yet another Biker thread !

[John h]

Some time ago a lot of bikers on here gave me expert guidance when my son bought his first Yamaha 125

well yesterday he proudly announced he had passed his full licence test ! The blood quickly drained from the Wife's face as the realisation that Chris is now on the hunt for something bigger !

Can anyone give me some guidance on what we should 'try and steer' chris towards ? I thought the trusty suzuki gs500 ?

thanks ....worried father

[Andy Pandy]

Nice friendly Kawasaki gpz 500 or Honda CB 500 or indeed as you say GS 500 it depends on what he likes but lots of newbies seem to plump for gpz in my area, look good, low seat height, light but responsive,good handling and pretty reliable.

[Scooter]

When I passed my test many moons ago, I got a GPZ 500S and have to say it was an ideal choice, not too powerful but still a real bike.

[Webbo]

Good advice on Bikes to buy there. My advice would be to steer him towards passing his Car test and to buy a Surf. Sold my Fireblade four years ago IMO roads are far to dangerous now. Most of my Mates who still have their crutch rockets only do track days now .......

[John h]

Useful advice as ever, however, my mobile now seems to be infested with fleabay and Bike trader ad links to things bigger ie Bandit 600's

I really wish he would have passed his car test, I would have given him my old Surf gladly !

fortunately he is on a limited budget so this may curb his enthusiasm...he said hopefully

[si tate]

My first bike was a GPZ 600, not a bad old bus but a little heavy, stick with the advice above john & he won't go far wrong.

[yoshie]

John from an ex biker who has had the 50cc moped to the GSXR 1100 tell him to buy a car and let your wife sleep a little easier.

Every bike has a beige metro somewhere in it's future waiting to pull out.

[si tate]

John from an ex biker who has had the 50cc moped to the GSXR 1100 tell him to buy a car and let your wife sleep a little easier.

Every bike has a beige metro somewhere in it's future waiting to pull out.

My first accident was with a beige alegro, lucky for me i was in the works van & not on the bike.

[ninjadave]

Congratulate your son on his achievment. The Kawasaki ER6 is an excellent bike for new riders but it depends on how much he wants to spend.
To allay your wifes fears, how about guiding him onto an IAM or Rospa training course.
These are often run by police riders who will pass on a lot of safety tips and will lower his insurance premiums. The difficulty will be getting him on the course now he has just finished his test. He will want to be out riding not studying again.
Of course the negative comments on here do have merit, as does horse riding, hang gliding, skateboarding, green laning, etc etc.
Will he appreciate the negatives after passing his test? no!
encourage him onto further training is my advice.
Good luck
Dave

[Albannach]

My choice for him would be a Suzuki SV650S. An excellent bike, fast enough and very nimble.

Try to keep him away from 'proper' bikes until he has about 10k miles under his belt.

[DaveHMS]

John from an ex biker who has had the 50cc moped to the GSXR 1100 tell him to buy a car and let your wife sleep a little easier.

Every bike has a beige metro somewhere in it's future waiting to pull out.

I occasionally still pine for my GSX11. Loved riding it when I lived in Germany but found the standard of driving in the UK took the joy out of riding, so I sold it. I couldn't justify having it sat in the garage unused.

[John h]

Thank You all for your wise words

it is much appreciated !

[madmanc]

If i were to start from scratch again I always loved the Bandit or the Hornet !

[John h]

Well no matter how much i tried to assist in his deliberations etc, Chris came home today with a Suzuki Bandit 600 (not sure about the technical number terminology etc) suffice to say it has plenty of service history has done 32k miles and is 9 years old original tool kit working scott oiler and a few other bits etc all in for £1200...now we wait for Mum to cast her eagle eye over it and give her two penneth

thank you all for your help,it is much appreciated !