That fresh out of the box newbie smell

[DeeBee]

and I even showered this morning too....

right then.
I have decided the time has come for me to stop messing around in cars and get on a bike.

The purpose is for work and pleasure.
I recently moved from hell (you may know it as Slough) to Bracknell. This now means that I have a longer commute to work each day with much larger fuel costs.
So I am looking to use a bike to make the commute a little more enticing.

But I also want one for the pleasure side of life - to get on it and zip off somewhere for the day. especially in summer.

so then. here I am. fresh bike newbie.
I need to take the test
I need to work out what its all going to cost
I need a bike


stuff you need to know:
Ex class 2 driver so loads of driving experience (very little of which will count when it comes to biking but I DO know the roads and I DO understand that people do the most silly things on the roads)
I'm over 18 stone so a motorised sewing machine just ain't going to cut it
Dream bike would be a Harley soft tail so I'm not ever going to be going for a Japanese crotch rocket.

positive advice welcomed, trolls will be ridiculed.

[bren_9311]

[DeeBee]

aha! good point!

I'm 38, 6'2"

no beard or tattoos, I have all my own teeth and I am house trained (sort of )

oh and the soft-tail is something I intend to work up to. I know enough to understand that I can't just go splurge my ill gotten gains on the bike I want and expect to ride it out of the shop.

I suppose what I am trying to say is that I would prefer to go for a cruiser (besides my No.1 Uncle has been a biker all his life and would probably mount my balls above the fireplace if I dared to park a Japanese bike next to his soft-tail)

[P.]

[-Matt-]

Hi welcome to the cesspit that is bcf

I'd personally just get on with it and go straight for direct access presuming you've got the funds. No buggering about with buying and upgrading bikes, restrictions, multiple tests/waits etc.

Although it obviously in no way directly translates to bike riding, as you say you've been driving cars and HGVs for a while so you should have fairly good road awareness which is still beneficial for the tests/generally on the bike, but obviously you need to be a bit more vigilant as you're a smaller object that people like to pretend isn't there at times

Not too sure if theres any good mid-range cruiser style bikes around, plenty of 125 learner style ones but with the DAS and your weight you'd be bored in no time with a little 125 probably. Not sure how easy it would be 'beginning biking' on a cruiser bike also, they're comfortable but not quite as agile as many other bikes which allow you to really get to grips with the motions of biking [and can be a bit more fun on the twisty roads ]

What sort of budget for the bike do you have in mind

[Rogerborg]

Sounds like a plan.

There's a lot in between cruisers and pointy-bikes. For example, "adventure" bikes are huge sellers now, and - despite having scoffed at them for years - I've recently discovered why, even if you never intend to do the Road of Bones.

You'll almost certainly end up going via a training school, so you might as well scope out the local ones and see what they're wanting for a training course and tests. A rough ballpark is £500, plus test fees, and that's assuming that you pass first time.

Add on another few hundred £££ for your gear. Helmet is whatever fits best, price has no relationship to safety. Good condition used gear can be had from eBay / Gumtree.

If you're commuting, then I'd suggest either proper Goretex lined textiles (mucho dollah) or a one piece oversuit. Anything else will leak eventually, my RST "sinaqua" branded textiles just gave up the ghost big style despite repeated re-proofing. They go in the groin first, it's not pleasant.

However, a lot of the time and cost equation will come down to how well you get on during your CBT though, so you might as well get that booked early doors. You can swing a quick go via the Get On scheme first.

It's a bit of a ball ache to get licensed up, but it's definitely worth it in the end.
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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

[bren_9311]

[DeeBee]

I should have expected no less given the picture Brendan....

Paddy: NO YOU CAN'T MAKE ME BUY A BMW.

I literally have no clue on what bike to start with.

tbh the first bike will be user friendly first. I'll worry about how cool I look later on.

[bren_9311]

So you plan is to do your CBT and get a 125? To get experience

Also there will be more to come from other users i'm sure so lube up.
____________________
My opinion is neither copyrighted nor trademarked. If you like, I'll trade for one of yours.
Currently bikeless.
Ps4- bren_9311

[iMark]

"User Friendly"....

Vmax out of the question then?
____________________
K8 GSXR 1000
"G" : you got him to have a look at a forum which seems to have established a picture of an erect penis in a cat's mouth as it's mascot and thought he might consider it ok?

[Joncrete Cungle]

DAS and get a second hand CB500, ER5n, GS500 etc. Being a large fella anything smaller will probably be painfully slow and / or small / cramped. Bollocks to what your uncle thinks!

[DeeBee]

yes.


I want to have a chance at growing old disgracefully.

probably going to look at getting a secondhand commuter bike of some sort to start with and then the day after my test I'm going to make the bank manager cry as I melt the credit card down at my local motorcycle clothing and shiny bits emporium as I buy everything twice and then try to work out how to get it home on the £25K brandspankeme new Goldwing I just saw. It'll be fine......

[P.]

[rhys1005]

Welcome to BCF

Regarding what bike.. Not a cruiser IMO. I just don't see the point in them They are slow, heavy, wide (good luck filtering), shit at cornering and I guess also shit at braking. I those are the main reasons someone gets a bike? I get that it's a different 'type' but usually bike types fit different purposes e.g off road, commuting, touring.. But a cruiser is good for nothing? Am i missing something here? Not to mention anyone riding one looks like a try hard cunt, and the actual bikes themselves look shit IMO.

Maybe in some parts of 'Merica where they have pretty much only straight roads one would be more useful but even then they are shit. All the bad points of a car and motorcycle, but none of the good points..
I'm sure it's only the attention that attracts you as that's
What most are bought for.. What about a monkey bike?

Saying that my dad has a fzx750 (think that's what it is) which is probably the perfect balance between the cruiser look and perfomance IMO

[DrSnoosnoo]

I always had the idea of getting a "hawg" when I got big and got a bike.

I started riding for my licence and knew instantly I wanted the Jap bikes. I want a bike to out accelerate cars, go round corners at what speed I can make it and generally look like a power ranger. It's great!
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I'm Sam; Northern, Ginger, Lover
Did have: '95 ZZR600 '83 CG125 '97 ZZR1100 '15 Hypermotard 821 SP Do Have: '10 ZX10R

[DeeBee]

Well, that's your opinion Rhys - I like them, you don't.

I'm not really that interested in clinging onto a Japanese crotch rocket while I burn off a boy racer. I just want to get from A to B in one piece and enjoy the ride. If that's what a cruiser does for me then great, feel free to give me the finger as you scream by, I'll just wave back and smile. Fat blokes on superbikes look equally shit.

And snoosnoo - you might possibly have the body shape to look like a power ranger..... if I tried that the effect would be very much like a tellytubby in a crash helmet. I'm sure you'll excuse me if I decline.

[deadwolf]

I started driving cars before riding bikes, so one thing I had to adjust to was lane position. The road is a lot larger on a bike and you might be taken aback by how much space there suddenly is. You might have to figure that into your existing experience since lane position is a big factor in safety/speed/visibility/etc.

Instead of cruisers, how about a muscle bike or big standard? MT-01, Honda Big One, XR1200, W800 etc..

Big bikes with heft and power, but more about the 'go' compared to most cruisers and usually more modern styling.

https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-O6fMbw0574o/UCNVrEId3OI/AAAAAAAACbA/uwYS8HYWZBE/s320/Yamaha+MT-0115.jpg

https://www.motorcyclespecs.co.za/Gallery/Honda%20CB1000%2092%20%203.jpg

https://www.wallpaperup.com/uploads/wallpapers/2013/05/20/89657/2f7075e08c91c93fd6d67b8f946a11aa.jpg

https://www.totalmotorcycle.com/motorcycles/2012models/2012-Kawasaki-W800SpecialEditiona.jpg

Plenty of options out there. Try Biketrader and go through their list of categories, there's more out there than sportbikes and cruisers.
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Motorsapien Art

[rhys1005]