Gareth T
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Registered: 14th Feb 06
Location: newcastle
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Im currently looking into what bike to start on after taking my direct access. Been looking at Honda VFR400's more and more, I just wanted to know if there is any other bikes that I should be looking at as a first bike to get some experience on.
thanks 
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Richardhhha
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Registered: 29th Sep 07
Location: Croydon, Greater London
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if your looking for 400's then i wouldn't miss out on picking up a good zx4r
but are you after a sporty looking bike or a sit up and beg bike?
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Gareth T
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Registered: 14th Feb 06
Location: newcastle
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quote:
Originally posted by Richardhhha
if your looking for 400's then i wouldn't miss out on picking up a good zx4r
but are you after a sporty looking bike or a sit up and beg bike?
sporty looking bike
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Richardhhha
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Registered: 29th Sep 07
Location: Croydon, Greater London
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budget??
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DizzyRebel
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Registered: 2nd Jan 09
Location: Lincoln
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400's are slow and overpriced. For the money - get a CBR600f... much better starter bike.
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Graham88
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Registered: 16th Apr 07
Location: South East Kent Drives: E46 M3
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All 400's are old now and forever developing problems. I had no end of trouble with mine.
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Richardhhha
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Registered: 29th Sep 07
Location: Croydon, Greater London
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differance being a 600 will do 150mph + and he's just passed his test and wants to be sensable and not go hare balling around on a 110bhp pocket rocket where he'd more than likely come up a corpper and ether seriously injour himself or worse.. learn on a smaller bike then when confedent go for a bigger bike and thats it in a nut shell, thats the way i was tought by my father and thats the way i preach, he's seen a fare few of his mates die because they decided to go from something like a FS1E (50cc) to a sport/super bike of the eara like a Kh750 or a kz900..
and 400's are more than likely more reliable and better build than any of the modern bikes... plus a hell of a lot cheaper to fix and you can do most of the servicing/repair stuff yourself..
i'd like to see someone ballance the carbs or sort out re shimming the head on a zx6r... blody kawasaki want 600+ for re shimming...
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Richardhhha
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Registered: 29th Sep 07
Location: Croydon, Greater London
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so something like this would be ideal
ZX4R 14,900 miles and £1,900 ono
[Edited on 22-09-2009 by Richardhhha]
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Sunz
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Registered: 12th Jan 07
Location: SE England
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Hornet 600 would be good.
Or ER-6 if you have a little more cash.
Reliable is bandit 600 and very cheap also.
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Richardhhha
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Registered: 29th Sep 07
Location: Croydon, Greater London
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true a bandit would be a good shout, but they can be propper wheelie machines lol
i think as he said he wants something sporty looking so he's quite limited, but if he wanted something that can be street fighterd then a 600 bandit would be a great shout 
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Eck
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Registered: 17th Apr 06
Location: Lundin Links, Fife
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Hayabusa
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Stoneyginger
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Registered: 25th Jan 01
Location: Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire
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suzuki sv650s
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Stoneyginger
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Registered: 25th Jan 01
Location: Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire
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mine
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DaveyLC
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Registered: 8th Oct 08
Location: Berkshire
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Little 400 race rep type things are really not the sort of bike you want to be using to learn on, they are not really forgiving enough for the manouvers you need to learn. Best to start with something dull with a good turning circle that you can drop on the floor and not care about 
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Kano
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Registered: 29th Aug 04
Location: Fife
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quote:
Originally posted by DizzyRebel
400's are slow and overpriced. For the money - get a CBR600f... much better starter bike.
100% agree with that.. I had a 600f as my first bike. Was quick, handled well but wasn't too suicidal for a first bike. Nice riding position on long runs aswell.
Mine was an anniversary so worth a bit more but you will get a decent one for £1500 easily just now..
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ShEp
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Registered: 9th Aug 05
Location: Dingwall, Highland
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A cbr600 will be more forgiving than the 400cc
its not all about the speed.
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DizzyRebel
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Registered: 2nd Jan 09
Location: Lincoln
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quote:
Originally posted by Richardhhha
differance being a 600 will do 150mph + and he's just passed his test and wants to be sensable and not go hare balling around on a 110bhp pocket rocket where he'd more than likely come up a corpper and ether seriously injour himself or worse.. learn on a smaller bike then when confedent go for a bigger bike and thats it in a nut shell, thats the way i was tought by my father and thats the way i preach, he's seen a fare few of his mates die because they decided to go from something like a FS1E (50cc) to a sport/super bike of the eara like a Kh750 or a kz900..
and 400's are more than likely more reliable and better build than any of the modern bikes... plus a hell of a lot cheaper to fix and you can do most of the servicing/repair stuff yourself..
i'd like to see someone ballance the carbs or sort out re shimming the head on a zx6r... blody kawasaki want 600+ for re shimming...
