2U0DcOHQThe elephant in the room at 6 mins. 30 secs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C29rLm5624o
BvG in 44 Teeth review said:
Really flickable. Feels fast turning and a lot of fun.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGgl5-GBS4UExceeding your CB500 budget but as you said you loved the handling of your NC400.
Neevsy in the link references faster 600s said:
A pure, intense fun bike for the road.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8m8MRE0vGAA VFR400 (NC24 I think) owner initiated a chat with me last autumn but I don't know how KTM Dukes that feel very responsive to me compare with a VFR400.
Edited by carinaman on Sunday 27th March 00:25
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