L Plate warrior in need of a .....[updated]

[mickfulton]

**********LONG POST BUT ITS MY FIRST ONE **********


I have been lurking on this forum for a good few months but recently joined as I have just bought my first bike.
Im a late bloomer and at the grand old age of 30 bought myself a shiny second hand ybr 125. I have been in love with bikes since evil keneval ( showing my age) but never took the plunge until now. Turning 30 is mid-life crisis time in Scotland btw.
My CBT is booked for tuesday and have finally got everything else sorted out too. Driving a car only requires you to buy furry dice, buying a bike is way more complicated. I can't seem to get an honest answer to one question. I am well aware of the danger of these things (I waited till I thought I was as sensible as am gonna get before I bought a bike and am going the slow route to learning i.e. CBT, 125 for a bit then proper lessons and test etc. then 600cc+ sex-machine from valhala ) and wanted to know the likely hood of coming off my bike while learning bearing in mind I put safety before vanity.

I only want to know so I can set my expectations for learning to ride and not become scared if I do drop the bike or heaven forbid crash.
Im well aware it takes a day course to be legal but a life time to master.


P.S. Whilst getting insurance I noticed joining a club/association can reduce the quote? is this advisable and are there any near Paisley,Renfrewshire,Scotland,Just Above England,UK.

Also any tips and sage advice (thats not been posted before) would be appreciated

UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE
[**** I attempted my CBT last tuesday and surprise, surprise I came off in spectacular fashion Was going great until just before lunch. Took a corner a little too fast, grabbed a fist of front brake and skidded straight into the tyres. Hurt my pride and my shoulder and fucked the speedo. Didn't manage to get out on the road for the second half and practiced slow control instead (PROB COS THE SPEEDO WASNT WORKING ) Its not put me off and to be honest I feel a little bit more confident because of it. Trying again tomorrow and will keep you posted. Thanks for the shared wisdom so far****]

[chris-red]

Barry Sheene drilled a hole in his helmet so he could smoke the last few puffs before a race

Music probably not advisable but I do it so do many others,

Never tried getting cheaper insurance because of motoring organisations, I doubt it would be that much cheaper.

I never fell off once in my first year on my 100cc bike, all my crashes were later
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Well, you know what they say. If you want to save the world, you have to push a few old ladies down the stairs.
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[pinkyfloyd]

I dont listen to music but as Chris has said, many do. I wouldnt recomend it as a novice biker.

You will fall off sooner or later. Its an accepted mindset. Dont have the attitude that you'll never drop the bike. One day it will happen. Just hope its at 5mph not 50.

Ignore the scare mongering. You'll notice when you start riding that there is a huge difference between being out in the cage and being out on the bike. You'll hopefully love it. It does make you aware of your surroundings and has a positive effect on your car driving too.

Going for lessons is a great plan. If you have the money for the lessons then I'd recomend the DAS course. A clear way onto a bigger heavier bike. Yes they are faster and all that jazz but a heavier bike does feel more stable and safer than a 125 bike.

Good luck with the CBT and stay relaxed. Listen to the instructor. After all its what he gets paid to do and knows his stuff.
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illuminateTHEmind wrote: I am just more evolved than most of you guys... this allows me to pick of things quickly which would have normally taken the common man years to master
Hockeystorm65:.well there are childish arguments...there are very childish arguments.....there are really stupid childish arguments and now there are......Pinkfloyd arguments!
Teflon-Mike:I think I agree with just about all Pinky has said.

[instigator]

My only advice is make sure you put a cover over your bike if it's ungaraged and make sure it has theft cover. Living in Paisley, the NED's don't let many shiney things remain untouched..

[Rogerborg]

The statistics are bad, there's no getting away from that.

KSI (Killed and Seriously Injured) per mile are high and actually rising relative to cars and (I believe) even pedal cyclists. They're 30 times those of car drivers and three times those of pedal cyclists.

