Wahoo - first bike a 1200??!!!

[lewis_walker]

Does everyone think I'm barking mad? - I've bought a nice shiny new Bandit 1200 for my first bike. :gob: And I do mean first - I did Direct Access course last week and have my test on Friday. Before that I had never ridden..

I was looking at something sensible but then I discovered the ludicrously low price of brand new suzukis. Then I found a dealer with a 1200 that someone ordered and then cancelled. So there it was, 0 miles on the clock and only 4500 quid.

How could I resist its shiny chrome and big muscley engine??..

Bit scared now.. :bye:

[merv]

They only go as fast as you want them to. While you are getting used to it just go easy on the throttle and you'll be fine.

[Storm]

Ride within your limits and you will be fine. Well scored on the bike :banana:

[FROSTY]

Does everyone think I'm barking mad? - I've bought a nice shiny new Bandit 1200 for my first bike. :gob: And I do mean first - I did Direct Access course last week and have my test on Friday. Before that I had never ridden..

I was looking at something sensible but then I discovered the ludicrously low price of brand new suzukis. Then I found a dealer with a 1200 that someone ordered and then cancelled. So there it was, 0 miles on the clock and only 4500 quid.

How could I resist its shiny chrome and big muscley engine??..

Bit scared now.. :bye:
Please dear god let this be another piss take thread.
If its not --dude be bloody careful.
Any monkey can ride a big grunty bike in a straight line. -Its all the other stuff ya need to know when ya aint riding in a straight line that scares me.

[Ghost Lemur]

Congrats on the baby. You sound reasonably level headed, and a health helping of fear is good to keep you within your limits.

Remember it'll only go as fast as you make it.

Hope you have very good gear too.

Be sensible, be safe, have fun.

[カワサキキド]

Is the SR125 the wifes?

[lewis_walker]

Is the SR125 the wifes?

The bit I didn't say is that my wife and I did the direct access course together, and whilst at the end of it I ended up failing due to not cancelling a left-hand indicator on the approach to a roundabout - she passed!

So she's justifiably smug and in fact the 125 is what I'm riding to get a little more practice before my next test on Friday!! My wife wants a Kwacka VN800 custom. Very sexy. I quite fancy tootling around on it myself.

In the UK if you pass on a 125 then you are restricted to 33bhp for two years (I don't know if it is the same in NZ). I took, and will be re-taking, the test on a Kawasaki ER5, so when (if??) I pass, I get an unlimited license.

[bear]

Good luck, that thing will go like a mad thing if you make it, or if it takes control.

[Sniper]

Can I have it if you dont make it? Ride safe buddy.

[Sparky Bills]

Congrats on the buy.
You best have Good Gear! Theres nothing worse than a newbee buying a big bike and binning it at high speed without gear!
Enjoy the feel of riding life dude!
Just ride smooth and ALWAYS look out for EVERYTHING! :bye:

[MOTOXXX]

perhaps the sales person should have sold you a burial plot and a head stone when he sold u a 1200 for a first bike.

has he no soul?

[rodgerd]

Does everyone think I'm barking mad?
No. Just bloody stupid. I know people with years of experience on sports bikes who reckon the big Bandit can be a bit of a handful.

Why ask? Are you expecting a bunch of people to pat you on the arse for being a moron?

[Motoracer]

Does everyone think I'm barking mad? - I've bought a nice shiny new Bandit 1200 for my first bike. :gob: And I do mean first - I did Direct Access course last week and have my test on Friday. Before that I had never ridden..

I was looking at something sensible but then I discovered the ludicrously low price of brand new suzukis. Then I found a dealer with a 1200 that someone ordered and then cancelled. So there it was, 0 miles on the clock and only 4500 quid.

How could I resist its shiny chrome and big muscley engine??..

Bit scared now.. :bye:I just want to ask you one thing. Other than the cheap price tag. What made you buy the big bandit? Just because it's big and powerful? With cars you can get away with it but when you are entering the world of motorbikes, you are playing a dangerous game. I don't mean to ruin your fun and joy of owning your first bike (not to mention a brand spanking new one!) but I just hope you will take care. It is possible to avoid any misshaps and still have a good learning time on the 1200 but it all depends on how mature you are in the head and how lucky you are as well. When you start out new, you'll be experementing with a lot of things. Sometimes you get it right and sometimes you won't. Bigger/powerful bikes can be very unforgiving when you do get it wrong though.

