Any advice for a new rider

Hi - sorry if this question has been raised before - I did a search
and didnt ind anything.....

Im considering getting a motorcycle for my commute to / from work (35
mile round trip - New Forest into Southampton) as its nigh on
impossible to get the car parked in the city centre and public
transport is not available.

Im completely new to motorcycling - never ridden before, Im 50 yrs
old, 6' 2" and need to lose weight. I'd be grateful for any advice on:
- where to learn to ride
- what bike would suit a 35 mile per day round trip
- what sort of cost a bike would be
- what sort of cost for the appropriate clothing
etc....

If there are any good websites / magazines / boks that could give me
this info, I'd be really grateful

Many thanks, Mike.

 

Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique, UKMikey

Paging DWB! DWB to the white... no, black... no, white... no,
rainbow-coloured courtesy phone please!

--
Wicked Uncle Nigel - "He's hopeless, but he's honest"

WS* GHPOTHUF#24 APOSTLE#14 DLC#1 COFF#20 BOTAFOT#150 HYPO#0(KoTL) IbW#41
SBS#39 OMF#6 Enfield 500 Curry House Racer "The Basmati Rice Burner",
Honda GL1000K2 (Fallen apart) Suzuki TS250 "The Africa Single"
Norton 850 Commando Kawasaki GTR1400

 

TBH then you really didn't search that well, it is a very common
question and some of the answers are included in or fine ffaq, which I
do heartily recommend as a jolly good read. Especially the ukrm CBT
bit.

45 minutes to an hour each way depending on your levels of enthusiasm
and the traffic for 40something weeks a year in all weathers year in
year out, "There is no substitute for cubes."

More than you expect.

Training, insurance and armour is going to cost the thick of 1.5k add
the bike that gives you biggest hard on to that.

You are here.

 

Champ says...

Suzuki SV650, either a naked one with a flyscreen, or a faired one if
you want a more leant forward riding position.

 

As Lozzo says, an SV650. An absolute pussycat of a bike, can be ridden
"with spirit" as you know, and you can get a perfectly good near-mint 2
year old one with a half fairing for a bit over £2.5k (ono)

I spent 100 quid on a helmet once, and I'm not doing that again. The
only lids I've been truly happy with over the last 15 years have been
Arais. I'm not sure I'd ever recommend anything else.

TBH, I'd recommend popping in to the nearest branch of Heinz Gherkin. Of
my current kit the boots (waterproof) and gloves (crash resistant and
they soak up the blood a treat) were 80 quid a pop and the jacket and
jeans were 50 quid each in a sale. Bloody good waterproofs, too.

 

ogden says...

My silver naked one is now 4 1/2 years old and done 28K miles of mainly
commuting, and it still runs as sweet as a nut and looks pretty good for
it. As Ogden says, a really low mileage 2 or 3 year old one one can be
bought for between £2.5 to £3k, and that's for a half-faired version.
I've just bought a 4500 mile old more desireable all black 2005 plate
model, with full fairing lowers, modified forks and a whole load of
extras with standard bits included for about that price. Naked ones are
about 350 quid cheaper and just as good a bike.

At 6' 2" tall you'll probably be more comfortable on a K3 model as the
seat height is 40mm higher than all the others.

 

This is uk.rec.motorcycles, not uk.rec.sheds.

 

Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique, Nige

Could somebody help me out with some translation here?

What's Northern for "caricature"?

--
Wicked Uncle Nigel - "He's hopeless, but he's honest"

WS* GHPOTHUF#24 APOSTLE#14 DLC#1 COFF#20 BOTAFOT#150 HYPO#0(KoTL) IbW#41
SBS#39 OMF#6 Enfield 500 Curry House Racer "The Basmati Rice Burner",
Honda GL1000K2 (Fallen apart) Suzuki TS250 "The Africa Single"
Norton 850 Commando Kawasaki GTR1400

 

I'm not very experienced, but here's my opinion:

First of all, becoming a biker mainly because of a parking problem is not a
good idea, at least not in the UK, due to the weather. Riding is awesome but
not if it feels like a chore and if you're not into bikes it probably will
when it's pissing it down. Of course there's that saying that "there's no
bad weather, only bad clothes, too short fairings and non-heated grips", but
I hope you see my point. Unless of course you plan to ride only when the
weather's good and take the car in the other 95% of cases.

