cbfb
16th September 2009, 12:40
Hi
I rode a DT50 trail bike quite a bit on a learner's licence in the UK. Things are a bit different over there - to get the full licence you have to ride an instructor's bike (ours were 500s) for lessons/tests and practice on a 50, which sucks, I much prefer the NZ setup. Anyway I failed the test for the full licence twice, once for speeding and the other time for using the wrong lane at a roundabout. Both dumb mistakes, but practicing on a 2-stroke 50 then jumping on a 500 inline four made me nervous as the bikes were completely different.
So anyway that's my life history; now after being in NZ for five years and promising myself each Spring that I'd get a bike, I've got my basic handling test on Saturday. After that I'm looking at buying a 250 to improve my skills on. As I said earlier, I like the fact that in NZ you can practice on your own 250 and use it for the practical tests.
So my question is; I was looking at a Honda VTR250 or a 250 Bandit. With my lack of experience at riding relatively fast bikes, do you think that this would be an unsafe option for such a novice rider? Would I be better at getting a GN250 or something until I've got my confidence up? My worry with the GN250 is that it's not quite quick enough to keep up with other traffic on the road - is this true and if so would it be a problem?
I like unfaired sports bikes like the VTR and the Bandit. I am not interested in racing, just chilled out rides and occasional commutes.
I am pretty good at mechanics so an older bike wouldn't be too much of a hassle for me, would do the work myself. Did my 'apprenticeship' rebuilding a GS550 from the ground up alongside a mate in the UK who had ridden/tinkered with bikes for years.
My budget is around 2 grand for a training bike.
Cheers, would appreciate any advice.
Chris
I rode a DT50 trail bike quite a bit on a learner's licence in the UK. Things are a bit different over there - to get the full licence you have to ride an instructor's bike (ours were 500s) for lessons/tests and practice on a 50, which sucks, I much prefer the NZ setup. Anyway I failed the test for the full licence twice, once for speeding and the other time for using the wrong lane at a roundabout. Both dumb mistakes, but practicing on a 2-stroke 50 then jumping on a 500 inline four made me nervous as the bikes were completely different.
So anyway that's my life history; now after being in NZ for five years and promising myself each Spring that I'd get a bike, I've got my basic handling test on Saturday. After that I'm looking at buying a 250 to improve my skills on. As I said earlier, I like the fact that in NZ you can practice on your own 250 and use it for the practical tests.
So my question is; I was looking at a Honda VTR250 or a 250 Bandit. With my lack of experience at riding relatively fast bikes, do you think that this would be an unsafe option for such a novice rider? Would I be better at getting a GN250 or something until I've got my confidence up? My worry with the GN250 is that it's not quite quick enough to keep up with other traffic on the road - is this true and if so would it be a problem?
I like unfaired sports bikes like the VTR and the Bandit. I am not interested in racing, just chilled out rides and occasional commutes.
I am pretty good at mechanics so an older bike wouldn't be too much of a hassle for me, would do the work myself. Did my 'apprenticeship' rebuilding a GS550 from the ground up alongside a mate in the UK who had ridden/tinkered with bikes for years.
My budget is around 2 grand for a training bike.
Cheers, would appreciate any advice.
Chris