On a 125, you'll likely get smashed at a junction by another vehicle, either pulling out, turning across you, or just t-boning you. It's not detailed in the stats, but it will be a flat capper in a Nissan Micra, a bleached blonde slag in a Range Rover, or a fat git in a grotty white Transit. You'll soon learn to spot them.

Bear in mind though that a "Serious Injury" is anything that makes you miss 3 or more days of work, so the bar starts quite low. And at the "K" end of the scale, you'll find a lot of Power Rangers giving it beans on country roads.

You can mitigate a lot of the risk by being visible: lights on, white helmet, hi vis gear looks a lot better than being smeared down the side of a Transit.

Then you learn to ride defensively, assume that you're invisible, and that every cager is going to pull out on you. Every so often, one of them will, and it'll wake you up.

Anyway, you probably know most of this, so it's really down to just getting on with it. It can be very intimidating at first, but you'll quickly find a riding style that suits you.

And yes, it is absolutely brilliant fun, and I cannot recommend it highly enough.
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Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[stinkwheel]

Most people seem to fall off or drop their first 125 in a fairly non-spectacular way at some point. Usually at low speed (or while stationary).

It's usually something stupid like forgetting to put it in neutral and letting the clutch out or stopping and putting your foot in a hole in the road or grabbing a panicked handful of front brake and having the front wheel wash-out at walking pace. Or even as stupid as getting off it and forgetting to put the stand down

I fell off my moped countless times when I was learning, usually at low speed on gravel-strewn corners until I learned to pay more attention to the road ahead. I didn't have any real safety gear. A wax jacket, wellington boots and a boiler suit usually. I didn't really injure myself beyond a skinned knee.

Damage to the bike usually consists of a broken lever and smashed indicator lens, possibly a bent gearshift or rear brake (which you hammer straight again). Levers and lenses for 125s are usually pretty cheap.

That's why I ususally advise against a faired bike as your first one.
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“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[Livefast123]

Don't be scared of falling off, because just like death it will happen to us all.

What you will need to learn quickly is to treat all other road users like idiots. You will need to be looking as far down the road as possible, planning what your going to do if that cager pulls out or you see a rainbow coloured substance on the road.

This will be difficult when learning but giving yourself the time and distance to react is the key to safe riding and avoiding those offs.

I ride with my dipped beam on and have a white helmet. I may resort to hi - viz in rain - poor conditions. I may also get some reflective rim tape which aids your side visibility.
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Current ride - Yamaha MT-07

[Mrs Vale46]

Everybody falls at some point or other, Unfortunately when in my learning year on a F***ing scooter of all things, I came off three time. So that all over with and now I feel Confident and in control of my bike as I know the feeling if it feels like it want to go. Also watch out for the other orad users, on your test your instructor will warn you of this. But some people are so unpredictable its scarey!!! Just make sure you have noticed them and try to get them to notice you before its too late.

I listen to music now as Im use to my bike and how it feels also I only listen to music if I have done the route before. Never on a new route as you dont what the condition on that route will be. But most of the time I do.

[Shaft]

Despite having plenty of off road experience and passing my (non) CBT with such flying colours, I was invited to stay on as an instructor, I lunched my bike 4 times in the first year.

First time was within 15 minutes of my first trip on the road!

Morning of 16th birthday and an overnight 4 inches of snow wasn't going to put me off; I was 16 and my TS50 had knobbly tyres and everything, a little bit of white stuff wasn't going to stop me, no siree Bob!

Less than two miles on and a dodgy combo of sheet ice/oncoming lorry/brand new bike with grabby rear drum, had me on the deck.

Second time was overtaking a line of stationary traffic, uphill, approaching a set of temp lights; as I passed a Transit, which was obscuring my view of a side turning, it transpired that he had waved a car out, which shot out of the turning like a rocket from a bottle and T-boned me, knocking me across the road.

Third time was turning onto a petrol station forecourt, where a very deep pothole had appeared at the join between the road and the entrance ramp, grabbing my front wheel and stopping the bike very quickly; I didn't stop and ended up performing a forward roll, with twist.

