45 year old - das, brand new Duke 125, hire ybr???

[Rd125barnafc]

RD owner from the 80’s. Never took test back then and kids and wife stopped me for last 20 years but looking to take now.

Last rode a bike 27 years ago sort from cbt last month. Was obviously rusty and wanted to get a bit of road experience before taking test.

Few options

Straight to lessons and try to pass.

Hire a ybr for a week and just get bike road savvy again, then test.

Buy a brand new KTM Duke 125. Big offer on at the mo for brand new £3,200. Buy on a 0% credit card and sell after test losing not too much.

I don’t want anything mental fast just like getting about and think will gradually step up KTM Duke 200 and then either a 390 duke or yam mt03. Mainly for commuting plus a bit of fun.

Any thoughts/advice appreciated.

[t0gus4]

Get the cheapest bike that makes you confortable to take the test, ride that bike till you command it like a king.

Move on to new bike, might never sell the first bike, not unheard off.

Good luck.

Hope to know how you get on.

[ThatDippyTwat]

I suspect You'll wish you hadn't bought a 125 pretty quickly, especially if you have previous experience.

You need a CBT before anything though. Go do that and see how you feel.
____________________
'98 VFR800 (touring) - '12 VFR800 Crosrunner (Commuting) - '01 KDX220 (Big Green Antisocial Machine)

[Pjay]

[The Shaggy D.A.]

As above, unless you piss cash, I'd not buy a new 125. Pick up a decent YBR for about £1200, or a useable one for £800. Potter around on it, get the DAS done. Sell the YBR for what you paid for it, or keep it.
____________________
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

[Teflon-Mike]

The old idea of 'working your way up', was rather erroneous 30 years ago, when a 750 was about as big as bikes practically got, and the attitude from even earlier age, that a 350 was the best all-round displacement; 500 were for racers and 650's side-car haulers, and if you could afford something exotic you could afford a car, so why pigabout with bikes?

For where you are at, the bike is pretty much the last thing you need, licence is about the first, on the way to that, training.

If you book a DAS Course, you will do your training on something like a Kawasaki ER6, a 650.

After spending umpety hours on something like that; it's very likely to inform your ideas and aspirations, and the idea of coming down to a tiddler is likely to be a lot less appealing.

The idea of getting a tiddler, on L's to ride ahead of training, for 'practice'? Err... yeah. Without the lessons, what will you have to 'practice'? It's a bit like buying a scalpal so you can 'practice' to become a surgeon, before going to medical school! It's not really going to help much, and all you are likely to do is cut yourself!

Going it alone on a 125 is the school of hard knocks, and you dont teach yourself how to ride a motorbike... you teach yourself how to not fall off.... by falling off! At our age, them knocks come hard, and tend to be expensive.....

And a brand new KTM? lol.... they don't exactly have the best reputation for after-sales support, and the thunk of crashing one, on credit, and paying the monthlies whilst it's in the garage, for months, being told,. "We're still waiting for the back-order to come in, call back next week" Well... lol! People do it, and 'oh it cant be THAT bad, surely?" is probably true, b-u-t.... folk 'do-DAS' in a week...

So, go do DAS, get a licence, and save your plans till you have that licence in your pocket. Do your practice, on a school bike, so they have to mend it of you bend it, with an instructor whispering words of wisdom in your ear, as you go, so hopefully you DONT have to crash, and you are actually learning stuff to practice as you go.

For now?

Top of the list, is to go sort the Theory/Hazard test. I couldn't bank on passing one first time, these days, they are a lottery.

The actual test seems to be something of a computer-game, and 17 year olds seem to be at the advantage here. The Theory part of the test is not like the old High-Way-Code questions they used to ask at the road-side that were mostly common sense.

My O/H did her bike tests a few years ago, and getting her the Theory/Haz practice discs to do, was a wince. I told her off, once, and told her to get on with her practice tests, 'cos I thought she was playing farce-book 'Hospital' or something.... because there was just SO much first-aid stuff in there, like how many chest compression you should give a heart attack victim! Must be because of the NHS cut-backs!

But, so much of what is in there now, is you know it or you dont 'facts', not common sense or even notionally related to actually driving! Meanwhile the hazard-perception, is a computer game, and any-one who has actually driven or ridden for any length of time, is at a huge disadvantage. You have to remember the DSA definition of a hazard being ANYTHING that causes you to change speed or direction. I watched the clips, and I didn't 'click' for any of them, muttering "Yeah, what's the 'hazard'!! because in the real world none of it would be! Its just stuff you see and deal with umpety times a drive, and have dealt with before you even recognise it! Then you remember the 'anything that causes you to change sped or direction' and try again; spot what they deem a hazard and click... and nothing happens, so click again... and still nothing happens, so click like crazy... and FAIL, 'cos you spot it hours before the programmers set the click window, so you get penalised for either completely missing it, and or over clicking it!

