kayla1 – Member
NC700s are fine if you don’t have an adrenal gland.

Aahhh OK. My gland works fine it’s just a different kind of riding. More transport than motorcycling. As a change it was fine. Not sure I’d buy one mind 😀

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

The smaller hypermotard would be ideal. Even the bigger one would be fine if you can cope with never passing a petrol station.

I have a 15 plate DL1000 which cost me £375 fully comp (8k/annum, commuting, ungararged but rural/off street, 50yo with only 1 years NCD).

I’d highly advise against a ‘big’ bike as a first bike. You haven’t even passed your test yet so I’ll hazard a guess you can’t actually ride a bike properly. It took me a good 6 months and knocking on 5k miles before I could hand on heart say I could actually ride.

I was lucky in that my main biker mate is an IAM observer and I did a couple runs with the local club so I learnt about roadcraft (you know, road position, gas through corners and ‘positive’ steering) and didn’t get the oppurtunity to develop bad habits… On your own, it might take a little longer.

I had a DL650 as my first bike and I’m convinced it was the right choice as its pretty forgiving but is still nippy enough. But not nippy enough to be able to overtake wherever I wanted. Its a good discipline, having to plan… I also looked at a Tiger 800, but its just shy of 100 bhp, that can get you in to trouble fast enough (loved the bike though). The 650 was around £270 FC as a new rider (and that was with my brother as a named rider, he passed his test 30 years earlier knocking off £30!). The Tiger would’ve been £300+

GS’s are big bastarding bikes, the DL1000 is as big as I’d personally like to go, just for lugging it about (it’s not significantly bigger/heavier in feel than the 650). When I was investigating a first bike the beemer 700/800 crowd all seemed to accept that they would drop their bike before they got used to it…

So I’d say get a cheap 650 and run it a year first (plus you’re less likely to cry when you drop it) and learn to ride it properly. Then go big.

Just my tuppence…

Sobriety- do you mean the Marchesini wheels? If so, yes you need slightly different spacers (the right side is captive behind a circlip)

Yup they’re the ones, I think it’s come with the captive spacer in it. I’ll have a look and a measure and give you guys a ring.

If you already have your car licence then that 6 points business doesn’t apply.

That’s sort of what I meant, maybe I came across as a bit of an arse 😆 For me a car is just a tool or a way to move stuff and a motorcycle is for fun. If I needed to commute on two wheels I’d look for something like a cheap big cc scooter and look for a cheap-ish ‘proper’ bike for fun. I quite fancy a Pegaso Strada 😕

I have a mx/ enduro day booked in July where I will be riding a Kawasaki KLX 450R in the woods in the morning then on an mx track in the afternoon.
The last time we did it we started on a Honda CRF250x which we were impresed with but then spent the afternoon on the CRF450x’s, once I opened the 450 up there was no way I was going back to the 250.
Would love an enduro bike but with the restrictions on green laning I can’t see me getting one.
I have owned lots of bikes as a youth with a couple of Honda XR250’s being my faves, so drawn to the Honda reliability.

I passed my DAS a while ago and the insurance was too high on anything I actualy wanted so haven’t done anything with it.

In the meantime quotes have dropped about 50%-75% for a CBR600FS.

But it does seem to be completley random, statistics based rather than common sense, at one point I was plugging in superbike details in and getting cheaper quotes than 400’s, presubably more 20somethings had crashed NC30’s than Fireblades.

Thinking I might get a CBR600F this summer and just stick a 33bhp kit on it for a few weeks/months so I don’t kill myself while I get used to it. Cheaper and much better ergonomicly for me at 6ft than a VFR400.

First I need a helmet to fit my oversized bonce!

I took it that you had competed in Mx and Enduro, if you have just had one day at it then ignore my recommendation for a big Gs or the like.

I passed my DAS in Oct 2014. I was looking at Ducati Multistradas, Triumph Explorer insuarnce was around 1200 and 900 resepctively. I looked at a insurance for 2012 BMW R1200GS adventure. £280!!!!

