Cracking replies people, thanks for all the input.

Yes SteVRs as you say, fitting a limiter to a bigger bike isn't an option with my paltry CBT licence but nice idea mentioned earlier in the thread - current thinking is to go for the restricted licence eventually just so a) I can take the test on my hypothetical Honda and chalk up a load of experience.

I've found 6 bikes in the right price range, just narrowing the list down at the moment. Ground anchor, massive chain and padlock arrived on Friday, feels like Christmas. Agree completely on the safety kit budget - I've basically got 3K to play with, 2K ish of that for the bike, the rest for security, insurance (£100) and gear. Should be ample I think.

Cracking replies people, thanks for all the input.

Yes SteVRs as you say, fitting a limiter to a bigger bike isn't an option with my paltry CBT licence but nice idea mentioned earlier in the thread - current thinking is to go for the restricted licence eventually just so a) I can take the test on my hypothetical Honda and chalk up a load of experience.

I've found 6 bikes in the right price range, just narrowing the list down at the moment. Ground anchor, massive chain and padlock arrived on Friday, feels like Christmas. Agree completely on the safety kit budget - I've basically got 3K to play with, 2K ish of that for the bike, the rest for security, insurance (£100) and gear. Should be ample I think.

Let me know what kit you need Tim , i've got a ton of it mate .

By all means shop around eBay etc for gear but try it on at a shop first - the sizing is utterly random.

Oh, and buy a new helmet that is comfy off the shelf - tight on the cheeks is ok, but as a rule if you buy one that doesn't feel right, it'll never feel right.

And unless you can afford 2 sets of kit go for textiles, with built in CE armour & back protection and removable thermal liners. It's amazing how cold a mild day can get at 70mph(ish)...

By all means shop around eBay etc for gear but try it on at a shop first - the sizing is utterly random.

Oh, and buy a new helmet that is comfy off the shelf - tight on the cheeks is ok, but as a rule if you buy one that doesn't feel right, it'll never feel right.

And unless you can afford 2 sets of kit go for textiles, with built in CE armour & back protection and removable thermal liners. It's amazing how cold a mild day can get at 70mph(ish)...

I would not agree on the textiles mate, sorry. In the Harz this year, one of our fast guys went down on his KTM 990 SMT, wearing £600 worth of KTM Armoured textiles. It was a low speed spill and the KTM kit was mullered.

The Seams split on the arm, knee and shoulder, the arse melted through as did the forearm / elbow area. The seam's also burst on the inner elbow. This was not cheapo kit, and KTM know a thing or two about equipment

Leather all the way for me, especially after seeing this happen to Greg's kit. J&S Accessories or Hein Gericke will kit you out in Leather for £200 ish quid, you can then do what I do in the cold weather and chuck a fleece over the top I had windchill of -17 deg C on the way down to Cardiff on the Tiger this winter, wore my 1 piece crowtrees, heated fleece and good thermals and was fine

Not trying to be doom and gloom, but textiles sound great, until you have a spill. My Crowtree's where expensive at £800, but they have been down the road a couple of times and you can't see much other than a minor scuff here and there I bought them nearly 10 years ago now though, and after a clean they still look like new.

There's some good textile kit out there with leather contact patches, maybe take a look at that sort of stuff

Let me know what kit you need Tim , i've got a ton of it mate .

Thanks Pete - TBH it's only clothing I'm short of now and possibly a top box, depending on which bike I go for - due to my, er, unique measurements (read tall and fat) I think clothing wise it's going to be new all the way.

I would not agree on the textiles mate, sorry. In the Harz this year, one of our fast guys went down on his KTM 990 SMT, wearing £600 worth of KTM Armoured textiles. It was a low speed spill and the KTM kit was mullered.

The Seams split on the arm, knee and shoulder, the arse melted through as did the forearm / elbow area. The seam's also burst on the inner elbow. This was not cheapo kit, and KTM know a thing or two about equipment

Leather all the way for me, especially after seeing this happen to Greg's kit. J&S Accessories or Hein Gericke will kit you out in Leather for £200 ish quid, you can then do what I do in the cold weather and chuck a fleece over the top I had windchill of -17 deg C on the way down to Cardiff on the Tiger this winter, wore my 1 piece crowtrees, heated fleece and good thermals and was fine

Not trying to be doom and gloom, but textiles sound great, until you have a spill. My Crowtree's where expensive at £800, but they have been down the road a couple of times and you can't see much other than a minor scuff here and there I bought them nearly 10 years ago now though, and after a clean they still look like new.