So, the Theory/Haz is the first and most common stumbling block for most more mature Learners. And you have to have passed the Theory Haz, before you can take the practical Mod1 & Mod2 tests, and a lot of schools expect it to have been taken and passed before they'll book you on a course, so that you aren't held up trying to pass it, before they can put you in for block-book tests during the course.

And make sure you book the Theory/Hazard test for a Motorcycle... its not the same one as for a car!

Then.... you get your practice on the course.... you don't have to buy a bike... and your rental is in the course price!

If you have been driving quarter of a century or so, you probably have ideas of how far 'ahead' you should be... but, dont let that presumption colour your judgement, It can be harder to unlearn car driver habbits as learn new bike rider ones.....

Silly anecdote; but I actually had one car driver with that idea ace the CBT manoeuvres on the play-ground, up to speed very very quickly on things like the clutch biting point , but... on the real road, out of the make-believe of the play-ground and cones; rode to the end of the cul-de-sac outside the school gates, and in the real world with proper white lines, parked cars and lamp-posts, got to the give way line, and fell over, forgetting to put left boot down, and most humourousely, was actually reaching for the hand-brake as they toppled! Car driver instincts taking back over..... you have been warned.

So, the here and now, is GO do the training.

Start with the theory/hazard prep, which you can do in your own time, in the comfort of your own arm-chair, for pence.

Then go book a course, and remember, buy cheap, buy twice; see webby, ask the questions; check the re-take small-print. Dont but more than you have to vis hat and gloves and stuff; Then go do. And have 'fun'. Get the learning, A-N-D the practice, A-N-D the bike to do it on, all in one..... that's what the courses are for... and it's probably cheaper than the new bike depreciation, let alone the credit charges and early settlement penalties buying a brand new bike to go fall off.... and you get the licence out of it.

With licence in your pocket?

THEN you might start looking for a first bike.... and a 125 is probably not going to be all that appealing after however long on a 650, but any and all options are open.. you have the licence to ride ANY bike, you can ride any bike.... if you STILL want a 125 or 300, well, thet'#s your call.... though I'd still be rather dubiouse about either locking myself into a credit plan or gulping down the new bike depreciation, on pretty much anything, let alone buying a KTM, and risking the bike sat in the garage waiting on unobtainable when it broke!

Plenty of good used middle weights out there, 'like' you'd likely do DAS training on, new bike depreciation paid off, with plenty of parts available next day from local dealers or off the web, to go get your 'early learning' and ALL the practice you want to do, ONCE you have the licence in your pocket, which is when the practice and experience really starts...... and who knows how long you might want even that bike? Next year, you might fancy a sports bike, or a hyper blaster or a full on tourer.. and something reasonably 'cheap' you can chop on on that for least loss, is then going to be an advantage, not a mill-stone.... heck! Pay cash? You might not even need or want to chop it in. Could be the every-day bike when you get something for the week-end... B-U-T... that's a contemplation for another day.

Here and now, is go get the licence, and that begs DAS, and that probably begs nailing down the Thoery/Haz first.

And remember... theres NO RUSH.... rushin' be fast way to pain on two-wheels, and you aint got a bike for this long, why rush now?
____________________
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?'

[ThunderGuts]

Pretty much what Tef said.

I very nearly did what you are talking about (albeit with a new CB125F) and indeed after having done my CBT on that very bike (a brand new one at the time too) I was even more sold on the idea, BUT I was then told I was ready to go straight into DAS and after a ride around the car park on an SV650, I immediately went with that.

There are loads of reasons to get your full licence before getting back into riding (including gaining useful experience and cheaper insurance!) and once you've got your licence, there are loads of options on bikes to go for (including a 125 if you so desire, but I suspect you won't!).

I'd suggest biting the bullet, doing your DAS - it's a chunk of money but it'll teach you as well as get your licence, then you have all the options available to you.
____________________
TG.

[GSTEEL32]

If you can get a brand new KTM Duke for £3200 at 0% APR, you should be biting their hand off.

I never advise people to buy new bikes generally, but there are a couple of factors here which come into play:

1) RRP on the 2019 model is a ridiculous £4250
2) An equivalent rate from Lloyd's on borrowing £2200 over 5 years ( equivalent to the KTM payback time-frame, but for a good secondhand example) is 26.7%. I $hit you not. You'd end up paying £3800 with Lloyds for a £2200 bike.
3) "Learner" 125's are generally the worst maintained bikes of all the classes. You are taking a greater inherent risk buying this category than any other.
4) YBR's are an excellent bike. Truly. But I'd never own one. I couldn't get over the boredom.
5) KTM are flogging 2018 models at a massive discount at the moment (£3,299 for a "new" 2018 RC 125). Given that all new 125's are generally $hit, if I had to buy a turd, I'd rather buy 1 that at least looks polished.
6) Your old RD was infinitely better than any new 125. Don't set your expectations too high.

