Beginner bike

eoin.d

zubair wrote: »

I'd still suggest doing the IBT before geting a bike. Your instructor will have plenty of advice for you too. Keep us posted on how you're getting on.

Oh yes i definitely wont be getting a bike until i have IBT done. Thanks for all the help guys

Hotblack Desiato

You see, when you get the itch* you need to act on it, not leave it until "someday". Because you never know when a global pandemic is going to close the whole country down for over a year...



* not that itch, you need to go back to the doctor about that.

Hotblack Desiato

zubair wrote: »

Yes it is!

no it isn't!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpAvcGcEc0k

Ultrflat

I'm so close to pulling the trigger on Husqvarna Svartpillen 401 (2020) I just have to wait one month, its a present to my self.

The reason I'm waiting is to find out what's going on with my contract.
I'm hoping it'll look like this.

Trigger Happy

Nice bike but I think drop down mirrors might be better suited to a more experienced rider.

Ultrflat

Trigger Happy wrote: »

Nice bike but I think drop down mirrors might be better suited to a more experienced rider.

I agree 100% it just looks lovely with them I'll wait till I've got a lot more miles under my belt.:)

Jimmy Bottlehead

You'll also drop your bike at some stage, and you'll HATE yourself if it's (basically) a brand new bike.

Pick up something that ya won't mind getting the odd ding or scratch on. Not a fancy new bike with drop mirrors that looks pretty.
You're getting a lot of good advice on here, from seasoned riders who've all also had their first bike experiences.

robbie_63

Is this your first bike or what level are you at?

flashinthepan

Trigger Happy wrote: »

Nice bike but I think drop down mirrors might be better suited to a more experienced rider.

Take them off and swap them left to right and they would be upright :-) mirrors
Then when he gets the experience swap them back upside down again
what do you think?

omerin

Jimmy Bottlehead wrote: »

You'll also drop your bike at some stage, and you'll HATE yourself if it's (basically) a brand new bike.

Pick up something that ya won't mind getting the odd ding or scratch on. Not a fancy new bike with drop mirrors that looks pretty.
You're getting a lot of good advice on here, from seasoned riders who've all also had their first bike experiences.

Agree and it's usually your first bike, more often then not as a result of a temporary loss of concentration. You're right it will piss you off, not because of the cost and the loss on the resale but some of the goodness is gone from the bike. If i were starting again I'd get a decent second hand bike from a bike shop and make your mistakes on that.

dmigsy

Ultrflat wrote: »

I'm so close to pulling the trigger on Husqvarna Svartpillen 401 (2020) I just have to wait one month, its a present to my self.

The reason I'm waiting is to find out what's going on with my contract.
I'm hoping it'll look like this.

The Svartpilen 401 is a great bike for learning on and buzzing around town. Not great for longer distances in terms of seat comfort and obviously there's no wind protection. I bought a new one as my first bike a couple of years ago. I did sell mine after about 8 months to get sv650 that I could do my A test on. In hindsight I defo regret not going straight to the bigger bike. The SV650 is actually a bit easier to handle as the seat height is a bit lower. I'm 5' 9" and couldn't flat foot the Svartpilen. I can easily with the SV. Passed my test on it iand I've no plans to change it anytime soon. It still has more power than I have ability to fully use.

I'm 2 years in and have never dropped a bike. Sure, it's something to consider but it's not inevitable that you'll drop it as a learner.

Now, after saying that I'm nailed on to drop the bike in the next week!

zubair

Ducati scrambler or xsr7 would have a similar style but would probably be more sensible purchases. I don't think the 401 has much of a selection of aftermarket options if you wanted to mod it in anyway or just needed parts and it's a bit niche when it comes to resale.

Varik

401 can use most of the 390 dukes parts.

Ultrflat

Jimmy Bottlehead wrote: »

You'll also drop your bike at some stage, and you'll HATE yourself if it's (basically) a brand new bike.

Pick up something that ya won't mind getting the odd ding or scratch on. Not a fancy new bike with drop mirrors that looks pretty.
You're getting a lot of good advice on here, from seasoned riders who've all also had their first bike experiences.

If I drop my bike, its my own fault. If it happens. I fully expect to get dings and scratches. But at the same time why get something you don't want. I could go by a Bros ride for 6 months never dropping it once.

Buy the 401 and drop it the day I bye it or may well never drop it. Surely that's down to your own level of awareness about what your doing?

