Insurance and CBT

ZakFraserTill... · L Plate Warrior Joined: 21 Apr 2016 Karma :

Hey all,
I am looking to move down to cornwall the end of this month and will be living in a fairly remote area so will need some form of transport, I have worked out the costs of CBT + GEAR + BIKE = around £700 - £800 However am unsure about insurance, can anyone recommend cheap insurance as I will most likely use my bike to get to work as well as social. Strugelling to find anything cheaper than £700.

Also is it best to do CBT first and than insure or vice-versa?

Z

(What is best bike to get, have my eye on 12c Sym also a leximoto and kymco)
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zftiller

alanstott21 · Derestricted Danger Joined: 23 Mar 2016 Karma :

Insurance will always be subjective to age, experience, locality and value of bike

Aceslock · Spanner Monkey Joined: 12 Dec 2014 Karma :

sjc · Borekit Bruiser Joined: 09 Oct 2015 Karma :

NJD · World Chat Champion Joined: 11 Mar 2015 Karma :

Insurance isn't a fixed price go out and buy from the shelf product. It's a second by second changing market (it's not, I'm just typing that for dramatic effect) whereby prices changed. Hell, even having cookies in your browser letting comparison sites know that you've gotten a quote before can push prices up (I think). You're going to have to run quotes with as accurate information as possible to get as close to a real price as you can get prior to actually having a CBT and owning a bike. So yeah, google some comparison sites and go for it, then you'll be able to find out what bike you can actually afford. Do keep an eye on the excess (compulsory) if you intend to buy TPFT or Fully Comp, if it's more than the value of the bike don't bother (tiz because as I understand it in the event of a claim with excess paid you wouldn't get a payout, at all?), it's most likely going to be so you'll need TPO and some bloody good security. Almax or Pragmasis, not OXFORD or any other off the shelf balls (you'll understand and be thankful in the long run).

CBT > Gear and bike > Insurance and tax > Ride on the roads.

Look out for a Lexmoto Arrow on Gumtree or alike. £500-600 I've seen prices at. They're not fast nor brilliant but you can't complain with such a small budget. I only mention it out of all three brands since it's the only one I have actual experience of. Lexmoto Vixen may also be within a similar second hand price range dependant on your preferred style of bike.

Well, lets be honest the helmet is the only legally required piece of kit so what else are you planning to buy and what brands for that budget? Seems like you're under estimating value for money and will end up spending more than you think or run out of monies fairly quickly.

Teflon-Mike · tl;dr Joined: 01 Jun 2010 Karma :

I think your cost estimates may be a little optimistic. - More realistic 'ball-park' to get a Learner-Legal 125, on the road, and kitted to ride it, needs more like £2,500, give or take.

Learner-Bikes lead hard lives; they are built down to a price, as the market expects the price to be proportional to engine capacity, when in reality, the engine size is just how big the hole in the engine where fire happens, is; there's the same number of 'bits' to make and bolt together, pretty much, regardless of the engine displacement.

Then, smaller engines make less power, so to give them (barely) adequate performance, they have to be built light-weight which tends to mean a bit 'flimsy' rather than 'sturdy'.

They then get bought by learners, who by definition don't know too much, either about how to ride, or look after motorbikes, which means that these less 'robust' devices tend to suffer rather a lot, being thrashed, crashed and trashed, and, if they think to pick up a set of spanners, can be killed with clumsy kindness or if they don't, ridden into the ground, neglected and bodged on a budget.

You don't get 'much' Learner-Legal motorbike for under a grand, and even at that sort of money, if the thing is much good, you had better be pretty swift and pretty 'lucky' to get at and do a deal on it before any-one else does.

You will struggle to find many 125's that have the bare essentials of an MOT and an engine that will turn the back wheel, for much less than £500, and them you may find, you better plan to buy spanners and spend time and money keeping them capable of turning the back wheel under their own steam!

