Motorbike test and 1st bike advice

[RMS_CLK]

Could only recommend it if you like your fast motors, track days are more or less open race sessions compared to the car ones, its great craic and a hell of a lot cheaper to run than the cars, not least quicker out of the box.

Its not as easy to jump straight on a bike but therein lies part of the joy of riding - mastering a difficult sport.

Cant wait til the first trackday in march if I dont get to spain in feb

Only another month till we can do that licence day anyway. Should be a bit of craic providing theres no snow on the track! lol

 

[Souleh]

Cant wait, hopefully wont need the full wets lol

 

[mikey]

Silly question for this thread maybe given that you're all bike nuts, but has anyone ridden a bike and not actually liked or enjoyed it?

I don't like or enjoy riding any bike in the rain lol. Close calls have left me with zero confidence to lean, accelerate or brake in the wet Being honest I've fallen out of love with my Hornet. I was raised around old 70s Jap bikes, mostly 2 stroke Suzukis, and even though they're slow (compared to modern machines), unreliable, tempermental, don't stop too quickly and handling can be downright dangerous, they have what my bike is lacking. Character. Its just another Jap inline 4.
Saving up for a new KTM 690 SMC R/Duke (still haven't decided ) in a couple of months to inject a bit of fun back into my 2 wheel travel. So if anyone is looking a Hornet...

 

[RMS_CLK]

First bad report ive ever heard about a hornet. Not that ive ever ridden one, but a lot of ppl i know rave about them.

 

[dannyfawcett]

Bike test rebooked for 30th ... had to cancel the last one due to completely obliterating my arm.

 

[bob]

I don't like or enjoy riding any bike in the rain lol. Close calls have left me with zero confidence to lean, accelerate or brake in the wet

That would be my main worry too, heard of friends hitting manholes etc. on the wet and the bike looking to go places it shouldn't. Never even sat on a bike before so gonna book a lesson for next week and take it from there, see if it's for me or not!

 

[Souleh]

Wet confidence comes with experience, the grip isnt that bad on our roads with decent tyres but can be very nerve racking esp if you do have a small slip over something.

Found the first light rain with loads of road salt to be the worst, brakes just lock up so easily!

Nice one danny! Hows the arm now? Good luck bob

 

[dross432]

confidence starts with tyres. bad tyres bad confidence, good tyres great confidence.
as for the hornet set up the suspension and it handles really well, dont forget the lack of weight over the front wheel when cornering lean forward more on it as for the brakes i know haha. i dont mind being caught out in the wet i just wont go out in the wet lol
if you want somthing to go quick round a corner with confidence then a sports bike with a good set of tyres
somthing fun would be the supermotos lol
comfy then hornet etc
all depends on rider skill/ preferance

 

[endofreak]

I'll pretty much ride in anything and 99.9% really enjoy myself. I can only think of one occassion when I didn't like riding the bike and that was a couple of weeks ago when the wind was really strong. Was riding down the M1 head first into what felt like an 80mph wind on a naked bike. Felt like I was going to have a neck like the Hulk afterwards.

As for manhole covers etc, I personally try not to worry about them. Yes, you'll slip when you hit one but for no more than a split second then the tyres will grip again. Panicing causes the accident, not the manhole cover. I don't understand people that constantly try to avoid them on straight roads. In saying that though, the metal strips on the M3 are interesting in the wet. There is one that's big enough for both wheels to make contact with at the same time and it's on a bend so you end up doing a 2 wheel slide for a split second. You really have to keep you're composure.

 

[DaddyCC]

LOL, know what you mean about neck being like the Hulk afterwards! I went down the motorway a quick jaunt for the first time ever at the weekend. **** me i could only handle 60 at best without feeling i was gonna lift off in the wind, even with my fat *******ness and leaning over the front like Joey Dunlop lol No problems however, just kept my head and didnt do anything stupid.

Dunno how these boys do 100mph + on days like that, manic!

 

[dross432]

60mph on a naked feels like 140mph on a sports bike lol a long trip at high speed on a naked god my neck was sore the next day lol... ahh the jobs of having a screen to hide behind on a sportsbike lol

 

[RMS_CLK]

In saying that though, the metal strips on the M3 are interesting in the wet. There is one that's big enough for both wheels to make contact with at the same time and it's on a bend so you end up doing a 2 wheel slide for a split second. You really have to keep you're composure.

Those strips are dangerous, even in a car. If im riding in the wet ill usually stand the bike up for them.

 

[mikey]

First bad report ive ever heard about a hornet. Not that ive ever ridden one, but a lot of ppl i know rave about them.

I'm not saying its a bad bike, it personally just doesn't turn me on any more. Its all the bike you ever need and more, but its just grown a bit bland in my eyes and it doesn't give the same fun factor that it used to, and IMO biking is all about fun.

Wet confidence comes with experience, the grip isnt that bad on our roads with decent tyres but can be very nerve racking esp if you do have a small slip over something.

