So, your latest, or next, bike did you select then shop or shop and select

[Heretic]

how did you buy your last bike? did you select the type of bike, say a red ducati, or a black honda 600 cause thats what you always wanted and had your heart set on it, blah, blah, and then shop for a deal, or did you have a set of things you were after and just went out and see what happened, ive definitely done both

i found a jotted down quick list i made last winter when i was out for another bike, to remind me to "keep on track" as it had to last for 3-4 years:

less than 10 years old, had to feel "right" position, in good original spec, 100bhp+, modern digital gauges, alarm - immobiliser, no more money needed to spend. upside down forks, alloy frame, classic colour, no carbies, sub 9k, less than 20,000km, something that should hold its value well.

demands from misses Heretic - modern, any colour but pink (long story) or black, definitely not black, no 2 strokes

other than that i just went out and went with the flow, came home with a green 636 and plenty of change

the misses says it shows im getting old.

just interested, anyone willing to share ??

[BikeRider]

Comfort, reliability, practicality, warranty, price, looks.

[Virt]

I planned to test ride all the 1000cc(ish) jap and italian bikes, I test rode the Aprilia RSV4R first and decided I was having one, didnt even bother with the others bought it 2 weeks later.

[possum]

Shopped online for all my 600cc+ bikes.. Shopped by reading/watching reviews and considered what I was looking for, something aggressive and sporty. Loved the look of the 06 R6, test rode and purchased. Since then, I've owned two R6's, an R1 and have felt very happy with all of them.

Can't say much for the 675 I bought, not my cup of tea and I didn't do a thorough evaluation before buying.

[acegalaxi]

I owned 3 Suzuki's, the last one being the Gladius which was a fun bike for country runs at my skill level. Then the lads decided we'd do a West-East run late this year. I didn't think the Gladius would cut the mustard as well as other options so I did some research looking for around 1000cc sports/tourer suitable for luggage and with a reasonably upright seating position and concluded a Suzuki Bandit would be a good option. Shopped around a bit then drove past my local Yamaha dealer when I saw a second hand Bandit, or so I thought. Went and had a look, turned out it was a Yamaha TDM900 (What's that?? I asked the salesman...) He went on to explain with long travel suspension, 900cc parallel twin, luggage hooks and rack incorporated into tail piece, rear hugger standard, heel rest built into rear-sets, tinted screen standard and long range 20L fuel tank. Hmmmmmmmmm I thought, sounds more suitable than a Bandit. Organised a test ride, boxes were ticked, papers were signed and I haven't looked back since. That was 12 months ago and lovin' it!

[Bukefal]

Being restricted to 250cc narrowed the options right down when i was shopping for a bike (late 2010).

I wanted a new, fully-faired 4-stroke. It wasn't to be a daily commuter and I planned to keep it for quite some time. I looked at fun factor, reliability, reviews, cost, size, styling, colour and sound. I didn't prioritise those criteria but I did have minimum thresholds. I went with my gut feeling and the GT250R came up on top overall. I've had it for 15 months now, it has a few quirks but I'm very happy with it. I'd still pick the same bike if I had my choice again. I have not yet seriously considered buying a big bike... just wished for one

[Orangeninja]

I was looking for either an 748 or a gsxr 600 round the k7 range or an 07 cbr600 but was just casually looking not looking to by for a few months then seen an orange zx6r for sale feel in love with the colour n ended up buyin it after a test ride I wasn't even interest in the zxr's before that

[AWSE]

Late 2008 I wanted an 05+ CBR 600. Saw a 2006 GSXR 600 and had to buy it.
Then about 6 months ago I thought to myself " I want an R1" looked them up online and thought the 04-06 looked best and were in my budget, so I traded my gixxer in for a red 2005 model 2 weeks later. I wanted a blue one but the red one was a good deal.

[tonka128]

250 - needed something big... didnt really want a Hyosung (the only new one that really fitted me) and knew I would upgrade relatively quickly so didn't want to spend too much...

looked around and waited and looked and then spotted a guy selling a 250 Katana.. (big frame bike) went out and test rode it. (Fun 4Cyl). fell in love.. bargained it down as it needed some work and bought it.

Blackbird... Same problem (size).. went from bike shop to bike shop sitting on bikes till one felt right... as soon as I sat on it I knew.. took it for a test ride and signed up for it on the spot.

Defiantly need to know your guidelines (whats a strait no) and then for me its a matter of seeing whats out there and what feels right.

