No experience on a bike.

[Noah97]

Hey, I am new to this website and was just looking for some advice. I am 18 years old with a full car license and I know a fair bit about the mechanical side to bikes. Although Ive never ridden a motorcylce (other than a quad bike once) Ive been wanting to get one for the road and get a license.

So, I was wondering if it's worth waiting until I'm 19 in 6 months and do the A2, or do the cbt and theory and ride a 50 or 125 for a few years before even trying to get on a bigger bike, as I said, I have had no past experience on a motorbike so would I need lessons before doing the CBT or lessons before doing the A2?

Sorry if I sound like a complete idiot but there's no such thing as a stupid question right?


Thanks [/list]

[jeddy11]

Wrong
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Fuelly My Z1000SX
cbt 06/08/11 mod1 (second go) 01/08/12 mod2 21/09/12
Varadero Viking YBR125>Varadero125>ER6F>Z1000SX !!!

[NJD]

[Val]

[Rogerborg]

It's all good. CBT now, get a 125, ride it until you hit 19, do A2, epic win. Any bike is better than no bike.
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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

[Noah97]

Yeah, my dad has a few Moto Guzzi projects going that he works on in his spare time which I've helped with, and I'm an apprentice car mechanic

I did ride a quad on my uncles land in Portugal and didn't take it on the road so didn't need any license for it.

And I am aware of the basic controls such as the clutch, how the gears work with your left foot, front and rear brakes and all that stuff.

Is it worth getting a 125 for the sake of 6 months though? Would a bike lose that much value in that time provided it's in the same condition as I bought it?

[pinkyfloyd]

My advice is go for the CBT ASAP and have a chat with the instructor before you start and he'll assess your skill throughout the day and tell you whether it would be beneficial for you to buy a 125 for a few months or just hold off for A2 DAS.
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illuminateTHEmind wrote: I am just more evolved than most of you guys... this allows me to pick of things quickly which would have normally taken the common man years to master
Hockeystorm65:.well there are childish arguments...there are very childish arguments.....there are really stupid childish arguments and now there are......Pinkfloyd arguments!
Teflon-Mike:I think I agree with just about all Pinky has said.

[Rogerborg]

If you buy pretty much a Japanese branded 125 for under £1K then you'll get most of that back. Granted you'll be buying in summer and selling in winter, but 125s are always in demand.

One thing you might get stung on is that some of the cheapest policies only cover 125s, they won't let you swap them to a bigger bike. That'll be down to the underwriter, I don't know which ones do it.

Be aware that a "pay monthly" insurance policy is still an annual policy. The broker pays in full up front, you pay that off monthly at a considerable premium, regardless of whether the policy is still running or not. Don't expect to be able to just cancel and walk away with nothing owing.

Sorry to be Buzz Killington about it, I just don't want you to get mugged like so many people do.
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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

[DrSnoosnoo]

When I started my motorcycling "career" I too had ridden a manual quad on some "private land" once.

I was lucky and could go zero to hero.

If I was where you are, I would do as Roger says.

Get CBT and Theory done now and get yourself a 125 and ride on the Ls but maybe do the Mods 1 and 2 and get a proper 125 licence? (if you have the dough)

When you turn 19, you'll have experience of riding and crucially, experience of the tests. You'll then turn up to the School and say, I have an A1, I need a day to play on a restricted bike to get the feel and I'll be going for the tests please. The tests will be easier on a bigger bike.
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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

[Teflon-Mike]

How much Money have you got?
Can you afford to put ANY bike on the road?
I think that that is probably the more pertinent starting point.

Before you get a bike, you need: A licence, crash-helmet, (& basic riding gear if you have any sense), insurance, (& Big chain & padlock / other security if you have any sense)

Quick run through; If you already have a UK Driving licence, then you need a CBT course to validate your provisional entitlement. There's approx £130 off the top. Helmet? £30 up... without getting daft to get 'all the gear'.. expect to spend around £150-200 for hat gloves and water-proofs. Locks & Security? Budget £50 for a moderately useful padlock & chain as a minimum. Insurance? Few teenagers will get a policy for much under £500 on anything... so BEFORE you go looking for a bike... any bike.... you need to be ready to shell out the thick end of £1000.

How much does that leave you to play with, if anything?

