Nuvver Newbie

[Cabby]

Hello people,
I'm a 50 yr old (sob) :( London cabby returning to biking after a long time out.......Yes, I retrained in the summer and learned more than I relearned!!?.
I've got £1000 to £1500 (gave up smoking) to spend on an all rounder.
PROBLEM: Which one :?:
Transalp....Fine but not many around.
Bmw F650.....Fine again but can my local bike garage fix 'em?
TDM...?????
Everyone seems to think (including bike garage) that a Bandit is the bike to have....are they that good?
Thing is....I wouldn't do that many miles but I really fancy looking around this island we live on as closely as I've looked at some other countries.
What about an old airhead boxer? HHEEEEELPP !!!!!!
Kevin :? :? :? :?

[z-weiser]

Hello and welcome

Depends on how big you are, what type of riding you wanna do and if you are bothered about fasion or the latest carbontitaniumramair17000rpmgsxr type stuff!

of the bikes you mentionned the cheapest would probably be the TDM which always seem to get well thought of around here (theres a post somewhere aout it!)

they are reliable hardy and do all things for all men!

Honda are regarded as the most reliable (although some defectors around this forum will mention BMWs)

Bandits are good bikes and seem to live forever but they are purely road bikes and not really ideal if you want to get onto easy trails!

Transalp, AT, or TDM could easily come within your budget and are all bob on!

someone else will be along soon to offer other ideas! :D

[Cabby]

Thanks Z-weiser,
I'm 5' 8, and probably getting shorter by the day as the years fly by.
I don't see myself going far off road but I'm a sucker for seeing where those little brown tourist signs end up (Habit left over from the 'Knowledge') , so it's more a case of some occasional rough roads.
No harm being prepared though!
I really fancy doing the Scottish lochs in the summer.......Might need a passport soon though eh!! :wink: .
I'd like a machine that can cope with the roads on the way to the curly bits without me feeling like I'm torturing it! :)
Cheers Cabby

[Shep]

I am 100% with Z on this one

Either an RD03 or RD04 Africa Twin, a Transalp or TDM

The Hondas are very well made really reliable, The Yamaha will not have the build quality, will need more looking after but a good strong motor.

What about a Yamaha Super Tenere? same basic engine as the TDM or early Triumph 900 Tiger? or a kawasaki KLE500?

I am very biased to Honda as they never seem to go wrong i like the build quality and i find them easy to work on

[Cabby]

Thanks Shep,
There's a bit of choice there, although AT's don't seem to fit my budget (1000-1500ish) at the moment but I'm sure the market will help in my decision.
I had a Bandit for a day round those country lanes near you......far too enjoyable and I was tempted to push my luck so I'm hoping to get a bike to keep me sensible :wink: .
Aren't dead squirrels slippery!!!! :teeth:

[africajim]

Hi mate, well, if the RD07 Africa Twin's out of your budget, (the RD04 is too tall! I struggled with it and I'm 5'10"), then I would suggest try finding a Trans Alp instead. They're Honda build quality, ok for light offroading, great tourers, better on fuel than any Bandit and you can pack them like a mule!

Being a twin they're quite torquey so you don't have to thrash it to have fun like a multi cylinder bike. For an all round, cheap and cheerful runaround I'd check out the Trans Alp. Lower seat height than the AT, very forgiving to ride, a pleasure for long tours or popping to the shops.

I can't think of anything that comes up to the standard of the Honda, all others are inferior! Best of luck mate. :thumb:

[magwa]

Yep I agree. You need a Transalp
Good luck ( and Take care on the roads!)

I've only ever been taken out by a car once and I've been riding all my 51 yrs. Guess what did it?
Clues:-

Its black, carries passengers has a roof sign, and didn't 'Think bike' at a T junction........Dooh :shock:
One slow speed spill, bike written off, marrage tackle written off, and Hurrah Taxi written off.... :thumb:

Welcome back to motorcycling :thumb:


Magwa

[Cabby]

Thanks Chaps!!

It looks like all roads lead to Transalp.

Africa Jim....Thanks for giving me the ' inside leg' on the twins.

Magwa.....Hope the soft bits have hardened up again!

