Blademonkey
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Here is a pic of my old Z650, sadly no longer in my possession however I would like the new Kawasaki Z900.
Paul.
What motorcycle do you or would you have?
- Thread starter Brennain1
- Start date
Here is a pic of my old Z650, sadly no longer in my possession however I would like the new Kawasaki Z900.
Paul.
ashwinbalachandran
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I have a 2016 Bonneville T100 with a bunch of mods ! Absolutely love it!
ashwinbalachandran
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This is my ride!
Vacumatic
Testy
A handsome bike, and in the style of the 500 Triumph Daytona of the 1960s
I like the full size front mudguard keeping all the rain and mud off a clean engine, the modern sports bikes have tiny plastic guards that protect nothing at all.
Wickham-Soap-Co
Happy Shaving!
I would love to have this Café Racer. https://www.bikebound.com/2023/03/07/the-graduate/
Something of motorbike interest. I stumbled on Sarah Lezito's YouTube account the other day, and it's certainly worth the share, enjoy!
https://www.youtube.com/@lezitow
Something of motorbike interest. I stumbled on Sarah Lezito's YouTube account the other day, and it's certainly worth the share, enjoy!
https://www.youtube.com/@lezitow
ok so I have started doing motorbike lessons, with the intention of working towards a full licence (tests already booked for end of March!)
My riding instructor is selling his Triumph Tiger 800 XCA and says I can buy it if I want. The size is ideal considering my height.
The Honda CB650R is also a consideration for a first bike.
My riding instructor is selling his Triumph Tiger 800 XCA and says I can buy it if I want. The size is ideal considering my height.
The Honda CB650R is also a consideration for a first bike.
Cheesepiece
Stickler
If you feel comfortable doing a deal with your instructor and the bike fits then sounds good.
Vacumatic
Testy
You have to love the looks of any bike that you want to buy and that is an individual decision. If you want to just ride on road then your decision is straightforward.
For me it would be the Honda, I have owned a Honda 650-4 amongst five Hondas and well over 250,000 miles, the engineering quality is very special.
One bit of advice is to change the oil often, including a first change at 1000 miles or less.
culcreuch
Forum GOD!
Personally I would go for the Honda. I am a volunteer in an organisation which puts up a LOT of mileage on motorcycles. Recently we purchased 2 new Hondas to replace a Honda and a Triumph 900. As far as the older bikes were concerned....the Honda just worked and kept on working. The Triumph had problems...both electrical and mechanical. Things like having to replace the front discs after every 20 thousand miles. OK for a casual rider but not a workhorse. An instructor bike probably has a high mileage so I would be careful.
Driftwood
Forum GOD!
Two entirely different bikes, the Tiger is a touring/off road capable bike, tall and top heavy. The 650r is much lower, a modern retro road cruiser and ideal for urban/ twisty back roads.
Im a little more inclined to get the Honda, as my car is a Honda civic, with near 166,000 miles to it with hardly any issues. I know the Japanese vehicles have a reputation for reliability whereas I am unfamiliar with Triumphs reliability.
I quite like the adventure bikes, as I am tall. The riding school has the MT-07's and the tiger felt better than the Yamaha, but the Yamaha was still comfortable. I will visit the Honda dealer to have a sit on a CB650r at some point (perhaps a test ride once ive passed my tests)
One day...Still have my two KTM's but I am being seduced by all the social media about the BMW R 1300 GS
hotmetal
Forum GOD!
@karlc
Congrats on getting into biking. There now follows a long rambling info dump which may or may not help!
