Whats your opinion on the best learner bike?

[ts50x0]

that sounds like a pretty reasonable price. it will be fine for commuting if you only have to do a mile. and you dont really want to go for weekend rides on a cg do you????? i mean you want something that will at least have a go at keeping up with the other bikers.. let me know what you decide to get!

[Frost]

[Tyral]

I wouldn't be going for anything new, because of the costs in the first place.
Had to cancel my CBT today, because my licence hasn't come back with my provisional entitlement yet after 2 weeks, I thought it would be back in time. More delays.

By the way - does anyone know of any good second hand bike dealers in the west midlands area? finding a second hand bike is proving extremely hard. And yes, I do use ebay

[Laura]

Right there is loot and ad trader.

Then speedaway in wolverhampton / halsowen.

Chase superbike, motorcycle warehouse and motorcycle essentials in cannock.

Also their is a place in chapel ask wolverhampton called all spares.
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Good girls ride motorcycles bad girls thrash them.

[ts50x0]

where abouts in the west mids are you from. im from the coventry area so know a few round here. are you anywhere near me?

[Laura]

I am from walsall.
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Good girls ride motorcycles bad girls thrash them.

[ts50x0]

there is a place called DK motorcycles. i'm not sure where it is but i think it is round that area. you'll have to look it up but it is huge. there is loads and loads of bikes there of all different types. if they don't have anything for you knowone will. it may be a long way away but they have 3 warehouse size showrooms full of bikes.

[Laura]

D K is in stoke on trent.
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Good girls ride motorcycles bad girls thrash them.

[Mantzy]

In all honesty here, 1 mile isn't far to go. No bike is going to hurt you after only a mile - unless you fall off it.

Honda are going to be more reliable but for a 2 stroke it's still going to need work, and engine rebuilds after ever 5000 miles (I think - check owners manual for details) and if you're not profecient with engines, it's going to cost a far whack to stick it in a garage for a few days every time you do. Plus, it then means you have no bike.

I know many people don't like them but Honda CBR125s are cheapish and are 4 strokes so have less reliability problems. This forum was born out of an NSR forum so many people will say "CBR125s are pants" and I tend to agree with them simply because I've sat on one and it just felt too small. However, they are a sporty bike, alright looking and would be cheaper to insure. They won't go as fast as NSRs,Mitos or RSs but they will break the speed limit. If you want a 4 stroke nice looking big feeling racey bike, get a Sachs XTC. It goes fast enough and the acceleration isn't bad. Can't beat a new BMW (i've tried) but it's alright, you just have to be realistic.

Insurance is always a bother but you have to shop around. I got a quote of Norwich Union when I was looking last month and it was the most expensive out of the lot (1.2K!). Eventually got one for £360. Don't accept the first one you get and play the companies against each other.

Run out of things to say now - sure there will be more later.
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Current Bikes: 2010 Triumph Sprint ST 1050
Previous Bikes: 2002 Sachs XTC, 1999 Kawasaki ZX6R, 2004 GSX-R 600 K4, 2006 Yamaha XT660X

[Frost]

I think that the problem with 2 strokes would be that on a 1 mile commute, you would have to warm it up for 3 minutes to spend 1 minute riding to work.
Kick it up and fuck off to work balls out on a cold engine every day for months will properly mess it up!

[Tyral]

My thoughts exactly about the engine warming up.

CBR125s look nice in my opinion. They sound quite nice, but I know they'll have much less power than a 2 stroke. That doesn't bother me a lot.
I'd like to see an NSR and CBR125 running in real life. That'll make the choice a little easier. Its just hard to compare online. Peoples views differ on both bikes.

[Frost]

saw a CBR the other day, dont look too good when running, sound nice though

NSR's sound awful (wasps etc) but look the bollocks. personally i would sacrifice the looks (which i cant see when i'm riding the thing anyway) for a noise i could listen to on a long trip without going crazy!

[theone]

i think the CG 125 is a good bike, thats what i used to pass my test and learn how to ride altogether. Those bikes seem very solidly built to me. i'm no mechanic but it feels pretty solid in design and build in my opinion. CG125 all the way.