Pig face I thought you were being pretty cavalier recommending a 230kg bike to a newbie. Those buggers are easy for inexperienced riders to tip over just moving them into a bike bay and can be a handful to filter at slow speed on.

grunty – Member

I passed my DAS in Oct 2014. I was looking at Ducati Multistradas, Triumph Explorer insuarnce was around 1200 and 900 resepctively. I looked at a insurance for 2012 BMW R1200GS adventure. £280!!!!

They know their onions. Ducati owners go too fast and crash, Triumph owners ride all the time and crash. Adventure owners spend all their waking hours bolting Touratech kit to their bike that it becomes too heavy to move under its own power, and planning world tours that they’ll never do, therefore are a very low risk.

Adventure owners spend all their waking hours bolting Touratech kit to their bike that it becomes too heavy to move under its own power, and planning world tours that they’ll never do, therefore are a very low risk.

It’s true!! 😆

As in so many things, I am a bit of an exception on my Adventure – 10500 miles completed, including non-tarmac, since June 2014.

Rachel

Thanks for the concern pigface, I have not competed in mx/enduro but owned them as a youth up intil I was in my mid 20’s.
It all comes down to money once test is passed I can’t see the Mrs liking me spending thousands on a big BMW as me first bike.
Tbh I will be fine on any bike really, five mins to get used to the weight and feel and your away just don’t bin it in the first two 😆
The GS 1200 are huge though but my instructors use them and say they are real stable at slow speeds.

Gs1200 have a much lower centre of gravity than most big trailies due to engine shape and how low it is mounted. My old shape tiger has much higher c of g but is marginally lighter.

I was originally drawn to the transalp but these look more modern, are there any issues or problems the NC suffers from?

Nothing serious. The engine is basically half a 1.4 Honda Jazz engine and only revs to 6500 rpm. It’s basically unbreakable. There’s reports of more than one NC with well over 100,000 or 200,000 miles on it.
The finish is generally very good too, mines held up to 24,000 miles and 2 winters very well.
There are a few things that wear out:
The OEM chain and sprockets are shit. No other word for it. 10,000 miles is doing well. I replaced mine with the best quality one I could find. Twins are generally heavy on chains though anyway.
The OEM tyres are crap too (Unless you get Bridgestone BT023s, Michelin Pilot Roads or similar)
I got 12,000 miles out of Pilot Road 2s and am fully expecting 16,000 to of the PR4s I swapped them for
The DCT (automatic) version has had a few issues getting stuck in gear, but not many of them
Only one brake disc and a 218kg bike means front pads wear quickly too. 8,000-12,000 miles a set
Rear wheel bearings typically last between 18,000-24,000 miles but are cheap and easy to replace (£15/pair, DIY job) I’ll put SKFs in next time, if that day comes.

The bike itself is superb, but only if you ‘get it’. It’s not fast, in fact it’s quite slow in bike terms, but it’ll munch miles with ease at 70-80mph, and hack through traffic as if it’s not there. It’s a low revving bike and even then I very rarely go over 4500rpm myself, I just ride the wave of torque.
It handles very well indeed, as the weight is VERY low down. It’s more manoeuvrable than the maxi scooter I had before, and high up to see over traffic. Brakes are decent, ABS is standard (I won’t ever have another bike without ABS)
The storage compartment where the tank should be is immensely useful. It’ll take most full face lids. I’ll struggle if I change to bike without one.
Tank range (Without riding like you stole it) is 200-250 miles. I was averaging just under 85mpg when I finished my long commute. £13 in fuel for 200 miles…. 🙂

Like I say, if you ‘get’ the NC, you’ll love it. It’s not a weekend fun bike, it’s a tool for a job – commuting, distance, frugality. Personally I think it’s brilliant, simply superb. A genuinely new concept (That’s what NC stands for apparently) that has no direct rivals. There’s nothing out there that can do all of what it does.
£85 full comp insurance for me and Mrs PP to ride too! 🙂

I’m not sure PP. Do you like it or not?
😉

Thanks PP

NC stands for New Concept?

Nah, this is more like it and near enough 30 years ago:

http://www.oesten-creasey.eu/hightech/pictures/DUKEACT.JPG

@robidoo If you could get one of those nc’s s/h, it’d make a good first bike. Not too much power but handles well and is reasonable fun without being silly. They’ve only been out a couple of years so you might struggle getting a s/h bargain.