If it's any consolation the only two times I've actually been knocked off a

bike were by a taxi and a post office van :cry: (I've left out the ones

that were my fault). :teeth:

Although it may be hard to believe, most London Cabbies have spent a

couple of years on two wheels doing the Knowledge so should be more

aware than most.......Don't hold yer breath though!!!!! :wink: :thumb:

P.S. I bet those old Honda Cubs would be interesting with some nobblies!

Transalp Please!

[Mudwiz]

Can't go wrong with a TA!

As for C90s I think there is a sort of race series for them in "enduro" trim!

[DaveS]

If you're anything like me it will probably depend on what's for sale when you go looking.
Either way enjoy it and come back and tell us what you've got and post some pics. :teeth:

[Cabby]

I'm lookin', I'm lookin' 8)

I'm all over ebay like a rash :!:

What about those f650 BMW's :?:

Thank you all for taking the trouble to advise me.

How come all the bikes that have already sold were bargains and all those for sale aint!!!!???

[DaveS]

Yes I know what you mean.

My advice would be to hold out a little.. post on the wanted forums across the motorcycling community, e.g. here, ukgser.com, etc, etc... Lots of these guys have second bikes that are always getting moved on.
I'm sure you'll get a trailie in your budget soon enough.
eBay is a bit of a double edged sword for me and in your current position I'd stay away, the tempation to buy a complete dog is there!

[xrv_jim]

I really fancy doing the Scottish lochs in the summer.......Might need a passport soon though eh!! :wink:

I know my tea mug says an AT 'will take you anywhere', but I really think you'll need a boat for that one Cabby :teeth:

[Cabby]

Or maybe a MONSTER :!: :teeth: :teeth: :teeth:

[matthelliwell]

Thanks Shep,
There's a bit of choice there, although AT's don't seem to fit my budget (1000-1500ish) at the moment but I'm sure the market will help in my decision.
I had a Bandit for a day round those country lanes near you......far too enjoyable and I was tempted to push my luck so I'm hoping to get a bike to keep me sensible :wink: .
Aren't dead squirrels slippery!!!! :teeth: I've had a 600 and 1200 Bandit. The 600 was ok for a 1st bike but you'll probably want to upgrade to something else fairly soon.

The 1200 was hilarious but the suspension wasn't too great (though much improved with a new rear shock) so I wouldn't buy one if you plan to ride too many bouncy back roads.

The technique for going around a corner was: break early; give the suspension a moment or two to settle down; hang off bike as far as possible; heave bike around corner; accelerate away like something demented; repeat for next corner. Apparently it had several gears but it hardly seemed worth the effort to use them.

[Rubberchicken]

Heh.

A friend of mine used to have a bandit 600 which had been upgraded with Hyperpro suspension front and back and was thus tight as a razor in the twisties...

He also used to take the occasional dirt road at triple digits km/h, until the day he was investigating "a bit of funny handling lately" and found the swingarm suspension mount to be buckled and nearly split in half. :shock: :shock: :shock:

So not much of a dirtbike then, that bandit. ;-)

[Cabby]

Thanks everone.......

What about those Funduro things?........Any thoughts or is BMW 'verboten' over here? :grommit:

[Rubberchicken]

The old bmw F is apparently a bit of a handful, likes to stall at lower revs. The newer F-GS (or CS) is a lot better.

Something like a Dominator, except watercooled, it's got a bit more poke and it costs a helluvalot more. ;-)

[Sharribee]

Hello cabbie, sorry its a late hello but I've been away for a while.

AS for choice of bike, again it comes down to personal preference, myself I don't like BMW's not happy with the thumper engines and the bigger BMs are cosmetically challenged - but thats my opinion.

I love my transalp, it is reliable, forgiving and great fun to ride and fairly easy to maintain - even I managed to service Twinkletoes this year. I commute, ride for pure pleasure and do occasional light off roading (only when the welsh lads decide to take a "short cut" :teeth: on our little trips out)

hope you find a bike you like soon :thumb:

[Cabby]

Transalp it is then..............it's the only one ticking all the boxes.

So I'll have to see what comes up for £1000- £1500.

Not much about at the moment.........there's one 1995(m) in a dealer not far from here (£1400) but it's been supermoto'd.........Wheels changed ...Looks quite nice...but makes me wary of any other changes (and why?) :?

I'll try to be patient but this mid-life crisis in full swing.......YEEEE HAAAH!! :blob: :blob: :blob:



Oh Yeah...Hello Mabel! :)