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Rob123456789
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Joined: 14 Jun 2017
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PostPosted: 00:14 - 14 Jun 2017    Post subject: 17 buying a 125cc Reply with quote

I'm 17 years old and I've had enough of taking busses and trains. I love bikes and peds and now I've turned 17 came to the conclusion that i want to buy a 125cc bike this summer. Main riding i will be doing is to college and back. I was looking at bikes and i like the Honda cbr 125 but heard they aren't the cheapest to keep running. Any suggestions on bikes? Also I'm confused to what order to do stuff in as in should i get my bike first then my gear then cbt then my A1 license what's the best order to do things in??

Thanks for any suggestions in advance!
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asta1
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PostPosted: 01:24 - 14 Jun 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

Do CBT, Buy Gear, Buy Bike, ???, Profit.

Oh, and don't do A1, it gains you nothing.

CBR125 is fine if you can afford it, but don't expect performance to match the looks, it's still just a budget 125 commuter in an expensive frock. Can't imagine it will cost more to run, but dropping it will be much more expensive and they're not cheap to buy.

My suggestion? Honda MSX. It's just as slow as the 'superbike' but it's cooler, plus it's scientifically proven to make you (look) taller. Course, women won't need to drop their panties as you ride past, 'cus you'll be so close to the ground that you'll see up their skirts anyway. Cheeky.

/endthread
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Tracer1234
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PostPosted: 01:32 - 14 Jun 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

YBR YBR YBR.

Cheap, cheap to run, cheap to insure, cheap to maintain / repair, Holds value for re-sale, not particularly popular with the hoodlems that enjoy the byklyf.

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Riding: Yamaha MT-09 Tracer Occasionally Riding: 08 Suzuki SV650, Potato: 2011 Yamaha YBR Custom.
Used to ride: 2015 Yamaha MT-09 Tracer (smidsy) 09 Triumph Street Triple (P/X'd) 08 Yamaha YBR (Sold)
CBT 04/14. A: Mod 1 & 2 13/04/15


Last edited by Tracer1234 on 19:17 - 14 Jun 2017; edited 1 time in total
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Teflon-Mike
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PostPosted: 02:43 - 14 Jun 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

Learner FAQ's:= 'U want to Ride a Motorbike! Where Do U start?'

But, Number one question is: Do you have the money?

At 17 years old you cannot legally take out credit; so you cant buy either the bike or insurance on suggested monthly plans. That meas you will need a heck of a lot of cash up-front.

Next you say you would mainly use the bike for comuting to and from college; which implies you are a student, and likely don't have a regular income; which would hamper your chances of buying on the neva-neva anyway, and does give you an added hit on likely insurance policy prices.

That, the insurance IS actually likely to be THE deciding factor in anything; at 17, and we assume a boy, and a student, and a 125 rider you will be hit or just about every loading they have on the insurance; and if you read the policy proposals you have to fill in on-line "+commuting" is an opt-in, and if you check the box, the price is likey to go up 30-50%.

Typical prices for teen-ager riders on a 125, on almost ANYTHING are in the £1000 a year range....

But, rough cut; the bench-mark Learner/commuter is the Yamaha YBR125, and you can ppick up a reasonably tidy 2nd hand example at around 3-4 years old, with a fresh MOT on it for around £1500 or so. Third party insurance on that, post code dependent with "+commuting" cover, will likely be around £900ish, tax is £18 a year ad almost neither here nor there in the scheme of stuff.

But a bike is actually the last thing you 'need'. First up you need to get your provisional licence; if you are still at school/college, and you have't already applied for your provisional; get down the post-office, get the forms and some pass-port photos and get one of your teachers to counter-sign the application form and back of the pictures for you to send off before they break up for the summer holidays! That s about a £30 job, OTMH.

When you have the provisional in your pocket; the you can start to think about booking a CBT. That is needed to validate your provisional entitlement, and is the first lesson, in riding bikes. LOADS of stuff to learn in a day; course with bike hire will normally be around £130 a day; and many don't complete in a day and have to go back; so check the small print; see link for advice.

After contacting schools to find a course for CBT, you will probably want to get some minimal riding gear of your own before you take the course, like a crash-helmet gloves, water-proofs and probably some sensible footwear.... again see link for advice, and dont buy more than you need to straight off. Bike gear is expensive, and very very tempting to spend hundreds on a 'My first Motorcycle otfit', which probably is't great value.. get the least you can get away with for the course; there's a whole lesson in there on choosing gear.

