Insurance on a2 license

[Kjayy11]

Been checking insurance prices the past 2 hours, growing closer & closer to mental breakdown by the quote. 

choices seem to be win the lottery or buy an absolute piece of shite.

19, a2 license 1 year ncd trying to get insured on a restricted bike so may as well be the devil in these companies eyes, looking to buy something like a cbr650r/cb650r/mt07. Received one quote so far, 350/mo on a 650r which was a miracle by the looks of it. 

already being shafted for 125 insurance @ 200/mo 

Are these bikes just off the table at this age ? 

Anyone managed to receive any reasonable quotes on anything like this ? 

should I just go f**k myself and buy a bus pass ? 

[Trooper74]

Move down to a 400 … grandson has just insured Honda CBR 400 , fireblade look alike for £1150 fully comp , 1 years NCD, 20 year old.

it goes like a rocket and only cost 3k

[Mississippi Bullfrog]

Much depends on where you live and if the bike is garaged. Unfortunately bike theft is rampant which drives insurance costs up. 

 

Are you looking for fully comp insurance? That usually works out cheaper than third party policies. 

 

You may have to stick with a smaller bike until you've built up more ncd. Possibly look at something a bit less sporty, more commuter style. They can still be fun to ride given you need to restrict it anyway. 

[RideWithStyles]

its abig jump, especially when you have little experience (weight, cc and power), lower age, where you live, the type of bike (your looking at the racer end of the scales (mt7 is a hooligan naked) so try something a little more sensible. a good ground anchor and chain set.

stick to 250-400cc single or twin cylinder, nothing with zxr and rr type and you should be fine.

[Capt Sisko]

This is nothing new, youngsters get hammered by insurance companies regardless of whether it's a motorbike, car or even your mobile phone. Insurance companies know they're more likely to get a claim against a young person's policies rather than older & boring old farts. The second part is although what you ride/drive does make a difference, insurance companies are more concerned about paying out for what you'll hit. With some pretty mundane cars now costing £25k and decent stuff a lot more, the insurance companies know that the third party claims is going to cost them a lot if you hit them, hence they charge you more. It's nothing personal, it's just simple basic business.

Edited April 16, 2024 by Capt Sisko

[Kjayy11]

On 15/04/2024 at 07:13, Trooper74 said:

Move down to a 400 … grandson has just insured Honda CBR 400 , fireblade look alike for £1150 fully comp , 1 years NCD, 20 year old.

it goes like a rocket and only cost 3k

Got my eye on a nc29 atm which is what I’m guessing ur referring to? , insurance is still 250/mo but looks like I’ll just need to suck it up no matter the bike I get. Only concern I have with buying a bike this old is part availability, has he had any issues with that? 

[RideWithStyles]

not first a choice of a only bike for a new young rider to be honest. more like a season experience mech as a second or third bike for garage porn or very sunday best or very deep pockets to pay someone for its maintenance.

parts even 10yrs ago could be problematic, and they are getting frigaile with age and loads of owners ...choice dealers like silvers and so forth and some questionable second hand sellers , fleecebay will be the calling. 

 

your still breaking the first rule when your on the starting/young age latter...its a light weight high powered sports bike with the extra problem of desirable and very hard to source parts...the reason its over 1k is because any slight accident or drop and theyll have to write the bike off and lucky if they break even before any claim to other parties or injuries added to it.

so you need to build up ncd.

 

look up insurance for Benelli leoncino 500,

suzuki sv650 or gsr250, 250vanvann, ktm 390 duke, mt03 and any of the royal enfields you care to put in, theyre the cheaper end.

[bonio]

NC29 is an amazing bike, but it's a very fast machine. I'm not sure I'd recommend it to start out on. Electrics are known to be dodgy. They're a good bike if you're fond of spannering.

Don't get the VanVan. You will be disappointed. It's not that it's a bad bike, but it's just not what you're looking for.

I'd have thought you're better off going for something along the lines of an ER5 or an older SV650. If you're into supermotos, consider the DRZ400SM too - it's a surprising bike. Not fast on paper, but very fast when it's actually on the road.

[Kjayy11]

Ideally looking for something 4 cyl and at least a little sporty. Not too fond of the dukes or sv’s tbh. 

Xj6 maybe ? Found a nc29 for 2k, looks clean enough. Heavily leaning towards that rn. Going to be stuck on it 2 years and restricted at least a portion of the 2. Don’t want anything too slow haha 

[Bender]

Fazer 600 it's more than sport enough to start out on.

[RideWithStyles]

4 cylinders are peaky things, on the road normally a twin will be quicker to get up and drive off while youll have to wait for the power band or jump down two gears every time just to over take a old biddy in a micra..which gets tiresome unless your on the track... seriously.

Ive jumped up from a 600 inline 4 (100hp) from a triple 1000 (140+hp) then back down to a twin 500 (46hp compliant A2 bike) and back to a inline 4 650 and its still the same. the twin on the roads wasnt much slower even with a lower hp as your always in the torque (the same if not more than peaky 600) and power band even low down and you dont miss much top end until you got to serious prison territory. 

 

if you wish to carry the 4 cylinder mantel then Benders suggestion is a good place to start.

Edited April 17, 2024 by RideWithStyles

[Mississippi Bullfrog]

Agreed. I like twins both round town and on the twisties. The engine is more tractable. 

[Bender]

I preferred the Fazer to the sv, I'm not biased at all obvs if your struggling to pull away from a Micra with a 3.7 0 to 60 your doing something wrong.

