Looking to buy my first bike and its proving to be much more complicated that it first seemed, :crazy: Need some help!!!
There are three main choices…
Buy new (good deals atm), 0% finance… insurance will be pricey as its a first bike but will be do-able as there will be minimal outlay for the bike itself.
Buy decent second hand (good deals but offset against other factors?), could get one on finance but would be looking at an interest rate around 10-15% - insurance will be pricey as anything over £2k will need to be fully comp so add that in to the cost of getting the bike in the first instance average of £600-£800
Buy something old for around the grand mark… could go for TPFT insurance as would not be the end of the world if I were to drop it etc but would still mean I need to pay initially for the bike and take into account any servicing, mot, road tax etc…
So basically those are my options… not sure what to do. Ideally something around the 600cc mark, plus I need to get myself a set of leathers and ideally a new lid!
With some of the deals that are going to be floating about at the moment I’d go for a new bike on a 0% deal.
You could get something like an FZ6 with 0% for 3.5 years and I’d imagine that as most dealers won’t be selling many bikes at the moment you could get some discount on the retail price. I’m sure they’d also do you some deals on kit like leathers and lids.
It really is a buyers market at the moment especially at this time of year. If it’s an option I’d go new because things go wrong with used bikes and when they do it’s your problem. A new bike comes with a warranty so if it goes wrong it’s their problem. Get them to fit crash bungs into the deal and then you can drop it as many times as you like.
I’ll go against the grain here and say go for 2nd hand. It’s your first bike and chances are very high you’re going to do something to it… drop it, bump into something, maybe even have an off (hopefully not). If you hunt around you can get some cracking deals on some older bikes. I got a 1999 Yamaha Fazer 600 a few months back in mint condition with only 17000 miles on the clock for less than 2 grand, with loads of extras.
I got a friend of mine to go with me - he’s been riding for a few years. We went around to loads of dealers before I settled on the one I wanted. So I’d recommend you get a friend to go with and try not let your emotions take over. Quite easy when it’s your first bike and there are so many good bikes to choose from.
Decide what you want first, engine size, make, model, etc. Honda and Yamaha are good bikes and last for ages (provided they’ve been looked after). Then let the hunt begin.
And an older bike you won’t be too scared to have a go at servicing yourself. I now do my bike myself and was quite surprised at just how easy it is. So you can save money there.
Best of luck and I hope you get what you’re looking for!
depends if you have got money to throw around or you have to watch the pennies.
if you buy new bike then insurance is gonna be a lot more than if old and wot with sh1tty weather and thieving scrotes out there and as it your first bike it may not stay with you or look nice after, if you catch my drift?
I would buy summat that you can afford but my advice is get insurance quotes b4 you buy the bike, just phone companies up and say wot bike you are thinking of getting.
you can pick up some tidy bandit 600’s for under a grand which will serve you well and look nice and you can tart up as you please, get some NCB under your belt and then buy a newer 1 etc.
Another thing to think of is wheer you live, what security you have, i would not even think about getting a new bike if i did not have a garage.
Me i would go for a seconhand bike i bought a brand new r1 in january this year cost 9 grand didnt get on with it did 500 miles and decided to sell it £6600 is what i got for it lost all that money , i paid cash for it so it was quiet a blow but then i allways said i would never buy a new bike unless i could pay cash but now i just say ill never buy a new bike again.
If you have the cash, know nothing about bikes and don’t know anyone who knows anything about bikes then go new – but don’t go big and don’t go highly nickable. Also look at getting roadside assistance as part of the ‘new’ package, particularly good for if/when you get a blow out.
If you fancy having a tinker then look at 2 year old + bikes as they will be outside manufacturers warranty (so you can tinker away to your hearts content). You won’t immediately lose the VAT on a second hand bike (as there isn’t any) and prices are fairly low at the moment. If you go for this option I absolutely recommend you buy from a dealer (preferably one that sells new bikes of the marque you are buying) and not privately so you have some form of warranty and hopefully comeback if it all goes terribly wrong!
I would say go with a secondhand bike as the chances of going through your first winter on a brand new bike unscathed are quite slim and it will look secondhand by the spring anyway.
I’m in the used bike camp and aggree with most of what choprocker and others have said . I have had a lot of bikes in a lot of years and never bought new , but for most if not all of that time i didn’t have a choice .
I think how much you will really depend on it is a big factor, will it be your sole transport ?, can you get to work ok if it just decides to throw a sicky ?
If total dependancy on reliability is not so important and if you want to develope a relationship with bikes through learning about them yourself, how to service/repair/bodge when you have to , then i would say
the low cost route can be very rewarding , and you will not have a big lump of money tied up should financial circumstances be less than good .
If you buy your first few bikes cheaply, poss get a bit of learner wear and tear and service them yourself you can allways go the other route in the future and it will be a real trade up, if you buy new first where do you go from there ?.. have fun…
Son bought a brand new Bandit 650 a couple of years back. Got free finance andfree FC insurance. The insurance alone was worth £1600 to him as a first time rider. (Age 23)
Knock off the interest on a loan and he saved about £2000 on a £4K bike with 2 years warranty, which sounds like a deal to me.
Have a look to see if there are still 0% interest and free insurance deals out there, then price the same package second hand. I’d be surprised if your not better off buying new this month.
Very good comments on all fronts, thanks for the input guys, will start getting the calculator out and work out what will be best in the long run, new vs old etc
It depends what you will use it for. If you are going to put on mileage (10Kish+ a year) then new makes alot of sense. My motorbike is my commuting transport and has to work every morning at the turn of the key all weathers and take 10k a year with little time and effort on my part to keep running. A newer bike may save alot on fuel, my bike is very efficient.
Be honest with yourself, if you’re likely to change bikes used makes more sense. If I want something else it will be a 2nd bike and a sunday ‘best’. I wouldn’t want a nice bike used all year getting covered in salt.
I’ll happily run a banger car but that is only used of leisure purposes.
A new bike with 0% finance is a no brainer to me…no matter the actual purchase price, unless you go for something really expensive, chance are it will cost you less than a second hand bike…if your gonna drop it then you have the same problem with a new bike as an old one so cant see why you wouldnt buy new…Just dont go too big for the first one, get a nice smooth reliable bike (bandit 650 or Sv650 or er500, etc…) and if you have the money one that you can keep as a back up bike in the future whewn you get another more powerful bike, as your skill level and insurance drops…
I would go for something cheap second hand from a dealer (so get some warrantee) as a first bike. If you get something cheap you may get away with TPFT or TP only insurance and still start building up your NCB. Even if you just ride it for a year and look at the 0% insterest deals next winter, you’ll have some riding experience, so likely you’ll have a better idea of what bike you want, and you won’t loose too much money on it.
It may be even you keep the cheap hack for comuting and get something nice on top.
I would say same thing, go 2nd hand… You looking at **** loads of money for a bike mate, I never took into consideration insurance, gear, security, the bike etc etc… with the money I wasted on my new bike… which is now old… oh and of course not to mention the fact that I had an accident on it at 800 miles after purchase at end of November… plus another off later and another off again… the cost somehow reached probably over £20000 so… up to you. I now wish I had this money and my car money to get a house:(