Being a little prudent, you might get away with perhaps £150-£200 for basic riding wear; if you are sensible and improvise where possible; but a full motorcycle outfit, if you get carried away will likely set you back anything from £500-£1000...

IF after CBT you are set to carry on; but before you buy a bike, buy a bludy strong lock! Little bikes get nicked, frequently! And even if you pay the extra on the insurance for theft cover; that's not going to help much when you have to catch the bus when bikes missing, ad likely another kick in the wallet when you discover that after they have deducted the policy excesses, and paid out, you dont actually get enough to replace the bike, and have to dig deep into pockets to make up the difference, and more, to buy a new insurance policy for it, and find that the 'theft' claim has upped the premium even more... and will do for five years! Its common for it to actually work not more expensive to claim for a theft loss than not to.. so DON'T skimp on locks!

You will want some portable security to lock the bike to immovable objects when out and about, plus something a little sturdier for where you park it at home. Anything is better than nothing, and ground anchors and high security locks and chains can start to run into many £100's... but, a £20 disc-lock is useful; a cheaper carry about chain you can carry, for under £50 and another heavier home lock, you can probably get 'enough' security to be getting on with for £100-150 or so.

Then you can start thinking about gong shopping for actual bikes.... if, after spending, £30 on your licence, £130 on your CBT, £250 or so on Helmet, gloves, water-proofs and any other essential riding wear; and another £100 on locks.... and you have spent something over £500 or so.... you still have enough money.

Add £1500 for a 'sensible' YBR125, and another £900 to insure it, and all in, to get on the road, you are looking at needing something in the order of £3000 cash i hand here and now, or at least before you start...

Do you have that sort of money?

Every-one argues "Oh but I can do it cheaper!".. and they may; but, the two big items on the list are the bike and the insurance; and cheaper bikes so often aren't the long run, when they demand the cash you didn't spend in maintenance and ruining repairs and minimal resale vale when you are done with them. But absolute bottom line, you will be very lucky to find a 125 with an MOT that s actually rideable, for under £500, and it probably wont be much f any cheaper t insure.. you may skimp on the gear and or the locks, but there's not an awful lot of scope to make huge savings there, if you are prudent to start with, so IF you could get yourself on the road for under £2K you would be doing very well.

The bike needs petrol, and maintenance, as will your gear; it doesn't last forever. Little 125 will should do better than 70mpg, and if you are only doing 4 miles or so each way to and fro college, yup; 40 mils a week, for £3 worth of go juice sounds a wonderful Savng maybe £3 a ticket on the bus... BUT... add maintenance and insurance, and amortize your set-up costs and you aught to add perhaps £1500-2000 a year or about £30 a week to that... and suddenly its not that much cheaper than the bus, if at all... and rather than saving you money, having the bike, you will do extra miles, and its likely to cost you, rather than save you... bike wont pay for itself on what you hope to save on bus-fares or train fares!

So back to top; do you have the money? If not, anything we suggest is pretty academic. If you DO; then YBR is about the most economical 125 for a learner; Chinese offerings like Lexmoto, are cheaper to but, particularly so second hand; but often not that much cheaper 'all-in', and insurance remains the real stinger. Bikes like the CBR125 or YZF-R125, are silly money new, and not a lot cheaper second hand; you pay an awful lot over the odds for the make-believe race-bike styling, i the buy price, and then again, in the insurance, which is usually incredibly more expensive, as they tend to get nicked or crashed even more often. They aren't any faster, and often actually less reliable, than 'boring' commuters like the YBR... so if you are on a tighter budget they are really not something that will help you very much. If yo have the extra money, and that make-believe styling is really important to you, what the heck.. its your money.. but few are impressed by anything wearing an L-Plate or fooled that its anything more than it is, and most folk wot give a rats arse... you are lucky f they give you a second glance... especially when they are driving a car and are pulling into the road in-front of you! Let alone bother to have an opinion on how fashionable you look!

BUT, bike is the last thing you really need worry about; MONEY is the first; second, third, forth, well, main worry every ruddy wear in most aspects of LIFE in general, actually... but, after checking the piggy-bank.. next step is to get that provisional in your pocket, then start calling CBT schools, and maybe going shopping for a crash-hat and gloved before the course... the rest will follow fairly naturally, if after CBT you are inspired to continue. Just remember the bike is the last thing you 'need', and need worry about really.
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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?'
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Tracer1234
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Joined: 13 Sep 2014
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PostPosted: 03:26 - 14 Jun 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

Consider yourself, Tef'ed.

