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M3NF |
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M3NF L Plate Warrior
Joined: 04 Nov 2017 Karma :
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Posted: 09:42 - 04 Nov 2017 Post subject: New member, Advice needed plz. |
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First of all Hi to you all, new user to the forum but a long time bike rider.
Little background first to help possible, I am a large man, around 18 stone and 6ft 1 andI have been riding bikes for many years but not had one now for a good 10 years now. Yes also Old I am too
Anyways, decided I like to go back to a slower pace riding and were i do no have a current full licence anymore i need to use a good old 125. I plan just to use this as a commuter bike for trip back and forward to work and the odd shopping trip for Pizza
My issue is being such a large chap I really need a full size frame bike or scooter and not keeping up with the latest and greatest bikes for a while have lost total track off whats best around. Speed is not an issue, not looking to be racing around, after something that will hold it own and cope with my weight for the mid range trips.
I do have a preference off a scooter, I do like the Honda Forza but at the price they sell for is out off my budget really, as looking around £2000 to spend on.
So any advice on what decent full size bikes around this price point and what to look out for on the bike your suggest when buying.
Thanks all, and look forward to reading your ideas....
Last edited by M3NF on 11:19 - 04 Nov 2017; edited 1 time in total |
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Rogerborg |
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Rogerborg nimbA
Joined: 26 Oct 2010 Karma :
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Posted: 10:26 - 04 Nov 2017 Post subject: |
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I am baffled as to why you'd try to solve that problem with a "125" dragging down the equation. You have a license, right?
SH300, maybe a Burgman 400.
Scuffed but apparently roadworthy Forza 300 for £2K. ____________________ 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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andyscooter |
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andyscooter World Chat Champion
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M3NF |
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M3NF L Plate Warrior
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Rogerborg |
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Rogerborg nimbA
Joined: 26 Oct 2010 Karma :
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Posted: 11:12 - 04 Nov 2017 Post subject: |
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Er, sorry, I got confused by the tenses. And also didn't read it.
In my defence, I have man flu. And also couldn't be bothered putting the time or effort in. You know how that goes though.
PCX 125 then, mostly because there are loads of them around. ____________________ 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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Evil Hans |
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Evil Hans World Chat Champion
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Matt B |
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Matt B World Chat Champion
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M3NF |
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M3NF L Plate Warrior
Joined: 04 Nov 2017 Karma :
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Posted: 13:11 - 04 Nov 2017 Post subject: |
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Pref would be the scooter side yes, but a Varadero could be a good possibility too thanks |
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adam277 |
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adam277 Spanner Monkey
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andyscooter |
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andyscooter World Chat Champion
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M3NF |
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M3NF L Plate Warrior
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ZX-7R |
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ZX-7R Banned
Joined: 24 Jan 2016 Karma :
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Posted: 12:54 - 05 Nov 2017 Post subject: |
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'I don't have a current full license anymore'.
I don't get this,
Do you mean your 10 year license has exoired?.If so,if you had a full license before your test pass it is still valid.
Or maybe i'm reading it wrong in my hungover state. ____________________ Current Bike - 2000 ZX-7R |
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Teflon-Mike |
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Teflon-Mike tl;dr
Joined: 01 Jun 2010 Karma :
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Posted: 13:42 - 05 Nov 2017 Post subject: |
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I'm 6'3 and somewhere between 11 and 15 stone depending on the weather (Health issues see my weight fluctuate quite wildly!)
I ride 125's for fun; they are chap on fuel and maintenance and great about town, easy to park, and particularly entertaining thrashing the living daylights out of them down the country lanes where you can pretty much exploit 99% of their available performance 99% of the time... something that is rather harder or dafter to try on anything much over 250cc these days....
A-N-D 125's for the most part are as fast as ANY bike of ANY capacity is 'legally' allowed to go in this country... mine is an old 12.5bhp four-stroke, it's a good moped's worth of power down on even the 15bhp allowed by 'Learner' licence regs, and I have got GPS snail-trails that prove its genuine 70mph capability, even two-up....
A-N-D more... displacement of the engine tells you only how big the hole in the engine fire happens is; has little or no coloration to how big the rest of the bike may be, how large its frame is, or more pertinently the ergonomic of footpeg to seat to handlebar arrangement....
