Little lady need bike advice

[kellyh5291]

hi all. I'm an inexperienced rider and haven't even bought my first bike yet. Firstly I need advice on what bike to buy and what to look out for. Also need advice on safety gear, I'm finding it difficult to find leathers to fit me as I'm a size six UK size. I have bought a new helmet (read up on what to look for so got this covered). As I'm new I want to be extra vigilant.
I'm looking for a 125cc as I've passed my cbt and want to use something not too pricey to practice on.
I know I'm gonna need a bike I can handle and one that has a decent seat size.
What should I be searching for?
Also any extra advice on pre start checks is a bonus. If one thing I am good at is maintaining any machinery I own.
If there are any lady's here what problems have you encountered and is there anything I need to know?
____________________
Little lady wants to feel that engine! The vibrations make me feel good!

[Wonko The Sane]

what bike did you do your CBT on?

How did you find it?

What did you like about it?

What did you dislike about it?
____________________
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

[grr666]

If you like vibrations then do your test and buy my bike. You'll be cross eyed within half a mile.
Are you over 19? Maybe A2 DAS is a better option as you'll get some proper tuition from an accredited instructor.
Pass the A2 test on a bigger bike and you'll be able to ride without L plates which will make your life on the road
less stressful. And it will give you a choice of bikes far greater than you have now. Or if over 24 go for the whole
enchilada and do full A DAS, you will then be officially cooler than Jack Frost.

What's your budget?

Why do you need a big seat, if you are a size 6 you're unlikely to have a big old butt. The wider the seat,
the shorter your legs will be if you know what I mean.

Your height is more of an issue than your build really.
Suzuki Van van 125s are quite low, as are Yamaha YBR custom 125s. If reliability is important
then perhaps avoiding chinese bikes may be a good idea. At first glance they seem like great value but
often buyers are disappointed after a short period of ownership and you can hardly even give them away
selling them on. If you can keep it in good nick, you should get most of your outlay back again selling a jap
bike on so long as you don't buy it brand new.

Brace yourself, this forum can get a bit fruity sometimes with female members. You may get some slightly personal
requests.

Welcome to BCF
____________________
Currently enjoying products from Ford, Mazda and Yamaha
Ste wrote: Avatars are fine, it's signatures that need turning off.

[wr6133]

We need pictures to advise properly

Find your nearest large store selling bike gear, you should find plenty of size 6. My wife has found plenty at the mega motorcycle store (Swindon). You probably have somewhere similar nearby.

[kellyh5291]

[grr666]

[kellyh5291]

[Rogerborg]

Your first problem is getting a license. Have you checked with the local training schools to see what 'A' bikes they have available?
____________________
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

[Teflon-Mike]

152cm? what's that in English?.. 100cm to a meter, 3 ft to a meter... err... about 4'6"?!? And a size 6? That's not short, that's borderline lilliputian! - A woman so short she has her nose in every-body else's business! - But down to business.... Oh.. sorry, you already are....

You are old enough to get a licence via DAS, and you will be encouraged to do so, A-N-D since January 2013, its actually the only way to get a ride-what-you-like Licence, as they have abolished the system where if you took a test on a 125 you got a restricted licence that upgraded to a RWYL after two years. - BUT, I don't discourage any-one cracking on in on a tiddler, and getting some road miles in...

End of the day, they are still a bike, and A1/Learner 'Restrictions' may limit their performance, but that's still enough to go as fast as anything else is legally allowed to in the UK, and even the ones that don't have quite the full quota they might, can usually better the National speed Limit and break an awful lot of other speed limits.. so they are still 'proper' motorcycles, and can do most of what any other motorcycle might, and with £17 a year tax and 100mpg potential, they can offer an awful lot of it, for not a lot of money, and for a Newbie, they are often THE most fun bike you'll ever own.. in part due to the shear awesomeness of being your first bike, and the simple joy of everything being new and novel, but the stuff you'll likely do on it despite it's displacement in that euphoria of early enthusiasm. - And since you are 'fun-sized' yourself? Likely to be a good fit, not too daunting and nicely 'manageable'.

