New biker - CBT just passed

[Monkey King]

Hi all,

Just a brief intro from me;

I've been toying with learning to ride for a few years but with jobs,houses, dogs and other life things its never really happend.

Until my lovely wife and mother decided to book my CBT for a surpsie on my 30th birthday last monday! Having never even sat on a bike for more than 30 seconds i was a tad worried!

However CBT done with no real issue, started the day on a twist and go to get my bearings on balance etc - off on the the road for a good ride around (much more comfortable riding on the road where i already know what to expect having my full license for years)

then another rock around some cones on a CG125 and out again on to the road for some more practice.

initially i thought perhaps just picking up a cheap but fun looking scoot would do me good to get to work on the cheap and afford me some road experience. *update* the scooter terrified me! wobbly vague not very fast thing it was, lucky if i got 37mph down a hill!

After riding the CG and experiencing something with gears/more control I cant see a scooter being very attractive at present. So after some consulation with the wife we;ve agreed to set a budget (not sure how much but likley sub £1000 mark) and aim to pick pu a bit of a rough bike to get me used to the mechanics of riding with a view to doing a DAS in 6-12 months time.

If anyone has any advice on bikes its more than welcome - I have no realy preference at present but would lean more toward a 4 stroke and age doesnt really bother me as this is purely for fun/hobby not solely as a mode of transport.

And any tips on helmets (been looking at the sharp.gov site for reference) leathers/boots/gloves etc is greatly appreciated.

So for now I will relegate myself to the depths of ebay and try not to look too hard at anything 2 stroke or italian!

[Az]

Looks like you've gone about everything properly, which is good. I'd be looking at getting a Honda CG125 or Yamaha YBR125 for £1k.

What's stopping you from doing your DAS now? If it's finance then fair enough, if it's that you don't want to jump straight into the deep end with a big bike then you shouldn't think like that, the quicker you do your DAS the better in my opinion.

As for helmets, the best fitting helmet is the safest helmet. A 5* rated sharp helmet that doesn't fit your head well will do a worse job than a 2* Sharp rated helmet that fits your head properly.

[Rogerborg]

[Monkey King]

YBR and Cg seem to come up the most as reccomended learners - both seem fine to me. The wife is trying to lean me toward a cruiser, Kawasaki eliminator or similar - but I'm not sold on it style wise!

I suppose I'll just have to put feelers out and go for the best I can get at the time!

Helmet wise I need to try a few on, apparenlty i have a bit of a 'square' head but not sure which manufacturers are going to suit best. Quite like the look of some of the cabergs and sharks though.

I'm not ruling out the DAS, but i feel like i need to spend some good time riding a bike and getting to know it before i start going for lessons etc. just beaseu I've had no time on a bike at all prior to my cbt.

thanks for the pointers

[arry]

[-Matt-]

[trevor saxe-coburg-gotha]

[evilbond]

[MC]