Honda NTV. IT’s the shaft-drive brother of the 'Bros. You can still find many well kept examples in Continental Europe for next no nothing.
It’s pretty much maintenance free (brakes, rubbers, nonwithstanding) and the fork legs will take you far if you install some grime guards.
Also handy addons are a screen, and steel braided brake hoses.
Awesome, near indestructible bike, and you if you the Superman over a U-turning minicab, second hand spares are easy to find and plentify.
I still miss mine, I really do. It packed it in on 136k miles and then some after 2 crashes and 7 previous owners who did god knows what with it. Loved that bike…
Yeah sorry, I see your point - but the Hornet is a real grower - a first ride isn’t going to be particularly earth shattering e.g. like stepping off a Honda Deauville and getting on a k4 ZX10r for the first time, instead it reveals it’s true worth and ability cumulatively - in which case it’s one of the most enjoyable and satisfying bikes I’ve ever ridden.
I had a bros 650 as a kind of first bike, but after a few months it packed up and I got a 2003 race tuned Hornet 600. This was a fantastic all round bike - great for towns, good on the lanes (in fact better on the twisties than the Triple I have now), even took it on the motorway and just perfect for a big bike newbie. I have a Triple now which has more ooomph and is an awesome bike, but the Hornet has to be the bike which built my confidence as a new rider. So I’d go with that if I was you!
I had a bros 650 as a kind of first bike, but after a few months it packed up and I got a 2003 race tuned Hornet 600. This was a fantastic all round bike - great for towns, good on the lanes (in fact better on the twisties than the Triple I have now), even took it on the motorway and just perfect for a big bike newbie. I have a Triple now which has more ooomph and is an awesome bike, but the Hornet has to be the bike which built my confidence as a new rider. So I’d go with that if I was you!
Love my 'Bird, but it’s a terrible London bike. You want something light enough so you can stand on the pegs when the speedbumps are approaching and just let the bike bounce by itself. Some crazy 600cc street fighter or anything with long fork travel like an XT or a SuperMoto would probably do the trick. So will CB 500’s if you don’t have like zillions to spend.
My 280kg, 1100cc Bird likes long, smooth autobahns and Bundesstrassen… for urban warfare, house to house combat, pros use snub nosed HK-5’s and Uzi’s instead of Sniper Rifles. Think about it, it makes sense.
Bought a cb500 couple of years ago to prep as a track bike , used it on the road to use up the t&t but ended up keeping it as a backup bike and now wouldnt sell it . Couldnt have as an only bike though , too gutless , good bike to learn on though and capable of annoying sports bikes .
Just as a general question, what should my attitude be to mileage? I know that obvioously in egneral a better looked after bike with more mileage is better than a neglected low mileage version, but what about suspiciously old ones like this, with very little mileage:
Went to the Lake District and Scotland for 17 days on mine this year had no problems with it, a windy weekend loaded up to Skegvegas and a few camping trips not as far away. The most i have got from a full tank of fuel was 207 miles, am sure i must have been running on fumes the last few miles :PComfortable and does all you ask of it, though if you are going to do lots of motorway riding on it you might want a small screen.
When I bought my Hornet (01) I was distinctly underwhelmed by it at first. It already had a race can and sounded like a real beast but riding it around local roads just after I’d passed my test I was thinking that it wasn’t the snarling beast I expected it to be. I was telling a workmate my concerns and he suggested that I might want to try revving it it a bit more, which I did on the way home. Woohooo:w00t: From then on it was love:D
I reckon that if I rode from London to Hastings on the Hornet, the Street Triple, GSXR and the CB1000R I’d get there the quickest on the Hornet every time. The Triple is brilliant on smooth roads (but it’s a bag of crap on rough surfaces), the GSXR is by far the fastest in a straight line and the CB is a great all round bike with loads of torque, but the Hornet is the bike that I’d ride the hardest every time. On paper it’s the slowest, but there’s something about it that makes you want to rag it every time you take it out on the twisties. Yes, you have to shift through the gears alot, but it’s by far the most rewarding bike I’ve ever ridden.
As for fuel, the older models have a small tank and I use to get about 130 miles, the later models (03 onwards) will do about 170 miles to a tank out of town.
If you decide on the Triple then you’d be better off with the ‘R’, the suspension on the standard Triple sucks around town.
The CBF600 is also a decent commuter, brilliant handling but the engine isn’t that exciting. Also consider the latest Bandit 650, handles fanatastic for such a heavy bike and the gearbox is the best out there, though it hasn’t got the top end rush of the Hornet.
Just as a general question, what should my attitude be to mileage? I know that obvioously in egneral a better looked after bike with more mileage is better than a neglected low mileage version, but what about suspiciously old ones like this, with very little mileage:
Had to smile about the way people are still rapping on about this bike or the other but (sort of) ignoring your first and the above questions.
I’ve said earlier all I’m going to offer about which bike. As far as your question above: Pretty damned difficult to answer. There are some beautiful older bikes out there that have been victims of much loving care but have spent most of their pampered lives in garages.
Some of these, at the right price, will be bargains but you have to accept that time takes it’s toll and I’d certainly advise a full fluids/filters change and new tyres on anything that not had that done in the last two or three years.
Best bike I’ve rode in London was a DRZ SM. Wouldn’t want to leave one parked anywhere though.
Loved my old 650 Africa Twin in town. Nicely beat up, so was largely ignored by scrotes, narrow, tight turning circle, good punchy motor. Ticked loads of boxes.
- but the Hornet is a real grower - a first ride isn’t going to be particularly earth shattering e.g. like stepping off a Honda Deauville and getting on a k4 ZX10r for the first time, instead it reveals it’s true worth and ability cumulatively - in which case it’s one of the most enjoyable and satisfying bikes I’ve ever ridden.