I am often more scrunched up on a high seat dirt bike, with a short distance twixt footrests and high altitude seat, or suffering back-ache on a cruiser with forward control footrests and lay-back bars, and ball-ache on a sports-bike with a petrol tank where my gonads want to be, and all my wight on my wrists, in some sort of christian penitent pose, praying for forgiveness and that I can give the dang thing back soon!
125's are NOT 2/3 scale pavement cycles for children; they are full size vehicles.. the engine displacement has bog all influence on that!!
However...... the issue here would seem to be you lost your licence.... silly thing to do.... but still.
THAT is the bug-bear here, and I suspect you aren't being entirely honest with us; IF you were 'disqualified' you would have to take the extended-retest for a disqualified driver, for ANY category of entitlement you formerly held, and they would give you your licence back with ALL formerly held entitlements, including, if you had held it motorcycle categories..... and until then ALL your entitlements I believe including provisional ones REMAIN suspended....
Only if you had licence 'revoked' under the 2 year New-Driver-Act would you be bounced back to the start to a new provisional licence, to re-test for any and all licence entitlements you formerly had or want to obtain.
So, EITHER, your plan is based on the presumption that you can dodge the extended re-test and ride a 125 on L's on a provisional, which I am not entirely sure you can if suspended, OR you cant be arsed to re-test for all categories, and faced with punative insurance quotes think that 125's on L's are some-how a solution to the situation....
But either way, advice is much the same as for any other 'Learner' which is that 'The Bike' is pretty much the last thng on the list of stuff you need worry about, the LICENCE to ride it should be the first, which given the anomalies of having 'lost' entitlement is probably eve more so A-N-D actually tackling the real 'problem', rather than trying to dodge them.
Your call.... but that's where I would start, ad if I'd been 'banned' I would probably be looking to book a course with a local car driving school, to get my licence and all entitlements on it 'back', as the tests for cars are probably the least onerous, ad car lessons the most economical, and most common/usual ways about..... that 'done' I'd have all licence entitlements I had, including all classed of motorcycle entitlement, and could pick any size and style of bike that suited my needs and wallet..
Which probably wouldn't be a 125, as useful and fun as they are, because that one, despite being a 'cheaper' to insure 4-stroke, still costs me about 25% more a year to insure than the 750..... thanks to the learner-loading... only mitigating factor there is that as an old duffer, my premium's are so small that 25% of eff-all is quarter of eff-all, and the 'extra' on the insurance is less than the extra on the tax, so overall comes in within a few quid of each other on the all-up annual running costs.
And with the car-licence 'back' too I would probably ince, and ponder biting the bullet on the costs of that as general transport, given that a car tends to be more practical and versatile for the costs.. OR whether I really needed personal transport at all, and IF I could live without a car to do the shopping using ASDA on-line delivery for the shopping etc, could live without the hassle and expense of ANY personal-motorized-transport.....
That pondered, then a question of how much any sort of personal-motorized-transport was worth in hard £ terms, and what personal-motorized-transport would deliver best value for it... and so back round the loop..... and tackling the real problems, like the licence not trying to dodge them.
I shall leave you to rant and when calmed possibly ponder....
Otherwise; question of what 125 for a larger chap..... same as any bike.... go try before you by... doesn't matter how big the fire-hole in the engine is, its the bum to foot-peg to handlebar lay-out that matters, and the condition of the machine you are looking at... which is where 125's tend not to stand the best odds, but its where you have to go sit the bikes and poke and prod to figure out what's best.
The erganomic webby may give some clue, but based on the numbers, it doesn't factr in the human factor very well, and tell you whether a bikes balence will be the most comfy, or if the tank curve is awkward for ball-sack room or belly space or of you have short legs and log arms or vica-versa the ft will be that representative, Or whether things like the seat slope, or width, or the bar angles will give you pain.... it's like buying cloths by inside leg and waste measurement... there's no substitute for actually trying the stuff on in the shop!
BUT, bikes last thing on the list, licence should be first... I suggest you get your ducks in a row before you send the dogs in the marsh! ____________________ 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?' |
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M.C |
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M.C Super Spammer
Joined: 29 Sep 2015 Karma :
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Posted: 16:03 - 05 Nov 2017 Post subject: |
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ZX-7R wrote: | 'I don't have a current full license anymore'.
I don't get this,
Do you mean your 10 year license has exoired?.If so,if you had a full license before your test pass it is still valid.
Or maybe i'm reading it wrong in my hungover state. |
I don't get it either, unless the OP got banned and needed to take a retest (and never did). |
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Rogerborg |
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Rogerborg nimbA
Joined: 26 Oct 2010 Karma :
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Posted: 17:47 - 05 Nov 2017 Post subject: |
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I infer got banned, didn't retake.
I'm sure he's got a new licence with provisional A entitlement and has done a CBT though. ____________________ 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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thx1138 |
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thx1138 World Chat Champion
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Rogerborg |
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Rogerborg nimbA
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M3NF |
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M3NF L Plate Warrior
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M3NF |
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M3NF L Plate Warrior
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M3NF |
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M3NF L Plate Warrior
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Rogerborg |
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Rogerborg nimbA
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Teflon-Mike |
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Teflon-Mike tl;dr
Joined: 01 Jun 2010 Karma :
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Posted: 11:50 - 06 Nov 2017 Post subject: |
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Rogerborg wrote: | Hills are hell on a 125. |
Rather depends on the hill, the 125 and the rider...
The Cairngorm mountains on a Generic chinky bike-in-a-box, with a dodgy 'performance' CDi, a bit of ply-wood for a seat to lower it for hobbit-legs, and self taught, car driver, short shift tedancies, are a rather different proposition to a national level racer, familiar with a 'power-band' and an expert at stirring cogs, tackling the Isle-of-Man mountain course on a Honda RS125 GP bike!!!! Same engine displacements........
M3NF wrote: | Thanks for the full write up, I did not know about the car side of your convo, but it will still for me remain I would rather a 125 side for commuting side for costs as I don't need speed. |
There are plenty of not-so-fast bikes out there, that can't wear L-Plates..... and if 'cheaps' is the main criteria, chances are you will get even more of that from one, along with a bit of extra oomph.
The biggest 'trouble' wth Learner-Bikes, tends to be learners.. who often know about as much about looking after them as they do riding them... and built down to a price, where it costs pretty much the same to make a bike with a 125cc fire hole as one wth a 250 or 300cc fire hole, they still need two wheels, a seat, handle bars etc, the smaller engine displacement saves little material and often no labour to bolt it all together, and with the displacement limiting 'oomph' they have to be even more canny to keep the weight down to save how much it has to shift and retain some barely adequete level of performance; they are seldom the most rugged vehicles built, before learnrs are let loose on them, to rag the arse out of them trying to milk every last once of oomph they may have, and ignore oil changes and tyre pressures... especially if they have some sort of idea that ts all for 'cheap' and begrudge spending a fiver on a litre of oil if they can eek it out an extra month with the mayo in the sump!
Learner Legals, tend to live rather hard lives!
And they are seldom 'cheap'! As said, my 125's cost aprox 25% more a year to insure than my 750, on almost like for like terms. That's a fairly hefty hit in the wallet to take, after paying an awful lot more for a bike.
Due to the 'learner' entitlement and the idea that these things 'must' be cheap to run, you will struggle to find a learner legal with an MOT for much under £500, and realistically you are looking at the thick end of £1500 or so to find one in half decent condition.
That same sort of up-front money, will buy you a heck of a lot of non-learner-legal bikes, which usually bult to a slightly higher standard of durabilty, before they have to sufer the abuses of the typical learners, tend to offer far better VFM in the potential useability you buy... and are likely LESS to insure.
MPG... fuel consumption is an expression of power... power is rate of change of energy. BHP is a measure of 'potential' power, how much energy an engine might deliver; MPG is an expression of how much it actually did!
Takes as much energy to shove a person sized object through air at 60mph, regardless of how heavy that person is, or how big the fire hole n the engine may be...
What flatters the MPG figures of 125's tends to be that not having more BHP, they simply cant accelerate that hard and use that much fuel, and in stadardised MPG tests fare pretty well...
In the real world, its almost meaningless! Book says my 750 returns about 50mpg, same books say that my 125 aught return about 95mpg.. so very easy to look at the numbers, see that the 125 uses almost half the fuel and infer, incorrectly it should cost half as much to run... it DOESNT!
