Going up

[parkmoy]

At the end of the month, not long before my 66th birthday, I'm doing a 4 day DAS course with my son. To prepare myself (and get a bit ahead of him  ) I bought a 125 Marauder in June and have been riding the a*se of it ever since. My question is this, what main differences will I find when I start riding 500 & 600cc bikes on the course?
Obviously power, but what else, and will I find it a difficult transition?

[lewy]

The extra weight when pushing the bike , the clutch will be smoother, but you will need to ride it more for the slow speed manouvers , the balance will be better when moving , the brakes will be sharper and less forgiving at slow speeds( so no snatching the front brake at slow speeds, back brake only) and the fact that it will do 40/50mph in first so dont change upto second  till you are doing about 20/25 mph

[Lunkhead]

Weight and size.
Think of learning in a Smart Car and then driving a Transit for your car test. The power is less likely to be an issue IMHO - a sports bike will be an entirely different proposition.
Your balance will be off - if you start to topple it will take much more of an effort to keep it upright. Won't be too difficult but you'll certainly need to pay attention.

Good luck and we'll see you on a Gixxer (which will feel like a Ferrari in comparison) soon!

[blueracer]

I dont think much else it has all been said 

[Tippon]

I don't think the weight will be much of an issue. I've got a Marauder, and it's a heavy old bike. I had to resit my CBT last June (it expired  ), and I went with Stuart from Two Wheel Training. He let me have a go on one of the 500's while we were off road, as a bit of practise for my mod 1. I didn't notice any significant difference in weight, but did find that the more upright position of the bike was hard to get used to, and struggled with low speed manoeuvres.

It got easier through the day, but it threw my confidence. Bear in mind though, that I'd been riding the Marauder for two years by then, and rode it down to meet Stuart, so was quite used to the cruiser position. I had to switch back to a 125 to go on the road, and it was the same style of bike, but it felt 100 times lighter, and I could fling it around like a toy compared to my bike 

Good luck, and let us know how you get on 

[Moggle]

Parkmoy - everyone else here is more experienced than me so these are just my observations.

Weight - I've no idea how much your 125 weighs, but I only found the extra weight to be an issue on MOD 1 during the 'garage' test. When you're riding it feels much more stable and I felt as though I had a better road presense about me - felt safer than a smaller bike.

Power - I actually found the big bike easier to ride. Less snatchy, smoother, easier to control with the clutch during slow manouvers.

As I siad, my experience of all this is just a CBT, a week DAS and a ride from Oswestry to the Rhondda!!  However, I feel much more confident and comfortable on a 600 than I did on a 125.

Good Luck with the DAS!

[ValleyGixer]

I found a 500 easier to ride than a 125. Dont let the bike run away from you and it will be fine.

[snoopy]

Found larger bike easier too   

Didn't want to go back 

Be great ..just take it steady at YOUR pace    And have fun !! 

[Rhosyn]

Same here, I started out on a 125 

Im now on a 650 and its loads easier to handle and ride than my 125 was any day 

Good luck parkmoy 

[yoyo]

Lots have already said the main points but the biggest thing I noticed was the engine braking, when I went from a YBR125 to a CB500 blimey, you shut the throttle in 2nd and it would practically stop! lol

As said far more stable when moving slowly but it takes practice, if you ride to your lessons like I did be prepared to be fed up on your ride home!

Good luck with it.

[triple595]

i found riding the 500 much easier, bike wanted to stay up right weight wasnt an issue, and as for power lol, its hardly a rocket ship lol