I’ m planning on passing my full bike test this year but I’m unsure on what bike to buy once I have the licence.
I am over 40,married,own home, bike will be garaged etc.
Really like the big adventure bikes but would I be better getting a 600/700cc bike and using that for a year or so or would the insurance on a big bike be reasoable?
Talking to work mates who have been riding years they pay very little for fully comp ins, am I going to be hammered £££££££££?
Cheers

It’ll cost very little, even for a big bike. My lad had a 900 at 21, second bike but a few months after passing his test, cost £200. That was 7 years ago but judging by my premium it wouldn’t be much more now.

I’m 38 and passed my full test in November on a DAS, no previous experience or no claims. I have a 2008 Triumph 675 Street triple and it costs me £173 full comp.

I bought a 650cc Honda Deauville after doing my DAS and I still think that was a great choice. I moved onto other bikes after a couple of years but kept the Deauville as my commuter/tourer for about 10 years. Insurance was never expensive on it.

Sounds promising, its just so hard to decide as I have only ever ridden MX/enduro bikes.
I have a 650 bandit, BMW GS650 or a BMW F800r to choose to practice on, anyone had any experience riding any of these.
Going to sit on them all and pick one that feels best.

I had an old F650 which is essentiallyvthe same as the G650. Was a good bile to “learn” on. Had a bandit 600 as a hire bike after mine lost an argument with a bin wagon. It was horrible, uncomfortable. Fast as **** though but felt like riding a demented sewing machine after my big single.

Passed my full test at 38,wanted a sit up and beg, tall, comfortable, excellent mpg. Reliable.

Got an ex demo Honda NC700X

Couldn’t be happier

Poddy has one too.

70+ mpg all day even on the motorway carrying Lil ol 95kg me and hard panniers.

£148 fully comprehensive with 2yrs NCB carries over from scooter

As you’re not buying a sports bike, it’ll be sensible money. Took me 20 years NCB to get my GSXR1000 under 300 quid fully comp, but a Bandit 1250 was £150 straight off.

On the other hand, you’re prime ‘born-again biker’, so it may by silly.

My f650 cost about £140 to insure. 5 year no claims made it £90.

Passed my das a few years ago.
Waited a couple of years before getting a bike (no riding in between).
I had an old gs500 for 10 months which cost £100 tp. replaced bike with a street triple 675 and had to move insurers. New policy was something like £300. After a couple of years it’s only about £150 fully comp.
Street triple is a hoot btw, but I appreciate that’s not really the big adventure bike you are thinking of.

Thanks for the replys folks.
Stoner never heard of the Honda NC700X but thanks for bringing them up, I have just had a gander on ebay and really like the look of them.
I was originally drawn to the transalp but these look more modern, are there any issues or problems the NC suffers from?

I am a returning motorcyclist, having had a gsxr 750 in my early 30s. The itch returned and I bought an er 6, cost me 14 quid a month at hastings direct, I was amazed, I am now on an MT 09 Tracer and it costs me the same, 500 excess is the only downside

Slight hijack guys but please be careful , the Scottish police service are pulling bikers over at 5pm , they are very nice at the start. , nice bike etc and asking where have you been , soon as you say at work the mood changes , have you got commuting to and from work on your policy. ! They then contact your insurance to confirm. , if not the bikes uplifted ! And you get a nice six points on your licence , this has happened to a good few folk I know. So either. , get the right insurance or say u been shopping , sorry to cut in but better to know !

I bought a 500 in my, oh, 30s I think. NCBis not transferable from a car.

First year’s insurance was in the region of £130, went to around 90 in the second year. I think.

Shop around is your best bet as with any insurance. I’m 33, bike licence for 9 years but no bike for over two so lost NCD. Company car so no car NCD either, with 3 points also. MCE covered me on an R1 TPFT for £315.00. With breakdown cover included.

I spent 3 years on older 750 sports bikes (GSXRs) on TPFT before I could afford FC insurance on a more expensive 750. It was still £700 FC though. It took about 8 years before my insurance dropped below £300 (never claimed or had an accident, car or bike and was mid/late 30s).

