In case you didn’t notice by verging-on-the-hysterical post about passing my driving test this morning, I (being the ever patient one!) am picking up a restricted GS500E (2002 reg).
Now my experience so far has been on the Yamaha SR125, so what should I expect tomorrow ?
I’m thinking:
Any other tips ?
Thanks!
Just bloody enjoy 
and ride to the level you feel safe.
I jumped on to a restricted SV 650 after riding an SR 125 for a couple of years. OMG was a really great feeling when I picked it up ! Riding down the North Circ I looked down at my speedo and was doing 70 
it felt like I was flying 
The SR is a real riders bike, you have to treat it mean to get anything out of it, well you did with mine. If you want my advice, just watch your speed and easy on the clutch treat it gently as it’ll be very responsive very quickly and the restriction with only kick in when you’re approaching 80 mph.
You’ll have loads of fun though 
After my CG 125 I bought a K4 GSXR 600 - I changed my mind nearly everyday about what bike I wanted to get but I wanted the GSXR 1st so I got it & Im glad I did, I absolutely love it!
Best advice I can give is until your confident on the bike dont feel pressured into trying to keep up with or beat people with loads more experience if you go out on a ride cos more than likely you’ll have an off or something.
I use mine to commute to work everyday, felt a bit weird for the 1st couple of weeks as its a bigger bike but now I feel at home on it, the acceleration is brilliant - wind it back, look down and your doing a ton! 
Haha I can’t wait, I’m like a kid at xmas, despite being 31 !
The reason I’m asking cos is because the bike is in Nuneaton so I gotta ride it back to London. I will probably practice a bit up there first then make the trip back.
Well done mate
I thought you was going for a Bandit?
That was the plan, but I’m going to stick with the GS500 for a year or two to build up my no claims (it’s v. cheap to insure) then once the restrition is up, let loose !
A wise move mate, just take it easy and keep it sticky side down
I WENT FROM A VESPA LX50 TO A FAZER 600, it was fine you get used to it, the power delivery scared me at first, i can remember heading along the m23 to Brighton in winter at night having never taken the bike before, it took me ages to get used to it. You will be fine, you will know what to do when the day comes! just relax
When you’re practising before hand, remember you don’t have to do a turn in the road now you’ve passed
I did, on a downward slope, didn’t give it enough gas and dropped it, Ouch, bruised and new break level
Will you be doing any mway when you pick it up ?
You will be fine, nothing to really worry aboutbut dont let the bike scare you, just ride it and manhandle it a bit more than your previous. the best thing will be the roll-on speed from 40/50 mph, I would not worry about cornering, that bike will turn faster than the SR anyways, so that will cancel out the increased speeds.
have fun though, you will!
Yeah, down the M1. Should be Ok though, I’ve done a lot of North Circ riding and the A10 up to Ware a couple of times…
AARRGGHHHH I can’t wait till tomorrow
From what I remember when I moved up from a Gilera Cougar 125 to a Honda CB500 it was actually a lot easier to ride. I remember my instructor getting me to wheel the CB500 from his house to the car park where I did my CBT, it was about 300yards away, to get me to appreciatte the size and weight of it compared to the 125, I remember thinking that the bl00dy thing weighed a ton, however once I was on it and riding around the car park after about 10 mins I was used to the size, weight and feel and feeling confident enough to go out on the road.
It was a lot of fun and so much easier to manouveure, plus pulling away from lights, junctions etc was just a case of letting the clutch out as tickover was enough to get it rolling, unlike the 125 which was a delicate balance of clutch throttle and…doh…stalled again! 
As everyone has said, take your time, don’t do anything you’re not comfortable with and most of all enjoy it, after a few days you’ll wonder what all the fuss was about!
I find my GSXR easier to ride aswell & I think its safer as I dont have to go up & down the A2 flat out to keep up with the traffic (although I do have a go sometimes )
Its nice to have extra power to overtake people and to get out of certain situations.
the right hand works two ways.
Enjoy it!!!
i have just bought an SV650, i had ridden heaps of 125s before and the odd bigger dirt bike off-road,but never anything big…
mine is unrestricted, first day out on it it blew my mind!
as others have mentioned, the roll on power is fantastic,as long as you respect it.
i’ve found juding what gear to be in for corners and braking distances to be the hardest part,often brake to early and come short of where i want to be,this is mainly coming down from a higher speed tho.
i rode my zip scoot the other day,…now that is scary! it was like a feather!
go easy, get used to it,thats how im lookin at it.
I remember when I went from a 125 to a 600, the main thing that sticks in my mind is nailing it out of a corner in the wet.
Where you would probably grab a handful out of any corner in any weather on a 125 it can be a tad unnerving on something bigger when your back wheel tries to overtake you!
Cheers for the replies all, went very smoothly in the end !