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Riding: Yamaha MT-09 Tracer Occasionally Riding: 08 Suzuki SV650, Potato: 2011 Yamaha YBR Custom.
Used to ride: 2015 Yamaha MT-09 Tracer (smidsy) 09 Triumph Street Triple (P/X'd) 08 Yamaha YBR (Sold)
CBT 04/14. A: Mod 1 & 2 13/04/15
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kgm
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PostPosted: 05:09 - 14 Jun 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

It's an obligatory right of passage. Even if it frustrates the rest of us.
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trevor saxe-coburg-gotha
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PostPosted: 06:14 - 14 Jun 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

congrats OP - you received Teferential treatment
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arry
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PostPosted: 06:35 - 14 Jun 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

asta1 wrote:

Oh, and don't do A1, it gains you nothing.


Apart from sanitation, the roads, the aquaducts....

Cheap stab run at the test procedure.
An assessed ride worth of marked up feedback from examiner.
Loss of L plates.
Ability to take pillion.
Ability to use motorways (and looking at OP's location that may well come in handy).
Gets clock running on your 2 year new driver act revokable on 6 points licence.

Not worth hundred quid to you? Would be to me.
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Rob123456789
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Joined: 14 Jun 2017
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PostPosted: 08:19 - 14 Jun 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

Teflon-Mike wrote:
Learner FAQ's:= 'U want to Ride a Motorbike! Where Do U start?'

But, Number one question is: Do you have the money?

At 17 years old you cannot legally take out credit; so you cant buy either the bike or insurance on suggested monthly plans. That meas you will need a heck of a lot of cash up-front.

Next you say you would mainly use the bike for comuting to and from college; which implies you are a student, and likely don't have a regular income; which would hamper your chances of buying on the neva-neva anyway, and does give you an added hit on likely insurance policy prices.

That, the insurance IS actually likely to be THE deciding factor in anything; at 17, and we assume a boy, and a student, and a 125 rider you will be hit or just about every loading they have on the insurance; and if you read the policy proposals you have to fill in on-line "+commuting" is an opt-in, and if you check the box, the price is likey to go up 30-50%.

Typical prices for teen-ager riders on a 125, on almost ANYTHING are in the £1000 a year range....

But, rough cut; the bench-mark Learner/commuter is the Yamaha YBR125, and you can ppick up a reasonably tidy 2nd hand example at around 3-4 years old, with a fresh MOT on it for around £1500 or so. Third party insurance on that, post code dependent with "+commuting" cover, will likely be around £900ish, tax is £18 a year ad almost neither here nor there in the scheme of stuff.

But a bike is actually the last thing you 'need'. First up you need to get your provisional licence; if you are still at school/college, and you have't already applied for your provisional; get down the post-office, get the forms and some pass-port photos and get one of your teachers to counter-sign the application form and back of the pictures for you to send off before they break up for the summer holidays! That s about a £30 job, OTMH.

When you have the provisional in your pocket; the you can start to think about booking a CBT. That is needed to validate your provisional entitlement, and is the first lesson, in riding bikes. LOADS of stuff to learn in a day; course with bike hire will normally be around £130 a day; and many don't complete in a day and have to go back; so check the small print; see link for advice.

After contacting schools to find a course for CBT, you will probably want to get some minimal riding gear of your own before you take the course, like a crash-helmet gloves, water-proofs and probably some sensible footwear.... again see link for advice, and dont buy more than you need to straight off. Bike gear is expensive, and very very tempting to spend hundreds on a 'My first Motorcycle otfit', which probably is't great value.. get the least you can get away with for the course; there's a whole lesson in there on choosing gear.

Being a little prudent, you might get away with perhaps £150-£200 for basic riding wear; if you are sensible and improvise where possible; but a full motorcycle outfit, if you get carried away will likely set you back anything from £500-£1000...

IF after CBT you are set to carry on; but before you buy a bike, buy a bludy strong lock! Little bikes get nicked, frequently! And even if you pay the extra on the insurance for theft cover; that's not going to help much when you have to catch the bus when bikes missing, ad likely another kick in the wallet when you discover that after they have deducted the policy excesses, and paid out, you dont actually get enough to replace the bike, and have to dig deep into pockets to make up the difference, and more, to buy a new insurance policy for it, and find that the 'theft' claim has upped the premium even more... and will do for five years! Its common for it to actually work not more expensive to claim for a theft loss than not to.. so DON'T skimp on locks!