Getting a cheaper bike just for experience and lower your cost of insurance sounds like a good idea to me.
I’ve got a GS800F now, great do it all bike. A little under powered for what I would like, but it slows me down and can still be fun enough. Had a go on a the new water cooled GS1200 whilst mine was in for a service. That was so much better engine wise, loads more grunt and power, but far too much to buy for me.

I always dreamed of a transalp. So I tested one back to back with the NC700 and it was a no brainer.

The NC is a “new concept” in Honda. It’s powered by half a Honda jazz engine. Parallel twin, rides like a disesl, very sympathetic and torquey at low revs. Unbeatable mpg.

It’s not got any bells and whistles, basic suspension. I cant really compare it to much as I’m a newb but I’m very pleased with it.

Really like the big adventure bikes but would I be better getting a 600/700cc bike and using that for a year or so

I find my 650 dual sport big and heavy enough and certainly tipped it a couple of times in my first year (low speed wobble – both in very slooooooow motion and to the amusement of passers by). you might be more coordinated than me tbf but I though 650 was plenty big enough. these 1200s are BEASTS

Have a look at the Triumph 800 explorer. A lot of bike for the money and a cracking 1st big bike.
Insurance shouldn’t be too silly either.

I’m selling my 02 plate 650 Transalp if you are interested?

I’ve ridden pretty much all my life,juts bought a ZX9r last month after not riding for 7 years.
Clean license and I struggled to get insured, eventually did £400 with Carole Nash. I insure 2 cars for that, which are worth 30 times as much!

With comments above regarding sports bikes I think it depends on brand.

You see lots of Jap sports bikes ridden poorly because you can get them cheap and they cost peanuts to maintain. My theory is they get crashed more as there are more of them. Hence the higher prices to insure.

My Ducati 749s cost £115 fully comp. Quite a rare bike being an ‘S’ model too and if you crashed one of those the cost of parts was horrific.

So what you might think of being unaffordable to insure might actually not be the case.

Just run your details through Confused.com and see what comes back. The biggest difference to premiums in my experience is not how long you’ve had your licence but how long you’ve had the bike. I’ve had my Ducati for over ten years but I sold it a few years ago then bought it back so I can only honestly say I’ve owned it for two years. If I tell them I’ve had it for ten years my premium halves (both examples with zero no claims as well).

I’m paying more than most here

RR8 Fireblade, 33 now, been riding 7 years. IAM too. Paying around £350, alarmed and garaged. No claims and no points.

But that’s a reflection of where I live – London (a nice bit)

I couldn’t get insured on my Street Triple R when I had it unless it was put in the garage (I just left the bike before that on the drive)

I don’t know how keen I’d be on a BIG adventure bike. They’re big and heavy. A smaller engined adventure will be almost as much fun, and easier to ride slowly and move around. Anything 650-800 will be great

I had one of those NC700X’s as a courtesy bike a couple of times. It was ace. Very different from what I normally ride so I actually had to ride it, plan overtakes properly etc and not just rely on power.

I ride a Blackbird, over 40, max NCB; £180 p/a. Just renewed it.

Have a look at the Triumph 800 explorer. A lot of bike for the money and a cracking 1st big bike.

I’m glad in a way that when I started biking there were lots of smaller bikes available and cost (and insurance) meant that you didn’t buy big bikes straight off.

I’m not sure how we’d all have survived if we’d gone out onto CB900, GPz’s and the like. For me it was – 50cc, 80cc, 250cc, 350cc * 3, 600cc, 750cc, 900cc, 1000cc and then 1050cc *2.

IMO better to get something small (both in power and size) and learn how to survive on the roads.

