Newbie - What should I do?

[andycuk101]

Hiya All

First post, but here goes. Its a bit of a long one, but got a few questions couldnt find in the forums.

I am just about to do my DAS next month and can't wait. However, I am finding it somewhat tricky to get advice.

I have never riden before but I love the look of the SV650. First question therefore is, will this bike be beyond my control?

Secondly, are bikes really suitable for all year round? I have a car but don't think I can afford to keep both. This leads me to the next question...... Are there any insurance companies that do dual insurance, ie 6 months on each? As I can't find any.

As for my DAS, they are offering me £600 for the full lot, including my theory test and the books I need etc for it. Is this is a good price, as there are just so many instructors near to where I live. They also mentioned that I wouldnt need any gear, as they like to give you advice during the training, so you don't buy wrong stuff. Is this really true?

This leads me to the final questions.........gear. Can anyone recommend a good lid for under £100?

If you've read this far, then I thank you. Its quite difficult these days to actually get the exact advice you need. I've trailled through this forum (Which is the best I have seen.....(Thumbs Up to the Mods :wink: ) I've managed to answer most questions, but these are my remainders.

Many thanks, I'm looking forward to a long future on an SV.

Cheers


Andy

[tricky]

Hi Andy

Well I can answer one question for you

Is the SV suitable suitable as a first bike - Yes, very much so, a lot of people on this forum (myself included) have or have had SV's as first bikes.
Treat it with buckets of respect though cos its a darn site quicker than the gs500/cb500/er5 that you will probably do your DAS on.

Good luck :)

[Mr Toad]

'ow do :D


First question therefore is, will this bike be beyond my control?


The throttle works both ways :wink: . Try and pretend you're running it in - so for the first 500-600 miles, don't exceed 5,000 revs, take it easy, enjoy trundling around on it rather than pushing the envelope. After that, start to open it up a bit when you have more confidence. You'll probably spend the first day of your DAS on a 125, then onto a 500. The bigger bike will be easier/smoother to ride, as long as you remember to be easier/smoother with the controls.


Secondly, are bikes really suitable for all year round?


Yes, with suitable all weather gear, which these days is very good. It'll keep you warm and dry in all but the most extreme conditions. Heated grips will help keep your pinkies warm. It's up to you whether you go out in snow/ice - some do/most don't


Are there any insurance companies that do dual insurance, ie 6 months on each?


You could try eBike insurance - they have a pay as you go scheme wher you pay monthly - if you're taking the bike off the road for the winter, you can decide whether you want to carry on the premiums (just don't let anyone nick it if you do cancel the insurance) They also let you accumulate your no-claims bonus quicker, ie 8 months to earn a full year


As for my DAS, they are offering me £600


Mine cost about £550 a few years ago, so that's probably the going rate around this time of year


Can anyone recommend a good lid for under £100?


Look for the Gold ACU sticker that shows they are made to a decent standard, apart from that try lots on until you find one that fits comfortably - not all lids/heads are the same shape and some people find they really don't fit certain brands


Good luck with your DAS, keep us posted 8)

[GC-SV]

Welcome.

The SV is my 1st. bike and I find it ideal as long as you treat it with the respect it deserves.
Take it easy to begin with and then increase a little at a time as your confidence rises.

[Viney]

Bike clothing is always something that, at least i found, is difficult. What do you buy? Leathers, or textlie. How much should you spend? Whatever whay you go its never cheap. You will need in theory, Lid, Gloves, jacket, pants, boots. Of course, im sure that we have all made the worng purchase to start off with. If i had my time again, i would buy a set of leathers, with a waterproof over suit. Waterproof 'summer' gloves, and a cheap pair of boots. As for the lid, as said, its not the cost, but the fit that is so so so important. There are lots of lids out there that fall in the under £100 bracket, its just finding one that is approved, and fits well. If you do not know what to look for, then make sure you go to a reputable dealer, Hein Gericke are fairly good, although this depends on the branch. J&S are also good for budget clothing.

As for the question about having a car/bike, well, that depends on what you use the car for. A bike is an all year round mode of transport, but if you travel any kind of distance, then maybe getting a cheaper car for thoise trips etc.

What ever you do, best of british for the DAS.

[Carsick]

I'd go with what Mr Toad just said with one amendment. The gold ACU sticker only means that the helmet is approved for racing.
There isn't any additional testing, it's only based on a checklist of features, so won't necessarily mean a better helmet.

If you want a cheap helmet, have a look at the HJC lids. It's very common to find them reduced in places like Infinity.

[fizzwheel]

This leads me to the final questions.........gear. Can anyone recommend a good lid for under £100?