When it comes to bigger bikes.. Bendy has mentioned a lot of it in her advice for the short & feeble... your size will limit some choices, but not as much as you might imagine, and a little bit of technique will go a long way.. and a tiddler can help you develop a lot of that before you try.

BUT, the crux of the question; at £800... well, you might not be a beggar with that in your pocket.. but you wont be able to afford to be all that choosy, either!

That is a rather horrible segment of the Learner-Legal market, which isn't particularly nice to start with; Learner-Bikes suffer... 'Learners' who by definition, probably don't know too well either how to ride a bike, or look after one.. so they tend to get sore used and abused quite quickly, and looking further down the market, what will be on offer is likely to be older and even more sore-used and abused!

So... rather makes any suggestions we might offer as to what to buy, pretty academic...unless you can actually find one for sale, and then even more irrelevant what we think of a specific make/model, if the one in-front of you is a total wreck, bodged to oblivion by a string of numpty newbies for a decade!

So, ignore us all! Just get out and get hands on with what EVER is on offer where you can go get hands on with it! Try it for size for yourself, see if it fits. THEN weigh up the value based on condition... and err... condition, and err condition alone.

AND, don't let shiny bits and style influence you on that!

Check the tyres; turn the handlebars; hold the brake and rock the bike back and forth and feel for any clonk in steering bearings or brake pins, and notchiness in the steering, or tugging of cables and wires when you have the handlebars at full lock. Bounce suspension, look for oil weepage on the front forks, and feel for damping in both forks and back suspension. Look for obvious signs of damage and repair.. count indicators! Check all the lights work, and do ALL that BEFORE you try starting the engine... a) cos after starting the engine bits will be hot.. and if you try reaching past it to check the chain... you'll burn yourself! But also 'cos engine is last thing you need to be sure 'works'.. but all too easy, to be lulled by the rhythmic throbbing of a running engine, into wanting to RIDE the thing, and in eagerness convince yourself that "Well, it runs... so it must be Oh-Kay'... and overlook the more important stuff! Like asking to see the Log-book/ V5 before the bike, and checking the frame number on the V5 matches what's stamped in the side of the head-stock!

Chinky vs Jap? I DO say that if you know enough to live with a chinky-bike, you probably wouldn't bother! They are cheap, because they are low grade copies of very old Japanese designs for the most part, built with scant quality control, for sale at rock bottom prices to developing ecconomy markets, where customer expectations are not high, and high maintenance levels are tolerable due to low prices and low labour rates. Here? If you have a problem you cant sort yourself, and you are much more likely to have one; then handing it to a paid mechanic to 'fix' is likely to result in them telling you its 'beyond economic repair', cos of their labour costs just to have a look at it.

BUT.. in the sub £1000 sector of the market? MOST of what will be up for grabs is likely to be Chinese... many don't cost much more than a grand brand new, they tend to suffer much higher depreciation, so they tend to fall into that bracket much younger, and you are likely to find stuff thats a lot newer and shinier... be warned DONT buy on shiney bits! Or 'newness'. But otherwise, it's rock & a hard-place, between a newer low grade chink, and an older de-graded Jap.. buy on condition! JUST avoid ANYTHING under 3-years old, that is likely to be being punted out before it needs one it probably has little chance of passing.

GEAR... leathers... Girls in Leathers.... sorry, what was the question again? Actually I live with two, so its not that exiting TBH... although I expect that comment to have sent Rob & a couple of others into an apoplexy of lesbian fantacies..... Yeah... getting girls gear.. I CAN empathize with the problem... I suffer it frequently! and the big 'problem' isn't just a girly one, but a newby one, and an 'idea' if dressing the part.

Me? My basic riding outfit is... my every-day outfit! Jeans and a T-shirt and a pair of study boots.. to which I add the ubiquitous BLJ or Black-Leather-Jacket and a crash-hat... maybe a set of water-proof trousers if its raining. I dress to RIDE not to CRASH.