[Rd125barnafc]

Thanks for the replies (particularly Teflon), I’ll rule out buying the brand new Ktm I think. It would of been using a 0% purchase card over 28 months but will save that for post test bike.

Bit of a split on whether to bother with a ybr for a couple of months or go straight to test. I think I will hire one from near me, 150 nicker for a week when I am off shift, and just ride it a lot to remember basics. Do a 3 day intensive with a recommended place, pass test and spend the 0% credit card on something ok. I have the cash but keeps the wife off my case as she won’t be aware of what is spent on a credit card and will only sees £50 a month going out, can probably distract her from this with sparkly lights or some banal reality tv.

[djaustin]

I’m a little older, but wanted a license for a long time. At the same time my 18yo needs transport. So we’ve both done cbt and I bought a YZF r125. It’s four years old, one (meticulous) owner and is just about to complete 4000 miles. I paid £2700 at a Yamaha main dealer.

Now I plan on DAS, and passed my theory and hazard perception at the second asking. (49/50 and 43/75 then 49/50 and 61/75 five days later having practiced HOW to click a hazard!). The CBT trainer told me I should definitely do DAS. I cycle 10k miles a year and road and time trial, so I know about being on two wheels!

My eventual plan is to buy a tourer for my wife to join me, but will be upping the skills on the 125 first. Of course I’ll be keeping it as Teen 2 can’t ride anything else. Also it gives great training in gear shifting smoothness!

Position on the YZF is a little extreme, but not a so low as my road bikes, feet up is slightly odd, as is using engine braking! Curiously I found practicing U turns almost impossible in our road, but have discovered the road is only 6.4m and the turning circle on the YZF is 6.3m. It’s fast enough for my aspirations, although I won’t be overtaking much.

So don’t dismiss a 125, it’s plenty of fun, large enough for me (179 cm and only 68 kg) and will be giving a good training in handling. Don’t buy new, but buy quality. The dealer has already offered to buy it. Back if we don’t drop it!
____________________
...

[Rd125barnafc]

[grr666]

3 years of payments on a bike you won't want in a years time.


Not good math.
____________________
Currently enjoying products from Ford, Mazda and Yamaha
Ste wrote: Avatars are fine, it's signatures that need turning off.

[Ste]

Go straight to lessons.

You'll find that big bikes are easier to ride than tiddlers.

Once you've got some experience on big bikes, you'll be in a better position to decide what type of bike you want to buy.

As everyone else has said, a new 125 is not a good idea.

[stevo as b4]

Ste's right.

I'd do your DAS training in an intensive 3-5day block and pay the £1000ish? to do the training and take your tests etc.

Getting a full licence this way will do one of two things:

1, Tire you out and make you feel drained and not enjoy the process much.

2, (Far more likely) make you buzz with enthusiasm and motivation to get out on the road and buying and riding bikes and getting all the kit etc.

You'll change your mind a million times during training on what bike you think you'll want or is right for you. It might make it easier to narrow down what you want and don't want in a bike, or it might totally leave you in a head-spin and not have a clue.

Its too early days before your training and licensing, but also haveing a known list of things you need or want to use the bike for and why you want it might help. I.e it's no good buying a pan European for a 3mile commute to work or local runs on quiet back roads, as it'd be just as daft buying a YBR125 if your main use for a bike was taking you and your wife on an annual trip to Spain or touring the Alps etc.

You might even get all nostalgic and want another RD125 to restore to get back the 27yr younger you?

[RS65]

When 48yrs old in 2014 I had not ridden a bike since I was 17 but had seen, and impressed by physical size of someone else's 125, and decided this would be ideal for fair weather commuting. Did CBT and bought a 2k miles former Cat C write off 125 and some L plates.
Within a month had passed theory tests and booked A1 Mod 1 test.  Trained on quiet Ind. Est. using internet info to pass Mod 1 and then booked and passed Mod 2, both first time.  3 months later booked some lessons with local school and passed both A tests first time.
Bought brand new 250 and 5 yrs later still have both bikes and still a fairweather commuter.

[Pjay]

[RS65]

Had never given much thought to a bike before seeing the 125 after 30 yrs. Have licences to drive all sorts of vehicles so thought I could train myself to pass the tests which I did. Then realised I could pass A test without much trouble but had to go through some formal training (useful) and use there bigger bike. Spent on tests and lesson about £500. This is my personal experience that suited me perfectly and not a recommendation. Each to their own.

[Pjay]