I am a 32" inside leg and have been riding for decades. Spent last 10 years on a Triumph Street Triple 675R. Before that I had a gen 1 Fazer 1000. The Street Triple is huge fun, light, a bit small if you're really tall but for a 5'9" like me it was perfect. The 675 Triple engine is sublime and flatters new riders as well as giving those downsizing from litre class enough to keep them entertained. Weak point is the charging system on the 675/800 triples. If the alternator has had a racing engine protector fitted it may overheat, ditto if aftermarket electrical accessories are fitted. The 800 Tiger is a 675 engine with longer stroke but less fun. Especially if its been an instructor bike it may have high mileage and heated grips. Heated grips are nice but add an extra load to the charging system which is already borderline. The Tiger with the larger front wheel is a compromise on the road. The one with both wheels 17" will handle better on tarmac. After a Street Triple 675, the Tiger 800 felt boring though. Hence i went Tracer 900GT (which isn't a first bike IMO). A Street triple is good for new and experienced riders alike so long as you don't overload or overheat the stator.
I now ride a Yamaha Tracer 900GT. This is tall, heavier, stacks of torque and power, with "rider modes" to help people with less throttle control, as well as ABS and traction control, all of which I grew up without but which might be good for a newer rider. I think the 900GT is really a bit much for a new rider but the Tracer 700 should be an excellent all-rounder and Yamaha do have a good reliability and build quality. I've had 4 Yamaha bikes and put over 100,000 miles on (60k on my FZR600R, 30k and 25k on my 2 x FZS1000s, and 4k on the Tracer I got in June). The remaining mileage I've done on Kawasakis (ZX6R J2 and GPz500S). I didn't get on with them. (YMMV!)
I can't say much about the Honda as I've only ridden 2 Hondas, an old CBR600F and an Africa Twin AS. The ATAS was bouncy and dull on the road as well as being too big. Good if you live in the Sahara or you're 6 foot 8 though. The CBR600F was faultless but struck me as being so good it lacked 'character'. Bikes are a mixture of head and heart, but you have to find a bike that excites you and is also not dodgy. First bikes always get dropped or crashed, so don't blow a fortune on your dream bike, get one that's good for a new rider, learn what's what and what kind of riding you end up doing, then let your second bike be the one you really love and keep for years. Just my twopenn'orth. The Honda may well be a really good bike to get good on, if its not too small for you.
It's also worth saying that it's more fun making a small bike go fast, than buying a missile and keeping it in check. That was partly why I downsized from FZS1000 to Street triple 675R.
And as soon as you've passed, it is WELL worth joining an IAM or RoSPA advanced riding group. If I had learnt what they taught me earlier, I would have had more fun and at least one crash less.
Congrats on getting into biking. There now follows a long rambling info dump which may or may not help!
I am a 32" inside leg and have been riding for decades. Spent last 10 years on a Triumph Street Triple 675R. Before that I had a gen 1 Fazer 1000. The Street Triple is huge fun, light, a bit small if you're really tall but for a 5'9" like me it was perfect. The 675 Triple engine is sublime and flatters new riders as well as giving those downsizing from litre class enough to keep them entertained. Weak point is the charging system on the 675/800 triples. If the alternator has had a racing engine protector fitted it may overheat, ditto if aftermarket electrical accessories are fitted. The 800 Tiger is a 675 engine with longer stroke but less fun. Especially if its been an instructor bike it may have high mileage and heated grips. Heated grips are nice but add an extra load to the charging system which is already borderline. The Tiger with the larger front wheel is a compromise on the road. The one with both wheels 17" will handle better on tarmac. After a Street Triple 675, the Tiger 800 felt boring though. Hence i went Tracer 900GT (which isn't a first bike IMO). A Street triple is good for new and experienced riders alike so long as you don't overload or overheat the stator.
I now ride a Yamaha Tracer 900GT. This is tall, heavier, stacks of torque and power, with "rider modes" to help people with less throttle control, as well as ABS and traction control, all of which I grew up without but which might be good for a newer rider. I think the 900GT is really a bit much for a new rider but the Tracer 700 should be an excellent all-rounder and Yamaha do have a good reliability and build quality. I've had 4 Yamaha bikes and put over 100,000 miles on (60k on my FZR600R, 30k and 25k on my 2 x FZS1000s, and 4k on the Tracer I got in June). The remaining mileage I've done on Kawasakis (ZX6R J2 and GPz500S). I didn't get on with them. (YMMV!)
