First Bike after passing your mod 2
Discussion
Hi Everyone,
In the fortunate position of having passed by Mod 2 last week and I am itching to get a new bike and I am a little confused on what to get.
Some quick background about me is I have wanted to ride for over 15 years and never quite got round to it/also knew deep down I wasn't mature enough to yield. I am now 36yo family man if that helps picture my current frame of mind for anyone.
As soon as I knew I wanted to really go ahead with this I bought a 125cc 2 months ago and started to use it and practice on it, day 2 I was pretty bored, great around town and that is about it.
Done my Mod 2 on a MT07 and it felt lovely and always looked forward to getting back on one in my lessons.
I am now at a stage I don't want to buy a bike that I will quickly get bored of and not want to use but I also don't want to get silly and get a bike that will bite me.
I am looking for advise on what bike below should be off my radar and if anyone has a bike that should be on my radar ( I do lean towards super sports style looking bikes)
MT07 - I liked it very much but just doesn't make me look back
R7 - Seems to be a sportier version of the MT07 but safe enough option and I like the looks which is important to me
Aprilia RS660 - I know this is on the upper limit of first bike but I like the fact is can come with so many rider aids including cornering ABS that I BELIEVE can be useful
Initially I was looking at a ninja 400 or a cbr500r but I am now concerned that they will be a 3-4 month and I will be bored again looking for something bigger and wasting time, money and effort.
I am also conscious about the fact that you do always drop your first bike and I also don't want to be naive and think I won't so need to take this into account to some extent.
At the moment the R7 is in the running unless someone has experience to say its a bad idea
In the fortunate position of having passed by Mod 2 last week and I am itching to get a new bike and I am a little confused on what to get.
Some quick background about me is I have wanted to ride for over 15 years and never quite got round to it/also knew deep down I wasn't mature enough to yield. I am now 36yo family man if that helps picture my current frame of mind for anyone.
As soon as I knew I wanted to really go ahead with this I bought a 125cc 2 months ago and started to use it and practice on it, day 2 I was pretty bored, great around town and that is about it.
Done my Mod 2 on a MT07 and it felt lovely and always looked forward to getting back on one in my lessons.
I am now at a stage I don't want to buy a bike that I will quickly get bored of and not want to use but I also don't want to get silly and get a bike that will bite me.
I am looking for advise on what bike below should be off my radar and if anyone has a bike that should be on my radar ( I do lean towards super sports style looking bikes)
MT07 - I liked it very much but just doesn't make me look back
R7 - Seems to be a sportier version of the MT07 but safe enough option and I like the looks which is important to me
Aprilia RS660 - I know this is on the upper limit of first bike but I like the fact is can come with so many rider aids including cornering ABS that I BELIEVE can be useful
Initially I was looking at a ninja 400 or a cbr500r but I am now concerned that they will be a 3-4 month and I will be bored again looking for something bigger and wasting time, money and effort.
I am also conscious about the fact that you do always drop your first bike and I also don't want to be naive and think I won't so need to take this into account to some extent.
At the moment the R7 is in the running unless someone has experience to say its a bad idea
Edited by Chamon_Lee on Sunday 3rd September 11:03
Edited by Chamon_Lee on Sunday 3rd September 11:08
LunarOne said:

Just take them all out for a test ride, I was in the same position and changed my mind from what I thought I wanted to what I ended up with after actually riding a few bikes. Of those though I'd go RS660, I was thinking of one as a second bike but didn't think it was enough of a step up from my first,but really enjoyed the test ride and like you say it has all the electronics and tech you could want. I wouldn't buy a bike with an up/down quickshifter if a similar bike had one.
Chamon_Lee said:
Slowboathome said:
I've had an MT07 for 7 years.
I agree it's an ugly f
ker, but it's bloody good fun to ride.
Lol! Yeah it’s no looker and it’s no shocker either but agreed I found it bloody great fun. However looks are really important for me too. So it’s a real stumbling block. I agree it's an ugly f

7 years ago it was the best bike for me - absolute no brainer - but if I was buying now I'd probably make a different decision.
Go for the bike that gives you good feelings.
Mine was (and still is) a Triumph Tiger 800, the road version rather than the off-road variant.
It's well-built, does everything I need, and has more than enough power for me. I did my DAS on an MT-07 (7 years ago) and much prefer the Tiger. In terms of downsides, it can be a bit top-heavy, and main dealer pricing is steep, but I used a well-known independent for servicing. Gen 1 bikes (2011-2014) can be had from around £3.5k. Gen 2 bikes (2015-2017) added various electronics and Gen 3 bikes (2018-2021) added more electronics including a TFT display.
It's well-built, does everything I need, and has more than enough power for me. I did my DAS on an MT-07 (7 years ago) and much prefer the Tiger. In terms of downsides, it can be a bit top-heavy, and main dealer pricing is steep, but I used a well-known independent for servicing. Gen 1 bikes (2011-2014) can be had from around £3.5k. Gen 2 bikes (2015-2017) added various electronics and Gen 3 bikes (2018-2021) added more electronics including a TFT display.
Congrats!!!
Something with 94-100 bhp minimum that is easy to sell on when your bored of it come spring next year!
CB650R and street triples have been great learner bikes. I have found Honda bakers most easiest to manouvre. XSR900 was a good shout too I suspect !
Love the ninja 1000 sx but it’s prob a bit quick and slightly harder to manouvre when starting out.
Something with 94-100 bhp minimum that is easy to sell on when your bored of it come spring next year!
CB650R and street triples have been great learner bikes. I have found Honda bakers most easiest to manouvre. XSR900 was a good shout too I suspect !
Love the ninja 1000 sx but it’s prob a bit quick and slightly harder to manouvre when starting out.
I was in a similar position about a month ago after passing my Mod 2. I did my tests on an sv650 which was a nice bike but the looks didn't do it for me. I looked at loads of bikes online, changing my mind every other day. In the end I bought an MT07, after doing around 300 miles on it I can't see myself getting bored with it.
Whatever you get, you'll enjoy it and it will be a learning curve
I think they look pretty good, although I'm obviously biased!

Whatever you get, you'll enjoy it and it will be a learning curve
I think they look pretty good, although I'm obviously biased!

Congrats on passing your test – welcome to the club!
Enjoy the bike, whichever you decide to buy
Chamon_Lee said:
At the moment the R7 is in the running unless someone has experience to say its a bad idea
The bike choice matters less than how much training you do to boost your skills, such as BikeSafe, Blue Riband and Rapid Training.Enjoy the bike, whichever you decide to buy

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