|
|
| Author |
Message |
| tich |
This post is not being displayed .
|
tich
L Plate Warrior
Joined: 18 Feb 2012
Karma : 
|
 Posted: 21:49 - 19 Feb 2012  Post subject: just starting to learn... |
 |
|
Hello! Im just starting out learning did a trial lesson a couple of weeks back and taking my cbt in a couple of weeks, see how I get on! the aim being to get a full licence feels a long way off right now! Im a little bit aprehensive as to how I will handle a 500cc Im a 5ft 8st girly lol!
I wont have much to spend on a bike if I pass so any advice on whats good for short people will be greatly received lol!
Tich x  |
|
| Back to top |
  |
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
 |
| FerretFing |
This post is not being displayed .
|
FerretFing
World Chat Champion
Joined: 12 Nov 2007
Karma :  
|
|
| Back to top |
| |
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
|
| Teflon-Mike |
This post is not being displayed .
|
Teflon-Mike
tl;dr
Joined: 01 Jun 2010
Karma : 
|
| Posted: 22:09 - 19 Feb 2012 Post subject: Re: just starting to learn... |
|
|
| tich wrote: | Hello! Im just starting out learning did a trial lesson a couple of weeks back and taking my cbt in a couple of weeks, see how I get on! the aim being to get a full licence feels a long way off right now! Im a little bit aprehensive as to how I will handle a 500cc Im a 5ft 8st girly lol!
I wont have much to spend on a bike if I pass so any advice on whats good for short people will be greatly received lol!
Tich x |
If you are going to be short of funds after doing your training on a 500, which suggests a DAS course...
Dont do a DAS course!
Save pennies; get better, cheaper grounding, learning the old fasioned way, on a less daunting 125, which you are likely to be better able to afford.
5'8 is not shoryt 'girly'!  Thats above average hight for a female! You ought o be fine on most bikes. See Bendies comments on finding a bike to fit in sticky thread, top of board.
Here and now; YBR125 is the tool of choise for the discerning Learner.
One size fits all. Its got a good upright riding possition for control & visability; neutral and nimble geometry and is as easy to ride as anything with gears. Tend to be pretty good Value For Money, too, and often the cheapest way to a full licence.
Daunted by it all; doing it on a 125, doing weekly lessons; lets youy take it all in in bite sized easily managed 'chunks', and practice to your hearts content between lessons; so you dont have to pay an instructor for anything but 'real' instruction, and not wasting money on the price of a hire bike and paying a DAS qualified instructor to do no more than follow you around, fullfilling legal requirement to provide 'radio supervision' for you to be on that 500cc bike, breathing falce confidence in your ear through the radio whenever you forget anything.
125's are more demanding to ride than a 500, and wont flatter a newbies mistakes; which can make them very good for putting down a basic 'foundation' of riding skills, which glancing over on a more flattering 500 you might not lay so securely, and certainly wont be able to practice so thoroughly.
So, have a shuft about this board, becouse the matter has been debated widely, as have good beginner bikes; and you dont HAVE to do a DAS course to get a licence, you dont have to take test on a 125 even if you buy one as your first bike, for the experience and ability to practice; you can still take tests under DAS... and if pennies count.... could be a good place to make economies so you can afford a better bike.
____________________
My Webby'Tef's-tQ, loads of stuff about my bikes, my Land-Rovers, and the stuff I do with them!
Current Bikes:'Honda VF1000F' ;'CB750F2N' ;'CB125TD ( 6 3 of em!)'; 'Montesa Cota 248'. Learner FAQ's:= 'U want to Ride a Motorbike! Where Do U start?' |
|
| Back to top |
 |
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
|
| ninja_butler |
This post is not being displayed .
|
ninja_butler
World Chat Champion
Joined: 19 Oct 2011
Karma :
|
|
| Back to top |
| |
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
|
| tich |
This post is not being displayed .
|
tich
L Plate Warrior
Joined: 18 Feb 2012
Karma :
|
| Posted: 22:16 - 19 Feb 2012 Post subject: |
|
|
Im 5ft and 8 stone not 5ft 8 lol! |
|
| Back to top |
| |
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
|
| Teflon-Mike |
This post is not being displayed .
|
Teflon-Mike
tl;dr
Joined: 01 Jun 2010
Karma :
|
| Posted: 23:41 - 19 Feb 2012 Post subject: |
|
|
| tich wrote: | Im 5ft and 8 stone not 5ft 8 lol! |
Sounds like my gran, Dot, before she was married; worked in signals during the war... they called her 'Micro-Dot'
Sorry, OK, you are err..... lillipution! "A woman so short, she had good cause for always having her nose in other people's business" as I once heard recounted!