There's some good textile kit out there with leather contact patches, maybe take a look at that sort of stuff

Clothing is the last piece in the puzzle and it is confusing me I must admit. I definitely need to try it on, I've concluded that already - when I was in Fowlers the other day, tried on a couple of XXL's that fitted fine, change brands and the 5XL's were tight - doesn't make you feel particularly good

The boots I picked up there are size 13, where I usually take an 11 - very odd.

I found a place called 'JTS' in Coalville who seem to be reasonably well thought of, have a shop and cater for plumpers (up to 12XL..!!!!!) - means I can go and try on a load of different things to see what is what, despite a fairly long drive from Bristol.

Really don't know on the leathers vs. textiles though. I do get very hot and will only be riding in the summer.

I've found Hein Gericke mentioned before, then discounted them as their website only listed a handful of textile items - just found a completely different website with a load of leather kit, so not sure what I did there - they also have a shop in Bristol so might be worth a visit before I head off in the car.

My own first hand experience of textiles was when I came off my old 500 on the motorway, at motorway speeds, and my kit held together perfectly. If the seams split on your mate's kit, then I'd argue that KTM do NOT in fact know how to make quality kit, as the seams on my kit held perfectly when hitting the tarmac at 75mph. The knee, elbow & shoulder were obviously damaged, but none wore through to the armour and I walked away unharmed (barring being a bit stiff).

The bonus of textiles is that they're 100% waterproof (unlike leather), warmer than leather (and hence extend the season at either end) and you can wear normal clothes underneath if you're going somewhere. Yes, leather has better abrasive properties, but the seam strength is nothing to do with the material that's sewn together but the quality of the sitching itself - I'd be surprised if it differs for a given manufacturer between their leather and textile offerings.

If you can only afford one set of kit, textiles is the way to go, and these days as long as you get decent ones they're just as safe as leather, they're also easier to live with.

We will have to agree to disagree then on this one, you may have missed the bit about me doing winters in my Crowtree's in perfect comfort I have been riding on the road since I was 16 have a back like a Hamburger after wheelying my old RD250 through a bus shelter, granted that was in baseball boots a paddock jacket and wranglers at the time As soon as I could afford Leathers, I bought them and personally I won't even go to the local shop without suiting up in my Crowtree's.

I'm 45 now and have never been without a bike on the road.

Each to their own, if I am going on a customers site, I will take my suit and shirt neatly pressed and stick it in my seat bag and then get changed in the toilets before the meeting or whatever.

Edited 28 June, 201015 yr by fluffmeister

I started out with a textile jacket and leather jeans. Got a leather jacket later. Came off at about 40mph and was fine. Leathers weren't even marked that much.

Bike-wise you might also want to consider a naked bike for your first. For one it stops you going too fast as you flap like a gibbon in the wind, also if you have a low speed off (which is quite likely while you're starting) it's a lot cheaper to fix than a bike covered in plastic.

But nakeds are so ugggggggglllllyyyyyy!!! :p

But nakeds are so ugggggggglllllyyyyyy!!! :p

:rofl: And a ZZR1100 is an oil painting

A naked is a good idea for a first bike, your going to drop it at some point, not necessarily crash it, but you will drop it, forget about the sidestand, slip wheeling it out of the garage, get it wrong at low speed and all that plastic adds to the cost Here is an ugly naked bike

Naked isnt ugly , its generally comfy tho , after a long string of sports bikes , i like comfy and good vision , and an actual turning circle and decent low speed manouverability, as well as cheaper to fix and much better servicing access, just sold my gsx1400, and that looked brilliant , fluffys z1000 was gorgeous and his tigers a cool bit of kit , given tims .... generous proportions , folding himself up is gonna be uncomfy after a while .

Aye. I was fine after dropping the bike at 40mph but the fairing wasn't. Not too many candy red ZXR400 parts out there either :(

If you are tall , a Varadero 125 might be worth a look, and if you buy a used one and don't crash it they don't depreciate much.

