What first "big" bike would you buy for your girlfriend?

[jambo]

I'd discount the bandit on weight having owned one.

The 400s are tricky. Good bikes but the youngest of them are now 10 years old and many are more like 25. That's a lot of potential for bad bits of history and ham-fisted owners. Choose carefully and you'll get a gem, grab the first you see and you may be un-picking bodges for ages.

Jambo
Sent from my thingie

I would say the naked SV. My GF passed last year. We got her a ZRX400 but she couldn't get on with it, just too revvy. Replaced that with the SV & she loves it. Same insurance too. In a lot of respects I rekon a bigger bike is actually easier to ride.

[Bibio]

if she is going to be riding all winter then get a naked SV and some engine bars. i would then tell her it's for getting used to a bigger bike and not permanent.

better dropping something with no plastic than smashing up something with then having to turn it into a street fighter. if she is scared to drop it she will make mistakes to try and rescue a situation rather than just dropping it. it's amazing the damage you can do to yourself even just trying to stop a bike falling over.

[squirrel_hunter]

Or a CB-1 with engine bars?

The CB-1 is the naked CBR400. Bit rarer then your average CBR400 and having never ridden one I can't be sure but I understand it is very similar to the CBR400, just slightly less sporty.

[yorkie_chris]

The monster 600 were called the wheezing wop for a reason. The electrics are also terrible and the parts not available.

The 400s will be a pain in the tits to find parts for and are more suited for a young lad to ride who's all p*ss and vinegar and will not hesitate about the clockwise end of the rev counter. Fun for that though.



Get an SV.

Cheap to buy, easy to fix, you've got the parts and experience, easy and cheap to insure, decent enough all rounder.

I don't see the alternatives do anything better than an SV, but quite a few things worse.

[andrewsmith]

Originally Posted by squirrel_hunter

Or a CB-1 with engine bars?

The CB-1 is the naked CBR400. Bit rarer then your average CBR400 and having never ridden one I can't be sure but I understand it is very similar to the CBR400, just slightly less sporty.

The superfour was a NC21 in a twin shock chassis, really good bikes TBH, they went out of the european market in 2003/4 with a V-TEC motor (expect about a £2k price tag). Friend had one, naked position crippled her.

TBH discount the 400's due to age, unless your a good mechanic (or have a very good tame one)

I'd say a SV with the bungs or the bars on.
A little bit lighter CB500. TBH look for bikes that are light and cheap to repair, as it will be dropped at some point

Another vote for an SV here. It was my first bike full stop, not just first big bike.

Cant fault it.

It drops well (should such an incident occur, of course we hope it wont!), cheap to fix, run and insure.

I've learnt such a lot on mine and it's never let me down.

Get her an SV.

Another plus for the SV is she rode a Gladius in training and really liked it and gelled with it. Her only complaint was it was too low after her CG but the bike had been lowered for shorter learners. She was best in the class according to her with the others wobbling around on their 125s.

The SV is the better bike for me. I'll be servicing whatever we get and any needed repairs so it makes sense to have two of the same bikes. Just to be able to swap parts to trace problems would be useful.

I looked at the CB-1 but it just seems too rare.

Thanks for all the input

[squirrel_hunter]

Originally Posted by yorkie_chris

The 400s will be a pain in the tits to find parts for and are more suited for a young lad to ride who's all p*ss and vinegar and will not hesitate about the clockwise end of the rev counter. Fun for that though.

I've never had problems getting parts for my NC23. The only 400 that are a problem are the rarer ones which the CBR is not. The other problem is that for some of these bikes parts are no longer supported due to age so brand new panels and a few other big bits aren't going to happen though I think the VFR suffers from this more. And just think first gen SV's will start to have this at some point...

[dizzyblonde]

Get what she wants, not what you think she should have.

It's a bit rubbish to think a female might prefer a 'stepping stone' to a bigger bike and that a 600 or 650 may be too much. Never assume it will get dropped either, occassionally us ladies use our braincells and rarely do anything men assume we will do.

I said many moons ago, I'd be happy with a 500, jumped on an SV, then bought one.

I've never needed a stepping stone bike.

Has she expressed she'd prefer this option? If so, fair enough, if not....... Ask her what she wants.