Motorcycle and Scooter appreciation

Possibly in on this wild road trip if I can actually find a suitable VFR 400 NC30, or is that just madness? #wristpaintothemax?

If you do that... I will consider going on a GSX-R then (equally loud as my Triumph).

BTW as much as I love V4 engines - I am concerned that NC30 is a hugely overpriced motorcycle.

***urgent ***help needed; got a call from my insurance company AFTER cancelling the policy because I have sold my bike and they want me to pay this huge (£399) cancellation charge, I dont understand what the fuck is this shite !!

When I had called them to cancel the policy they said its ok to cancel my direct debit and didnt say a thing about cancellation charge ! Is there anyway I can avoid it or reduce it?! My monthly premium was £180 (TPFT) i know its a rape-y amount but I paid it for 3/4 months and then just got rid of the bike because of the unrealistic insurance amount and failure in theory test :P Kind of gave up on the whole motorcycle thing

I have 'stalled' the call till 3PM, I don't want to fuck up my already fucked credit history

If you still have the papers with t&c of your insurance you need to scan through that if they mention this cancellation charge.

What I have noticed e.g. Swinton does is that they have 2 companies - one that insures you and one that lends you money and direct-debits you on monthly basis. It might be that the latter have some unrealistic t&c (which they do) and next time i will avoid them like a plague.

I would not pay anything unless you are sure you have agreed to that beforehand.

the lady on the phone said that it mentions it in the T&Cs, I dont have them on me atm but I can check when I go home .. my underwriter was Novitas, I bought the insurance via Aquote and the actual insurance company that is calling me is Hero Insurance ..

It makes my blood boil when I see insurance cost and theft driving people from riding.

so what should I do, pay up? or stall them till I read the T&Cs and then eventually pay up .. is there a way to avoid this? i fucking dont own a motorcycle !!!

Holy fuck, £180 PCM!? Are you 17 and live in a block of inner city flats with the accident history of Frank Spencer?

That's just a mental amount of money, makes your cancellation fee seem small. Is it calculated as two months premium plus an administrative charge or something? Read what you have effectively signed and then maybe consider referring to the financial ombudsman that the policy wasnt transparent about its extortionate cancellation fees...

to answer your question, I am from India :D

And yea I plan to do that, when they call me now I am going to do following;

1. Ask them for breakdown of the fees, then ask them to send them as hard copy so I have a proof

2. Ask them for formal complaint process for their insurance

3. Then when I get the letter of breakdown from them I will think about getting the FOS involved

What do you reckon?

As Kuba says, it'll probably be the finance company charging you rather then the insurance company.

I went and put my insurance on direct debit this year - I don't even know why, the whole thing was under £100, I just thought paying £8 a month or whatever it was would be cool - anyway, I forgot to sign something and send it back to the finance company - £20 fee. My NCB wasn't valid (being used on another policy) so premium went up - £12 fee from the insurance company (ontop of premium increase) and a £20 fee from the finance company to change the direct debit amount.

I'm really not surprised people drive with no insurance or license etc in this country. You could easily buy a car/bike on ebay and replace it every few months when the popo take it off you for less than the cost of insurance, tax, mot etc.

@jambon ou might be interested:
http://londonbikers.com/forums/963967/honda-vfr-400-nc30--registered-1998

Cheers kuba, will pm the seller as much as buying a bike without an MOT scares me.
I'm sure in time it won't be such a big deal, just would love to ride it away you know.
I do agree with they are generally over priced, seems slightly better on cbr 400's but they are almost future classics if not already.
Thanks again for the heads up,starting to think a Bandit 600 makes sense if I ride it sensibly for a first bigger bike.

I really don't want too spend much.
Less than a grand including bike, tax, insurance and anything else required (already have leathers and borrowed helmet).
So I guess up to £800 for bike.
Don't really want to have to do anything much to it so needs to be good working order.

Yeah I'm only able to get a 125 at the moment, which is fine by me. I'd rather start off small and make sure I'm used to it before I move up.