Since I've owned the bike I've ran Michelin Pilot Road 2s which are meant to be great in the wet, but spinning up the rear at 60 and stepping the back out round corners doesn't fill me with any great confidence. Might have to get a wet track day thrown in sometime where I can tramp on a bit to get a bit of experience without the risk of getting a mouthful of kerb/lamppost

 

[Souleh]

I'm not saying its a bad bike, it personally just doesn't turn me on any more. Its all the bike you ever need and more, but its just grown a bit bland in my eyes and it doesn't give the same fun factor that it used to, and IMO biking is all about fun.

Everyone said to me id be bored of a bandit in a month so I got the zx6r as my first big bike. Took me a while to get confident but never got bored of the power so all happy

Since I've owned the bike I've ran Michelin Pilot Road 2s which are meant to be great in the wet, but spinning up the rear at 60 and stepping the back out round corners doesn't fill me with any great confidence. Might have to get a wet track day thrown in sometime where I can tramp on a bit to get a bit of experience without the risk of getting a mouthful of kerb/lamppost

Yep know what you mean. I used to have a metzeler M1 on the rear and took it off long before it was dead as it took forever to heat up and never gave confidence. Swapped the the bridgestone bt016 pro and instantly gelled with it. Very good road going tyre in all conditions!

Be careful with the wet trackdays as they can give you false confidence, the track is a good bit grippier than the road so even when wet its a bit better than the roads. Plus no road covers or attempted murder from school run mum to contend with!

Would deffo recommend a trackday for rider confidence anywho, just be careful not to get hooked

Tis only 60quid and a tank will do you for the day, ridiculously cheap compared to the car trackdays where it seems youll pay 250/300quid+ per event! Also note the bikes are made for it so no massive wear on consumable parts

 

[dross432]

ive tried the corsa3's and metzler m5's and i think they are amazing.. upright when their cold itll spin but then what doesnt lol once theres heat in them wooooooooo

 

[RMS_CLK]

Im going for the Dunlop Sportsmarts this time. Meant to be a great compromise for road and track. They are all raving about them.

 

[Souleh]

Thats what I was going to buy but ended up with the bt016s, heard nothing but good things

 

[dross432]

yea the bt 16s are very good.... where do use go for tyres??
i would use michael at hursts sydnham road..... but then when its your dad and you get it cheaper why use anywhere else lol

 

[endofreak]

I use Smokin Slicks purely for the convenience of being able to have it done while I'm at work. As for the tryes themselves I've been using BT023's since spring with no complaints.

 

[DaddyCC]

I have Bridgestone Supersports that i got just before winter and as much as im not exactly treating the roads as a race track, ive never had one bit of non confident sporting round the quieter back roads when i do shoe it on a bit Does make a hell of a difference!

Got them at a good price from Hursts who were grand for changing them over, bar the guys actually changing the tyres standing about talking half the time when the wheels were off. Michael in there sound as a pound and chatting away about his experiences on a bike over europe and showing me old track photos etc on the computer

 

[gcon45]

My 600RR came with a pair of Bridgestone Battlax fitted.

There's plenty of tread left them and they were manufactured late 2007 according to the sidewalls.

They're off at the minute as the wheels are being painted but I'm half tempted to punt them on and fit a pair of new Dunlop Sportsmarts after reading all the rave reviews.

 

[Andy044]

Just passed the bike test there on Friday, by the skin of my teeth before the tuesday deadline,
Took lessons first with Ians driving school, and then with Allen's honda as the only dates i could get were in Craigavon,
Some of the centre's test dates reached into April, would recommend the crowd at Allens to anyone, great bunch, very friendly and accommodating.

Now I'm on the look out for a bike and have been reading through this thread for advice,
Would love a bandit as it ticks all the boxes for me but what is insurance like on them?
Torn between it and a sensible 125 to build up the NCB's

Any thoughts folks, worried about loosing money on a 125 if i get bored of it, the training bikes were pretty gutless

 

[Souleh]

The 125's you learnt on will be the same power as the YBR125 or CBR125 but think of all the extra weight on a faired sporty looking bike... not a great combo.

Insurance for a 250/400 or commuter 600 might be best as 125's can have a high amount of crashes etc associated too - do try quoting for everything.

I think my current best quote was for a SV650 at 175quid (At the same time I was paying 600quid for a ninja!)

Congrats on the test and doubly so for avoiding CBT!! Not bad timing either

 

[dross432]

congrats... hornet, sv650, bandit, there all gona be around the same price and still fun bikes. couldnt guess a price best site ive used is the biker insurer.com

 

[mikey]

Now I'm on the look out for a bike and have been reading through this thread for advice,
Would love a bandit as it ticks all the boxes for me but what is insurance like on them?
Torn between it and a sensible 125 to build up the NCB's
Any thoughts folks, worried about loosing money on a 125 if i get bored of it, the training bikes were pretty gutless

First off congratulations. Not only did you beat the CBT but you passed just as the weather is starting to pick up a bit!
As mentioned, Bandit/Hornet/Fazer are hard to beat. If you fancy something a bit more sporty looking, VFR/GSXR/ZXR 400s are cheap (in a good way) and sharp for what they are. Honda CB500s are often overlooked nowadays but still cut it as a good all round bike. When you hit the open road a 4 stroke 125 would get boring quite quickly imo.