Choosing the Best Suitable Bike for New Riders by Neil Maloney


Unless you are of a respectable age (25+ !!) or have amassed some two wheel experience then it's wisely considered by many to discount any thoughts of a 600 cc+ race-faired sports bike as a first ‘proper’ bike. The nature of these bikes, with their razor sharp handling, usually results in them biting back when things go wrong. Accident statistics would show incidents seem to occur on fast left-handers: new guy panics, new guy hits brakes, sports bike instantly reacts and sits up crossing the white centre line, and new guy scares himself … not nice! And, as any experienced rider will tell you, plastics fantastic until its dropped and crashed which then always requires expensive paint and repairs! For this very reason insurance tends to be vastly prohibitive for inexperienced riders and remember, before buying any bike, be clear in your head what you intend to own … don’t forget that insurance and running costs can sky-rocket if you select with your heart and not your head!

All four of the Japanese manufacturers offer more forgiving and thus more likely suitable alternatives to sports bikes and all are a sound introduction to riding sports machines: lets start with the 500’s. Kawasaki sells the GPZ500 and ER500, all sharing an identical parallel-twin engine unit - the engine has been around for years and is tried and tested. Better buy though is the Honda CB500: it’s an exceptional bit of kit. Cheap, comfy, well built, in conjunction with fine handling, a CB500 can be obtained for about £1000. If you are contemplating Suzuki’s GS500 then be warned: although it’s not a bad bike it does require a level of TLC to keep it looking mint - its build quality is nowhere near as good as the Honda or the Kawasaki.

If it has to be a Suzuki then consider their top selling, parts-bin special, four-cylinder Bandit GSF600. It has been around for years, and whilst not updated on a regular basis, there are many available either faired or unfaired. It is one hell of a commuter-come-scratcher and is perfect as a first “big-bike”; with its upright seat position permitting a seamless view over the roofs of cars and hedges ahead, this gives its rider no excuse not to plot the perfect line. Tucking in one night on a Bandit behind a squadron of R1s and GXRs whilst homewardbound from Donington GP, I discovered the Bandit was a real grin-inducer, whether through town or on country roads. Its 75bhp straight four engine is probably the threshold for a new rider: remember that a motorcycle’ limits and abilities will ultimately reside in your initial limits and abilities too! Very early Bandits cost-wise start from £750 but these have probably seen better days; budget spending in the region of £2000+ and this will buy you a 3-4 year old one that has hopefully been cosseted by its present owner.

Something more of a workhorse? How about Yamaha’s commuter, the Diversion XJ600? Ignore the early versions and go for the later models which came with twin front discs and hazard warning lights, a strengthened swing-arm and a slightly more efficient half fairing. The Diversions 65bhp isn’t going to ignite any fires but for overall reliability and stability on the road it’s a very forgiving machine when a rider makes mistakes. A used quality Diversion can be yours for around £1000 and will educate you in the basics of two-wheel riding!

If you just have to go for the sports-bike but the insurance companies fail to “quote you happy” then another option to consider is a sports engine wrapped up in a road bike. The early Yamaha Fazer 600 is regarded as a superb all-rounder – with a slightly detuned Thundercat 600 cc motor dishing out a potent 90bhp and with stoppers raided from the R1 series this is probably the ideal sports bike for new riders. The only downside of Fazer ownership is that it is, in a sense, a slightly ‘plain Jane’ bike on account of its looks.
 
Other 600’s are available on the market. Our European cousins like bikes with a modicum of off road ability so how about an Aprilia Pegaso 650 or the almost indistinguishable BMW Funduro 650? Both use an Austrian Rotax single cylinder engine – great fun can be had surfing the engine’s torque but at 50bhp it’s no rocket. For experienced riders 50bhp is a tad leisurely but for beginners the BMW's make great first bikes due to their practicality and economy. Some of the Japanese manufacturers are now offering their own version of go-anywhere motorcycles yet be warned they are more heavily biased towards tarmac than the green stuff; take for instance Suzuki’s V-Strom 650: it makes for a good tourer as it has at least a 200 mile tank range and a comfortable seat!