But having said all of that if I start on a something like a bros, then move up to a nicer bike after a couple of months. Hmmm this is interesting. Pros and cons.

dmigsy wrote: »

The Svartpilen 401 is a great bike for learning on and buzzing around town. Not great for longer distances in terms of seat comfort and obviously there's no wind protection. I bought a new one as my first bike a couple of years ago. I did sell mine after about 8 months to get sv650 that I could do my A test on. In hindsight I defo regret not going straight to the bigger bike. The SV650 is actually a bit easier to handle as the seat height is a bit lower. I'm 5' 9" and couldn't flat foot the Svartpilen. I can easily with the SV. Passed my test on it iand I've no plans to change it anytime soon. It still has more power than I have ability to fully use.

I'm 2 years in and have never dropped a bike. Sure, it's something to consider but it's not inevitable that you'll drop it as a learner.

Now, after saying that I'm nailed on to drop the bike in the next week!

I'm 6.1ft but skinny. I felt the Husky has the best of both worlds. Its been reviewed so often as a really nice beginner bike, But I hadn't though of sitting my test. The guy below said XSR7.

so much to think about.

zubair wrote: »

Ducati scrambler or xsr7 would have a similar style but would probably be more sensible purchases. I don't think the 401 has much of a selection of aftermarket options if you wanted to mod it in anyway or just needed parts and it's a bit niche when it comes to resale.

I think the XSR7 is awesome sounds amazing, but is it too much power for a beginner?

Jimmy Bottlehead

Ultrflat wrote: »

If I drop my bike, its my own fault. If it happens. I fully expect to get dings and scratches. But at the same time why get something you don't want. I could go by a Bros ride for 6 months never dropping it once.

Buy the 401 and drop it the day I bye it or may well never drop it. Surely that's down to your own level of awareness about what your doing?

But having said all of that if I start on a something like a bros, then move up to a nicer bike after a couple of months. Hmmm this is interesting. Pros and cons.

Because as a beginner, you're more likely to drop it. And once you factor in what you knock off the value of the bike, it'll be extra sickening. You can drop a Bros and not give much of a toss, but it also won't cost ya much in resale value.

As for something you don't want... If you haven't ridden a bike before, pretty much ANYTHING will be a hoot once you're on it.
And yes, moving to a nicer, more powerful bike IS a nice experience.

You mention level of awareness, but if you've not ridden before, your skill level will be low. Same your sense of awareness. You have to start a poor rider, becoming good is optional. You won't realise your own limitations (or ability to hold up a bike) til you hit them (and she's too far leaning to pull back up).

Like I said earlier, you're getting solid advice from riders who know a lot, with your own (I assume) low level of experience. You can take it or not. But a smart man learns from his mistakes; a wise man learns from the mistakes of others.

Trigger Happy

Moving from older smaller bikes up to newer bigger bikes is a big part of the experience IMO.
It's like a personal reward for getting more skilled and experienced. It's something to look forward to too.

But each to their own. We all have to learn our own lessons!

Ultrflat

Jimmy Bottlehead wrote: »

Because as a beginner, you're more likely to drop it. And once you factor in what you knock off the value of the bike, it'll be extra sickening. You can drop a Bros and not give much of a toss, but it also won't cost ya much in resale value.

As for something you don't want... If you haven't ridden a bike before, pretty much ANYTHING will be a hoot once you're on it.
And yes, moving to a nicer, more powerful bike IS a nice experience.

You mention level of awareness, but if you've not ridden before, your skill level will be low. Same your sense of awareness. You have to start a poor rider, becoming good is optional. You won't realise your own limitations (or ability to hold up a bike) til you hit them (and she's too far leaning to pull back up).

Like I said earlier, you're getting solid advice from riders who know a lot, with your own (I assume) low level of experience. You can take it or not. But a smart man learns from his mistakes; a wise man learns from the mistakes of others.

Ok so I have had a few Bikes as a kid I had a Honda z 50, then I had a ****ty dt125 for the fields and my old man wouldn't let me ride it on the road and made me get a moped which I destroyed, but I was also stupidly careless and young.
But I wouldn't regard it as a strong grounding for experience.

The reason I mention awareness is simply because I've watched people dropped their bikes and 9 times out of 10 its down to what's going on around them. My self included I dropped my moped so much. But I did'nt care it cost me money nothing but gave me freedom. I think I'd be approaching it differently this time around I'm a lot older and more caring about my belongings.

I agree with you about taking other peoples advise, I'm not disputing that. all I'm saying is that on one hand I'm being told buy something that you don't mind dropping. Then on the other side buy something because the 401 wont see you to your test. Its kind of confusing.

robbie_63

Its a lot to consider,

I think what most guys are saying is to get something a little bit older, easier to ride that you can get practice on and work up to doing your test.

At the start there's a big learning curve when you get out on the road by yourself and have to deal with traffic, other road users.

