SauRoNZA
Honorary Master
Bajaj is Indian and actually much more highly regarded than the Chinese ****.
In fact the small range of KTM's are all basically Bajaj's built in India.
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Bajaj is Indian and actually much more highly regarded than the Chinese ****.
In fact the small range of KTM's are all basically Bajaj's built in India.
SauRoNZA
Honorary Master
And how many times have you crashed or almost crashed?
Although its not impossible to survive learning on a 750 I can guarantee your changes are much higher to seriously hurt yourself.
You hardly even learnt to ride the 250, especially without a helmet (wtf?) before jumping the gun.
A good rider would easy out pace you with said 250 on your 750 or even 1000 while you were still trying to comprehend what power steering is.
Shocking advise to basically buy a 1000 because its small. It's a fricken Enzo Ferrari which will kill you with one wrong move on the throttle.
yeah, was browsing bajaj now, and I see Pulsar 180 is relatively cheap around R18k for a new one...but for a better quality Jap bike, Honda CBF 150 unicorn seems a better deal for R19k
But for a used bike, I might be able to find a CBX/Twister 250 for under R20k
haha yeah, 1000 is over kill really...too much power to handle for a new comer
Thanks
Key
SauRoNZA
Honorary Master
You'd have to go older. Even if you could find a new one it would be the price of a brand new 650 class.
Speed Triple = 1050
Street Triple = 675
Although a bit more docile the 675 is still not exactly what I would call a beginner bike. It's a little more docile at the lower end of the rev range but can also be extremely fast and a good rider will klap am average Superbike rider with it.
My advice to you would be to leave the bravado and "cool factor" at the door and consider your own safety first.
Learn to ride, and I mean really ride, first not just open the throttle in straight lines like any spastic can do, then get a bike that you really desire.
Go for training NOW, even before getting a learners to see if it really is for you and to understand the very basics. There are a lot of things that you won't simply learn by yourself and could take many years to figure out that someone could show you in a few hours.
Most riding schools have a half day (5 hour) beginner class for all of R500 to show you the basics.
I've ridden for 10+ years and still go for training and learn new things all the time.
As someone who has ridden many many bikes and also written plenty about them I'm looking at a Street Triple myself because its just "enough" bike. A Speed Triple is overkill for day to day use and a waste of petrol. And again a good rider on a Street Triple could out ride an average rider on a Speed Triple.
SauRoNZA
Honorary Master
Don't make any assumptions. You might even find that Honda CBF is a Chinese special with Honda badges.
Problem is that if you have aspirations of riding seriously down the line these bikes are going to leave you wanting. They all have little biscuit tyres that don't allow for real or rather safe lean a goes so you'll never learn to do that. They have card board brakes, which will scare you more than anything.
A second hand ER6 could go for as little as 35k and its a "real" bike that you can lean and even take on the track (yes I've done this) and do some canyon carving.
You won't be overtaking superbikes sure, but you won't be far behind either.
Ride it for two years and really learn to ride then get your true desire.
The biggest mistake I ever made as a young rider was thinking superbikes were cool and that I could learn on then.
My Gixxer did very little to make me a better rider and in fact did the opposite because the power and precision required intimidates you.
Only when I embraced slower less powerful and naked bikes did I learn to really ride and actually use bikes to their full capabilities.
Most guys on 1000cc's can't even ride a 600cc flat out, but their ego overrides their inability completely.
I normally have to go dog them out down ever valleys after a five story plunge from going into corners too fast.
Hosehead
Executive Member
Just get the biggest damn bike you can afford and try not to kill yourself
AlmightyBender
Executive Member
1) How much do you weigh?
2) What is your budget
My advice is to buy a Japanese bike or nothing. I have the CBX 250 and I guarantee you that you will fall in love with it and as per your criteria in the OP it is the perfect bike to a) learn to ride b) commute to town from Milnerton. This of course depends on how much you weigh. I am 90kg and my baby is very comfortable at 110km/h and goes to 140km/h and it generally feels fine to me. I'm not out to go fast or ride like an idiot so not really interested in mountains of power. It is manufactured in Brazil and it is a very high quality and extremely reliable bike. I've done 20000km and it still feels like a new bike with not once single problem. Also extremely easy to maintain yourself so very cheap over the long run.