My O/H gets all peculiar about it though, and she HAS to have propper bike boots, propper bike trousers and propper bike jacket or she doesn't feel 'safe'! Bundled up in so much kit, she can barely move and is particularly uncomfortable... took three years before one evening, wanting to pop to the pub, and sat being moaned at that I wasn't getting 'ready' (enjoying the view, actually!) as she wriggled and jiggled trying to get into her two-piece leathers, asking daft questions like "Does Leather Shrink?" Before she gave up, and insisted we COULDN'T go out... I suggested.. delicately.. "We're going three quarters of a mile.. down a 20mph traffic calmed road! stick your ruddy jeans on! We're going to get over-taken by chavs on peds and bmx's in track-suits anyway! Do you really NEED all that hide?".. she reluctantly capitulated.. and after, admitted "this is actually quite comfy! I can move my leg better to use the back brake!" astounding......

Anyway, two things... first is that its crash protection... don't crash, don't need it! Dress to ride, dress to be comfy, and 'mobile'; so that you aren't bundled up so much you cant see over your shoulder properly, or you cant work the back brake easily! Helps you NOT CRASH which tends to be better protection that a yard of leather that will only save a bit of hurt, maybe, when all else has gone wrong and its going to hurt anyway! So second thing is that it's a compromise between, comfort and protection, and finding an 'appropriate' compromise between the two, remembering that safety comes from whats in your head (common sense!) not what you stick your head in (a hat), and it ent a force-field that lets you crash with impunity.. only works and within fairly small limits, when all else has going wrong and its going to hurt.. when ity might save a bit of the hurt that's inevitable.

so, Girls-Gear... lot more about than there was twenty years ago, but shopping for more than twice as much GG than Boys these days... I know whats on offer ent great, AND you girls tend to be a lot more 'picky' about it...

So, on the topic of Leathers? First, suggestion is, do you really need or want them? Leather is great for abrasion resistance; sliding long distances down tarmac. Great on a race-track where you are likely to come off and slide long distances; but on public roads? We tend not to slide very far before something, usually hard and unyeilding brings us to a halt. amount of abrasion resistance in leathers then CAN be a bit redundant, and good denim might offer 'enough' material to wear away before skin starts shredding, anyway... so do you REALLY need dedicated bike gear? what more heavy duty, 'out-door' wear do you already have or would do the job? Leather is also not water-proof, isn't machine washeable or all that every day practical. So would 'Textile' riding gear actually be 'better'? (Also, 9 out of 10 women in Bike Leathers... YES your bum does look big in that! Its the cut... it's not you, its just the way they are made!)

Boots? Likewise. I don't wear 'dedicated' made for the job bike-boots very often, I wear sturdy work-wear. Looking at a lot of bike boots in the shops and the ones snowie and my daughter have had over the last five years, I really dont think that 'propper' boots are wonderful value these days; especially the cheaper ones. Snowie has walked out the soles of three pairs of reputed brand 'shorties' without ever falling off in them, or giving them the same sort of wear and tear that has seen a pair of cheap trainers reduced to the same state... £50+ for a pair of 'Bike-Boots'.. that, to my eyes are about as sturdy as a pair of £20 off the market base-ball boots or cross trainers, if that, probably offer little more crash protection when new, and absolutely none, after a couple of months casual wear. £30 pair of Caterpillar knock-offs or similar, then to my mind are likely to offer much more crash protection, and retain it longer, not wearing out so fast.. all for the sake of not having a bike associated brand name and being flogged in a bike shop....

Almost all of us, man or woman, short or tall, thick or thin, tend to struggle to find decent fitting bike gear; but... if you remove the idea of having to dress the part, recognize the real importance of protective wear, and are prepared to do a bit of make-do and improvise, you ought to be able to put together a reasonably protective riding outfit, that is comfy and practical and not too unstylishg WITHOUT? having to break the bank to get an Akito or Rhino "My First Motorcycle Outfit", and get as much or more practical protection for your money to boot. On which topic, prioritize boots and gloves above the big bits of jacket and trousers. They are the bits that do most work when you are riding, so they have to be comfy and let you work the controls.

