Newbie looking for advice on choosing a first bike
 

Hi all, I'm 18 and have recently been looking into getting my bike license, and obviously need a bike to start on. I've been doing some research on the SV650 since my friends dad has one as a first bike and says that it is a great one for inexperienced riders, and runs well with a restrictor kit. Have been looking through a few ads and just wondered whether any of you experienced riders could give me any advice as to which of them look like good bikes, which ones look likes one to avoid etc. Bearing in mind that ideally I only have a maximum of around £2000 to spend. Thanks in advance :D

http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-uk...cleRegLetter=V
^^Was looking at this one mainly due to the price, however it does look like it's been toyed with quite a bit. Is this a good/bad thing?

http://www.motorcyclenews.com/MCN/bi...&mfy=99.767860
^^ This one looks like it should be pretty good, but the price leads me to suspect otherwise. Only partial service history?

http://www.motorcyclenews.com/MCN/bi...&mfy=27.525474
^^Again looks very nice but is the price too low for comfort?

http://www.motorcyclenews.com/MCN/bi...mfy=208.050670
^^The high-ish mileage on this one could explain the price I guess


Thanks to anyone with enough patience to trawl through all this and offer some advice, any input would be appreciated :D

Re: Newbie looking for advice on choosing a first bike
 

hiya mate,

welcome to the forums :) sv is a cracking first big bike and although I've no experience with riding a restricted sv, there are loads of people on here who are on 33bhp licences and they seem to get on well with 'em :)

just a quick bit of info, the 1999 to 2002 models are known as "curvys" and the updated 2003 onwards version is a "pointy". Both also came in naked form with no fairing :) the curvys run on carburettors and the pointys are EFi (electronic fuel injection)...

As for things like partial service history, sv's are easy to maintain yourself, so simple things like oil change, new brake pads, other simple jobs etc... are often carried out by the owner. As a result they may well come with incomplete service histories, but as long as they've seen regular oil and oil filter changes, the engines are fairly bullet proof..

I'm sure someone a bit more knowledgeable will be along shortly to offer some better/more advice :)

Re: Newbie looking for advice on choosing a first bike
 

Restricted SV's are very capable machines; I could run at 95-100 mph all day with a loaded topbox and girlfreind on the back on mine. Dosnt go much faster than that though!

Get through your test first before buying a bike....not saying you'll fail BUT if you have to take a retest you'll be glad you kept the money aside. Otherwise, keep an eye out for bikes for sale on here - I brought my bike off a guy from , and several others have swaped money for bikes with others on here. Its a good thing, since you can gauge how the owner of the bike for sale treats their bikes and if its in very good condition, people tend to speak up about it

Re: Newbie looking for advice on choosing a first bike
 

Disclaimer: I Know nothing.

Only advice I've got is go and have a look at a few in the flesh. At least have a sit - a run round a carpark would be good if that's possible - or ride a friend's - [Edit - ah no license - read original post - scratch that - take a test pilot with you instead maybe] it'll just give you more of an idea it's the bike you want.

Take someone with you who know's what they're looking at (if you don't) and don't buy the first bike you see (harder than it sounds).

Notice a few are a fair distance - I'd need to be fairly confident it was what I wanted if I was travelling that far (if it was a definite bargain I'd be happy to travel)

Worth having a butchers at EBAY. Visordown.

Look at consumables, Tyres, brake pads, Chain, sprockets. Take them into account in your budget - Needs a chain? that's £80-100 etc.

Also would be convenient to find a bike already restricted. Not vital but you want to budget for the cost of restricting it if you don't.

Don't be embarassed to haggle.

That's about it from my limitted bike buying experience.


Edit: I'd also be tempted to window shop until I've got the license.

Re: Newbie looking for advice on choosing a first bike
 

I'd take a good look at the for sale section on here first to get a good idea of private prices, and by all accounts it's a wicked restricted bike. Certainly great without the restriction :p
Don't get ripped off by a dealer just because they give you a warranty (that's what i did! :D............:(), parts come cheap for bikes like these.


Anyways good luck.

Re: Newbie looking for advice on choosing a first bike
 

Hey - I'm fairly new to all this myself. I passed my test on the 11th of March and my first bike is an SV. I have to admit it's a great bike. Not been out as much as I'd like - work uni etc - but when I do get out it just feels lovely to ride. Much better than one of those sitty up CG's or the Honda 500's that the training centres use.

I did a lot of research, got independant opinions etc, and the SV came top every time. You wont get bored of it in a few months, it'll grow with you as your experience grows.

Good Luck with your test. :)

Re: Newbie looking for advice on choosing a first bike
 

Better IMO to go for a cheap bike with cash left over for a good set of tyres, any other work required, decent kit etc.

Re: Newbie looking for advice on choosing a first bike
 

Cheers for the advice guys :) Been having a look through the for sale threads on here and there are definitely some nice looking ones on there, and at pretty good prices too.

Just out of interest, to anyone who took a 5 day crash course starting with the CBT and ending with the test, how much did you pay? Have only been able to find one site which quoted prices online without having to phone for a quote, and that was £655 for the 5 day course. In Scotland though, which doesn't help me a huge deal. Is that the kind of price you'd expect to pay everywhere? Thanks guys. Any more input on bikes will be appreciated too.

Re: Newbie looking for advice on choosing a first bike
 

Sounds about right. i took a 2 day course with a pass guarantee (something to consider if your riding school offers it) and it was in the region of £400, but that was a few years ago. Try and get some recomendations from anyone you know who rides before you book a course - the standard of riding school can vary more than you might think.

Phil

Re: Newbie looking for advice on choosing a first bike
 

I think if I had my go again id get a VFR400 :D Not cos I didnt like the SV, I just liking the 400. LOL. Love to have a thrash on one.