First off, 400's are usually nails that have had the bollocks thrashed off them for 20 years by 17-20 year olds who have just passed their test. 400's require being ridden like a twat to get anywhere at a decent pace, they are small and cramped and put you in an uncomfortable race position.
The build quality on older bikes is not superior, Most 400's have cracking plastics, shagged rear shocks, rusted everything and generally need a complete restoration to make them respectable again. They are also mostly imports, and being so old spares are hard to get hold of and expensive for them. If you crash or drop one, good luck in finding a set of fairings for one. Also if you want the shims doing on a VFR400, you will pay more than a ZX6R as there are 2 banks of cylinders.
Your dads mates who went from an FS1E to a KZ900 were likely to die, have you ever ridden an old KZ? They are death traps that would kill even the most experienced rider given the sniff of a chance. A CBR 600 is nothing like a KZ and modern tires are much better than 30 years ago.
CBR600F is a good first bike, because although they have a bit of power its very smooth and predictable. the riding position is comfortable and they are reliable as hell. Spares are 10 a penny so if you have an off then it can be repaired at a fairly cheap cost.
PS id do the shims in your zx6 for about £350 assuming it didnt need many changing, your garage is pulling your pants down.
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DaveyLC
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Registered: 8th Oct 08
Location: Berkshire
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Dizzy is speaking the sense..
A 600 SuperSport is a completely different kettle of fish to a 400 race rep.
A 600 SuperSport would be much safer and more sensible option for a first "big bike".
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DizzyRebel
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Registered: 2nd Jan 09
Location: Lincoln
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I wouldnt even call a 600F a Supersports bike now going by todays stable offerings. Its more of as sports tourer/allrounder. Hence why honda still sell it alongside its 600RR, its still a popular bike today.
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ShEp
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Registered: 9th Aug 05
Location: Dingwall, Highland
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My friends bike history goes...
CBR600RR
R1
Yes he's an idiot, but theres a lot to be said for being sensible
He passed his test then 4months later got an R1 thats been a year and ahalf now without accident.
I'm not saying go get an R1, I'm saying get whatever you want just be sensible on it.
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DizzyRebel
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Registered: 2nd Jan 09
Location: Lincoln
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Very true. A bike is only as fast as you ride it... you respect a bigger bike with more power, whereas people get sloppy and aggressive on small bikes, learn bad habbits then transfer them to bigger bikes and end up hurting themselves.
My history went:
RS50
RS125
R6
R1
The only bikes i crashed were the 50 and the 125's!
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ShEp
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Registered: 9th Aug 05
Location: Dingwall, Highland
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Exactly, he stil says he is scared of the R1 which I think is a good thing, makes him that bit more cautious
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Daimo B
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Registered: 20th Mar 00
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If your after a 400cc bike,
ZXR400.
Awesome little bike, but many have been raced so be weary.
VFR400 is an ace little bike, but again, getting on a bit, and many have been thrashed by young lads like Graham and binned a few times 
SV650S, awesome first bike, plenty of poke, and very forgiving. Comfy, reliable, but not too fast to kill you. Doesn't need 8000+revs to feel like its going quick as plenty of torque low down in the revs, hence meaning it doesn't need to be thrashed to have fun like an IL4.
Bandits ok, but not really a sporty fun bike, more of a refined cruiser type commuter bike, however, I love my bandit as its ultra reliable and never lets me down. Come back off holiday after 2 weeks, fired up first time.
You can go down the CBR600 route, but again, you need to work the engine hard to get it moving fast as the nature of the small cc engine and IL4 feature means it needs revving hard.
Ducati Monster? Great little bike, speak to Half Pint on here who has one.
Hornets a good 600, but it has 100bhp, and a tiny tiny fuel tank. Maybe a bit too much as a first bike.
Trust me, anything up to 80bhp as a first bike WILL seem fast if you've not been brought up around bikes.
Theres plenty of time to upgrade to a killer machine, i waited 8 years to get my first true sports bike, but im a much much better rider for it.
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Gareth T
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Registered: 14th Feb 06
Location: newcastle
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To be honest the bikes Ive looked at so far are Aprillia RS125 / Honda VFR400 / Kawasaki ZX4R / Honda CBR600
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alli Ronald
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Registered: 20th Aug 04
Location: Glasgow
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I always loved RVF nc35's, alot of cash for one but they are brilliant little bikes.
have to agree with DizzyRebel though a CBR600F is an amazing bike, so usable its unreal and you wont out grow it any time soon. SV650's are decent too but their outta puff at 120mph.
just realised you had posted. Avoid 125's... you will out grow it by the time you get it home. CBR....CBR..... CBR!!!!
[Edited on 22-09-2009 by alli Ronald]
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