[shan]

I wasent even looking when one sunny day I was putting along down freo way, Then this loud obnoxious evil sounding R1 pulled up next to me at a set of lights.
A breife chat and it turns out its 5 Stars demo bike,
Off to 5 Star straight away a couple of minuts wait and i was off for a ride
I singend up for one within the month.
The bike chose me

[Drasius]

When I bought the Ninja, I did a whole bunch of research and narrowed it down to a couple of models (the zx9, a blackbird, 'Busa or a 9xx blade), the others were OK, but when I tried the ZX9, I bought it pretty much straight away as I loved it. They all pretty much did what I wanted, but the ninja just felt right.

When I bought the KTM, I deliberately made a list of everything I could think of that I might like and a couple of others as well and test rode virtually every litreish sportsbike out there as well as a few outliers and put my thoughts down on virtual paper here on the forum so I could go back later and compare and jog my memory about wht I liked and didn't like at the time. Turns out it was an interesting exercise and much harder than I thought it would be. I'm glad I bought the ninja, but I'm also glad I testrode absolutely everything when I bought the KTM too.

[scotch]

I wanted an 08 R6 in black with gold wheels. Couldn't find one so settled on the tri colour white/black/red.

I didn't want any other bike no matter what the price or extras that it had to offer. I'm very happy with it and will probably put it to track duties in the next year or two.

Next bike will be a naked 1000cc so I can somewhat fighter it.

[Rosco327]

When it came time for me to start looking for a new bike as the inevitable upgrade from a 250 the first thing I did was started trawling the web looking a all the bike I thought I would like.
At the end of that I had narrowed the choices down to a few I liked the look of and went off to a few bike shops and just sat on a few to see how they felt.
After a few revisions of my thought process and bouncing back and forward from computer to shop and back again I had found what suited and hit the computer again to start reading
reviews, many many reviews. After that it was test ride time and then buy time. Long process but worth it in the end

[MrsKennyBoy]

I had to go for a 250, was keen on a motard. Looked at a few at causeway, fell in love with the klx250sf as I could actually touch the ground! Considered a few faired bikes (Zzr, ninja, gpx), klx still sat in the back of my mind. Went for another look at causeway a few months later and found a used klx250sf with a big bore kit, bought it that day Very happy I got a motard, wouldn't change my decision if I could.

[michael]

I had to go for a 250, was keen on a motard. Looked at a few at causeway, fell in love with the klx250sf as I could actually touch the ground! Considered a few faired bikes (Zzr, ninja, gpx), klx still sat in the back of my mind. Went for another look at causeway a few months later and found a used klx250sf with a big bore kit, bought it that day Very happy I got a motard, wouldn't change my decision if I could.

you should be happy! if i had to do my 250's again, 'tard all the way. oh and the bore kit explains the extra poke your bike has

Michael.

[DreamTheater]

I keep an eye on bikes for sale saw a really nice R1 for sale for a good price and just bought it

Originally I probably would've preferred an R6 (as I was stepping up from from my small bike) but either way the bike looked awesome and rides well so I'm happy, always liked Yamaha and my next bike will most likely be a blue/white 07+ r1...unless something else awesome pops up

[K1GxR]

the noise from the cams of the early gsxrs... had this lumpish idle.. and a 1000 would've been too big for me, 600 was too high strung and didn't have that noise.. rode a zx7 and knew 750 was good. found one at the dealer in reasonable condition, good price, organised test ride and loved the riding position and tank. my biggest regret is not appreciating it properly and going where the bike would've taken me, then selling it in a spur of the moment for reasons i cannot fathom, then hearing what the new owner is doing with it saddens me. i must have this weird attachment to mechanical things.

when i got my REs, i found a gpx for really cheap for its year, and it needed a bit of work, new tyres, chain, sprockets, full service later it came out fantastic. guess we found each other.

currently i ride a vtr250, which i picked up few weeks back. i bought it within hours of a test ride as it ticked all the boxes. useful, practical, bulletproof engine, not too fast so can't do much to it. plus can fit a week's groceries in its oversized bag.

[Sn0wcr45h]

bought my bike only last month.
As i'm restricted to 250's thought that i might as well go for a cheap bike and save my pennies for a big bike.
A friend had an old 85 vt250f integra he was selling as he had originally kept it for his mrs to learn on, but shes pregnant now, so riding is out the question. took the bike for a ride, she felt fine, not the best sounding, but she'll get me around a bit. fast enough for me to learn on, plus if i want to [poke about with the internals, it's a great way to learn.... (came in handy when i almost killed her... learnt all about carbies and stuff).

[Munkers]

Saw the B King at the bike show last November, fell in love with it and bought it on the spot.

[Squash]

The MT01 was a long time love affair that has only just recently become a reality, saw it at dale brittons for about 2 weeks while the hyo was having another problem and turned out to be the last straw, bit the bullet and took the mt for a spin, came back with a massive grin and been loving every minute of it since.