For learning, it is very easy. Youtube will have you riding in 15 minutes. Else PM me and I will come show you how. That would actually be rad and I'd be more than happy to
Once you can get the bike moving up and down the road then bike school is a must. Truly safe riding is not intuitive and takes deliberate consideration and practice.
SauRoNZA has some excellent points but my view is that you can become a ""real"" biker on a ""real"" bike at a later stage if you so desire. The CBX 250 is a great first step on that journey. Your need is to commute and so there is no need to "keep up" with anybody.
But I really encourage you to go for it as any bike will save you stacks of cash in the medium term but way more importantly give you so much more time to enjoy your life as opposed to sitting wasting time in traffic. That is priceless. Just imagine being able to spend an extra 1 hour per day with your loved ones or doing the things you love.
2) What is your budget
My advice is to buy a Japanese bike or nothing. I have the CBX 250 and I guarantee you that you will fall in love with it and as per your criteria in the OP it is the perfect bike to a) learn to ride b) commute to town from Milnerton. This of course depends on how much you weigh. I am 90kg and my baby is very comfortable at 110km/h and goes to 140km/h and it generally feels fine to me. I'm not out to go fast or ride like an idiot so not really interested in mountains of power. It is manufactured in Brazil and it is a very high quality and extremely reliable bike. I've done 20000km and it still feels like a new bike with not once single problem. Also extremely easy to maintain yourself so very cheap over the long run.
For learning, it is very easy. Youtube will have you riding in 15 minutes. Else PM me and I will come show you how. That would actually be rad and I'd be more than happy to
Once you can get the bike moving up and down the road then bike school is a must. Truly safe riding is not intuitive and takes deliberate consideration and practice.SauRoNZA has some excellent points but my view is that you can become a ""real"" biker on a ""real"" bike at a later stage if you so desire. The CBX 250 is a great first step on that journey. Your need is to commute and so there is no need to "keep up" with anybody.
But I really encourage you to go for it as any bike will save you stacks of cash in the medium term but way more importantly give you so much more time to enjoy your life as opposed to sitting wasting time in traffic. That is priceless. Just imagine being able to spend an extra 1 hour per day with your loved ones or doing the things you love.
Archer
Honorary Master
+1 I dont understand the need to be going full throttle, and really the last thing you want is to be going fast in traffic. Get something that you can be comfortable on while going no more than 30km/h faster than the traffic you're in (so basically in Table View that means going 31km/h
). And at the very worst you lose 2 or 3k on your first bike if you sell to upgrade to a big bike, but thats better than 1 or 2kg of skin if you had gone too big too fast+100
The money saved is great, but for me its also all about the time saved
Penquin
Expert Member
I'm also getting back in to biking, busy with my research currently and going tomorrow to book my learners test. It's been almost 10 years since I've last been on a bike. In high school I had a DT50 for about 4 months, sold it and got a TZR125, which I had for about 6 months before I got my first car. I also rode my friend's R6 around the block once.. jeez, these 600's are quick.
I'm still on the fence on what to get though. I love the full fairing look, so I'll maybe get a sport or sports tourer. Budget would be around R50k. After researching a bit, I'm leaning towards either a 06-09 used 600 supersport or something like a used 2011 CBR600f, ER6F, GSX650F. I'm also considering a new Ninja 300.
How is insurance on these bikes? Would you pay more depending on the class of the bike? Or would the insurance be the same, say for new Ninja 300 and used ZX6R both valued at R60K.
I'm still on the fence on what to get though. I love the full fairing look, so I'll maybe get a sport or sports tourer. Budget would be around R50k. After researching a bit, I'm leaning towards either a 06-09 used 600 supersport or something like a used 2011 CBR600f, ER6F, GSX650F. I'm also considering a new Ninja 300.
How is insurance on these bikes? Would you pay more depending on the class of the bike? Or would the insurance be the same, say for new Ninja 300 and used ZX6R both valued at R60K.
AlmightyBender
Executive Member
Yes you would pay more for a sports bike. Guess it would be seen as a high preformance vehicle and so higher risk just as cars are treated. And yes, those 600's are like lightning so just take it easy in the first few months.
Cape Town, Table View - Blouberg area...
1) How much do you weigh?