For the clothing, my view is that textiles are more likely to be one-crash garments that would need replacing whereas leathers can go down the road a few times and be ok.

I use a textile jacket at the mo as it looks more the part on a Vespa than leathers.

:rofl: And a ZZR1100 is an oil painting

A naked is a good idea for a first bike, your going to drop it at some point, not necessarily crash it, but you will drop it, forget about the sidestand, slip wheeling it out of the garage, get it wrong at low speed and all that plastic adds to the cost Here is an ugly naked bike

That noob forgot about the sidestand only the other day!!!!! His z will be naked soon

Edited 29 June, 201015 yr by oilburninnut

Ok, opinions on this then please:

08 reg Varadero, 11 months tax, 3800 miles, FSH, last service feb - cruicially has proper Honda top box and center stand, both of which I would have bought anywhere.

Any thoughts?

(Anyone live in Portsmouth want to go and have a look for me )

Good news in passing your CBT and now have got the bug for riding. I love riding and have been riding bikes since i was 10 years old and my dad bought me my first bike. I ride all year round and in any weather conditions.

Happy and safe riding.

Thanks gallego1968

Can anyone recommend an insurance company? I've tried all the usual compare people and a company called Bennets is coming out on top.

Bennets have been good with me

Fair enough - no reason to shop around any further then I think.

I made the long round trip to Coalville on Saturday and picked up a textile jacket and trousers and a nice set of gloves from JTS - very impressive place and a nice range of clothes.

That's officially it now, I'm good to go - just need the bike. Going to give the chap a ring in a min and see if we can perhaps close the deal next saturday, exciting times!

Complete off-topic side note - my ciggy socket has always been a bit dodgy and my TomTom completely failed on the way to Coalville, leaving me on the M5 with a vague 'get off in 2 miles' message. As my Dad likes to point out, I'm from the generation that doesn't believe in carrying maps so was a bit stuck.

Went onto the M42 then panicked for a couple of minutes - remembered I had an as yet untested Google navigation installed on my HTC Desire, managed to get it running and the location tapped in - what a brilliant piece of software. Aside from a couple of nice-to-haves (current speed for example) the software is simply better than TomTom - the spoken instructions for example are superb. Been pleased with the Desire so far but it truly saved my bacon on Saturday

I used Bennets once ans when it came to claim they were rubbish. I have been with a few companies and so far i can recommend Carol Nash for price and service.

Carol Nash as stated are pretty good, though not as good as they used to be imho since they sold out to a bigger fish

ebike insurance are pretty good as well, have had friends had to make claims with them without any trouble

Hastings direct are also good, they beat Carol Nash, eBike and Bennets for my next door neighbour when he put his Derbi on the road.

I was insured with this lot many years ago.

http://www.1stquote.co.uk/

Cheap enough but never tested with a claim.

Thanks chaps.

Bennets: £106

Carole Nash: £171

Ebike: £223

1st Quote: £147.63 (they were also helpful enough to show a quote from Norwich Union - £513 )

In fairness, Carole Nash included breakdown cover and legal.

Sale now agreed, good stuff! I've been getting a little nervous at my first proper bike journey being a 3.5 hour marathon and a couple of friends have expressed the same concern, so I might end up getting the bike collected - got a quote of £78 so far (Portsmouth to Bristol) which seems like a steal, so could get the train down and catch a lift back with the courier. Bit of a cop out but I'd rather be on roads I know for the first few journeys - it's the navigation bit that was making me sweat a little.

Thanks all for the input, this has been a really useful thread.

If the bike is comfortable 3.5 hours will be easy enough. Maybe not on a 125 though or a 30hp 650

But if it'll do motorway speeds without straining it shouldn't be too bad. If you're going to have to wring the t|ts out of it for 3hr that could be a bit tiring.

I did 10hr on a zxr400 and couldn't walk the next day

When i picked my 800cc Scoot up, it was in Norwich which is about 120miles away, the only scoot i'd riden before that was a 50cc 'ped.

So just take your time and make a few stops and enjoy your ride home, and maybe get a mate to follow you in a car as a rear guard.