If you go looking for a 125; unfortunate fact, most 125's are Learner-Bikes, that suffer learners badly. Learner's unfortunately don't tend to know too much... or they wouldn't be learners really, would they? So learner bikes tend to be rather sore used and abused and just as badly looked after. But, because they are all a teenager can ride or any-one can ride without passing a test, and because they have impressive MPG numbers, they tend to hold an inflated value, for what is essentially a built down to a price 'economy' vehicle.

Brand New? You can get a chinese Honda CG125 copy, for about £1000 give or take. Cheapest Japanese 125's (built in china or India) are the Yamaha YBR or Honda CBF, coming in at about £2,500. And from there you can look up the market at the 'premium' tiddlers, the more stylish ones with a full quota of learner legal horse power, like the Yamaha WR125 or Honda CBR125 and 'stuff' that could start begging best part of £5K from your wallet.

Yamaha YBR / Honda CBF are the 'bench-mark' bikes in the class for all-round value for money. they lack a little style and performance over more expensive models, but small bikes, small differences. They are National-speed-Limit machines that are pretty much able top go as fast as any vehicle can legally go in this country, other than on a duel carriageway, where they can still get pretty close to the legal limit. Meanwhile, the riding position and ergonomics are un-compromised by style, they are easy to ride. They are reasonably well built, acceptably 'reliable' and tend not to be too demanding of user maintenance, which when they need it, tends to be fairly straight forward; they have Haynes Manuals to help, and little superfluous body-work to remove to do it. And they are listed in all the databases, so you can get insurance, and parts and accessories for them by saying "I have a 2011 YBR" to the chap on the end of the 'phone. All nice easy, simple and 'livable'. And as such hold their value well, when you are done with them. SO all in, they offer a good chance of a positive start top biking; lots of riding, for little money and little hassle.

The Chinese CG-copies? My opinion of these hasn't changed much in the last fifteen years. If you know enough to live with one... you wouldn't. Built down from even the Japanese cost-cutting build standard, for developing economy markets, they are 'cheap' but they are also high maintenance, and low reliability; they suffer higher depreciation and after-sales support can be a bit hit and miss. All in you are still better off, IMO still buying a used Jap-brand 125, especially if you are new to bikes. Same applies but in measure proportionate to price for the 'plusher' chinese bikes above the £1000 entry models.

The 'Premium' Japanese 125's? Brand new? Are an awful lot of money for not a lot of motorbike. 125's have two virtues. They make great learning tools and/or useful 'cheap' commuter wheels. Paying near twice the money for one that's NOT cheap, and less useful as a learning tool then does seem a slightly perverse 'vanity'.

So that's 125.. after the grand you have fronted to put in the place the stuff you need before you go get one... you can spend anything from £500 for a 2nd hand chink, that'll like NOT prove the cheapest or most enjoyeable bike you can have, right up to near £5K for a brand new pose-machine. In between, REALISTICALLY you need to be prepared to spend around £1000 - £1500 for a more useful 2nd hand Japanese YBR or CBF, to get something relatively tidy and reliable. Below that there is a lot of older and more or less knackered offerings, of chinese or Japanese origin, and even more naive hopefuls trying to get a 'bargain'.

SO.. can your budget stretch to £2-3K to get your bum on a bike?

Bigger, A2 bikes, in 6-months time? Well... you get more bike for your money in the big-bike world, that's for sure, and a lot of them aren't built down to such a budget quality, yet second hand don't command such inflated prices. BUT, they do tend to cost a lot more to run. Performance always has a price. Fuel consumption is more likely going to be sub 50 to the gallen rather than plus 100; tyres are likely to cost 50% more and need changing twice or three times as often, and all other running costs are likely to be similarly more expensive and frequent. AND older / cheaper the bike you buy, more likely it will be to need it, and prove all-in less 'cheap'.

SO, you are probably still going to be looking at the £1000-£2000 price bracket... AND on an A2 licence you MAY have to factor in anything up to £500 to get it restricted to licence entitlement, on top, depending on what the insurance co demand by way of 'proof' of restriction if you have to restrict it.

And that is after getting your A2 licence, WHICH, pretty much begs a Direct Access Course, likely to set you back around £750 - £1000 if you pick it up quickly enough to do it in a week.

So... 125, now. £2.5-£3K ish.. you might skim that down a bit, BUT, realistically that's the sort of budget you need to be looking at to give yourself a good go at it.

A2 Big-Bike in 6-months £3.5 - 4.5K.. again, you might skim that down a bit, but, realistic budget to get your bum on a bike on the road.