2) What is your budget
My advice is to buy a Japanese bike or nothing. I have the CBX 250 and I guarantee you that you will fall in love with it and as per your criteria in the OP it is the perfect bike to a) learn to ride b) commute to town from Milnerton. This of course depends on how much you weigh. I am 90kg and my baby is very comfortable at 110km/h and goes to 140km/h and it generally feels fine to me. I'm not out to go fast or ride like an idiot so not really interested in mountains of power. It is manufactured in Brazil and it is a very high quality and extremely reliable bike. I've done 20000km and it still feels like a new bike with not once single problem. Also extremely easy to maintain yourself so very cheap over the long run.
For learning, it is very easy. Youtube will have you riding in 15 minutes. Else PM me and I will come show you how. That would actually be rad and I'd be more than happy to
SauRoNZA has some excellent points but my view is that you can become a ""real"" biker on a ""real"" bike at a later stage if you so desire. The CBX 250 is a great first step on that journey. Your need is to commute and so there is no need to "keep up" with anybody.
But I really encourage you to go for it as any bike will save you stacks of cash in the medium term but way more importantly give you so much more time to enjoy your life as opposed to sitting wasting time in traffic. That is priceless. Just imagine being able to spend an extra 1 hour per day with your loved ones or doing the things you love.
1) Quite a chubby person, 168cm tall, 80Kg
2) Budget, that will really depend, probably 25k is the limit, since some say gears will cost quite a lot too
Well, on a bike you save a lot more fuel and time at the same time. and time in cleaning the bike instead of a car. lol
I think I might consider a second hand CBX 250 as a starter...and many months later I might consider moving to a 600cc Naked bike...I like super bikes but still prefer naked, because it looks "less" life threatening in my families eyes. LOL
SauRoNZA
Honorary Master
+1 I dont understand the need to be going full throttle, and really the last thing you want is to be going fast in traffic. Get something that you can be comfortable on while going no more than 30km/h faster than the traffic you're in (so basically in Table View that means going 31km/h
Just in case I was misunderstood, I am absolutely against people getting oversized bikes for an oversized purpose or to be "keeping up" with anyone.
250's aren't too bad when doing 100% lane splitting commuter traffic, but let's face it when doing 120km/h they aren't the greatest from a power/torque point of view and downright dangerous for everything else.
Sadly something like the NC700 which gets <3.5 l/100 isn't in his price range but a second hand ER6 might very well be and isn't far off with fuel economy. Also it can do highway speeds very very comfortably.
My point is rather than if you can shell out 30-40k for a second hand ER6 I would rather do that than spend 20k on a "lesser" but new bike.
I think they look at the engine size to "Determine" the power and risk, then the type of bike and then the value that you bought. Or something like that, I don't think value comes first for a bike insurance.
SauRoNZA
Honorary Master
As a learner and generally with a license younger than 2 years you are going to get knocked pretty badly. Not necessarily on premium but on excess for damn sure.
Normally with a learner's or young license you are looking at a R5000 excess for most bikes. R2500 otherwise. Then they sometimes have exclusions in the case of no third party being involved (crashing by yourself) etc.
On my Buell I got the "Harley Davidson" rate which was dirt cheap because statistically Harleys don't crash as much and when they do it's pretty cheap. Recall it being R380 for the bike and all gear insured.
Got a quote on a 2013 Street Triple for R450 a month without gear. That's with a license for 10 years and a claim in the last three years.
1) That's pretty average really and don't believe anything anyone tells you about needing a bigger bike because you are fat/heavy/tall etc. That's ego talk once again.
2) PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE don't make the mistake of skimping on gear or "getting it later".
A decent helmet is going to cost your R2500, Gloves are R500 and up and a decent jacket probably R1500 if you look in the right places or buy on special.
Have a look here for some realistic ideas on pricing. http://worldofaccessories.co.za/
Trust me you do not want to skimp on a helmet in particular and especially not buy one of those dodgy chinese specials that doesn't even have any testing certification. You only realise how important this is when the tar is scraping against your head and passing your face at 120km/h while you are doing your very best to emulate drifting with your body.
getting a 600cc at first will never happen to me, since my dad will jump in and stop me for sure, because it is dangerous since i'm still new. Plus, its out of my budget this year...waiting my new job to kick off.
R450 month? wow, having riding experience does help~
haha, don't worry, for me Safety always come first, and I'm planning to get myself a good quality helmet and gloves for car track racing in the future, so i won't "leave it for later"
Edit: Holy crap, gears are expensive....