Now, kit up to ride; a 'My First Motorcycle Outfit', boots, gloves, trousers, jacket & hat is likely going to cost you around £250-£500. Skimp on 'kit'; cheap helmet, half decent gloves, and the rest improvised from 'sensible' outdoor wear from your wardrobe or the army surplus shop, and you might suit-up for £100-£150 or so.

But you still have to pay for your provisional licence, about £30 or so, ISTR and do a CBT to validate entitlement for a couple of years, adding typically another £150 or so to the bill.

IF you are lucky; if you aren't over optimistic and over ambitious; and a 'bit' clued up, you MIGHT get a bike worth the buying for around £7-800; add the kit and the licence, and before insurance, you will be doing well if you have spent less than a grand, more likely, £12-15oo.

Insurance? Is a big area of uncertainty. Depends on age, post-code, bike, bike value; declared security, declared mileage, declared use, etc etc etc.

For a younger rider, under 24 yrs old, with a low declared annual mileage, perhaps 3ooo miles a year; about half 'average' or typical commuter mileage; social, domestic & pleasure use, NO commuting, on a more sensible model of bike, valued at around £900, kept in a secure 'off-street' compound or garage over-night; you would be doing damned well to get a quote for much under £500 a year. Add commuting and up the miles, and that is only going to go up, and £700-£1000 a year policies for young riders are the more usual.

Gets a bit cheaper for older riders, qualified riders, and riders with a no-claims history; but even then, 125's are high-risk; insured as a 'second-bike' our 125's cost more to insure each year than our 750's! A new rider of any age will e dong pretty well to get a limited miles/use policy for much under £300.

So, realistically'; to get a bike that is likely to not be a maintenance money-pit, that stands some chance of being every-day reliable for commuting, get kitted up to ride it, get licenced up to ride it, and get it taxed and insured? Realistically, you aught be looking at a budget double, if not triple your estimate. £15oo to £25oo or so, not £7-800; that would barely get you a bike worth having, if you are lucky.

However, your start point is to do the CBT.... you cant ride anything until you have done that, so not much point looking, and its a big step to getting a bit more clued up.
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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?'

Rogerborg · nimbA Joined: 26 Oct 2010 Karma :

As above about insurance. Start a private browsing session, and hit up www.thebikeinsurer.co.uk (other ways of getting mugged are available). Don't make any assumptions about level of cover, security, excess, value, garaged versus driveway versus street, mileage, usage. Try every reasonable combination (that doesn't leave you under insured), using a fake name and a nearby address until you're ready to buy.

linuxyeti · World Chat Champion Joined: 06 Oct 2006 Karma :

Teflon-Mike · tl;dr Joined: 01 Jun 2010 Karma :

Alan1986 · Spanner Monkey Joined: 02 Jan 2016 Karma :

I recently got a bike and all my gear,
Including all costs so cbt, insurance, tax, I reckon I did it for just under two grand

A little more than I thought but I have a 125 to learn on now in my own time
Also I went for what I wanted, could have got it all abit cheaper

Even now I am still spending,
Ordered a Haynes manual the other day, and want to get a few more tools, grease or whatever it is I need,
I'm new to maintaining bikes...

Gonna read my Haynes manual before I start
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Cbt Done, Currently wobbling around on a Cbf125 and love it
DAS some time soon

Tony Danger · Two Stroke Sniffer Joined: 19 Jun 2015 Karma :

Rogerborg · nimbA Joined: 26 Oct 2010 Karma :

M.C · Super Spammer Joined: 29 Sep 2015 Karma :

JoeDaStudd · Borekit Bruiser Joined: 01 Oct 2015 Karma :

As has been mentioned you'll be pushing it getting everything within your budget.
Your realistically looking at £200 to £300 for just the gear.
CBT is anything from £100 to £150 depending on location.
Leaving you with £250 to £400 for the bike.
That's not including chains, locks, covers and general maintenance stuff like oil, acf50 and chain lube.

Personally I'd start saving and see if I could get the budget up to £1500 between now and the move.
Gives you a lot more choice bike wise and gives you a cushion should you need a cbt retest or struggle with the sizing of the cheaper brands.