Keith1984
stranger
Reged: 14/08/2008
Posts: 2
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Hey i'm gonna be taking a direct access course soon, and i was wondering if any one could sugguest any decent first bike. Id been looking at several different types like KTM duke and Honda hornet. Just wondering if any one as got any other bikes in mind would be good for a new rider thanks
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chappers
Carpal \'Tunnel
Reged: 31/12/2006
Posts: 5379
Loc: Mind your own business
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I like the hornet between those.
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shinybusa
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 08/01/2008
Posts: 1608
Loc: away with the fairies..
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Hornet is good, ZZR600, GSF 600, good as well. SV650 is a nice bike... you don't really say what your after....sports or naked or supermoto..??
-------------------- Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day....
Teach a man to fish.........................................and he'll sit in a boat and drink beer all day!!
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makka
Carpal \'Tunnel
Reged: 13/05/2007
Posts: 2554
Loc: Jungle, Near Byron Bay, Austra...
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AT the risk of repeating ad nauseam you can't go wrong with an SV650.
-------------------- makka
drinking heavily
it's the only solution
Well, maybe meditation helps too.
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Keith1984
stranger
Reged: 14/08/2008
Posts: 2
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Anything really, just a bike thats good for new riders
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FastBikerBoy
old hand
Reged: 08/11/2006
Posts: 1180
Loc: Norfolk, UK - Police State
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My wife's doing much the same (albeit not DAS) and she's got a ER6-F. I've ridden it a fair bit and even restricted it's a lovely bike. Very user friendly although it's no race rep it still gets around well.
-------------------- FBB
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al_biker
stranger
Reged: 09/07/2008
Posts: 16
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Good luck with the test, remember those life saver checks!
Quote:
AT the risk of repeating ad nauseam you can't go wrong with an SV650.
I'll second Makka's comments, I have an K6 SV650 and its my first bike and I really like it. Its one of the cheaper options for starting out compared to a full on supersports bike (for its age) and I find it easy to ride and plenty fast enough.
-------------------- You learn something new every day
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xxrider
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 07/11/2006
Posts: 2267
Loc: Somewhere over the rainbow.......
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Good luck mate.
All of the above recommendations are excellent (my choice would be the ZZR), but the problem with recommending a first bike is that it's really gonna come down to what lights your own particular candle.
Will you be commuting through town? All weathers? Is it just a recreational tool for fine weather, B road blasts? Long distance trunk road tours? All of the above?
Do you like green? (ER6 might be out!)
Maybe you don't even know the answers to all the above - so pick a jack-of-all-trades all rounder. SV650 it is, then.
-------------------- The simplest questions are the most profound. Where were you born? Where is your home? Where are you going? What are you doing? Think about these once in a while and watch your answers change.
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Siza
journeyman
Reged: 11/03/2007
Posts: 66
Loc: Pembrokeshire, Wales
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An older ZX6R (mine is a '99) .... not too aggressive but plenty of power. I did a DA course having never been on a bike before. Just take it easy for a few months until you get used to it ....
I want to change mine this year possibly .... or maybe next so if you pass ....
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fastjonny
old hand
Reged: 08/11/2006
Posts: 1026
Loc: England
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All good advice, as we've come to expect from this forum.
Can't help with the bike choice as my only experience of a middleweight was a Yam XJ550 in the mid eighties (ZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzz). Didn't keep it too long - got rid and bought a Kwaka GPz 750 Turbo 
Anyway, good luck with the test. Pass it, give it a few months, do a BikeSafe then IAM or RoSPA. Buy a decent sportbike, do some trackdays and enjoy many years of riding.
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fastjonny
www.battlebikerdropin.co.uk
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FastBikerBoy
old hand
Reged: 08/11/2006
Posts: 1180
Loc: Norfolk, UK - Police State
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Ahh yes the Yamaha XJ550, I had one of those bought it after I saw the 'Which Bike' headline - Yamaha XJ550 tops 120 mph stuck a Neta exhaust on it and Marzocchi piggy back shocks. God was I the coolest thing ever. or perhaps not......
-------------------- FBB
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fastjonny
old hand
Reged: 08/11/2006
Posts: 1026
Loc: England
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They were ok in their day. A mate of mine had a GS550 Suzuki at the time and my XJ used to smoke the lardy evil-handling pig - the GS that is, not the owner.
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fastjonny
www.battlebikerdropin.co.uk
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FastBikerBoy
old hand
Reged: 08/11/2006
Posts: 1180
Loc: Norfolk, UK - Police State
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Did you ever have the misfortune to ride one of the Yam XS range? My God, I had a Honda CB250T 'Dream' and I thought that was bad. I got a go on my mate's sister's XS550 and a mate's XS250, apparently corners where an alien concept to the designer of those.
I had my XJ for about 3 years followed by a four year break of no bike (kids happened), the only four years since I was 16 where I haven't had a bike. Given what's happened since I should have kept the bike and got rid of the (ex)wife, not the kids though, I wouldn't swap those for the world.
-------------------- FBB
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