Graduating from a 125. Which Bike?

jackal

Hi,
I have been driving my 125 Dragstar for over a year now. I had a scooter for a year before that. I like the Dragstar for driving round dublin, but I have got a new commute along the M-50, and the bike is underpowered. So Im looking for a bike 250-600cc. Insurance is the biggest factor, but I would really like something with fairings, as the windblast on the cruiser was terrible.

I hold a full A1 licence, so I will have to do the test again on a bigger bike when I get it.

Im thinking of Honda CB250, CBR250, Hornet250, BROS or a yamaha Fazer. If anyone knows which would be the best, or any other suggestions?

Cheers!

a_ominous

Originally posted by jackal
Hi,
I have been driving my 125 Dragstar for over a year now. I had a scooter for a year before that. I like the Dragstar for driving round dublin, but I have got a new commute along the M-50, and the bike is underpowered. So Im looking for a bike 250-600cc. Insurance is the biggest factor, but I would really like something with fairings, as the windblast on the cruiser was terrible.

I hold a full A1 licence, so I will have to do the test again on a bigger bike when I get it.

Im thinking of Honda CB250, CBR250, Hornet250, BROS or a yamaha Fazer. If anyone knows which would be the best, or any other suggestions?

Cheers!

Some questions not on the FAQ! Great.
You will have to do another test. Presume you were too young to go for A licence at the time? Another point about A licence test is the bike has to be over 150cc to get an A licence.

I'd always recommend that someone thinking of A or A1 to go for A licence. They can hire a bike over 150cc for the test from ISM for 125 Euro. It'll be a saving in the long run if you ever have considered a bigger bike. Think of having to re-apply for provisional (cost + time + effort), long waiting time for test, and the 2 year restriction period, etc.

Have you sat on any of the bikes mentioned? That is worth doing. Some mightn't feel so good. Comfort is important. I'm not that long on bikes (2 years) but can't recall hearing anything negative about any the bikes. Honda is a good marque as is Yamaha. have seen some comparisons of old and news Fazers. Not much in it and a bit subjective.

Getting a bike out for a test ride in Ireland is not easy. You might be able to get a go from bike shop where you bought your bike. Otherwise arrange a half day off and transfer your own insurance to the test bike. That would be a real test.

As for insurance, get quotes for all the bikes on Hibernian Direct
even though you mightn't be insured with Hib (suspect you are given scooter / Dragstar history)

jackal

I didnt know you could hire a bike from ISM, but i will keep this in mind, and try and get an "A" test done quick! Im with carole nash, because hibernian quoted me more for my second year than my first, even though I passed the test... anyway, everyone knows about hibernian and their 30% price hikes.

Thanks for the advice, a_ominous. I will go to a few bike shops and see which ones I like the feel of.

Any more suggestions welcome from other posters. Particularly about fairings. Is the CBR250 or the others any good at protecting you from the wind?

Thanks!

a_ominous

I had a Marauder 125 for a few months during a summer and got blown around like a rag doll at 50MPH. Changed for a TransAlp and it's quite comfortable at motorway speeds. But I don't like the motorways here are they're too open to crosswinds.

I've heard form other riders that even the small 'bikini' fairing (a tiny windscreen) can improve comfort bigtime. Even on a cruiser

One other factor to consider on the motorway or open road is the weight of the bike. A 125 dragstar probably weighs 145kg! A larger CC bike will also be heavier and give more stability at motorway speeds. Of course this also means a bit more instability at low speeds too and more likely to hurt you if it falls on you.

Snaga

I was in the exact same position as you with my virago 125. Having a liking for the dragstar I picked up a 650.

Its quite a heavy bike and handles much much better on the m50, especially the ballyboden to dundrum stretch where the wind can really pick up.

That said if you manage to test out a bike or two all the better, you might find something you really like.

seamus

Originally posted by a_ominous
They can hire a bike over 150cc for the test from ISM for 125 Euro.

€120 actually (have a pretest this Sat). That 120 gives you the bike for the test, and an hour's pretest. If your test isn't in town(like mine's in Tallaght), that hour usually comprises of the drive from town to your test centre, and then some pointers for whatever time you have left over.

If your insurance increased even after getting a full licence, I'm guessing you're pretty young. Keep an eye on the groups of the bikes. The jump in cost can be quite spectacular, especially in groups 2-5. For example, the cost of fully comp for me at renewal time (hoping that I'll have full licence, 2 year's NCB) is just slightly more than I pay now (Prov licence, 1 year's NCB) for third party.
To go up to a group 3 bike (just one group) at that point would see no change in my premium - I'd pay exactly the same for 3rd party as I do now.

(An interesting sidenote - the hibernian website doesn't differentiate between certain ages of drivers. 17-25, the premium reduces every two years, so there's no change in premium between 17-18, 19-20, 21-22, 23-24, which is a tad ridiculous... )

jackal

The crosswinds in the places mentioned below on the M-50 very nearly took me by surprise. The dragstar is a heavy bike, and still I was blown into another lane. A few trees planted might sort it out, like the M11.

MojoMaker

If you're interested I know someone with a '98 Yamaha Fazer 400 for sale at the moment. It's a good bridging bike between the 250 class and the 600 sports class. Hib ins grp 6 if I remember right.

jackal

Thanks for the info, but I have to sell my dragstar and make a bit of money before I can afford anything bigger, so It will be a month or two before I do anything. My dragstar is for sale if anyone is interested!

I had nto considered the fazer, because I did not know they did a 400 version. Is it any good? I like the fairing on it.

rymus

I'll sell ya my 650cc Drag star classic if you want Seriously though, it's going on sale at the start or mid summer.

jackal

I would say that bike would be out of my league, price wise. I will only have about 4k to spend. Also, although I like the cruisers, I want to try something different, maybey a little more sporty. Cheers!

[CrimsonGhost]

The hornet 250 is a lovely bike. At least I find it very comfortable, even for relatively long distances. It's one bad point is that the tank size is quite small, Even on the 600 and 900 models, compared with other bikes out there. Although the reserve seems unproportionatly large. It's also a small enough bike so if like me you aren't very tall it might suit you better than one of the other models.

jackal

I like the Hornet 250, but I cant seem to find anywhere that sells them. Are they import only? There is very few in the papers too. how much did it cost?

Is the pillion position any good on it?

Sorry for all the questions...

Thanks!

a_ominous

Is the pillion position any good on it?

Don't forget that you'll have a provisional A licence and you won't be able to carry a pillion until you get your full licence. Even though you have a full A1. Them's the breaks.

[CrimsonGhost]

Originally posted by jackal
I like the Hornet 250, but I cant seem to find anywhere that sells them. Are they import only? There is very few in the papers too. how much did it cost?

Is the pillion position any good on it?

Places that definitely sell them are Capital motorcycles in harolds cross and the bray honda centre. I bought mine in the latter for 4500, in perfect nick with less than 10k km's on the clock, the also stuck in a restrictor to bring it within the 33bhp limit and an alarm/immob system. They are Jap imports only. As with alot of 250cc bikes. The 600's and 900's are sold here directly.

As for the pillion I've only had one complaint and that was from the missus after heading all the way to Co. Clare in a day. That far when you aren't used to it is just too far.

If you're going for a 250 you'll most likely have to get a restrictor fitted to be fully legal, although I've never heard of anyone apart from myself actually bothering to get one so you'll most likely have no problem not getting it.