First Bike, 2A bike. Please advice :)

[Lord Duckeh]

Good evening SBF,

 

I'm 22 and getting my 2A bike soon. Have never owned a bike yet, however I am fully aware of the risks and consequences and currently calculating the cost. I'm thinking of getting a 2nd-hand CBR400 Fireblade. These are the pointers that I have noted;

 

1. Machine;

Is it good? Cost wise, Honda is relatively easy to maintain right? What are the problems to look out for a 2nd-hand CBR400 eg. Worn-out tires, Engine problems? Suggest a better bike?

 

2. Insurance;

22 years old with no riding experience, any clue on the approximate quotations? Any good insurance company recommended?

 

3. Road Tax;

Care to elaborate? How much?

 

4. Parking;

Pay for seasonal parking, what about other non-electronic car parks?

 

5. Petrol;

How do I ensure maximum fuel efficiency?

 

6. Servicing;

Regular servicing and maintenance, how much does it roughly cost?

 

 

Would you share your experiences and advice accordingly on this? I would very much appreciate. Thanks in advance

[deathism]

I bet people would recommend a Super4..

[Lord Duckeh]

May i know what bike are you riding?

[Heathx]

I am only a 2b licence holder riding an SP. Same as you, i believe Honda has a good reliability about its bikes. However, no matter how good the reputation, a bike that is 10-15years old will surely have a handful of problems. My SP is only 11yrs old, and i already spent $2000 on replacement of faulty parts. (most is my oversight in the sense i never check properly, but some things impossible to check during viewing)

 

For parking, season parking only applies to the carpark that u selected. Other carparks, u have to use coupon for those non-electronic ones, and cashcard for those electronic. Coupons are available from petrol stations, $6.50 for a book. Bike coupons are valid for half a day duration.

 

Fuel Efficiency is dependent on your carburettor settings, and how clean your engine, carb are. You can visit a reputable workshop to set it up for fuel efficiency, but there re tradeoffs. Sprocket size plays a part too.

 

In short, if u're looking for fuel efficiency and cheaper maintenance, i would suggest for you to look at the Honda Super 4 instead, possibly at spec 2, 3, and revo versions. Those are newer. Spec 1 is about 10yrs old already. It's not a sports bike, but then again, there aren't many class 2A sports bike, unless u're willing to go for single cylinder 250cc machines.

 

You can maybe consider Kawasaki ninja 300cc also. It's a parallel twin engine set up and it looks good. But Kawasaki has the highest insurance premium amongst bikes in singapore. And the agent here has bad reputation. So if u do get this bike, just go to a reputable shop for repairs if needed. Don't bother dealing with the agent. $17k on the road, coe, road tax, insurance everything covered.

[kaiq]

First bike sure will drop a few times, so I rather you get some 250cc naked bikes like twister - easier to handle, good fuel economy, cheaper insurance & light weight.

[Yat-]

Ensure maximum fuel efficiency by regularly looking after your engine maintenance and the small small things like tyre pressure, riding style etc. Have to trial and error. This is controllable.

 

The uncontrollable part is singapore roads.....if we want to escape erp, must endure traffic lights and so many jams. Referring to roads like lornie, clementi rd, jalan eunos etc. May affect efficiency.

 

If we want optimum efficiency and travel highway all the way need to endure erp plus egoistic drivers and may have long jams just because of 1 vehicle breakdown which again affects efficiency. Ride safe.

 

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2

[Yat-]

Road tax is $55 for 6 months and $110 for a year. Back when i rode a phantom it's $77 a year.

 

Maintenance shops, got to do trial end error too. There's lots of recommendations but we all stay different parts of the island.

 

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2

[Lord Duckeh]

Thanks for the input. I will consider your suggestions. Maybe getting a 10yo CBR400 isnt the best choice

[Lord Duckeh]

Bumpupupup

[Yat-]

You can search "Unique Motorsports" in this forum. They've made available their servicing package prices.

[manbai]

Thanks for the input. I will consider your suggestions. Maybe getting a 10yo CBR400 isnt the best choice

 

Maybe you could go for CB400 VTEC 3 or Revo. It is very rare or almost impossible to find a CBR400 with minimal maintenance nowadays.

[Morpheuz]

I'll say just buy whatever bike that you like. If you like a CBR 400, then go for it. No point buying other bike and then regret not buying your dream bike.

