Buying a new bike - Advice

If its what you want, then do it, as you have said you will know the bikes history etc

But if you are considering 2nd hand have a quick look here

http://ww1.honda.co.uk/motorcycles/used/index.html

Is it just the luggage offer that is making you want to buy now?

If the bike is £8500, but you'll pay £9200, then your paying for bike and luggage anyway.

You could wait till you can better afford it, pay the same amount, but not have finance issues bothering you.

I wouldn't rush into this offer.

[yorkie_chris]

Plenty of secondhand ones that have the factory panniers, all depreciating done, teething trouble out of the way. Etc.

[Sir Trev]

A*H - try somewhere like moneysupermarket.com to compare loans, especially as they show the total repayable. £8500 over three years is coming up with typical deals of 7.7% and total repayable of £9500.

I personally prefer to take out my own loan as the bike is not tied to anything that way and I can sell/replace/upgrade when I like. Unless of course you can get a 0% deal.

[Luckypants]

ASH - There are loads of bikes around with the luggage on, Honda did this offer last year to. If you look on Ebay and the like you can pick up brand new luggage for peanuts from folks who never wanted it.

I also say look at pre-registered bikes. I got my bike with 200 miles on it (I put 60 of them on while test riding it!) but £1500 off list. It was a new bike! There was a choice of three around here at various dealers so it does not limit you on colours or options. Quiff's bike proves there are some good bikes out there if you look, his bike looks like new, totally immaculate and only 1300 miles on when bought - but half the cost of a new one. Take some time to shop around, with winter coming your money will go further.

Ok, thanks guys for all your replies. I think I'll take the advice of "wait for a better deal", and get a bike that is already run in, but not really been used (i consider anything with less than 4000 miles pretty much brand new anyway). I'm going to try and get a test ride this weekend, or next weekend, and then just wait until I can find a good "used" machine.

RE other bikes: I have considered triumphs, but the valve check service interval of 12,000 miles puts me off, thats really quite low, considering my SV can wait 16,000 miles, as can the VFR. Also, sitting on a sprint, I dont like the foot controls...the position between the gear lever and the peg feels to small, same for the brake. I'd love a fazer thou', but the insurance would be too steep...it would be the bike to have after the VFR I think.

Taking out a bank loan would be a good idea regarding the finance issue; if i needed or wanted to sell, there would otherwise be that outstanding finance to pay off which could put a seller off (i know it would put me off) but a loan from a bank which could be used for any purpose and not directly linked to the bike would be better.

I'll sit down and have a chat with my dad aswell, his last two bikes have been brought brand new so he should have a good idea on the process


In any case, I hope to have a new workhorse before christmas 2009

[Gazza77]

Originally Posted by Alpinestarhero

RE other bikes: I have considered triumphs, but the valve check service interval of 12,000 miles puts me off, thats really quite low, considering my SV can wait 16,000 miles, as can the VFR. Also, sitting on a sprint, I dont like the foot controls...the position between the gear lever and the peg feels to small, same for the brake.

My 12k service cost £340 at a main dealer, incl an MOT so not so bad. If you don't find them comfortable to sit on however, you do right not to buy one!

Yea...but to do 3 valve checks in the time other bikes (SV, VFR) do two, thats not great. The thing that attracts me to the yamaha FZ1S's is the fact the valve check is the toher side of 20,000 miles.

Thats once every 3 years for me!

Originally Posted by Alpinestarhero

I'm really really considering getting a brand new honda VFR800, and take advantage of the free luggage offer honda are doing until the end of september.

You're not allowed to own a VFR800 until you can grow a grey beard and you smell of stale p155.

Originally Posted by Alpinestarhero

RE other bikes: I have considered triumphs, but the valve check service interval of 12,000 miles puts me off, thats really quite low, considering my SV can wait 16,000 miles, as can the VFR. Also, sitting on a sprint, I dont like the foot controls...the position between the gear lever and the peg feels to small, same for the brake.

Brake and gear pedal height and adjustment can easily be sorted.

Valve clearance intervals on a Triumph may well be every 12K miles, but they take far less time and effort to do than the VFRs complex system. Once the bike is out of warranty it is so easy to learn how to do them yourself and save a fortune at the dealers.

I wouldn't even contemplate doing clearances on a V-Tec VFR, the system is just too unnecessarily complex and the potentail to completely balls it up is just way too high. That could be why a lot of Honda dealers I know never touch them, they just remove the rocker covers and adjust the easy side and leave the V-Tec clearances alone regardless.

Personally, I just don't rate the VFR as a sports touring bike any more - they really screwed it up when they went to the 800i model, and compounded this when they went V-Tec. You can't use throwovers safely on a V-Tec, and the engine is way too complex for a sports tourer that will be doing high mileages. The linked brakes fitted to all 800s are absolutely fecking awful too.