Thread: 2nd hand bike advice

Originally Posted by timattalon

The meteor / classic etc in that 350cc range are good wee bikes and a lot of fun.

If you are spending a fair bit of time on the open road / motorway, ideally you want a bit more practise on a bike first. For learning to ride and get used to it, a trail bike with road tyres is good but for some reason trail bikes go for much more than a road bike of similar size. The Roayal enfields are good in one sense that while they are a little under powered for too much time on the open road, they seem to hold their value well. Good deals can be had on the 420cc Himalayans now (not the latest ones- they are stioll too new / too dear...)

A new 250cc suzuki GSX is around $5k and the V Strom a little more new. 2nd hand they should be fairly recent and in budget....

How big are you ? Are you tall ? Solid" Bikes can be a bit like trousers in that you need to be able to fit comfortably on it. If you are 6ft and buy a 250cc sports bike you may feel like a St Bernard trying to mount a corgi....likewise if you are 4ft 6 you may find trail bike styles far too tall ....

And how are you for maintenance tasks ? Oil changes, etc? If that is something you are Ok with, a little older / cheaper could be an option, but if tinkering is not something you want, keep it newer.

Ive been riding for 35 years and be warned...its like buying guns ..theres always another nice one you will like and want....

Thanks man.
Yeah I’m 6’2 95kg. Don’t want to end up with anything underpowered or undersized.
I have never ridden a bike so will do a learn to ride course before I do the test course.
I also live near the hills away from people so will be able to practice without many cars before I try the motorway.
Though it m going against the traffic both ways so thankfully not many cars either time.

I am pretty handy but don’t know my way around a bike at all, so to begin I’ll be getting it serviced I think.

And yea I am very aware that every other road user will be a threat to my life and wellbeing

seems like we have a few old motor bike riders on here - yes you are not small so I would look at least 400 cc if possible better to have a little power spare than flog hell out of a small cc bike -- some never to forget basics 1) tyre pressure check regularly its very very important to keep you on the road 2 ) bikes rely on the tyres getting warm and sticky to hold you on road dont use to much throttle before they warm up - thread means bugger all I mean look at Moto GP bikes dry track they run slicks --3) getting off -learn to put the stand out first then get off- and get off same side as stand - ask me why -- 4) the worst road conditions you will strike ( apart from diesel spill ) is the first wet day after a dry spell - all that road crud of diesel and oil will be washed up to surface - very slippery 5) always make sure you have the other drivers eye before moving of

With all their cycle ways, by an EBike, get a good one and cycle the trails on the weekends

Originally Posted by Maca49

With all their cycle ways, by an EBike, get a good one and cycle the trails on the weekends

That's going to cost way more than 4k

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E Bike its like a super fat girl friend - ever so comfortable just dont get spotted by ya mates riding it

Originally Posted by XR500

The population of NZ has doubled since I was a teenager screaming around the roads on a variety of 2 stroke road bikes. But the number of morons out there has quadrupled. You really need your wits about you 24/7 to stay safe, and treat every other road user as wanting to kill you.

Loving riding road bikes would be another justification for moving to the West coast!

@Delphus

Riding like everyone is out to kill you and that no one can see you is a good mindset. 95% of the time you will be wrong and they will see you and dont want to hurt you . But that 5% that are left, you need to be ready. Just remember how many car drivers get hit by trains . They are the size of a building and they are on rails so you know where to look for them- they have a huge light up front too, so if they get hit by one of those, they were not looking and if they dont look, they wont see a bike either....

I found this 5 minute video on interesctions and riders that I found really interesting. It helps explain why intersections and drivers are such a hazard.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doSDfIo61r0


The DR-Z range mentioned earlier would be a good learn to ride bike. Being built ofr off road, they also handle the rider falling off without damaging lots of breaky bits....but for the same money there are a lot of similar sized bikes out there. Look for Inazuma on trade me (its a suzuki) Good value, and fairly decent bikes.

And while the Suzuki offering would put the 250cc V strom within reach, for a first bike I would be more inclined to suggest something that you wont lose too much on if you scratch or damage it. The V strom would be a good fit for someone your size but not sure about power- having never ridden one. The Himalayan will be a little light on power, but robust and damage resistance they are exceptional making them ideal learner rides. They will cope with 100km for short bursts (10 to 20km .....) but longer rides they are far better suited to traveling at closer to 90.

If you want to sit down and have a chat I am more than happy to get in touch. I have a mate my age who has just got his restricted and is a little bt ahead of you in the process and have been helping him as well.

Do the NZMCA course or whatever it is called these days, learn how to counter-steer

The deal used to be that the course would cut your restricted period down by about a third but that was ages ago
Look up Ride Forever

As for bikes I'd get as much grunt as you are allowed (and not a cruiser) because sometimes when you are in a shit situation the best thing to do is twist the throttle and jet on outta there

Originally Posted by 308

Do the NZMCA course or whatever it is called these days, learn how to counter-steer

The deal used to be that the course would cut your restricted period down by about a third but that was ages ago
Look up Ride Forever

As for bikes I'd get as much grunt as you are allowed (and not a cruiser) because sometimes when you are in a shit situation the best thing to do is twist the throttle and jet on outta there

Nithing wrong with cruisers. In some cases they are ideal with low centre of gravity etc, but with the OP being of the taller variety, thats less of an issue...