If your planning on doing the A Test then definitely get a bike which is A Suitable, it just makes it so much easier that you can practice on it and then eventually do your test on the same bike, when your starting out it take a while to get used to different bikes and you don't want to have to hire a different bike on the day of your test.

I would save the new bike for after you have passed your test, you can treat yourself properly and you will be a lot more informed about what you like and how different bikes handle.

I done my IBT on a Fazer and it was a great bike but I didn't like it on the open road as there was little\no wind protection,
I try to take the bike to work 3-4 times a week so this was a non runner for my 45 Min commute to work.

zubair

Ultrflat wrote: »

I agree with you about taking other peoples advise, I'm not disputing that. all I'm saying is that on one hand I'm being told buy something that you don't mind dropping. Then on the other side buy something because the 401 wont see you to your test. Its kind of confusing.

This isn't really conflicting advice TBH, a bike you don't mind dropping and one that can get you to your test can be the same thing. The former advice is more about not buying a new 2021 or there abouts dream bike, this is your "first" bike, not your last.

What age are you as this impacts what you can apply for and what stage are you at in the process already (permits, IBT, etc.)?

dragx

Jimmy Bottlehead wrote: »

a smart man learns from his mistakes; a wise man learns from the mistakes of others.

Never heard this, great quote.

I'm just getting into bikes now at 28. Even if I had the money to buy a new bike I wouldn't, just seems like absolute madness to me.

My first car was (still is) a 2010 Peugeot 207 that I bought in 2018. I never thought I was the precious kind but the first time I scraped the wheel pulling up to a kerb I nearly cried! Now imagine I'd started driving something nicer like a new Golf.

Ideally I'll start on something like a Hornet or ER6 (assuming all goes well with the IBT and I feel comfortable at 600, maybe I'll be content on a smaller bike) that's a few years old and while I can still take pride in it, I wont be kicking myself if it takes a fall.

Varik

I remember spotting CCM racing sticking up 6mth old reg 401s for sub 5k on donedeal (maybe near 4.5k), been a while as it was around last jan/feb and then again in the summer.

Village I live is large enough and there's 3 separate lads with them I've seen around, 2 Vitipilen and 1 Svartpilen. I do notice them every time I see them.

Trigger Happy

flashinthepan wrote: »

Take them off and swap them left to right and they would be upright :-) mirrors
Then when he gets the experience swap them back upside down again
what do you think?

Like this guy has done!
https://www.reddit.com/r/motorcycles/comments/mdhjmd/just_had_my_first_accident/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share

Ultrflat

So l I'm looking on done deal/adverts there's not a whole lot available or I don't know what I should be realistically, looking at getting. \So pointers for a second hand bike I can ride for a couple of months with the aim of getting something a bit better Bigger.

zubair

Ultrflat wrote: »

So l I'm looking on done deal/adverts there's not a whole lot available or I don't know what I should be realistically, looking at getting. \So pointers for a second hand bike I can ride for a couple of months with the aim of getting something a bit better Bigger.

I cant see that you said it earlier but which license category do you have?

Bike market is a bit ****e at the moment.

Ultrflat

zubair wrote: »

I cant see that you said it earlier but which license category do you have?

Bike market is a bit ****e at the moment.

So its says I have my AM license. So I'm assuming I'm going to have to be restricted in which case I need to do my IBT which is fine I don't mind, But I want to be prepared to do it as soon as we come out of lock down.

oli26

In regards to choosing a bike you should choose features that make you comfortable and ask advise in a shop.
I have been on bikes before but had a long break, when returning a couple of years ago I decided I wanted a bike:
-Powerful enough to have fun but not so powerful that it can be harder to control
-Nice up right seating seating position so you can see far and it is comfortable
-Two feet on the ground when stopped
-Not too heavy

I was recommended a Yamaha 600 Fazer S2 and I love it.

dragx

Ultrflat wrote: »

So its says I have my AM license. So I'm assuming I'm going to have to be restricted in which case I need to do my IBT

Did you get that with the car license? If so you're gonna have to do another theory test before even getting to the IBT. AM is mopeds.

https://www.rsa.ie/en/RSA/Learner-Drivers/Motorcyclists/Licence-categories-explained/

Hotblack Desiato

Yeah but if he's over 24 he can then apply for a class A learner permit, pass IBT at class A and then be qualified to ride any motorcycle (without pillion, no motorways, within ROI only) until passing the test proper.

zubair

We're still none the wiser on age, so can't really advise properly. But as I would always recommend; get the highest license category you can, do the IBT, then look at bikes, in that order. Understandably people think bike first and the rest later, but this is how they end up with the wrong bike for them, impulse buying with little knowledge or experience. Your instructor will have good advice for you too.

Ultrflat

I'm in my late 30s. So I'm going for the A license?