You will want some portable security to lock the bike to immovable objects when out and about, plus something a little sturdier for where you park it at home. Anything is better than nothing, and ground anchors and high security locks and chains can start to run into many £100's... but, a £20 disc-lock is useful; a cheaper carry about chain you can carry, for under £50 and another heavier home lock, you can probably get 'enough' security to be getting on with for £100-150 or so.

Then you can start thinking about gong shopping for actual bikes.... if, after spending, £30 on your licence, £130 on your CBT, £250 or so on Helmet, gloves, water-proofs and any other essential riding wear; and another £100 on locks.... and you have spent something over £500 or so.... you still have enough money.

Add £1500 for a 'sensible' YBR125, and another £900 to insure it, and all in, to get on the road, you are looking at needing something in the order of £3000 cash i hand here and now, or at least before you start...

Do you have that sort of money?

Every-one argues "Oh but I can do it cheaper!".. and they may; but, the two big items on the list are the bike and the insurance; and cheaper bikes so often aren't the long run, when they demand the cash you didn't spend in maintenance and ruining repairs and minimal resale vale when you are done with them. But absolute bottom line, you will be very lucky to find a 125 with an MOT that s actually rideable, for under £500, and it probably wont be much f any cheaper t insure.. you may skimp on the gear and or the locks, but there's not an awful lot of scope to make huge savings there, if you are prudent to start with, so IF you could get yourself on the road for under £2K you would be doing very well.

The bike needs petrol, and maintenance, as will your gear; it doesn't last forever. Little 125 will should do better than 70mpg, and if you are only doing 4 miles or so each way to and fro college, yup; 40 mils a week, for £3 worth of go juice sounds a wonderful Savng maybe £3 a ticket on the bus... BUT... add maintenance and insurance, and amortize your set-up costs and you aught to add perhaps £1500-2000 a year or about £30 a week to that... and suddenly its not that much cheaper than the bus, if at all... and rather than saving you money, having the bike, you will do extra miles, and its likely to cost you, rather than save you... bike wont pay for itself on what you hope to save on bus-fares or train fares!

So back to top; do you have the money? If not, anything we suggest is pretty academic. If you DO; then YBR is about the most economical 125 for a learner; Chinese offerings like Lexmoto, are cheaper to but, particularly so second hand; but often not that much cheaper 'all-in', and insurance remains the real stinger. Bikes like the CBR125 or YZF-R125, are silly money new, and not a lot cheaper second hand; you pay an awful lot over the odds for the make-believe race-bike styling, i the buy price, and then again, in the insurance, which is usually incredibly more expensive, as they tend to get nicked or crashed even more often. They aren't any faster, and often actually less reliable, than 'boring' commuters like the YBR... so if you are on a tighter budget they are really not something that will help you very much. If yo have the extra money, and that make-believe styling is really important to you, what the heck.. its your money.. but few are impressed by anything wearing an L-Plate or fooled that its anything more than it is, and most folk wot give a rats arse... you are lucky f they give you a second glance... especially when they are driving a car and are pulling into the road in-front of you! Let alone bother to have an opinion on how fashionable you look!

BUT, bike is the last thing you really need worry about; MONEY is the first; second, third, forth, well, main worry every ruddy wear in most aspects of LIFE in general, actually... but, after checking the piggy-bank.. next step is to get that provisional in your pocket, then start calling CBT schools, and maybe going shopping for a crash-hat and gloved before the course... the rest will follow fairly naturally, if after CBT you are inspired to continue. Just remember the bike is the last thing you 'need', and need worry about really.


Thanks for that that's exactly what i needed, yes i do have money and a job so it's just a matter of saving up but should i save up for everything first? I don't think it should be a problem to get gear and my provisional first, but cos the CBT runs out after 2 years should i save up for everything (CBT, bike, insurance) first?
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Bozzy
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PostPosted: 08:29 - 14 Jun 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

Save money for the bike, insurance, CBT & gear in advance. Do your CBT and once 'completed' buy everything together. Check eBay & Gumtree for gear, there are some fantastic bargains to be had. For example, I won an Alpinestars jacket for £30. The only exception to this would be a helmet which I'd personally always buy new.

