What Size, What Bike, What to do!

Right! Firstly, I'm looking at doing my test pretty soon and i will be on an A2 license so i will be restricted to 33bhp for 2 years. The choice i have is getting a restricted 600 or a full power 250, obv. i would like a 600 BUT the insurance is a bit pricey, I would be looking at about £800-£900 for a 250, and about £1500 for a 600 I can afford both but its still a lot of money! Just want some opinions about if its worth the £££ for a 600 over a 250 when they have near enough the same final power!
Secondly, ... what bike do i get! This isn't so much a question of what bikes best but more what bike will i fit on! I want a sport bike but being 6 ft 2" they can be a bit of a squeeze, folding myself onto my rs is an art in itself but is manageable without destroying my spine, just to give an idea of useable size. At the moment I'm mainly looking at 3 bikes, Yamaha R6, Triumph TT600 and a Kwaka ZX-6R although i don't know how they all are for size. I've never really looked at 250s much so haven't got a clue about them! Those are the bikes I'm looking at but all suggestions are welcome! I'm looking at spending about £2k-£3k. any suggestions/opinions would be helpful atm and ... sorry for the essay... :p
Thanks Geo

And just to add another level of complication, if i get a 250 when my 2 years of restriction is up i WILL be replacing it with a 600 anyway and over 2 year i will probably clock up about 20k+ miles so the value of that bike will go down and i'll have to fork out the extra to get a 600 but if i get a 600, yes the insurance is more but after the 2 years my only expense will be getting it de-restricted and i will keep that bike pretty much til it explodes! So will the price of the insurance be canceled out with the decreased value of the 250 because of the extra 20k or so miles on the clock! not having any experience in it i'm not too sure how much the mileage effects value etc.etc.

Follow the rest of the herd to George White in Swindon tomorrow and sit on everything they've got, at least you'll get a feel for size. Being tall, have you considered a supermoto, something like a DR-Z400, might not need restricting... If you want a physically large sports 600, the Triumph Daytona 650 is quite big...

Seek and ye shall find... 8-)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Scotty

Follow the rest of the herd to George White in Swindon tomorrow and sit on everything they've got, at least you'll get a feel for size. Being tall, have you considered a supermoto, something like a DR-Z400, might not need restricting... If you want a physically large sports 600, the Triumph Daytona 650 is quite big...

Seek and ye shall find... 8-)

---

only really looking at sport bikes tbh as i'm planning on going to track days and whatnot, the only things that have tempted me are things like the speed triple! but even those are mild temptations.

I had the same dilemma, but decided in the end that I wanted a bike to work as it was designed from the outset, so I went for the 33bhp Ninja 250R. I had mine from new on a cheap finance deal planned so it would be paid off when my restriction ended (although things didn't quite work out, that's another story ::) ). I think it was a good choice—I really enjoyed riding it and although I was ready to move on when I changed it for the CBR600F, I do still miss it. I'm about 5'10" and I thought the 250R was quite comfortable; others sometimes said it looked a bit small for me though, so I guess you'd have to try it. I had nearly 20k on mine after a year and a half and it still held its value very well.

I would look at 250cc options more. I don't believe in this whole restriction idea. It seems even on restricted 600s, you can still go 600cc speeds. Using maximum power on 600cc bikes puts you over the speed limit before you get to 3/4th gear. I mean, if you buy a 600cc bike, you should be competent and have enough self control not to kill yourself, or face the consequences. Having a restricted license is like going to a gentleman's club, and having to watch through frosted windows or something..

If it was me I would go for the 600 option :) You already know how to control a motorcycle and because of your height my suggestion would be the CBR600F/Sport ;D

They are a very good bike and being a *cough* Honda are very reliable :)

I used to have a CBR6 F and loved it, although my bad back thought otherwise :o thats why I have to have a sit up and beg jobbie now :(

The restricted CBR will have more initial get up and go than a 250 and TBH I think you would get bored with one after a short time having to constantly change gears etc and running at almost full power all the time would get tiresome IMHO :)

Im 6"2 and my first bike was a zx6.I tried the r6,but, it was just to focused and pushed me forward therefore cramping me.
As has been mentioned,get yourself to Georgewhites and sit on what takes your fancy to get a feel.