[Az_itsme]

ktm duke 390

[QuanIsHere]

Get a 2B bike first! My friend never ride before 2B str8 go s4 and resut is bad! Kena alot accident because of no road exp! Hence i suggest is good u get a small bike to gain more road exp and less pain to ur pocket. No matter how big ur bike is, rider is the main role and play a big part of how u handle the bike and road situation well. Tc and ride safety!

[HimQQ]

Good evening SBF,

 

I'm 22 and getting my 2A bike soon. Have never owned a bike yet, however I am fully aware of the risks and consequences and currently calculating the cost. I'm thinking of getting a 2nd-hand CBR400 Fireblade. These are the pointers that I have noted;

 

1. Machine;

Is it good? Cost wise, Honda is relatively easy to maintain right? What are the problems to look out for a 2nd-hand CBR400 eg. Worn-out tires, Engine problems? Suggest a better bike?

Honda engines are good, but chances of getting a relatively well-maintained CBR-400 is low.

The more recommended bike would be Super 4, spec 3?

 

2. Insurance;

22 years old with no riding experience, any clue on the approximate quotations? Any good insurance company recommended?

If you're on Sport bikes like CBR-400, the premium would naturally be higher.

Given your age group and your 0 riding experience too.

Whatever bike you get, the first time insurance will most likely be the killer.

 

3. Road Tax;

Care to elaborate? How much?

Can't talk that much, as I'm riding Spark 135, Tax max 80/yr.

You can go to onemotoring to check out the Engine CC's taxing.

 

4. Parking;

Pay for seasonal parking, what about other non-electronic car parks?

Non EPS carparks you have to get the parking coupons, readily available at petrol kiosks and 7-11s, a stack @ $6.50, total of 10 pcs.

Do take note of the carpark charges whenever peeling off the Coupon, some are FOC after 10, whereas some aren't.

 

5. Petrol;

How do I ensure maximum fuel efficiency?

Proper control of the bike's throttle, and like one forumer stated, proper maintanence, and ensuring the small minute details of tyre pressure etc. etc.

 

6. Servicing;

Regular servicing and maintenance, how much does it roughly cost?

One guy says for Universal Motors, yeap just hit search

 

 

Would you share your experiences and advice accordingly on this? I would very much appreciate. Thanks in advance

I wouldn't recommend getting a sports bike for one's first bike, as we are still learning the ropes, but heck with what others think.

One man's meat is another man's poison

[guangwei]

Super 4 is even uglier.

 

So like you i think i will get cbr400 too.

 

But the parts are limited. Honda had halted production of the bike awhile ago. Heard you can't even find new yoshi anymore. GPR not sure.

 

So chances are if u buang or drop the bike and spoil some parts, ur gonna have a very hard time finding parts replacement. Maintenance wise, I will say if you prepare $200 monthly, it should be more than enough for some remaining.

[vinho_16]

Super 4 is even uglier.

 

So like you i think i will get cbr400 too.

 

But the parts are limited. Honda had halted production of the bike awhile ago. Heard you can't even find new yoshi anymore. GPR not sure.

 

So chances are if u buang or drop the bike and spoil some parts, ur gonna have a very hard time finding parts replacement. Maintenance wise, I will say if you prepare $200 monthly, it should be more than enough for some remaining.

 

Its not that hard to get replacement parts if you know where to get em. There are places where you can get the parts easily.

 

A lion never considers an opinion of a sheep

[guangwei]

Its not that hard to get replacement parts if you know where to get em. There are places where you can get the parts easily.

 

A lion never considers an opinion of a sheep

Where to get the parts?

[manbai]

So TS, have you made up your mind on which bike or at least narrow it down?

[pufferfis]

Where to get the parts?

fjt rowell road...chiong aik at desker road...lab also can get.....

[vinho_16]

fjt rowell road...chiong aik at desker road...lab also can get.....

 

Yea thats em.

 

For those discontinued exhaust pipes, if wanna get a cosmetic surgery in case buang, can go to Seng Kwang Metal Industry Co. @ AMK.

 

A lion never considers an opinion of a sheep

[Jehuty]

Get a DRZ or S4, CBR400 isn't about spare parts, its about every month it giving you some sort of problem sort of bike, that's the thing with old bikes, you don't know what's wrong with them and the amount you spend to fix them up costs more than how much you're gonna sell it for.

[GordonTZM]

2nd hand bikes above 60% problematic, hard to find good ones