Oh, I'd definitely do A1 within your 2 year CBT period, for reasons all pointed out above.
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Exile71
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PostPosted: 08:38 - 14 Jun 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sounds like you havent ridden before so i would say no dont save for everything first. Go and do your CBT first and see if you actually like riding. £120-150 to see if its worth taking ages of time saving money for something you might not want any way.

If you like it buy your gear and save enough for insurance and the bike.

I got my CBT done when i was 16 but was lucky enough that i started saving at about 14. I knew i wanted to ride as i had been on bikes since i was young, riding on roads just seemed like a boring version of offroad lol.

My first bike, CBT, riding gear, insurance etc.... Didnt cost the world. CBT was a christmas present, bought the helmet before i was 16. Just do things when you have the money and its not a massive outlay. Get a cheap bike for a few hundred when you can afford it, learn general bike maintenance that you wouldnt on a new bike, drop it and you wont care, gets knocked over in a bike park, stolen....

Just enjoy riding.
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Rob123456789
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Joined: 14 Jun 2017
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PostPosted: 08:45 - 14 Jun 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

Exile71 wrote:
Sounds like you havent ridden before so i would say no dont save for everything first. Go and do your CBT first and see if you actually like riding. £120-150 to see if its worth taking ages of time saving money for something you might not want any way.

If you like it buy your gear and save enough for insurance and the bike.

I got my CBT done when i was 16 but was lucky enough that i started saving at about 14. I knew i wanted to ride as i had been on bikes since i was young, riding on roads just seemed like a boring version of offroad lol.

My first bike, CBT, riding gear, insurance etc.... Didnt cost the world. CBT was a christmas present, bought the helmet before i was 16. Just do things when you have the money and its not a massive outlay. Get a cheap bike for a few hundred when you can afford it, learn general bike maintenance that you wouldnt on a new bike, drop it and you wont care, gets knocked over in a bike park, stolen....

Just enjoy riding.


Yeah I have riden before and I definitely want to ride, but thanks anyway
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Rogerborg
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PostPosted: 09:11 - 14 Jun 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

Good man. If you're still determined to do it after being Teffed-in-the-A, then you'll do fine.

YBR is a decent choice. I'd avoid the Honda CBF125, they're prone to rotting. The CBR125 is fine, they're fun little bikes, but they are little, so if you're a biggun you may want to look elsewhere.

Try www.thebikeinsurer.co.uk for indicative quotes. Use a private browsing session, use Mr Fakename at the same postcode but a different address so that you don't get hit with the bizarre premium-creep that seems to apply

+1 to doing your A1 tests (theory, module 1 offroad, module 2 on-road). They're not hard, they're not particularly expensive if done on your own bike, and preparing for them will oblige you to think about your riding.

What you don't want to do is to watch some London vlogs and start trying to filter like that, or ride around raging at every blind tosser on the roads. Leave that to the professional idiots. Whistle
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Bubbs
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PostPosted: 11:57 - 14 Jun 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

My brother just picked up a Hyosung Gt125R and it has great road presence, it's similar in size to my ZX6R which surprised me. That's what id go for if I were to do it again. Apparently it's a VTwin too so holds 65-70mph.
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Rogerborg
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PostPosted: 15:36 - 14 Jun 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

Nice engines too, 8-valve-4-cam-V-twins. They claim close to 11kw/15hp, but they're something like ~185kg wet.
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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
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stevo as b4
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PostPosted: 17:44 - 14 Jun 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

OP;

1, Asta is full of shit, your better off asking your nan what to do.

2, The Teffing condensed down is, do you have £2-3k available, and if not do you have a plan on how to finance it all?

A good point was raised about how much you want it/how determined you are to do it? In your shoes I'd be a lazy bugger, and I could probably ride out college on the bus, (did it before I can do it again).

Your going to have to really want the bike to make it worthwhile and to justify making you worse off than you are now, at least for 2-3years until it starts to pay off if at all.

To be 17, and told yeah you can ride a bike or drive, but I'm going to take all your money off you, laugh at your calls to insurers, and be told you can ride the same bike as the old bloke down the road, but for 3-4x the cost. Nahh personally I'm not that mad about having my own transport cars/bikes etc, I'd be as happy at that age with disposable income, alcohol and as many nights out a week as possible.

I say that, because if you think like the 17yr old me does, then it really isn't going to happen, or you'll get so far and then run out of cash, need to sell nice gear for a pittance or simply lose interest.

