Buell for a 1st bike?

[youngcaprilover]

As the title suggests, it is time for me to join the ranks of men, and do my DA. Realistically a CBR600F for a 1st bike is a tried and tested route by many, however i cant stop watchin vid's on youtube of any Buells.
So my question is, would they be a suitable 1st bike??
Has any1 ridden one owned 1 etc? are they a wee hefty on insurance for a soon to be 21 year with no exp. and no NCB for a bike???

Also does any1 no the major changes for the bike tests at the end of sept??

Cheers for any help!

[Antony_James]

I was under the impression come the 1st of october, they are adding a few extra things to the practical, such as, 2 slow ride exercises,one being a slalom. 2x 20mph exercises (dont know what they could be) and one avoiding an obsticle at 30 mph, plus u still have your braking excersises, its a bit of a mission now like, you still have to do all the usual stuff too like ur u turn, hill start, angled hill start, emergency stop and everything

as well as that its goin up to 80 squid


...

NIGHTMARE

[youngcaprilover]

I read in last weeks MCN tht to meet EEC regulations Some off road training is required?? perhaps thts 1 of the 2 20mph exercises, will have to ask some training schools at the weekend! Cheers mate

[Jamie_mk1]

mate to be honest i think a cheap and cheeful sv650 is the way forward for a first bike - get a years no claims and then decide wot u want.

Before i had my sv i always liked the idea of having a sportsbike, but now i prefer the idea of a light, nible ktm duke

you can get an sv dirt cheap, i bought mine for 1800 sold it for 2200

[sportycorty16v]

love buells road tested a firebolt 1200 in veiw of buying one lol very tourqey so much so i lost it and slid down the road on my arse at 40mph lol watching bits fall off the bike thinking sh!t that just cost me 500 notes lol at present riding a sv650s same twin sensation if not as fast but cheaper to repair lol

[Gmac]

When I did my m/c test many moons ago, part 1 of the test was all off road. Going round cones, slow manouevers, emergency stop etc. Part 2 was on the road, doing the usual stuff.

I would have thought a Buell would be easier than a CBR type sports bike, for doing the slower stuff on.

[Antony_James]

Jamie and Corty have got the right idea, an SV can be picked up for nothin, nice note from the twin and parts and toys are cheap and plentifull

...

[eckie]

I know someone with a Buell, it spends more time in bits than it does on the road!
When my missus did her Direct access she went the usual route and bought a Cbr 6 and to be honest the amount of mistakes she made was untrue, if the Cbr wasnt so forgiving she would have been on her Ar$e.
Granted she is a dippy sort and iam sure your far more mechanically symapathetic than her.

Personelly i'd recomend a Honda but iam bias. Id go for a 400cc, Zxr 400 Rvf400 every one will say pah and dismiss em, but there cracking machines very tweakable great for learning the trade on, cheap to insure also.
Get a Cbr 400 when it gets too slow fit a cbr 600 lump

[bazpro88]

i had a vfr400 for my first bike and only had it a month as i found it hard to ride as it is to small for me (6ft 1 ). i got a 94 cbr600f straight after that and i couldnt believe the difference. was so much easier to ride and miles faster. i would reccommend one to anyone even people that have rode for years. i had mine slightly geared for a bit more aceleration and it was quicker than my 91 spec gixxer 750 up to 120.
also good bikes for taking passengers on aswell.
suppose only problem i had with mine is they look a bit bland compared to modern stuff.
buells look and sound awesome though.

[Capri302]

The new part of the test has been postponed for six months because there were not enough of the new test centres! Small sigh of relief,as I'm doing my DAS in a couple of weeks! Still being charged the price for the new test though,which is £20 more, and those people that had booked the new test,won't be getting their £20 back! That's our careing,shareing government for you,can't do enough to rip us off in every way possible!!!!

[tom burgess]

my first big(ish) bike was a cbr400 and it was fantastic

[TimGR]

A simple answer to your question;

No.

[Pushrod King]

A simple answer to your question;

No.

Having just ridden one,I'd be inclined to agree! Not the easiest of bikes to ride but I spose it depends what you're used to

They sound great tho

[scrote]

Yeah get one if that's what you want. nice to see someone not following the crowd. I got a blackbird as soon as i passed my test , that went ok

[youngcaprilover]

Thanks for the input guys,
i did read in the mcn review archives they produce bags of torque which is probly good and bad in a way,
A friends dad maybe partin with his VTR firestorm for £1000, also my dad maybe selling his '04 VRF800
so plenty of option also.

The old test has been reinstated till march 6th 2009,
so any looking to start out can save a whole £20!
and not have to do the sill new exercises (30mph swerve etc.)