You should be able to get something reasonable for £100 bear in mind that price comes second place to fit. You want a lid that fits you properly. A £100 lid that fits properly is better than a £500 arai that doesnt fit at all.

The trouble is I've noticed with cheaper lids is that they fit fine when new, but after a few months of daily use the cheekpads etc dont fit as well and you end up with an ill fitting lid.

I've noticed that both Liz's Caberg and her AGV have suffered with this, my brother also had an AGV that suffered with getting loose over tme.

If you can stretch a bit further and get something like a Shoei Raid II I reckon it will be better in the long term.

IIRC you're looking at around £180 - £200 for a Raid II

HTH, welcome to the site and good luck with your DAS. The SV is a great bike you wont regret it.

[DanAbnormal]

Hey there and welcome.

After having many bikes including some supersports bikes I can tell you the SV650 is no slouch but it's perfecty capable for learners to get on with it and keep learning. It's a very forgiving bike and is a joy to ride. As for the weather I ride all year every day as I don't have a car licence. Sometimes I wish I had a car licence as even with all the gear your fingers get the worst treatment and can get ever so cold and painful. Plus riding through snow is not fun but fine tunes your control of the throttle!

Get one and you'll fall in love it it. Get an aftermarket can for it and you will be obsessed by that V-Twin growl. Great stuff!

Good luck.

Dan

[mattSV]

Welcome to the site.

I had a SV650s as my first bike for 4 years and loved it. I bought it before I started my DAS, and picked it up 3 days of passing. It is a great bike for learning how to ride on the roads, however it still has more than enough power to get you in to (a lot of) trouble if not treated with respect.

Running a bike all year is possible, however the bike will need a bit more TLC over the winter months - regular washdowns and chain lubing will help to keep it on the road. Keeping it garaged overnight, connected to a trickle charger (e.g. optimate) will help to protect it from the worst of the weather.

£600 for DAS sounds about right - I paid about £450 6 years ago - it is always best to get advice from people in the know about gear, so their recommendation to not buy your gear first sounds quite sensible if you haven't got a clue about what to get.

Good luck with your test, get an SV and enjoy it.

[Toypop]

The SV is a perfectly good first bike. Not too slow and not scarily quick.

I'd keep the car as well though.

They are now salting for 6 months a year around my way and the bike doesn't stand up to it well both in terms of cosmetics plus in terms of the brakes having to be stripped all the time.

The salt these days has mollasses in it and offers just a tad more grip than riding on ice itself.

You will see plenty of stories here from people binning their bikes over the winter.

Use the car when the conditions are unfavourable. You need a no claims bonus more than you need a badge of courage.

On top of that the bike isn't really practical for big shops, going to the pub late at night, snow or when you are feeling ill. I used to only have a bike when that was all I could afford but I wouldn't recommend it. At the very least you want a second winter hack bike but it makes sense to have a four wheeler too as back up.

There is also the issue with the front plug on the SV getting wet and either causing the bike to break down or in some cases crash. Can be fixed with fender extenders and smearing some stuff around it but some people claim that even this doesn't work 100%...

[Biker Biggles]

Further to the above----
Are you sure you can't afford both car and bike?
Have you thought about keeping your existing car and buying a cheaper older SV and having TPO insurance?There are odd days in winter when riding the bike will be a bit iffy even for experienced riders,and a car can be very useful for shifting stuff that won't fit on a bike.
As for clothing,Ebay is cheap if you know what size to buy.

[Dave The Rave]

[/quote]Whatever whay you go its never cheap. You will need in theory, Lid, Gloves, jacket, pants, boots. Of course, im sure that we have all made the worng purchase to start off with. If i had my time again, i would buy a set of leathers, with a waterproof over suit. Waterproof 'summer' gloves, and a cheap pair of boots.

Net sure about the cheap boots? I read somewhere that most of the biking injuries is to your feet. Wouldn't it make sence to buy something decent? But I suppose this is the vicious circle - how much to spend on gear and how much on the bike?

[Dave The Rave]

Sorry quate was the other way around :wink:

[GSXR Carlos]

try a kbc lid, i've crash tested on of their £140 lids and i'm getting another soon

vr2 i think it was

[tricky]

a cheap pair of boots.

Mate of mine has just bought some Akito boots for about £40.
The quality is pretty good and they look Ok.
At the end of the day a cheap bike boot is going to protect you better than any piece of non-biking footwear.

[Tris]

The SV was my first bike after doing my DAS 2 years ago and I've found it absolutley great.

Go for it!!!