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Archer
Honorary Master
Worldofaccesories is a bit expensive, checkout tracmac, and motorcycle world as well. I think I could have safely gotten away with my gear totalling R7k, the biggest expense being my helmet at R3500 (not including cash discount) because it was literally the only one that fit right. When you do go helmet shopping, take someone who has been riding for a while with you, one salesman I dealt with would have had me in a helmet thats not only a size too big, but the wrong internal shape as well.
But for me, gear is going to end up at around R11800 because of a neck brace, and proper ear plugs, and an expensive jacket
But for me, gear is going to end up at around R11800 because of a neck brace, and proper ear plugs, and an expensive jacket
SauRoNZA
Honorary Master
I only linked them because they offer a decent online listing.
Suzuki South also carry a lot of gear at decent pricing.
A 250 should probably cost R250 a month possibly even less.
Shark make some decent lids in the <R2500 brackets and these days have two different shell shapes.
Suzuki South also carry a lot of gear at decent pricing.
A 250 should probably cost R250 a month possibly even less.
Shark make some decent lids in the <R2500 brackets and these days have two different shell shapes.
I bought my very first bike last year to replace my car as my daily commute. Best damn decision I've made in a long time.
Granted I've only been riding for a year but here are some tips from me.
1) Keep your car as a backup, it is a very bad idea to only have a bike.
2) Practise in your suburb over weekends\evenings till you are comfortable before you start commuting. It's a crap feeling to be nervous in the traffic when starting out.
3) Get the gear, buy sturdy rather than flashy. The adage goes "dress for the fall, not the ride". I bought fairly decent kit at the full throttle clearance store for a reasonable price.
4) Do not buy a cheapie, they are cheapies for a reason.
5) Get a top box, looks a bit crap but sooo much nicer than a back pack
6) Get a decent(metal) top box. Those plastic boxes crack open and spill your equipment everywhere if you go down.
7) If you ride like a car in the beginning ie not lane splitting or stopping at the line at robots/stop signs don't feel bad but stay in the middle of your lane. Cars tend to try and squeeze in if you give them half a chance by staying to the side of a lane.
8) Check properly before you change lanes(especially if you aren't going faster than the surrounding traffic). The blind spot on a bike is bigger than you'd think.
SauRoNZA mentioned a 650+ twin, I agree whole heartedly. I bought the F650 GS which is a detuned 800cc twin. Loads of torque which is awesome for traffic. Also has a comfortable seating position.
Only downside is that the top end is quite low for a bike. Anything over 160 isn't advisable(or even close to legal) but I don't want to go to jail so it doesn't bother me that much. Except when the superbikes come flying past, then I get a a bit jealous.
Ride safe and I hope you enjoy it.
Granted I've only been riding for a year but here are some tips from me.
1) Keep your car as a backup, it is a very bad idea to only have a bike.
2) Practise in your suburb over weekends\evenings till you are comfortable before you start commuting. It's a crap feeling to be nervous in the traffic when starting out.
3) Get the gear, buy sturdy rather than flashy. The adage goes "dress for the fall, not the ride". I bought fairly decent kit at the full throttle clearance store for a reasonable price.
4) Do not buy a cheapie, they are cheapies for a reason.
5) Get a top box, looks a bit crap but sooo much nicer than a back pack
6) Get a decent(metal) top box. Those plastic boxes crack open and spill your equipment everywhere if you go down.
7) If you ride like a car in the beginning ie not lane splitting or stopping at the line at robots/stop signs don't feel bad but stay in the middle of your lane. Cars tend to try and squeeze in if you give them half a chance by staying to the side of a lane.
8) Check properly before you change lanes(especially if you aren't going faster than the surrounding traffic). The blind spot on a bike is bigger than you'd think.
SauRoNZA mentioned a 650+ twin, I agree whole heartedly. I bought the F650 GS which is a detuned 800cc twin. Loads of torque which is awesome for traffic. Also has a comfortable seating position.
Only downside is that the top end is quite low for a bike. Anything over 160 isn't advisable(or even close to legal) but I don't want to go to jail so it doesn't bother me that much. Except when the superbikes come flying past, then I get a a bit jealous.
Ride safe and I hope you enjoy it.
AlmightyBender
Executive Member
I'm paying R230 for my CBX 250 and think the learners price was R240, so not much difference.