If you don't need the bike now and your earnings potential and work/life balance won't be massively improved by having a bike now, then what about just saving a small regular amount towards doing a DAS course in a few years, if the bike itch still desperately needs scratching?

In your 20's you might find your life /priorities change so much, you forget all about bikes, and maybe put it on the shelf for a one day bucket list when you have time and money and are looking for something hobbies or to make your life more interesting later.

Or you might alternatively count every penny and every day until you can do your A2 or unlimited licence training?

Just an example, in my early 30's I really wanted to do my HGV training and look at employment in this sector or logistics in my current organisation. For various reasons it didn't happen and now I'm just not interested, and have no drive or determination to make it happen.
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Teflon-Mike
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PostPosted: 18:02 - 14 Jun 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

Rob123456789 wrote:
Thanks for that that's exactly what i needed, yes i do have money and a job so it's just a matter of saving up but should i save up for everything first? I don't think it should be a problem to get gear and my provisional first, but cos the CBT runs out after 2 years should i save up for everything (CBT, bike, insurance) first?

Oh Kay.. we are back to questions of economics not mechanics, and more of psychology.....

I have just suffered a Lexmoto with a siezed back brake and a flat battery belonging to one of the local lads, who has blown his mum's wad on a bike, and gear, and is getting grief it's sat in the back garden rusting, whilst he doesn't ride it.. couple of reasons for this, and top of the pops is the excuse he did't get his CBT first time... which is in part because he's a testosterone charged teenager who thinks he already knows it all, so doesn't listen, a little bit on the school, which he picked purely as the cheapest.. or at least on the sticker price; no discount for additional sessions util a student passes or anything, so school rely on folk who buy cheap-buy-twice, to keep the books balanced, and do 'rush through' rather to try and give 'customers' what they want, a DL196 in one day....

A little more pertinent to you, though is he also has a girlfriend... which is a definite handicap to his ambitions to ride a bike (or anything else, TBH!), and hang on to any money he has... BE WARNED... he is not the first and wont be the last; last one I had cost me an effing HOUSE, and I am STILL paying the ##tch!.... but it Lexmoto-munchkins case, his G/F is grumbling every time he mentions 'the bike', and I can hear it in a hundred different voices from over the decades "But you cant take me anywhere on that, why cant you buy a car?".. it's the tip of a very very slippery ice-berg kid... it really is!

There are many many variations on the matter, and I have probably heard most of them over the years... but to pick up on Arry's advice there IS plenty of good reason to go get a full A1 licence, and this pillion-provision at your stage of life HAS to be a pretty big one! "Oh, but when I have passed my tests, you'll be able to ride pillion!".... does sort of sift some of the wheat from the chaff, that one.... "WHAT! And spoil my hair putting on a helmet! NO CHANCE... you WILL buy a bludy car or WE are through!"... IF on the other hand, they tug up the hem of their mini-skirt, batter bouffant into pillion hat and jump on the back... you MAY be onto a winner.... who can say.... BUT begs that full licence to try, which begs that full licence.. for which there are many good reasons to go for, this just being one!

Lexmoto-Lad's far from at that point; ad his G/F always manages to find him a dilemma, come suggestion of booking another CBT, as to whether it would be better to spend that £130 on another course, or take her to a party and pay for booze.... and "Well it'll only take another week to save up the difference" turns into a month, and, "SATURDAY! You are booking a course on a SATURDAY! ALL Saturday! YOU were supposed to come SHOPPING with me, to choose some new shoes!" happens....

Compared to the eternal mating game, BIKES are pretty easy to deal with, TBH... they don't get arsey if you don't take them out, or ride some-one elces, heck you can even have a harem of the damn things, without them moaning too much.. though the odd one will tend to play up and have a flat battery when it's their tern.. but you can get rid, without loosing your house in the deal! They may have a head-ache when you want to play, but they don't get even less co-operative at the suggestion of an aspirin in the shape of a spanner! Err. actually, they probably do... BUT after a few spanners and a bit of messing with the multi-meter, they usually get to the swig of things, rather than turning their back and sulking for a month!

HOWEVER, nub of the matter is that at THIS precise moment in time, a bike is likely a very high ambition... sex probably is too... and there is an inherent conflict twixt the two, ad a HUGE gulf where one s likely to jepordise the other. Maybe not today, maybe ot tomorrow, BUT lurking in the wings it IS there!

Robert Burns wrote:
But, Mousie, thou art no thy lane
In proving foresight may be vain:
The best laid schemes o' mice an' men
Gang aft a-gley,
An' lea'e us nought but grief an' pain,
For promised joy.


