Buying the bike

Having just passed my big bike test a few weeks ago, I have been looking to part exchange my Honda CG125 for a 600cc bike. Having dropped a GS500 a couple of times in training (off road) after locking the front brake and experiencing how painful this can be, I decided to look for bikes which had ABS. As I commute daily using a bike (except when it snows that is!), I was particularly interested in bikes that had half or full fairings. I am ~165cm tall and weigh about 54kg and while 60mph is OK on an unfaired bike, riding any faster was not particularly enjoyable for an extended period of time. I narrowed my choices down to Honda CBF600SA, Kawasaki ER-6F ABS, and BMW F650GS ABS. The BMW costs more so for a new bike the choices were really the Honda or the Kwak. At a local bike exhibition I got the opportunity to try the Kwak and while the seating was reasonable, the dealer was pretty arrogant and would not allow test rides for those who had not held a motorbike license for at least two years. The local Honda dealer was much more friendly and invited me to take a test ride on the CBF, which I subsequently did. Despite being a heavier bike than the GS500 that I had ridden earlier, I found the bikes handling extremely reassuring and felt confident with it both at crawling speeds as well at the speed limit. What was particularly striking was that even when cruising at 70mph, one felt as if in a bubble created by the fairing. I guess its a bit like a cabriolet! I felt really one with the bike and decided to go ahead and buy one. I got a relatively good deal with Doble - £4399 for a brand new one fitted with heated grips and delivery included, after part exchanging my silver 2007 CG125 which has ~ 9400 miles on the clock. I am sure that you can find even better deals out there especially if you don't have any part exchange. I am awaiting delivery tommorow and will let you know how things go.