My first suggestion would be that you get a Smart or an Aygo/C1/107 (or a
grey import Kei car if there are any available) if you can afford it, fit in
it and you think it will make a difference in parking. Failing that, your
needs call for a scooter more than a bike. I'd suggest a BMW C1 due to the
protection it offers or a Piaggio MP3 but a) I've never ridden them and b)
99% of the newsgroup will tell me to **** off.

If you do go for a bike after all, I would suggest the Suzuki V-Strom 650 .
I think such bikes are not very popular in Britain, but it's quite comfy,
will do whatever you want it to and offers some weather protection. More
importantly, it should be able to accommodate your size without problems.
Similar bikes you can have a look at are the Aprilia Pegaso, Honda
Translap/Africa Twin, BMW F650 and Kawasaki Versys/KLE(shudder)


Geo

 

You'd get lost in the crowd here, then.

Google for "Motorcycle training" and select a nearby outfit.
Alternatively, ask your local dealer which one they recommend. That's
probably a better policy, actually.

Depends on the roads. Therough suburbia and town, a 125 is quite up to
that sort of journey. If it's dual carriageway and Mway, then it'll get
a bit blown into the gutter, and a 250cc+ is better. New Forest to Soton
- I don't know the roads, but I imagine a bit of M27 is involved.

For a road legal bike, anything between £200 and many, many thousands.
For a half-decent 500cc twin (which is a good post-learner machine), a
grand is starting money.

You can kit yourself out with a new old stock helmet, boots and gloves
from an autojumble, cheap jacket, etc, for little more than £100, or,
again, you can spend £300 on a helmet, ditto on jacket and trews, a ton
on gloves, £200 on boots....

Bike magazine, And this august newsgroup, of course.

You want to pass the test ASAP, as from October it gets *much* harder
and more expensive. You have two choices: pass on a 125, and be
restricted to 33bhp for two years thereafter, or pass on a 33bhp+ bike
(as you're aged over 21) and jump on whatever you want. That's Direct
Access (DA).

There are quite a few people here who think that DA is a bad idea, as
nothing, but *nothing*, prepares you for the performance of a modern
sports 600cc bike, never mind a 750cc+.

Bear in mind that even a medium-sized bike costs as much to run as a
car, but in your case it's the convenicne rather than the cost that
matters.

Oh, and motorcycling is an addictive a habit to acquire as cocaine. And
more expensive.

Enjoy.

 

ITYF he doesn't.

He has a choice. He also has two options.

 

Saving money is just an excuse to get the plan past the finance committee.
If you do the costings based on the next ten years I doubt that running
a bike and car will be any cheaper than just the car, whatever value
you put on your time or the estimated month off work after an accident.
So the best thing to tell the wife is that it's a mid-life crisis and
the bike is wanted for the fun factor.

This looks fun for commuting, with 0% finance and a free restrictor:
http://www.suzuki-gb.co.uk/bike/drz400sm

 

That link doesn't seem to work but it was meant to point to a DR-Z400SM,
light and easy to handle while weaving between stationary cars in the
rush hour.

 

It really does depend on what the drive's like. If it's like going into
Sheffield (ie, rammed with traffic and takes an hour to do 25-30miles), then
you will be wanting a bike of some variety. If it's one those places where
you can get to the town fairly easily but the last mile or two is rammed,
consider parking up on the outskirts and riding a pushbike in. My feeling is
that you really should learn to ride a bike when you're 16/17, so you learn
to handle one whilst you're still invincible...

 

Watch out for Double Cross Motorcycles the other side of Ringwood.

 

Which, strangely enough, is not heard often round here and as it is a
good saying perhaps it should be.

 

Bleedin' pedants....

 

You'll be dead in 2 months I say