I can't say much about the Honda as I've only ridden 2 Hondas, an old CBR600F and an Africa Twin AS. The ATAS was bouncy and dull on the road as well as being too big. Good if you live in the Sahara or you're 6 foot 8 though. The CBR600F was faultless but struck me as being so good it lacked 'character'. Bikes are a mixture of head and heart, but you have to find a bike that excites you and is also not dodgy. First bikes always get dropped or crashed, so don't blow a fortune on your dream bike, get one that's good for a new rider, learn what's what and what kind of riding you end up doing, then let your second bike be the one you really love and keep for years. Just my twopenn'orth. The Honda may well be a really good bike to get good on, if its not too small for you.
It's also worth saying that it's more fun making a small bike go fast, than buying a missile and keeping it in check. That was partly why I downsized from FZS1000 to Street triple 675R.
And as soon as you've passed, it is WELL worth joining an IAM or RoSPA advanced riding group. If I had learnt what they taught me earlier, I would have had more fun and at least one crash less.
Vacumatic
Testy
That comment rang true, I once had a 500 Honda at the same time as a 650 BSA. The Honda was sublime, the BSA was a nightmare, a ride a bit fix a bit bike. But that BSA holds all the best memories.
I worry about new riders on powerful machines, there are so many nutcase drivers around that you have to think what they might do in addition to riding safely. So many times when people said to me after a near miss, 'Sorry, I didn't see you', or spilt diesel on roundabouts or people pulling out of a junction and expecting you to brake because you would be worse off in an accident.
hotmetal
Forum GOD!
Some things (e.g. SMIDSY, diesel spills) apply equally to all sizes of bike. Also some driver behaviours.
Where size of bike and/or engine becomes critical is things like wet (or indeed oily) roads, where having too much power and not enough throttle sensitivity, 6th sense for tyre grip etc becomes a factor. Or indeed having a bike that 'eggs you on' to ride faster than your skills and experience allow. That's where power vs experience is the factor. Sheer size/weight can apply to bikes which might be low but heavy (cruiser?) or too tall (typically the Adventure category) when a new rider might not have the balance down as second nature.
I know a guy who had watched all the Ewan n Charley films and wanted to follow suit. I tried to get him to get a Transalp 650 after his test which he did on an ER6. But he *had* to have a BMW 1150GSA. He dropped it so many times and damaged not only his bike (and ego) but also cars parked nearby (tried to mount a kerb to park, lost balance, stuck the handlebars through the bonnet of a client's Mini in the works car park!)
He sold it after 2 months and never rode again. Took a hit on the GS, the matching suit, helmet, boots etc worn 10 times, the whole licence training and his riding confidence with it. Real shame as if he'd started right on something more appropriate like the Transalp or XT660 he'd probably be still riding that GS today.
Where size of bike and/or engine becomes critical is things like wet (or indeed oily) roads, where having too much power and not enough throttle sensitivity, 6th sense for tyre grip etc becomes a factor. Or indeed having a bike that 'eggs you on' to ride faster than your skills and experience allow. That's where power vs experience is the factor. Sheer size/weight can apply to bikes which might be low but heavy (cruiser?) or too tall (typically the Adventure category) when a new rider might not have the balance down as second nature.
I know a guy who had watched all the Ewan n Charley films and wanted to follow suit. I tried to get him to get a Transalp 650 after his test which he did on an ER6. But he *had* to have a BMW 1150GSA. He dropped it so many times and damaged not only his bike (and ego) but also cars parked nearby (tried to mount a kerb to park, lost balance, stuck the handlebars through the bonnet of a client's Mini in the works car park!)
He sold it after 2 months and never rode again. Took a hit on the GS, the matching suit, helmet, boots etc worn 10 times, the whole licence training and his riding confidence with it. Real shame as if he'd started right on something more appropriate like the Transalp or XT660 he'd probably be still riding that GS today.