FZ6 Fazer is comfy for long legged types, and will do everything a 600 sportsbike can do on the road. See if you can pick up an S2 model for about £3000 (Fazer S2 had a few improvements over the original FZ6 Fazer). Once you're ready to go un-restricted you'll have 100bhp on tap from a very usable bike that you'll already be used to riding.

What about sports tourer, would give you a bit more room than just a sports bike, tho understand the lure of a sports bike :)
I went straight to DAS from my CBT so only rode a CG125 for about 5 days.
Due to my maturity (age! ;D) I don't have a restricted licence and have a Diversion xj6s, great bike for me but then I'm tiny.
I was told I would get rid of my 600 within the year, but not going to happen, I love it and also I'm so new to biking I still have loads to learn so more than happy to learn it all on the Divvy before I consider anything else.
When making my choice I sat on heaps of bike, as like you height is an issue though at the other end of the height chart!
Someone like GW might have an offer that is too good to ignore, 0% finance, free servicing, kit etc and that may well make the choice of bike easier!
Have fun bike shopping [smiley=thumbsup.gif]

Went don't to GW today and tried out a load of bikes, everything from full blown superbikes to cruisers and actually found the sports bikes more comfortable in terms of riding position than anything else, although this could just be because I'm used to sitting like that while on a bike. I found the gears/break felt awkward on anything else. But ran into another problem of having size 12 feet! i couldn't physically get my foot under the gear lever to change up without having to completely take my foot off the peg and bring it in from the side. I assume i could just get a longer shift lever or something but based on not changing anything i've narrowed down the choice to 2 bikes.
The yzf-r6, which i actually found really comfortable and the handlebars were near enough exactly where my hands naturally sit when i lean forward and tbh i would give up all comfort for those looks and that sound! OR the triumph 675 which i found i sat much more upright on but found all the controls and levers sat in the right place without any problem at all and would probably save me a bit of neck ache on longer trips!
But I'm not set in stone about anything yet so keep up the suggestions i've got a few months yet before I'm going to make my decision!

Scottys advice to go sit on bikes and try them is probably the best advice you could be given however I have PM'd you with another suggestion.

Steve

I'd get a restricted 600. You'll still get good bottom end performance, just the top end is reduced. There is plenty of power to riddle your licence at 33bhp.....

...the other reason is you'll loose money bying and then selling a 250 in the order of hundreds of pounds, far more than the cost of the restriction.

I'd go for a cheap flat bar bike to start with, Sv650, Honda Hornet, Yam Fazer, Suz Bandit are all good and withing your price range.

The SV650 is a good option..
the 33bhp restriction is done by swaping the ECU for a restricted one, they are cheap and kicking around in the SV forums...

my ex had an SV650, and even with the restricted ECU fitted the bike still pulled away pretty well..

also very easy to ride around, light and flickable... suspension could be better, but... you might not feel the need

It's even simpler on the earlier carbed ones, just a pair of washers in the carb inlets.

Either way, great bikes!!!

yeh, that's on what they refer to the curved ones right? the later models are known as pointy?

dont remember exactly... but im sure the earlier versions are easier to do.. the ECU sits just under the seat and its literally a 2min job, to get to the carbs is still a bit of a job..

still, a very good bike.... as long as you take care of them, ride it through the winter without anti corrosion protection or a good wash after and they'll fall apart

That's right.

Up to K2 are the Curvy Sv's and these have carbs. K3 onwards are Pointy Sv's and have injection.

Test ride everything you can, that should help your decision.

Only one choice! Ninja6R unless your a girl? lol ;)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by dazlow

Only one choice! Ninja6R unless your a girl? lol ;)

---

The ninja was actually the bike i was most looking at but then i just started seeing them EVERYWHERE! and it kind of put me off a bit tbh same a a Gixer, *looks down a line of parked up bikes* ... * gixer gixer gixer gixer ninja ninja gixer ninja gixer gixer gixer ninja ninja ninja ninja gixer etc.*... what a surprise! :p

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by dazlow

Only one choice! Ninja6R unless your a girl? lol ;)

---

Pah! V twin all the way!!! :D