Which takes a bit of translation out of jockish, BUT is best translated as "The best laid Plans of Men.... are always WRONG! You should have listened to what SHE told (or probably actually didn't, but hinted strongly!) you to do to start with" Wink

And you are 17; you have a couple of years of further-ed,possibly a few more of higher, and to your terms of reference a month is like a life-time, and what seems like it wot change... CAN and probably will. Especially when a woman is involved!

Anyway; laying best plans; IF here and ow you leap on the roller-coaster, without all you need up-front; and say 'just' tackle the CBT.... that's a good start; and licence, essential kit, and course, you may get away with only spending something in the roder of £3-400ish...

There ARE folk who after CBT, do decide that biking isn't for them, and give up... in which case, it's small loss, and at least you haven't wasted a £1000's worth of insurance into the deal. Your enthusiasm and confdence you will want to carry on is noted.... most do... BUT wait until you have fallen off a few times tryng to do the slalom! Assuming you get through CBT and get the DL196 at the end of it.... what then?

It is valid for two years; most teenagers think that that is almost forever, and aren't worried about the cert rung out on them, until maybe a month before it does, when they suddenly start looking at DAS courses for their A2 licence.... which may bode better fo you, but off the stops ts not really such a big deal; you have fro completing CBT 24 months to get a licence... or have to re-do CBT.

As mentioned with regard to pillions, and potential pillion bunnies, plenty of good reasons during the 2 years your CBT is valid to go for your full A1 licence; it's as cheap to do, as a repeat CBT, pretty much; and f you cant pass it, you probably shouldn't be trying to dodge it exploiting the L-Plate rules; and getting a grip on it and planning to do it as son as you can; no reason you cant have a full A1 within maybe five or six weeks of getting your ow bike; if not sooner, depending on DSA test appointments being available.

But either way, most do have to repeat CBT to keep riding, whether a 125 on L's or to step up to a DAS course, it's really not that big a deal.

IF you are all fired up after that first lesson to carry on, the your enthusiasm to go et a bike and get o with it will be very very high; at that poit the 'frustration' of tryig to save for a bike, then find one, can start to grind, and drain your enthusiasm, as you just dont seem to be able to get on with it; AND big warning, is likely to make you 'blnd' when looking for a bike, and happy to take almost any old heap that comes along, 'just' to get a bike, and go ride it... remember, marry in haste, repent at leisure......

Having bike before CBT.... you may be a little less over-eager to buy a shed; but, just as frustrating to have a bke sat there, you cant ride; more if you dont SORN it, potentially getting you narky money wth menaces letters from DVLA.... and WILL you really leave it locked i teh shed and NOT be tempted to wheel it down to a super-market car-park to 'practice' for your CBT? Not helpful to get pots on your licence before you have eve started.. but your call. AND having bike, ca put pressure n you to complete CBT, so you can ride it, rather than learn the lessons in it. AND gve you more hassles and dilemah's tryng to se your bike to do CBT on rather than the schools; to 'save' £30-£40 and have gawd knows how much hassle gettig t there, and possibly back, AND finding a way to get insurance o it without a DL196 to show the insurance company....

So; its about balance.. which is what most of biking comes down to; if not life in general, and biking is a wonderful metaphor for.

No point having bike and o CBT, no pot having CBT and no bike; it ALL has to come together pretty close, for any of t to work.

If you don't have the cash, to sort it all, here and ow, before you start; start saving.... When you have saved enough for 'most' of it the you might think about going for your CBT.. if you dot get on ad give up? Well, you probably have enough in the bank to go on holiday or buy a new Super-X-Staton or something.... If you take to t, you aren't SO far off being able to go bike shopping; tendancy wll be to keep looking down the market at what you might afford, and letting your enthusiasm have head over sense to get a better bike; but, IF you have chunk of the cash upfront to be able to look at stuff closer to the mid-market; and NOT tempt you to take whatever shed comes along for what you have in your pocket at the time.

There is no 'good' time to buy a motor-bike in the year; less still a 125. Learner-Legals command a premium price, 'cos of lax licence restrictions; they don't last well, and there are far more folk that want them than there are bikes for sale; There is soething of a 'spike' around Augst, when parents are likely to capitulate to an indulged teen who has been nagging about one all summer, and summer hols out the way, they may concede to 'help' to get one for them to get to college or work-placement on for September.... and call t an early Christmas presant. Otherwise, market is picking up i general fro around March, with the weather getting (lol!) better, ad more folk thinking about bikes, which sees ore pulled out of sheds, more offered o Gum-tree, as more folk go looking for them; doesn't tend to mean any more or less bargains are to be found though.

