firstly like to say ello again , no been on the site for a while and got rather confused until i found the new site , artist formaly known as jimmyN1NJ4 . so glad to see that we have a new site :D

Anyway my problem is this , ive now been unemployed for 18 months and ive decided to get in to the courier game , im currently on a self employment course which helps me with all the aspects of erm being self employed basicly they help me to and sort funding for starting up but one of my main hurdles is going to be the bike , ive only currently got the RVF so im gonna need something more apropriate for the job , but i dont think the funding is going to stretch to another bike ,and if it does it wont be alot , so what do i do , do i sell the RVF ( i really dont want to , i love this little thing ) and put that money together with the funding ( if i get it ) or do i buy something cheap and crappy and hope that companies dont have restrictions on what bikes theyre self employed riders use ( i know with van drivers it cant be more than 5 years old )

What do RVF's go for these days ? , mines not in A1 top notch condition but it is quite good for its age and is completely standard with 53k kms on the clock,

Also anyone else a courier ? any tips ?

And suggestions on what bike's to use would be great , ive been looking at the VFR750 as there's no way i can get the money for the newish 800 Vtec at the moment,

i despatched on a 1988 ZX-4 for 3 or 4 years, but im a shorty and hence it was comfortable, and tyres were cheaper then .. (10 years ago).. (did have a gt550 shafty as second bike, but hardly used it)

look for something shaft drive, comfortable and capable of ignoring service intervals that could cope with being repaired with bungee's and gaffa tape.

whatever you do, dont use the RVF it will get trashed and eat every penny you earn in consumables.

i'd (and this like everything else is personal opinion) avoid big/fast bikes like the vfr750, i had enough trouble keeping my licence on the 400, on a 750 i'd have been banned within a month (got banned anyway, it just took longer) and they aren't as manoeuvrable in heavy traffic.

if i was looking at doing it again, id get an NTV-650,

Forget the VTEC if you want to put major miles on it, IIRC they need a big job on the VTEC every 16k.

The earlier (86-89) VFR750's are ace, cheap to run (classic insurance and skinny tyres), reasonably fast and reliable with a 200ish mile tank range[1] but they're getting on quite a bit now and look very dated. 88-89's are the prefered ones to go for as they have 17inch wheels rather than a 16/18 combo, if you get one make sure you get one with a stainless exhaust, replacements are about 600quid (plus fitting).
I've put about 40k on an 1988 VFR750FJ so far (and I bought it with 27k on it). :)

The later VFR750's lost power and gained weight but are easier (if duller) to ride, wider rubber, single sided swingarm, great all round reliable bikes but the price reflects that and they still command a fair bit of money.

The dullville is meant to be good.

Druid

[1] On the motorway anyway, hard use can see that drop.

ive been very lucky in the way of keeping a clean licence , ive had a R1 , R6 , ZX6 and the only points of got were from riding a 125 without a rear L-plate , which by coincedence the points actualy came off 2 days ago :D

ANd im thinking that as i'll probably be doing alot of motorway miles that i'll need a faired bike so so the ntv and such are a no go , i rode a gs500 at about 60 along a A road for about 10mins and hated every minute of it , but i am starting to think about test riding a old fazer as they have quite big screens

im a short skinny lil sh1t so i cant really handle a big bike , which isnt helping me to find something either

Not sure if you can see this R80RT but beg steal or borrow the £1,500 for it. http://www.ukgser.com/forums/showthread.php?t=148099 Ideal long range bike...if not then as previously mentioned NTV650. Bikes with little maintenance are the key.
Sell the RVF as this is your bread and butter living your are talking about. If it works, then there are plenty of sports bikes out there in the future.
Good luck

wot about a er5/cb500/gs500.
i have a er5 to comute on, its comfy, quite economical and they are cheap to buy on maintain, plus tyres are cheap.
id reccomend it

like i said , im not keen on riding without a fairing , otherwise it would be a simple choice of a Er or Gs

JimmyRVF wrote:like i said , im not keen on riding without a fairing , otherwise it would be a simple choice of a Er or Gs

GS500 comes with a fairing these days, don't know how old they go with it though.

Druid

Check out couriers and ask them info, there the ones that are already there doing it, ask about type of bikes with them, bound to be some friendly ones willing to help somewhere.