See Bendies thread; you can do an awful lot with longer dog-bones and sliding forks down stansions.
Meanwhile; 125 idea may have even more merit... at least as a starting point.
Friend of mine, is only 4'11 & 3/4"... she INSISTS we knowledge that 3/4" inch!, been riding decades, and even in the days of the old brit bike, only thing that dampened her enthusiasm, was when the timing slipped on her tuned Triumph Bonaville, and her feather weight was just NOT enough to kick-start the beast into life! She reckoned that everything else was merely a matter of technique (as Bendy provides)! And was undaunted, leaping onto the saddle of a Suzuki GSXR1300!
8 stone is a mere 50Kg... a 125 is around 125Kg ish... that is sort of the ratio of bike to rider weight of me sat on my, not exactly svelt 750, that weighs in at 225Kg....
So, while it need not be an impediment to you riding 'big-bikes' or severely limit what you might ride.... a 125 is likely to give you a better chance to acquire the 'technique' to do so.
____________________
My Webby'Tef's-tQ, loads of stuff about my bikes, my Land-Rovers, and the stuff I do with them!
Current Bikes:'Honda VF1000F' ;'CB750F2N' ;'CB125TD ( 6 3 of em!)'; 'Montesa Cota 248'. Learner FAQ's:= 'U want to Ride a Motorbike! Where Do U start?' |
|
| Back to top |
| |
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
|
| Rogerborg |
This post is not being displayed .
|
Rogerborg
nimbA
Joined: 26 Oct 2010
Karma :
|
|
| Back to top |
| |
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
|
| tich |
This post is not being displayed .
|
tich
L Plate Warrior
Joined: 18 Feb 2012
Karma :
|
|
| Back to top |
| |
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
|
| Alpha-9 |
This post is not being displayed .
|
Alpha-9
Super Spammer
Joined: 19 Jan 2012
Karma : 
|
|
| Back to top |
 |
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
|
| sidewinder |
This post is not being displayed .
|
sidewinder
World Chat Champion
Joined: 24 Aug 2011
Karma : 
|
|
| Back to top |
| |
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
|
| Recluso |
This post is not being displayed .
|
Recluso
Brolly Dolly
Joined: 16 Mar 2011
Karma :
|
| Posted: 12:38 - 20 Feb 2012 Post subject: |
|
|
Welcome to the forum!
I'm a bit of a shortie too, although I've got a couple of inches on you 
Read Bendy's post! It's very insightful. I strongly recommend you follow the advice of getting down to the showrooms and just climbing aboard the bikes. Most can be lowered via the suspension these days, or the seat can be shaved down a bit.
It's all in the mind!
I was absolutely convinced that I wouldn't ever find a bike that I liked and would be forced to end up on a cruiser (which I'm not a huge fan of).
It's worth following Tef's advice and considering going down the 125 route first. Funny enough that's just what I'm doing as my instructor's 'DAS' bikes are just that bit too big and heavy for me to manage. It doesn't mean I can't ride a bigger bike, it just means it gives me the opportunity to pass my test, have something rideable to get used to and at the same time, look for a 'big bike' that is just right rather than potentially struggle through a DAS on a bike that I just can't manage. Even the 125's take a little bit of getting used to moving around!
If you find you are drawn to a particular style of bike (I for example like the Kawasaki ER-6n) I strongly advise you consider the 125 route all the more to give yourself the time to find something you're really in love with rather than just settling with something you don't like as much 'because it fits'.
The right bike is out there!!
____________________
'Just erotic. Nothing kinky. It's the difference between using a feather and using a chicken.'
Honda PS125i > Yamaha YBR125 > Yamaha XJ6 Diversion > Yamaha Tracer 900 |
|
| Back to top |
| |
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
|
| harscot |
This post is not being displayed .
|
harscot
Crazy Courier
Joined: 19 Apr 2011
Karma : 
|
| Posted: 13:26 - 20 Feb 2012 Post subject: |
|
|
Hi and welcome from Wester Ross, I would definitely follow Tefs and Reclusos advice, Tef knows what he's taking about ( albeit a bit long winded ) if you read his other posts, good luck what ever you do. 
