Which Bike for a Fat Boy...?
Discussion
Thinking of doing a direct access course to get a full bike licence in time for summer...
When (if) I pass, what bike do I look for...?
I'm 35, male, Police Officer with advanced Police car permit, 7+ years no claims on the car insurance, and drive a Volvo V70 2.5 turbo (Sorry!)
I want something that's good to commute to work, has a bit of poke, but won't kill me, and is cheap(ish) to insure. Sports/tourer maybe - comfort's a consideration...
All advice gratefully received.
Cheers
When (if) I pass, what bike do I look for...?
I'm 35, male, Police Officer with advanced Police car permit, 7+ years no claims on the car insurance, and drive a Volvo V70 2.5 turbo (Sorry!)
I want something that's good to commute to work, has a bit of poke, but won't kill me, and is cheap(ish) to insure. Sports/tourer maybe - comfort's a consideration...
All advice gratefully received.
Cheers
Triumph Tiger.
Comfier than any sport tourer, fast enough to mix it with the big boys, fantastic in traffic due to wide bars and a view over the cars, and a grin-maker in the twisties, fairly cheap insurance , excellent luggage carrying capacity and comfy for a pillion and it's British dammit
Caveat Emptor: I am very biased due to running the list below (and owning 2 tigers)
www.tigerlist.org
>> Edited by barry sheene on Saturday 1st May 01:13
Comfier than any sport tourer, fast enough to mix it with the big boys, fantastic in traffic due to wide bars and a view over the cars, and a grin-maker in the twisties, fairly cheap insurance , excellent luggage carrying capacity and comfy for a pillion and it's British dammit
Caveat Emptor: I am very biased due to running the list below (and owning 2 tigers)
www.tigerlist.org
>> Edited by barry sheene on Saturday 1st May 01:13
WMHV70 said:
What the hell does FZ6 mean?!
Yamaha FZ6
see
http://tinyurl.com/3d7m8
For a first bike (regardless of what I've said
you'd be better sticking to something with 600 cc's or less as the insurance is very cheap and no matter what you _will_ end up dropping/falling off it at some point... so the FZ6 looks like quite a good suggestion.
Other you might want to look at depending on what size you are/what sort of bike lights your candle are
BMW F650 (GS or Dakar) - traillie but and excellent street/commuting tool as well.
Suzuki SV650 - like the fz6 upright street bike
Honda CBR600 - sports/all rounder
Triumph Daytona 600 - sport/all rounder with a lovely triple engine
>> Edited by barry sheene on Saturday 1st May 13:34
My vote would be the SV650 (not at all biased)
Did my test on the BMW650CS and I prefer the v-twin to the BMW single cylinder. Plus of the BM is that the oil is stored higher up the body so it keeps you nice and warm on cold days.
No experience on a Fazer (FZ6) so can't compare but I've heard that 4 cyl engines are less friendly for new bikers than a v-twin. Those are the reasons I made my choice, anyway.
) Did my test on the BMW650CS and I prefer the v-twin to the BMW single cylinder. Plus of the BM is that the oil is stored higher up the body so it keeps you nice and warm on cold days.
No experience on a Fazer (FZ6) so can't compare but I've heard that 4 cyl engines are less friendly for new bikers than a v-twin. Those are the reasons I made my choice, anyway.
torquey, its a pissin 2.3 litre engine for 
WMHV70 said:
OK, perhaps I should have added I know absolutely NOTHING about bikes...
What the hell does FZ6 mean?!
Okay, sorry.
As stated the FZ6 is Yamaha's FZ600, aka Fazer. Used to use a modified Thundercat (also suggested) engine in a basic steel frame c/w half-fairing. The latest version (just released) used the engine off the sportier R6 but suffers in low-down and midrange because of it, thought the underseat exhausts look nice. The trade off with those is no underseat storage of course.
The Thundercat is quite a good suggestion, though by virtue of being fully faired the insurance is a group or two higher. A much better choice than the ageing ZZr though. A similar choice based on insurance grouping would be an older Honda CBR600. Older as they were less track-focused, so perhaps more suitable in this respect.
The Suzuki SV650 I discounted for you in the first place as, with your experience and road skills, I suspect you would surpass the abilities of the bike fairly quickly and want to 'upgrade' to something else fairly soon, so wasting money on trade-ins etc. A good bike in itself, but fairly underpowered against the four-cylinder competition. Perhaps a 'better' bike than the 600 Bandit, also from Suzuki, which lacks the 'character'
of the bigger 1200 Bandit, though with a good following of its own amongst new riders. Trawl the web, find a few local bike meets and ask around what owners think, how the bike stands up to expectations, what goes wrong/right.....we're an open lot when you talk to us (without flashing your lights at us first!
)As an experienced biker of 9 months, so not knowing very much really, I'd happily go for a BMW F650GS.
Did my test on one and it was a great first bike. Economical, reliable and cheap to insure.
It was recommended to me by another guy on PH last year.
>> Edited by Davel on Tuesday 4th May 12:57
>> Edited by Davel on Tuesday 4th May 12:58
Did my test on one and it was a great first bike. Economical, reliable and cheap to insure.
It was recommended to me by another guy on PH last year.
>> Edited by Davel on Tuesday 4th May 12:57
>> Edited by Davel on Tuesday 4th May 12:58
barry sheene said:
Triumph Daytona 600 - sport/all rounder with a lovely triple engine
>> Edited by barry sheene on Saturday 1st May 13:34
Actually, the Daytona has an IL4 engine ;-)
I'd go for a Triumph Speed Triple. Loads of omph but without a fairing (as they are for fags ;-) ) The lack of fairing will allow you to have fun but keep your license as it gets a bit breezy above 100ish for any amount of time.... (so i've heard)
tonyrec said:
I would concur with 954 girlie here and say a Honda VFR800 or an earlier VFR750.
Both superb and will do want you want and more..........however, you should push the boat out and buy a Fireblade,lol.
>> Edited by tonyrec on Sunday 2nd May 11:16
Tonyrec, a newbie on a blade, are you trying to eliminate the BiB competition on here??
Gassing Station | Biker Banter | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff