1st Bike. New or S/H. Which is better

my first bike (50cc) was brand new... Big mistake.. couldnt insure it properly it was stolen and recovered left 100's out of pocket

swore never to buy new again... 2sv's a ccm and an xjr later I now have a brand new Tuono..

this was because the price difference between new and second hand was less than £500 at the time i bought... I liek shiny things so treated myself.

I buy new if i can afford it and justify it... never a new car though...

Originally Posted by leatherpatches

New rider is going to bin their bike pretty soon.

Therefore it's probably better to have a second hand one. Oh, and depreciation of course!

I keep seeing this reason for getting an old 'disposable' bike as your first but its not a valid reason at all.

Theres no reason at all why you'd bin it as a new rider. Depends how sensible you are, if you are an idiot, you'll bin it whether you are new or not, if you arent, you wont.

When i was 16 and indestructible i binned my DT a fair few times cos thats the way i rode. Now i'm all growed up and got back into biking again, realise i'm no longer bulletproof, i never binned it and theres no reason to assume i ever will.

i will be looking for a bike in the next two months but will def be getting 2nd hand, you can get a new SV for over 4k or get a 2007 with low milage for about 3200 (maybe down to 3k with some good haggling) and thats fully faired with extras, so its just the case of if 1k+ is worth a year in age

Originally Posted by Durbs

I keep seeing this reason for getting an old 'disposable' bike as your first but its not a valid reason at all.

Theres no reason at all why you'd bin it as a new rider. Depends how sensible you are, if you are an idiot, you'll bin it whether you are new or not, if you arent, you wont.

The reason is inexperience, which weighs heavily on new riders! It doesn't take riding like an idiot to cause a crash. In fact more often than not I'd say it's just a simple and genuine mistake. Beginners make more mistakes - that's a fact.

It's about time that people realised that because they personally have not done something (like bin a bike when a new rider) does not mean that it is impossible! One case not proving the rule and all that.

id go second hand first off, if u dont drop it then thats a bonus!

[Biker Biggles]

I agree used is best.
Not every new rider bins the bike but inexperience must make it more likely.Insurance companies have stats on this and charge more accordingly,so Id go with an old but sound curvy for two years after my test.They are easy to service yourself too,so you can learn basic maintenance too.
The fact that all this would save a fortune applies equally to new and old riders.

I passed my test on Tuesday so am certainly a new rider.

I bought a 54 plate with 950 miles on it for £2.5k with a few extras. Never been out in the wet, and absolutely like new. Much better condition than my mates 6 month old one because he's been using it.

I thought about a brand new one, but that would probably make me skimp on clothes, helmet etc. So as I needed to buy everything I thought it would be best to save money on the bike and make sure I get the right kit.

That and I couldn't stomach losing 25% of its value in the first year.

My mate bought his brand new because he was skint and the 0% finance makes it very affordable.

Running in wouldn't put me off at all. I've done 150 miles on my bike since Tuesday without even trying. It would be nice to have the 'control yourself' period as has been said when new on a bike.

Originally Posted by neio79

OK, so i did not exactly run in till 60o miles, but it proves its fine do not follow the book.

How has that been proved? My understanding of running in isn't something that will either work or not work, its about the bores being worn in correctly so that the cylinder pressures are correct for the long run.

[Biker Biggles]

That sounds like a very sensible buy but as its "as new"you will still have to be careful not to drop it.Enjoy.

I's horses for courses. There is no right or wrong. I would of gone 2nd hand but for 4k a brand new bike with 0% finance you can't complain can you?

but a 54 plate with 1k miles on for 2.5k would of worked out about £700 cheaper for me at the time.

If someone had offered me a decent 2nd hand bike and i knew what i knew now i would of gone with it. My SV 9 months down the line and 6k miles might be worth less than £3k but it's my toy.

And as Pete said on WWR4 "If your gonna keep the bike, spend money on it" so as i'm gonna keep the SV for at least 2 years buying new will work out. If you buy new and sell within 2 years it's not worth it as you get a £1500-£2000 loss compared to keeping it for 4 years and coming out with a £2000-£2500 loss.

Originally Posted by Miles

How has that been proved? My understanding of running in isn't something that will either work or not work, its about the bores being worn in correctly so that the cylinder pressures are correct for the long run.

I also believe it's not something you will see immediately, and requires some long-term tests. There's a guide out there that suggests the best way to run in the bike is to use all revs from the start, to seat the rings and get the best seal between piston & cylinder. According to this, after the first 100 or so miles you won't be able to alter the rings, so everything has to be done then.

I can see their point, but there is also a counter-theory to that, that says that it shortens the life of the engine (I am not sure if it means a specific failure, or just that it increases the wear) - and I can also see the point made there.

What I've done is run them in with the rev limits by the book, but making sure there is plenty of hard acceleration up to the "prescribed" limit, as well as then letting it back off slowly too (I'd been told that as a tip, no idea if it's true, but it makes logical sense to me - same thing as the acceleration but the other way around).

I tend to stick to the given limits for one main reason though - guides on the internet do NOT supply your warranty...Suzuki may never find out, but if you had a problem & they were able to find out (bearing in mind I've heard some bikes will record data such as revs used) you might be in for a bumpy warranty claim! I'm willing to trade a few extra bhp for a guaranteed intact warranty - there are plenty of mods that I could do to increase the power anyway.