What ever happened to ‘building up’?

Originally Posted by injury_ian

i think the idea is, if your're 25+ you have a certain amount of responibility / fear of death that a 16y/o immortal doesn't

I'm nearly 25 and got starting feeling more motal about a year ago, after seeing a bad accindent on the A422 recently. It really brough home that even semi-fast road riding/driving into corners that you havn't got a complete view of isn't safe. Poor guy had a accident came round a 80-110 corner and found a car staionary in the road, with oncoming traffic as well he had nowhere to go. This same accident could have happened to me very easily. Following another bike on the same road 2 days ago I just didnt want to keep up.

I hadn't ridden a thing before December, But to be perfectly honest, i think the SV650 is a great bike, got a bit of poke, not ludicrously fast, very forgiving.

You just have to know in yourself you have self restraint. and tbh, fear of hitting a tree is restraint enough for me. I just know it'll be someone else in their cage that will take me out though!

Jumping straight on a 1000 tho, thats another matter, luckily insurance dictates what we can ride anyhow!

Originally Posted by injury_ian

i think the idea is, if your're 25+ you have a certain amount of responibility / fear of death that a 16y/o immortal doesn't

I agree with this, I don't like pain at all!

Originally Posted by suzsv650

oh and people saying they got experiance of lil bikes from there CBT/ test is s**t!!!!

never said I got experiance. It only help me to pass my 'big bike' test, hence the tongue in cheek get out clause

I have been learning to ride ever since.

[timwilky]

Who dictates you have to build up. I have a friend who bought an R1 as her first bike. It hasn't killed her. But she can't ride it. Why do you have to buy SV 650's as a first bike (Despite it being labled an ideal learners bike).

When I was a kid, many would buy things like CB750s,GS850s etc as first bikes. We did not have these small bikes with the exception of things like the Honda 400/4. By the time the Yam RD400/LC350 etc. came out I had a mans bikes and not a big kids toy.

OK there were CB500t or even worse dogs like the CX500. but there was no real call for a small engine bike

[G]

I bought an SV650 for my first bike and feel it is more than appropriate, anything less would be boring I should imagine as the GSF500 I learnt on was rubbish. Its not exactly a super quick bike afterall and quite suitable for a novice in my opinion.

Perhaps if the novice had no road experience at all they should start on something small, but I have 7 years behind me nearlly.

I think it's purely a power thing that's potentially worrying. In the olden days "big" 750s, whilst requiring forearms of steel to get round corners, were only putting out 70 odd hp. Nowadays "big" bikes weigh 70 kilos less and develop 150+ ponies.

I don't really know, a lot of it is down to snobbery I guess, it's the same way oldies will say "school exams were a lot harder in my day". I'm certainly guilty of that myself, but in the same way I know I can use a computer and my folks struggle, and I'll need my (future) kids help to program the holographic video recorder

Originally Posted by Blue_SV650S

BTW I think an SV650 is OTT for a first bike … get back out on ya 50s and 125s old skool!!

I disagree. The SV is a fine first bike. It's not the bike that matters, it's the rider afterall!

Personally, I spent a long long time riding off road, mainly 125's (with expired MOTs etc). For what we did with them, that size engine was fine. By that, I mean taking them off jumps & "scrambling" etc etc.

I also had maybe one ride of a mates 50cc scoot (naughtily), and absolutely hated it due to being limited to around 30mph! Yeah, like that's safe!! So many of my mates almost killed themselves as we were growing up, purely because they rode 50cc scoots on the road! Not enough power to get away from a fart! It was safer taking a 125cc bike 40ft in the air than it was riding a 50cc mower on the public road, I kid you not (and I have photo's to substantiate the former of those)!

250's? The only experience I have of those is trials bikes, and bloody good fun it was! Wouldn't ever consider taking one on the road though.

400's, no experience at all.

I did CBT and rode a CG125 for a while on the road. I hated the lack of power that it had for the road. Fine in a field, but not on the road. When that died, I bought the SV, and I still consider that being my first road bike (I was on the CG for a grand total of 3days).

IMO, anything less than 250cc is plain dangerous on today's roads.

So do I qualify as building up? Since I have experience, just very little on the road. It also took me around 7000miles on the SV to start looking for something with more power.

Originally Posted by MiniMatt

Nowadays, with insurance being what it is, and second hand bike prices remaining quite firm, getting a four wheeled banger on the road is far cheaper.

Is that why it was £1,500 for my boy's insurance on his 1.3 Ford Ka ? Getting an older curvy SV and insuring that would have worked out far cheaper..... A CG125 would have worked out cheaper still. And what's worse, they wanted another £1,200 to put me on it !!! My own F/C policy on a group 17 car isn't that much.

I can now see why there are so many kids riding around without insurance, not that I'm condoning it, but that price is bloody stupid.

Ok ....

... by 125, I was talking 'strokers' ... like the old TZR125, RG125, NSR125 ... anyone that has had no experience of larger bikes and doesn't find a de-restricted 125 stroker fun is lying!! Agreed a CG125 although a perfectly good bike is unlikely to light many peoples fire!!

The 250 strokers (KR1, RGV etc) were mental machines!!! An RGV250 was quite a desirable weapon!! Anyone that says a 250 isn’t powerful/exciting enough hasn’t ridden one!!

Practicle - no, fun YES

I did the 'building up' route:

CG125 for 3 months, then passed test
400 Honda (still have)
Bought SV after 18 months learning road craft on the 400.

I've chosen to crawl & walk before I can run. Even the 400 is way above my own personal limits, let alone the SV.

Gonna be a very, very long time until I get something bigger

Said it before, but the CG125 is massive fun!