I have a FAZER thou. Garaged no alarm or data tag. I’m 46 and pay 80 quid a year fully comp including commuting. Its far cheaper than my car (an old diesel passat) but it’ll do 160mph

It’s just like cars, some are expensive, some not- race rep 600s frinstance tend to be expensive, partly because they’re bought by people who want to go fast and partly because they’re very expensive to crash. Big tourers and the like, not so much. My little SV cost nowt to insure when it was stock.

But have a think about what you actually want and what you feel comfortable with, rather than insurance… a big tourer can be quite a lot of bike to deal with- just physically bulky and heavy, and sometimes a bit compromised on the road, it’s extra hassle you might not want in a first bike. And depending on which one, can be expensive to drop too.

There’s a really good argument for getting something pretty basic and inexpensive to tool about on for a year and figure everything out- doesn’t have to be rubbish, maybe an SV650 or ER5 or 6 or similiar, there’s a ton of them out there with a bunch of previous owners who’ve done the exact same thing. That way, you can get the embarassing car park drops and the like out of the way on a cheap and easy to pick up bike, but also you’ll know exactly what you want bike #2 to be and make the right choice for you

b r – Member
IMO better to get something small (both in power and size) and learn how to survive on the roads.

I wish I’d had the opportunity to do that. Bikes were verboten in our house so I came to it late 20’s when my parents didn’t have a say. I went from a 125 learner bike to a 750 then straight into litre bikes and above.

I envy those that served their apprenticeship and actually learned to ride properly rather than point and shoot with phenomenal power.

It’s surprisingly cheap, passed my DAS in 2009, defied all the opinions of all the seasoned bikers I knew and bought a CBR600 – cost me less than £200 a year fully comp!

I’ve got a mate with a knackered old, not even slightly road worthy Honda Melody stuck in the back of the garage – it’s fully insured though at £38 a year, keeping his NCB topped up for when he’s got the time for a proper bike again.

Good idea for an adventure bike, I’ve a Tiger Explorer 1200 😀 Try a Tiger 800, stick some engine bars on for when you drop it, when not if 😉 Should be reasonable to insure as you won’t be claiming for £1k of plastic fairings just saying “oh bugger” (other swear words are available) picking it up and riding off 😀
How much are you looking at spending?

Oh, and get some advanced training, learn road positioning, counter steering etc. Plenty of vids on youtube https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=advanced+riding+techniques

Twist of the wrist, very good

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWgb0MtgNlo

Big trail bikes are great. Had an f650 funduro for a few years after passing my test then got a triumph tiger 955i. As a word of warning big trailes are tall and often top heavy. You may find a large one quite a handful at slow speed until you have more experience. 9 yrs no claims, 42 and only £85 fully comp.

NC700s are fine if you don’t have an adrenal gland.

If you are used to Mx/Enduro kit you will be used to tall bikes with wide bars. Go big is my advice, GS1200 or the Adventure are easy to tootle around on. KTM Adventure are really good as well, not as refined on the road but capable off road.

All interesting stuff I will probably stick to my plan of something quite tame compared to a Ducati Hypermotard which I also like the look,power and sound of.
6 points in the 1st two years and its a ban so I have to be sensible Brrrraaaaap 😆

“NC700s are fine if you don’t have an adrenal gland.”
I have both of those!
I use my NC700X for commuting at which it’s great, economical, practical and versatile.
I also have a Triumph 900 Scrambler which has a much harder edge to it.

NC700s are fine if you don’t have an adrenal gland.

Talking of adrenal glands kayla, do I need different spacers to fit a SP rear wheel to an Aprilia RS 125, and if I do, do you guys make them?

Sobriety- do you mean the Marchesini wheels? If so, yes you need slightly different spacers (the right side is captive behind a circlip) and yes we can make them but we’ll need sizes as I sold the Marchesinis I had and I’ve got the poverty-spec five spokers on mine again 🙁

OP- soz for the hijack!

Last year I paid under £240 to insure my Ducati Monster 1100 Evo fully comp. Just had my renewal letter asking for £900, no change in circumstances. Daylight robbery from Bennetts! Spent a while on comparison sites and got it down to £250. Always shop around.