 

[Kjayy11]

honestly its more just the inline 4 sound more than anything, rather listen to that for the 2 years than a vtwin. had the chance to ride a couple i4 600s and liked how they pulled at higher revs, if the 400 is anything like that id be happy. 

[JRH]

@RideWithStyles not all in-line 4’s are peaky. My 1250 has max torque coming in at around 3000 revs. 6th gear pulls from 25mph to license loosing speeds. 
Can ride it like a twist and go, no need to change gears or use the gears and really fly. Then with a red line at 9500 the engine is never stressed, bullet proof and will go on for many many miles.
this is the advantage of large capacity engines tuned for torque as a quick sports tourer. 
Fair enough 150+ hp machines Will eventually leave me behind but by then we will be in seriously high speeds.

[Ian Frog]

3 minutes ago, JRH said:

@RideWithStyles not all in-line 4’s are peaky. My 1250 has max torque coming in at around 3000 revs. 6th gear pulls from 25mph to license loosing speeds. 
Can ride it like a twist and go, no need to change gears or use the gears and really fly. Then with a red line at 9500 the engine is never stressed, bullet proof and will go on for many many miles.
this is the advantage of large capacity engines tuned for torque as a quick sports tourer. 
Fair enough 150+ hp machines Will eventually leave me behind but by then we will be in seriously high speeds.

I shall only add the letters ZRX to the above post ! 

 

Cheers

Ian

[S-Westerly]

I'm rather partial to V twins and to say they don't sound as good as a 4? Piffle. At 19 I'm afraid you are in the "walk before you run" phase. There's nothing you can do about it insurance wise until you have a few more years on your clock.

[RideWithStyles]

10 hours ago, JRH said:

@RideWithStyles not all in-line 4’s are peaky. My 1250 has max torque coming in at around 3000 revs. 6th gear pulls from 25mph to license loosing speeds. 
Can ride it like a twist and go, no need to change gears or use the gears and really fly. Then with a red line at 9500 the engine is never stressed, bullet proof and will go on for many many miles.
this is the advantage of large capacity engines tuned for torque as a quick sports tourer. 
Fair enough 150+ hp machines Will eventually leave me behind but by then we will be in seriously high speeds.

really? 1200+ engine old school block need i say more, i could go into the technical details but i wont and shouldnt need to....he requires a smaller engine which is a different aspect

Edited April 18, 2024 by RideWithStyles

[Nick the wanderer]

I like the sound of a straight 4, I know where you are coming from. 

[JRH]

13 hours ago, RideWithStyles said:

really? 1200+ engine old school block need i say more, i could go into the technical details but i wont and shouldnt need to....he requires a smaller engine which is a different aspect

My comment stands, not all IL4’s are peaky. It depends on the type. Avoid GSX, ZXR, RR designations and you get a totally different experience.

[JRH]

23 hours ago, Ian Frog said:

I shall only add the letters ZRX to the above post ! 

 

Cheers

Ian

If only, my letters are GSF.

[Phil1]

The whole system is designed towards forcing you to get some experience on a smaller bike while you're still in your yoof. All the statistics show younger riders/drivers are more likely to end up in an accident and this is all a direct result of this. I'm not saying you're a hooligan, but statistically you are more likely to be. 

 

The cost is minimal to be fair compared to what you've got to endure for driving a car. Do you have a car also that you're insuring?

 

I would take the above advice and get something a little smaller initially, there's no point buying a bigger bike that you're going to have to restrict anyway and just paying more in insurance. 

 

I would look at sorting yourself for your full A licence as soon as you're eligable. Think it's 2 years of experience AND over 21 isn't it? It'll seem like forever, but it'll come round quicker than you think. Even if you keep the same bike, having a full A licence will reduce your premiums massively over an A2 licence. 

 

Edited April 21, 2024 by Phil1

[smallfrowne]

Get the 400 and you will be the coolest amongst your peers. And you can fall asleep knowing that you have the pinnacle design for highway illumination on a motorcycle platform, that of faired twin round(ish) headlights. Can't be beat. I'm not talking about how well the road is lit up, the bike just looks coooooool

[Ocean]

200 a month for insurance ?!? I am on a 125 and pay 70, I think you might just live in a not so good area haha. I am in a similar situation as you, 19, A2 with a year of NCB. Ive been quoted £1100 for a year for a ktm adventure 790 for third party only. I don't have too much experience with this however I have a mate the same age with A2 and a year of NCB. He has a Dual Sport, suzuki I think? thats 400cc. Was quoted something like £500 a year for third party and fire and theft. If insurance is the trouble than maybe a dual sport is the way to go despite the fact they are the ugliest bikes ever.

[Kjayy11]

On 21/04/2024 at 08:38, smallfrowne said:

Get the 400 and you will be the coolest amongst your peers. And you can fall asleep knowing that you have the pinnacle design for highway illumination on a motorcycle platform, that of faired twin round(ish) headlights. Can't be beat. I'm not talking about how well the road is lit up, the bike just looks coooooool

Have ended up buying a 92 nc29, spent far more time trying to fix it than riding it, for every week it runs well there’s 2 it doesn’t run at all. Scratching head atm seems to stop powering fuel pump and sounds like running on 3 cylinders after having high beams on for long enough, had new fuel pump + reg rec ran fine for a week then went night ride with lights on and runs horrible now. Seems to sort itself after leaving for few mins then goes to shit again once I get on road even without lights on. Honestly no clue haha