P.S A wee heads up, Stay away from chinese bikes. ( read the forum on them! )
____________________
First bike R reg Suzuki 125 GT twin in 1978:
2nd bike X reg Honda 650 Deauville in 2011:
Wish bike a Triumph Thunderbird: Dream bike Triumph Rocket........ |
|
| Back to top |
| |
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
|
| Rogerborg |
This post is not being displayed .
|
Rogerborg
nimbA
Joined: 26 Oct 2010
Karma :
|
|
| Back to top |
| |
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
|
| Teflon-Mike |
This post is not being displayed .
|
Teflon-Mike
tl;dr
Joined: 01 Jun 2010
Karma :
|
| Posted: 18:55 - 20 Feb 2012 Post subject: |
|
|
Just because we blokes tend to think that women have little legs and fat arses DOESN'T mean that 'cruisers' are any more likely to suit them than anything else! 
Seat being close to the ground is only any 'help' when the rider is sat, at rest propping the bike up.
Human form on a bike, has five points of contact; Bum; Bars and Boots...
Once moving dimension from bum to floor is irrelevant; stretch to the pegs and reach to the bars IS, and the stretched out, laid back riding position of a Cruiser, often has LONGER stretch and reach than road bikes, sports bike or even REALLY tall dirt bikes!
Snowie hated her 125 cruiser, sold to her because of big-bum perch close to the floor.... but long reach to the bars meant she was leaning the wrong way round corners and strugling to reach the brake pedal and get full travel on it, or make smooth gear changes!
Stuck her on my DT175, that is jacked up 2" for my long legs, and she wobbled about tip-toe from the saddle, trying to prop it up, feeling NOT very comfortable at all, unable to get both feet flat to the floor, but stable as anything else, soon as she learned to just tilt it a tads.... then was stunned that feet on the pegs, the erganomics were actually MORE freindly than her CB125!
There are no fixed rules for what 'fits'; and cruisers, have perversely unhelpful geometry that tends to make them less manouverable to begin with; and already lowered and raked, may not be as wonderful a starting point as presumed, and tend not to be as 'adaptable' as more conventional bikes.
535Virago, though, I will concede is a pretty 'compact' cruiser; and with the standard 'half way' footpegs rather then the foreward control 'Highway-pegs' and lower bars, MIGHT be a reasonable first 'big-bike' once the necessity to perform Test-Tricks is passed and a basic skillset and technique has been aquired.
But there are a LOT of bikes out there; and the YBR125 is still pretty much one size fits all, starting point. They even do a slightly 'Cruisered' and not to compromised 'Custom' version that already has lower shocks and a stepped seat;
But I dont think a 28" inside leg need demand such compromises. Snowie is only a 30" inside leg, She was more than comfy enough on all her 125's BUT the bludy cruiser thing! And even perching her on dirt bikes, with 'mega' seat heights, until you sit on them... and the suspension squashes, and which can be lowered as easily as they can be jacked.
I think the bigger issue Titch is likely to have is simply the mechanical advantage of MASS, until she has acquired the technique to use it to best advantage and make the bikes weight work for her, rather than against her.
Hence the advice to start on a lightweight tiddler.
On a 125, Bike to rider weight ratio is going to be around 2:1.
I am almost twice her weight, at 14 stone 90Kg, so on my lightweight DT, I have almost a 1:1 rider/bike weight ratio, and on my trials bike, its probably something like 3:2! It's not until I am on something pretty hefty, like my 750 that I get close to that 2:1 ratio she would have on a tiddler, and it does NOT give me the same 'advantage' to 'muscle' a bike around, as I have on the smaller bikes, and I have to use technique to make it go where I want it to.
So, while she learns the kind of 'judo' tricks to make a bikes weight work for her, stupid stuff like just getting it onto the centre stand, wheeling it around (as needed for Mod 1), before even getting on it; lightweight is going to give her far LESS to struggle with than a DAS 500.
The regulation Learner-Commuters, then should not be too much of a handful; their easy ride easy manageability a boon, and the seat height pretty much a non-issue.
____________________
My Webby'Tef's-tQ, loads of stuff about my bikes, my Land-Rovers, and the stuff I do with them!
Current Bikes:'Honda VF1000F' ;'CB750F2N' ;'CB125TD ( 6 3 of em!)'; 'Montesa Cota 248'. Learner FAQ's:= 'U want to Ride a Motorbike! Where Do U start?' |
|
| Back to top |
| |
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
 |
Old Thread Alert!
The last post was made 14 years, 134 days ago. Instead of replying here, would creating a new thread be more useful? |
 |
|
|
Help & FAQs
Search BCF
Members
Groups
Events Calendar
rating
rating