Help picking bike...

[secretlegend05]

Hey.

Firstly i would just like to say that i am 19 so sports bike's are out of the question as they want over £1200 insurance for a bike worth pennies which is a shame

I had a 50cc at 16 and a gs500e at 17 (33bhp restricted)
For the past year i have been drinving a car to commute to uni but its costing a fortune on fuel and parking is a nightmare so i am going to get a bike again:):)

Firstly i have about 3500 to spend. There are two bikes that i really like the look of, the first is the Bandit 600 and the second is the sv650s (Fully faired)
They both are around the same insurance wise (About £400) but i really cannot choose. The sv650 looks more sporty but the bandit would be smoother.
I drive from Looe (Cornwall) to plymouth city center everyday. Which of the two would you pick?

Cheers
Carl

[Banditmax]

For commuting th sv would be the traditional choice due to being lighter. Performance wise the sv will have more torque like your gs500 would have had so revving won't be needed as much. The bandit on the other hand being an inline 4 will want to be revved to get anywhere fast but will still pull reasonably well from the lower revs. If you want some weekend fun though as well and enjoy using the rev's of a bike then i'd say go for the bandit.

[jason]

Personally out of those two I would take the SV everytime (and Im not a fan of twins generally)

Id expect it to be more fun.

speculation mind I have never had a go on either of them. Stating the obvious but the best bet is to grab a test ride on both then go from there.

[DynaMight]

You can get cheaper insurance on a Sports bike if you hunt around. I was insured on a GSXR750 at 19 for £800 TPFT. Both Bandit and SV are good bikes, both have their pros and cons. This time of year you may find £3500 gets you pretty close to a BRAND NEW one or atleast one with very few miles and only a few months old.

Both dont exactly have the best build quality so you'll need to look after it, both make roughly the same power. SV is lighter and slightly more 'racey' the half fairing will give better wind protection (I know Bandits have half fairing but it's illegal to buy any Bandit except the fully naked one)

Both handle really well at normal riding pass, get very ropey when pushing it harder. The SV has nice low and mid range grunt but has a real boring top end, the Bandit has ok low down grunt, just as good mid range imo and much better top end, it doesnt need anywhere near as much winding up as a sporty IL4.

£3500 gets you alot of bike, you dont have to limit yourself to just a Bandit or SV, although if you want to buy new(ish) they are your best bet. Z750's are good, so are Hornets. Theres plenty to choose from.

[tafflade]

my first road bike was a bandit and the second was an SV, of the two I preffered the SV by a long way, I like v twin power where as mrstaff didn't like the SV at all because she like to ride bikes like 2 strokes. I didn't think either were particularly comfortable over distance but both coped fine with a 100mile commute.

I think the question is, if these are the only two bikes your interested in, which engine configuration do you like and which do you prefer the look of?



but as dynaMight said, you have quite a large budget for this class of bike, there is no need to narrow yourself to the Suzuki's there is loads of bikes out there have a look on biketrader and search for bikes up to your budget, you'll be surprised what will come up

[Funky]

3500, personally I'd buy yourself a half decent sportsbike for about 2000 because chances are you'll bin your first big bike then use the rest to go fully comp. Out of your two choices, SV everytime.

[deej]

why not look at a ducati monster,much more stylish than a sv or bandit !!

as the others have said 3500 gets you a lot of bike, you could spend 3k on a cbr6rr and add the extra 500 to the insurance.

[Tom L]

yeah but if you want a monster you have to get the 900 as the 600 puts out embarrassingly low bhp, the 900 also sounds fecking awesome with some naughty cans on it. but then you get the problem of insurance.

If it was me i would probably go for a hornet as they seem the best compromise between sports bike/naked/affordable. But again 3k is going to get you alot of bike. I've got to agree with funky, buy something thats nice but not the sort of thing you're going to want keep wrapped in cotton wool as its biking law that everyone drops their first bike.

[Ricky_t]

Get a sportsbike. Shop around for insurance. I bought my Sv when I was 19 and I paid £270 for insurance TPFT. A cbr600rr would be about £600 at the time. ( I have 2 years no claims bonus.)

Out of those choices I would get the sv. Cheaper to service, handles ok - ish. For 3K you can get plenty of sports bikes not unnecessarily new. New bikes are always more expensive to insure.

The sv has a boring top end and quite slow even de-restricted but the low down torque does make up for it!

[Mike Daytona600]

Firstly if you're gonna spend that much on a bike get fully comp, it's a lot of money to loose if you write it off.

Bandits are great. They go well, handle well, comfey and everyone does extra for them.

SV's are nice. I've only ridden one and afterwards said if the wife did her test that's what I'd buy her so I could use it now and again and I'm not a fam of V twins.

However how about a Z750 as mentioned. They handle realy well and have plenty of poke. Not everyone and their auntie has one either. I prefere the pre 07 modles.

Found these on bikepics

[Tom L]

but i'd be impressed if you could find an insurance quote for under a grand, i'd probably guess the best you could get would be £1500.....but damn it would be worth it

[Tom L]

P.s i meant for any 750.

though personally as a young un too, i would never bother with fully comp. It adds nearly double the policy, and for a bike that isnt going to cost more than 2.5k it's hardly worth it. I claimed a theft claim on my insurance and i wish i didnt, in my experience, fully comp, whether you do claim or dont actually costs you more money (never underestimate 3 years NCB when you're 20, insurance went for £250 to £700 and it wasnt even my fauly, god damn chavs)

[watters]

to be honest mate as this is your first 'big bike' its worth looking at something a little older,you can get soo much for your money these days, try looking at a 2000 plate zx6r, awesome bikes and real cheap to pick up, the money you would save can go towards your insurance.

i was 19 when i had my first tl1000, you can pick these up for £2500 for a tidy one, i was paying £750 tpf&t with 3 year ncb, its worth looking at bikes which are a little older but give you more than enough power than you need,just a thought!!

i had an sv650s as my first 'big bike' and loved every minute of it, id have it over a bandit as im a v-twin addict!

over 'older' bikes to consider, zx7r, gsxr600 srad, yzf750r, all alot of bike for your money!

[Ricky_t]

You had a tl1000 at 19!

[tafflade]

The sv has a boring top end and quite slow even de-restricted but the low down torque does make up for it!

you aint riding it right if you think the SV is slow, granted it isn't as fast or powerfull as some bikes but it is not slow, its all to do with how much you slow down for the bendy bits