Hi All,
I come to you with hat in hand, asking for a mountain of advice/knowledge.
It has been a dream for me to get myself on a bike. I grew up riding dirt bikes from 50cc at the age of 8 to 250cc when I was about 16. Since then, nothing at all. Was either always told no, or my mind convinces me that our roads are too dangerous. I am now at a stage where I want to say F*** it, and just do it as life is too short to not make potential dreams come true.
Where I want advice really is around which bike to look at. I know this is an ADV forum, but its the only active bike forum I know of in SA, so some of my thoughts might not be ADV aligned (hope that is okay). The bike will be predominantly used for commuting, shops and around town. Perhaps when I am a lot more confident with riding the idea of a ride out to cullinan or harties would be lekker.
Right now I love the idea of a Triumph Bonneville or similar. But with our road conditions, I am not sure if this is sensible. Also, although I've ridden in the past, I am not sure if this would be too much bike to begin with. To suit the roads, wallet, and 'power' elements, I thought why not give the SYM NHT 200 a bash? They seem quite nice and can be picked up for a deal?
So, what say you? What bike would you recommend? Requirements for me personally would be somewhat affordable (I would say up to about R80k?), reliable, affordable to maintain. I am 1.93m tall so I wouldn't worry about seat height too much.
Last request for advice, is regarding licensing and finance. I would be financing the bike, can this be done without a bike license? (I am 99% sure I cannot). If so, do you have recommendations on a company/guy that assists with all the bookings, lessons etc.
Much appreciated. Hope to join the ranks soon.
I come to you with hat in hand, asking for a mountain of advice/knowledge.
It has been a dream for me to get myself on a bike. I grew up riding dirt bikes from 50cc at the age of 8 to 250cc when I was about 16. Since then, nothing at all. Was either always told no, or my mind convinces me that our roads are too dangerous. I am now at a stage where I want to say F*** it, and just do it as life is too short to not make potential dreams come true.
Where I want advice really is around which bike to look at. I know this is an ADV forum, but its the only active bike forum I know of in SA, so some of my thoughts might not be ADV aligned (hope that is okay). The bike will be predominantly used for commuting, shops and around town. Perhaps when I am a lot more confident with riding the idea of a ride out to cullinan or harties would be lekker.
Right now I love the idea of a Triumph Bonneville or similar. But with our road conditions, I am not sure if this is sensible. Also, although I've ridden in the past, I am not sure if this would be too much bike to begin with. To suit the roads, wallet, and 'power' elements, I thought why not give the SYM NHT 200 a bash? They seem quite nice and can be picked up for a deal?
So, what say you? What bike would you recommend? Requirements for me personally would be somewhat affordable (I would say up to about R80k?), reliable, affordable to maintain. I am 1.93m tall so I wouldn't worry about seat height too much.
Last request for advice, is regarding licensing and finance. I would be financing the bike, can this be done without a bike license? (I am 99% sure I cannot). If so, do you have recommendations on a company/guy that assists with all the bookings, lessons etc.
Much appreciated. Hope to join the ranks soon.