With anything, it is wise to take it 1 step at a time. You don't start on a short board when surfing, as you'll end up on your face every time without being able to stand on it. You build your skills on the big malibu to begin with and then eventually go where you want to go from there.

Do take care and all the best.

Congrats on the new bike BTW.

[gman]

maybe thats why so many people refer to bikers as "temporary citizens" ?????
take it easy thats alot of bike to come to grips with.

[lewis_walker]

Well - thanks everyone for the responses. A varied bag. On the whole I'm choosing to look at it as positive. To answer some specific issues - I have been driving for 15 years, am well into my years and have a wife and two kids. I see the way some kids ride on their sporty little 600's and it makes my blood run cold in my veins when I see how the potent adrenaline / testosterone (no offence, ladies) mix makes them risk obliteration with such apparent glee.

Sounds cheesy, but I love my family too much to be an irresponsible pillock. Some (most?) riders see big bikes as a sort of progression / earn your stripes thing. I might have it wrong, but isn't this because they think you've got to grab a hand-full of throttle at every opportunity, and so need to out-grow your current power-level before getting a bigger bike with more horses?

I learnt on a 53bhp bike, and I discovered that despite the fears of some of my younger and more enthusiastic 125-cc rider colleagues, it was easy to ride smoothly and safely. It amounted to not winding the throttle back as far as it would go. I found the power was easy to feed in gently with a bit of clutch and back brake, and that it only went as fast as you made it. It seemed this was a revelation to some sportsbike riders I know!!

So - I honestly did want people's opinions, as I'm not so arrogant as to think I know it all.

I shall get on the bandit when (if!) I pass, and I'll let you know.
:ride:

Thanks everyone!!
Lewis.

[Coldkiwi]

Go easy on it Lewis. Big bikes can bite you at slow speed too (go watch a rally with middle aged born again weekend warriors on BMW's and Harleys and you'll probably see this in action!). Handling a bike safely means understanding what is going to happen at rest, at walking pace, at cruising speed and at high speed. If you aren't prepared for the bike might do at these times and you find yourself there, you're up for a bunch of pain (just ask the blokes who've had their harleys fall over on their legs because they didn't know how to stop safely).

Don't be afraid to ask questions :)

[wari]

GOod onya mate ...:spudbooge

I'll nott knock ya ...

JUst take itt easy ... :yeah:

[R00T]

Bigger/powerful bikes can be very unforgiving when you do get it wrong though.
Yeah mate, you're not wrong there.

Bandits don't have great suspension, and I personally didn't feel that my 1998 1200 coped very well at all in the suspenders department, so poor infact that it totally let me down over some rough on the exit of Stansted Airport roundabout at about 70mph and threw me down the road.
More than likely my own fault but the bike should have given me more warning, or feedback or something.

Other than that, park a Scorpion Stainless end-can on it and its time for a hand shandy mate, those things transform it into an Animal for about 100quid.

[pipeman]

What a dick head you are better make a will out won't a be

[Ms Piggy]

I'm a very inexperienced rider but, from what you've said you sound aware of being careful - so please BE CAREFUL! Oh, and have fun.

Welcome to the site too btw :)

[gav]

Hmmm, ya see you can be as safe as you like, but one day someone is going to move over on you or pull out on you and you'll need to stop in a hurry, or theirs gonna be some fluid (diesel, oil etc) on a corner etc, and will you be able to control your bike then? Not trying to scare you, but really the young kids playing at boy racer etc will have more chance of survival, due to sharper reactions and spending more time with their bike closer to its limits, wheelies etc teach balance, throttle control etc, stoppies teach how to get the maximum out of braking on the front tyre etc.
I rode dirt bikes for over 10 years and my first real road bike was a shit hot Honda CB750F Bol Dor, traded this on a GSX1100, but wasnt until I traded this on a RZ350 that I really learnt to ride fast on the road. I was way quicker point to point on the little RZ compared to the bigger bikes.
Take it easy out there, OK...

[lewis_walker]

Well, guys - I've finally done it! I've passed my test.
So, with much trepidation, fear and trembling I took the Bandit 1200 beastie out for a ride on Saturday...

... and now I'm grinning from ear to ear :)

It is dead easy to ride like a big soppy pussy cat (even more so that the Kwaka ER5 I passed my test on), but you know there are hooligan levels of horse power lying there waiting if you really want them..

