Worth it to move up in cc? | GTAMotorcycle.com

Worth it to move up in cc?

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RJ East

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For those of you with some experience in the matter: I'm a new rider, in my early forties, riding a CB300R. I'm having a ton of fun, but for faster backroad stints, I'd love to cruise at lower than 6500rpm.
2018+ Sv650 seems like a good long term bike for me. (Some light touring, and booting around the city would be my use)
I'm paying 100 / mo. For the cb300r. A quick check with riders plus puts me at 190 for a sv650...
It makes it hard to consider the jump to a larger class.
Maybe im impatient and want to jump classes too fast? I'm fine to keep riding the CB for a few years if that's the case.

I'd appreciate your thoughts.
 
It's only money.

Call around and maybe you'll find a better rate for the coverage you want.
One good thing about being an older rider is that the cost of insurance isn't a deal breaker based on what bike you have.
None of my "mature" riding friends pay more than $1000/yr. For their litre+ bikes.
My 1300cc fjr costs me $900.
But I'm oldish
 
CB300R is an excellent street bike, lots of torque off the line. you're not really going to tap into much else engine wise and keep things legal. If that's not a concern for you then a jump to an FZ09/MT09 would check your box. Typically not insanely expensive to insure and not too hard to find. Weak point of this bike is the suspension, try to find a 17+
 
Gaoler said:
It's only money.

Call around and maybe you'll find a better rate for the coverage you want.
One good thing about being an older rider is that the cost of insurance isn't a deal breaker based on what bike you have.
None of my "mature" riding friends pay more than $1000/yr. For their litre+ bikes.
My 1300cc fjr costs me $900.
But I'm oldish
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anyone not paying $1000+/yr for a modern superbike has likely either been riding a 'long' time with a clean record or they live in Narnia 😁

other kinds of 1000cc+ can lean more to model specific risk profiles.
 
RJ East said:
I'm paying 100 / mo. For the cb300r. A quick check with riders plus puts me at 190 for a sv650...
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This seems very expensive for someone in their early 40s - regardless of being a new rider. I know people in higher-risk areas that are younger, brand-new to getting M2, and paying less for more CCs.

Shop around, and consider moving car and home to another provider that may offer bundled discounts.
 
RJ East said:
For those of you with some experience in the matter: I'm a new rider, in my early forties, riding a CB300R. I'm having a ton of fun, but for faster backroad stints, I'd love to cruise at lower than 6500rpm.
2018+ Sv650 seems like a good long term bike for me. (Some light touring, and booting around the city would be my use)
I'm paying 100 / mo. For the cb300r. A quick check with riders plus puts me at 190 for a sv650...
It makes it hard to consider the jump to a larger class.
Maybe im impatient and want to jump classes too fast? I'm fine to keep riding the CB for a few years if that's the case.

I'd appreciate your thoughts.
Click to expand...
How many km have you put on the 300? So many people dump them after relatively few km. They have lots to teach you and are excellent bikes.

Why do you care about cruising below 6500 rpm? It's a Honda. Spin it as much as you want, you will never wear it out as long as you keep up with maintenance (especially oil changes).
 
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The SV is a solid all-rounder and if you're handy with a wrench and have the space to do it that may offset the insurance hit since it's a basic bike with inexpensive consumables and a healthy access to parts. Would guess your CB is reasonable cost to run, probably lower than the SV. Currently riding an 2019 SV myself and having a hoot!
 
Evoex said:
CB300R is an excellent street bike, lots of torque off the line. you're not really going to tap into much else engine wise and keep things legal. If that's not a concern for you then a jump to an FZ09/MT09 would check your box. Typically not insanely expensive to insure and not too hard to find. Weak point of this bike is the suspension, try to find a 17+
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Ok I appreciate the perspective on the CB. That's been my experience around town. Lots of fun and still so much to learn. It's just my occasional trips up north that make me want more power on a two lane open road. (Or just to keep distance from approaching cars from behind)
Otherwise the CB ticks the boxes. I'll take a look at the FZ / MT you mentioned.
 
I have a few bikes, for street use I’d stick with the CB. For years I’d ride my wife’s 250 ninja for a hoot. It’s as comfortable on an all day run unless your slabbin across the country.

Don’t worry about the rpm, your bike is designed to run like that. My guess is it will do 160, way faster than anyone should be going on the street.

Ride that bike till you have 30,000km under your belt then pick your next ride.
 
fmp said:
The SV is a solid all-rounder and if you're handy with a wrench and have the space to do it that may offset the insurance hit since it's a basic bike with inexpensive consumables and a healthy access to parts. Would guess your CB is reasonable cost to run, probably lower than the SV. Currently riding an 2019 SV myself and having a hoot!
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Yep - good to know thanks. I'm into doing maintenance. I have the space, just need to shuffle the canoe, lawn mower, pointless wood scraps etc. lol.
 
Jay Alexander said:
This seems very expensive for someone in their early 40s - regardless of being a new rider. I know people in higher-risk areas that are younger, brand-new to getting M2, and paying less for more CCs.

Shop around, and consider moving car and home to another provider that may offer bundled discounts.
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Ok good info for me. Its only my first year so I'll shop around when my term is up with my current insurance company.
 
Mad Mike said:
I have a few bikes, for street use I’d stick with the CB. For years I’d ride my wife’s 250 ninja for a hoot. It’s as comfortable on an all day run unless your slabbin across the country.

Don’t worry about the rpm, your bike is designed to run like that. My guess is it will do 160, way faster than anyone should be going on the street.

Ride that bike till you have 30,000km under your belt then pick your next ride.
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Makes sense. Good to hear a different angle! There is definitely pressure to go bigger. At least that's the impression I get.
 
GreyGhost said:
How many km have you put on the 300? So many people dump them after relatively few km. They have lots to teach you and are excellent bikes.

Why do you care about cruising below 6500 rpm? It's a Honda. Spin it as much as you want, you will never wear it out as long as you keep up with maintenance (especially oil changes).
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Ah - ok I'm hearing some good info from you guys. I appreciate it. Only 4000km so far on the 300. The RPM concern might stem from my inexperience riding at high RPMs generally.
 
RJ East said:
Ah - ok I'm hearing some good info from you guys. I appreciate it. Only 4000km so far on the 300. The RPM concern might stem from my inexperience riding at high RPMs generally.
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I'm with Mike. Keep it for tens of thousands of km. It will teach you more every day. Don't be afraid to wring its neck. It's fast enough to get you a racing ticket on every road in Ontario.

You learn more and faster by riding a small bike hard than by taking it easy on a big bike (and you learn very slowly if you jump to a bike that tries to kill you at every opportunity). Your potential future bike choices are good ones imo but I wouldn't jump yet.
 
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RJ East said:
Ah - ok I'm hearing some good info from you guys. I appreciate it. Only 4000km so far on the 300. The RPM concern might stem from my inexperience riding at high RPMs generally.
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As long as you're not into the red zone don't worry over RPMs.
 
YOLO. If the bike is a toy and doesn't do what you bought it for, then you either need a different one, or a second (or third, fourth, fifth...).

If it's the cost of insurance that's holding you back, shop around with different insurers and also be flexible with which specific models you'd buy. I refuse to pay much more than $1/cc/yr for $1M liability and $300 comprehensive. I never buy collision. I'm with Desjardins (Agents) with my house, cars, and umbrella liability policy and all my bikes have managed to fall within this pricing rule.
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