Eye boblo I have seen a few for sale round the 3/4K mark but 1st things 1st test must be passed I have my mod 1 this month so hopefully have the licence soon and take a few different bikes for test rides.

By the sounds of Peters post the NC700 doesn’t sound that great. I had an ER-6 for 45k miles and sounds like the reliability was similar, (except the oem chain last 30k, it comes with twin brakes that last 25k+) but they do close to 70mpg anyway and cost alot less to buy! …But running costs is not the point of your first bike so don’t worry about it. It’ll take a good year before the minor differences between bikes will make any effect on your riding (as long as you don’t get a sports bike!)

I’ve recently helped two friends buy their first bikes and rather than look for a specific model, we looked for bikes being sold privately in the local area from sound, honest people. One guy bought a Honda Hornet and the other a Suzuki SV650. I wouldn’t get too hung up on what bike to get, just aim for something below 100bhp (ideally 70ish) and not too old (under 10yrs old if you can) as you can get weird failures from older bikes that sit around collecting dust, as many do! The insurance for these guys on their bikes at 29yrs old was only £150-300.

Ive not read the whole lot but just to say owt you fancy get a quote as some of the quotes are very surprising. I was gonna get a bandit 6 a while back and it was 180 for the year but the bandit 12 was only 110. I questioned it and guy said they charged more on certain bikes as they were known beginners bikes and therefore likely to be ridden by new riders so it was reflected in the premiums

+1 for the NC700.
I’ve had mine close on two years and now done just under 8000 miles, the rear tyre is going to need replacing in the next 2000 miles or so.
Still on the original chain and sprokets, not the best quality granted, but when I change them it will be for something a bit better.
I use it mainly for commuting, as it gives me a more reliable journey time, and I can park much nearer to where I work.
It’s great in traffic, especially with the DCT, it has a good upright riding position for a good view ahead.
I do go other places on it, both locally and further afield.
My average so far isn’t very different from PP’s, about 84mpg, my last fill up was after 250 miles, it took 13.3 litres to fill, costing £15.28.
So yes, it’s a ‘tool bike’, doesn’t tug at your heart strings like some do, but I’d miss mine and I would buy another NC tomorrow.
Just on thing, it doesn’t have half a car engine, that was tried early on and didn’t work very well, so they designed a new engine for the NC range along similar lines to the Jazz/Fit 1339cc LA13, there maybe one or two components that they have in common as well as the capacity.

defender, when you get a new chain, read Poddy’s thread on NC forum first for some useful info

http://www.nc700.co.uk/index.php?/topic/8653-chains-this-may-be-of-interest/

Sorry Stoner, that link doesn’t work :-/

Firestarter, I think that Bandit issue is that the rear footrests on the older 600’s are part of the frame so a low speed spill or parking drop will bend them effectively writing off the bike. On the 1200 they are a separate part.

a, sorry boblo, forgot the riff-raff arent allowed into the forum over there 🙂

As we all know NCs are heavy on chain wear. Twins generally are but the crappy OEM ones really don’t last.
So, anyway, I was doing my own 24,000 mile service and decided to fit a new chain and sprockets as the bike will be getting a lot less use, and the old chain (16,000 miles old) was tight on every link. If I was going to be using it at the same 1000 miles a month rate I’d have left it a while, but it’ll seize solid if left unused.
I was going to put a DID chain on but Busters had a lot of choice and the JT chains were listed as a lot stronger for £20 cheaper. Silly not to, right?
After I took the old chain off I compared it to the new JT. It was obviously thinner and the JT seemed heavier….
So I measured it.
Honda chain 17.3mm and almost exactly 4lbs in weight
JT Z1R 18.6mm and almost exactly 5lbs in weight.
Both are 520 pitch, both the exact same length.
You can even see the JT is beefier!

and a pic of mine just because

Interesting rockhopper . Must back away from motorbike thread 🙂

My bike past its mot this week.

It has a dummy tank with storage space so Honda came up with their “new concept” in about 1975