One Hint I'll offer is that I tend to get wet far more than I crash... and a decent one piece water-proof over-suit, is a great way to cover up whatever you put on underneath, and warm and dry and comfy, mind on the job of riding.. great way to start not needing crash protection!

so, after all that.. best of luck with it all.
____________________
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?'

[WD Forte]

152CM is 5 feet tall
If you want to ride now then its a 125 for you my lass
You got through your CBT, most do, how was the bike you did that on?
If you struggled to get your feet/foot down, cruiser type bikes usually have a lower seat height
OR
It's not unknown for people to to slip forks and get lower rear shocks to accomodate shorter guys and riders of the female persuasion who often tend to be shorter than blokes on average.
If you find a bike you like and can afford and its a wee bit too tall
it may be possible to tailor it a bit
____________________
bikers smell of wee

[kellyh5291]

[kellyh5291]

Seriously thanks guys, this is great advice!
____________________
Little lady wants to feel that engine! The vibrations make me feel good!

[The Shaggy D.A.]

Have a read of Sharon's blog over at BikesAndTravels :-

https://www.bikesandtravels.com/biker.aspx?ride=502
____________________
Chances are quite high you are not in my Monkeysphere, and I don't care about you. Don't take it personally.
Currently : Royal Enfield 350 Meteor
Previously : CB100N > CB250RS > XJ900F > GT550 > GPZ750R/1000RX > AJS M16 > R100RT > Bullet 500 > CB500 > LS650P > Bullet Electra X & YBR125 > Bullet 350 "Superstar" & YBR125 Custom > Royal Enfield Classic 500 Despatch Limited Edition (28 of 200) & CB Two-Fifty Nighthawk > ER5

[Ichy]

What is your budget? Do you have any other bikers in your family that might be able to take a look at bikes with you? It doesn't look like you are a million miles away from me so if you want someone to take a look at a bike for you then I'd be happy to help.

J&S in Northwich had a good selection of clothing last time I looked. Ebay is the friend of all new bikers.
____________________
https://www.metacafe.com/watch/1972097/how_to_behave_on_a_forum/

[Ichy]

Just read the posts

For £800 you'll have a fair choice. Just be aware that it's not unusual for 125s to have a load of previous owners who have little idea about maintenance.
____________________
https://www.metacafe.com/watch/1972097/how_to_behave_on_a_forum/

[bamt]

If possible, get your DAS done then you have a wider choice of bikes that are likely to have been looked after better than 125s (where many don't bother with maintenance as they are young and broke or only expect to have the bike for a few months so why bother).

Mrs bamt did is a couple of inches taller than you, rode a YBR custom 125 last summer which she loved but wasn't fast enough (struggled to keep up with traffic on a dual carriageway part of her commute). Following DAS, she got a Bandit 600 with a low seat. It wasn't really low enough, and she never felt completely comfortable or safe when stopping, and wasn't strong enough to push it around car parks.

We've just spent £900 on a VX250 (Yamaha 250cc Virago). It's in lovely condition (far better than many 125s you'll find at that price), very low seat so she can flat foot it, and plenty of power to keep up with traffic. She now rides on the slightest excuse, her car only moves when we have to ferry kids around, and she's discovered that biking is actually really good fun, not terrifying.

[Rogerborg]

[Teflon-Mike]

[Teflon-Mike]

[Ichy]

In Summary.

Post 1.
Protection is good, but don't rely on it. Make sure its fits and it doesn't have to be leather.

Post 2.
Rogerborg is right.


See how easy that was?
____________________
https://www.metacafe.com/watch/1972097/how_to_behave_on_a_forum/

[Val]

[Polarbear]

[FlightRisk]

[TheBeef]

Go for you full A if your upto it! If you don't quite feel ready, Yamaha SR125 are a good start, little minters they are infact i still have mine! Short, mega light, bulletproof, find them pretty cheap but most aren't in the best condition these days.

[mentalboy]