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Opinions needed on which bike to choose!!!
Hi all!
In December this year I will leave for Australia to start my travels. I've decided to at least do my Australian section on a motorbike for various reasons (which I'm sure I don't have to go into!) from Australia I'll possibly look at taking the bike into Asia with me, but we'll see when that happens. I'll buy the bike in Australia, however for one year after I arrive I will be restricted on my provisional motorbike licence, so there are some restrictions on what bike I can choose. However I've found a loop-hole in the LAMS system which means I can ride most bikes up to 660. But the list is so long I've got no idea where to start! So here's a list of what I can choose from (sticking with the big brands as easiest to repair etc.) can anyone offer opinions on what would be suited for me? Keeping in mind that I'm a 176cm, about 62Kgs female that's going to be doing it alone! So I think that any of the bigger engine bikes are going to be a bit too much, but maybe not? The list: Any 250cc excluding Suzuki RGV250 Kawasaki KR250 (KR-1 and KR1s models) Honda NSR250 Yamaha TZR250 Plus: HONDA 600V TRANSALPKAWASAKI EN450SUZUKI AN400YAMAHA RD400 |
Do you have any experience on road, off road, is fuel mileage an important factor? Can you do your own repairs? These would really affect any decision that I would make.
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Hey Nicky,
The DR650SE is selling very cheap in Melbourne at the moment, see here: 2008 SUZUKI DR650SE - BikePoint It's a big bike but cheap and ultra-reliable, much cheaper than you'll get any equivalent for (if I wasn't going overseas soon I'd get one myself :thumbup1:) |
Print out the list ,pin it to the wall and throw a dart at it ,whichever bike the dart hits is your bike.
No seriously ,you will have to shorten your list quite a lot. Go to a few bike shops and get your bum on some seats and see what feels good . Erhmm, I did not mean it to sound like that . If you are going to go off road or on rough roads ,a dualsport type machine of 400ccc should be great. For pure road riding a 600 class bike like Suzuki Bandit,Vstrom or SV 650 would be fine. Visit the forums that cater to the various models and read about the problems that the owners have with their machines . Do not buy a bike that you cannot pick up on your own ,or the first time it tips over youwill be in trouble. Best of luck . |
Yup the list is way toooooo long - but half of them aren't going to be suited because they're sport bikes etc. I just haven't gone through and googled everyone of them yet so was seeing if people particularly recommended one or the other...!
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Which bike...
....it is your choice. Get on them, test them, see whether you feel comfortable or not.
I owned 2 on-/off road bikes. My first was a Kawasaki KLE (400ccm due to license restrictions over here in Japan) and I was very pleased with it. Had to sell it because of health problems. 2 years ago I got a 400ccm Honda TransAlp and I got to confess that this bike is what I really wanted! Great gas milage, easy to maintain, engine more or less indistructable, and, as in my case, bought used you can get them for a very decent price. Also parts are always available as well as "add-ons". I got a set of Hepco&Becker panniers (junior, the plastic stuff) with all the fitting material from Germany (cheaper than here in Japan!) and that's actually all I needed (so far). For more information about MY bikes, check my homepage, lots of pictures.... |
That is a BIG list!!
I'll say what I always say: test ride as many as you can, but you'll have job trying to mentally comapre all those models. I guess first choice would be bike type. Dual sport, road, cruiser etc. I see that you are looking at 400cc road bikes too. One that is not on your list, that I still miss is the CB-1, NC27. A naked road bike from Honda, that ran a Baby-blade gear-driven cam 398 lump. It was such a fun, versatile, easy going bike to own. Good choice of tyres, easy on fuel (50-55mpg?) Decent top speed (120mph), so motorway cruising was comfortable. Light, and not tall. Nice seat, and tidy lines. Sorry I sold it, but there are only so many bikes that I can hold on to!! Either shortten your list to 4-5 bikes and then test ride or just test ride the first ones you can from your list and see which you enjoy.... |
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Single or twin or more cyclinders? road, road tourer, adv tourer, trail biike, enduro, mx ...? Or what .. don't bother about brands and such (nor my list!) .. list the requirements you have .. like seat height for instance? And preeferably in the order you want .. first prioity first .. that kind of thing .. |
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