The bike hunt goes on

Still searching for that nice CB500s but without much luck at the moment,
finding loads of naked one though, I dunno... not sure I get the same
protection from a fly screen.

Also finding lots of Divvy 600s, what does the colective wisdom of the group
think of them?

D

 

David Thomas says...

I've ridden one (briefly). Is was nice enough in its own way but it made
the fatblade seem exciting...

 

Dull but worthy commuters. Not a bike to get excited by. Does nothing
better than a Bandit ( except perhaps crash ). Flighty feel to the front
end.
Good 'working' bikes.
That could be seen as condemnation by faint praise. They're OK,
especially if you have a weak heart.

 

Yeah I sat on a 900 the other day... it's about the same weight as my car.

This will definatly be the last time I sell my bike before getting a
replacement, soooo fed up with not having a bike.

D

 

mups wrote

 

Neither of these is likely to aggravate your back due to performance.
I tried a Divvy 600 and was bored as **** before I'd done a mile, very
uninspiring. I tried a GSX600F too with a similar outcome.

I thought weight and seat height were important factors to you and you
wanted something lighter and lower than the Bandit? I would have
thought the Divvy 600 was neither.

 

Quite right, impatience is getting the better of me, took a CB500 out for a
test ride on Thursday last week and it was great, nice and light, easy to
ride and manoeuvre and most importantly comfortable.

I can get my feet flat on the floor on the CB, which makes it easier for me.

D

 

Without going back through your posts to see what you've tried so far,
how about a GS500? Ask Molly how much fun she has on hers. I would
imagine the CB would give you a more relaxed, upright posture out of
the box, but you could always stick some aftermarket bars on to suit.

I don't know the exact nature of your disability, but is getting
on/off a problem for you? If so, the seat profile on the GS might help
you when you swing your leg over. It's flatter than (newer) CBs so you
wouldn't have to get your right foot/knee as high.

 

Main reason I've not tried the GS500 is because they get slated in all the
reviews I've read.

My back problem has left me with little power in the legs so I need to get
my feet on the floor to balance the weight, not a big problem on flat ground
but get a bit of an uneven surface and I can't hold the weight if the bike
leans to far.. say at the traffic lights etc.

D

 

David Thomas wrote:

More reason to try one out then. Granted, they've got a simple air
cooled lump in them, but in my experience, they're a bit quicker than
the CB500 and more interesting to ride too.

Sir needs a nice little CG125.

 

a bit like the bandit 600 you've just sold, but much shitter.

 

Or a CB400? I had one for a day while my bike was in for a service and
a right little jape it was. Seemingly *much* lighter than the
equivalent 500 and (IIRC) with an engine that revved well past 12
grand, possibly 14 grand? Bags of fun.

Lady N might have a slightly scratched one for sale. ...

 

Hmmm I was coming to that conclusion, thats for the confirmation.

Found a CB500 locally:

2002
Black
3000 on the clock
Nice Condition
3 Months Warranty
£2800

What d'ya reakon... anyone?

D

 

It was £2899, do you reakon they earn enough to come down to £2700... never
bought from a dealer before, and is 3 months the standard warranty?

D

 

I suppose I had better mention my Kawasaki ER5 - I do this every few weeks.
Probably a bit old and cheap for you, but you can get much younger ones at
excellent prices and it is a very light and low machine with a smashing
engine. Mine is 1999, green, 10600 miles, new rear tyre, one owner from new,
garaged. I did buy it a screen (and still have it) but took it off after a
few rides because it spoilt the naked bike/commune with nature aspect of
riding. I am looking for about 1350 ukp for it - which seems silly cheap for
such an excellent machine, but it's what they appear to be worth. Oh, it's
in Mid-Wales. I suppose that puts a few people off.

John

 

I think I have one of those "must avoid" syndromes about the ER-5, prolly
because I did my test on one, as did most others of more recent test passes.

Apart from that... Bloody Wales, that miles away, as are most bikes that I
like, don't anyone in Essex sell their bikes then?

I wish I could narrow an eBay search down to just bikes in Essex, but can
only do London as a region and that can be up to 60 miles away to west
London, and a crap journey.

D

 

My first bike (GPZ500s) was up for £2800 but even without sucking my
teeth or anything the bloke had come down to £2500. They chucked in 6
months warranty and AA cover plus a service (well an oil change). As the
original replier said offer £250 - £350 less and see where you get.

 

This in Switzerland? I don't think you're very likely to get much in
the way of discounts on any bike here. I managed to get a grand total
of a 2% discount on the gixxer.

 

What does he mean by "netto prices"?

 

Cheap? Isn't "netto" one of those cheap supermarkets?