Newbie

Hello one and all!

I am a newbie to biking, passed my full license just over a year ago (21st bday present), I currently ride a suzuki GS500 but am looking to upgrade asap to a bigger bike and I feel the Thundercat is likely to be that bike, so I am here to hopefully seek some advice on the mighty cat and possibley being able to buy one through the forum as they generaly seem to be better places to find good bikes from nice people!

Thanks
Mr Nutt

welcome mate ive just join this forum too good set of people on here with some good advice would defo recommed the cat but your not buying mine

Hello & Welcome Mr N,

Hope you enjoy your look around the forum. Good luck with your searches for a cat.

Hi & welcome to the site.
Good luck finding a cat, sorry mine is not for sale

Hi, welcome and good luck.

Hello Mr Nutt,

Further explanation of the site name is required - unless of course you are a Nutt? In which case I'll stop digging. Welcome to the site Hope you do find us all nice and friendly. Well most of the time

Good luck with your hunt for a 'cat. As you will have already appreciated from the posts most (well those who have 'cats) are reluctant to let them go, but it has been known. Keep us posted with progress and hope to see you join us on your new steed soon.

Chris

I am actually a Nutt, buts jokes are always welcome!

I see this not wanting to part with machine lark, which is annoying but also highly understandable! there does seem to be quite a few floating around on ebay for reasonable prices. Is there anything in particular worth looking out for when buying a cat, not from a forum like this where it is likely to have had a nice life before it gets sold.

Dave

MrNutt wrote: Is there anything in particular worth looking out for when buying a cat, not from a forum like this where it is likely to have had a nice life before it gets sold.

Clearly you haven't met Rosco (he won't mind me saying that - much!)

There have been some posts recently about 'the second gear problem' that is much more of a myth than a reality. Here's the latest post on the subject.

Otherwise corrosion is the next big problem. Check all the inaccessible places like inside the swing arm and the pipes. If the bike is neat and tidy and the owner can demonstrate they've taken care of it (servicing etc) then it's a pretty robust machine. I'm sure others can add more pointers.

I wish you success in your search. And if you have any more questions just post up.

Chris

Hello mate,
My first big bike was a GS500 too, great little twin..
I changed from that to a cat...it will feel like a ballistic missile compare to the GS..
I Kept both for a bit and the old GS felt like sitting on a sewing machine after being out on the cat.
If you take one out for a spin, pin the throttle in second gear (lean fwd first tho) and if it doesn't jump out then there's not much else you can fault these bikes on..TBH the second gear issue is not as widespread as ppl think..
Downpipes rust and hole but you can change 'em for stainless ones for not mega money.
As chris says you havent met Rosco's cat yet.. That thing is bloody indestructable!!

Welcome to the site

Thanks for the warm welcome!

and all the advice so far, the GS is a great bike, so easy to use i can get 220-250 out of a tank, or 180 if i thrash it !!!
it now being able to fnd places that will let me have a go on a big cat, as having never ridden one i dont fancy buying blind without having a basic knowing or what they feel like.

the search continues! ONWARDS!

This one may be of interest in Bike Trader

Parker's used bike price guide for a 96 (N) Thundercat.

As it happens , mine is for sell and I live in Berks .If you are interested PM me and I can give you all the details.
John.

MrNutt wrote:Thanks for the warm welcome!

fnd places that will let me have a go on a big cat, as having never ridden one i dont fancy buying blind without having a basic knowing or what they feel like.
the search continues! ONWARDS!

Oddly enough I bought my Cat before I even actually passed my test. But that's because I have 0 patience !

I risked ebay and nr xmas 2 so paid about half price but theres always a few on there. I love mine.

Welcome and good luck with search

Wowey wrote:I risked ebay

Funnily enough, so did I, just over a year ago. I have a black and silver Tcat that did have 17k on it. It now has 24k.

It's a 2001 model and has ss exhausts and was only ridden in the dry.

It certainly put a smile on my face when I picked it up. Well the last time I had a bike was in 1985, I hadn't ridden one since then!

So it is a forgiving bike but can be a bit of a demon, as i found out on Big Mac in 2010.

Good luck in your hunt Mr Nutt, as you have a licence why not find one at a fealers and have a test ride before scouring ebay? I'm sure it'll make you smile..

This is true about dealers, but oddly the ones I have asked recently all say no as I am 22, apprently all these places insurance will only allow over 30's to test ride bikes, which I feel is ridiclous given I may well be willing to spend cash on a bike from them!

but saying that, thundercats seem to command a lot of respect in the way they handle and engine power and with all the enthuasm I dont think it'll be a bad purchase if I do get one.

You won't be disappointed mate. In the low rev range it is an easy bike to ride and if you choose to go quick take it up and about 9000rpm and it is very quick.. That's why they are still hugely popular, it hard to get bored with. I put 15000 miles on mine before selling it to a friend and I should have kept it.

As DBD & myself were saying last weekend on W/M its amazing how that "thing" of Ross's keeps going, we missed our chance on that garage forecourt in Spain 2 years ago "to fire it" ah well appen next year.

The Thundercat gets mucho respect from me.

It does everything I need it to do, great for bimbles, great for touring, great on the track.... heck she doesn't even complain if you stand on her.

As long as my old Thundercat manages to stay ahead of the Ducati 999 and FJR1300 (which it no doubt easily will) then you boys won't be setting fire to it.

If you do manage it I'll be buying another Thundercat!

Come on Mr you know its the Nutts.

Cheers
Rosco

MrNutt wrote: apprently all these places insurance will only allow over 30's to test ride bikes, which I feel is ridiclous given I may well be willing to spend cash on a bike from them!

Check to see if your insurance cover on the GS will permit you to ride another bike.

My first brand new bike was a GS400, I thought I was being sensible by getting rid of my GT750 (kettle) and downsizing. That lasted 3 months and that gave way to a GS1000G, I had been bitten by the biking bug - no point in fighting this 'disease'.

I have the utmost respect for my and to the Yamaha engineers for nearly getting everything right first time. I have overloaded and stressed mine something rotten; done 120 000 kms (75k miles, 55K miles I've done in 4 years) still going strong and has gotten me out of some hairy situations.

Don't mind the quips on Rosco's bike. DBD enjoyed his Thundercat and I have a suspicion that Mr Lees would buy one as soon as one of us buys his Austin 7 (that'll make sense when you get to know us)

Good afternoon.

Whats the tank range like on the bike? as thats something I have only realy just thought about given i intend to do trips to scotland and the lake district and commuting in and out of london on it.

Depends ...

180-200 miles to light on normally

thats very impressive, I thought it would be less than that, this bike just gets better and better! just need to shift the GS500 now!
If anyone wants a good first bike or knows anyone who does let me know!