Just on fuel; I rarely get close to the book claimed MPG out of it... my O/H gets closer; but I seldom do. I thrash the little fecker! And that aint good for ecconomy! Worse, roud town I ofte feel compelled to thrash the little fecker just to make progress and stay wth the flow of cars in traffic.
On the 750, I rarely get as little as book figures, ad usually get better, up around the 70mpg mark, which, is about all I practically see from the 125.. basically because on the 750, I dot feel compelled to thrash t so hard, seldom have to to make progress, and I have that mind-set when I have taken the 750 its for easy comfy riding, I am not out for a thrash, or frustrated trying to dice with traffic.
As said, all in, the two pretty much have comprable costs; the saving on insurance on the 750 is offset by the added tax. The fuel consumpton is pretty much dependent on my ow right wrist, not the bike, and any difference comes down to the maintenance... which... on the 125 tends to be lighter, and parts cheaper; certaily tyres last longer and cost less, but other wise the little bike demands a lot more little and often attension to keep it in fettle; and keepng track of the bills its easier to 'forget' the bottle of oil you bought, or the new cable, which can hide a lot of the costs IF the thing is looked after and stuff not just negected.
The differences would be much more exagerated if I ramped the anual miles to typical commuter levels, and then I would expect the 125 to start showing advantage; one of the reasons we have it was because O/H did 'in the home' care work, and trecking twixt the houses, expenses allowances didn't cover the cost of a car, and trying to do it on foot, she wouldn't get round the calls! Lightweight bike, made sense and did pay for itself; BUT a 125 still wasn't THE most ecconomical, and with a full licence, and no artifical restrction to what she could ride, for absolute miser-miles, plenty of bikes over 125 i the 150-400 range would have been even cheaper demanding no more maintenance, no more fuel, and eve less to insure.
Conclusion of that basically is, FULL LICENCE!!!! Whatever you want or expect from a bike, that is the key to finding it!
Take that little self imposed impediment OFF the table; you want a cheap slow bike, for a larger chap.... imediete answer to that suggestion to my mind, would be 'something' like a Yamaha 535 Virago.... they are physically a little on the small side and have curiouse seatng poston by dint of the cruiserified styling; but depends what bars have been fitted; shaft drive is usefully low maintenance; they have about 45bhp which wont set tarmac on fire, but is pretty useful, and comfy for nomal traffic, and does give a bit of oomph to spare. On the 2nd hand market, they tend to be reletively cheap, and for 125 sort of money,you ca pick up much tidier examples in much better condition, that haven't suffered learner abuse, for much less money... That needn't use any more fuel, neednt cost any more to maintain and are likely cheaper on insurance! But plenty of other simlar offerings knockng about if you look AND you have the licence to ride one!
NOW... you have to ponder again WHY 125?
The ONLY real 'plus' here IS to dodge tests to get a licence. They aren't cheaper to buy; they aren't cheaper to run' they aren't any more useful; you are acceptng ALL the compromises of the lesser performance bike, and acepting a lot of higher costs JUST to dodge taking tests.....
Tests that dont cost an awful lot of money, even f you have to do a DAS course, and aren't all that hard, they just want to see you do what you would try and do on a daily commute, without breaking speed limits or killing any-one! And you dont even have to filter to pass!
Chunk up the upfront money for that course, even if you have to pay a grand, you can STILL have enough cash left over to buy a more useful middle-weight commuter in the under a grand price range, get more bike for your money and actually start saving money, as well as having that bit extra ooph in hand for it....
All it takes is an effing LICENCE... ad the prudence to hang on to the ruddy thing ____________________ 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?' |
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Rogerborg |
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Rogerborg nimbA
Joined: 26 Oct 2010 Karma :
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Posted: 12:25 - 06 Nov 2017 Post subject: |
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Did... did I just get burned? By Tef? ____________________ 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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Nobby the Bastard |
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Nobby the Bastard Harley Gaydar
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Fizzoid |
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Fizzoid World Chat Champion
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Old Thread Alert!
The last post was made 6 years, 198 days ago. Instead of replying here, would creating a new thread be more useful? |
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