Advise on insurance for first non-learner bike!??

[GTR1400]

Hi guys,

I took my CBT back in April and have been out riding since May. Unfortunately I had a douche go into the back of me just over a week ago by a roundabout between Derby and Nottingham at some traffic lights :/. Everything is going through insurance though, and looks like the bike is gonna be wrote off and I\'ll get a decent sum of money back.

Thinking of taking my full test, and finding a Kawasaki GPZ 500-S as my first \"big\" bike. Only thing is, I imagine I\'ll have this by January time, and I don\'t really wanna risk having it sat around with no use for a few months until I\'ve had my first years no claims.

Any advice on what would be the best option when it comes to taking my test, getting the bike, and insuring it?

Would it be best to get the bike ASAP (I imagine prices are cheaper due to the time of the year?), and get insured straight away (with no years no claims)?

Should I wait out a little longer until May when I have 1 years no claims and get the bike and insure it then?

Or get the bike (whilst I imagine they are cheap?), sit it in my garage at home and wait for a few months until I can have my 1 years no claims go straight on?

Insurance prices and NCB make quite a big difference for me I think, I\'m 17 years old.. turning 18 in April. Also, what would be the benefits of joining some different bikers organisations or taking additional advanced biking tests? Would they be worth the money in the long run?

Cheers for any advice at all, as I really wanna get out on the road again, and you guys are a little more knowledgable than me

Liam

[0ddball]

If anything prices of cheap commuter bikes will rise now. I don't think there is any advantage in buying sooner and storing it. On the other hand if a bargain comes up it would be daft not to get it but i wouldn't expect a sub £1000 bike to get significantly cheaper over winter.
____________________
ZXR750L

[Rogerborg]

Agreed, my experience last winter was that low end prices didn't drop, there were just fewer bikes around.

I wouldn't get hung up on the GPZ either: you'll be on a 25kW license, so anything you get will have much the same performance.

Just think 500 twin, or SV650, Diversion or Bandit 600 or similar (maybe a Honda BROS 400), keep the cash to hand, then bag a good example of any of the above when it comes up.

Regarding the tests, get your theory booked now. Then for mod 1 / mod 2 you'll need to decide whether to pay money to a training school to sit the tests on their bike, or to repair your 125 or buy another and sit the tests yourself. That should work out cheaper, since you can then sell the 125 afterwards and get your money back. Paying a training school is just pouring away money that could have been spent on a bike.

Regarding post-test training, I'd say that's more worthwhile than getting trained before the test, and a lot cheaper too, either IAM or RoSPA.

As to whether it'll bring your insurance costs down, that entirely depends on the underwriter. You're going to have to do the clicking on that to work it out, but I wouldn't expect miracles - you'll have to find a broker or comparison site that even gives the option to tell them about advanced qualifications, many of them don't any more.

tl;dr version - INSUFFICIENT DATA FOR MEANINGFUL ANSWER. You're going to have to find this out yourself since any answer we could give will be out of date and perhaps not applicable to your circumstances.
____________________
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