Tris

PS
Forget about pulling wheelies and getting your knee down for a bit though. You'll have enough to concentrate on just keeping the thing sticky side down and missing all the cages :wink:

[goonrider]

I reckon the prices you mentioned all sound fine, I didn't spend a fortune but got good all weather gear, as mentioned it just has to fit good. Most bike shops are willing to help and won't stitch you up. :wink:

I ride everyday all year & can vouch that the SV is quite cheap, dependable in the bad weather, unlike some race-reps it wont catch you out, you won't get bored with it after a couple of months either.

Best of luck on yer Test!

[northwind]

I have never riden before but I love the look of the SV650. First question therefore is, will this bike be beyond my control?

Secondly, are bikes really suitable for all year round? I have a car but don't think I can afford to keep both. This leads me to the next question...... Are there any insurance companies that do dual insurance, ie 6 months on each? As I can't find any.

As for my DAS, they are offering me £600 for the full lot, including my theory test and the books I need etc for it. Is this is a good price, as there are just so many instructors near to where I live. They also mentioned that I wouldnt need any gear, as they like to give you advice during the training, so you don't buy wrong stuff. Is this really true?

This leads me to the final questions.........gear. Can anyone recommend a good lid for under £100?


1st) Maybe. There's no way of knowing really. Some people take to it like a duck to water, some really struggle. I was a disaster when doing my CBT, but walked the test :roll: So do the test first. If you feel comfortable on whatever you do the DAS on, chances are an SV will be OK for you I think.

2nd) I use mine daily, all year round... it takes a little more care and attention to keep the bike nice, but it's perfecty doable. A little more money or attention spent on gear will be invaluable for winter- good cordura gear is impossible to undervalue for winter riding. If you wear gear that's not warm, or leaks, you'll not only hate it, you'll be less safe.

3rd) I paid £500 but that was a couple of years ago. The CBT does include valuable advice- and of course, if you spend money on gear first but then don't enjoy riding, it's money wasted. This does happen, some people are just odd ;)

4th) HJC or Shark, both make really good budget lids. My HJC ZF-8 was lovely, good vents, quite comfy- the padding wore out fast so it didn'tlast as long as my Arai will, but hten it was half the cost. Caberg make decent cheaper lids too, but I'm not sure exactly what price they're in now.

[keithd]

the SV is my fist bike. its ace basically. its quick enough, agile enough and servicing is cheapish and parts are readily available on ebay :D

the price of the DAS sounds good. I paid £550 + whatever the theory exam was about 18 months ago.

as for the lid, i have a Shark S800, got it from Beaulieu show 18 months ago and it cost £100. fits well, looks good (with an iridium visor)

go for it...... :D

[andycuk101]

Cheers All for the info given. Very Helpful indeed.

I've made up my mind at last. I've spoken to a mate how has spoken to a freind of his down south. He is calling in a favour and will do my DAS for £450. Bonus, extra means £150 for the helmet.

I've also managed to secure an earlier date for it, now taking place end of next month. My main reason for this, is that providing all goes well, I am very very very tempted by the £1 0% offer on the new SV650S which ends in June, so I want to get the test done by then so it is an option.

As for Car & Bike, my thoughts are that I keep both throughout the summer, as its a nice car to take away with the misses in, then nearer the winter I will purchase some winter gear. I will try and use next winter as a test, see how I get on, then sell the car next year and be bike only.

Obviousley this is all hypothetical at this moment in time, but you gotta have a target and dreams.

On another note, just done a few more quotes as recommened on this forum. EBikeInsurance came in at 580 Fully Comp. However and much to my amazement, expressinsurance/suzuki came in at £340 for a years fully comp, with no experience. I guess the main benefit I have is that I live in the middle of nowhere in a village with ony 40 houses in and zero crime....(Which I now cant wait to wake up with the sound of the SV hehehe :twisted: :D :twisted: :D )

Anyway, many thanks for all the info, if anyone has anything to add, then please post more. This day and age it is very hard to get good sound advice from users, so this site is superb.

Cheers


Andy

[GregK2]

If you could stump up an extra £50 for the helmet, the Shoei Raid 2 always gets good write ups, top lid for about £200 & you should get the pinlock anti-mist insert in the price.

[Warthog]

I don't have a car, only a bike. It is possible to ride on it all year round, but I have to go DAMN carefully when there is snow about and I usually try to leave it at home if I can. Getting amplifiers, guitars, shopping around is very hard on a bike, so cars are great for that. If given the choice, I'd like both obviously, but having never had a car, I manage with just the bike fine. :)

[GSXR Carlos]

'

Can anyone recommend a good lid for under £100?


Look for the Gold ACU sticker that shows they are made to a decent standard,

not neccessarily true, its not the holy grail that it once was, but always a good guide