A mate of mine is about to pass his test (he hopes) and is starting to look at options, he wants a naked type bike and has mentioned a Hornet and a Speed Triple. Are there any others he should bear in mind? I didn't think he should get a duke first as he'll be buying second hand and I don't reckon he'll want to deal with a full on Ducati relationship at this stage.
find him a nice 600/620 or 750/800 monster with a service history, that would be perfect. it will cement his love of bikes forever buying a er-6n or hornet may not have the same result trumpets are fun tho
Ah, what happened to the days when you passed your test and went out and bought a big stroker like a KH750 or an RGV500, then rode in the wet on badly surfaced (even cobbled !!!) roads with tramilines still in them .... I wonder why most bikers in the 80's had bad crashes just after passing their tests?
Yamaha 600 fox-eye Fazer is a cracking little bike, plenty around in good low mileage condition for 2-3K, cheap to insure if age is a consideration as well. Hate to be a harbinger of doom but being a first bike there's a chance it'll 'fall over' so I would advise against anything too pricey initially. A lad across the way from me bought a new Buell summat or other and that fell over as he was coming out of his drive. I've heard tell the street triple (675) is one of the best bikes to ride also.... I forgot the Honda 600FS 2000-2004 I think, precursor to the RR rrrr, hugely underrated and largely forgotten, although fully faired so apologies...
1998 Yam R1. Most of those don't have a fairing anymore so it will be naked :wink:. If he still has it after a week, he was born to ride bikes Aside from that, +1 for a 600 Fazer, excellent choice. My first big bike? Suzuki GT750A Kettle. I learned everything I know about debt from owning one of those.
Thanks for the replies, looking back i didnt really explain the situation properly, he was looking at naked type bikes as he wants more of an upright riding position so sportsbikes are out. Also he doesnt have loads of cash available and agrees that he'll probably have a minor off at some point so looking for something cheap to maintain and repair if necessary. I told him the Triumph was my fave out of that and the hornet but i dont know what the triumph service costs and spares are like cost wise? I'll add ER6 and Fazer to the list but the Fazer is my mostest boringest bike ever, but i appreciate its a proper workhorse. I've had an FZR600R and a Thundercat myself so ive ridden its cousins (no norfolk) and was very happy with both, i just dislike the bikini fairing look if i'm honest.
Hornet to begin with. Within a year he will have built up his ncb, riding experience, idea of what he likes, and be looking for something more interesting.
I looked at the Triumph myself recently and thought the component level shocking, talk about being built down to a price, I asked myself the question what would it look like in 3-4 years time with some proper use on it and the answer was not encouraging, not impressed!! The R is better but more money of course, I'm not dismissing them as a good ride tho, although I never personally tried it, I was put off that much! I agree the Fazer is yawnsville central but they do ride well, capable, honest 140 mph bike, good bike to learn your trade on, so to speak.
Spot on Iceman, if he is not too tall the Street Triple is a great first bike. My Mrs did her test this year and she loves hers. It's a light bike, lowish seat height, smooth power delivery and great fun when you get the motor spinning.
An overlooked bike is the Suzuki GSR600. Fuelling glitches on the first models left it unloved by the press, but subsequent models were good. Great handling and plenty of power, and should be pretty cheap.
My boy just passed his test and got a Kawasaki 6RN, Had a quick spin round the block....not bad....130mph ....wow
I passed my test in 2008 never been on a bike until 2007 Bought me a nice 600 SS didn't know any different other than the ER500 I had learnt on. Nice and cheap to maintain and insure for my first bike Have got another SS for sale if your interested although not naked
First bike - a Honda CD175 from 1973. A twin with about 0 bhp that ran like a sewing machine up to 55 mph, felt stressed at 60 mph and felt like it would fall to bits at 70. Second bike - a Honda 400N Superdream. So frankly anything you are likely to buy will be the complete business. That's 30 years of progress folks.
Ducati monster S2R 800, enough torque, naked and great styling and sound track. red & white corse striped