Bottom one is the one I got in 91

Not just car drivers but wind in Wgtn. Well not so much the amount of wind but the terrain and especially once in the city the gusts and buffeting can be pretty challenging. I'd endorse the call for some skills training for that aspect.

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Yep I’m doing a learn to ride course this weekend(as I am a complete beginner), then will do the test course after that to get the tick.
Once I get my learners and a bike I’ll do the ride forever courses. My wife is mostly on board, but any more training I can get will be endorsed by her

With your build I would look at a trail/adventure type bike. You sit much higher so have better visibility, and they are quick steering and easy to maneuver at low speed. Something with as much power as a LAMS bike (if that's still a thing) allows. Not sure if a DR650 fits into that category, but something like that would be good. Plenty of power if you need it but very "lazy" so manageable for someone new to bikes. Also you won't be looking to upgrade after a year. I have always found going a bit faster than the flow of traffic is a good thing, that way you only have to worry about what's in front of you, not so much about what's behind you.

Gday, well one of the most fun things you can do is ride a motor bike. Unfortunately in NZ its also one of the most dangerous too.

As XR says, treat every other road user as if they have a pre disposition towards killing you, trust no one, even if they have their indicators on, and you should be right!!!

I think that riding a bike made me a better car driver ironically!!! you become so hyper aware of everything around you, and you drive defensively.

Anyway, what size helmet are you?? I've got a near new Arai helmet here I don't need.(Black) Size L I think.

Make sure you get a good helmet that fits you properly.

Originally Posted by tac a1

Gday, well one of the most fun things you can do is ride a motor bike. Unfortunately in NZ its also one of the most dangerous too.

As XR says, treat every other road user as if they have a pre disposition towards killing you, trust no one, even if they have their indicators on, and you should be right!!!

I think that riding a bike made me a better car driver ironically!!! you become so hyper aware of everything around you, and you drive defensively.

Anyway, what size helmet are you?? I've got a near new Arai helmet here I don't need.(Black) Size L I think.

Make sure you get a good helmet that fits you properly.

Very true. Riding on the road make you anticipate what might happen, not react to what is happening.

I'd second shearer's advice on the trail/adv style, but also check out supermotos, basically a dirt bike on 17" street tires so they handle better than the 18/21 setup you'd likely find on a trail bike,

the more reliable supermoto would be the drz400sm, pretty solid bikes, little on the heavier side of things at 140kg or so, not bad in the scheme of things, this would suit someone inexperienced quite well,
If you want the quickest bike that learner legal look towards the ktm EXC line, the older RFS ktms are pretty solid engines but you will be changing the oil every 1000km, as they only hold around 1L, the later 2008/2009 models had some bad crank bearings and a seperate engine oil and transmission oil which lead to a few failures,
but the ktm 525 exc is 50hp or so and 110kg, and the 450 EXC is about the same just less low end so well over the learner limit of 150kw per tonne, but its on their list so you're all good there

Id avoid 2000's era huskies, had a couple of them and parts are a real pain in the ass until the KTM take over, in which case they're just a white KTM, same with husaberg.

KTM did technically go under recently, although I believe they were brought out but the Indian manufacturer they were partnered with for the 390, 200 and 125 platforms, I wouldn't recommend the ktm road bikes aside from the 690/701 platform and the older 950/990 as other than those two engine platforms they aren't the most reliable, all of their offroad bikes are pretty solid though,

Royal Enfield bikes are okay, some quality issues like chrome rusting easily but nothing too major considering they're generally quite cheap compared to triumph, the continental/GT 650 is lams approved but is more of a retro style, heavier too but that's unlikely to be much of an issue,

in saying all that, if I had to recommend one bike for someone taller it would be the DRZ400 S or SM model, has enough power for most needs but isn't so much that it would be an issue for someone inexperienced

not sure if you've come across this before but NZTA has the list of all the approved bikes under 650cc, anything under 250cc is approved by default apart from the race replica two strokes

you can get bikes added to the list if you come across one that should be on it, IE the I got the RD350lc put on the list as its just under 150kw per tonne, just had to send proof of power to weight ratio to NZTA.

https://www.nzta.govt.nz/driver-lice...d-motorcycles/


and to touch on helmets, you want something thats rated ECE22.06, best you can get currently, there will still be some ECE 22.05 helmets floating around so make sure to check.
Make sure it fits well and get a full face
IMO make sure you get a double D ring style fastener as I've got a euro style ratchet and it sucks.

Originally Posted by Barry the hunter

ridden bikes all my life mostly big sports bikes -- get at least 150 cc- any of the big four Yamaha Honda Kawasaki Suzuki - the little 50 cc scooters struggle to keep up with traffic in towns and relegate you to running alongside cars - if you do get a scooter make sure its at least 150 cc - if you are going to get out onto open road then 400 cc minimum - wear good gear especially for your head and your knees - as an old biker it shits me to see young people roaring well whizzing around on scooters in shorts - dont move of stops until you have seen that the oncoming driver has seen you - riding bikes around cars will make you a better if not nervous driver - trust no one until you have seen that they have seen you

Dress for the slide, not for the ride.