Have been looking at things like:

Honda XR125 - bit ugly (IMO) but good for 'talls'
Yamaha YBR
Suzuki GN125 - bit small
Honda CG125 - small
Yamaha SR125
etc.

SR125s are fucking awful tractor-like machines. And you will find it too small and too low. YBRs are CBR-alikes so if the CBR is too small then that may be too.

Stretch the finances a bit and you could have this
http://www.gumtree.com/p/cars-vans-motorbikes/honda-varadero-125-2005-learner-legal/1000956314

Or a bit further to get http://www.gumtree.com/p/cars-vans-motorbikes/derbi-mulhacen-cafe-125-2011-with-warranty-yamaha-ybr-honda-cbf-yzf/1000867707

or a Mito with a new engine http://www.gumtree.com/p/cars-vans-motorbikes/cagiva-mito-for-sale-1400-pos-moped-swop/1000891268
If you are feeling brave...

I really don't want too spend much.
Less than a grand including bike, tax, insurance and anything else required (already have leathers and borrowed helmet).
So I guess up to £800 for bike.
Don't really want to have to do anything much to it so needs to be good working order.

Yeah I'm only able to get a 125 at the moment, which is fine by me. I'd rather start off small and make sure I'm used to it before I move up.

Have been looking at things like:

Honda XR125 - bit ugly (IMO) but good for 'talls'
Yamaha YBR
Suzuki GN125 - bit small
Honda CG125 - small
Yamaha SR125
etc.

Have a look at this:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2006-YAMAHA-XT-125-X-RED-/251145063965?forcev4exp=true#ht_696wt_1343

Could be worth a punt. Your choice in your price range is going to be limited. Bear in mind what you want the bike to do. Long distances, quick easy around town hopper, bit of everything. Being stuck to 125 is going to make distances a pain to be honest. Doable but not ideal.

Also, why are you stuck to 125?

That XT looks like a good deal.

I had an XT660X and a few mates have had the 125s, sound bikes. Finish on the engine on mine was a bit dodgy but I whipped it out and repainted it easy enough.

If you are stuck to 125, try and not look at it as being stuck. I owned the XT660 then a 500 Enfield, shared a 1200 BMW then owned an 883 Sportster and I'm now on a 250 Superdream and really enjoying being back on a smaller bike.

Insurance costs are much better finally bearable and the bike cost me less than my fixie did so if it has to sit out in the rain, who cares? If I drop it, meh, I'll fix it.

New 636 2013

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVLRi_wg814

^ that is first Kawasaki in a long time that I could get excited about. And 636 - almost as Triumphs 675.

that is a lovely flyer.

one of these was just gleaming in the new cross sun

I really like those.
I must have a go on one some time.

^ that is first Kawasaki in a long time that I could get excited about. And 636 - almost as Triumphs 675.

Yup, would love a go. It's amazing how much difference 38cc can make.

What are they going to do for racing though? Release a homologation special 600cc version like they did last time?

The hunt for my first big(ger) bike is over, just bought this Kawasaki ZXR 400:


After a quick test ride agreed on £625, so looking forward to tomorrow when it gets delivered.

@jambon - great stuff

Good little bike too. Rumour has it there were some examples with gaskets blowing up so take some precautions before going on track with it. ;-)

Nice one chap - always liked the hoover tube models, they are sweet handling bikes.

Nice one chap - always liked the hoover tube models, they are sweet handling bikes.

Totaly agree. The hoover models are great looking bikes, the metalic blue one are the bestest IMO, but I've always wanted a 400.

well done jambon, it looks fast. please take it easy and no heroics.

enjoy the experience of getting to know it.

Cheers guys, heard a few people mention the responsive handling which gets me more excited than the power to be honest.
For the money it seems like a good balance between a fun summer bike and little project where I can hopefully restore it back to stock-ish.

Totaly agree. The hoover models are great looking bikes, the metalic blue one are the bestest IMO, but I've always wanted a 400.

Maybe i'm convincing myself but prefer the earlier H model with the boxier rear end.

well done jambon, it looks fast. please take it easy and no heroics.

enjoy the experience of getting to know it.

Couldn't agree more, thanks.