Fourth was entering an otherwise clear roundabout, probably too fast, but certainly without noticing the thin layer of diesel on the surface; I was eating tarmac before I knew what was going on!

Apart from the obvious things like don't go too fast and make certain you can see everything, I learnt two very important lessons; decent kit is essential (I was hardly damaged, my kit took a thorough bashing) and fully comp insurance is good!!!!
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Things get better with age; I'm close to being magnificent........
20 RE Interceptor, 83 Z1100A3, 83 GS650 Katana
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[The999Kid]

all the above is absolutely faultless advice but its missing one thing in my opinion..

RELAX!! the last thing you need while trying to pilot your new 2 wheeled soul mover is to be as stiff as a board! it'll hinder your steering, cornering, balance and it'll stop you from concentrating on what everyone else is doing.

take some time to just sit on the bike and get yourself comfortable, while its warming up sit upright with your visor open, have a look around, clap your hands or sing something to make it fun..

and if you wanna loosen up mid ride? do the chicken dance! with your hands on the bars flap your elbows up and down! i promise that if a cager sees that them laughing will make you laugh and you'll loosen right up
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NDB 19/10/1989 - 1/11/2010 |Nowhere.Elyseum wrote: I get the distinct feeling that Tim should be our secret weapon for future trolling. I don't know many people that can rip the piss in Iambic pentameter

[nokiakeys]

Dropping the bike is part of being a biker i think... but I dropped my old 125 when i didn't put the side stand down right yep dumb me

But don't be scared and as 999kid said relax.
Remember it's not bikes that kill people, it the person on the bike.
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CBT: 04/2010 -> Theory: 09/2010 -> MOD1 & 2: 10/2010 (That's right baby, both on same day)
Honda CBF125 -> Honda CB600FS

[herulach]

I'd second all of that, I'd actually really like to see the injury stats broken down by day of the week, I bet it goes up a hell of a lot on sunday lunchtime.

The biggest thing I had to learn was how invisible you are, 95% of drivers are shit and won't see you even if you're sat right behind them, but people that sit right up people's chuff are asking for it. You basically hide the bike behind the car so noone else can see you, and theres no advantage, bikes are quick, if theres room to get past from right behind someone theres room from 20ft back.
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YBR 125>FZS600

[Rogerborg]

[F]

hi be careful on the roads cars dont see u and your life is in their hands. biking is awsome though i think the positievs will outway the negs my entire lifetime.

Peace
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ts50 / sport air filter rapid 125cc pitty

[mad4it028]

if you dont fall off(forget being hit) how are you ment to find your limits?
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always looking to buy bikes crashed ,unfinished projects,none runners pm me
currently riding kawasaki z1000 only bike ive ever loved

[Teflon-Mike]

[Parp]

My CBT was during a St Mirren home game, lots of hazzards with all of the traffic and pedestrians.

Lessons around Ferguslie Park should make the swerve maneuver easy, just imaging you are trying not to hit a junkie!

[Carl_steveo]

[Rogerborg]

We're not joking about Micra drivers. Seriously. One of the doddering twats pulled out on me today. Fortunately, she then hugged the kerb at 10mph, so I had plenty of room to go around, but they will do it. Seriously. Micras, Range Rovers and Transits.
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Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[Teflon-Mike]

[Rogerborg]

In the context of my previous post, I refer only to the RangeRoverus Oblivious Regina.

https://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQT9CrRp5XxMoaapKeZ7wvGwNpqF-Byh4tz7QBYX-pTb0J5w-eFww

I swear, every time one of them t-bones my Chinese mirthmobile and I get jammed in the bull bars, I have to text IZ STUCK IN UR CAR IMA BLEEDIN ON UR PAINTWURK LOLZ at least 3 times before they notice.
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Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[Parp]

No close calls yet as a biker, but plenty over the years as a driver and caused by bikers. I figure if I do not ride like I have a death wish, I will reduce my risks.

[Carl_steveo]

[N cee thirty]

[Carl_steveo]