Hi whoever will read this, this is my introductionPlease read this with an "epic fairy tale voice" as it's an epic story. If you don't want to read a long story you'd better click the back button.
Many moons ago I was one of those riders that stupidly rode with no license
I had a wee gsxr250 that I enjoyed abusing around the twisties that are abundant in wellington. I eventually left NZ to tour the world and 8 years later I'm back and now kicking myself for not going through the license programme back then as now I must play the LAMS game, but such is life
First up was to do the riding course, on a friday night I decided that I wanted to do it the next day and luckily I came across the 2 Bald Bikers who had a spot open for me. Stoked!! Their course was fine, probably a lot better if you'd not had any experience. I got my piece of paper which was the most important thing. I take my hat off to them as some of the people they have to teach leave a lot to be desired. Next was the written test which I stressed about and ended up being a piece of cake!
I spent countless hours researching LAMS bikes. My go to app was Trade Me, my watchlist was peppered with bikes I dreamt of and ones that were legal for me to ride. The frustration of finding a great looking bike only to read that it wasn't the LAMS approved model but was cheaper than the LAMS one
There were lots of bikes with restrictors removed, I could get one and nobody would know and I could go faster, but if I stacked it the insurance wouldn't pay out if they found out, but I wouldn't crash would I? I could get away with it couldn't I?
I read every bloody review I could find, every opinion was noted. I had so many tabs open on my browser that my computer would have a seizure. My brain was about to explode. What do I want in a bike? I'd ridden my old gsxr for a couple of years so I wasn't a complete newbie, I had a dirtbike too and while I was overseas I'd rented a bunch of dirtbikes for adventures. Did I want a motard, a naked or full sports bike?? What bike would help me be the best rider I could become?
The best piece of advice I read was "ride as many different bikes as you can". After I read that that's what I tried to do.
First thing to do was to go around the bike shops in wellington. I'm a pretty good customer, but I'm pretty critical if I'm not looked after especially when going to look at expensive toys.
I did the rounds and took notes of what the different shops had in stock, how friendly the staff had been, whether they'd listened to me and my budget constraints etc. Then went back to the old computer and did my research. By this time I'd sat on quite a few of the bikes that I was interested in which gave me a different understanding/appreciation of it all.
I can't stress how important it is for a bike shop to make people feel welcome that first time you go in as they can have a customer for life if they play their cards right.
Finally it's time to test ride....woooo hoooo.
First stop Red Baron as they'd been super friendly with me. The first time I went upstairs to waste some time they offered me a coffee while I looked at stuff which I thought was pretty cool.
Jimmy down on the floor with the bikes had been really helpful the first time I'd been in so I went back. I'd told him my story and that I was interested in a Motard so he sent me off on a DRZ400 SM. I was excited, finally a ride. It was funny after all these years to be back on the road and I probably didn't test the bike as much as I got back into riding on the road.
I got back to the shop and talked with Jimmy who asked how I felt about it. It felt like someone had mixed my dirtbike with my old gsxr. It felt good but didn't fill me with excitement like i was hoping.
I sat on a KTM 390 which was way to cramped for me which I was sad about as I'd read many good things about and a Hyosung GT650RL and didn't like the feel of it. Back to the drawing board I guess.
On the way back to town I saw Clean Motorcycles. I thought what the hell, I've got my riding gear in the car I may as well stop in. I walked in there and talked with Prandeep (I think that was his name, sorry if you read this and I fucked it up), he was super helpful and pointed at the two Bernelli bikes that were lams approved. I was drawn to the BN600 he had, what a handsome bike it was with it's Italian styling. He set me up for a test ride straight away and off I went. This was more like it, it felt awesome between my legs.....but it had had the throttle stop removed which would have to be put back on to make it lams approved, would I be able to do this after riding it in it's finer form....oh no. Not only were they friendly here they also followed up after in a non-pushy way which I appreciated.
What this ride showed me was the type of bike I was looking for, naked.
Next was Trade Me.
Top of the the list was an online trader that imported Japanese bikes and had three 400's in stock. I'd been recommended them by Richard at Richards Motorcycles too so got in touch and paid them a visit.
Marvins Cycles is based for now in Tawa and is a good little setup. I turned up there and was presented with 3 brand new looking bikes. A ER-4N, GSR400 and a CB400F.
I'd done some research of course before hand. I talked with Kevin and asked him which was the most fun of the bikes. He suggested the GSR400 which I was drawn to as well. I took it for a ride and really liked it, from Tawa to Porirua along the motorway back to J'ville then back via the back road. I talked with Kevin some more and told him I'd be in touch.
I'd done lots of reading about the CF moto bikes as they were selling pretty cheap and seemed to be pretty cool. So I organised a ride on one of these.
It "was" lams approved before having the throttle stop removed and the exhaust replaced, but man did it sound awesome! Took that for a ride and it was cool. Less refined than the Bernelli, but wheelied easier and the sound......sooooo cool. But again, strictly speaking not legal for me to ride.....why do I keep doing this to myself. The bike was due for a service and had a light that flashed on due to the throttle stop being removed and that coupled with CF motos variable reviews pretty much took it off my list. But it sounded soooo cool and looked pretty badass and was pretty cheap but.....
Now I had in my mind I should keep riding bikes to see what I liked so I kept looking on TM hoping something cool would pop up. A pretty new Hyosung turned up in the Hutt which I thought I may as well test ride as it was a good price and looked well maintained. This turned out to be the strangest TM experience I'd ever had. He was a new seller and wanted a deposit to test ride which is totally fine. Told him I'd bring cash no problems and he could have my car keys. He then proceeded to tell me he'd only accept a bank deposit and refund it after the ride which I thought was strange and after some back and forward between us with far to many red flags this bike went off my list. I emailed TM too, just in case, there were just too many sketchy things about it to not. Maybe the guy was legit and just really nervous but TM can decide that.
Now the waiting game sets in, I'm thinking should I look further away then Wellington, but I'd need to test ride them first.....OH the pain, what to do.
The Bernelli is a great bike but would I be able to restrict it again and would I get the same buzz out of it. It did have the 2 year warranty which was awesome but reselling it would be harder with Bernelli's patchy record not to mention the loss out the door.
The GSR400 seemed like the sensible option but did I want sensible. For sure it'd be easier to resell when the time came and would be super reliable.
Should I look at more supermotos? Would I like them more now I'd got more into the swing of riding again?
Then I woke up on Thursday morning and it was beautiful outside and I wasn't out riding I was missing out!!!
So made a phone call to Kevin and negotiated a good price and picked up the GSR400 next morning. Stoked!! Insured it straight away proving that I'm really grown up(to myself) and off I go, back into the awesome world of motorbikes.
So much fun.
Finally I cleared my TM watchlist of all the bikes, finally I could do something else apart from research bikes......who was I kidding, there are now jackets and modifications to look up!!!!!!
Thanks to those that read this far, I know it was a long read which hopefully you enjoyed a little bit, probably for those who are new to bikes you have been through much of the same experiences.
Thanks also to those who were patient in the shops with me, it really helped me out and you have built loyalties here.
If there is anyone who'd like a riding buddy around wellington drop me a message, I'm keen to get out there and learn from and with other riders.
Cheers,
Nick
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by GrayWolf
Bookmarks