help on a £2250 budget please

[parkinator]

hello i am trying to find if this is a sensible budget for a helmet /125cc motorbike/ insurance. For the helmet i am considering a spada tucana for £110, but for bikes i really don't know what's good apart from Honda cbr and as for insurance i live in Gosport Hampshire am 18 and the bike would be kept in a locked garage overnight and be used for commuting

I would be really great full for any advice

[Derivative]

IMO:

£500 towards passing your tests so that you're not stuck on a 125cc until 2057.
£1200 towards getting a YBR125/CG125.
£250 towards insurance.

£300 on gear - £100ish for a jacket/trousers off eBay, £50-100 for boots, £30-50 for gloves, £30 for rainproofs, rest on a helmet.

[Benno]

Yep, get the big tests done ASAP.

Then you could buy a bigger bike and fit restrictor plates. Sometimes like an ER-5, GS500, any bike training schools tend to use tends to be a good first bike.
Insurance needn't break the bank, for the right bike you will pay less than £200 if you're lucky.

As for waterproofs, Hein Gericke jackets, while expensive, are very well waterproofed, and along with mine I wear normal waterproof trousers I bought at decathlon on top of jeans. J & S sell good waterproof boots for low prices.
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I'm autistic. That means I'm smarter than you.

[Teflon-Mike]

See stock answer on webby:
I want to Ride a Motorbike! Where Do I start?

That's about bang on the money, if you look at:-
What's 'the Plan' How do I Do it?

You'll find hunting through the FAQ's answers to most queries and advice on choosing kit & everything else.
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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?'

[thepuma]

For a helmet just look on LidsDirect, they have a helmet sale and you can pick up a really really good helmet for under £100.

I just bought a HJC IS16 for £69. It's a quality helmet, has a drop down Sun visor, anti fog visor, pinlock ready and looks,feels and performs like a helmet 3 times the price.

Really is no need to spend £110 on a helmet, especially when you're on a budget.
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YBR125 (SOLD) - CBR250R(SOLD) - CBR650F(SOLD) Current - Street Triple
765 RS

[Polarbear]

^^^^^^^^^
I have to agree with that. On the lids direct site there are some awesome deals at the moment. Decent helmets starting at £29. You can't go wrong as long as you know your size.

Start looking in clearance section of shops online and clearance bins in shops for the rest of your gear, you'll be amazed at what deals you can pick up if you aren't being too fussy.
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Triumph Trophy Launch Edition

[ThoughtContro...]

As above. Get your test done before it's too late. You've got till January.

Ditto don't waste £110 on a Spada lid. Lidsdirect are good too, although you should really make sure whatever you get fits first.

Don't bother with a CBR125 unless you find one that's in good nick for the same price as a CG/YBR of the same year/mileage/condition. The object is to get you through the test. Any reliable 4 stroke 125 is good. Not some piece of Chinese shit. Reliability and resale value are the thing. Sell it and get back what you paid for it. Resale values on 125s won't be going down with the new licence laws, since there's going to be a hell of a lot of people trapped on 125s.

If you want to stay on a 125 after your test then fair enough, but you'll likely be wanting more power, especially after you've been on a motorway on your 125. As has been said good first big bikes are CB/GS/ER/GPZ 500. All will take restriction to 33bhp well. SV650 is another option or possibly something like an XJ600 Diversion or Bandit. All will blow away any 125

Good luck and have fun
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Prize cunt
--
"In a world of universal deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act" - George Orwell

[parkinator]

thank you for the advice so far

sorry for not stating but i already have a alphinestars jacket and gloves some leather army boots so only have to get helmet and trousers

[P.]

[parkinator]

did not pay for the jacket or gloves got them free which is very lucky as i would not have spent so much on gear as a new rider

[TheSmiler]

[ocatoro]

i think the budget is as realistic as your tastes will allow.

i'll be on the road pretty soon for less than half of that.

cbt £110
bike £300 (h100 sg)
jacket *hand-me-down off a mate (oxford bone dry)
helmet £40 (not bought, but will be buying basic one)
boots £35 (j&s super tour)
winter gloves £12 (duchinni traveller)
insurance £58 tpf&t (swinton bikes)

that's on the road for exactly £555 (unless i am missing something important here?)

[dungbug]

[ocatoro]

i am 26. and live in rural west wales.

for comparison i insured a group 20 fiat coupe 20v turbo with a ream of engine modifications declared when i was 20 for £801 fully comp. so cheap insurance is something i've come to expect :p jealous much?

eventually i want to get my DAS done and get a cheap and cheerful zzr600. and on the phone i got them to run a quote as though i'd passed my full license "yesterday" and that come back as £144 tpf&t, and only around £265 (can't remember exact price) for fully comp.

[thepuma]

[thepuma]

[ocatoro]

[ocatoro]

i have some waterproofs i was planning on wearing over my jeans as i know what wet jeans weigh!

i will get some trousers shortly but as i have waterproofs, i figured they weren't essential on the road item for me immediately

[dungbug]

[JoeDougieDoug...]

[Visordown]

After messing around on a CBR125 and other 4T commuter style bikes after doing my CBT I'd personally go down another route, as a bike like that very nearly put me off biking alltogether.

£1,000 for an RS125.

£500 aside for fixing bits and the inevitable rebuild.

You'll learn to ride a sports bike properly on one of the best handling chassis about, you'll have the option of a full 33bhp (well, more like 28bhp-ish) and you'll learn how to get your hands dirty and work on your bike.

It really takes the fun out of riding when you don't have a bike to go out on a weekend blast with. My CBR gave me no enjoyment, only frustration at how it couldn't keep up with traffic or an A-road. Yes it was reliable and cheap to insure, but it wasn't fun and I may as well have been riding the bus.

Think about what you want from biking and if you want a mode of transport from A to B or you want somethng to have fun on, because it's best to cut your teeth on a sporty 2 stroke and then it won't be such a big jump up to a 600 sports if that's the direction you're heading.

Well that's just my 2p.

[haroman666]

That's a great budget to start out with! I had around £1000 which got me Jacket/Helmet Gloves and a 50 for £800. Obviously then I had to get insurance on top of that but that was loaned by some lovely parents

But yeah. Whilst you may not necessarily feel comfortable about putting yourself in the deeper end, do your full test one way or another. 2013 is set to see changes that are going to make it much more difficult to get on bikes above 125cc.

Also at this point in the game: Function/Price over form. Sure a YBR/CG or similar might not give you a great "biker look" at first. But trust me: there's nothing more shunned in the biking world than a twat with all the gear and no idea. Listen to these guys on here. They have cumulatively more years experience and knowledge and insight than Jesus himself. (I'm not religious before anyone makes comment)
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The mistresses: 2000 Honda CBR600f, 2000 Honda VTR1000