So back to top... have you got the money for either?

PS: As a Member of Moto-Guzzi UK-OC.... if your fathers Bludi-Guzzi's, have already infected you... ignore all... Just go get a V5O.. its naturally (enough) A2 complient.. but be the cheapest bike you'll ever own, and provide YEARS of entertainment... most of it trying to fathom random Italian electrical gremlins, and set up Delorful carburettors with Pod filters, and you dont need to worry about a licence, as its unlikely you'll ever get much further than the end of your own drive
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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?'

[Kaneda80]

[Wonko The Sane]

if you do get your CBT done you'll have some experience of being on a bike, not everyone takes to it like a duck to water but most people complete in a day (some people need to go back for another half day)

Then when you get onto the test prep you've already started and don't have to get CBT out of the way.

If you do get a 125 to knock around on L plates on then as Roger says, you'll be able to get most of the money back on a used jap bike.

Once you've done your A2 you don't have to sell your 125 straight away, you can just take the L plates off and carry on while saving for / fixing up the bike you want (or until insurance comes up for renewal)

I carried on with my 125 for about half a year, only getting rid of it as I was doing 40 miles of motorway daily when I found a job and needed a bit more power.
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Looking to pass your CBT / Bike tests in Bury Lancashire? try www.focusridertraining.co.uk Would recommend.
They're also on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pages/Focus-Rider-Training/196832923734251

[Taught2BCauti...]

When I was doing my motor vehicle apprenticeship, I had to settle for a Reliant 3-wheeler - mainly because I needed to lug around 50kg of tools and a car would have been too expensive to run.

If carrying capacity isn't an issue and your daily commute isn't too far, a 125 would probably see you through the next 12 months, so you won't be doing your A2 in the depths of winter.

A decent Jap machine well serviced and looked after, will not lose too much value when you come to trade up.
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Honda Varadero XL125(V8)
www.TheFutureIsHere.eu

[KnightsFall]

[Rogerborg]

[KnightsFall]

[stirlinggaz]

Hi,
like others have said, do your cbt now (good luck getting a space at this tine of year), & then get a 125, however...avoid the cbf/ybr & also the cbr.
these are budget bikes, not made to the same standards as bikes made in japan.
you might as well ride something you are not going to get bored with quickly & be embarrassed by & trust me you will get embarrassed at your age on a cbf/ybr.
get some cheap textiles & lid & a pair of army boots, & get the best 125 you can afford, if you buy right you wont lose any money.
I recommend the varadero if you want a bike that isnt assembled from cheap components, feels "bigger" than it is & is fairly reliable, being a honda twin 4t.
if you want a bit more speed & like sports bikes, & want to be able to repair the engine yourself buy a mito, nsr or similar.
Being 2 stroke, they will be more expensive to run (decent 2t oil is 12 quid a litre) but you will have a lot more fun.
Your 1st motorbike experience should not be boring.......
cheers,
GAZ

[Noah97]

Thanks guys! Sorry for the late reply but I have read what everyone said and I'll try get my CBT booked soon and then save up for a bike (125 or 600 depending on how long it takes to saveand how close I am to 19) and kit, but yeah thanks guys!

[delahmed]

Recently obtained my full motorcycle license, so have my YBR 125 up for sale.
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Yamaha YBR 125 Silver 2011
Full License motorbike and car

[stevo as b4]

Trouble with BCF people is that they will say buy bike now and any bike is better than no bike etc?

You've waiting until now not to have a bike, why not another 6months to give you the option of more options?

Those that are serious and genuine in saying you absolutely should buy a 125cc motorbike now and yet sell it again in 6months to help fun you onto the next forced step which is A2 baffles me, and makes me question their ability to make any sense too.

Also you don't come across as an arrogant knob etc, and yet you get even more helpful replies from people like NJD saying go away and do motorbike and licencing re-search instead of having the cheek to bother an internet forum that is about bikes anyway.

All that said, id forget bikes and enjoy cars until you can at least have the option of doing A2. If you pass that test and then want a 125cc commuter you have lost nothing at all.

I did much the same after passing DAS, as I wanted a new 600cc and was not prepared to buy a scabby used Bandit as a stepping stone to a brand new ZX6R when I could not afford the insurance fully comp.

Some people will always tell you to buy the biggest and best bike you can legally ride, and if it's too expensive then buy a tatty 3/4 worth of the bike you really want, because it's better than a small bike as an interim?