So starting 'now', you could be in the situation that by the time you have the money to go bke shopping, you are competing with indulged teens, ad Daddy's wallet to find one you can afford before some-one else snatches it up; or you are haging around still savig as the weather turns and they all start getting hidden in the shed for winter, and by the time you have the cash to go shopping, you cant find anythig to buy!

Welcome to life!

BUT; say it all the time; DON'T RUSH.. rushing be fast way to hurt when it comes to bikes, so many ways, not just the riding. Money s a tool to solve problems; use it wisely to solve not make problems, and more money you have, fewer problems you will seem to have to need solving with it! Its ALL in the balence, and jigglig all the competing forces on us, n the saddle ad out; and as the matter of Girl-Frends, in 'life' bikes s just one thing that needs jiggling; leave some ley-way for other things ad tolerance for 'change'.. if you want to avoid too much frustration n your life and ambitions.

But as said; on the balance sheet; ts unlikely that you will make a bike pay-for-itself against what you spend on bus-fares; it will likely actually cost more, because even if you do save on bus-fares you will just use it more... ad sooner you get a bike, sooner you will be paying that 'premium' of owning one, and you will be spending, not saving. So longer you 'save' actually the more chance you have to 'save'and better your odds of a plan going closer to the way you want it, than getting vexed by googlies, or goolies...

DONT RUSH.. plan for the worst, hope for the best, and take it ALL just one step at a time, dealing wth what you can deal with right here, right now.... not what may or may not be around the next corner, on a different road at some point maybe in the future IF you actually go that way!

Which brings matter back in a loop; DO YOU HAVE THE MONEY?
If not, and suggestion is you don't; start saving; £3K is the target to give yourself best chance of the pieces dropping int place as easily as possible and have any of that cash solving rather than making problems... find a piggy bank, start stuffing the fivers in it; see how fast it starts filling up... take it from there.

You are at a age, where life seems short, everything needs to happen in a hurry, and everything seems stacked against you... IT IS... you can rail and fight and moan about it... or you can get on, man up, put up, shut up and get on with what you can. It's a life lesson, I'm afraid. And the frustration of the difference in "Yes, you CAN" and "Yes, You Might" {Highlighted, and oft repeated when a woman asks something like "CAN you put up a shelf i the bathroom" and then spends ten years moaning you haven't done as 'you promised'... because having the potential, isn't the same as having the means!} DOESN'T go away with age, believe me!

Like I said, Bikes and biking is a wonderful metaphor for SO much in life in general... even before I was jaded by the cynicism of divorce!

But bottom line; its your life; your money; what you 'may' do, and what you 'can' do are rarely co-incident, and what WE 'suggest' you should do, and what you 'will' do, probably matter very little, LIFE will go on, and happen around you, whatever plans you make... and remember Robby's mouse!... There's a point where you have to stop planning and get doing, and make the best of... and just 'hope' you have done enough to dodge the most likely niggles along the way.... (hint; stay celibate! Wont make woman problems go away... but can limit the complications... a bit...! Wink )
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Rogerborg
nimbA



Joined: 26 Oct 2010
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PostPosted: 18:04 - 14 Jun 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

stevo as b4 wrote:
in my early 30's I really wanted to do my HGV training and look at employment in this sector or logistics in my current organisation. For various reasons it didn't happen

Hands not strangley enough?
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stevo as b4
World Chat Champion



Joined: 17 Jul 2003
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PostPosted: 18:19 - 14 Jun 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yeah I didn't really like dealing with pretty Romanian corpses I guess. Laughing

It's just first work was going to pay for it, then they weren't, then they said they might if there was a good business case, (never). I looked into funding it myself, but in that time I'd changed job again, and there's only one driving job I want now and it's not tramping along motorways.

Then stuff like promotion, stress, depression and another new job role happened which changed my outlook on work and career development etc. Oh and I got bad aids and had my bits chopped off, and finally decided a regular wage for a fairly samey repetitive job is all I want out of work. Got hobbies and things I wanna do, but how I earn the cash to live and then pay for them is no real concern now.

Truck driving= Stress I would guess, and I'm done with that now.
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