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Doc Sarah's Motorcycle Pages


 

Ducati Monster 600

Honda 90

Kawasaki GPZ500s

Yamaha SR125

Yamaha YZF600R Thundercat

Kawasaki EL250

Yamaha YZFR1

Ducati M600

And Stephen's GSXR600
Honda VFR400 NC30  

This was a good bike to move on to after the EL250, although I wouldn't really call it a beginner's bike because it has too many quirks. I fell in love with this beautiful beast the minute I saw it in the showroom.  It was so smart, so sexy and so very Italian.  It also had a low seat, and I could reach the ground very easily by my standards, which meant I could get the ball of my foot down on both sides.

Good points: 

  • Fantastic sounding engine and exhausts 
  • sensational looks turns heads wherever you go - it is a beautiful piece of modern sculpture! 
  • loads of grunt
  • good handling
  • high ground clearance from low seat height. 

Bad PointsOh dear - there are simply too many of these!  

  • Electrics work when they feel like it, and certainly not in the rain.  
  • no fuel reserve, so you have to trust either the fuel warning light or the trip meter, neither of which were reliable on mine!
  • speedo and generator both failed in a bike under 5000 miles
  • carb icing until kit is fitted
  • Brakes are underpowered for the bike - I needed to change to better pads but even so, not up to the job.
  • THE SIDESTAND flicks up when you don't want it to, so it falls over in a strong wind. Hard to get the sidestand down while still on the bike.
  • Everything made of alloy and very fragile, all parts expensive 
  • pillion seat a joke, nowhere to bungee luggage
  • relatively underpowered for a 600 only 53bhp, both my 400 and 500 made more.
  • dreadfully heavy clutch, very snatchy clutch, difficult in town because of a high first gear, tendency to stall during low speed manouevres, and if you try to rev it, the dry-plate clutch smokes
  • top heavy, difficult for a small person to push around because of large tank in the way of the bars
  • almost totally absent steering lock meaning 27 point turns are a reality

.......too many bad points to make up for the good.

 

 

Copyright © 2004 Dr Sarah Walters
Last updated March 17, 2004