Seriously, though - the big bike really eats up the miles, and glides over the bumps a treat. Thankfully I sussed counter-steer while learning on the ER-5, so I can drop down into the bends a treat without fighting the weight of the machine.

A bit heavy when stopped at junctions with a pillion on the back, but you can't have it all!

:ride:

[mattt]

Haha mint!! You've got balls!
My first bike was a 400, then 2 months later I got sick of it and got a 900.
Feel the power :2guns:

[Madmax]

Take it easy on that machine (being a newbie)
Any big bike can bite back (when you lease expect it)
have fun

[riffer]

Take it easy on that machine (being a newbie)
Any big bike can bite back (when you lease expect it)
have fun


I've had my bike over a year now and just when I thought I knew just about everything it could do to me, it goes and surprises me this morning.

Out of the first street from home on the way to work, its a stop sign, and at 6.15 in the morning I usually waive the 3 second stop and come to a halt, just briefly and take off again. No need to put the feet on the ground - I can hold the bike up for a split second.

Of course, this morning it decides to find a false neutral between neutral and first. Funny - never knew I had an extra neutral. Obviously neither did the bike - it wasn't indicated.

Anyway, I stopped for a split second - and then accelerated - well the revs went up and the bike slowly toppled over.

I just got my foot down in time.

But its a lesson. Either stop or don't stop at the stop sign at 6.15 in the morning.

Tomorrow I'll stop - "One, elephant - two, elephant - three, elephant" then go. In gear this time...

[SPORK]

What a dick head you are better make a will out won't a be
Ummm, did ANYONE understand that? There was no need to knock him, sure it may be dangerous, but no need to get offensive. Some people...

[magnum]

hello and welcome,good luck. :rockon:

[Krusti]

Does everyone think I'm barking mad? - I've bought a nice shiny new Bandit 1200 for my first bike. :gob: And I do mean first - I did Direct Access course last week and have my test on Friday. Before that I had never ridden..

I was looking at something sensible but then I discovered the ludicrously low price of brand new suzukis. Then I found a dealer with a 1200 that someone ordered and then cancelled. So there it was, 0 miles on the clock and only 4500 quid.

How could I resist its shiny chrome and big muscley engine??..

Bit scared now.. :bye:

Had me worried for a sec.. thought it was dollars not pounds, was about to race out looking for one! :sweatdrop

I know the reasons for 250cc restiction here in Godzone are good but heaps of us old fogeys learnt on big bikes and survived :scooter:

Remember the most important riding skill of all is good old common sense and a brain that works.

:cool:

[betti]

congrats on the direct access pass mate, but remember that 12 bandit has at least 2 and a half times the horse power of the 500 you learnt on, enjoy the grunt of that motor and dont put yourself thru the scenery :eek:
cheerz!

[Motoracer]

I'd actually be really interested to know how the fellow has got on so far...

[zooter]

you crazy mutha... best advice I ever had was " if you're scared of it it's less likely to be able to kill you, find yourself feeling in total control of the beast and it can turn on you and chew your ass off " stay scared!

[zooter]

I suggest you park up the pride and joy and get a sacraficial stand in for your first couple of "learning experiences".
I started a poll in the "general ravings" forum How Long Before You Dropped yr Bike after getting yr full licence, or words to that effect, unless you are a legend in the making that Bandit will be the wose for wear inside a year.

[jrandom]

I suggest you park up the pride and joy and get a sacraficial stand in for your first couple of "learning experiences".
I started a poll in the "general ravings" forum How Long Before You Dropped yr Bike after getting yr full licence, or words to that effect, unless you are a legend in the making that Bandit will be the wose for wear inside a year.

Nah... if he's healthily paranoid about his riding, I reckon he has a good chance of being OK. Mr lewis_walker didn't sound like one to be overcome with testosterone the first week after he got it and start trying to get his knee down at every roundabout.

Of course, there's still a chance that something bad will happen and he won't be able to give the big Bindit the right inputs to get it out of trouble, but then it's only a chance, and the likelihood of it will be mitigated in direct proportion to the vividness of his imagination and his awareness of the fact that he's on a large scary machine that can kill him.

Betcha he'll do fine.

[inlinefour]

Welcome and enjoy :banana: