AT OK for newbie???

[wilf1234]

Hi guys,

I passed my test last October with only minimal bike experience before that.

I've always had my eye on getting a 1150 or 1200 GS but a bloke I met warned me off having one of these as your first big bike.

I was therefore going to go with a Bandit to play around on for a few months beofre remortagaing the house and kids etc. and getting a BMW. But being a Land Rover type person, I just can't bring myself to buy anything but a Trailie, and I've found a couple of AT's that have potentially got my name sprawled all over them.

Reading a couple of reviews, I'm just a bit concerned that the AT might not be the best place to start off your bike career. I'm not bothered about lack of top end speed, but I'm not sure how to read a few comments like 'twitchy front end' etc.

so, is an AT a good place to start or should i be looking at a Tiger, TDM or.........???!???

Any advice from you guys would be much appreicated (i'm 6ft 2" by the way!)

cheers to all (and great site by the way!)

Wilf

[Chunk]

Hi guys,

I passed my test last October with only minimal bike experience before that.

I've always had my eye on getting a 1150 or 1200 GS but a bloke I met warned me off having one of these as your first big bike.

I was therefore going to go with a Bandit to play around on for a few months beofre remortagaing the house and kids etc. and getting a BMW. But being a Land Rover type person, I just can't bring myself to buy anything but a Trailie, and I've found a couple of AT's that have potentially got my name sprawled all over them.

Reading a couple of reviews, I'm just a bit concerned that the AT might not be the best place to start off your bike career. I'm not bothered about lack of top end speed, but I'm not sure how to read a few comments like 'twitchy front end' etc.

so, is an AT a good place to start or should i be looking at a Tiger, TDM or.........???!???

Any advice from you guys would be much appreicated (i'm 6ft 2" by the way!)

cheers to all (and great site by the way!)

Wilf

Hello Wilf

You've hit on just about the best site for all information you might need.
I've never ridden an Africa Twin but have heard nothing but good reports about them. I'm an ex R1200 gs adventure rider who's just swapping to a ktm adventure 990s. Mrs chunk has a Suzuki GSR600 but is now looking at a new Transalp. (Don't go to Bournemouth Honda....they're a**holes)
I'm 6'4 and the BM wasa good bike, probably a tad heavey for your first bigun though...
I have a couple of friends off the site who have Africas who rave about them.
Try the Transalp as well....cracking bike (as described by Mrs chunk)

Whatever bike you buy, enjoy the freedom..

[Zenarchy]

I got an Africa Twin (older RD04 model) as a first big bike after passing my test around the same time last year. Haven't long started riding it again after stripping it to tidy it up (and getting carried away and taking months to sort it out).

I'd been riding around on a 125 for a year before doing my test (a fairly big/heavy 125 which might have helped a bit), and I took the lessons for my test at a more leisurely pace two or three hours a week here and there for a month or so on a 500 rather than the 3 to 5 day intensive course many people do from cbt to full license so may have had a bit more experience if you've gone that route yourself. If you've done a 5 day intensive course after not riding a bike, then haven't ridden since taking your test, it might be an idea to take a refresher course or find a local instructor who'll take you out for a couple of hours here and there to get back into the swing of things on a 500 or something first.

I'm about 5-10ish height wise so not as tall as most people who ride these bikes. I can reach the floor with both feet but can't flat foot it on both sides at the same time. Doesn't really present a problem unless I need to paddle backwards up a gradient, then it means getting off and pulling sometimes. At 6ft 2 I'd guess you'd be able to get both feet down flat, particularly if you're going for one of the newer models (which I think might be a bit lower than mine - the seat on mine is quite high and I have a feeling it's been jacked up a bit by the guy I bought it from who was around 6ft4).

Weight wise, I think it might actually be about the same weight as an 1150/1200gs, if not a little heavier from what I've read. Maybe the newer Africa twins are bit lighter though I wouldn't have thought by that much.

I haven't really noticed a twitchy front-end, but then I'm sure I'm not riding it to anywhere near it's potential at the moment as I'm still getting used to it and taking things easy. Someone with more experience will probably be able to give you a better idea about that. I suspect the tyres used might have something to do with that though.

After passing my test I also looked around at what seemed at the time like more sensible options like commuter 500's and someone offered me a bandit 400 for peanuts just before I took my test that I was tempted by, but I'd really had my heart set on one of the older africa twins (rd03 or rd04 that I'd been drooling over for ages), so I was in a similar position to you at that point. When it came down to it, I just couldn't bring myself to bid on other bikes and when I spotted an RD04 Africa Twin come up locally I was straight over there with a deposit. Felt like a bit of a leap of faith when I bought it because it looked so much bigger than any other bike I'd ridden, but I figured as it was the bike I'd always wanted, then I might as well get it now then I can start kitting it out and keep it for years to come. I'm pretty sure that if I'd ended up with a CB500 or ER5, it would have only been a few months before I was looking for an Africa Twin or Transalp again anyway.

I was still wondering whether I'd done the right thing right up until my first ride on it, and I remember climbing into the seat, heart pounding with excitement, thinking "bloody hell, this is massive - hope I've done the right thing", but literally by the time I'd reached the end of the road I felt completely chilled out and knew I'd made the right choice. Felt right for me straight away, and by far the most comfortable bike I've ridden so far (admittedly not ridden many to compare it with though).

Power wise, it doesn't really feel much different from the ER5 training bike that I did my training and test on. Riding position is much more upright and natural to me though so found it much more comfy. Once on the move I haven't really found the size or weight to present any problem for me, and it's seems surprisingly forgiving (though u-turns are a bit harder I found). Something I immediately noticed was how high up you are. If you like landrovers you'll probably find that familiar, but to me being able to see over the top of the other traffic and being so high up was a bit of a novelty at first. It's helped a lot with my forward planning, and I feel a bit safer being able to see what's going on ahead a bit clearer. Also feel a lot more visible to other traffic which is helpful (though having a white bike probably helps with that as well).

Might not be for everyone, but if you've got your heart set on it, might be worth a go. If you find you don't like it, they seem to hold their value well, so if you get an OK deal on it in the first place, then you should make back what you paid for it if you decide it's not for you.

I don't really have experience of the other bikes you mention, but I imagine most of them are going to be about the same size and weight (tigers etc). If you think it might be a bit much, you might want to have a look at the newer model transalps. I bumped into a guy at the beach a couple of days ago with one and got chatting. 2003 model I think he said it was and he seemed very happy with it. Looked like a really nice bike, but a little shorter than mine and I'm guessing being more modern, won't be as heavy so might be slightly more managable. Power wise I think they're fairly similar though, despite having a slightly smaller engine.

I'd say if you've got your heart set on one, give it a try. I did and it seems to have worked out well for me so far. I love it.

If you haven't ridden for a while since your test and had very little experience before then it might be an idea to take a couple of refresher lessons first though, and be sure to do a search and read up about wheel rim corrosion, and particularly output shaft and output shaft bearing wear so you know what to look out for when you're going to have a look at bikes (most seem to be reliable and go on forever - some of them have done over 100K miles - but these problems occasionally arise due to overtightened chains etc. and can be expensive and troublesome to put right so it's worth learning about the warning signs before you buy).

[BobA]

Wilf

To keep it brief, here is my summing up of AT ownership.

I passed my test and stepped straight onto a Ducati 748sp, and then went through a succesion of sports bikes.

My first AT was bought as a winter hack, just so I didn't ruin a sports bike. The AT I bought was as rough as hell (I thought at the time) but it was only intended as a replacement for a few months.

It took one day to realise what a fantastic bike an AT is. Easy to ride, powerful enough, plenty of road presence, generally reliable and with only a couple of major weaknesses, and nowdays I find more people stopping to look it over. The grin factor is amazing, on or off-road. I rode my to Germany last year, and me a 3 mates went to Colditz castle for a day. So there we were, a new GS1200, a KTM 990S, a K100, and my old Africa Twin parked outside legendary Colditz. When we came out of the castle, guess where a crowd of onlookers was gathered? Yep, all around my old Africa Twin!!!

I am quite addicted to AT's now. I still love my sportsbikes, but the feeling that I could go anywhere, on this 18 year old bike, and the fact that it is SO reliable, economical (50mpg easy) is great.

I've never experienced ANY handling issues with an AT (except one I had with bent forks) and they are rock solid. OK they're a bit heavy, but you only realise most if you have to pick the thing up!!!!

Go on, do it


Bob

[The Mountie]

Hi guys,

I passed my test last October with only minimal bike experience before that.

I've always had my eye on getting a 1150 or 1200 GS but a bloke I met warned me off having one of these as your first big bike.

I was therefore going to go with a Bandit to play around on for a few months beofre remortagaing the house and kids etc. and getting a BMW. But being a Land Rover type person, I just can't bring myself to buy anything but a Trailie, and I've found a couple of AT's that have potentially got my name sprawled all over them.

Reading a couple of reviews, I'm just a bit concerned that the AT might not be the best place to start off your bike career. I'm not bothered about lack of top end speed, but I'm not sure how to read a few comments like 'twitchy front end' etc.

so, is an AT a good place to start or should i be looking at a Tiger, TDM or.........???!???

Any advice from you guys would be much appreicated (i'm 6ft 2" by the way!)

cheers to all (and great site by the way!)

Wilf

It's interesting you're wondering about an AT against a BMW GS and a TDM. I had a GS which I sold/swapped for my K plate AT. I also have a '55' plate TDM so I guess I am fairly well qualified to comment.First the BMW. Probably just me but I hated it with a passion. I only kept it for a few weeks. I've wondered if I didn't give it enough time but for me it was far too heavy (the AT is about 20 - 25 kilos lighter), I hated the stupid indicators. It felt very agricultural, the gearbox is prehistoric. Anyway suffice to say I didn't like it and moved it on.A mate of mine (who is German) wanted it, bought it, and I took his AT. I absolutely love this. It's as rough as a badger's a**e cosmetiaclly but runs like it should. It doesn't have enough top end power but you can go cross country on b and unclassified roads as fast as anything. The handling is fantastic. The cockpit looks brilliant. The bike draws more admiring looks than anything I've ever had (or is it me?) I could go on but suffice to say, I love it.The TDM. Nice bike, good but not great handling. Much quicker than the AT and far smoother. Very light at 190 kilos. For me though it's slightly bland and doesn't actually 'do' it for me. I can't quite put my finger on it.Your choice though.Best of luck.

[stageonesimmo]

My AT is my first 'legal' bike, after years of doing off-road stuff generally playing about.

I wont go back now and my AT should be mine for life now - I may add a BMW to the stable if money allows in the future, but its been great as a first bike for me and I cant think of a better way to do my 180 mile weekend commute from Glasgow to Yorkshire in whatever weather mother nature can fling at me.

Get an AT you wont regret it - especially if you're a 'Land Rover type' like me - I've done a ground-up rebuild on a Stage One V8, have worked on them my entire working life as an Army Vehicle Mechanic and currently own a 300 TDi disco which I'm prepping for over-land travel as time and money allows. The AT fits into this 'lifestyle' exactly as its tough as old boots infinately modifyable and looks great into the bargin.

Bri

[Scooter]

Hi Wilf, I passed my test last year and kicked around on a scooter for bit before buying an AT as my first big bike. Power wise, there's nothing to worry about unless you really flog it as it tends to have a real kick when the revs climb. The only real issue was with the weight, but once you get used to it it's an awesome bike. Very forgiving, enough power to be fun but not enough to be stupid on. Well, that's my experience!

[chronyx]

Twitchy front end? Never had it on mine apart from with pillion, top box and panniers!

[astrokan]

Hi as a Land Rover series 3 owner my natural progression on bikes was for a duel sports, i got myself an Africa Twin (RD04 1990)and would never be without it, poor old landy hardly gets a look in espicialy since i put a pair of conti TKC 80's on the bike..... good luck with the hunt.

[astrokan]

Oh and aim to get crash bars, The AT's are great off road and crash bars could save you a lot of grief, im guessing if you a fan of Land Rovers then you intend to vist some old faithfull Green lanes with your new toy..