Good Bikes Under 500cc

giftgrub

In the market for a new bike something under 500 for insurance purposes

any one got any suggestions?

Mutz

Honda Hornet 400
Suzuki Bandit 400

Sweet

batman_oh

tonnes of things, if u dont have lots of experience id say a 250 4 stroke might be the best bet, somethin along the lines of a zxr/cbr/fzr altho the prices on these have gon nuts now that people cant insure sports 125's
if u are into sports bikes and have a bit of experience id recommend a 400 like the cbr or vfr, maybe zxr but the insurance is steep
if not id take a cb400 to be honest, there is no hornet 400, and a bandit isnt exactly easy to find or common so parts would be a nightmare. fazer400 is lovely but very hard to find
the cb1 is the same engine as the cb4 just the older and less nice model

Kazujo

I thought the CBR 250 and FZR 250 were 2 stroke??? Anywau if money permits go for one of the restriceted 500-600cc bikes like the suzuki bandit 600, SV650 or GS 500, Honda hornet 600. Only prob is their a bit heavey for a beginner. Hyosung have the GT250 now nice and small/light should cost bout €5000 and the insurance is cat 5. You could always look into a good old BROS should be able to pick one up relatively cheap

batman_oh

nah i have a 2 stroke 250-aprilia rs, and they are quicker than 400's, the rs125 is not far off a cbr/fzr in performance
its all abut experience really, a factory restricted 600 might be a little slow for some1 used to full power stuff-they would be a lot slower than a 400 sports bike

giftgrub

well at the moment i'm on a vespa thats got a 200 cc engine, just looking for something with a little more punch

giftgrub

forgot to add this

i did look at the bros, i'd be buying used, but was told that theres a risk of getting an ex courier machine which would be driven to bits

Ba$tard

For complete and utter insanity :
I'd say a 499.7cc 2-stroke RG500, you'd pick a '90 one up for about 1k in Northern Ireland, or if you find one, a de-commisioned Repsol 2-stroker racer

For utter insanity:
An old Yahama 'death bike' RZ350

For slight insanity:
RS250, TZR250

For faster than average 400:
ZXR400

For smooth riding:
FZR400

For boring level 100:
CB500 with an umbrella

Emm, sure you would not go that bit extra and get a 600cc? There is plenty to choose from CBR600RRs, Yamaha, etc

batman_oh

i wouldnt recommend one of the factory restrcited 600's as they die at 85mph and their acceleraion is severely hampered aswell
full power is defo the way to go
a bros pulls very fast off the line, but struggles to top 100 as its unfaired and only has 33bhp(just has lots of low down torque)
the cbr400/cb400 and vfr400 are all gp8 by aon i think and id say these are the best bet overall if insurance is an issue

Supercell

What insurance class are the Bros bikes, and what are they like for part availability?

batman_oh

bors is 5 or 4 i think

Kazujo

I acceleration is fine on the restricted 600 as it's only the top end power is limited (I drive one) when do you need to go over 85-90 anyway the bros is cat 5 if I remeber correctly